BurmaNet News, March 27 - 29, 2010

[Editor]

March 27 – 29, 2010, Issue #3927


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar opposition party to boycott elections
Reuters: Myanmar junta chief warns against "divisive acts"
DVB: Suu Kyi urges ‘unification’ with army
AFP: Burma bus company told to 'stop caning' drivers

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup

REGIONAL
Japan Times via Kyodo News: Okada: Let Suu Kyi run in elections or no aid

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US voices disappointment on Myanmar polls

OPINION / OTHER
The Independent (UK): Burma needs a general election, not an election of
Generals - Ivan Lewis
Bangkok Post: Commission of Inquiry for Burma is long overdue – David
Scott Mathieson
Telegraph (UK): Burma looks bleak as the National League for Democracy
decides not to stand - Kate Allen

PRESS RELEASE
SAPA Task Force on ASEAN Human Rights:



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 29, Associated Press
Myanmar opposition party to boycott elections

Yangon, Myanmar — The party of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi decided Monday to boycott the military-ruled country's first
election in two decades after the Nobel laureate blasted new electoral
rules as "undemocratic."

The main opposition National League for Democracy's refusal to participate
would undermine the polls' credibility in the eyes of foreign governments,
which have urged the diplomatically isolated junta to ensure all groups
take part in the elections.

The military, which has run Myanmar since 1962, has touted this year's
elections as part of a "roadmap to democracy," but a number of rules would
prevent Suu Kyi herself from participating. The pro-democracy icon has
spent 14 of the last 20 years in jail or under house arrest.

Suu Kyi's party won the last election held in Myanmar in 1990 by a
landslide but was barred by the military from taking power.

On Monday, her party's spokesman, Nyan Win, announced after a daylong
meeting that all 113 delegates present had agreed that the party should
not register for the elections.

Cheering could be heard from the delegates as they concluded their meeting.

Nyan Win said the central committee members decided not to register
because — as noted in a message sent to them by Suu Kyi — the electoral
laws enacted by the junta "are unfair and unjust."

Her message also called stipulations in the law "undemocratic."

Nyan Win did not elaborate, but the party had previously objected to a
provision of the party registration law that requires parties to expel
members who have criminal convictions, or face deregistration.

Because Suu Kyi was convicted last year of allowing an unregistered guest
to stay at her home, the provision would appear not to allow her to be a
member of the National League for Democracy, which she helped found.

Suu Kyi is still general-secretary of the party and its most dominant figure.

The new election laws require political parties to register before the
first week in May. Parties that do not register will not be able to
participate in this year's election and will cease to exist, under rules
enacted this month by the military government that also bar Suu Kyi from
participating in the polls.

No date has been set for the polls, which critics deride as a sham
designed to cement the power of the military.

Even before the official decision, party spokesman Nyan Win indicated the
party would decide not to register. Asked if that would marginalize the
party, he said, "We will continue to exist politically by not registering.
If we register, we will only have a name void of all political essence."

"We will survive as long as we have public support," Nyan Win said.

Security was heightened, with plainclothes police and pro-government
security guards stationed around the party's compound as the delegates met
Monday in Yangon.

"This meeting is a life-or-death issue. If we don't register, we will not
have a party and we will be without legs and limbs," said Win Tin, a
veteran party member and one of Myanmar's longest-serving political
prisoners, having spent 19 years behind bars before his release in 2008.

He said the journey ahead would be difficult if the party chooses to opt
out of elections but that its members could still maintain their
democratic principles and spirit.

Last week, Suu Kyi was quoted by her lawyer as saying she opposed
registering her party. But she stressed she would let the party decide for
itself.

Suu Kyi is under house arrest and the new election laws effectively bar
her both from running and voting.
____________________________________

March 27, Reuters
Myanmar junta chief warns against "divisive acts" – Aung Hla Tun

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar – The leader of Myanmar's military junta on Saturday
warned against foreign meddling in upcoming elections and said "divisive
acts" could spark anarchy and derail the transition to democracy.

World

Addressing 13,000 troops at the country's annual Armed Forces Day parade,
Senior General Than Shwe said Myanmar should oversee its own elections and
urged patience and fair play.

"During the transition to an unfamiliar system, countries with greater
experience usually interfere and take advantage for their own interests,"
the reclusive junta supremo, wearing full military garb and adorned in
medals, said in a speech.

"For this reason, it is an absolute necessity to avoid relying on external
powers," he said in the address, which was broadcast to the nation and
witnessed by foreign journalists who received a rare invitation to the
isolated nation.

Than Shwe did not reveal a date for the long-awaited polls, the first in
two decades in the former Burma, a strategically situated but isolated
country with rich natural resources from natural gas to timber and gems
and a Southeast Asian port.

The election has been widely dismissed as a sham to entrench nearly five
decades of iron-fisted army rule.

The United States and United Nations have expressed frustration about the
lack of inclusiveness of the polls, which they say will be far from
credible, suggesting the removal of much-criticized Western sanctions will
be unlikely.

Much of that centers on Myanmar's refusal to release 2,100 political
prisoners, including long-detained opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize
winner, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Observers at the parade noted that 77-year-old Than Shwe, who is believed
to be in poor health and rarely appears in public, walked and spoke more
slowly than at the same event last year.

Analysts said the parade was more to remind the public that the military
would remain the dominant political force long into the future.

"ANARCHIC PHENOMENA"

The lavish parade is expected to be the last attended by Than Shwe and his
top generals as the country's rulers. However, few doubt the junta
strongman and his loyal army proteges will relinquish power when a
civilian-led government is formed.

Than Shwe saluted the troops while he was driven in a convertible
limousine in the newly built capital Naypyitaw before delivering a long
speech in front of a backdrop of lush green mountains and statues of three
ancient kings.

He said the election was just the start of a long process of democratic
reform and urged discipline and patience by the country's 48 million
people.

Than Shwe said political parties should avoid slander and dirty tricks to
advance their own agendas.

"The improper practice of democracy often leads to anarchic phenomena," he
said.

"Improper or inappropriate campaigning has to be avoided," he said,
warning parties against "engaging in divisive acts that lead to disunity."

Analysts say the elections will create a parliament with only limited
powers. The constitution stipulates that the armed forces
commander-in-chief will remain the country's most powerful figure, more
senior than the president and able to intervene "at times of crisis."

The military will retain control of key ministries and has a quota of 25
percent of parliamentary seats. Many more are expected to be taken by
junta proxies, rendering elected opponents powerless in a tightly managed
democratic system.

However, it is highly likely the arrangement will be accepted by its
neighbors and regional allies, especially China, which relies on
resource-rich Myanmar for its huge energy needs.

If the generals come good on their pledge to hand power to the people and
Myanmar becomes a thriving market economy, it will not be any time soon,
analysts said.

"The military and its allies will remain in charge, with only an element
of civilian rule," said Burmese academic Aung Naing Oo. "If Myanmar does
become truly democratic, it will be a very slow transition."

(Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Paul Tait)

____________________________________

March 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Suu Kyi urges ‘unification’ with army – Ahunt Phone Myat

The detained leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
party has said that civilians and soldiers in Burma should unite in order
to develop the country.

Her statement was read out by NLD spokesperson Ohn Kyaing as the party on
27 March marked the 65th annual Armed Forces Day (or Resistance Day),
which commemorates the start of the Burmese army’s resistance to Japanese
occupation in 1945.

Around 1000 NLD members from across the country attended the event, along
with foreign diplomats from countries such as Britain, Australia and the
US.

“At this time, some people are saying things to create disunity among us
and the Tatmadaw [army],” Suu Kyi was quoted as saying. “They are saying
things that give the impression that the NLD doesn’t want the prosperity
of the nation or the Tatmadaw.

“But in reality, we wish to see Burma and the Tatmadaw standing with
dignity and honour. For this, I would like to request the people of Burma
and the Tatmadawmen [army personnel] to be united and endeavour to develop
a democratic nation.”

Burma has since 1962 been ruled by a military government that has
aggressively expanded the size of the army, now thought to be up to
500,000-strong.

But the head of the junta, Than Shwe, said in a speech on Saturday in the
new capital, Naypyidaw, that the country had been forced to assimilate the
military and the government.

“The leaders of the Armed Forces turned from politicians into patriotic
Tatmadawmen when armed struggle for independence was necessary, and they
turned back into politicians
when the time came for political struggle,”
he said.

He also warned parties looking to contest the elections this year to “show
restraint at a time when the democratisation process has yet to reach
maturity”.

“Great vigilance is necessary against unrest in the country, against
election violence that jeopardizes rule of law, stability and tranquility
and against circumstances leading to the disintegration of the Union.”

A letter sent on Saturday to Than Shwe by veteran opposition politicians
requested that he revise the controversial 2008 constitution and strict
election laws that bar Suu Kyi from running for office.

Additional reporting by Thurein Soe

____________________________________

March 29, Agence France Presse
Burma bus company told to 'stop caning' drivers

A bus company in military-ruled Burma has been told to stop caning drivers
and conductors for letting too many passengers on buses, a local newspaper
reported Monday.

According to the Burma Times, Bandoola Transport brought in the punishment
on two routes in the commercial hub of Rangoon in late February "because
fining drivers and conductors was not improving discipline".

But it was told last week to do away with the cane -- an order thought to
have come from the Commander of Rangoon Division, Brigadier General Win
Myint, said the privately-run state-censored newspaper.

It said the caning was administered by inspection teams on the spot "on
several occasions" but the exact number of times it had been used was
unclear.

"If anyone is caught breaking the rules, the inspection teams will make
sure they are punished with fines from now on," Bandoola Transport?s boss
who introduced the punishment, retired Colonel Myo Myint, was quoted as
saying.

He said the caning was brought in because drivers and conductors were
flaunting a rule that bus lines were only to allow the same number of
passengers as seats onboard, and this was bad for the company?s image.

Bandoola Transport is owned by the army-run Union of Burma Economic
Holdings Ltd, the paper said. Burma has been military-ruled since 1962.

____________________________________

March 27, Agence France Presse
Burma leader issues election warning

Burma's junta chief warned Saturday against "divisive" and "slanderous"
election campaigning as a senior official said the controversial polls
would be held by early November.

Senior General Than Shwe addressed thousands of soldiers at a parade
ground in the remote capital Naypyidaw, as he presided over the country's
final annual military parade ahead of the vote.

"Improper or inappropriate campaigning has to be avoided, such as
slandering fellow politicians and parties in order to achieve election
victory," Than Shwe said after inspecting the troops from his open-top
limousine.

Decked out in his ceremonial uniform, 77-year-old Than Shwe denounced
interference by other countries and said campaigns must avoid "engaging in
divisive acts that lead to disunity among nationalities and religions".

Critics have dismissed the polls as a sham designed to entrench the
generals' power. Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred
from standing and a quarter of parliamentary seats will be nominated by
the junta.

The government has not announced a date for the elections but a senior
official told AFP the elections -- the first to be held in more than 20
years -- would take place by early November.

"The candidates will get about six months for campaigning after they have
registered as political parties. The elections will be in the last week of
October or early in November," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Parliamentary buildings in the new capital are still under construction,
but a official involved in the building said they were 70 percent complete
and would be ready by the end of the year.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won 1990 elections in a
landslide but the military, which has ruled Burma since 1962, never
allowed it to take power and Suu Kyi has been imprisoned for most of the
last 20 years.

Under election laws announced this month, the NLD would have to expel Suu
Kyi in order to contest the polls, but it has not yet said if it will take
part and is expected to make an announcement on Monday.

The United States has led international criticism, saying the election
laws make a "mockery" of democracy.

Than Shwe defended the elections plans at Saturday's parade, saying that
many of the military were once politicians, and that the elections would
make them civilians once again.

"They will turn back into politicians and engage in national politics when
the time comes for political struggle," he said. "This year's elections
represent only the beginning of the process of fostering democracy."

The vote is part of the government's seven-step "Roadmap to Democracy",
including a new constitution enacted after a referendum held days after a
cyclone ravaged the country in May 2008.

Foreign journalists have been barred from covering Armed Forces Day for
the past two years, but the junta granted visas for this year's landmark
parade, which marks Burma's resistance against Japanese occupation in
World War II.

CNN correspondent Daniel Rivers, however, was deported Friday after
arriving in Naypyidaw. He had previously been expelled from the country in
2008 over his coverage of the disastrous cyclone.

Suu Kyi is one of more than 2,000 political prisoners held in Burma, which
remains under US and European sanctions over its human rights record.

Earlier this month, UN rights envoy Tomas Quintana reported that human
rights violations in Burma may amount to crimes against humanity and could
warrant a UN inquiry, a move that was strongly denounced by the junta.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 27, Irrawaddy
Weekly business roundup – William Boot


French Firm Secretly Worked on Junta Internet System

Paris-based international telecommunications giant Alcatel-Lucent has
admitted it has been secretly helping the Burmese junta build a
telecommunications infrastructure that allows it to monitor Internet
traffic, according to a French news magazine report.
The firm confirmed its links—which contravene European Union sanctions
rules—this week after news reports of its activities were disclosed on the
French television news channel Canal Plus and in the French magazine Les
Inrockuptibles.

The magazine alleged that Alcatel-Lucent had built a system which enables
junta snoops to monitor private email traffic.

Multi-billion dollar Alcatel-Lucent said it had developed a
telecommunications system to "help the economic and cultural development
of Burma" which would help "contribute toward democratic development."

The firm's involvement in Burma dates from 2006.

The French firm carried out its Burma contract via its Chinese subsidiary
Shanghai Bell Alcatel Business Systems, according to the French news
reports this week.

China Starts Burma's Tasang Dam amid Drought Crisis in Yunnan

Chinese admissions about the extent of a severe drought in its southwest
Yunnan Province bordering Burma coincide with an announcement that a
Chinese-led consortium is beginning work a huge hydroelectric dam on the
Salween River.

Dams built on major rivers running through Yunnan are being blamed for
contributing to the current drought and the lowest water levels along the
Mekong River for many years.

Three state-owned Chinese firms will work on the US $9 billion 7,100
megawatt capacity dam at Tasang on the Salween, confirmed the Chinese
State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission.

The firms are China Three Gorges Corporation, Sinohydro Corporation and
China Southern Power Grid.

The inclusion of China Southern Power Grid indicates that China is aiming
to develop an infrastructure to transmit most of the electricity generated
from the project into Yunnan.

Three Gorges Corporation manages one of the world's biggest hydroelectric
projects, of the same name, on the River Yangtze in China—and is blamed
for major environmental problems.

Burma has virtually no electricity grid outside of a narrow corridor
between Rangoon and Mandalay and its generating capacity is barely 25
percent of the planned Tasang's capacity.

The Tasang dam is going ahead despite warnings from environmentalists that
it will be ecologically damaging for Burma—and could lead to water
shortages downstream.

China's central government has ordered a halt to some hydro dam project in
Yunnan because of ecological concerns.

“Our neighbors' governments 
 should follow their own standards in Burma
as well,” said the NGO Burma Rivers Network.

India's Tata Motors to Build Trucks in Burma with Junta Firm

India's Tata Motors, makers of one of the world's cheapest small cars,
says it has signed an agreement to build a heavy truck factory in Burma.

The factory will be developed at Magwe, north of Rangoon, and when in full
operation will be capable of producing 1,000 trucks a year, said
Mumbai-based Tata in a statement this week.

The factory could be completed by the beginning of 2011, said Tata
spokesman Debasis Ray, adding that it might eventually be expanded to
produce 5,000 trucks per year.

The factory is being built in a partnership with Burma junta-controlled
Myanmar Automobile & Diesel Industries. No details on cost have been
disclosed.

It will employ Burmese and most of the trucks will be for use in Burma,
said Ray.

Tata Motors is the world's fourth largest truck maker.

Koreans to Finance Vehicle Assembly Training Center

The deal for India's Tata Motors to build trucks in Burma comes as South
Korea's government-run International Cooperation Agency announced that it
will build a vehicle training center in the country.

The center will cost US $3 million and be fully funded by South Korea.

It has not yet been disclosed where the training facility will be located.

The center will help "upgrade the country's automobile production
technology to the international standard," said the agency.

The South Korean agency has previously provided training in other
industrial sectors, and also coached government employees in information
technology systems.

South Korea supplies components for vehicle assembly production lines at
factories operated by Myanmar Automobile & Diesel Industries.

Hanoi Premier's Visit Underlines Vietnam's Business with Burma

Vietnam is underlining the importance of its recent growth in commercial
links with Burma with a visit by the country's premier to Naypyidaw at the
beginning of April.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's three-day visit to will focus on
promoting "cooperative relations," said a Hanoi government statement.

Dung's visit will include attending a conference to "promote investment
ties between the two countries," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nguyen
Phuong Nga.

Trade and investment between the two countries was less than US $200
million a year two years ago, but there has been a flurry of business
activity in Burma by Vietnam recently.

Earlier this month Vietnam opened in Rangoon a branch of its state-owned
Bank for Investment and Development.

And plans are already afoot to expand Vietnam Airlines' current four times
weekly service to Rangoon to five times a week and to use bigger planes to
fly the route by the end of this year, the airline said this month.

Vietnam's Agricultural Ministry is also planning to finance the
development of 200,000 hectares of rubber trees in Burma.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 28, Japan Times via Kyodo News
Okada: Let Suu Kyi run in elections or no aid

Tokyo will not expand economic aid to Myanmar as earlier proposed unless
the junta ensures the participation of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and others in the country's general election this year, Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada said.

Okada conveyed the stance to Myanmar Ambassador to Japan U Hla Myint on
Friday, and also told reporters he would like to discuss the situation in
Myanmar with his counterparts on the sidelines of a Group of Eight foreign
ministerial meeting in Canada next week.

Okada said he told the ambassador that Japan is hoping for "an open
election" that will allow anyone concerned and willing to participate.

"And I clearly said the current situation will not result in receiving
(full-fledged economic assistance from Japan)," he said at a regular press
conference.

Myanmar's ruling junta announced earlier in the month a new political
party registration law through state-run newspapers, which says members of
a political party are not eligible for electoral participation if they
have been convicted in court.

Suu Kyi, who has long been under detention, was convicted last year of
violating the terms of her house arrest.

The ambassador did not tell Okada whether Suu Kyi will be among those
barred from the election, according to Okada.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 29, Agence France Presse
US voices disappointment on Myanmar polls

Washington – The United States on Monday blamed Myanmar's junta for the
opposition's decision to boycott upcoming elections, saying the regime
missed an opportunity to move forward.

"This is a reflection of the unwillingness of the government in Burma to
take the necessary steps to open up the political process," State
Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, calling the situation
"disappointing."

"We think this is an opportunity lost in terms of Burma's ability to
demonstrate that it is willing to contemplate a different course of
action, a different relationship with its own people," he told reporters.

The National League For Democracy, which swept the last elections in 1990
but was never allowed to take power, decided Monday to boycott polls that
are expected later in the year.

The move came after the junta introduced a law that would have forced the
party to oust democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as its leader.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 29, The Independent (UK)
Burma needs a general election, not an election of Generals - Ivan Lewis

THE MESSAGE could not have been clearer. On Armed Forces day, as soldiers
marched through Naypyidaw, Burma's Senior General Than Shwe set out his
vision for "disciplined democracy". A moment that could have been cause
for celebration is instead a cause for concern and regret.

There will soon be an election in Burma. But recently announced election
laws mean there is no prospect of it being free, fair or inclusive. Aung
San Suu Kyi's party are forced to either expel her, or accept that they
will be disbanded. Prospective voters have already been warned to vote the
"right way". Instead of a general election, there will be an election of
Generals. This was why we secured an urgent Security Council meeting this
week. We remain determined to keep Burma high on the international agenda.
The sheer scale of the monstrous human rights abuses demand nothing less.

There is a choice for Myanmar's military leaders. Currently synonymous
with brutal dictatorship and awful abuses of power, they could instead
find a place in history for bringing about a transition to lasting
stability and security and restoring Burma's international standing. There
would also be strong benefits for Burma's neighbours. A genuinely
inclusive political settlement would allow refugees to return home and end
border instability. The Rohingya, Karen and other persecuted groups have
fled in large numbers across Burma's borders. This worrying trend, as well
as the growing flow of drugs and human trafficking, could be tackled and
eventually reversed.

For these reasons, I am convinced of three things. First, that no one
should be selling arms to a country where the military's primary purpose
is to oppress and persecute its own people. Second, that we must make
clear to Burma's leaders that without the release of all political
prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and full participation of
opposition and ethnic groups, elections planned for later this year will
not be credible, nor help to solve Burma's many problems.

Finally, that we should resist the temptation to accept the status quo out
of frustration at the lack of progress. If Burma's people can retain their
optimism for the future, we have no right to turn away or give up hope.

Ivan Lewis is Minister of State at the Foreign Office

____________________________________

March 28, Bangkok Post
Commission of Inquiry for Burma is long overdue – David Scott Mathieson

The call by Tomas Quintana, the United Nation's human rights monitor to
Burma, to consider the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into
possible crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma is welcome, if
long overdue. But just how probable is a high-level UN inquiry into
serious international crimes in Burma, an investigation that could
potentially result in a recommendation for a Security Council referral to
the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to initiate an
investigation?

In terms of political realities, an honest assessment would say it is
unlikely because of the unfortunate, yet almost certain opposition by some
powerful UN Security Council (UNSC) members such as China and Russia. But
with respect to the urgency of the case and need for justice in Burma,
there must be an all-out effort to ensure that the proposal for a
commission seizes the attention of the UN as a way to bring justice and
accountability to Burma. As Mr Quintana noted in his March 8 report to the
UN Human Rights Council, the grave crimes perpetrated by the Burmese army,
or Tatmadaw, are a "result of state policy that involves authorities in
the executive, military and judiciary at all levels". A review of UN human
rights reports on Burma since 2002 by Harvard Law School last year
concluded that the world body itself has been referring to such crimes as
widespread and systematic, thereby reaching a threshold that justifies a
Commission of Inquiry (CoI) or a direct referral to the ICC prosecutor by
the UN Security Council. The Harvard report, "Crimes in Burma", looked at
four aspects of crimes - forced displacement of civilians, sexual
violence, torture and murder.

Commissions of Inquiry are actually not unusual, and have been used to
address serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian
law around the world. Many originate in Security Council resolutions,
although there is a possibility that the Human Rights Council could itself
establish a CoI. Such bodies include the Security Council-created CoI on
Darfur in 2005 which led to a Security Council referral to the ICC and an
ICC investigation, the General Assembly-created Group of Experts that led
to the Khmer Rouge tribunal in Cambodia, the recent decision to convene a
Panel of Experts to advise Ban Ki-moon on accountability for potential war
crimes in Sri Lanka during the final months of the civil war that ended in
May 2009, and the the recent CoI ordered by Mr Ban to address the killings
in Guinea last year.

Judging from past CoIs and Panels of Experts, such an investigative body
for Burma might comprise several eminent people or jurists with expertise
in the area of human rights, humanitarian law and international justice,
supported by a group of investigators within a secretariat that includes a
research team composed of lawyers, investigators, forensic experts,
military analysts and gender violence experts. A possible mandate for a
Burma commission could be something along the lines of: "To investigate
reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights
law in Burma by all parties, and to identify the perpetrators of such
violations with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held
accountable."

Burma has experienced a CoI before. In 1997, the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) formed a commission to investigate forced labour in
Burma, although the military regime refused to attend hearings and did not
permit the commission to visit Burma formally. The subsequent report in
1998 argued that forced labour was widespread and systematic, and
fundamentally breached Burma's commitments as a ratifying state of ILO
Convention No29 on forced labour. The commission's report increased
pressure on the military regime and led to the military dominated State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) passing Law 1/99 to expressly ban
forced labour. The practice of forced labour imposed by state officials
and the Tatmadaw continues, but through the continuing work and pressure
of the ILO, Burma's compliance is subject to regular review and
admonishment in Geneva.

The SPDC has also co-operated in a desultory fashion with the UN on
children and armed conflict, responding to Security Council Resolution
1612 (2005), which seeks to promote a broad set of protections for
children in war. The regime's formal body on the prevention of recruitment
of child soldiers, the Committee for Prevention of Recruitment of Minors,
created in 2004, is largely a public relations vehicle, and serious
concerns continue to be raised about the lack of co-operation with UN
agencies and NGOs on the issue of child soldiers. A long-awaited action
plan on child soldiers still languishes, waiting for agreement with the
authorities. Unlike some recent ICC cases in Africa where child soldier
recruitment was the basis for indictments, the SPDC's formal body could
help Burma avert any ICC investigation on the grounds that they prosecute
the use of child soldiers, but its performance could be assessed by a CoI.
The ICC would also assess whether the state is genuinely willing and able
to investigate and prosecute the cases it is considering as part of its
assessment of whether a case is admissible.

In a sign of modest progress, the SPDC recently sentenced three military
officers to prison terms for their role in recruiting and using child
soldiers, using information derived from investigations by the ILO. But
there may be a limit to how far the SPDC will let such other such
prosecutions proceed. In the 2008 constitution, Chapter IV, prosecution of
military personnel will remain the sole purview of the Tatmadaw. The
relevant passage reads "in the adjudication of Military justice: the
decision of the Commander in Chief of the Defence services is final and
conclusive" - denying civilian justice mechanisms any role.

Any UN mandated CoI should be empowered to investigate all parties to
Burma's conflicts, including investigating crimes in violation of
international law perpetrated by non-state armed groups. For years, the
vast majority of human rights reporting has centred on abuses by the
Tatmadaw. Much less attention has focused on abuses by the more than 30
ethnic militia armies, many of whom have longstanding ceasefire agreements
with the SPDC. Allegations of abuses by these groups are widespread, but
difficult to verify, and include torture, ill-treatment and summary
executions of captured Burmese soldiers and suspected informants. However,
recruitment and use of child soldiers by almost all non-state armed groups
has been well documented by Human Rights Watch and others. Abuses by these
groups against civilians such as forced labour, torture and murder are
more difficult to verify, but should also be investigated.

In the most egregious reported case, in the early 1990s, the All Burma
Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) in Kachin State, northern Burma,
conducted an internal investigation and subsequently publicly executed a
number of suspected Burmese spies in its ranks. More than 100 members of
the group were tried and sentenced, with 18 young men and women being
publicly tortured and then executed. Many of the perpetrators of this
violence are free, living in exile, and have never been held accountable
for these crimes.

States that support creating such a UN commission should make clear that
investigating international crimes has nothing to do with current day
Burmese politics. In establishing a CoI, there should be no reference to
the 2010 elections, Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's 2,100 other incarcerated
political dissidents, or sanctions or humanitarian assistance unless it
has direct bearing on the whole investigation and its central aims of
ensuring justice and accountability for crimes against humanity and war
crimes.
The next stage will be for states to sponsor the creation of a commission,
and prepare to engage in the intensive diplomatic negotiations at the UN
and other national capitals to make it happen. A failure by concerned
states to support the call for a UN CoI on Burma will embolden the Burmese
military to tighten its grip on power. Critics of efforts to seek
international justice contend that accountability must take a back seat to
peace and reconciliation deals that can potentially end the fighting. Yet
in Burma, it is precisely the lack of accountability that has so fuelled a
cycle of impunity for rights abuses by all parties to the conflict.
Convening a CoI could have a deterrent effect that gives all parties to
the conflict reason for pause. Uneasy peace accords signed by the SPDC in
the late 1980s and early 1990s with more than 15 ethnic militias are
looking shakier now than at any point since they were reached. The reason
is the lack of political, economic and legal dividends produced by these
ceasefire arrangements. A UN CoI would potentially have a positive effect
in bringing various parties to the negotiations, and potentially spur
multilateral peace talks in Burma.

All conflicts and their eventual resolutions are unique, and while justice
and human rights are universal in their application, local conditions and
context affect how a CoI operates. Peace in Burma may well be supported
and accelerated by a commission of inquiry if such an investigation is
given a broad mandate and the necessary resources and co-operation to look
into all serious crimes perpetrated during Burma's complex civil war. The
Burmese military and its xenophobic leadership have survived decades of
condemnation, sanctions and moderately toned UN mediation. The generals
respect strength and fear the possibility of international accountability.
It is time they face the prospect of real justice for once in their lives.

David Scott Mathieson is Burma Researcher for Human Rights Watch.

____________________________________

March 29, Telegraph (UK)
Burma looks bleak as the National League for Democracy decides not to
stand - Kate Allen

The new election laws passed just a few weeks ago appear to have been the
final straw for the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, writes Kate Allen.

The decision by the National League for Democracy (NLD) not to stand in
this year’s elections in Burma is not unexpected.

Ever since the ruling military junta passed the constitution two years
ago, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi has been trapped between a rock and
a hard place. The new election laws passed just a few weeks ago appear to
have been the final straw.

The NLD won just under 60 per cent of the vote the last time elections
were held in Burma back in 1990 – only for the junta to ignore the result
and cling to power. The NLD would have been expected to do well in this
year’s poll and by not taking part they are spurning a chance to have a
degree of influence over the day-to-day running of the South-East Asian
state.

On the other hand, had they participated the NLD would risk adding
legitimacy to a constitution and a process Amnesty International firmly
believes to be flawed. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his
dismay at how the process is panning out last week, even before the
decision today by the NLD.

The new laws bar all prisoners from belonging to a political party. In
Burma there are 2,200 political prisoners, which effectively means that
the main opposition parties would have to expel their leaders to take part
in the elections.

Of the NLD Central Committee, Amnesty currently lists 10 as prisoners of
conscience. Khun Htun Oo, the chairman of the Shan Nationalities League
for Democracy – the party that came second in the 1990 poll – is currently
serving 93 years in prison for opposing the junta’s plan for a new
constitution back in 2005.

Aung San Suu Kyi is a notable exception – she was barred two years ago as
a possible candidate for the presidency. The 2008 constitution forbids
citizens married to foreign nationals from taking part in that process.

At a time when the international community is calling on a relaxing of the
restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly, the new
laws were yet another step backwards and hint at further repression to
come.

And the situation in Burma is already bleak.

In a report released last month, Amnesty documented a significant number
of human rights abuses since the monks and nuns uprising in September
2007. The authorities have arrested, imprisoned, and in some cases
tortured or even killed activists from ethnic minority groups in the
country. All political groups face extensive surveillance, harassment and
discrimination when trying to carry out their legitimate activities. The
influential 88 Generation Students, who helped lead the 2007 protests, are
facing continuing persecution. At least 23 of their top leaders are now
serving 65 years in prison.

Arbitrary arrests and detention; torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment; unfair trials; extra-judicial killings; forced
labour; violations of freedom of expression, assembly, association, and
religion; intimidation and harassment; and discrimination are all common
place.

The constitution will ensure that 25 per cent of the seats in both of the
new houses of parliament will be reserved for soldiers hand-picked by the
junta. The ministeries for defence, security and border affairs will also
have to be headed up by a member of the army.

However, the reality is that Burma is to hold elections and a possible
reason to do so has to be to win favour with the international community –
and that’s where the hope remains.

It is now up to Burma’s neighbours in the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) as a regional grouping – and in particular Thailand,
Indonesia and the Philippines – as well as China, Burma’s biggest
international supporter, to put pressure on the junta.

They must insist that the Burmese government put in place the right human
rights conditions in the run up to the elections to ensure the Burmese
people’s right to political participation.

The junta needs to lift restrictions on freedom of expression,
association, assembly in the run-up to the elections; to release
immediately and unconditionally all political prisoners; and to remove
restrictions on independent media to cover the campaigning and election
process.

Failure by the ASEAN nations to do so will make a far bigger statement
than that issued by the NLD today.

Kate Allen is Director of Amnesty International UK.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 29, Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy Task Force on ASEAN and
Human Rights (Task Force)
Civil Society Condemns AICHR for Refusing to Meet, Calls for Draft Rules
of Procedure to be Made Public and Hold Wider Consultation

Today at Jakarta, the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission for Human Rights
(AICHR) rejected the request of civil society organisations from the
Solidarity for Asian Peoples Advocacy Taskforce on ASEAN Human Rights
(SAPA TFAHR) to meet with them. The purpose of the requested meeting was
to present the civil society proposal for the AICHR Rules of Procedures
(RoP) as AICHR meets to draft the RoP. Representatives of civil society
organizations from Cambodia, Indonesia, Burma, Malaysia and Thailand went
to the ASEAN Secretariat to present the civil society proposal but were
disappointed to be informed that the AICHR would not be meeting them.

The SAPA TFAHR sent a letter on 9 March 2010 to the Chair of AICHR, Mr. Do
Ngoc Son from Vietnam, requesting for an official meeting with the AICHR
during its first official meeting. However, until yesterday, the Task
Force had yet to receive any reply from the AICHR.

The decision was relayed by Dr. Anish Roy from the ASEAN Secretariat to
the civil society representatives, who were waiting at the main entrance
of the ASEAN Secretariat. The Chair of AICHR conveyed that the Commission
was not able to meet with civil society as there was still no clear
mechanism developed on how to engage with external parties. He said the
Commission received many request for meeting, including from international
organizations. The Commission did not respond to these requests and had
not met with any groups. He said the Commission will meet with civil
society in due course once the mechanism of engagement has been clarified
within the Commission.

The civil society delegation is extremely disappointed with the turn of
events and views this as a beginning of a worrying sign of the rejection
of civil society participation in the AICHR. We condemn the decision of
the AICHR that runs in contradiction with the vision of ASEAN being a
“People Oriented ASEAN” in which all sectors of society are encouraged to
participate in, and benefit from, the process of ASEAN integration and
community building, as stipulated in Article 1.13 of the ASEAN Charter.

We wish to remind the AICHR that one of its purposes as set out in its own
Terms of Reference as stipulated in Article 1.3 is to contribute to the
realisation of the purposes of ASEAN as set out in the ASEAN Charter,
which includes the promotion of the participation of ASEAN peoples in
community building.

“As a human rights institution, the refusal to meet with civil society is
in itself a contradiction of the spirit and principles of human rights.
How can we expect this institution to promote and protect human rights in
future? The AICHR must take an inclusive and participatory approach
especially at these early stages that would determine how the body will
operate,” said Yap Swee Seng, the co-convener of SAPA TFAHR and the
Executive Director of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development.

“The High Level Panel that drafted the Terms of reference (ToR) of the
AICHR met with civil society and national human rights institutions three
times before they finalized the ToR, I don’t see why the AICHR cannot meet
and consult with civil society before they finalize the RoP. This is
definitely a regression in terms of civil society participation,” said
Yap.

In light of the developments today, the SAPA TFAHR calls on AICHR to
postpone the adoption of the RoP to the next meeting in June. The SAPA
TFAHR demands for the draft RoP to be made public. Following which, AICHR
must hold consultations with civil society on national and regional level.
The final draft of the RoP must incorporate the feedback made by civil
society during the consultations.

Earlier, several non-governmental organizations from the Philippines,
Indonesia and Burma submitted cases of human rights violations to the
AICHR through Dr. Anish Roy and Rafendi Djamin, the representative of
Indonesia to the AICHR. According to Dr. Anish Roy, the Chair of AICHR
again cited that there was no clear mechanism on how to handle cases
submitted to the AICHR and there is a principle on non-interference in
ASEAN, therefore the AICHR would not be able to receive the cases
submitted.

“We stand in solidarity with the victims of human rights violations from
Indonesia and the Philippines who attempted to submit their cases to the
AICHR today. This is an indication of the people’s need for the AICHR to
establish mechanisms that will address human rights violations where
domestic legal redress had failed the victims,” said Haris Azhar from
KontraS, the other co-convener of the SAPA TFAHR.

“This is exactly why we are here to meet with the AICHR and provide our
inputs on issues of rules of procedure such as case handling and
engagement with all stakeholders by the AICHR. It would be too late if the
AICHR only consult all stakeholders after they have clarified the
mechanism and finalised them in the RoP,” Haris further added.

Unfortunately, AICHR refused to accept the submission of cases by CSOs and
Victim groups. The ASEAN Secretariat will keep the submissions and await
the AICHR to establish the mechanism on cases, before the ASEAN
Secretariat can handover the submissions to AICHR.

SAPA TFAHR urges the AICHR to take into consideration the concerns and
recommendations made by civil society in the proposal of RoP of the SAPA
TFAHR. (The Civil Society Proposal of the Rules of Procedure for the AICHR
can be found at www.forum-asia.org )We urge the AICHR that the display of
reluctance to meet with civil society today will not be repeated.

SAPA TF-AHR was established during the first Regional Consultation on
ASEAN and Human Rights in Kuala Lumpur on 26-28 August 2007. It is a
network of more than 70 civil society organizations from the region which
aims to hold ASEAN member states accountable to their international and
domestic human rights obligations and to make the ASEAN human rights
mechanisms independent, credible, accountable and effective.

For more information, please contact the following person:

Mr Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and
Development, handphone no: +66 81 8689178.
Mr. Haris Azhar, Deputy Coordinator, KontraS, handphone no: +62 815 13302342.