BurmaNet News, May 27, 2010

[Editor]

May 27, 2010, Issue #3971


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar opposition marks anniversary of victory
New Light of Myanmar: Three to face action in Mingala Market fire

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Mae Sot's global day of action
Irrawaddy: Ethnic groups enter alliance
China Daily: Double the happiness

REGIONAL
Kaladan Press: Fresh crackdown on Rohingya in Bangladesh

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: EU bid to pre-inspect Myanmar polls 'not finalised'
Jakarta Post: Myanmar may descend into chaos post-election: Civil groups

OPINION / OTHER
Jakarta Post: Myanmar’s prison of an election will also be ASEAN’s – U Win
Tin

PRESS RELEASE
HRW: Burma: 20 years after 1990 elections, democracy still denied
repressive laws mark preparation for 2010 polls
ICG: The Myanmar elections
PEN American Center: Burmese poet Saw Wei released from prison




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 27, Associated Press
Myanmar opposition marks anniversary of victory

Yangon, Myanmar — The party of detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi quietly commemorated the anniversary Thursday of its victory in
elections 20 years ago and stood by its decision not to register for new
polls to be held later this year.

A faction of the party, however, has split off to participate in the
balloting.

About 70 party members gathered at the residence of party Vice Chairman
Tin Oo to celebrate the party's 1990 victory.

"We will continue our struggle for democracy and we will continue to carry
out our political activities," Tin Win, a senior National League for
Democracy leader, said at the quiet celebration.

The NLD cannot officially hold gatherings at its headquarters since it was
disbanded for refusing to register as a political party. It won Myanmar's
last elections in 1990, but the military junta never allowed it to take
power.

It declined to re-register for elections planned for this year as
stipulated by new election laws. The NLD says the new laws are unfair and
undemocratic because Suu Kyi and other people convicted of political
offenses are barred from taking part in the vote.

But a faction of Suu Kyi's party applied Thursday for party registration
with the Election Commission, said Than Nyein, a former senior NLD member
who is expected to serve as the new party's chairman.

The faction calls itself the National Democratic Force.

Through her lawyer, Nyan Win, Suu Kyi expressed dissatisfaction with the
new group's decision to register.

The exact date of the elections has not been announced.

Critics say the elections will be engineered so that military officers,
many of whom have already shed their uniforms to enter politics, would be
assured of victory.

____________________________________

May 27, New Light of Myanmar
Three to face action in Mingala Market fire

Nay Pyi Taw – A fire broke out on the fourth floor of Mingala Market in
Mingala Taungnyunt Township, Yangon, at about 8.30 am on 24 May and was
put out at about 5.05 am yesterday.

The investigation made by a team led by Director U Aung Kyaw Myint of the
Fire Services Department revealed that the market committee cut off
electric power supply when the market hours were over at 5 pm on 23 May;
that at that time owners of shop No. Sa (80/81) were boiling water with
the use of an electric pot; that they forgot to pull off the plug as well
as to switch off; that the electric power supply resumed at the market
hours at 7.30 am the following day, and the electric pot set fire to
nearby cosmetics at about 8.30 am after all the water was dried up and the
electric pot got excessively hot.

Then, the whole floor caught fire, burning down 399 cosmetics shops, 398
pharmaceuticals shops on the fourth floor and 48 food stalls on the top
floor. The total loss of goods is estimated at about 20,926.3 million
kyats, and the loss caused by to the damage to the building is under
estimation.

Due to the efforts of firefighters and officials, 849 shops on the ground
floor and 2373 shops on the first, second and third floors did not catch
fire.

The disaster injured a public member and three firefighters, and there
were no deaths.

Mingala Taungnyunt Township Police Station has filed a lawsuit against
owners of Shop Sa (80/ 81): U Tin Aung, Ma Thida Shwe (a) Ma Thida, and Ma
Khin Mar Aye for their negligence.

There was heavy loss in the fires of markets across the nation such as
Mandalay Yadanabon Market, Mawlamyine Market, and Yangon Thingangyun
Market. Not only the nation but also private shop owners suffer heavy loss
due to such fires. Authorities concerned today urged the people to use
electric power with care, and warned that punitive punishment will be
given to negligent electric power users next times.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

May 27, Irrawaddy
Mae Sot's global day of action – Alex Ellgee

Nearly 200 people gathered in Mae Sot on Thursday morning as part of a
global campaign against this year's general election in Burma.

The event was organized by the Ten Alliances, a Burmese pro-democracy and
ethnic rights movement, and was endorsed by more than 150 organizations
worldwide.

“The military is not going to have a real election,” said Soe Aung, the
co-coordinator of Burma Partnership. “They are going to formalize the
military institution with this election. That’s why it's very important
that we and the international community absolutely don’t support or
endorse this election.

Myint Thein from the National Council of the Union of Burma addresses the
audience in Mae Sot on May 27 alongside a mock ballot box.

“In order to make this election a real election, the SPDC must release all
political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, cease all hostilities
against ethnic minorities, start a dialogue with the opposition, and amend
the Constitution,” he said.

The event began with a film showing selected speeches by Suu Kyi during
her 1990 election campaign trail and other trips around Burma.

It was followed by speeches by opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD) party members who were elected in the 1990 election—20 years ago to
the day since the NLD won an outright majority win at the polls.

One of the NLD members of parliament, and vice president of the “Members
of Parliament Union—Burma,” San San, told the audience about her
experiences during the 1990 campaign and explained why we she believed
this year's election should not be recognized.
Later, San San told The Irrawaddy she was against the general election
because “it is based on the 2008 constitution, which will not help in the
democratization of Burma.”

After the speeches, prominent exiled comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee,
performed a stand-up show mocking the military regime and the election.

In one skit, titled “Magic,” comedian Kyal Thee said the regime were
better magicians than famous US magician David Copperfield.

“Burma has so many precious stones, jewels, gas, timber. But where have
they gone? Where have they gone? Wow! That is magic!” he joked.

The audience was then asked to place a vote in imitation ballots offering
two options: one was for a “Real Election” and the other for a “Military
Selection.”

The voting cards were addressed to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the
secretary-general of Asean, stating that it is “now more imperative than
ever that Asean supports the people of Burma and our calls for a genuine
federal democracy.”

“I don’t think Than Shwe wants to have a fair election because Daw Suu is
still in prison,” said a “voter,” a 25-year-old migrant worker as she
dropped her vote in the ballot box. “I do not think this election can help
my country and my people.”

Masks were available for people who wanted to vote but did not want to be
recorded by the media. The skeleton masks with horns had “No-2010” written
on them.

In New Delhi, India, volunteers and NGO workers held an informal “people’s
election and rally.” A People’s Election Commission was formed with church
and community leaders.

Events will also be held between May 27 and May 30 in India, Sri Lanka,
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, UK,
Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, US, Canada and Brazil.

____________________________________

May 27, Irrawaddy
Ethnic groups enter alliance – Lawi Weng

Six of Burma's armed ethnic groups have agreed at a meeting held in
Thailand on May 21-23 to help each other if the Burmese junta launches a
military attack on one of their members.

The ethnic armed groups represented at the meeting included the Karen
Nation Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization, the New Mon
State Party, the Kareni National Progressive Party, the Kyan New Land
Party and the Chin National Front.

Leaders of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which has the largest ethnic
army in Northern Shan State, could not join the meeting in Thailand as
some of its leaders are blacklisted as drug dealers.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, the spokesperson of the New Mon
State Party, Nai Chay Mon, said, “We mainly discussed how each group would
start armed opposition simultaneously if they (Burmese regime) attack one
group.

“We are not a military alliance. But, if we begin military opposition
together at the same time, each group will be able to defend itself
against a regime attack,” he said.

The junta usually forces Burmese ceasefire groups in Burma to hold
meetings in neighboring countries, especially meetings with the KNU, which
has been at war with the Burmese junta for six decades.

The Burmese military has fought with the ethnic armed groups since the
country gained independence from the British in 1948. In 1976, nine groups
formed an alliance called the National Democratic Front.

During the tension over the border guard forces deadline in April, the
UWSA organized a meeting between the ethnic armed groups for the first
time in China.

James Lun Dau, a  central committee member of the KIO who is living in
Chiang Mai in Thailand, said, “We fought the Burmese regime separately in
the past and failed to topple them. Now we must unite as we live in the
Union of Burma together.”

Since the April deadline for the ethnic armed groups to accept the junta's
border guard forces plan passed with the majority of groups rejecting the
plan, tension has been mounting.

Seventeen ethnic armed ceasefire groups in Burma have signed ceasefire
agreements with the Burmese junta since 1989, but many of these groups
told the junta that they would transform their troops into border guard
forces only when Burma has a democratic government.

During the meeting, the leaders of the ethnic groups agreed they faced a
similar threat as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance army (MNDA),
which was expelled from their base by junta forces when they overran the
Kokang Special Region in August 2009.
Nai Chay Mon said, “I wonder how helpful the meeting really is, since if
the junta attack, it will be difficult to coordinate our responses or have
a unified command since we control different parts of the country.”

As the ethnic groups in Burma have prepared to defend themselves against
military action by the Burmese regime, thousands of ethnic people live in
fear of fighting between junta troops and the ethnic militias. During
April, about 400 Mon refugees arrived at Halokhani Mon Refugee Camp near
the Three Pagodas Pass on the Thai-Burmese border in fear of such
conflict.

____________________________________

May 27, China Daily
Double the happiness – Li Yingqing and Guo Anfei

Women from Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar are increasingly marrying Chinese men
in Yunnan province, despite such marriages being illegal. Li Yingqing and
Guo Anfei report

Li Micai met Tao Miduo four years ago while herding cattle in Tianpeng
village, Funing county, Yunnan province. It was love at first sight and
the two were soon married.

They are now proud parents of a 3-year-old boy, and a 1-year-old girl.

"We are both of Miao ethnicity," says Li, 19, who comes from Long Cu town
of Dong Van county in Vietnam's Ha Giang province.

"It's good to have a Chinese husband," she says. "I'm respected here and
never go hungry. Women don't enjoy such comforts in my village."

Back home in Vietnam, it is usually her mother who works on the farm and
supports the family while her father often goes out to play mahjong or
sits around smoking, she says.

Ji Meihua, 26, has been in China for three years and is currently working
at a restaurant in Cangyuan Va autonomous county in Yunnan. She comes from
Tangyan in Myanmar.

Double the happiness

She met her husband He Ying at a local snack store about two years ago and
they got married last April.

"We are both of Dai ethnic origin," she says. "Although I never went to
school, we understand one another perfectly."

Ji, who has been working in the restaurant for the past three months,
says: "I can eat here for free and earn 500 yuan ($74) a month."

She lost her parents when she was only 6 and has one brother and two
sisters back in Myanmar. In fact, Ji has only gone home once in these
three years - to introduce her husband to her family.

Li Micai and Ji Meihua are just two of the thousands of girls who cross
the border every year from Vietnam, Laos or Myanmar to seek a new life in
China's Yunnan province.

In Tianpeng village alone, home to 2,400 people in 670 households, about
100 wives are from Vietnam, Peng Youfu, the village head tells China
Daily.

"The oldest of them is over 70 years old and married into the village in
the 1950s," he says.

Indeed, more than 1,000 cross-border couples are currently living in
Tianpeng town, according to Li Zhongxiang, deputy mayor of the town.

Media reports about the "trading" of Vietnamese girls are not totally
true, Li says. Most of the money paid is for "betrothal gifts." While
local customs dictate that a man's family has to pay 10,000 to 20,000 yuan
($1,465 to $2,930) to his prospective bride's family before he can marry,
it will only cost 800 yuan ($117) to marry a Vietnamese girl.

He, the man from Cangyuan county, paid only 3,000 yuan ($440) to Ji's
family to marry her, the Myanmar woman.

"The Vietnamese women are very industrious and hardworking," Li says. "But
their status is relatively low in the family and they are the ones to feed
the family instead of their husbands. That's why many Vietnamese girls
like to marry a Chinese man."

Li Fengqiang, a senior officer from the Public Bureau of Cangyuan Va
autonomous county, which borders Myanmar, agrees.

As residents from both sides are often from the same ethnic group, like
the Va or the Dai minority, they share the same traditions, Li says.

"Except for a few victims of trafficking, most of the women from Myanmar
are unwilling to return to their homeland," Li says, "Here in the county,
their husbands do most of the farm work."

Jiang Zhenchuan, deputy director of the Bureau of Exit and Entry
Administration under the Yunnan Provincial Department of Public Security,
says: "China's development in recent decades has far outstripped that of
Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

"Their current pursuit of Chinese husbands is reminiscent of Chinese
women's pursuit of American husbands in the 1980s and 1990s."

However, although the number of de facto cross-border marriages is
increasing by the day, the majority are not legally recognized in China.

"There are currently over 10,000 'brides' who have entered Yunnan
illegally to get married," says Jiang. "Some have been sold to Yunnan,
while others have come here willingly. But the exact breakdown is not
immediately available."

Even though some have lived in China for many years, they do not have
Chinese citizenship, and hence lack legal rights and social benefits; some
even live in constant fear of being deported.

Li Micai, from Vietnam, can only do odd jobs like helping others with
farming or planting in the mountainous areas since she is not entitled to
an identification card without a household registration or hukou.

Applying for a Chinese citizenship is a complex process for foreigners.
The relevant documents have to be vetted all the way from the county-level
public security bureau to the Ministry of Public Security.

"If such couples have kids, they too will not get the hukou because of
their mother's illegal status," says Peng Youfu of Tianpeng village.
"Without the hukou, they are only covered for primary education."

When the Chinese policemen find these illegal "brides", they report them
to the authorities on both sides before deporting them to their homeland,
according to Wu Sicai, a senior official from the Bureau of Exit and Entry
Administration in Yunnan.

But most sneak back at night to their family in China.

Indeed, Li Micai tells China Daily that she visits her parents - and vice
versa - regularly as "there are many passes in the nearby Lion Mountain".

This is causing quite a headache for the border authorities.

"The local residents can't understand why we have to deport these
'brides', as they pose few problems," Wu says. "Also, the border is quite
porous."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

May 27, Kaladan Press
Fresh crackdown on Rohingya in Bangladesh

Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh:  Bangladesh authorities have launched a fresh
crackdown on Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh since May 24, said sources
from Cox’s Bazaar.

Officials in Cox’s Bazaar and Ukhiya stationed in various places are
checking vehicles which are plying from Cox’s Bazaar –Teknaf- Cox’s Bazaar
route, said the sources.

Recently, authorities from Cox’s Bazaar station at the Link Road junction,
which is on the Cox’s Bazaar - Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar–Teknaf road,
checked vehicles and arrested Rohingyas, said a local from Cox’s Bazaar.

On the other hand, the authorities of Ukhiya have also stationed near
Ukhiya College, check Rohingyas and arrest those mostly from Kutupalong
makeshift camp, said a refugee from the camp.

The Cox’s Bazaar and Ukhiya authorities arrested about 45 Rohingya
refugees. Some were pushed back to Burma and others were sent to jail
yesterday, said sources.

Moreover, the Ukhiya authorities arrested over 30 Rohingya refugees today
and kept them in police custody, sources said.

After demonstrators of the Rohingya Resistance Committee based in Ukhiya,
blocked INGO vehicles entering the camp in the first week of May, the
authorities are trying to control entry of INGOs to the unregistered
Rohingya refugee camp in Kutupalong. News agencies are also banned, said
an NGO worker.

“Most refugees from makeshift camps are facing starvation again since May
24, after the crackdown on the refugees started for those who go out of
the camp for ‘work for food’,” the NGO worker said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 27, Jakarta Post
Myanmar may descend into chaos post-election: Civil groups – Lilian Budianto

Ethnic paramilitary groups and the wider population may rebel after the
planned 2010 election in
Myanmar, spiralling the junta-led country further into chaos, ethnic
leaders and civil groups said Wednesday.

Hkun Okker, member of National Council of Union of Burma, said the
post-election condition of Myanmar may be critical because the period
would see the “ethnic army” yield their power and come under control of
the government after two decades of enjoying semi-autonomy in the
country’s border areas.

Although no date has been set, Myanmar plans to hold the country’s first
election in two decades later this year. After the election, the army will
no longer be able to rule their self-administered territories.

“The ethnic army may refuse to hand over their power to the military
commander in chief, effectively  fighting against the government,” said
Okker during a visit to The Jakarta Post.

Khin Ohmar, coordinator of civil group the Burma Partnership said the
junta had not offered anything in return for the ethnic leaders to
surrender their power, which may lead to a rebellion.

She said the ethnic army numbered around 55,000. Small in comparison to
the ruling regime, which has a standing army of between 360,000 and
500,000 troops.

Okker added the population might start to voice their dissatisfaction with
the government if they perceive the elections as corrupt.

“The media will also start to focus on the result of the election and will
put more pressure on the government.”

He feared Myanmar might collapse, affecting neighboring countries, in
particular Thailand, which hosts around 2 million Myanmar refugees and
workers.

Okker and Ohmar held a meeting with House of Representatives Commission I,
which oversees defense and foreign affairs, and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary
Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) in Jakarta on Tuesday to rally support against the
2010 elections.

Some 40 parties in Myanmar have registered for the elections, including
the government supported party of Union Solidarity and Development Party
chaired by Gen. Thein Sein, who resigned as prime minister in April.

Okker said there have been signs of cracks inside the military regime as a
small few generals had shown sympathy towards the people.

When asked about what chance the people have of wresting power in the
election, Okker said: “they might not be successful in throwing out the
regime but it will open chances for more negotiations”.

Myanmar’s civil groups in exile have rallied support to boycott the
upcoming election, which has banned opposition party leader Aung San Suu
Kyi from running.

Suu Kyi was the winner of the last election in 1990 but the ruling junta
refused to recognize the result. The 20th anniversary of those elections
will fall on Thursday.

____________________________________

May 27, Agence France Presse
EU bid to pre-inspect Myanmar polls 'not finalised'

Brussels – EU efforts to get experts into Myanmar to check democratic
conditions for scheduled elections are "not finalised," foreign affairs
chief Catherine Ashton's office said on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Ashton said the English baroness "spoke briefly" with
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win in Madrid on the sidelines of a dinner
gathering the 27 European Union ministers and their 10 Association of
Southeast Asian Nations counterparts late on Wednesday.

However, spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said that the decision on how far to
press for access "is not for the High Representative to take, it's for
member states.

"We would like to do it, but it's not yet finalised," she said, stressing
that the idea was in the hands of member states' ambassadors.

A Spanish official warned on Wednesday that such an "exploratory mission"
to Yangon to discuss the polls would be "very complicated, very delicate"
with "no guarantees" that it would be able to see opposition leaders.

Ashton's bid followed a joint appeal to Myanmar to make the elections,
scheduled by the end of November, "a credible, transparent and inclusive
process."

At the Madrid meeting, the ministers said that "the early release of those
under detention would contribute to making the elections more inclusive
and help bring about a peaceful political dialogue," in a reference to
detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has boycotted the polls, as
it would have been forced to oust its iconic leader and recognise the
junta's constitution if it had signed up.

NLD members on Thursday marked 20 years since winning Myanmar's last polls
-- a result that the country's military junta, in power since 1962,
refused to recognise.

Nobel Peace prize winner Suu Kyi has spent much of the time under house
arrest.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

May 27, Jakarta Post
Myanmar’s prison of an election will also be ASEAN’s – U Win Tin

In Myanmar’s last elections, twenty years ago today, the people of Myanmar
voted for a democratic change by overwhelmingly electing the National
League for Democracy (NLD). However, the people’s desire was never
honored.

Ever since the military regime lost in the 1990 elections, they have been
trying to violently sideline the NLD.

The most recent evidence of this is the issuing of highly restrictive
election laws, requiring political parties, including the NLD, to cast out
members imprisoned as political prisoners and pledge to abide by the
deeply flawed 2008 Constitution.

These election laws have left us, the NLD, with no principled or practical
options but to refuse to participate in the elections. Other 1990
election-winning ethnic political parties have made the same decision.

If the military’s elections go ahead without the participation of key
parties and are accepted by the international community, the military rule
will be further entrenched and stand in the way of ASEAN’s goals of
regional peace, stability, and progress.

When the NLD began campaigning for the 1990 elections in Myanmar, our
members throughout the country saw the immense physical suffering and
widespread discontent that existed everywhere.

People were hungry for freedom and democratic change after decades of
living under a military dictatorship. The NLD’s triumph in the polls —
winning over 82 percent of seats in the parliament — was a strong sign
that people trusted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD to help bring
positive change to their country.

The NLD wanted to create a new constitution and a new Myanmar that
respected the rights of all people, through cooperation and trust
building. Though we were denied our rightful positions in the government,
we have continuously worked towards these goals and will do the same even
now that we have been outlawed by the regime.

We have repeatedly extended our hand to the military regime asking for the
inclusive dialogue needed to move towards national reconciliation, only to
be rejected time and time again. We were barred from participating in
their sham “Roadmap to Democracy,” including the writing of the 2008
Constitution.

With the announcement of new election laws, the regime officially annulled
the results of the 1990 elections and our landslide victory claiming, “the
result does not conform with the [2008] Constitution”.

 However, the constitution itself does not conform with the will of the
people as well as international standards. Forcibly ratified in the wake
of Cyclone Nargis, the constitution guarantees continued military
control, ethnic repression and restricts political freedom.

The NLD’s decision to not participate in the election has been quite
controversial. Some people in the international community see these
elections as a hopeful step forward. However, it is clear to us that they
will not improve the lives of the people of Myanmar. We cannot participate
in elections that go against the very principles of democracy, rule of
law, human rights for which thousands of people have sacrificed their
lives.

Moreover, we cannot participate for several practical reasons. The regime
continues to deny ethnic communities — over 30 percent of Myanmar’s
population — equal rights and self-determination resulting in ongoing
armed conflict, more refugees and increased instability.

Many ethnic communities and armed groups are opposing the elections unless
their demands for ethnic equality are met. They have supported Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi and the urgent need for genuine political dialogue, and we
will not turn our backs on their demands.

These elections will also not ease the dire poverty that the majority of
people in Myanmar face. The economy will still be under the control of the
hands of the military regime and its cronies, driven by their personal
gains rather than the needs of the people.

Despite the tremendous flaws with the upcoming elections, there has been a
noticeable and troubling silence from ASEAN. ASEAN must recognize that
what happens in Myanmar will affect the entire region.

ASEAN is working towards greater integration by 2015. However, if the
elections proceed according to the regime’s plans, ASEAN will be aligning
themselves with an unstable country that stands on false democratic
methods and restricting their own progress.
ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has excused ASEAN’s inaction by
stating that ASEAN is “not a magic wand that can deliver a miracle in
every issue.” ASEAN may not be a “magic wand”, but it is certainly poised
to have the greatest geostrategic influence on the behavior of its most
unruly member.

ASEAN has significant political leverage on Myanmar and must pressure the
regime to finally take the necessary steps towards national
reconciliation: release all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, cease attacks against ethnic communities, and engage in inclusive
dialogue with democratic and ethnic representatives. ASEAN can no longer
hide behind its policy of non-interference, allowing tyranny to continue
beyond these elections.

The NLD is committed to finding the right solutions for Myanmar. We made
the decision to not participate because it is what is right and what is
needed.

I implore ASEAN and the international community to do the same by calling
on the regime to take steps towards national reconciliation and genuine
democracy, and refuse to recognize the results of these elections if they
fail to do so.

The writer is a member of the central executive committee and a founder of
Myanmar’s National League for Democracy party. He was a political prisoner
for 19 years from 1989 to 2008.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

May 27, Human Rights Watch
Burma: 20 years after 1990 elections, democracy still denied repressive
laws mark preparation for 2010 polls

On the twentieth anniversary of Burma’s historic 1990 elections, the
Burmese military government shows no signs of relaxing its stranglehold on
power, Human Rights Watch said today.

Elections planned for 2010, the first in 20 years, appear designed to
enshrine military rule with a civilian face, Human Rights Watch said.

“The 1990 elections sent a clear message to the Burmese military that the
people wanted them out of power,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. “The generals won’t make the same mistake
twice. The past 20 years have been a stage-managed process to ensure the
military controls the future parliament.”

On May 27, 1990, surprisingly free and fair elections in Burma resulted in
a resounding win for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD),
which secured 60 percent of the popular vote and 80 percent of the
parliamentary seats (392 out of 485). The NLD will not contest the 2010
elections because of new laws aimed to deter the opposition from running
and the imprisonment of many party members, including NLD leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.

Burma’s military government refused to recognize the result of the 1990
elections and claimed that the vote was only to form an assembly to draft
a new constitution, not for a parliament. In the ensuing months, the
military government arrested and imprisoned dozens of opposition
parliamentarians, while scores fled Burma to seek refuge abroad.

The government’s tightly-controlled process of drafting a new constitution
dragged on for 14 years. The ruling State Peace and Development Council
announced its “Seven Step Road Map to Disciplined Democracy” in August
2003 as a renewed plan to complete the constitution and prepare for future
elections. In many of his public speeches, the Burmese president,
Senior-General Than Shwe, talked about moving the country to “discipline
flourishing democracy” in which the military would have a central role.

Those who participated in the constitutional drafting process did so at
great personal risk. Twelve members of parliament who won seats in 1990
remain in prison in Burma today, including 10 NLD members. Hkun Tun Oo,
the leader of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, and Kyaw Min
(aka Marmaud Shaoshu Arnolgula Haud), an ethnic Rohingya Muslim from
Arakan state, were arrested in 2005 even though both had attended the
national convention and tried to work within the military government’s
reform process. Each was sentenced to long prison terms: Hkun Tun Oo
received 93 years' imprisonment for treason, and Kyaw Min received 47
years for immigration offenses.

The new constitution was approved by a nationwide referendum in May 2008,
just weeks after the devastating Cyclone Nargis, in a process marked by
intimidation and irregularities.

“The military junta has tried to erase the memory of the 1990 elections by
imprisoning those who won and excluding political prisoners from the
process,” Pearson said. “What the generals call ‘disciplined democracy’ is
stage-managing a result and ordering the Burmese people to accept it.”

Human Rights Watch urged Burma’s close diplomatic and trade allies,
particularly China, India, Russia, and Singapore, to exert pressure on the
military government to pursue a genuinely open political reform process,
and to not endorse the upcoming elections. Criticism of the electoral
process has been recently voiced by the European Union Parliament in a
resolution on May 19, by the United States Assistant Secretary of State
for East Asia and the Pacific Curt Campbell during his recent visit to
Burma, and by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Human Rights
Watch called upon the international community to impose more calibrated
and targeted sanctions on the Burmese leadership, the military, and their
close business associates as the most effective way to pressure the
military government ahead of the elections.

“Only the most cynical of governments could endorse Burma’s deeply flawed
process,” Pearson said. “On the twentieth anniversary of a crushed
election, Burma’s friends should insist on the immediate release of
political prisoners and an inclusive and credible political process.”

Background information
Five electoral laws released in March 2010 set the ground rules for the
election expected in late 2010. The Political Party Registration Law (SPDC
Law No.2/2010, Chapter 1. 2(I)) prohibits political parties from having
members who are currently serving prison terms or detention orders. These
compelled the NLD to refuse to register their party for the 2010
elections, even though the party had struggled to retain its legal status
for 20 years after it won the 1990 elections.

The newly formed Electoral Commission overseeing political party
registration lacks independence since it is comprised of officials close
to the State Peace and Development Council. More than 37 political parties
have registered to contest the elections. These include the National Unity
Party, which won 21 percent of the vote in 1990, several ethnic parties
such as the Pa-O National Organization and Kokang Democracy and Unity
Party, and a pro-government Wunthanu (Patriotic) National League for
Democracy, comprised of some former NLD members.

In late April, the Burmese prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein, and more than
20 serving senior generals with ministerial portfolios, resigned from
their military posts and registered the Union Solidarity and Development
Party to contest the elections. The new pro-government party mirrors the
mass-based social welfare organization Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), formed by the military in 1993 and now comprising more
than 24 million nominal members nationwide. Paramilitary forces part of or
associated with the USDA have been used to intimidate and harass the
opposition, most notably in the violent attack against Aung San Suu Kyi’s
motorcade in Depayin in upper Burma on May 30, 2003, and during the
crackdown against monks and protesters in September 2007.

There are currently more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma,
including 428 members of the NLD arrested and sentenced since 1990, 253
monks, 282 student leaders, and prominent dissidents such as Min Ko Naing,
Burma’s famous comedian and social activist Zargana, poets, bloggers,
labor activists, and doctors. Human Rights Watch’s campaign 2,100 in 2010
aims to highlight the plight of these 2,100 prisoners and press for their
unconditional release ahead of the elections.

Conditions in Burmese prisons are desperate, with torture and
mistreatment, poor sanitation, inadequate health care, and irregular
visits and food supplies from family members. More than 120 political
prisoners are in poor health. Political prisoner Ko Kyaw Soe, age 39, died
on May 19, 2010, in Myingyan prison near Mandalay due to prolonged
ill-treatment in custody.

____________________________________

May 27, International Crisis Group
The Myanmar elections

Twenty years ago today, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party swept Myanmar’s
elections, but the army refused to allow the results to be implemented.
Later this year Myanmar will vote again in a process certain to be
seriously flawed but whose results and the constitution to be brought into
force will redefine the political landscape, influencing opportunities to
push for long-overdue social, economic and political reforms.

The Myanmar Elections , the latest briefing from the International Crisis
Group, updates recent developments and includes an analysis of the
electoral legislation issued in March 2010. It also provides a timeline
for implementation of the new constitutional structures after Election
Day, including the formation and initial functioning of the new national
and regional legislatures.

“It seems very likely that the vote will go ahead without any moves by the
regime to address concerns”, says Jim Della-Giacoma, Crisis Group’s South
East Asia Project Director. “The new political structures make it unlikely
that any single individual will be able to dominate decision-making in the
way that the head of government, Than Shwe, has in recent years”.

 The balloting will take place in the framework of the new constitution,
adopted in 2008. That document, which will come into force following the
elections, will entrench military power by reserving a quarter of the
seats in national and regional legislatures for the army and by creating
a powerful new national defence and security council controlled by the
commander-in-chief, who receives control of key security ministries and
other extraordinary powers.

The top leaders, Generals Than Shwe and Maung Aye, will step aside after
the elections, making way for a younger generation of military officers.
Although they may continue to wield significant influence behind the
scenes, the reins of power will be in new hands.

Given restrictive provisions of the 2010 Political Parties Registration
Law that bar anyone serving a prison term from membership in a political
party, many imprisoned dissidents will be excluded from the process,
unless they are released in the near future. Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991
Nobel Peace Prize winner whose suspended sentence and house arrest
possibly exclude her also, has condemned the legislation; her National
League for Democracy (NLD) decided not to participate and consequently has
been deprived of its status as a registered party.

The current electoral legislation is in most respects almost identical to
the laws governing the 1990 poll, including provisions that led to a
broadly fair count. There has rightly been much international criticism of
the new constitution and of the fact that the elections will not be
inclusive, but the political and generational shift that the elections
will bring about may nevertheless represent the best opportunity in a
generation to influence the future direction of the country.

“The elections will be characterised by a campaigning period that is
highly controlled and far from free, but the voting on Election Day may
well be relatively fair”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group Asia Program
Director. “Such a scenario presents important challenges, as well as
opportunities, to domestic stakeholders and to the international
community”.

____________________________________

May 26, PEN American Center
Burmese poet Saw Wei released from prison

PEN American Center welcomed the release of imprisoned Burmese poet Saw
Wei today, calling the release “long overdue.” Saw Wei was freed nearly
five months after his sentence expired and two and a half years after he
was sent to prison for “inducing crime against public tranquility” for one
of his poems.

Saw Wei was arrested on January 2, 2008, after his poem “February the
Fourteenth,” an eight-line verse about Valentine’s Day, was published in
the Rangoon-based weekly magazine Love Journal. An acrostic poem, when the
first letters of each line are put together, they read “General Than Shwe
is crazy with power” in Burmese. The magazine quickly sold out as word
spread of the coded message.

“While we are pleased that Saw Wei was finally released today, we are
profoundly disappointed that officials kept him in prison more than four
months after his sentence was due to expire,” said Larry Siems, Freedom to
Write and International Programs Director at PEN American Center. “Of
course, Saw Wei should never have been in prison in the first place, as
his only ‘crime’ was writing a poem. Now, as Myanmar prepares for
important elections this year, the world is watching to see if the junta
follows the rule of law and releases the many other writers, journalists,
and bloggers still imprisoned in that country today, including Nay Phone
Latt.”

PEN American Center is the largest of the 145 centers of International
PEN, the world’s oldest human rights organization and the oldest
international literary organization. The Freedom to Write Program of PEN
American Center works to protect the freedom of the written word wherever
it is imperiled. It defends writers and journalists from all over the
world who are imprisoned, threatened, persecuted, or attacked in the
course of carrying out their profession. For more information on PEN’s
work, please visit www.pen.org

For more information contact:
Sarah Hoffman, (212) 334-1660 ext. 111, sarah at pen.org
Larry Siems, (646) 359-0594, lsiems at pen.org