BurmaNet News, June 22, 2010

[Editor]

June 22, Issue #3987


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: NLD top leaders take roadshow to grass roots
DVB: Burmese courts ‘breaching domestic law’
Irrawaddy: The junta's new look

ON THE BORDER
VOA: Burmese migrants in Thailand facing increased scrutiny
Daily Star (Bangladesh): Dhaka readies for long legal battle

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Online banking cards available in Burma

INTERNATIONAL
The Washington Times: Shut-out activists in Burma seek Obama's help
New York Times: Agency works to free political prisoners
DVB: Suu Kyi receives Benazir Bhutto award

OPINION / OTHER
Nation (Thailand): Burma's nuclear ambition is apparently real and
alarming – Robert Kelly
Brunei Times: Suu Kyi needs more than just tributes – Editorial
Globe and Mail (Canada): Aung San Suu Kyi’s unhappy birthday – Irwin Cotler



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 22, Mizzima News
NLD top leaders take roadshow to grass roots – Myint Maung

New Delhi – Leaders of the National League for Democracy are conducting a
roadshow of states and divisions to meet grass-roots members, explain
policies and listen to the challenges they are facing since the party was
declared illegal and disbanded by the ruling military junta early last
month after deciding against registering under “unjust” electoral laws, a
senior leader said.

The tour comes at the request of NLD general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi,
central executive committee member Ohn Kyaing said.


>From June 12, NLD central executive committee members Ohn Kyaing and Kyi

Win have been on a tour set to take in Moegyoke, Thapatekyin, Mattaya,
Patheingyi, Meiktila, Myinchan, Kyaukpadaung, Nyaung Oo in Mandalay
Division and Pakokku in Magway Division. Similarly, central executive
committee members Dr Win Tin and Han Tha Myint, and Bahan Township NLD
chairman Aung Myint, have been touring Karen State since Saturday, Suu
Kyi’s 65th birthday.

“We will not hold political meetings, issue political statements or direct
the grass roots of the party. But we do need to find out about conditions
on the ground,” Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima. “Aung San Suu Kyi told us to meet
our political colleagues and listen to their difficulties.”

Suu Kyi issued the directive to listen to grass-roots voices when she met
her lawyer Nyan Win. At the meeting, she asked the leaders to carry the
message to township leaders that although the NLD had been barred from
political activities, the group should continue working for national
reconciliation, human rights and democracy as a leading political
opposition group.

In the states and divisions visited so far during the NLD tours, the
senior party executives explained to grass-roots party members the nature
of the junta’s one-sided and unjust electoral laws and the party’s
decision against re-registering with the junta’s Union Election Commission
(UEC). Township members said they supported the party’s decisions and that
they would follow unanimously the leadership of Suu Kyi and party policy,
the party sources said.

Ohn Kyaing said: “Aung San Suu Kyi, party’s vice-chairman Tin Oo and CEC
member Win Tin told us to carry out non-profit social services under a
political agenda.”

CEC members met grass-roots party leaders Thein Tan and Dr. Zaw Myint
Maung, NLD leaders in Mandalay Division. NLD members Myo Naing and Maung
Maung Than also attended. Ohn Kyaing said the team would visit townships
in Magway including Pakkoku after Mandalay.

A group led by Win Tin has since Saturday visited Hlaingbwe and Phaan in
Karen State. He called in on the party grass roots in Mandalay, Pegu
(Bago) and Rangoon Divisions early this year.

____________________________________

June 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese courts ‘breaching domestic law’ – Khin Hnin Htet

Denial of legal aid and detention without charge for the man arrested in
connection to a series of grenade attacks in Rangoon in April is in
violation of Burmese domestic law, his lawyer has said.

Phyo Wei Aung was initially held in Rangoon’s Insein prison on a 14-day
remand after being arrested on 23 April, although the remand appears to
have been extended. Police claim he was behind the bombings on 15 April
that left nine dead and hundreds injured, although no charges have been
brought.

His lawyer told DVB that he tried to meet with his client on 21 June but
was denied access. Kyaw Ho is apparently yet be given approval by the
government’s intelligence branch to speak with Phyo Wei Aung, but said the
restriction breaches Burmese domestic law. It is the fourth time he has
requested permission to see his client.

“There was no reason given for not allowing the meeting,” he said. “His
detention is also not in accordance with the law which states that a
person cannot be detained for more than 30 days [without charge], even if
facing a charge that can be penalised by the death sentence.”

The lawyer said that his client is likely to be brought before the court
on 28 June when his remand expires. Phyo Wei Aung is accused by the
government of being a member of the Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors,
stormed the Burmese embassy in Bangkok in 1999 and took 38 hostages.

Htay Htay, wife of Phyo Wei Aung, said he has been denied medical
assistance and not allowed to exercise since his arrest. Furthermore,
prison authorities have allegedly ignored his requests to see a doctor.

She said the prison also refused to hand him a copy of the state-run
Myanmar Ahlin newspaper issue which carried a report on Burma police chief
Khin Yi’s press conference on the bombing.

“[Phyo Wei Aung] said he wanted to read about the conference in the
newspaper so I sent it [to the prison] about three weeks ago, but he
didn’t receive it. So I took another copy [on Monday] and was told that
newspapers will not be allowed,” she said.

“I complained that the newspaper was a legally published material but [the
prison officials] said the government ones are not allowed.”

Police said that three grenades had been thrown into the crowds who were
celebrating the annual water festival close to Rangoon’s Kandawgyi lake.
Another device, made with a beer can filled with explosive powder and
attached by detonation wire to a mobile telephone, failed to explode.

Meanwhile, a father and son arrested after photographing the aftermath of
the grenade attacks are also being held in Insein prison and are yet to be
convicted of any offense.

____________________________________

June 22, Irrawaddy
The junta's new look

Is this photo a sneak preview of what civilian rule in Burma will look like?

While many observers predict that the end of military rule will bring no
more than superficial change, they may not have realized just how cosmetic
it will be.

After years of wearing the same old uniforms, it seems that Prime Minister
Thein Sein and his entourage of government ministers couldn't wait to make
a statement that would really tell the world that Burma is about to break
out of the straitjacket of military rule.

The photo shows Thein Sein et al welcoming visiting Laotian Prime Minister
Bouasone Bouphavanh (wearing a business suit) at a military compound in
Naypyidaw on Monday. From head to toe, they are dressed in nothing but the
best in traditional Burmese finery: gaungbaung headdresses, immaculately
white taikpon jackets, brightly colored silk longgyi and velvet sandals
normally reserved for Buddhist novitiation ceremonies.

Along with Thein Sein, 26 other generals resigned from the military in
April to take part in this year's election as political candidates for the
pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), including many
who appear in this photograph.

The USDP has been officially registered by Burma's election commission and
currently faces criticism from other political parties that its inclusion
of government ministers violates election laws.

Their ostentatious fashion statement notwithstanding, it is interesting to
note that the ministers who appear in this photograph are standing stiffly
at attention—more like good soldiers than ministers greeting a foreign
dignitary.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 22, Voice of America
Burmese migrants in Thailand facing increased scrutiny – Daniel Schearf

Bangkok – A rights group in Thailand says a government crackdown on
unregistered migrant workers, most of them from Burma, could encourage
rights abuses.

The Human Rights and Development Foundation says Thai authorities are
targeting for arrest migrant workers who failed to take part in a
nationality verification program.

The HRDF says the government this month set up a special center to manage
a crackdown on about 300,000 migrant workers who missed a February
deadline to begin the verification process.

The rights group says hundreds of migrants have already been arrested and
more arrests are expected.

Somchai Homlaor is a human rights lawyer and secretary general of the
HRDF. He says the crackdown and high demand for cheap migrant labor will
only encourage bribes and other criminal activities that the registration
program was meant to prevent. He says the deadline to apply for
nationality verification should be extended.

"The Thai government should open for the registering of these illegal
migrant workers and allow them to become workers who work in Thailand
legally, that they will not [be] subject to the exploitation and abuse of
the power of the authority," he said.

The nationality verification program is part of the government's effort to
give migrant workers legal protections and better access to public
services.

There are more than two million migrant workers in Thailand, many of them
illegally or without proper documentation. More than 80 percent are from
Burma.

Their access to education and health care is limited and they are often
taken advantage of by crooked employers, but have few legal remedies.

Only legal migrants were allowed to participate in the verification
process. About 800,000 from Burma applied while an estimated one million
unregistered were excluded and are subject to arrest and deportation.

Under the program, migrant workers are required to verify their
nationality with their home government before they will be issued a work
permit in Thailand.

But Somchai says Burma's military government does not recognize some
ethnic groups, such as the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, as citizens of
Burma.

"There are many, many workers from Burma that will not be able to pass
their national verification process and they will not get the passport
from Burmese authority and will not get the work permit from the Thai
authority. This is the big question that what Thailand will do for this
group of [what] becomes the stateless persons. We don't have a clear
answer from the Thai government even though we raised this issue some time
ago," he said.

Somchai says many migrants from Burma also refused to register for fear of
persecution from Burmese authorities.

Others, he says, could not afford fees for brokers who help migrant
workers through the application process or were not aware of the
verification requirement.

Thailand depends on migrants as a cheap source of manual labor. Many work
on construction sites and fishing boats, or as household servants.

____________________________________

June 22, Daily Star (Bangladesh)
Dhaka readies for long legal battle – Rezaul Karim

Bangladesh is preparing for a lengthy legal battle at an international
tribunal to establish its claim over territorial waters in the Bay of
Bengal, as talks for an amicable settlement of maritime boundary disputes
with India and Myanmar do not seem promising.

Bangladesh's documents in the case regarding the dispute with Myanmar have
been finalised, and will be filed at the International Tribunal for the
Law of the Sea (ITLOS) by July 1. The deadline for filing of
counter-documents by Myanmar is December 1.

Bangladesh is also scheduled to submit, by May 31, 2011, a memorandum to
the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations, claiming its legitimate
authority over territorial waters in connection with the dispute with
India. India will submit a counter-memorandum by May 31, 2012.

The Bangladesh government already appointed a panel of foreign experts to
prepare the documents for the legal battle at the UN, foreign ministry
sources said.

Besides, a technical team of Bangladeshi experts, led by a retired navy
official, is currently reviewing the legal provisions, while also
negotiating with Myanmar.

Despite Bangladesh's move for seeking UN involvement, the country's
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a press conference on June 13, "We have
kept open the option of amicable settlement through bilateral
discussions."

Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN, regarding the claims of India
and Myanmar on October 8, 2009, as it has disputes with both countries in
two areas -- ''natural prolongation of the continental shelf and the
baseline".

ITLOS already nominated three of the five arbitrators of the tribunal
instituted for settlement of the dispute with India. The three are Tullio
Treves of Italy, Ivan Anthony Shearer of Australia, and Rudiger Wolfrum of
Germany.

Bangladesh nominated Alan Vaughan Lowe, former professor of international
law at the University of Oxford, and India proposed the name of P
Sreenivasa Rao, former legal adviser to its external affairs ministry.

ITLOS, with its headquarters in Germany, is an independent judicial body
established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) to
adjudicate disputes arising out of interpretation and application of the
convention.

India submitted its claim to the Commission on the Limits of the
Continental Shelf (CLCS), a UN body that also deals with the law of the
seas.

A high official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star
that the UNCLOS wing of the ministry is working relentlessly, and
coordinating with legal experts, to put forward the country's claims at
ITLOS by July this year in the legal battle with Myanmar as well.

There will be 23 judges (21 from ITLOS and one each nominated by
Bangladesh and Myanmar) during the hearing of Bangladesh's objection to
Myanmar's claim.

ITLOS finds it necessary to authorise the presentation of the reply and
rejoinder.

According to the UN body set schedule, Bangladesh is to reply to Myanmar's
statement by March 2011, and Myanmar is to give its rejoinder by July
2011.

Bangladesh official sources said the hearing of their and Myanmar's claims
will begin at the end of next year, and it might take two to two and a
half years for the final judgment. Arbitration settlement with India might
take five years, they added.

The officials said demarcation of maritime boundary is a lengthy battle
because of its complicated nature and importance. "We are trying to engage
all our resources and best efforts, no matter how many years it takes to
establish our legitimate claims in the Bay."

The UNCLOS wing of the Bangladesh foreign ministry already sought a fund
of Tk 80 crore for the legal battles, and sent a relevant letter to the
finance ministry.

Meantime, Myanmar at the fifth round of technical level talks with
Bangladesh, held in January in Chittagong, shifted from its rigid position
for following the equidistance method, and agreed to resolve the dispute
on the basis of "equity and equidistance of resources".

But at the sixth round of the talks Myanmar brought a new proposal for
drawing a line near the "friendship line", which is an imaginary line down
to St Martin's Island in the northeast part of the Bay.

The sixth round was held in Myanmar's new capital Nay Pyi Taw on March 17
and 18, where the Bangladesh expert-level delegation was led by Additional
Foreign Secretary (UNCLOS) Rear Admiral (retd) Md Khurshed Alam.

Bangladesh officials said the sixth round of the talks did not progress
much as Myanmar made the new proposal which apparently seems just a tactic
for buying time, and for delaying a resolution through bilateral means.

Though the Bangladesh side agreed to consider Myanmar's new proposal, the
officials said preparations are going on in full swing for the legal
battle at ITLOS.

Talking to The Daily Star, Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam recently said
the talks with Myanmar are still at the technical level.

About bilateral talks with both India and Myanmar, he said Bangladesh is
ready to sit with any of its neighbours to resolve the disputes.

Speaking anonymously, another foreign ministry official said there has
been no meeting with India for a long time, and it seems India wants to
resolve the disputes through arbitration by the UN.

According to UNCLOS, any coastal country is entitled to have first 12
nautical miles from its baseline as territorial sea, 24 nautical miles as
contiguous zone, and the next adjoining 200 nautical miles as its
exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Generally a state's EEZ extends to a distance of 200 nautical miles out
from its coast. But in the cases of Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar the
situation is difficult, as coasts of these countries follow a curve
creating overlap of territories.

In 1974, Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to have
declared its jurisdictions on territorial waters, economic zones, and
continental shelf by legislating the Territorial and Maritime Zones Act.

Since then there was a series of meetings with India and Myanmar, but
negotiations remained inconclusive as all three countries took different
approaches to demarcate their maritime boundaries.

Bangladesh favours a principle based on equity, which actually resulted in
an area of overlap, while India and Myanmar favours line-based
equidistance system to get bigger maritime areas.

Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a
country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other
human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through
geometric calculations.

According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of
equity, and in light of relevant circumstances. And that makes
Bangladesh's demand for equity based demarcation the best choice.

The convention also says the states will first try to settle disputes
through negotiations, and if the negotiations fail, the principle of
equity will apply -- implying that justice and fairness must be the
hallmark of settlement.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 22, Irrawaddy
Online banking cards available in Burma – Nayee Lin Latt

Banking online smart cards for the Myanmar Economic Bank (MEB) and
soon-to-be-opened private banks are now available for the first time in
Burma, according to the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM).

According to a CBM statement, the electronic banking cards are available
as credit cards, debit cards and smart cards.

A CBM statement said the electronic banking cards are available at MEB
branches in Naypyidaw; Rangoon branches No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5; Rangoon
Savings Branch No. 3 and in Mandalay at branches No. 1 and No. 2  by
opening a new account with 1 million kyat (US $1,025).  Private bank
customers are only required to have a savings account.

The banking system in Burma has been widely criticized for inefficiency
and a lack of modern banking procedures. Many banking analysts said  that
electronic banking cards were an effort to upgrade the banking system, but
questioned if the country's banking system, and the general public, were
ready for such procedures.

Ye Ye Myint, a retired professor at the University of Economics in
Rangoon, said: “It's hard even to open a bank account in Burma. For
instance, a customer needs two guarantors to open an account. Businessmen
have difficulty getting loans, there's no regular interest rate and people
have little confidence in the operation of banks.

“Banking habits are not popular yet in the country, and also there's the
memory of the banking crises of 1990 and 2003. Many people question how
much they can trust banks.”

Private banks in Burma were allowed to organize in 1990.

The military government set off a banking crisis in February 2003 when it
closed a dozen private banks. As people began a run on deposits, the
regime capped withdrawal limits at 50,000 kyat ($50) per week and
temporarily canceled account transfer transactions, which significantly
disrupted the national economy.

The CBM was criticized for not lending any support during the crisis, and
revoking the licenses of Asia Wealth, Myanmar May Flower and Myanmar
Universal banks for improper banking procedures and acquiring land through
illegal means.

The US Treasury Department named the Mayflower Bank and Asia Wealth Bank
as “primary money laundering concerns” under the USA Patriot Act, which
was enacted to fight terrorism after September 11, 2001. The US said the
banks were linked to illegal narcotics trafficking organizations in
Southeast Asia.

Burmese drug officials at that time claimed they didn’t have enough
expertise to deal with money laundering and financial crimes.

Many observers have suggested that the government must eliminate
corruptions and establish an effective monitoring system to guarantee
banking standards and procedures.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 21, The Washington Times
Shut-out activists in Burma seek Obama's help – Ashish Kumar Sen

Will President Obama have any impact on this fall's midterm elections?

Pro-democracy activists in Burma want the Obama administration to reject
the military junta's plans to hold elections from which they have been
shut out this year.

In a series of e-mail interviews with The Washington Times, members of
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's political party — National League for
Democracy (NLD) — said the Obama administration must tell the junta it
considers illegitimate a vote that excludes the pro-democracy opposition.

Following an extensive review of U.S. policy, the Obama administration has
opted to use engagement and sanctions to deal with Burma's reclusive
military leaders.

Win Tin, an adviser to Mrs. Suu Kyi and a founder of NLD, said from Burma
that while the NLD welcomes direct engagement between the Obama
administration and the junta, "I believe that a more assertive policy is
needed."

Win Tin was a political prisoner in his country from 1989 to 2008.

"The military will not move toward a dialogue with the NLD and the
[ethnic] nationalities unless the forthcoming elections are opposed by the
international communities," Win Tin said.

Burma's military rulers have enacted election laws that force parties to
expel members with criminal records, including political prisoners such as
Mrs. Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest for 14 of the past 20
years. There are more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, according
to Human Rights Watch.

Parties also are required to swear allegiance to the 2008 constitution,
under which the military is guaranteed a quarter of the seats in the lower
house of parliament and one-third in the upper house regardless of the
outcome of the vote.

The laws forced NLD to choose to expel its senior leaders or disband. The
party decided to boycott the vote, and the country's ruler, Senior Gen.
Than Shwe, dissolved the NLD in May for refusing to register under the
laws.

The government has yet to announce a date for the elections, but it is
widely expected that they will be held Oct. 10 — 10/10/10 — given the
junta's obsession with numbers.

Tin Oo, vice chairman of NLD, said from Burma that he is worried "the
junta's plans to hold elections are a way of legitimizing the military
rulers of Burma."

"I do believe that [President] Obama's administration should engage the
junta with the strongest pressure," said Tin Oo, who was released by the
junta in February after spending nearly seven years in prison and under
house arrest.

Nyo Ohn Myint, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NLD
(Liberated Area), said from Thailand that the junta's first priority is
"exclusion of potential opposition regardless of international
condemnation."

He accused the Obama administration of having "very little interest" in
Burma. "Burma is too complicated, and no politicians in the U.S. want to
take a lead," he added.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to freely
discuss developments in Burma, said the Obama administration is "extremely
disappointed by the recently announced election laws in Burma that have
effectively excluded important political parties, including the NLD, from
the political process and prohibited Aung San Suu Kyi from participating."

The official said while the Obama administration has initiated "a
senior-level diplomatic dialogue with the Burmese authorities, U.S.
sanctions remain in place." The sanctions continue to be an important
element of U.S. policy and an "important source of leverage for
influencing the regime's behavior," the official said.

Burmese opposition leaders also want the Obama administration to enforce
financial and banking sanctions against the generals and call on the
United Nations to investigate crimes against humanity committed by the
regime.

Aung Din was one of the student leaders who organized a nationwide
pro-democracy uprising in Burma in 1988. He was arrested by military
intelligence in April 1989 and sentenced by a military court to four years
in prison. After his release, he was terrorized by military intelligence
and local authorities, who frequently knocked on his door in the middle of
the night and scared off potential employers.

"I have had enough experiences about the brutalities of the military thugs
who rule the country against the will of citizens of Burma throughout my
life," said Aung Din, who is the executive director of the U.S. Campaign
for Burma in Washington.

Aung Din said had the NLD participated in the election, it would have
helped the regime in its attempt to gain legitimacy.

"To our disappointment, the international community is divided on Burma,
and even some democratic countries in [the] European Union are inclined to
support the election although they know that it is not free, fair,
democratic or inclusive," he said. "The most important thing we want is
strong U.S. leadership on Burma."

Mr. Myint said Mrs. Suu Kyi sees the U.S. "playing good cop and bad cop 

she clearly says that if U.S. accepts the current political development,
no one can have any achievements."

"Washington should have a road map so that all parties can enjoy their
future," Mr. Myint said.

____________________________________

June 22, New York Times
Agency works to free political prisoners – Stuart Elliott

The advertising agency JWT has teamed up with Human Rights Watch for an
unusual display in Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday that seeks to
generate support for freeing political prisoners in Myanmar (formerly
Burma).

The display, created by JWT, consists of a lightbox that is an art and
photography installation, which is designed to look like a prison complex.
The “bars” of the cells, however, are actually pens, which people can use
to sign a petition calling on the leader of the Myanmar military
government to release the country’s political prisoners, whom Human Rights
Watch says number 2,100.

The display went up at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and is to remain until 7 p.m.
Monks from the International Burma Monks Association were on hand for the
opening.

“The goal of the project is public outreach and education directed at the
United Nations ahead of the coming General Assembly,” Minky Worden, a
spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch, wrote in an e-mail message.

Consideration is being given to putting up the display in other cities as
well

____________________________________

June 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Suu Kyi receives Benazir Bhutto award – Francis Wade

Burma’s opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been honoured with an award
created in memory of the assassinated former Pakistan prime minister,
Benazir Bhutto.

The award was timed to coincide with Suu Kyi’s birthday on 19 June, which
she spent at her lakeside Rangoon compound where she has been held under
house arrest for 15 of the past 20 years.

It is the first time the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Award for democracy,
instituted by the Pakistan People’s Party, which Bhutto chaired until her
death in December 2007, has been bestowed. Bhutto had become the first
female prime minister of an Islamic country, and like Suu Kyi, had
inherited a political legacy from her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was
assassinated in 1979.

Bhutto was also hailed for her work in promoting human rights and women’s
empowerment in Pakistan, but she was dismissed from office in 1990 by
then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan on charges that her family had laundered
money through Swiss banks. Bhutto maintained however that the allegations
were political.

She was forced into exile in 2006 after the Pakistan government, under the
behest of Pervez Musharraf, then-president and head of the army, requested
her arrest by Interpol. But two months after her return to Pakistan in
October 2007, where she set out on the campaign trail for elections, she
was killed by a gunman. The attack appeared to have been carefully
planned: several bombs subsequently exploded around the car that she was
travelling in as she rallied supporters.

Colleagues of Bhutto claim that on the day she was killed, she had planned
to reveal evidence of what she said were plans by the ruling government to
rig the elections. The allegations now hold resonance in Burma, where
campaigning for elections is underway that critics of the ruling junta
have decried as a sham aimed at extending military rule. Suu Kyi, whose
National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the 1990
elections, is barred from participating.

But less heroic allegations link Bhutto and Burma: two years ago a
Pakistani journalist, Shyam Bhatia, who knew Bhutto well published a book
in which he claimed the Pakistan figurehead in 1993 had handed North Korea
critical data on uranium enrichment for a bomb. Pakistan’s nuclear
development programme was by then well underway, and in 1998 it tested its
first nuclear weapon. Eight years later, North Korea became a nuclear
power.

The allegations were based on conversations Bhatia claimed he had with
Bhutto in 2003, but which were immediately rubbished by those close to
her. Bhatia alleges that Bhutto told him she had handed the information
over to Pyongyang as barter for new missile technology to counter India’s
growing military might.

Bhatia’s work has been given credence by a number of prominent military
analysts, including David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science
and International Security, although Bhutto claimed that missile
technology eventually obtained from North Korea was paid for in cash.

But now evidence has surfaced that North Korea, the world’s newest nuclear
power, has assisted Burma in the development of an advanced weapons
programme that may include trade in nuclear material. If Bhatia’s claims
are true, then Bhutto may well have played a hand in the creation of a
military nexus which much of the international community now fears could
destabilise the Southeast Asia region.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 22, Nation (Thailand)
Burma's nuclear ambition is apparently real and alarming – Robert Kelly

The evidence presented in the Democratic Voice of Burma's documentary,
"Burma's Nuclear Ambitions", is thorough, compelling and alarming.
Although Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons has long been rumoured, the
documentary contains new information from a recent defector who provided
DVB with photographs, documents and a view from inside the secretive
military that should finally put to rest any doubt about Burma's nuclear
ambition. The evidence includes chemical processing equipment for
converting uranium compounds into forms for enrichment, reactors and
bombs. Taken altogether in Burma's covert programme, they have but one use
- nuclear weapons.

Prior to the airing of the documentary, the DVB invited a team of
international experts, including individuals with experience in military
tunneling, missiles, nuclear proliferation, and weapons inspections
protocol to review its information and assess its conclusions. The
evidence was so consistent - from satellite images to blueprints, colour
photographs, insider accounts and detailed budgets - and so copious that I
agreed to appear in the documentary to offer my advice concerning Burma's
nuclear ambitions.

As a former Los Alamos analyst and a director of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), I have spent 30 years investigating allegations of
this nature. After a careful review of the information, I became convinced
that Burma's pursuit of nuclear technology violates the limits imposed on
it by its agreements with the IAEA.

I authored a report on the findings, "Nuclear Activities in Burma", which
explains the evidence and concludes that Burma is probably in violation of
several international agreements concerning nuclear proliferation.

However, the IAEA is limited in its leverage over Burma, which has failed
to upgrade its two obsolete IAEA agreements and failed to execute a new
IAEA agreement called the "Additional Protocol", which would give the IAEA
greater powers to question Burma and demand inspections in the country.

The Additional Protocol was a priority of former IAEA director-general and
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed El Baradei. In May, Chad became the 100th
country to sign the Additional Protocol, while only a few remain outside
its reach, including Iran and Syria. Burma also shields itself from
questions and inspections using another out-of-date agreement called a
"Small Quantities Protocol". This exempts states that only have small
amounts of nuclear materials and no nuclear facilities from IAEA
inspections and close oversight. The new evidence presented in the DVB
documentary makes a compelling case that Burma's pursuit of nuclear
weapons now places it in the category of countries where the Small
Quantities Protocol would no longer apply.

With outdated protocols governing its IAEA participation, Burma may
believe it can resist IAEA demands. However, given the serious and
troubling nature of the allegations of Burma's nuclear ambitions, the IAEA
and the international community must vigorously pursue all tools at their
disposal to compel Burma's cooperation. For starters, the IAEA can
unilaterally cut off all aid to Burma in improving its nuclear
infrastructure through expert visits, grants and equipment purchases, and
to any other state that has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty or
agreed to the Additional Protocol.

While these new agreements are voluntary, the provision of so-called
technical cooperation funds is a voluntary act on the part of the IAEA as
well. It would send a clear message to Burma that the IAEA takes this
issue seriously and will no longer tolerate anything less than Burma's
full cooperation with the international community on the monitoring of
Burma's nascent nuclear programme. Although some of the aid (US$1.3
million in 2008-2009) goes for medical and humanitarian assistance, other
programmes support training nuclear experts and professionals in Burma,
which is clearly inconsistent with the IAEA's interest in trying to nip a
covert nuclear programme in the bud.

The new information on Burma's nuclear ambitions is now available to
experts and governments around the world. Yet, even before the IAEA has
even officially enquired about it, the Burmese government has denied it.
Given Burma's track record in working with the international community,
there is little doubt what Burma's answer will be when it is formally
asked.

DVB's reportage brought to light Burma's nuclear ambition; it is also a
call to anyone in Burma who knows more about covert programmes in nuclear,
missile technology, and other weapons of mass destruction to come forward.
Other defectors, such as Major Sai Thein Win, are likely to come forward.
Many people know the truth, and it will take only a few more brave souls
to expose the programme for the world to see.

Too many states have proliferated while the world stood back and watched.
The A Q Khan network sold nuclear weapons technology from Pakistan and
operated observed but untouched for possibly twenty years. The possibility
that Burma is trying to build nuclear weapons has been a suspicion for the
last decade, but now the evidence is much clearer. The world needs to get
serious about choking off Burma's covert programme through export controls
via the Nuclear Suppliers Group and strengthening the hand of the IAEA.

Burma is one of the world's most repressive and secretive regimes. Its
ample natural wealth, including gas and oil reserves that will bring in
billions of dollars annually in hard currency, make it a natural buyer for
North Korea and other countries with nuclear know-how to sell. Last month,
the UN Security Council received a 47-page report issued by a seven-member
panel of experts on North Korea's export of nuclear technology. The UN
experts noted "suspicious activity in Burma".

Burma's pursuit of nuclear weapons requires immediate international
attention. Allowing yet another dictatorship to acquire the world's most
powerful weapons is not an option.

Robert Kelley is a recently retired director of the IAEA with over 30
years experience in nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

____________________________________

June 22, Brunei Times
Suu Kyi needs more than just tributes – Editorial

AS Myanmar pro-democracy and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated
her 65th birthday last Saturday in incarceration in her dilapidated
lakeside compound in Yangon, calls for her freedom reverberated across the
world.

In a birthday message, US President Barack Obama hailed Suu Kyi's
"determination, courage and personal sacrifice in working for human rights
and democratic change".

"I once again call on the Burmese (Myanmar) government to release Aung San
Suu Kyi and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally and to
allow them to build a more stable, prosperous Burma that respects the
rights of all its citizens," he said.

Same messages were conveyed by other world leaders, including Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who in a rare departure from the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (Asean) policy of non-interference
in members' internal affairs, called on the Myanmar junta to embrace
democracy and hoped that the electoral reforms adopted in Myanmar this
year would involve all political players.

Despite overwhelming tributes and peace vigils over the world, the fact of
the matter is that Suu Kyi has now spent 15 birthdays in detention over
the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest. She is the world's only
imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner.

This clearly highlights the failure of the international community to
exert pressure on the military junta and extract something tangible.

The US policy of imposing unilateral trade and investment sanctions
against Myanmar has proven to be a failure on all fronts as they
(sanctions) have done nothing to improve the living conditions or human
rights of the people of Myanmar. For its (Myanmar's) military it's
business as usual. The suppression of basic human rights and freedom of
speech continues unabated.

According to Amnesty International, pro-democracy activists and ethnic
minority groups face systematic repression by the military authorities,
including through arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, imprisonment, torture
and extrajudicial executions. It says that since the start of the
so-called Saffron Revolution in 2007 the number of political prisoners has
doubled.

Amidst such conditions, the junta plans to hold historic elections for
later this year — the first in two decades. However, Suu Kyi's party,
which overwhelmingly won the last election in 1990, will not be taking
part.

Under new election laws, Suu Kyi and other political prisoners — estimated
at more than 2,000 — are effectively barred from taking part in the polls.

The newly-established government-controlled election panel has been given
the power to prevent or annul voting in any part of the country for
"security reasons". The international community, including Myanmar's
influential neighbours such as China, India and Japan and the Asean
countries has called for the forthcoming elections to be "free and fair".

The question is how free and fair elections can be held under the present
regime which has barred a prominent political player from public life. Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has rightly boycotted the polls
because under such conditions, the polls will be anything but fair and
free.

With each passing year one does not see any sign of flexibility in the
attitude of the military junta and Suu Kyi continues to remain in
detention.

If the international community wants to pay real tribute to the world's
most famous prisoner of conscience it needs to do more than just praise
her steely determination and willpower. Suu Kyi's dedication to
non-violence in pressing for change has placed her along with Nelson
Mandela.

The world needs to exert the same kind of pressure on the military junta
which was applied against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Otherwise,
Suu Kyi will again celebrate her next birthday in detention and we will
witness customary condemnation of the junta and tributes paid to her fight
for democracy in her country.

____________________________________

June 22, Globe and Mail (Canada)
Aung San Suu Kyi’s unhappy birthday – Irwin Cotler

UN group condemns continuing ‘illegal’ detention of Myanmarese democracy
leader.

In an important – though largely unacknowledged decision – the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared unequivocally
that the ongoing detention of Myanmarese democracy leader and Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is “in violation of international law,”
and it has urged her immediate and unconditional release.

In particular, the group condemned the Myanmarese junta’s “illegal”
imprisonment of Ms. Suu Kyi – an honorary citizen of Canada – on the
grounds that she “was not informed of the reasons for her arrest; had no
effective remedy to challenge her detention; no records were given to her;
she was never informed of her rights; she has been denied communication
with the [o]utside world; and is being detained because of her political
views.”

The UN decision also noted that a lawyer for Ms. Suu Kyi lost his licence
simply for daring to represent her, that her trial was conducted in
private and that the media were denied the right to speak to defence
witnesses, some of whom were banned from testifying while all of the
prosecution witnesses, nearly five times as many, were heard.

The UN working group said it “deems it necessary to recall that the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right not to be
arbitrarily detained, as well as the rights to due process and a fair
trial, and to freedom of opinion, expression and assembly. None of these
have been complied with.”

It also held that Ms. Suu Kyi had not been judged by an independent and
impartial tribunal, as enshrined in Article 10 of the rights declaration,
reflecting the view of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation on Human
Rights in Myanmar (formerly called Burma) that “the judiciary is not
independent, and is under the direct control of the government and the
military.”

It should be noted that this was the sixth time the working group had
found the terms of her house arrest in violation of international law. In
effect, every one of her periods of confinement has been ruled illegal.

It is important to recall – and this also goes largely unaddressed – that
Ms. Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, and its
allies won the 1990 elections in Myanmar with more than 80 per cent of the
parliamentary seats. Yet since that election, in a foundational assault on
democracy and international law, she has spent more than 14 of the past 20
years under house arrest.

She had been charged under the Law to Safeguard the State against the
Danger of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts, which, interestingly
enough, had been annulled by the military government when it took power in
1988.

The most recent extension of her house arrest is due to American citizen
John Yettaw’s illegal and unannounced entry on the property where she was
being confined in May, 2009. Yet it was Ms. Suu Kyi who was charged with
“aiding and abetting” Mr. Yettaw's illegal entry – an utter inversion of
the facts and the law.

After the illegal intrusion, Ms. Suu Kyi was sentenced for violating the
terms of her previous house arrest, which the UN working group had
repeatedly found to be without any legal basis whatsoever. In the words of
the group, “No charges can flow from the charges of the terms of this
previous arrest order ... [itself illegal]. Further, even if this were not
the case, no controlling body – acting in good faith – could find that her
actions violated the terms of her house arrest.”

Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry stated it “is a country that always respects UN
declarations and decisions as it is a UN member country.” If this is the
case, Ms. Suu Kyi should be immediately released.

It is tragic to note that Aung San Suu Kyi turned 65 years old on
Saturday. She spent yet another birthday unjustly confined while the
military junta continues to violate international law and ignore the
decisions of the UN working group with utter impunity.

Irwin Cotler is member of Parliament for Mount Royal and former minister
of justice and attorney-general of Canada. He is a member of the board of
advisers of Freedom Now, a non-governmental organization that represents
Aung San Suu Kyi.