BurmaNet News, July 23, 2010

[Editor]

July 23, 2010 Issue #4006


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma upgrades military with N.Korean advice
DVB: USDA turns to religious propaganda
Kachin Information Center: DKBA Brigade 5 refuses to toe junta's BGF line

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: Over 4,500 refugees in need of anti-malarial drugs

ASEAN
AFP: Clinton denounces Myanmar's oppression at Asia meet

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: US Congress renews Myanmar sanctions
DPA: Russia, EU: More study needed on Myanmar's alleged nuclear activity

OPINION / OTHER
Washington Post: Obama's failure in Burma – Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro
National Post (Canada): The world ignores Burma’s torture – Jonathon Narvey
DVB: ASEAN ups the ante, but who for? – Larry Jagan
Irrawaddy: Burmese FM's conflicting messages – Ba Kaung
The Australian Magazine: Publish and be damned – Paul Myers





____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 23, Irrawaddy
Burma upgrades military with N.Korean advice – Wai Moe

With the input of North Korean advisers, the Burmese military junta has
modernized its Tatmadaw (armed forces) by upgrading its strategic motor
vehicle forces, forming a Missile Force and improving the operation of the
people's militias operating under its People's War Strategy, according to
information leaked by military sources to The Irrawaddy.

The junta's objective is better mobilization of light infantry troops and
other lines of strategic defense such as artillery forces, air defense
forces and missile forces, a source said.

“Like the the North Korean army, the junta wants the ability to deploy its
forces, including multiple launch rocket systems, canons and air defense
units, quickly to the front line. Then all would be re-deployed to bases
in tunnels and caves,” said the source. “That's why the junta is upgrading
its vehicle depot forces.”

Sources said the junta upgraded its Motor Vehicle Depot Battalions in
October 2009 to achieve the ability to rapidly deploy troops. The upgraded
vehicle battalions are reportedly based in Shwe Taung in Pegu Division,
Shwe Nyaung in southern Shan State, Taung Dwin Gyi in Magwe Division,
Amarpura in Mandalay Division and Mingaladon in Rangoon Division.

The recent information from military sources provides more evidence of
ties between Naypyidaw and Pyongyang, adding to that already available
after a report was leaked in 2009 about a 2008 memorandum of understanding
between the Tatmadaw and the Korean People’s Army covering joint military
exercises and North Korean assistance in military training, air defense
and constructing underground facilities and arms shelters.

The Burmese junta is tapping the North Koreans for more than just advice.
They are also allegedly importing nuclear technology and strategic weapons
such as anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface
missiles and multiple launch rocket systems for the Tatmadaw's Air Defense
and Missile forces.

According to a security Web site, GlobalSecurity.org, North Korean 107 mm,
122 mm and 240 mm rocket launchers can fire a first strike of many
thousands of missiles and return in a few minutes to protected caves or to
alternate firing positions, using “exit and return” methods.

Protecting Burma’s coastline is a key element of the junta's defense
strategy, and artillery bases, missile bases and air defense bases are
reportedly deployed on major islands such as Kyaukpyu, Hainngyi, Kalagote,
Lampi and Katangyi.

Sources said Burma’s Air Defense Force is armed with four types of
weapons: 14.5 mm anti- aircraft heavy machine guns, 40 mm auto canons,
man-pad heat seeking guided missiles such as the Chinese-made SAM-7 and
the UK-made Blowpipe, and other SAM missiles from China, Russia and the
Ukraine.

In addition, its Air Defense Signals Battalion is equipped with Australian
and Russian equipment, its Air Defense Warning Battalion is equipped with
Russian and Ukrainian radars and its Air Defense Electronic Warfare
battalion is equipped with Russian equipment.

Military sources said Burma’s Air Defense Force and Missile Force have
adopted three main tactics for the defense of the country's interior.

The first tactic is “early recon and warning” supported by a Russian radar
system with a 200-mile range.

The second tactic is “defense and interception” to protect air bases,
artillery operation command headquarters, regional military command
headquarters and light infantry division headquarters.

The third tactic is “defense and assault” to control areas where the
enemy’s airborne troops could land, including heavy and ordinary defense
industry compounds, military headquarters and major cities.

With respect to the “assault” element of this tactic, the Burmese military
plans to repel potential threats by deploying its artillery forces,
tank/armored forces and missile forces to strategic areas where enemy
troops could land by air, including the Pegu-Intakaw plains, the
Magwe-Taungdwingyi plains, the Meikhtila- Pyawbwe plains, the Mandalay
plains, the Myitkyina-Bhamo plains, the Monywa plains and the Pakokku
plains.

The Tatamadaw is also using North Korean advice to upgrade its people’s
militias in accordance with the regime's “People's War Strategy.” Since
September 2006, all regional military commands have a general staff
officer-1(G-1) shaping the People War Strategy for their region, sources
said.

The People's War Strategy includes counter-insurgency forces, the Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)—a junta-backed mass
organization which claims about 24 million member that is reportedly being
transformed into the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the
National Force Corps of the Swann Arr Shin, the Myanmar Red Cross Society,
the Myanmar Fire Brigade and other government civic organizations such as
the Myanmar Women's Affairs Federation.

“Particularly following the September 2007 demonstrations, even members of
the Women’s Affairs Federation, as well as women family members of police
and soldiers, have been given basic military training,” said a military
source who leaked information to The Irrawaddy. “The People's War Strategy
was adopted by the Tatmadaw in 1970, but they have upgraded the strategy
since 2006 with North Korean advice—now members of the people's militias
serve as reserve military units.”

According to security analysts, in North Korea there are about 7 million
men and women serving in similar people’s militias that make up reserve
military units divided into three categories: the Reserve Military
Training unit, with 1.7 million persons comprised of men between the ages
of 17 and 45 and unmarried women between 17 and 30; the Worker-Peasant
Militia unit, with 4.1 million persons comprised of older men between the
ages of 45 and 60, young men between 17 and 45 and unmarried women between
17 and 30; and the Young Red Guards, with 1.2 million high school students
between the ages of 14 and 16.

In his book Building the Tatmadaw, Burmese military expert Maung Aung Myoe
said the mission of the people's militias in Burma is to prepare a total
people’s defense, and the goal of fulfilling this mission assures the
political role of the Tatmadaw in the future state structure. The people’s
militias training includes operating anti-aircraft guns and artillery, he
said.

In addition, Maung Aung Myoe pointed out that the Burmese military’s
tunnel warfare strategy is also part of the People's War Strategy. “While
learning about the RMA (Revolution in Military Affairs) and its impact,
the Tatmadaw is taking the necessary measures to prepare for the people’s
war,” he wrote.

Many have estimated that the Tatamdaw currently has about 490,000 troops,
but military sources told The Irrawaddy that its current military strength
is about 368,500 troops, with an estimated 310,000 serving in the army.
____________________________________

July 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
USDA turns to religious propaganda – Aye Nai

A new group formed to accommodate the 20 million-odd members of the
recently-disbanded Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)
will operate under the pretext of propagating Buddhist doctrine.

A source close to the USDA, which until its dissolution was a powerful
government-proxy ‘social’ organisation, told DVB that the group’s new name
was Śāsana Noggaha Association, which translates as the
Association for the Propagation of Śāsana. Śāsana is a
term used by Buddhists to refer to their religion.

“The group is formed to accommodate government employees [former USDA
members] who cannot join political parties,” he said. “All the [group’s]
procedures are decided by the government.” He added that a signboard would
be erected outside its new office but the group could not yet formally
open.

The disbandment of the USDA came several months after Burma’s prime
minister, Thein Sein, announced he would be competing in elections this
year as a candidate for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Suspicions stem from several areas: aside from the similarity of the
names, senior USDA officials are known to hold close relations with junta
ministers, while junta chief Than Shwe, second-in-command Maung Aye and
Prime Minister Thein Sein are members of the group’s Central Panel of
Patrons.

But no official link has been made between the USDA and USDP, and the USDP
has dismissed allegations that it is an arm of the ruling junta. The
source told DVB however that USDP members have been instructed to maintain
a low profile around local Ward Peace and Development Council (WPDC)
offices so that no impression is given of a relationship between the
government and the party widely tipped to win elections this year.

“Instead the WPDCs have to send a list of government workers in their
wards to the USDP offices discreetly, so the party has complete
information on the existence of government workers in every household.
This will allow them to campaign very easily.”

Reports emerged last week that property and funds owned by the USDA would
be transferred to Thein Sein’s party. The USDA owns swathes of property
across the country and its vast membership base has generated sizeable
wealth.

The allegations were heavily criticised by candidates looking to compete
in the elections this year, many of whom have already complained that
preferable treatment was being given by the government-appointed Election
Commission to the USDP. The main argument has been that USDA property is
owned by the state, and therefore should not be inherited by a political
party.

____________________________________

July 23, Kachin Information Center
DKBA Brigade 5 refuses to toe junta's BGF line – Saw Thein Myint

Despite being under tremendous pressure from within the fold and the
Burmese military junta, Col. Saw Lar Pwel (Bo Nauk Kham Mwe), commander of
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5, has refused to meet
Gen. Ye Myint on the contentious issue of transforming to the Border Guard
Force (BGF), according to his juniors.

A commander, on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, told KIC
that Gen. Ye Myint telephoned A Pho (Saw Lar Pwel) around 4 pm on July 21
to discuss the BGF issue in Myeingyi Ngu on July 22. A Pho did not agree.
He said there was no reason to go there.

Gen. Kyaw Than, commander-in-chief of DKBA, came to the military base of
Col. Saw Lar Pwel in Wal Lay area in Kawkareik Township last week. He
tried to persuade the Colonel to agree to BGF but failed, a DKBA officer
said.

All DKBA brigades, including executives signed an agreement for
transforming into BGF except the Kalobaw strategic command under DKBA
Brigade 5. Forces of Col. Lar Pwel, who has consistently refused to accept
BGF, have been threatened by the Burmese Army.
"Brigades, battalions and leaders from headquarters are all ok. Only the
Kalobaw strategic command refuses to accept BGF. Thus, the junta has
threatened that the Burmese Army will dispatch two brigades to the area.
The regime has ordered villagers to evacuate," a high-ranking officer,
from DKBA Brigade 5 said.

Due to mounting military pressure, DKBA Brigade 5 is into counter military
preparations deploying forces from flat land to the mountainous area, a
DKBA officer from 907 Battalion said.

"Our commander has ordered that we be alert and ready. Other DKBA forces
can also attack us instead of the Burmese Army," the officer told KIC.

Top leaders of DKBA Brigade 5 said Col. Saw Lar Pwel wants to stay on as
DKBA and refuses to accept transforming into BGF. He does not want to
place the arms in the hands of junta’s forces because the weapons were
bought with people's money.

There are 1,200 soldiers in Kalobaw strategic command in five battalions
serving under Col. Saw Lar Pwel, based in Kyar Inn Seikgyi and Kawkareik
Township in Karen state.

The DKBA split from the KNU in 1994 and signed a ceasefire agreement with
the junta. Now, the DKBA has over 4,000 troops and Brigade 5 is the second
strongest armed unit after Brigade 999.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 23, Mizzima News
Over 4,500 refugees in need of anti-malarial drugs – Kyaw Kha

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Forced to flee their homes with little more than
the clothes on their backs and seek shelter in Burma’s dense jungles,
Karen villagers trying to escape Burmese government military offensives
are being exposed to malaria carrying mosquitoes at an alarming rate.

According to the Thai-based Committee for Internally Displaced Karen
People (CIDKP), over 4,500 war refugees hiding in the forests east of
Taungoo District in Pegu Division are in desperate need of medicine to
combat malaria.

The refugees account for some of the estimated 7,500 persons recently
forced to leave their homes in Htantapin and Thantaung Townships in
Taungoo District.

"We found out that seven out of ten refugees were malaria infected when we
conducted medical check-ups. This means 70 percent of them are infected
with malaria. Some also died of this disease,” CIDKP Information
Department In-charge Saw Eh Wah Thu told Mizzima of one recent inspection.

"Thantaung is a mosquito infested area. We cannot eradicate them. We
cannot even sleep because of them. The mosquitoes bite us the whole night,
from dusk to dawn. So the malaria is endemic in this mosquito infested
area," he added.

CIDKP, the Backpack Health Workers Team (BPHWT) and Karen National Union
(KNU) are providing medical treatment to malaria patients. However, they
warn that new cases continue to come to their attention, as there is
little hope of controlling the spread of the disease.

"They have no stable dwelling place in their hiding places and no mosquito
nets and blankets, as they have to constantly move, fleeing the junta's
military operations," BPHWT Director U Man Man explained to Mizzima.

The refugees, also referred to as internally displaced persons (IDPs), are
forced to live in makeshift bamboo huts deep in the forest, increasing the
likelihood that mosquitoes will bite them during the present wet season,
which provides ample breeding grounds for the insect.

Infantry Battalions (IB) 102, 250, 261 and Light Infantry Battalions (LIB)
336, 421, 424, 424, 425, 426 and 427 under the command of Military
Operation Command No. 7 and led by Brigadier General Myo Aye are operating
in Taungoo District. The forces reputedly set hundreds of plantations
owned and operated by local Karen people on fire, CIDKP told Mizzima.

"Most of these war refugees are fleeing from villages which were set on
fire by the junta’s forces. Some of the villages were left unburned, but
they dare not go back to their homes as junta forces have planted many
landmines there. Many people are being killed by enemy gunfire and
landmines when trying to go back to their homes," Saw Eh Wah furthered.

The Thai-Burma border-based BPHWT counts more than 50,000 war refugees
spread across four districts – Taungoo, Nyaunglaybin, Phapon and Thaton –
with the number of malaria and dengue cases affecting the population in
question still being compiled.

A total of 701 malaria cases, with no fatalities, have been reported since
January of this year in all of Taungoo, according to the District Health
Department. However, government figures do not account for IDP
communities.

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 23, Agence France Presse
Clinton denounces Myanmar's oppression at Asia meet

Hanoi — The United States told an Asian security forum Friday it was
"deeply concerned" about oppression in Myanmar, calling for the release of
political prisoners and an end to attacks against ethnic minorities.

Speaking at the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi, US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton said Myanmar's "restrictive electoral laws" further
stifled civilians' lives and made polls due this year "unlikely" to be
free and fair.

Her comments came after the US Congress on Thursday renewed a ban on
imports from Myanmar, also known as Burma, for another year, seeking to
pressure the regime over human rights and democracy as well as alleged
ties to North Korea.

"The United States... remains deeply concerned about the oppression taking
place in Burma," Clinton told the 27-member ARF in prepared remarks.

She urged the junta to "put in place the necessary conditions" for its
first polls in two decades to be credible, including releasing political
prisoners, ceasing attacks on ethnic minorities and respecting human
rights.

The opposition National League for Democracy, led by detained Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is boycotting the vote because of laws which
would have forced it to expel her and other members in prison before it
could participate.

The party won Myanmar's last polls in 1990 by a landslide but the military
never allowed it to take power, and Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 20
years in jail or under house arrest.

Separately, the top European Union minister at the ARF talks said Myanmar
was at a crossroads.

Janos Martonyi, the Hungarian foreign minister, said "there is perhaps now
an opportunity to steer the country towards a better future. There is at
least a possibility for that if the elections turn out to be fair and
exclusive."

The alternative, he told reporters, is for the country to maintain its
present policies "and this leads to further economic stagnation and
isolation."

Clinton also called on Myanmar's Asian neighbours to remind the regime of
its international obligations in terms of nuclear nonproliferation, saying
"recent events have called that commitment into question".

On Thursday Clinton expressed concern over exports of military equipment
from North Korea to Myanmar and reports that the regime may be seeking
Pyongyang's assistance over a nuclear programme.

"What?s happening in Burma is not only dangerous for the people who endure
life under the regime, though they are first and foremost on our minds,"
she told the forum Friday.

"There is a direct link between whether a society is open and free,
whether it respects human rights and the will of the people, and whether
it is stable, secure, healthy, and economically dynamic."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 23, Agence France Presse
US Congress renews Myanmar sanctions

Washington — The US Congress on Thursday renewed a ban on imports from
Myanmar for another year, seeking to pressure the military regime over
human rights and democracy as well as alleged ties to North Korea.

The Senate voted almost unanimously to extend the sanctions, a week after
the House took similar action. The bill now goes to President Barack
Obama, who is expected to sign it despite his administration's engagement
with Myanmar.

The law bans trade with companies tied to the junta in Myanmar, also known
as Burma. It also freezes such firms' assets and instructs the United
States to block international loans for the isolated state.

"The United States must deny this regime the legitimacy it so craves and
await the day when the Burmese people will be permitted to govern their
own affairs," said Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican and a
sponsor of the bill.

McConnell and fellow senators voiced concern about Myanmar's elections
planned later this year, which most opposition leaders intend to boycott
as they fear they will be a sham to legitimize military rule.

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the
last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. The Nobel
laureate has spent most of the ensuing two decades under house arrest.

The Obama administration last year launched a dialogue with Myanmar,
concluding that isolating the regime had not worked. But it has said it
will only lift sanctions in return for progress on democracy and other
concerns.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on a trip to Asia, voiced concerns
about Myanmar's military cooperation with North Korea -- which a recent
report by a defector said included work by the junta on a nuclear weapons
program.

The Senate voted 99 to 1 to support sanctions, with Senator Mike Enzi, a
Republican from Wyoming, casting the sole dissenting vote.

Coy Knobel, a spokesman for Enzi, said that the senator opposed sanctions
if they come only from the United States and European Union and believed
it was better to develop broader pressure on the regime.

"Burma is violating human rights, but the question is how best to get them
to change that practice. If we could get more help from our allies in the
region that would be more effective," he said.

China is the main military and diplomatic partner of Myanmar, which has
trading relationships with many Asian nations.

____________________________________

July 23, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Russia, EU: More study needed on Myanmar's alleged nuclear activity

Hanoi – More study is needed into allegations that Myanmar is developing
nuclear weapons, diplomats from Russia and the European Union said Friday
in Hanoi.

"We don't have any firm information, and on issues like this, you need to
rely on experts' conclusions," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
Friday of rumors that Myanmar, or Burma, is developing nuclear weapons.

Lavrov was speaking on the sidelines of the Association of South-East
Asian Nations' Regional Forum (ARF) in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

The European Commission has taken note of a June documentary by Burmese
journalists alleging that Myanmar is developing nuclear weapons, said
Seamus Gillespie, a European Commission official responsible for
South-East Asian affairs.

"We are looking into that, and when the matter is clarified, we'll make up
our minds," Gillespie said Friday.

At a press briefing Thursday in Hanoi, US Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton said North Korea had recently delivered "military material
and equipment" to Myanmar, and that Pyongyang may be helping the country
to develop nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told reporters in Hanoi
that there was no consensus among member nations about Myanmar's nuclear
activities.

ASEAN members are Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 23, Washington Post
Obama's failure in Burma – Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro

With Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attending the ASEAN Regional Forum
this week, it is an opportune moment to examine U.S. efforts to engage
with Burma (also known as Myanmar). When President Obama was inaugurated,
many in the international community were particularly enthusiastic about a
return to U.S. multilateralism to address global problems. Nowhere was
this more necessary than in the case of Burma, where a brutal military
dictatorship has for decades both oppressed its people and failed to yield
power, despite losing democratic elections in a landslide in 1990.

Many observers of the nascent administration, myself included, applauded
Clinton's announcement in early 2009 of a full review of U.S. policy
toward Burma. I understood that some creative thinking would be valuable,
having spent eight years as the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in
Myanmar, trying to address the problems created by the junta. Yet since
those early days, the Obama administration has made a series of
inexplicable missteps.

First, the administration took some eight months to develop its new
policy. As the junta increased its repression in the run-up to elections
it scheduled for this year, the United States was absent in the global
debate on how to respond. Not only did Washington fail to communicate its
intentions, but this silence left many diplomats confused. This
disengagement resulted in reduced pressure on the Burmese junta as other
countries awaited the results of the U.S. review. When a new policy was
finally announced last fall, it was remarkably uninspiring and uninspired:
keep sanctions and increase engagement. Why it took eight months to
develop such an obvious result is unclear.

Second, the administration has left unfilled the congressionally mandated
position of special coordinator on Burma policy. While Assistant Secretary
of State Kurt Campbell has all the qualities necessary to lead the State
Department's engagement with the junta, he is also responsible for all
U.S. policy relating to Asia, so he has limited time to focus on Burma,
and the lack of sustained focus has been lamentable.

Finally, when the United States got around to engaging directly with the
junta, it took a surprisingly unilateral approach. I do not understand why
the administration would think it would have any leverage with this regime
without bringing partners to the dialogue. The Burmese junta knows it has
support from China and Russia in the U.N. Security Council. It is making
billions of dollars annually from its natural resources. And the United
States will get no leverage from existing sanctions against Burma until it
exercises its leadership to bring into the process others whose views do
matter to the regime.

If the United States wants to influence the junta, it must immediately
change its entire approach. Beyond appointing an envoy, it must make Burma
policy a high-level priority. The junta has the upper hand. Without the
kind of pressure the United States can bring to bear multilaterally, the
junta will have no incentive to come to the table, let alone change its
behavior.

Specifically, the United States should reach out to its allies, beginning
at the ASEAN Regional Forum, to ensure that most nations will reject the
results from Burma's upcoming "elections," which by every indication will
be neither free nor fair. It should publicly embrace the call of my
successor, Tomás Ojea Quintana, to create a commission of inquiry through
the United Nations to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes
committed by the junta, and then work multilaterally to make this inquiry
happen. It should fully enforce existing U.S. sanctions and target
Singaporean and Dubai banks that do business with the regime. It should
work to impose a global arms embargo on Burma. And it should take full
advantage of being one of three countries to lead the cross-examination of
Burma's human rights record in the Universal Periodic Review process
taking place in the U.N. Human Rights Council early next year.

Some will say it is unrealistic to expect the United States to put in this
kind of concerted diplomatic effort, particularly given its other foreign
policy priorities. I have dealt with the Burmese junta and understand
better than most how hard it is to influence the generals. I am certain
that if the United States actually wants to affect this regime, its
efforts must be strategic, focused and unrelenting.

Given the forthcoming "elections" in Burma, President Obama and Secretary
Clinton have limited time to turn around their policy. As a start, they
need to take Burma and this situation seriously. Then they need to show
the world that the United States means what it says.

The writer, an adjunct professor of international relations at Brown
University's Watson Institute for International Studies, was the United
Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar from 2000 to 2008.

____________________________________

July 23, National Post (Canada)
The world ignores Burma’s torture – Jonathon Narvey

Remember the 30-Day Campaign by celebrities like Kim Kardashian to draw
attention to the brutalized and enslaved population of Burma (also known
as Myanmar)? It was called “Burma: It Can’t Wait”. Of course, that was
back in May 2008.

I guess they’re going to have to keep waiting after all. It’s not like
much has changed since two years ago. Correction: it’s gotten worse:

During my period as UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, I
received incontrovertible evidence that forced labor, the forcible
conscription of child soldiers; torture and rape as a weapon of war are
widespread and systematic in Myanmar. Since that time, the evidence has
grown stronger. It is claimed by the Thailand-Myanmar Border Consortium
that as many as 3,500 villages have been destroyed in eastern Myanmar
since 1996. Villagers have been used as human minesweepers, forced to walk
through fields of landmines to clear them for the military, often
resulting in loss of their limbs and sometimes their lives in the process.

I visited prisons and heard many testimonies of cruel forms of torture.
Today, over 2,100 political prisoners are believed to be in Myanmar’s
jails, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s
democracy leader, remains under house arrest. She has spent over 14 of the
past 20 years in detention.

In response, the USA has just renewed sanctions against the regime. That
doesn’t matter, of course. China and North Korea are happy to continue to
prop up the killers, so long as they can continue chop down all of the
country’s trees and suck every last bit of copper and gold out of the
ground.

You can bet that if an outside military force like NATO went in to topple
the regime, the outrage from the “peace movement” would ring in your ears
for many years to come.

In the meantime, the junta is able to literally get away with mass murder
because of the international community’s unwillingness to face down evil,
for fear of being cast as “Western imperialists” and “genocidal racists”

The real racism of diminished expectations and cultural relativism towards
the Burmese provides the backdrop for evil beyond imagining.

____________________________________

July 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
ASEAN ups the ante, but who for? – Larry Jagan

Burma’s foreign minister Nyan Win has left Vietnam early and is back in
Naypyidaw relatively relieved that he has escaped further criticism from
his counterparts at the series of regional meetings in the capital Hanoi
this week. The foreign minister will not be representing his country at
the regional security ministerial conference – the ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) – which meets today on Friday, and which will certainly mention
Burma.

In an unexpected move the Asian foreign ministers gave Burma a battering
at this year’s regional meeting of ministers, and it was Nyan Win who bore
the brunt of the verbal bashing in the retreat and ministerial meetings
–details of these are supposed to be confidential but have a habit of
seeping out.

Many Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers, who are
more media-savvy than their more uncommunicative colleague from Burma,
were happy to tell journalists details from these sessions – putting their
spin on what was said. It is quite clear though that the ministers were
keen to impress upon the Burmese that a lot was expected from the
elections and that Burma and ASEAN’s reputation was at stake.

“The Myanmar [Burma] minister got an earful from his ASEAN colleagues and
was left in no doubt that they expected the election [later this year] to
credible and inclusive,” the ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan told
me on the sidelines of the meeting.

Burma was pressed on the election date, the conduct of the election and
the recent reports that the regime was planning to build nuclear weapons.
There is also little doubt that behind the scenes the Asian diplomats are
getting quite irritated by the Burmese minister’s lack of openness in
dealing with his colleagues. But there is no doubt that ASEAN knows that,
for better or worse, they are stuck with Burma; and to make matters worse,
it remains on Burma’s terms. So all the Asian ministers can do is hope
that the junta at least listens to their concerns.

“Once the generals take off their uniforms and they have to win votes and
kiss babies and tend to local needs, their behaviour will change and the
economy will gradually open up,” Singapore’s foreign minister George Yeo
told journalists earlier this week after meeting his Burmese counterpart.
“We don’t see a sharp break from what it is today [after the elections]
but we will see an important turning which will lead Myanmar into a
different situation.”

“The election’s will offer a wonderful chance for Myanmar to prove that it
has entered a new era and use the opportunity for national
reconciliation,” Indonesia’s foreign minister Marty Natalegawa said in an
interview. “We told Myanmar that the elections must be free and fair, and
inclusive,” he said, though added that the calls were not necessarily
universal. It is clear that several countries in the region – Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand – all went on the record to stress
the need for Burma to hold credible elections before the end of the year.

ASEAN views these forthcoming elections as a chance for transition to
democracy in Burma. “ASEAN is very much interested in the peaceful
national reconciliation in Myanmar and whatever happens there will have
implications in ASEAN, positive or negative,” said Surin.

“Myanmar listened intently to what was said, and nodded approvingly at
times, and agreed to take the region’s concerns back to the top guy,” he
added. But Burma’s representative was far less talkative, and completely
shunned the press, refusing to answer any questions at all. The
journalists’ constant questions on the election timing were all greeted
with stony silence.

After persistent attempts, Nyan Win eventually told me that he was not the
“election commission”, implying that he could not decide the election
date. He also told his ASEAN counterparts, behind closed doors, that when
the party registration process was finalised, the electoral commission
would announce the actual date, and that should be in the next couple of
months, the Indonesian foreign minister confided to me. But he told the
Bangladeshi foreign minister, Dipu Moni – with whom he had a 20-minute
bilateral – that “we are still hoping that the election will be in
October”.

It is hard to understand the minister’s optimism, for the Election
Commission has to give 90 days’ notice of the start of the election
campaigning, and allowing 15 days for electioneering, it would seem
impossible for the election to be held before mid-November. “No one really
knows the election date, not even the minister,” a senior Burmese diplomat
with the delegation told me during one of the coffee breaks.

But Burma’s foreign minister is obviously preparing for the polls. He is
going to become a politician, he told his ASEAN colleagues Surin Pitsuwan
and George Yeo, who told me that Nyan Win was entering politics and
intended to run for parliament. But when asked about whether he would
become an MP, he waved away the question and either grunted or smiled.
This attitude and behaviour will have to change, according to the ASEAN
ministers, and maybe this will be start of a more fundamental shift of
approach.

“By free and fair elections, we mean allowing the international press in
to cover the elections, less restrictions and censorship on political
material published by the local press and the political parties’
propaganda,” Natalegawa said. “But we haven’t raised this issue directly
with them.”

The real issue that concerns the Asian foreign ministers is really how to
present the Burmese election as credible, though Indonesia has a more
active desire to influence Burma’s approach because they recently went
through their own transition to democracy, and understands that this not
an easy process. “We naturally empathise with their situation,” Natalegawa
said.

Indonesia has taken the lead on this – as it did at the last summit in
April – in pushing for international or regional observers or monitors. It
was one of the key issues that ASEAN foreign ministers impressed upon the
hapless Nyan Win earlier this week. “We suggested quite strongly to our
Myanmar colleagues that they consider having ASEAN observers at the
elections, bringing in members of the family into what is really their own
domestic affair,” Yeo told reporters in Hanoi.

“I prefer to use the term visitors and deliberately avoid the term
observers or monitors,” Natalegawa said. “But certainly it would be great
to have parties other than the country itself being able to experience the
election so we can have our own independent impressions,” he said. That
was what Indonesia has done since its first real democratic elections in
1998.

Of course Nyan Win is used to this – he has heard it all before – but
perhaps the appeal to the regime was more insistent and stronger than ever
before. “Most of the ministers persistently pressed this issue,” Surin
confided. And the Burmese minister promised to report it back to the top
leaders, according to Natalegawa, Surin and Yeo. But when pressed – “You
raised it last time and there has been no movement or answer” – Natalegawa
smiled and said “we have to be hopeful.”

Now Nyan Win is back in Burma, where he has a lot to do before he can turn
his attention to the elections. He had to leave Hanoi early because he is
accompanying junta supremo, Than Shwe, to India this weekend, and his
return will be hosting the North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun who
will be visiting Burma next week. But there is no doubt that ASEAN this
time gave Burma a piece of their mind – but the reality is that the regime
does not care about their views – China and India are more important.

____________________________________

July 23, Irrawaddy
Burmese FM's conflicting messages – Ba Kaung

After giving vague answers to questions on Burmese issues during the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Foreign Ministers meeting
in Hanoi, Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win left for home on Thursday,
missing Friday's 27-member Asean Regional Forum.

It is believed that Nyan Win left early to avoid questions at the forum
from the United States about Burma's shadowy relations with North Korea.

With his early departure, Nyan Win left confusing messages regarding
Burmese issues.

Nyan Win attended the 43rd Asean Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, but left
for home earlier. (Photo: Getty Images)
First, he told Asean diplomats that he had “no idea” when the election
will be held, saying only the date will be announced once the party
registration process is finished.

When told by his Asean counterparts that the elections could have
"positive or negative implications" for the 10-member bloc as a whole, he
reportedly said that “the responsibility is for the ... elections
commissioner, not the foreign minister.”

Though he was unable to give an election date to Asean diplomats, the
Kyodo News Agency said Nyan Win told Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya
Okada on Wednesday that Burma's election commission would announce the
election date soon.

Speaking to Nyan Win, Okada urged the Burmese regime to release
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the election, which he said
should be free and fair.

Nyan Win told Okada that Burma's 2008 Constitution does not bar Suu Kyi
from running in the election and becoming a member of Parliament provided
she has been released from house arrest, but he did not say when this
would be.

Burma's election laws state that those convicted by a court and serving a
jail term are not eligible to found or become members of a political
party. Suu Kyi, who is currently serving an 18-month sentence of house
arrest, is due for release in November.

It has been widely speculated that the election will take place on October
10.

Could Nyan Win's comment to Okada on her status be interpreted as
suggesting Suu Kyi will be released before an election in October or that
the election will be delayed until after her release in November?

Adding to the confusion, before he left Hanoi, Nyan Win reportedly
confided to the Bangladeshi foreign minister that the election is still
expected to be held in October.

Observers say there is no way the election can be held in October due to
the ongoing party registration process, however. All parties seeking seats
in the national parliament are required to have at least 1,000 members
within 90 days of being registered to contest in the polls.

The last political party registration was made on July 16 and the election
commission is still open to party applications. Given that parties have a
3-month period to raise members, it can be assumed that the party
registration process would not finish before October 16, making it
unlikely for an election to be held in October even if it only took
another two weeks for candidate registration and no official campaign
period is allowed.

Political parties are not allowed to campaign during party and candidate
registration.

Adding to the uncertainties regarding the election are rumors in Rangoon
that suggest Suu Kyi's sentence will probably be extended and that the
election could even be postponed till December.

According to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, Nyan Win "listened
very, very attentively" as  his counterparts grilled him about the
election during the dinner discussions of the group's foreign ministers on
Monday.

However, Nyan Win seemed intent on giving different answers to different
national representatives, leaving no clear answer as to when Burma's
controversial election will take place.
____________________________________

July 24, The Australian Magazine
Publish and be damned – Paul Myers

It's a tricky business, publishing a newspaper in a country ruled by a
military junta. But Australian Ross Dunkley thrives on taking calculated
risks, writes Paul Myers

IF ROSS DUNKLEY WORRIES ABOUT BEING DEPorted from Myanmar and the military
junta closing down his flourishing newspaper business, he doesn't show or
admit it. Eleven years in the country has taught the single-minded
Australian not to try to second-guess the generals, to press openly and
unapologetically for what he wants and, most importantly, to always appear
in control.
So far, against the odds, it has worked. Only twice has The Myanmar Times,
which Dunkley launched in 1999, been suspended from publication - for a
week on both occasions. Not even the uprising by Buddhist monks in 2007,
when gunfire crackled for days outside his office as the military brutally
quashed dissent, stopped his presses or dented his resolve. "There have
always been veiled background threats against me and the paper, but my
only defence is to fight for what's best for the business and the
country," he says. "Even in Myanmar, the wise heads usually prevail."

Idealistic? Risky? Provocative? Undoubtedly, yes.

But when you have pushed the boundaries as much as Dunkley has, and weaved
through the maze of Myanmar's media regulations for more than a decade,
self-belief and a take-charge approach can be convincing.

Now, with Myanmar's first election in 20 years approaching, the likeable,
some say brash, ideas-adozen publisher is upping the ante. He wants to
convert his weekly newspaper into a daily.

As with everything in Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - the decision
ultimately lies with the junta. But to Dunkley, it is just another episode
in the cat-and-mouse game he has played since he arrived in the country as
a newspaperman seeking to exploit a big opportunity. It's a high-stakes
game that has spawned a multi-million dollar company but cost the freedom
of his joint-venture business partner, Sonny Swe, who was jailed in 2004
for 14 years on trumped-up charges. Sonny and his father - a former
general, who was sentenced to 152 years for treason both remain in jail.

Dunkley's ambition is a free press in Myanmar that can publish what it
wishes, and when it wishes.

Not even a potentially explosive election campaign can stop or deter him.
With the world watching as eligible voters of Myanmar's 50 million
citizens prepare for the poll, Dunkley sees a perfect storm. How can the
generals, keen to show they're taking Myanmar towards democracy, deny his
plans to make The Myanmar Times (which is published in Burmese as well as
English) a daily when a "free press" has been promised? Not easily, he
reasons. Even if approval isn't given before the election, he expects it
soon after. "Theoretically, straight after the election we could say we're
going daily," he taunts, then admits he'll wait for "the right signals".

Australia's ambassador to Myanmar in 2002 to 2003, Trevor Wilson, doesn't
discount the possibility of Dunkley achieving his goal before the
election.

Now a research fellow at the Australian National University, Wilson sees a
growing trend towards press freedom in Myanmar, particularly in
Burmese-language publications, but says there is "no prospect" of
censorship being axed. "Not being allowed to publish daily may be more
about the censors fearing the amount of work [in reviewing content] than
anything else," Wilson suggests.
While he believes The Myanmar Times has been used at times to peddle
propaganda, Wilson acknowledges it has performed "a useful function" in
distributing information, and says Dunkley deserves credit for "sticking
to his guns". Even so, he says intelligent Burmese can easily pick
junta-friendly articles.

But The Irrawaddy, an influential news magazine that is produced in
Thailand by Burmese exiles, has long been critical of Dunkley and his
newspaper. It often accuses Dunkley of being too close to the junta,
publishing pro-junta propaganda, and being more interested in making money
than journalism.

Such allegations only make Dunkley strive harder for an independent media.
"It's naive and stupid to say we're in the junta's pocket," he retorts.
"We don't make the rules. We are the only foreign joint-venture media
company in Myanmar. I was the first foreign publisher here and have been
told [by the government] I'll be the last. I know the generals see me as a
necessary evil. We are subject to the same rules as every other publisher
and have been closed down on two occasions. We push the boundaries every
week and take our chances when we can get them."
Testing the boundaries

TAKING CHANCES COULD WELL BE Dunkley's mantra. He took one during the FIFA
World Cup, publishing (with approval) an uncensored sports daily during
the tournament. He believes this was a giant step towards the two editions
of The Myanmar Times going daily.
When that happens, he says Myanmar Consolidated Media, which he and WA
mining magnates Harold and Bill Clough own, along with a junta-installed
51 per cent Burmese partner, will capitalise on a decade of hard yakka.

But first comes the election, expected on October 10 (the date, 10.10.10,
is considered auspicious by Myanmar's supersitious generals), in which 440
elected representatives - 25 per cent from the military and others from 42
registered political parties, including military officials who have
"stepped down" from their posts to contest the poll as civilians - will
take their place in a new parliament in the off limits-to-foreigners,
purpose-built capital of Naypyidaw. It will be the first parliamentary
gathering of elected lawmakers in the country for 48 years.

Not that much of what Dunkley's 60 editorial staff in Yangon, Mandalay and
Naypyidaw write about the election will see the light of day.

Everyone knows too well what happened in 1990 when Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy won the election by a landslide:

the junta prevented her from taking office and the parliament never sat.
Trevor Wilson, for one, has no doubt that a pro-democracy outcome won't be
permitted this time either.

It is equally safe to predict that, just as has occurred in every issue of
The Myanmar Times since 1999, the censor (the Press Scrutiny and
Regulation Board or PSB) will ensure that only information favourable to
the junta goes to print in the lead-up to the election.

It's a common ploy, but a practice that fools no one. The government's own
daily newspaper, the oddly-named New Light of Myanmar (called the "Dim
Light of Myanmar" by Dunkley's staff ) runs Stalinist-style propaganda
ranging from the trivial to the absurd. A general departing for overseas,
a tree-planting ceremony or an obscure meeting with regional officials,
always featuring photos of high-ranking generals, is typical frontpage
fare.

Conversely, stories perceived to convey the wrong messages are removed by
the censors before The Mynanmar Times (and other papers) are printed. Page
proofs, submitted twice weekly to the PSB, often return with stories
completely crossed out, paragraphs removed and headings changed. Sometimes
it takes three or four attempts to get the censor's nod. In June, a story
about a rat plague was so heavily cut as to be useless, presumably because
it portrayed Myanmar as a health risk.

During the 2007 monks' uprising, the junta allowed a muted approach: no
photos, stories about the military taking control and veiled vilification
of the protagonists. Even now, with the junta well in control,
English-language editor Tom Kean says up to a quarter of submitted content
is removed; his Burmese-language counterpart, Zaw Myint, estimates 10 to
20 per cent is removed. Both take it in their stride, although Kean - a
young Australian on his first posting admits to being frustrated.

"Nobody stops us writing what we believe is right, but often we just can't
publish it," he complains.
Two years ago, after an unapproved story was published about satellite TV
charges being savagely increased, the junta ordered the removal of a
Burmese-language editor and two reporters, and closed the paper for a
week. Dunkley counters that the editor wasn't fired as a result of this
pressure, but "because we felt she wasn't very good".
The trappings of power

SEATED IN HIS LARGE OFFICE IN A TASTEFULLYrefurbished warehouse in Yangon,
the former capital, Dunkley projects himself as a man who relishes power.
Paintings by Myanmar modernist artist Myo Khin and one of the beach at
Margaret River by his friend, Bay Rigby, adorn the raw brick walls.
Dunkley smokes, as do many of his staff who come in to discuss issues. The
office is as presentable, if not better, than any mediumsize newspaper
anywhere in the world and Dunkley, dressed in a trademark suit with white
shirt and tie, with his beloved Goss Community printing press ticking away
on the ground floor below, is the undisputed king. Separated from his
Australian wife, who lives in Perth, his sprawling rented home with tennis
court and pool is in one of Yangon's best areas. Like his newspaper
employees, his house staff are constantly attentive.
But rather than wanting to be lord of the manor, Dunkley prides himself
more in having trained 100-plus Burmeselanguage journalists in the past
decade - "building capacity" he calls it and providing job opportunities
in a tough economic environment. Even though local journalists earn only
$US1000 a month net, or thereabouts, and foreigners $US1500-2000, there is
no shortage of takers, including experienced reporters.

Dunkley's personal political views appear to be conservative liberal. He,
like other foreigners in Yangon, admits to having reservations about Aung
San Suu Kyi's judgement and tactics. The former political leader, whose
father was a hero in Burma for bringing about the country's independence
from Britain, has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

Dunkley acknowledges the paper doesn't write stories about her. "There's
no point. They would never be published," he contends. "By refusing to
register the NLD [National League for Democracy] for the election, she
dealt herself out of the game. You have to be on the field to score a
goal. It's no use being on the sidelines and complaining. I think she has
been very badly advised."

Equally, Dunkley doesn't hide his distaste for the junta and openly
criticises his joint venture partners, Dr Tin Tun Oo and his wife, who
were handed Sonny Swe's shares at a discounted price. "We have a working
relationship," he says of his 51 per cent partner.

"But I care more about the business and the country than he does. It's
ironic that I'm the one trying to open things up and make them happen."

Dunkley is not afraid of being outspoken.

He and others recount a speech at the Foreign Correspondents Club in
Bangkok in 2002, which turned into a withering tirade against Myanmar's
rulers. As usual, he dodged the bullet. "I had a prepared speech,
different to the one I gave," he recalls. When required to explain, he
claimed to have been misquoted.

Now he says all military generals and senior civil servants have been
instructed to read his newspaper. "We're making a difference," he
chortles. "Even [United Nations secretary-general] Ban Ki-moon
congratulated me on what we're doing when he came to Myanmar after Cyclone
Nargis."

Dunkley believes it's what happens after the election that now matters
most. Ever the optimist, he reckons there's a good chance censorship will
be axed after the election and that the country's 2100 political
prisoners, including Sonny Swe and Aung San Suu Kyi, who is due to be
released in November anyway, will be freed.

The long route to Myanmar

DUNKLEY MADE HIS MARK IN JOURNALISM BY winning a Walkley Award in 1982 for
his reporting in the Victorian rural weekly Stock & Land of the waterfront
dispute between unions and farmers. He later transferred with Rural Press
to his home state of Western Australia to edit Western Farmer, leaving in
1987 to team up with a mercurial character, Barry Millett, as the coowner
of specialist publisher Farm Gate Press.

But when Millett's depression ultimately caused his departure (and later
suicide), Dunkley was left holding the bag and the company later went into
receivership.

In 1991 Dunkley left Australia to join two fellow countrymen, Chris Dawe
and Alex McKinnon, in their fledgling Vietnam Investment Review, arriving
in Hanoi as the weekly was about to print its fourth issue. He and the two
Saigonbased founding partners sold the English/ Vietnamese-language title
to Australian Consolidated Press in 1994 when James Packer sought a media
beachhead in Vietnam.

The trio fulfilled three-year management contracts after the ACP sale and
went separate ways. But armed with the valuable experience of Vietnam,
Dunkley saw an opportunity in Myanmar, travelling there frequently before
finally securing a deal with Sonny Swe to establish the country's second
Englishlanguage newspaper. It has been a no-contest. His rival
English-language title, the daily New Light of Myanmar, launched as the
Working People's Daily in 1914, was nationalised in 1969 and is a shadow
of its competitor; the Burmese-language edition of The Myanmar Times,
however, faces much stiffer competition, competing against numerous
Burmese-language titles every week.
Two years ago, Dunkley turned his sights to Cambodia, another frontier
publishing environment that was home to the English-language fortnightly
The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia Daily and French-language daily Cambodge
Soir, plus a bevy of local language titles.

Post founder Michael Hayes, an American who launched the paper in 1991 and
was losing money, had long been seeking a buyer. Dunkley and the Cloughs
swooped, eight months later turning the paper - once described by an
American columnist as "the greatest little paper on earth" - into a
weekday daily with English and Cambodian editions; they installed printing
presses and increased the staff ten-fold to more than 250. The attraction
was obvious: full ownership of a media business without needing a local
partner. But whereas Myanmar Consolidated Media is profitable and operates
smoothly, Post Media Company's short life has been complex, with reputed
losses of $US600,000 a year and staff rumblings. In June, it caused
Dunkley to bring in former editor-in-chief of The Australian and former
chief operating officer of The Bangkok Post, David Armstrong, as chairman.

Armstrong, who is not formally involved in Myanmar, but will be an
advisor, brings vast newspaper experience in Australia and Asia as well as
legitimacy that may help an eventual listing on the Phnom Penh Stock
Exchange, due to open later this year. Or, more likely, a strategic media
partner in Australia or Asia to help the company expand, possibly into
television as well as more print.

Armstrong is effusive in his praise of Dunkley

Dunkley:
"He has so much energy and the ideas keep tumbling out." Armstrong
describes The Phnom Penh Post as "solid but bland" and under new
editor-in-chief Bernie Leo, a former Fairfax chief sub-editor who came
from the Shanghai Daily, wants the paper to ramp up hard reporting and to
more effectively tackle business, metro news and local issues.

With the Cambodian parliament midway through its current five-tear term,
Armstrong is urging the Post to report politics fairly and "straight down
the middle". And despite the paper's current financial malaise, he says:
"I suspect it won't be so tough to be successful financially and report
honestly."

Siem Reap bureau chief Peter Olszewski, a former editor of People and
freelance writer for The Bulletin and other titles, believes Dunkley's
experience in Vietnam has helped him prosper in Myanmar and will work to
his benefit in Cambodia.

"Ross is like a bull in a china shop, but he doesn't break any china," he
explains. "He has an extraordinary ability to deal with suspect
governments and difficult people. If anyone had said they were going to
open a Western-style newspaper in Burma [in the late 1990s] they would
have been regarded as nuts. But Ross did, and it has succeeded and
survived."

One dissident, however, is the outgoing editorin-chief at The Phnom Penh
Post, Seth Meixner, a 37-year-old American who Dunkley hired from the
local bureau of news agency Agence France Presse. Riled at being replaced
by Leo, even though he was planning to return to the US at the end of the
year, Meixner says the paper has begun pandering to advertisers and has
slashed its word-count on big stories. "I'm worried about its journalism,"
he says. "If we took more care of the core product [instead of producing
supplements and advertising features] and made the paper as good as
possible, the numbers would look after themselves."

Although dismissive of the criticism, Dunkley is unapologetically pushing
his newspapers down a more commercial path. In Myanmar, he has launched an
A4 young female magazine, titled Now, published in Burmese.

There's also Crime Journal, a weekly tabloid newspaper, also published in
Burmese, that incorporates Wheels, an auto insert. All have been highy
successful cash cows that are certain to be replicated and expanded in
Myanmar and elsewhere.

The next two years will be critical for Dunkley's Cambodia experiment and
future expansion. One potential cloud is the future media intentions of
41-yearold Cambodian-Australian, Kith Meng, who as a youngster fled to
Australia with his sister after their parents died under Pol Pot's brutal
purge of the 1970s.

A graduate of the University of Canberra, he returned to Cambodia to
resurrect the family business, Royal Cambodia Company, and in the 1990s
made a fortune supplying United Nations relief agencies. Now chairman of
the Royal Group, ANZ Bank's business partner in Cambodia, he is an
aggressive commercial operator and a major contributor to Prime Minister
Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party, as well as being chairman and
part-owner of MobiTel, Cambodia's biggest mobile phone company.

Dunkley enjoys a cordial relationship with Meng, but worries he could turn
into a competitor, possibly as a future owner of a ramped-up Cambodia
Daily or of other media formats.

Will Kith Meng and Dunkley team up or fight it out? As if he doesn't have
enough on his plate, the irrepressible Dunkley will have to find a way to
tiptoe around that minefield, too.

Just as he has shown in Myanmar - a much tougher business environment than
in Cambodia - the publisher's own unfailing self-belief will be the
driving force behind his expanding empire.