BurmaNet News, September 21, 2010

[Editor]

September 21, 2010 Issue #4046


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: People must shun yes-men in polls, independent says
DVB: ‘They beat everyone: man, woman and child’
Khonumthung: EC bars two USDP candidates in Chin state

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: China to loan Burma 30 billion Yuan
Narinjara: Burma and Bangladesh to Meet on Trade in Dhaka

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Rights groups blast Burma's labor record

OPINION / OTHER
Gulf News (UAE): Myanmar's poll will be illegitimate – Editorial

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: Netherlands supports UN Burma crimes inquiry
BCNZ: Burma Campaign New Zealand welcomes the New Zealand Government’s
endorsement of a Commission of Inquiry on Burma
HRW: Philippines: Press for justice in Burma
ICG: China's Myanmar strategy: Elections, ethnic politics and economics

INTERVIEW
Radio Australia: Burma's election will not halt humanitarian crisis




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 21, Mizzima News
People must shun yes-men in polls, independent says

Rangoon – Burmese people should not vote for candidates who are “yes-men”
in the forthcoming election, independent candidate Yan Kyaw said today, in
stinging but indirect remarks against his opponents in breach of junta
electoral rules banning open criticism.

The candidate who will contest in the Pazundaung Township constituency for
the People’s Assembly was taking part as one of 14 independents at a press
conference at Traders’ Hotel in Rangoon at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, held to
explain the policies behind their contesting of the election.

“People should not vote for candidates who want to bring to life a paper
tiger, who want to take a step backwards to dictatorship, who are yes-men
and who are hopelessly vague,” Yan Kyaw said.

His comments came despite a rule from the junta’s electoral watchdog, the
Union Election Commission, that forbids criticism against competitors.
Audience members told Mizzima that they thought his rebukes were directed
at the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)
candidates and their allies, so they had clapped enthusiastically.

The candidates said that they had decided to contest in the election on
November 7 to overthrow the dictatorship.

Former headmaster Tin Aye, who will contest the seat of Lewe in the
Naypyidaw Capital Region, said he had been forced to spend the
compensation he had received for the seizure of his farmland by the junta,
on his campaign.

The list of eligible voters for the election was published on Monday in
many wards, but in some, the lists had not yet been released.

Meanwhile, in some wards, local authorities announced they would issue
temporary identification (ID) cards for those who were without national ID
cards, to allow them to become eligible voters.

Among the 37 political parties, 1,134 candidates of the junta-backed USDP
will contest for seats in all assemblies, putting the USDP at the top of
the list for numbers of candidates. Following is the National Unity Party,
a new incarnation of former dictator Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Programme
Party (BSPP), which has 980 candidates. The National Democratic Force
(NDF) has 164 candidates and the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party has
156 candidates in the running.

The 14 independent candidates:

Yan Kyaw (People’s Assembly candidate for Pazundaung constituency)
Ba Tint Swe (People’s Assembly candidate for North Okkalapa Township
constituency)
Kyi Thein Oo (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for North Okkalapa
constituency No.2)
Thein Htay (candidate for Thanbyuzayat constituency No. 1)
Zaw Min Thein (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for Lemyethna Township
constituency No.1)
Tin Aye (People’s Assembly candidate for Lewe Township)
Kaung Myint Htut (People’s Assembly candidate for South Okkalapa
constituency)
Dr. Than Myint (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for Amarapura Township
constituency No.1)
Dr. Soe Lwin (People’s Assembly candidate for Lemyethna Township
constituency)
Win Ko Ko (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for Thanlyin Township in
Rangoon Division constituency No.1)
Dr. Saw Naing (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for South Okkalapa
Township constituency No.1)
Than Zaw Oo (People’s Assembly candidate for Dala Township)
Hla Shein (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for Moulmein Township
constituency No.1)
Win Cho (States/Divisions Assembly candidate for Dala Township
constituency No.1).

____________________________________

September 21, Democratic Voice of Burma
‘They beat everyone: man, woman and child’ – Moe Myint Zin

Troops from the Burmese army attacked at whole village in Rangoon division
last month, punching and kicking residents from 22 households
“indiscriminately”, eye-witnesses have said.

The assault happened in early August in Thonese Pauk village, Hlegu
township, which lies around 45 kilometres north of Rangoon city. Mirroring
a similar incident in Bago division this month, the attack followed an
argument between an army captain dressed in civilian clothing and a local
youth, Kyaw Linn Thu.

Several hours after the argument, on the evening of 1 August, Captain Sit
Linn Aung returned to search for Kyaw Linn Thu, who by then had
disappeared. His sister, Mawli Win (also known as Daw Pane), was instead
asked to accompany him and two other army officials to the site of the
argument.

“Army officials arrived and they said they wanted to see me so I came out
of my house, and they asked me to show them where the incident took
place,” she said.

“While we were still close to my house, about 40 or 50 soldiers arrived in
a truck. They jumped out of the truck and beat me up. I got punched in my
temple and also hit on my arm.”

Another soldier then “came running and hit me with his rifle butt right in
my chest”, she added. “[The soldiers] ran amok in the neighbourhood,
ransacking houses and beating residents in their own homes.”

A second Hlegu resident, who asked not to be named, said that troops had
also dragged people out of their homes and continued the assault.

“They rounded up the residents from the 22 households on the road and beat
them up, kicking and punching everyone – men, women, and children –
indiscriminately.”

The army has since apologised to the victims, Daw Pane said, adding
however that she had to foot the medical bill for her injuries herself.
She said that the army “told us to drop the charges”.

An attempt by the victims to file a complaint to police was blocked by the
army, said Hlegu local, Nyunt Han. “The police also summoned us for an
investigation. [Daw Pane], who was bashed by the soldiers with rifle-butt,
passed out twice while giving her account to the police and was sent to
Hlegu hospital.”

“The military supervisor of Inn Taing [where the troops are based] was in
the police station at the time and he was telling her off, ordering her to
just give a light account and not to exaggerate. He also ordered the
police officials in the station not to do anything on the sole accounts
given by the villagers.” He added that no action has yet been taken by the
police.

Following the Bago incident, which gained the attention of international
media, Burmese state media tried to placate widespread condemnation by
saying that the violence that resulted in the deaths of the two men was
“just a drunken brawl”.

____________________________________

September 21, Khonumthung News
EC bars two USDP candidates in Chin state

Two candidates of the USDP slated to contest from Hakha and Thantlang
township constituencies in Chin state in the 7 November general elections
in Burma have been barred by the Election Commission last week.

“One reason for the ban could be they were in a foreign country earlier.
Pu Hram Ceu was nominated for the State Parliament and was to contest from
Hakha and Pu Ngun Hram was nominated for the People’s Parliament and was
meant to contest from Thantlang Township,” said Pu Vanlian, President of
the NLD in Hakha.

“We are not aware why they were banned, whether because they went abroad
illegally or they do not meet the 10-year residency status criteria,” he
added.

Rumours say that Pu Hram Ceu was in Malaysia and Pu Ngun Hram was in
America earlier.

The electoral laws state that a person contesting for a seat in Parliament
must be settled in the Union of Myanmar for at least 10 years, or else he
cannot contest for a seat in Parliament.

Similarly, U Hung Nai, a nominated candidate of the Chin National Party to
contest from Mindat constituency (2) where Brig. Commander Hung Ngai is
contesting was also barred by the Election Commission for visiting a
foreign country illegally.

On this, a secretary of the Chin National Party said the Election
Commission is yet to officially announce its decision on U Hung Nai’s
candidature. However, we are already prepared to accept the EC decision if
it comes about.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 21, Irrawaddy
China to loan Burma 30 billion Yuan – Moe Set and Min Lwin

China has agreed to give Burma a 30 billion yuan (US $4.2 billion)
interest-free loan. The agreement was reached during junta chief Snr-Gen
Than Shwe's five-day state visit to China on Sept. 7-11, according to
Burma's Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development (MNPED).

“The interest-free loan agreement between China and Burma was reached
after Than Shwe met China's president Hu Jintao in Beijing,” said an
official from the MNPED.

Than Shwe led a 34-member delegation that included ex-generals and
businessmen such as Tay Za, who is reportedly close to Than Shwe’s family,
and Zaw Zaw, who owns Max Myanmar Group of Companies.

“The 30-year loan is intended to help fund mass hydropower projects, road
construction, railway development and information technology development,”
said the MNPED official, who provided no further details regarding the
loan.
A Rangoon-based economist said that accepting the loan from China may
leave Burma's military government subject to Chinese influence.

“It is obvious that if we receive the 30 billion yuan, we have to accept
Chinese companies in Burma and the migration of Chinese workers into
Burma. The loan received from China helps Chinese people and their
companies. Ordinary Burmese people will not get economic opportunities
from this agreement,” the economist said.

“The government also has not published how they will manage the loan, or
how much Than Shwe can spend in the military development sector,” he
added.

Meanwhile, a military source in Naypyidaw said Than Shwe is not willing to
submit military expenditures to the new parliament that will convene after
the Nov. 7 election.

“Than Shwe is not willing to submit the military budget bill to the
parliament, so he wants to arrange military budgets before parliament is
convened. Burma has recently bought military equipment including aircraft
and ships,” the military source said.

Burma also received a US $1.2 billion loan from China in 2009 for economic
development and information technology development.
____________________________________

September 21, Narinjara
Burma and Bangladesh to Meet on Trade in Dhaka

Dhaka: The Burma-Bangladesh Fourth Joint Trade Commission, or JTC, will
meet in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, tomorrow with the aim of
boosting bilateral trade relations between the two neighbor countries,
official sources said.

The two delegations will discuss many trade issues, including rice and
power imports, border trade, and ship traffic at the two-day meeting.

The 18-member Burmese delegation will be led by Brigadier-General Aung
Tun, Deputy Minister of Commerce for Burma, while the Bangladesh
delegation will be led by Secretary Md Ghulam Hossain.

A source from the Bangladesh government said that the issue of rail and
road connectivity will be top on the agenda as Bangladesh is keen to
connect to the region through Burma in order to promote business with
China and Southeast Asia.

China's ambassador to Bangladesh, Zhang Xianyi, recently disclosed that
Burma has agreed to allow development of road and rail links to connect
Bangladesh and China through its territory.

Bangladesh will also discuss with the issue of direct banking relations
between the two countries, a source said.

Another source said that Burma is interested in exporting 500 megawatts of
electricity to Bangladesh, and the issue is under discussion.

Bangladesh exported $9.17 million worth of goods and commodities to Burma
during the 2008 - 2009 fiscal year, while it imported $66.65 million worth
of goods from Burma. Burma primarily exports timber, fish, cattle, rice,
and other agricultural products to Bangladesh, while Bangladesh exports
pharmaceuticals, leather, and iron and cement for use in construction.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 21, Irrawaddy
Rights groups blast Burma's labor record

Asian human rights groups have condemned the Burmese regime for its new
decree that restricts workers' rights by banning labor protests with
threats of recrimination.

A new government regulation says that any worker who launches or takes
part in industrial protests demanding better rights or conditions could be
fired and blacklisted.

“We strongly condemn the military junta of Burma for its new decree to
curb workers' rights to form trade unions and its harsh punishments
against any industrial action,” said a joint statement released by Asian
campaign groups initiated by the Working People Association (Indonesia)
and Network of Progressive Youth Burma.

Asian regional rights groups that have signed the statement include the
Confederation Congress of Indonesia Union Alliance; the All Nepal
Federation of Trade Unions; the Socialist Party of Malaysia; Socialist
Alliance (Australia); and Socialist Alternative (Australia). Any rights
groups can join the signature campaign and sent it via e-mail through the
address: e-mail international at prp-indonesia.org.

Despite several attempts by Burmese labor rights activists and lawyers to
register independent labor unions, the regime has turned down the
applications, said the joint statement.

On June 23, the Burmese regime again rejected an application to form a
“Burma National Labor Union.” In the absence of independent labor unions
and other channels, such as a free press, to express their grievances,
workers in Burma remain exploited by both foreign and local factory
owners, the statement said.

In the statement, the groups said, “They have no means to demand all
workers' rights: adequate pay, proper working conditions and personal
security. Therefore, we the undersigned organizations and political
parties declare our solidarity with the struggle of Burma's working class,
and hereby demand: new regulations to prevent labour rights are abolished;
any form of repression of workers by factory owners or government agencies
are rejected; and full democratic rights are granted to workers, including
the right to organize, build independent trade unions and form political
parties.”

Burmese authorities decreed the new regulation that restricts workers on
Aug. 20 at a meeting in Rangoon attended by industry employers, government
ministers and Burmese military officials, including Lt-Gen Myint Swe of
the Ministry of Defense.

Burmese activists, however, said that the new regulation also seems to be
a tool for the government to prevent further protest against the regime.

In March, workers in some industries in Rangoon launched protests
demanding employers give them time off during public holidays and increase
their salaries and pay for working overtime hours. An industrial worker in
Burma earns about US $20-40 a month. Many must work overtime to increase
their income.

Historically, labor movements have played a big role in the Burmese
people's struggles against colonialism and fascist military dictatorships.
Burma has experienced two big uprisings in its history in which workers
played the leading role, together with students and the general public: 
the "anti-colonial uprising" and the student-led, pro-democracy
demonstrations in 1988.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 21, Gulf News (UAE)
Myanmar's poll will be illegitimate – Editorial

The military junta can't be taken seriously when it won't even allow Suu
Kyi to vote.

If there was ever any doubt of the illegitimacy of the November 7
elections in Myanmar, the thinnest veil of legality has been cast aside
once and for all with the decision by the nation's military junta to
officially bar Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi from even casting
her ballot.

The poll in the state formerly known as Burma is the first general
election since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a
landslide victory.

In the 20 years since that result, which the military junta refused to
accept, the generals have resorted to a programme of political repression,
state-sponsored suppression and illegal acts to subvert its civilian
population.

Any protests have been put down with arrests, detentions and military
action. Indeed, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 15 of the last 20
years. The latest term of house arrest will expire on November 13, six
days after the elections.

Under a new election law, any convicted person is prevented from voting.

Given the regime's policies of persecution, the politically active are
prevented from exercising their franchise in a meaningful manner.

Whatever the outcome, the Myanmar election cannot legitimise the
illegitimate.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 21, Burma Campaign UK
Netherlands supports UN Burma crimes inquiry

Burma Campaign UK today welcomed Netherlands backing for a UN Commission
of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.

The expression of support was in response to a draft Resolution in the
Netherlands Parliament calling on the government to support an Inquiry,
and also work for the establishment of an Inquiry to be included in the
forthcoming UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma. It was confirmed to
the exiled Burmese news service Mizzima today.

New Zealand was also confirmed today as publicly supporting a UN inquiry.

Netherlands is the 9th country officially on the record as supporting an
Inquiry, and the 5th EU member to express support. The other countries are
Australia, UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, USA, Canada, Hungary and New
Zealand.

The European Union has not yet decided an official position on whether to
support a Commission of Inquiry.

In March 2010 the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma recommended that the UN
establish an Inquiry.

“The official support of The Netherlands for a UN Inquiry into crimes in
Burma is very welcome,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma
Campaign UK. “Every EU member supporting brings us a step closer to
official EU support. The EU should urgently support an Inquiry. Horrific
human rights abuses which break international law are being committed
every day. There is no excuse for delay.”

The Burma Campaign UK has published a detailed briefing on the UN General
Assembly and Burma, available at:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/burma-briefing/title/the-united-nations-general-assembly-burma

For more information contact Zoya Phan on 44(0)7738630139.

____________________________________

September 21, Burma Campaign New Zealand
Burma Campaign New Zealand welcomes the New Zealand Government’s
endorsement of a Commission of Inquiry on Burma

[Wellington, New Zealand] The Burma Campaign New Zealand applauds the New
Zealand Government for their decision to support the establishment of a
United Nations Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in
Burma.

New Zealand joins the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia,
the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary in publicly supporting the
proposal for an investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma. In
March 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma, Tomas Quintana backed the
call of Burma activists around the world and urged the UN  “to establish a
commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the
question of international crimes” in Burma.

“BCNZ welcomes the Government’s decision to support a Commission of
Inquiry.  We urge other nations to do the same and pledge their support
for the establishment of Commission of Inquiry in the UN General Assembly
resolution on Burma this year.

I am delighted in this decision and humbly appreciate the endeavors of
successive NZ governments and parliamentarians who have supported a free
and democratic Burma,” said Naing Ko, Spokesperson for Burma Campaign New
Zealand and a former political prisoner.

"New Zealand has a proud history of promoting and protecting human rights.
I think all New Zealanders will agree with me that we can not tolerate
crimes against humanity and war crimes in our region,” said naing Ko Ko.

There is no doubt that the military junta of Burma is one of the worst
human rights violators in the world. Torture, sexual violence, forced
labour, recruitment of child soldiers, and the killing of civilians in
ethnic areas are widespread and systematic.
“The international community has long been aware of the systematic nature
of human rights violations committed in Burma, and it is imperative they
start to investigate these crimes.

“It is great to see the New Zealand Government is willing to stand in
solidarity with the people of Burma and support the establishment of a
Commission of Inquiry; a necessary first step to ending impunity and
bringing the perpetrators to justice,” Naing Ko said.

____________________________________

September 21, Human Rights Watch
Philippines: Press for justice in Burma

New York – The Philippine government should publicly support the
establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry for Burma, Human
Rights Watch said today in a letter <http://www.hrw.org/node/93166> to
President Benigno Aquino III.

Human Rights Watch urged President Aquino to raise this issue within the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and to support the proposal
for an international Commission of Inquiry on Burma at the US-ASEAN summit
in New York, which begins on September 24, 2010.

"The Aquino government should be a leader in ASEAN to actively address
human rights abuses in Burma," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director
at Human Rights Watch. "ASEAN should promote justice rather than
continuing to take a hands-off approach to abuses among its members."

In his inaugural address on June 30, Aquino said, "There can be no
reconciliation without justice. When we allow crimes to go unpunished, we
give consent to their occurring over and over again." This rings
particularly true for Burma, Human Rights Watch said. The abuses by
Burma's military government, as well as by armed ethnic minority groups,
have gone unpunished for decades.

In promoting human rights in Burma, Aquino would be following the lead of
his late mother, President Corazon Aquino. In a June 1999 speech to the
Forum on Democratic Leaders in Asia Pacific entitled "It is Burma's Time
Now," the former president said, "For there is something in [the
Filipinos'] sense of justice that recoils at the thought that justice
should elude, after all these years, the Burmese people - kind, gentle,
hardworking; but also brave and persevering."

Over a decade later, the lack of accountability for serious for human
rights abuses continues in Burma, and an international inquiry would be a
significant step toward justice, Human Rights Watch said. In March, Tomas
Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, called
on the UN to consider the possibility of establishing a Commission of
Inquiry into crimes in violation of international law committed in Burma
<http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.
48_en.pdf> .

Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States are among the countries that have already
publicly announced their support for such an inquiry.

"The situation in Burma presents an opportunity for President Aquino to
back his rhetoric on human rights with action," Pearson said. "Supporting
an international Commission of Inquiry is in line with past Philippine
practice of raising concerns about Burma's human rights record."

To read the August 2010 Human Rights Watch Q&A on an international
Commission of Inquiry on Burma, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/08/10/q-international-commission-inquiry

To read the August 2010 interview with Human Rights Watch Legal and Policy
Director James Ross, "The Long Road to The Hague," please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/08/22/long-road-hague

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Burma, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/en/asia/-burma

For more information, please contact: In Manila, Jessica Evans (English):
+63-919-928-6920; or evansj at hrw.org In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English,
Thai): +66-850-608406 (mobile)

In Washington, DC, Sophie Richardson (English, Mandarin): +1-202-612-4341;
or +1-917-721-7473 (mobile)

In Kathmandu, Elaine Pearson (English): +1-646-291-7169 (mobile)

____________________________________

September 21, International Crisis Group
China's Myanmar strategy: Elections, ethnic politics and economics

Beijing/Jakarta/Brussels: As Myanmar approaches its first elections in two
decades, China's primary concerns are the security and stability of its
south-western border and protecting its strategic and economic interests
in the country.

China's Myanmar Strategy: Elections, Ethnic Politics and Economics ,* the
latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines China's
approach to Myanmar and the challenges and opportunities the relationship
presents for the two countries.

"Despite widespread international opinion that the elections will be
neither free nor fair, China is likely to accept any poll result that does
not involve major instability", says Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Crisis
Group's China Adviser and North East Asia Project Director.

Beijing hopes the elections will serve its strategic and economic aims by
producing government seen both domestically and internationally as more
legitimate.

As the elections draw near and tensions remain high along the border,
China has been taking a direct role in managing border stability.

Beijing was caught off-guard by the Myanmar government's military
offensive into Kokang in August 2009 that caused more than 30,000 refugees
to flee into Yunnan province. Since then it has used pressure and
mediation to push the Myanmar government and the ethnic groups that live
near the border to the negotiating table. Prior to the Kokang conflict,
China saw the ethnic groups as buffers and bargaining chips in its
relationship with the Myanmar government, but now it increasingly views
them as a liability.
Beijing feels that increasing energy stakes in Myanmar and the Obama
administration's engagement policy are changing the bilateral balance of
power to Naypyidaw's advantage. Beijing is seeking to boost its political
and economic presence in the country by stepping up visits from top
leaders and increasing economic investment and trade. Another factor
impacting its strategy towards Myanmar is the U.S. government's engagement
policy, which Beijing sees as a potential challenge and an attempt to curb
China's influence.

Yet China's pursuit of its interests in Myanmar is encountering
difficulties. Internally, Beijing and local Yunnan governments diverge in
their perceptions and approaches to border management and the ethnic
groups. Beijing prioritises border stability over commercial interests,
but Yunnan values border trade and profits from its special relationships
with ethnic groups. Within Myanmar, the location of large-scale Chinese
energy investments - including in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine States - links
their security to the stability of ethnic group areas.

"Many projects are causing popular resentment towards China, due to
unequal distribution of benefits, environmental damage, and harmful
impacts on local communities and traditional ways of life," says Robert
Templer, Crisis Group's Asia Program Director. "If China does not act to
limit their negative effects, it risks increasing tensions in ethnic group
areas and possible violent backlash".

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

September 21, Radio Australia
Burma's election will not halt humanitarian crisis – Rob Corben with Dr.
Cynthia Maung

In Burma and it's not just landmine victims seeking treatment in Mae Sot.

Karen doctor, Cynthia Muang treats thousands of victims of malaria,
tuberculosis and HIV at a border clinic every year.

CORBEN: Cynthia Muang, a Karen doctor fled to Thailand in 1988 as Burma's
military brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations killing and
wounding thousands and forcing thousand, especially students, to flee to
Thailand.

Dr Muang oversees a 300 bed clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and
more than 100,000 patients a year, 50 per cent of whom come from Burma.

MUANG: Among those 8,000 malaria cases and 4,000 pregnant women come for
anti-natal care. We still have problems with HIV, tuberculosis, so our
voluntary counseling and testing program were formed them among the high
risk groups - almost 18 to 20 per cent positive cases. So every year we
found HIV positive among high risk group.

CORBEN: Many patients flee from internally displaced or IDP (internally
displaced people) areas in Burma due to military operation by the Burmese
army. She expects the region will see little end to the humanitarian
crisis if the military remains in power after elections in November.

MUANG: The military continue expanding their forces in different ethnic
states and then start doing more so-called development projects, like
building bridges, and hydropower. So whenever new development projects
there have been massive displacement, all the ethnic groups they lost
their livelihoods and no compensation and they become refugees and
displaced. So we are very much concerned that if the military continue
holding the power there will be more and more displacement and more
humanitarian crisis in the border area.

CORBEN: And those people are living rather desperate lives, pretty well
being on the run....

MUANG: In IDP (internally displaced people) areas 70 per cent of the death
is due to malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea which can be prevented if
there had been a stable environment. So we want the community to be
stabilized, there and to set up the protection mechanism by themselves and
to empower themselves. So we need more international support. So firstly
stop militarization in the ethnic area and to support the community
organization so that people don't need to displace to Thailand.

CORBEN: The clinic faces challenges to meet special programs among migrant
workers from Burma. Dr Muang says more children are being abandoned as
more people, displaced, lose their homes and livelihoods.

MUANG: And again mostly our people come not only for medical assistance
actually. They lost their livelihood and they don't have regular jobs and
they abandon their children. So we have seen more children abandoned. More
and more children come to Thailand without accompanied parents and
children are abandoned in the hospital or some in the community centre.

CORBEN: They just come and they leave the children there and people
disappear?

MUANG: Some deliver baby and after that they abandon the baby. And
sometime during vaccination day or family planning clinic the mother
brings the baby and then the mother disappears. Just left the baby and
sometimes the children were admitted to the hospital and then the parents
left. So many areas the teachers are also facing the same challenge. So we
really worried that more and more family being separated so it will become
more of a humanitarian crisis issue.

CORBEN: Dr Muang says more assistance is needed to meet the clinics
demands, with a patient workload rising by up to 20 per cent, and as
ethnic communities in Burma remaining under constant threat as the
country's military extends economic control over the border regions.