BurmaNet News, October 7, 2010

[Editor]

October 7, 2010 Issue #4058


INSIDE BURMA
BBC: Bitter divide in Burma's opposition
DVB: Court accepts Suu Kyi lawsuit hearing
AFP: Young women dare to bare in army-ruled Myanmar
Kaladan: USDP candidates, supporters intimidate voters in Arakan

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Builder Italian-Thai to sign $13 bln Myanmar deal
Irrawaddy: Tay Za forms new airline
Irrawaddy: Abhisit will seek business advantages in Burma

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: DVB ‘top three’ for Nobel Peace Prize
WBFO (US): Buffalo's Burmese refugees enriching community

OPINION / OTHER
Sydney Morning Herald: Generals' sham elections put safety of Burma's
exiles at risk – Cynthia Banham
The Globe and Mail (Canada): A glimmer of hope for Burma? Hard to tell –
Clyde Sanger




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 7, BBC News
Bitter divide in Burma's opposition

Burma is preparing to hold elections on 7 November amid criticisms from
pro-democracy activists and Western governments that the poll will not be
free, fair or inclusive.

BBC journalists are not able to enter Burma legally, but our correspondent
visited undercover, and discovered that there are bitter divisions within
opposition circles over how best to approach the coming poll.

Under a starry sky, with bats swooping overhead, a group of young men sat
cross-legged on the floor of Rangoon's most famous landmark, the Shwedagon
Pagoda.

Dressed all in white, they chanted Buddhist prayers in unison, faces
turned towards the towering golden stucca in front of them.

Burma is a land shrouded in mystery, steeped in superstition. But now
there is an added level of uncertainty. Burma's long suffering people are
being asked to vote in an election for the first time in 20 years.

In 1990, they handed victory to Aung San Suu Kyi, though that result was
never acknowledged by the ruling military.

Ms Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest, which means she is not allowed
to stand as a candidate this time. Her party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD), refuses to run without her.

It was a decision based on principle. New election laws compel all
political parties to re-register with an Election Commission hand picked
by the current military government.

But serving prisoners are not allowed to be party members.

"We would have to expel our leader Daw Aun San Suu Kyi," the NLD party
spokesman, Nyan Win, told me when we met in Rangoon.

"About 500 of our members are in jail and we would have to expel them from
our party too. We can't do this."
Boycott call

Where does that leave the NLD's supporters? What should they do come
election day?

Nyan Win said the decision is up to each individual, but that Aung San Suu
Kyi had offered this advice.

"The lady said if you want to vote NLD, don't go to the polling station.
She said, not to vote for any other person because you are a supporter of
NLD."

In other words, boycott the poll.

The election has been meticulously planned by the man who controls
everything in Burma - Senior General Than Shwe. The game is being played
by his rules, according to his timetable.

Critics say the whole election process is skewed in favour of the current
military regime - 25% of seats in the new parliament and regional
assemblies are reserved for the armed forces.

Dozens of other officers have resigned from their posts in order to run as
civilians for parties seen as proxies for the military.

Nyan Win, who is also Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyer, believes the election
will produce nothing more than cosmetic change.

"After the election only military men will rule the country," he said,
"changing uniform, clothes, that's all."

Western governments have expressed similar concerns, though in more
diplomatic language, cautioning that the elections are unlikely to be free
or fair.
'Our duty'

In Rangoon's bustling tea shops, political discussions are held
cautiously. But one question dominates. Was the NLD right to opt out?

Some think not. Including, controversially, a breakaway faction of the
NLD. Calling itself the National Democratic Force (NDF), the new group has
registered to run on 7 November.

The group's chairman, Than Nyein, a former political prisoner now in his
70s, said the new party is determined to offer voters a choice.

"It is our duty to carry on the democratic movement, within the legal
fold. It's the only tangible way to do politics. But others disagreed. So
it is very difficult for us of course because we have to start from
scratch amidst many accusations against us."

With an expression of baffled hurt on his face, Than Nyein said some of
his former comrades in the NLD were deliberately undermining the new
party's chances at the ballot box.

"Unfortunately our old colleagues who have a different opinion than us,
they are urging our grass roots level activists not to join us," he said.

"Our people have been living in a very, very difficult time for the past
20 years. I can say that they are really suffocating, so if we can create
at least a breathing space for them, I think we will have done something
for them.

"We take this coming election as a first step in a long journey towards
democracy."

But other activists say the new party is betraying the democracy
movement's long struggle. They are bitter division, centred on a dilemma:
does Burma's election offer people the chance of something better, however
small, or is it a sham, that will leave them as powerless as ever?

____________________________________

October 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Court accepts Suu Kyi lawsuit hearing – Khin Hnin Htet

Burma’s Supreme Court yesterday said it would accept a lawsuit filed by
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the dissolution of her party.

The spokesperson for the National League for Democracy (NLD), which was
dissolved earlier this year following its decision not to run for the 7
November elections, said the lawsuit was accepted yesterday.

“The Supreme Court agreed to accept our lawsuit and to register it. After
registration, we will have to check back with the court for the [case
schedule],” said Nyan Win, who is also a lawyer for Suu Kyi.

“We are to give out our argument when the case schedule is out and also to
provide assistance if necessary in the court’s investigations. For now, we
have presented our statement on the legal facts we are proposing.”

He added that the court can either open a separate investigation or just
hear the arguments presented by the defence.

The NLD was formally dissolved last month after it refused to register as
a competing party for the elections, citing laws that ban Suu Kyi, who is
currently under house arrest, from participating.

Observers claimed her sentencing in August last year was a ploy to keep
the opposition icon and Nobel laureate out of the political arena during
the polls, Burma’s first in 20 years. A Burmese official said last week
that she would be released “days after” the vote.

The NLD won the 1990 elections by a landslide, but the junta retained
power, locking up many of its key players. Out of Burma’s 2,170-plus
political prisoners, more than 400 are NLD members, according to the
Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP)

____________________________________

October 7, Agence France Presse
Young women dare to bare in army-ruled Myanmar – Rob Bryan

Yangon — All eyes in the Yangon restaurant were on glamorous celebrity
Chan Chan Clare, a pioneer in Myanmar's burgeoning fashion scene, as she
glided across to the table in a tiny sequinned dress.

"Sorry I'm late," said the bubbly 22-year-old model and singer, ordering a
soft drink from the hovering, rapt waiters before sitting down to discuss
the latest sartorial trends in the army-ruled country.

She is busy promoting her first solo album and named singing stars Beyonce
and Celine Dion as her main influences, but Chan Chan made her name
through clothes modelling, a job she claimed "every girl" in Myanmar
wants.

"More and more girls like to wear short skirts. We're growing every day
and finding every new fashion. We go on the Internet and chat and see lots
of fashion from the West and Asia," she said.

"So in the last three years we've had more confidence to wear these kind
of things. No one looks at you if you wear short pants... It's not a
problem now."

The military regime appears to disagree.

"Decadent alien culture such as scanty dresses is unacceptable in Myanmar
society," said a recent comment piece in the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper, a junta mouthpiece.

"Appropriate measures need to be taken by one and all to protect own
culture," the English language article warned.

Myanmar's traditional dress, which is still mandatory in high schools,
universities and most state workplaces, is the demure "longyi" -- a sheet
of cotton or silk cloth wrapped around the waist which runs to the feet.

Sported by the country's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in her
rare public appearances, the often intricately patterned and brightly
coloured longyi is still widely worn by both men and women across the
country.

But the younger generation, especially urbanised young women, are
increasingly shunning the national garb and embracing unconventional
alternatives as they brush aside concerns about morals and modesty.

"Now they know the fashion has developed in our country and now they feel
very comfortable wearing short skirts. They know the freedoms. They
believe in themselves and they've got lots of self-confidence," said Chan
Chan.

Male fashions are evolving too -- there's a growing taste for the rock
music-inspired youth style known as "emo", for example -- but women's
changing dress sense has unsurprisingly drawn more attention in the
conservative nation.

One expatriate worker suggested the noticeable development began in the
commercial hub Yangon after the regime moved the seat of government and
its officials away from the city in 2005.

The timing coincided with the "Korean wave" -- the South Korean cultural
invasion that has swept up Myanmar as it floods much of Asia and the wider
world with its soap operas, films, "K-pop" and clothing.

"South Koreans look so fabulous and stylish in our eyes," enthused Chan
Chan, who said the top K-wave fashion items -- such as little skirts and
jackets, shorts and leggings -- were easy to buy and wear in Myanmar.

The craze for all things Korean is particularly striking in a nation
widely known for its impoverished and isolated status after decades of
military rule. Even Korean celebrity look-alike contests are now held in
Yangon.

"The problem is that Myanmar's traditional fashion cannot overcome the
Korean fashion," said designer Ma May Myo. "It can't compete because young
girls want to wear something light and different and cute.

"They want to show off and you can't do that in a longyi."

The 34-year-old dressmaker, who set up her popular label in Yangon five
years ago, said the demand from her customers for Korean-influenced styles
shows no signs of abating.

"The situation has changed a lot," she said. "We can see through the
Internet what is happening abroad: what designers are doing and the latest
trends. It's not difficult like it was before."

In November, Myanmar is holding its first election in two decades, but
observers are widely expecting an unfree and unfair poll that will keep
the army regime in charge under a cloak of civilian rule.

Aung Naing Oo, a Myanmar analyst based in Thailand, said that the lack of
political change was unlikely to curtail the evolution of fashion or the
desire of Myanmar's youngsters to emulate their more affluent Asian
neighbours.

"I don't think the military can actively stop something like that, a
cultural invasion," he said. "The new generation is wanting something
different after being choked for so long."

Ma May Myo said there have been attempts to modernise the style of the
longyi, with Myanmar's officials sponsoring designers to promote the
traditional dress.

"But the people don't listen. They put on the clothes they want," she
said. "It's a good, exciting time for fashion in Myanmar."

____________________________________

October 7, Kaladan Press
USDP candidates, supporters intimidate voters in Arakan

Candidates and supporters of the Union Solidarity and Development Party
(USDP) in Maungdaw Township are threatening and intimidating local
residents to garner votes, said an elder from Maungdaw.

sticker--2USDP candidate Aung Zaw Win warned residents during a meeting
organized by the Regional Development Association (RDA) yesterday that not
voting for the junta-backed party would bring harm to Maungdaw, said the
elder.

"You are not voting for me. You are voting for the ruling government. If
you fail, it will be difficult for you after the election," Aung Zaw Win
was quoted by the elder as saying at the meeting.

Threats have also been made by supporters of the USDA from Rangoon who
have come to Maungdaw before the elections for November 7, said a
politician from Maungdaw.

A group of supporters led by Nasir Amhed told about 50 residents of Shweza
village that if they did not vote for USDP candidates in their respective
villages, they could be fined up to 100,000 Kyats and spend one year in
prison, the politician said.

In Kyikanpin village, USDP supporter Kyaw Tha urged residents to vote for
his party or face potential harm after the election.

A student from Maungdaw said that the USDP's Aung Zaw Win has mobilized
residents from Ngakura village and surrounding areas to travel with party
candidates to campaign in southern Maungdaw to try and show that they have
the support of local voters.

"Aung Zaw Win brought a Pajero SUV from Rangoon with a bumper sticker
featuring the logo of the party with a lion for the campaign," the student
said.

Meanwhile, campaigners opposing the forthcoming elections have put
stickers on electricity polls in Maungdaw that read: "No 2010 Election"
and "Boycott Election 2010", but security forces removed them shortly
after they were put up and few people were able to see them.

Anti-election campaigns in Arakan State are in evidence since last month
in Munaung, Kyaukpyu, Myebon, Minbya, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, Buthidaung,
and Maungdaw townships.

Those into anti-election campaign are expected to distribute more than
1,000 stickers in about 12 villages in Toungup and Mayee towns in
opposition to the 2008 Constitution and the November 7 election later
today, according to a report from the Arakan Review website.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 7, Reuters
UPDATE 1-Builder Italian-Thai to sign $13 bln Myanmar deal – Pisit
Changplayngam

BANGKOK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Thailand's top construction contractor,
Italian-Thai Development Pcl (ITD.BK), said on Thursday it expected sign a
contract for a deep-sea port project with Myanmar Port Authority by the
end of November.

The Dawei port project, with an estimated value of about 400 billion baht
($13 billion), will include a railway, roads, industrial estates, a
refinery and a steel mill, senior executive Nijaporn Charanachitta told
reporters.

"We should sign the contract with Myanmar Port Authority later this month
or next," Nijaporn said, adding the election in the country on Nov. 7
should not affect the signing and should be positive for the project.

Analysts say the project in the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar, first
mooted a decade ago, could secure a firm source of revenue for
Italian-Thai for at least 10 years.

DBS Vickers gave a "buy" rating to Italian-Thai because of its improved
earnings prospects from the construction project.

Italian-Thai has jobs in hand worth about 40-50 billion baht and expected
to realise revenue of 40 billion baht this year, Nijaporn said.

The company is also in talks to sell a stake in engineering firm Toyo-Thai
Corp Pcl (TTCL.BK) for 300 million baht and expected to complete the deal
in the fourth quarter, she said.

Italian-Thai has a 10.83 percent stake in Toyo-Thai, which is 26 percent
owned by Japan's Toyo Engineering Corp (6330.T).

Last month, the company sold a 10 percent stake in Nam Thuen 2 power plant
in Laos to Electricity Generating Pcl (EGCO.BK) for $73.3 million as part
of a plan to sell non-core businesses.

At the midday break, Italian-Thai shares were up 2.6 percent, while the
broader Thai market .SETI was 0.33 percent higher. ($1=29.89 Baht)
(Additional Reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Writing by Khettiya Jittapong;
Editing by Alan Raybould)

____________________________________

October 7, Irrawaddy
Tay Za forms new airline – Wai Moe

Burmese tycoon Tay Za who is targeted by US sanctions has formed a proxy
airline with the name of Asia Wing and his other airline, Air Bagan, has
increased flights to neighboring Thailand in 2010.

Businessmen in Rangoon said Tay Za will manage Asia Wing through an
associate company, Sun Far Travel and Tour Co Ltd., a well-known travel
agency in Burma, thereby avoiding the financial flow and insurance
problems of his first airline, Air Bagan, which has been affected by
targeted sanctions from the US and EU.

A leading private journal in Rangoon, The Weekly Eleven, reported about
Asia Wing airline in this week's edition, quoting other travel agencies
and airlines in the country.

“As far as I know, the airline is called Asia Wing,” an official with a
domestic airline told the weekly, adding that it was uncertain whether the
name was final. The journal said the airline will use newly-purchased
aircraft from the European Airbus consortium.

A businessman in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity said he
learned from both Tay Za's Htoo Company and Sun Far that the new airline
will begin running on domestic routes before extending to international
routes.

“By using a proxy airline, Tay Za can buy new planes for both the proxy
airline as well as Air Bagan, which is scheduled to extend its
international routes,” he said.

When The Irrawaddy contacted Sun Far's Rangoon office, an official
confirmed that the company will run Asia Wing, but declined to comment on
the company’s relationship with Tay Za.

Information about Tay Za’s proxy airline began to leak from Rangoon’s
business community in June. Rangoon businessmen said US sanctions were
causing problems in transferring funds and insurance for Air Bagan and the
US Treasury Department's powerful global electronic blocking had also
prevented Tay Za’s from purchasing more aircraft for Air Bagan.

The US announced targeted sanctions on senior junta officials and their
family members and associates like Tay Za and other businessmen following
the brutal crackdown on mass demonstrations in September 2007.

The sanctions targeted other Tay Za businesses such as Myanmar Avia Export
Co Ltd, Ayer Shwe Wah Co Ltd in February 2008.

“We are tightening financial sanctions against Tay Za, an arms dealer and
financial henchman of Burma’s repressive junta,” said Adam J. Szubin, then
director of the US Treasury Department.

After the crackdown on the September 2008 demonstration, Air Bagan faced a
consumer boycott in addition to US sanctions. Both sanctions and the
boycott affected Tay Za as Air Bagan was forced to suspend its
international routes from Rangoon to Singapore and Bangkok in November
2007.

However, Tay Za re-launched Air Bagan’s international flights to
Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai in January, flying twice a week.

Later the airline vowed it will extend its routes from Rangoon, flying to
Bangkok and Phuket (Thailand), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Kuala Lumpur
(Malaysia), Kunming (China) and Singapore in the peak season this year,
according to the The Myanmar Times weekly in Rangoon.

The junta, meanwhile, praised Tay Za and other cronies hit by sanctions as
most honorable persons and often highlighted them in state ceremonies and
the media.

On Sept.1, The New Light of Myanmar, ran a front-page story with a picture
of Tay Za alongside Prime Minister Thein Sein in a report honoring
participants in government construction projects in the Cyclone Nargis-hit
Irrawaddy delta.

Photos and the names of other cronies such as Zaw Zaw, of the Max Myanmar
group of companies, Htay Myint of Yuzana Company and Aung Thet Mann, son
of the junta No.3 Shwe Mann, who are on the US sanctions target list
appeared on the newspaper's inside pages.

Tycoon Tay Za is close to junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe and has been
accused of doing business for the general’s family. Tay Za and other
Burmese tycoons such as Zaw Zaw accompanied Than Shwe, his family members
and government officials on a state visit to China in September.

____________________________________

October 7, Irrawaddy
Abhisit will seek business advantages in Burma – William Boot

Bangkok — The underlying purpose of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva's first visit to Burma on Monday is to ensure business as usual
between the two neighbors.

The Bangkok government and its business backers are anxious to remind the
Naypyidaw regime that, regardless of international criticism and pressure
for change, Thailand wishes to expand its status as one of Burma's leading
trading partners.

That’s the view of observers who have been watching relations between the
two countries.

“Bangkok senses that after the promised election in November, Burma is
going to become more business oriented,” said a trade and industry
diplomat with a Western embassy in the Thai capital.

“Of course, Abhisit will make appropriate noises about ‘democracy’ and the
freeing of Aung San Suu Kyi but this visit is about business,” said the
diplomat, speaking to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity.

“A lot of small to medium businesses on both sides have been suffering in
recent months due to the border crossing closures by Burma but there are
bigger trade prizes on offer if a less state-fettered Burmese economy is
permitted after the elections.”

Among the prizes which Thailand is positioning itself to win are
infrastructure projects, including an international port on the southeast
coast at Tavoy on the Andaman Sea, and much trumpeted SEZs—special
economic zones inside Burma but close to the borders.

Earlier this month, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said the Abhisit
delegation's visit would seek to “learn more about Burma’s continuing
privatization of state enterprises and its open market policy.”

“We are interested to learn which sectors will be of interest to Thai
investors and confirm our readiness to cooperate on the economic front,”
Kasit said while visiting United Nations headquarters in New York.

Among other issues, Abhisit hopes to outline Thai proposals for new
cross-border roads and bridges funded by Thailand to help the creation of
SEZs.

Shortly before the closure of the Burma-Thailand border at Mae
Sot-Myawaddy in mid- July—ostensibly because of junta allegations of Thai
tampering with a river boundary—there was a meeting of the
Thailand-Myanmar Joint Trade Commission.

That meeting, the first in six years, had ironically been scheduled to
discuss a relaxation of cross-border trade regulations. It agreed to aim
for a tripling of Thai-Burmese trade up to the end of 2015.

There was also an outline agreement to cooperate on so-called transport
corridors to link southwest China regions via Southeast Asian countries,
under the terms of a cooperative development pact between China and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations..

Businesses on both sides of the border have suffered since the closure of
the border on July 12. The months-long closure of the biggest trade point
between Thailand and Burma has cost Thai firms over US $100 million in
lost business, and led to shortages of goods in Rangoon.

Abhisit’s October 11 visit to the new Burmese capital—far removed from the
main focus of business activity in Rangoon— will be his third attempt to
meet the junta leaders on their home ground since he became prime minister
in December 2008.

His last planned visit, set for early August, was canceled because the two
governments were “unable to coordinate their schedules,” according to the
official Thai News Agency.

Political observers suggest the cancellation, at a time when the junta
sought public endorsement of its supposed political reforms, was a form of
protest over the border closure with Thailand.

Subsequently, the Burmese authorities boycotted a joint technical
committee meeting arranged by Thailand to try to resolve the border
dispute.

Abhisit and his government apparently underestimated the stubbornness of
the Burmese generals, with the prime minister saying in late July he
believed the border would soon reopen once Bangkok had “clarified” the
issue with Naypyidaw.

Thailand’s commerce ministry estimates that the Bangkok government will
need to invest a minimum of $40 million in developing a SEZ in the Mae Sot
border district alone. There would be additional costs running into
millions of dollars in soft loan aid to help create a SEZ on the Burmese
side of the border.

On the Thai side, Bangkok has already drawn up plans for an industrial
estate, export-import customs processing and bonded warehouse services.

But with the Burmese leadership cozying up closer to China and India after
visits to both countries in recent weeks by junta leader Than Shwe,
Thailand may have to work hard to win the commercial prizes it seeks.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
DVB ‘top three’ for Nobel Peace Prize – Joseph Allchin

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has been tipped as a “top three”
contender for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which will be formally
announced in Oslo tomorrow.

Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Oslo-based Peace Research Institute
Oslo (PRIO), made the prediction, arguing that, “The case for a peace
prize to independent reporting is strong, and the DVB, with its innovative
approaches to reporting under tight state controls, may be the first to
win a prize in this category”.

The PRIO website says however that Harpviken’s “speculation does not
confirm or endorse nominations. Nor does it reflect the opinion of the
Nobel Peace Prize Committee”, although the organisation traditionally
makes predictions prior to the awarding.

It would be only the second recognition of a Burmese person or institution
by the Nobel committee, the first going to the detained democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the award in 1991.

DVB’s executive director, Aye Chan Naing, said: “We don’t have high
expectations of winning the Nobel peace prize but just being considered
for this most prestigious award makes us very proud of all our
journalists, especially those who are in prisons, and all the brave people
of Burma.”

He confirmed that 17 DVB journalists are currently behind bars for their
work. Aye Min Soe, who shot footage for the Oscar-nominated documentary,
Burma VJ, said that the prize would be a testimony to people like his
friend and colleague, Ko Shwe, who is in jail in Arakan state. He was
arrested in November 2007 after filming the Saffron Revolution protests
and jailed for 17 years.

Aye Min Soe added however that there were many like himself who found
themselves in exile and stateless, with the UNHCR failing to grant them
refugee status something that he is “very worried about”, given
indications from the Thai government that it plans to deport all Burmese
refugees after the 7 November elections in Burma.

Harpviken has also tipped Sima Samar, chairperson of the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission, for the award, as well as the Special
Court of Sierra Leone, which was set up by the UN and the Sierra Leone
government to seek justice for serious breaches of international law
committed in the country during the war there in the 1990s.

Last year US President Barack Obama controversially won the award, with
many surprised that he was honoured so early on in his tenure as
president. The PRIO’s “top three” for this year however seem to have more
history and accomplishment: the efforts to seek justice for perpetrators
of war crimes in Sierra Leone has stood out as exemplary where other
post-conflict environments have not delivered.

Moreover, the issue of human rights, particularly women’s rights, is a
challenge of huge proportions in war-torn Afghanistan, where Sima Simar
has been active since the Soviet invasion in the 1980s which forced her
and her family into exile.

DVB’s profile has been boosted already this year by an Oscar nomination
for Burma VJ, which used the organisation as a medium through which to
explore independent media in Burma around the time of the September 2007
uprising.

That was Burma’s first exposure at the film awards, and is no mean feat in
a country where no free media exists as a result of the country’s
draconian repression of the press.

The Nobel selectors will likely look to the everyday activities of DVB and
the risks its journalists take to provide information to a media hungry
population. PRIO notes that “It is this ability to contribute regular
reporting from a tightly controlled regime that distinguishes the DVB”.

Another strong contender is jailed Chinese democracy activist and scholar,
Liu Xiaobo who famously penned ‘Charter 08′, a call for democratic
reforms in China. His actions led to his arrest last year, which followed
his detention on 8 December 2008 for collecting signatures for the
Charter. His formal detention began in 2009 for “inciting subversion of
state power”.

Chinese fears of a Xiaobo victory tomorrow led China’s Deputy Foreign
Minister, Fu Jing, to tell Geir Lundestard, head of the Nobel committee,
that awarding him would be “an unfriendly action that would have negative
consequences for the relationship between Norway and China.”

The prize is named after the Swedish industrialist and investor, Alfred
Nobel, who bequeathed a sum of money to be awarded to outstanding
contributors in five categories: chemistry, physics, economics, peace and
literature, which will be awarded today.

____________________________________

October 7, WBFO (US)
Buffalo's Burmese refugees enriching community - Joyce Kryszak

Buffalo, NY - Buffalo is no stranger to immigration. Many city
neighborhoods reflect the rich diversity of those who've come here from
places such as Poland, Italy, and Ireland. But in recent years, Buffalo
has become more of a melting pot than ever. An event tonight hosted by the
International Institute invites the community to become better acquainted
with Buffalo's new Burmese neighbors.

Behind the Amherst Street Wegman's sushi counter there are three sushi
chefs flying through every kind of sushi roll and sashimi imaginable. It
is morning and they are scurrying to stock a row of refrigerator cases
before the hungry lunch crowd comes in.

Sushi franchise owner Kevin Lin works right along side his chefs. Lin does
not have any trouble finding Burmese sushi chefs these days. There are
about 4,000 Burmese living in Buffalo. But Lin said it was not like that
when he got here thirteen years ago.
"A few refugees came here and they don't want to live here because it was
very hard to find a job, and we don't have good enough community people -
so they were bored and they left," said Lin. "But I was just so sorry and
stayed and kept making my sushi."
40 year-old Lin admits he was not happy with Buffalo in the beginning
either. He said not having Burmese friends made it very lonely and hard to
adjust. And he was no fan of the snow. But, as he said, Lin just kept
making his sushi - and money.

Lin's franchise with Wegmans makes him about $600,000 a year. And he owns
a couple of apartment buildings. But this was no overnight success story.
He grew up poor in Burma. And he started that way here too.

"I don't even bring money to the United States. I left whatever money I
made gave my ma to make something to live in over there," said Lin. "I
just came with a couple thousand dollars, my wife and I."

Lin said it was hard in those days. He did not understand all the rules
and regulations. But Lin said he just kept working hard and soon he was
offered a chance to start his franchise. The company helped him with the
mounds of confusing paperwork. Fortunately, there are four local agencies
to help the Burmese who come here now. And they do come.

"Buffalo really has become a destination city, believe it or not, for
refugees living in other states," said Behag.

Helping the 1,400 Burmese who are resettled here each year is Denise
Beehag's job. She is the director of the refugee program at the
International Institute. She said the area's low cost of living - and the
fact that there is now a strong Burmese community - all make Buffalo a
popular choice for resettlement.

The federally supported program at the Institute provides assistance
finding housing and other basic needs for refugees. Beehag said it is not
an easy adjustment. She said most are already traumatized by the
oppression and conditions they left in the country officially known as
Myanmar.

"All of us are humbled every day by the experiences that we hear about
when we talk with our clients and when we see where they've come from and
the circumstances they've come from and moving to a new city and a new
society and having to do all these new things," said Beehag. "It's amazing
to see how resilient they are."

Still, Beehag said integration is not without its struggles. She said
language is a major obstacle. But Beehag said cultural differences make it
hard to fit it too. The Burmese population is by far the fastest growing
in Buffalo. But Beehag said they are still the new kids on the block. And
she says there can be clashes.

"We've seen it in the past with the Latino populations and every
population that come through...now we see the Burmese coming," said
Beehag. "It's always challenging to fit in as the new kid, and a lot of
times it's just because people don't understand."

She said that is why the Institute wanted to hold a community event to
help everyone get to know one another better.

"They can meet Burmese refugees, they can see some Kareni dances, they can
try a little taste of Burma with the Burmese food, meet the monks," said
Beehag. "We just hope everyone comes and meets their neighbors, has a
great time, learns about what's happening in Burma, but more importantly
puts a face to the name Burmese refugee and realize we're talking about
people and we're talking about neighbors. They're not just refugees.
They're new Western New Yorker - they're Buffalonians."

And Burmese entrepreneur Kevin Lin said he is privileged to be one of
those who counts himself as a proud Buffalonian.

"So, now I'm very happy and I appreciate I live in Buffalo. I like it. So,
I'm very happy and I can be home forever in Buffalo - yes," said Lin.

And Lin said he and his wife are looking forward to opening a new
restaurant on the West Side. Not surprisingly, it will feature a fusion of
many Asian styles.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 7, Sydney Morning Herald
Generals' sham elections put safety of Burma's exiles at risk – Cynthia
Banham

There are those in our society who are blase about their democratic voting
rights. Mark Latham provided a classic example when he urged Australians
to vote informal in the August 21 elections.

But on the Thai-Burma border live a group of Burmese asylum seekers who
know better. People who are prepared to endure - and have endured - jail
in the name of democracy.

Right now those people, ex-political prisoners of Burma, are living in
terrible fear and uncertainty about what awaits them following their
country's first elections in two decades, to be held next month.

This week the Thai Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya, said Thailand was
preparing to forcibly repatriate Burmese asylum seekers back to Myanmar -
the military junta's name for the country that Australia still calls Burma
- after the November 7 elections. The ex-political prisoners - there are
more than 100 of them living in camps and illegally in towns in the border
areas - know they face almost certain return to jail if they are sent
home. And they are terrified.

One of them is Aye Min Soe, a video journalist who was twice jailed by the
Burma military, in 1988 and from 1989 to 1992. He fled his country after
filming the 2007 ''Saffron Revolution'', in which dozens of peaceful
protesters were killed. He now lives illegally with his wife and two sons
in the Thai town of Mae Sot. He is forbidden from leaving; he is not
allowed to work and has no identity papers.

Despite his history, Aye Min, and others like him, have no hope of their
refugee claims being heard. The Thai government is not a signatory to the
1951 Refugee Convention and sets its own rules.

Until 2005, Thai government provincial admission boards made decisions on
the refugee status of asylum seekers from Burma. This was an essential
step for a refugee to be able to apply to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement. No registration, no
resettlement. So when the Thais suddenly stopped registering Burmese
refugees in 2005, UNHCR resettlements stopped, too.

When asked recently about the future of the Burmese asylum seekers -
despite examples over the past two years of the Thai government, in
defiance of international law, forcibly repatriating other at-risk asylum
seekers - the UNHCR dismissed any concerns.

"We do not see any evidence that the Thai government plans to forcibly
return refugees or asylum seekers to Myanmar," a spokeswoman said.

Piromya's statements suggest a rethink of this position is urgent.

"I am going back to Bangkok and one of the first things I will be doing is
to launch a more comprehensive program for the Myanmar people in the camps

 to prepare them to return to Myanmar after the elections," Piromya said
in New York.

Aye Min says he and his fellow former political prisoners are "ignored and
forgotten people". They are seemingly without rights, invisible, a problem
that nobody, no government, wants.

Aye Min emailed me a couple of days ago, and his words were full of
desperation. "Thai police are everywhere. We are worrying about arrest and
repatriation," he wrote.

Since Piromya's announcement, Thai police had begun arresting Burmese
migrants in Mae Sot, he said. "We are living very carefully, like a crow."

Aye Min explained, in broken English, what he meant. The crow, a common
bird in Burma, has a "very suspicious manner". "Especially, when they see
their food, they never eat at once. They check the surrounding with
suspicious manner before they eat. In Burmese community, someone who is
feeling unsafe and afraid of something, used to say like a crow."

But the international community's eyes, for the moment, are focused on
Burma's elections, not on people like Aye Min.

Burma, because of its location, ports, natural resources and relationship
with North Korea, is of immense strategic interest to powers such as China
and India.

There are some in the West who believe, whether the generals intend it or
not, that the new parliamentary structures being put in place might
disperse power from the military and lead eventually to a more democratic
style of government. Presumably the generals would like the world to think
this.

But the elections themselves can hardly be called fair or democratic: 25
per cent of the seats in national and local parliaments have been assigned
to the armed forces, which will also hold key ministries. Aung San Suu
Kyi, who won the last democratic elections in 1990, has spent most of her
life since in jail or under house arrest. She remains there today, barred
from running, as are another 2000 political prisoners who are in jail.

This week a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
described the elections as an "opportunity" for Burmese authorities, and
noted a few of the parties registered for the elections were not
affiliated with the regime.

Nick Clegg, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, was more critical in an
opinion piece at the weekend: "These elections will be little more than a
sham to perpetrate military rule."

He warned against the temptation for the international community to
overlook the "deep flaws" in the electoral process because it was more
convenient "to quietly agree that any election is better than no
election".

Whether Burma's elections are a faltering step towards a more democratic
future, or a decoy to distract from what is actually the political
entrenchment of military rule, this should not divert world attention from
what may be a human tragedy about to unfold. Burma's former political
prisoners are begging for help. The international community should not
ignore the pleas of those who have been fighting their whole adult lives
for democracy in Burma.

____________________________________

October 7, The Globe and Mail (Canada)
A glimmer of hope for Burma? Hard to tell – Clyde Sanger

Burma (officially Myanmar), a beautiful country of proud people but frozen
in isolation and military repression, is coming alive. Some prominent
democrats in exile, spread in a diaspora from the Thai border through to
Canada and Europe, are glimpsing a flicker of hope in the election set for
Nov. 7. Can change really be drawing near?

Waiting 20 years for a general election is a long time. It's even longer
if the victory you clearly won in 1990 was brushed aside by a military
regime that had already ruled disastrously for 28 years. And it's
heartbreaking to watch the army brazenly prepare for this new election
under a tortuous constitution that guarantees the perpetuation of military
dominance.

As an opposition leader, what do you do? Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi and her National League for Democracy, which won 80 per cent of the
seats in 1990, denounced the whole process and didn't register to take
part in next month's election. The military-controlled Election Commission
promptly announced the NLD's dissolution. Ms. Suu Kyi ignored this,
telling party offices to continue flying the Fighting Peacock flag.

The All Burma Monks' Alliance is also boycotting the vote. On behalf of
the country's 400,000 monks, the alliance led the non-violent Saffron
Revolution, which the army vigorously suppressed in 2007.

But some groups see the election as a foot in the door. A breakaway NLD
group, the National Democratic Force, has found the money to field some
160 candidates, each paying the equivalent of a $500 registration fee. And
more than 35 other parties decided to fight this uphill battle.

The 2008 constitution and the Election Commission's actions (banning all
three Kachin state parties, for instance, and putting strict controls on
campaigning) load daunting odds against opposition parties gaining any
real influence in parliament or state legislatures.

Yash Ghai, a Kenyan-born United Nations adviser, has written a devastating
37-page analysis of the constitution, concluding: "The denial of justice,
liberty and equality (indeed the fear of these 'virtues') is inscribed in
virtually every principle. ... The only objective that the constitution
will achieve is the privileged position of the armed forces."

Indeed, the generals' efforts to appear as democrats should inspire
satire. From sketching a "road map" in 1992, they formed a national
convention weighted against the NLD delegates, who soon boycotted it and
started their own constitutional deliberations - whereupon the generals
announced heavy penalties for such independent attempts.

After a dormant decade, the generals revived the convention and submitted
a secret draft to some lawyers and professors. Then, without any public
education drive, they held a referendum during the chaos of the
catastrophic cyclone of 2008 when 140,000 people were killed and
communications were disrupted - and claimed almost unanimous approval.

One-quarter of the seats are reserved for the military. More than two
dozen top generals have taken off their uniforms to run for other seats on
behalf of the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. The
president that parliament elects must have had military experience.

What can the world do? China, with the most influence, will be happy if
stability continues. Will Ms. Suu Kyi, whose latest house arrest expires
in November, recover some influence with those democrats who get elected?
Will leading exiles change tactics and try to engage, while pinning their
real hopes on an election in 2015? So many questions.

Clyde Sanger, an Ottawa-based writer, is the author of Looted Land, Proud
People: The Case for Canadian Action in Burma.