BurmaNet News, October 15, 2010

[Editor]

October 15, 2010 Issue #4063

INSIDE BURMA
Asian Correspondent: Prospect of civil war looms large in Burma
Mizzima: Editor faces 13 years behind bars - Myint Maung
Mizzima: USDP signboards vandalised with red paint in Pegu town
DPA: Myanmar independent candidate campaigns on "no yes-man" platform
KIC: Forced labour by army in Htan Ta Pin township

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Farmers fight for their land in Kachin state
DVB: New initiative reignites Burma tourism debate

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Burma has ‘one doctor for every 8000 prisoners’
AFP: Malaria stalks Myanmar poor as healthcare crumbles

REGIONAL
Economist: Welcome withdrawn - B.B

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: Junta’s lack of engagement frustrating: Ban

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Who Cares if the Election is 'Free and Fair'? - Aung Zaw
Daily News and Analysis (India): Burma elections, a far cry from a
democratic affair  - Gayatri Lakshmibai

PRESS RELEASE
HRW: Indonesia: Press For Justice in Burma


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 15, Asian Correspondent
Prospect of civil war looms large in Burma - Zin Linn

A mine blast occurred in Kachin State on 13 October, leaving two dead and
one wounded. Five villagers from Pinkyaing Village, Pinball Village-tract
Mogaung Township stepped on a mine planted by KIA insurgents while
climbing Nwalabo, the New Light of Myanmar said today.

Two who hunt animals were killed and one was injured in the blast which
occurred 10 miles en route for the west of their village. The injured was
then sent to Pinbaw Station Hospital for medical treatment.


>From 1st January to 14th October, 11 men and three women, altogether 14

have fallen to victims of mine attacks by insurgents across the nation.
Figures also show that 52 men and seven women, altogether 59 were injured
in the mine blasts according to the New Light of Myanmar.

This is the first time that the junta has used the term "insurgent" to
describe the ethnic Kachin Independence Army since the group signed a
cease-fire agreement with the junta in 1994 that ended a decades-long
struggle against the government for autonomy. Using the term "insurgent"is
not a good sign.

Tensions between the Burma Army and ceasefire groups, the UWSA, Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), SSA ‘North’ and the NDAA have soared after the
junta’s latest deadline for the groups to disarm expired on September 1.
Both sides have been reinforcing their troops on heightened alert after
none of them accepted the junta’s plan.

The Burmese Junta’s radio and television said the Union Election
Commission had decided that the election in a number of townships in five
states would not be free and fair.

On 16 September, the UEC announced that the elections will not be held in
some areas in Kayin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Shan State and Mon
State as they are in no position to host free and fair elections in the
Multiparty Democracy General Elections to be held on 7 November 2010. The
announcements did not clarify how many constituencies have been removed
from the election.

The states are home to armed ethnic groups which defend against the
Burmese junta's attempts to assimilate them into a border guard force.
Hence, several ethnic leaders asserted that they don't have faith in the
planned 2010 election where they could have little space. For, it will not
create a real peaceful federal union as the Burmese armed-forces take not
only 25 percent of all seats but also seize additional 50 percent via
junta-backed party in the upcoming parliaments as set by the 2008
Constitution.

The junta’s planned election setting can be seen evidently as a wonderful
structure of grabbing power incessantly. Persons may be changeable but
military dictatorship will hold on power for many more decades.

Recently, incidents between the Burmese Army and ceasefire groups, the
UWSA, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), SSA ‘North’ and the NDAA, have
increased after the junta’s latest deadline for the groups to disarm
expired on September 1. Both sides have been reinforcing their troops who
are on heightened alert with none accepting the junta’s demand.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said that the Kachin Independence
Organization (KIO) has had “basic discussions” with Beijing over the
contours of a “genuine union” within Burma in which the ethnic groups
would have autonomy, possibly similar to the Special Administrative
Regions in China—Hong Kong and Macao.

Burma’s junta said any group failing to surrender by the deadline will
automatically become an unlawful association. The nation seems to be
tumbled into a horrified tragedy due to negligence of national
reconciliation and ethnic self-determination aftermath of the planned
polls.

____________________________________

October 15, Mizzima
Editor faces 13 years behind bars - Myint Maung

New Delhi – A special tribunal in Insein prison on October 13 sentenced
Kandarawaddy news journal editor Nyi Nyi Tun and businessman Soe Tun Oo to
prison terms of 13 and eight years, respectively.

The Seikkan Township court, sitting inside Insein prison, found Nyi Nyi
Tun guilty under section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, section
13(1) of the Immigration Emergency Provisions Act, section 505(b) of the
Penal Code and section 6(1) of the Wireless Act. Meanwhile, Soe Moe Tun
was sentenced for violating the association and immigration acts.

After being sentenced, Nyi Nyi Tun told family members that he was
tortured during interrogation. He also handed them a piece of paper
reading, “Comrades! The junta gave me a 13-year prison term for serving as
a matchmaker between people and politics,” according to his lawyer Kyaw
Hoe.

"They were given maximum sentences. There were no eyewitnesses in these
cases. They could not prove the cases with sound evidence," their lawyer
told Mizzima.

Police officers from the Rangoon Division Police Chief Office arrested Nyi
Nyi Tun and Soe Moe Tun in Thingangyun Township of Rangoon Division upon
suspicion of having connections with a series of bomb blasts that rocked
Rangoon in October 2009.

"Instead of encouraging media development, they obstructed media, which is
the ears and eyes of the country. So, our media association condemns these
matters," responded Zin Lin, vice-chairman of the exile-based Burma Media
Association (BMA).

Nyi Nyi Tun had been working as editor-in-chief of the Kandarawaddy news
journal, published in the Kayah special region since 2007. Following his
arrest the journal was closed. Soe Tun Oo is a businessman.

Advocates Kyaw Hoe and Tin Tun, the latter of who is the father of Soe Tun
Oo, gave notice they would appeal the verdicts within the mandated 30-day
period.

The Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
website lists nearly 2,200 political prisoners in various prisons across
Burma.

____________________________________

October 15, Mizzima
USDP signboards vandalised with red paint in Pegu town - Salai Tun

Signboards belonging to Burma’s main junta-backed political party were
vandalised with red paint in Pegu Division on Thursday morning, forcing
party members to scrape them clean, witnesses said.

About 10 Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) signboards in
Thayarwaddy Township, 60 miles (97 kilometres) north of Rangoon, including
one on the house of USDP candidate Tin Soe, one at the bus stop near
Alelgone Pagoda and another on the District Peace and Development
Council’s offices were painted red. Obscene language covered some of the
signs, a witness said.

The Township Police Force and USDP members have made enquiries about the
case, but no arrests had been made.

The USDP, another junta-backed group – the National Unity Party – and the
Democratic Party (Myanmar) will contest in Thayarwaddy constituency in the
forthcoming election.

Burma’s ruling junta backs the USDP, which was transformed from the
now-defunct ultra-nationalist Union Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA), notorious for its bloody attacks on opposition and democratic
forces including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her entourage
in Depayin, northern Burma in 2003.

At least 5,000 USDA members gathered in a co-ordinated attack and beat to
death more than 70 National League for Democracy supporters during Suu
Kyi’s roadshow around the country in May of that year. Suu Kyu aided by
bodyguards managed to elude the attackers but was arrested soon after the
massacre.

USDA members also aided the bloody suppression of the “Saffron
Revolution”, so named as it was led by monks protesting against up to 66
per cent fuel price rises in 2007. The protests expanded but were brutally
suppressed by the Burmese Army.

____________________________________

October 15, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar independent candidate campaigns on "no yes-man" platform

Yangon - Myanmar independent candidate Yan Kyaw on Friday kicked off his
campaign for a seat in parliament in the November 7 general election with
the slogan 'Don't vote for a yes-man.' Yan Kyaw, 56, a former political
activist, is one of more

Yan Kyaw, 56, a former political activist, is one of more than 40 Burmese
who have been permitted to contest the upcoming polls as independent
candidates.

He began canvassing for votes in Puzudaung township in downtown Yangon,
the economic capital of Myanmar.

"Don't vote for a man who is in the water to follow other fish," Yan Kyaw
shouted as he canvassed for votes, an indirect attack on the pro-military
parties that are contesting the election, the first to be held in Myanmar
for 20 years.

"The message I want to give to the people is to go to the ballot station
and cast their votes boldly," Yan Kyaw told the German Press Agency dpa.

 Myanmar's election commission has permitted 36 political parties and
about 40 independent candidates to contest the polls for the lower, upper
and regional houses of parliament.

Election regulations pushed through by the junta earlier this year have
effectively blocked the main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy (NLD) led by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, from contesting
the election.

The NLD, which won the 1990 election by a landslide but was blocked from
assuming power by Myanmar's military, has decided to boycott this year's
polls.

Analysts believe the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party
(USDP), with more candidates and money than its rivals, will win the most
seats in the polls.

The USDP, established in June, is the political arm of the military junta
that has been running the country with an iron fist since 1988.

The USDP's closest rival in terms of the number of candidates and
financing is the National Unity Party, another pro-military party.

Suu Kyi, 65, was blocked from contesting the polls by an election rule
that stipulates a person currently in prison cannot run. Suu Kyi is
serving an 18-month house detention term which will expire on November 13.

____________________________________

October 15, Karen Information Center
Forced labour by army in Htan Ta Pin township - Saw Thein Myint

Since early this month villagers from Tekpu village tract, 20 miles
southeast of Htan Ta Pin town in Karen State, are being used as forced
labour by the Burmese Army.

The army forced 38 villagers from four villages to carry military rations
of the Infantry Battalion No. 102 under MOC-7 (Military Operation Command)
based in Tekpu, Htan Ta Pin Township, Saw El Wah, in-charge of the
Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) said.

“Nine men and three women from Tekpu village, eight men and seven women
from Myauk Chaung village, six men and six women from Han Toe village, and
six men and three women from Kan Pel Myaung village were forced to carry
army rations from Tekpu camp to Thabyaynyung camp by IB 102 on Oct 12,”
Saw El Wah told KIC.

Again on 12 October, 30 villagers were forced to carry army rations from
Yaytakun village to Paletwa army camp by soldiers from IB 102 based in
Kalawmedel (Yaytakun village), he added.

The army is systematically and intentionally committing abuses on local
people, a commander from KNLA brigade No. 2 said.

“The Burmese Army is forcing local people to work. They are being forced
to carry army rations. The villagers are also carrying things, like areca
nuts, cardamom seeds, confiscated from locals, for sale. People are unable
to do their own work to earn their livelihood,” he said.

Six men and four women from Tekpu village were forced to carry army
rations from Baranathi camp to Tekpu camp by this battalion on October 9.
Villagers from Zephyugon village were forced to send eight wooden pillars
and 350 bamboos on October 11 by IB 73, based in Sarzebo army camp, under
the southern military command.

Locals said four villagers from each village are on daily duty at the
military camp in this area to collect firewood, vegetables among other
things since 2006. The army units also restrict locals from travelling
around the area.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 15, Irrawaddy
Farmers fight for their land in Kachin state - Ko Htwe

“Every day, I can hear farmers crying. I see their despair and their
tears,” said Bauk Ja, a Kachin farmer who lost her land to the Yuzana
Company in December 2008. “We farmers depend on our land for agriculture.
It is our livelihood and our life. Without land, we have nothing!”

The 44-year-old is the appointed leader of one of the groups of farmers in
Hukawng Township, a rural area west of state capital Myitkyina. She spoke
to The Irrawaddy after a State Court decision exonerated Yuzana Company
Chairman Htay Myint from prosecution on Tuesday.

However, all is not lost for Bauk Ja and her fellow farmers: although the
court in Myitkyina threw out the lawsuit against the company chairman, it
said it would allow a case to be launched against the director of Yuzana,
whose name was not revealed.

The State Court decision was greeted with skepticism by most observers who
see the case as yet another signal that military cronies such as Htay
Myint are above the law.

Htay Myint is known to be close to several military generals in Burma and
is blacklisted with sanctions by the US and the EU. He is running as a
candidate for the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party in
Tenasserim Division in next month's general election, and, according to
sources, has upward of 100 million kyat (US $100,000) to spend on
campaigning.

“We cannot omit the chairman of the company from our lawsuit, because the
director is below the chairman on the company ladder,” said Bauk Ja.
Htay Myint is accused by the farmers of establishing a massive mono-crop
plantation on 200,000 acres of land in the Hukawng valley.

The 600 farmers were evicted from their farms between 2006 and 2008
without full compensation and displaced to areas far from their ancestral
lands while the state granted 1,338 acres of the seized property to the
Yuzana Company. Bulldozers and backhoes arrived shortly after and razed
the land to make way for sugar cane and tapioca cultivation.

“The company confiscated the farmers' land and razed it. That is why we
filed a lawsuit—to claim adequate compensation from the company,” said
Myint Thwin, one of the lawyers for the farmers.

A group of 148 farmers filed a lawsuit in August, but Yuzana reacted by
convincing the group to drop the case in return for payments of 80,000
kyat ($80) per acre each to a maximum of 500 evicted farmers.

However, in many instances the farmers did not receive any payments and
enquiries to lawyers and Yuzana Company executives went unanswered or were
stonewalled, said Bauk Ja.

“They evicted us to rocky land where we can grow nothing,” she said. “Some
farmers have been forced to sign documents saying they agree to the land
confiscation.”

Two groups of farmers have already filed lawsuits claiming compensation. A
third group, representing 46 farmers, filed a lawsuit on Thursday. The
court will reconvene on Oct. 20, according to Bauk Ja.

The land in dispute lies in the Hugawng Valley in the western part of
Kachin State near the Indian border. It is also the site of the Hukawng
Valley Tiger Reserve where conservationists are fighting to protect the
endangered species.

____________________________________

October 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
New initiative reignites Burma tourism debate - Dan Withers

A new campaign promoting Burma and three other countries as a single
tourism destination has reignited debate on the ethics of travel to the
military-ruled Southeast Asian nation.

Tourism ministers from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma announced the
“Four Countries: One Destination” campaign at an international travel expo
in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this month. The four countries will aim to
improve transport links between their major attractions and encourage tour
operators to design cross-border tours.

The initiative aims to help the countries compete with more popular
destinations such as Thailand and China. A two-week tour could see
tourists take in Halong Bay in Vietnam, the historic Laotian city of Luang
Prabang, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the ruined Burmese city of Bagan –
arguably just as spectacular as the famous Khmer temple complex.

But travel to Burma remains controversial. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese
opposition leader under house arrest in Rangoon, has urged a boycott of
travel to the country, arguing tourism merely lines the pockets of the
military and its cronies. The junta has also been accused of using forced
labour in the construction of hotels.

Last year rumours surfaced that Suu Kyi had dropped her opposition to
travel to Burma, though her party, the National League for Democracy, made
no official announcement indicating a change of policy. Anna Roberts of
the Burma Campaign UK told DVB her organisation supported the policies of
the democracy movement, “and they have called for tourists to stay away”.

“As this new initiative demonstrates, Burma’s generals have identified
tourism as a potential major source of income,” she said. “Some people
argue that it is all right to go on holiday to Burma as local people will
benefit. It’s true a small number of people do benefit from tourism, but
millions suffer from the regime it helps to fund.”

But many observers take a different view. The Free Burma Coalition, a
political initiative which spent years advocating a tourism boycott,
reversed its position after deciding pro-sanctions campaigns had failed to
achieve change in Burma. Dr Maung Zarni, the organisation’s founder, is
broadly in favour of tourism. “I know it is against the views of the
pro-sanctions crowd, but I would like more people to go,” he told DVB.
Tourists should nevertheless avoid government-run facilities where
possible, he said, adding that most five-star hotels were joint ventures
with the government.

Derek Tonkin, former UK ambassador to Vietnam, Thailand and Laos and
chairman of the Network Myanmar advocacy group, is another tourism
advocate. Tonkin argues that avoiding government-run hotels is now less of
a concern than it was. “All the old state institutions, the restaurants
and hotels have been sold off to the private sector, and were sold off at
the beginning of the 1990s,” he said, claiming the majority were now 100%
owned by foreign companies.

The amount of money the regime derives from tourism is small, Tonkin said.
According to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, 227,400 visitors visited
Burma last year. Those tourists brought in around $US200 million, Tonkin
estimates. “It’s ceased to be –  if it ever was – a main source of income
for the regime,” he said, adding that the regime’s real source of income –
sales of natural gas – bring in about $US200 million every month.

Tourism advocates argue the industry supports a large number of people who
suffer from the boycott. Tonkin says the industry employs around 600,000
people. “That includes everyone down to the postcard seller, the taxi
drivers and the tour guides, whether they’re official or unofficial
 I see
tourism very much as a means of breaking through Burma’s isolation and
getting to the people,” he said.

On November 7, Burma will hold its first elections in 20 years. Following
the polls, few observers look likely to change their views on the tourism
boycott. The Burma Campaign UK’s view of the polls is typical of most in
the pro-democracy movement.

“Everyone knows that the sham elections in November won’t bring Burma
closer to freedom and democracy, the elections are designed to maintain
dictatorship. That’s why we need the international community to unite
behind a UN-led effort to pressure the dictatorship to open dialogue with
the democracy movement and ethnic representatives,” said Roberts.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

October 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma has ‘one doctor for every 8000 prisoners’

Details of healthcare professionals available to Burma’s estimated 200,000
prisoner population has exposed a grossly under-resourced sector, with one
doctor available for every 8000 inmates.

The prisoner population is spread over 43 prisons and around 100 labour
camps scattered across the country, from the notorious Insein prison in
Rangoon, built by the British in 1871, to remote camps along the
Burma-China border.

Tate Naing, secretary of the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), says there are around 200,000 prisoners in total,
although government figures are more conservative. Around 2,170 of these
are monks, activists, lawyers, policians, relief workers and journalists.

Burma’s healthcare system outside of prisons is already amongst the worst
in the world, with the ruling junta thought to spend only around $US0.40
per person each year.

But yesterday an official from the Prison Administration Department was
quoted in the Weekly Eleven News Journal as saying that there are only 109
medical staff assigned to prisons and camps across Burma, 32 of which are
trained doctors. A number of other specialists pay twice-weekly visits to
prisons.

“Sometimes it can take two or three days to see a doctor,” said Kyaw Hsan,
who in 2000 was sentenced at the age of 15 to five years in prison, and
now lives in Thailand. “You’ll be sent to a clinic to assess you, and if
it’s serious you go to the prison hospital.

“The hospital is really bad for criminals, not so bad for political
prisoners. The politicals sleep in a bed but criminals have to sleep on
the floor, with no mat. The toilet is a plastic bowl – we used to have to
hand-wash the floor around the bowl and there were loads of flies and
mosquitoes.

Medicine donated by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which
the junta has now blocked from visiting prisoners in Burma, was often
given to political prisoners, Kyaw Hsan said, while the common criminals
were forced to buy their medicine from the doctors.

Only when it became obvious that the prison hospital could not treat the
patient would they be sent to a local hospital outside of the gates, he
added.

According to official government statistics, Insein prison has around 5000
inmates, although other estimates put the figure closer to 10,000.
Mandalay prison holds around 3000. Inmates of remote labour camps and
prisons are often subject to harsh weather conditions, particularly in the
country’s far north where temperatures in winter drop to near freezing.

____________________________________

October 15, Agence France Presse
Malaria stalks Myanmar poor as healthcare crumbles - Rob Bryan

In a sleepy, rural settlement in the far north of army-ruled Myanmar,
farmer Tu Raw anxiously cuddles his young son and baby daughter, both
coughing and feverish with the symptoms of malaria.

About half of the villagers in this remote corner of Kachin State are
suffering from the mosquito-borne disease, but medical supplies provided
by the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), a Christian group, ran out two
weeks ago.

"We are waiting for medicine," said the 29-year-old, shaded from the
fierce tropical heat by his wooden hut, as chickens squawked nearby.

Tu Raw, whose name has been changed for his safety, does not know when the
next batch of malarial drugs will arrive and he owns no means of transport
to get to the nearest clinic in Waimaw township.

In military-ruled Myanmar, saying anything seen as critical of the
authorities can have serious consequences.

"We wait because we don't have enough money," said the worried father, who
has resorted to the traditional method of vigorously scrubbing the skin to
relieve pain, leaving maroon, whip-like marks on his three-year-old boy's
back.

Malaria is the country's most rampant disease, infecting up to 10 million
people and possibly killing tens of thousands each year, according to
Frank Smithuis, a malaria expert who has been in Myanmar for 16 years.

Many struggle to get the help they need, particularly in rural border
states such as Kachin that are home to marginalised ethnic minorities.

A local co-ordinator at the KBC said his group only had the resources to
assist about 5% of the Kachin population in the fight against malaria.

"There are many people we can't reach and it's getting worse," he said.
"It's linked to poverty. Most of them can't even afford mosquito nets."

'Very hard life'

Non-governmental organisations such as the KBC are crucial in a country
where, according to a United Nations report earlier this year, the
military regime spends just 0.5% of gross domestic product on health.

And despite being one of the least developed countries after nearly five
decades of army rule, overseas development aid trickling into Myanmar is
among the lowest in the world.

World Bank figures show nearly a third of the 50 million-strong population
lives below the poverty line, while the mortality rate of children under
five is almost double the world average, according to the World Health
Organisation.

"It's a very hard life. We are not happy," said one of Tu Raw's
neighbours, a 48-year-old woman, as she tended to her malaria-infected
daughter, aged 10, huddled in the corner of their thatched bamboo home.

Aside from malaria, hundreds of thousands in Myanmar also suffer from a
range of other ills including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, dysentery and
malnutrition.

While some public healthcare -- such as malaria tests and treatment -- is
supposed to be free, often clinics are not supplied with drugs and
patients have to go to local pharmacies.

"Almost 70% of healthcare is provided by the private sector, but this is
of varying quality and not affordable for a big group," said a foreign aid
worker in Myanmar, who declined to be named owing to political
sensitivities.

He said non-governmental aid groups are not allowed access to hospitals,
which are understaffed in rural areas.

Despite the critical humanitarian situation, political parties have only
mentioned health policy in vague terms, if at all, ahead of controversial
Nov 7 elections that the main pro-junta party is expected to win.

Harmful boycott

Maung Zarni, a research fellow on Myanmar (formerly Burma) at the London
School of Economics, said there was a "complete absence of space to
seriously discuss the fundamental issues" such as healthcare.

"The problem is not that people don't want to raise policy issues, it's
that the generals who make decisions are not open to any policy
discussion," he said.

The cause of the healthcare crisis is not low revenues. The regime rakes
in cash from exports of natural resources, such as gas, but 80% of state
spending goes on the army and state-owned enterprises, according to the
UN.

Although humanitarian groups try to fill the gaps in the healthcare
system, it is "not remotely sufficient for what is needed”, the aid worker
said.

In the past, overseas governments have scaled down aid in protest at
Myanmar's lack of democracy, human rights abuses and the suppression of
the opposition, or felt forced to pull out because of the junta's tight
controls.

The country receives about US$4 per person a year in foreign aid, compared
with about US$38 per person in Cambodia and 50 in Laos, according to
Smithuis, the former Myanmar director of Medecins Sans Frontieres.

He called for a major injection of foreign funds following signs that new
drug-resistant malaria has emerged in eastern Myanmar, which he said was
potentially a "very serious" threat.

"It is in practice a humanitarian boycott, for purely political reasons.
This is a scandal," said Smithuis. "The needs are high and the
humanitarian boycott is only harming the people of Myanmar."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 15, Economist
Welcome withdrawn - B.B. | Mae Sot

THAILAND’S foreign minister announced at the end of last month that his
government plans to repatriate an untold number of Burmese refugees.
Sometime after Myanmar holds its November elections, the first in two
decades, the Thais plan to expel its citizens who have made their home in
Thailand.

Kasit Piromya made the remarks during a speech to the Asia Society (full
video) in New York on September 28th. “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, the displaced persons, the
intellectuals that run around the streets of Bangkok and Chang Mai
province, to prepare them to return to Myanmar after the elections.”

Thailand's foreign ministry has since said Mr Kasit's remarks have been
misinterpreted. They say that Burmese asylum seekers will not be returned
until “the situation in their country becomes conducive”, whenever that
may be.The proviso has not done much to reassure Burmese refugees however.
Thai authorities have shown an inclination in recent years to carry out
deportations even in the face of strong opposition from rights groups and
foreign powers.

Thailand has for decades served as a refuge for Burmese opposition leaders
and activists fleeing political, ethnic and religious persecution. Border
camps in Thailand hold an estimated 150,000 Burmese, tens of thousands of
whom are unregistered. Another two to three million Burmese have slipped
into Thailand proper to escape a dire economy at home; they have become an
underclass of cheap labour for Thai businesses.

The forced return of these various groups raises the prospect of a massive
humanitarian crisis. Human-rights groups have lambasted the plan, which
they say would represent a grave breach of international law. The
principle of non-refoulement prohibits the repatriation of refugees to
areas where they are likely to be threatened.

Mr Kasit said the repatriation was warranted by Myanmar’s progress towards
becoming “half-democratic”. Few observers outside Myanmar (which is still
called Burma by many) believe the elections will deliver any real change
in its government’s treatment of opposition groups or in its dictatorial
manner of running the country in general. As the November 7th elections
approach, more than 2,100 political activists are held in Burmese prisons
and hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens, predominantly from
ethnic-minority areas, are displaced internally because of conflicts with
government troops or other ethnic militias. As recently as this past
August, America called for an inquiry into alleged war crimes by the
government.

“We have no reason to believe the political activists or ethnic groups
will be able to return safely to Burma,” says Andy Hall, a consultant to
the Bangkok-based Human Rights and Development Foundation. “There’s
nothing to say the conflict will get any better after the election.”

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by the army’s
plainclothes generals, is expected to sweep the elections. Many members of
the opposition have been barred from running and others have faced
intimidation and worse as they struggle to mount campaigns. For its part,
the USDP has drawn heavily from state assets to present its deep field of
candidates. A new constitution reserves a quarter of all parliamentary
seats as well as the most influential ministries for the army.

If carried out, Thailand’s repatriation of Burmese nationals would top off
what has been a less-than-stellar few years in its treatment of refugees.
There have been widely corroborated accounts that in December 2008, the
Thai navy towed into to deep waters a convoy of un-seaworthy boats
carrying hundreds of ethnic Rohingya who had been fleeing Myanmar and
Bangladesh. Many on board those vessels are believed to have perished. In
December 2009 Bangkok deported thousands of ethnic Hmong back to Laos,
where right groups expect them to face harsh retaliation for the Hmong’s
historic opposition to the Laotian government. Earlier this year thousands
of ethnic Karen who had fled to Thailand to escape fighting in Myanmar
returned home across the border; their advocates say they were driven by
harassment from the Thai army.

But Thailand’s longer record on Burmese refugees has been admirable, says
David Mathieson, the head of research on Myanmar for Human Rights Watch.
Thailand has for decades borne the brunt of refugee exoduses from
South-East Asian conflicts, including wars in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
“You put that in context and Thailand actually has been very tolerant in
its refugee policy towards Burmese.” But Mr Kasit’s recent proposal is
deeply dangerous, he says—and vague, too. “It’s unclear who exactly this
would apply to and how it would be carried out.” In the meantime, he adds,
“it has made hundreds of thousands
if not millions of Burmese in Thailand
very nervous.”

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Junta’s lack of engagement frustrating: Ban - Lalit K Jha

Washington—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again expressed his
frustration over the Burmese junta’s lack of democratic engagement, as the
country prepares for its first election in 20 years.

 “It is a source of disappointment that, despite our best efforts, Myanmar
[Burma] failed to utilize my good offices and engage meaningfully on
issues of mutual interest and concern during the reporting period. This
is a regrettable lost opportunity for Myanmar to pursue our shared
goals,” Ban said in a report on human rights in Burma.

He said: “Myanmar’s lack of engagement is deeply frustrating, as it not
only contradicts its stated policy of cooperation with the United Nations
but also limits my ability to fully implement the mandate entrusted to me
by the General Assembly.”

“It also disregards the support that [UN] Member States have invested in
the good offices mandate. Member States thus have an interest and
responsibility to express their support by actively helping to ensure that
Myanmar extends the necessary cooperation” he said.

Ban reiterate his call for unity of purpose and action among interested
member states, regional entities, multilateral development actors and
international financial institutions.

“This is critical to encourage all domestic stakeholders to bring about
positive change in the national interest of Myanmar,” he said.
Referring to the Nov. 7 general election in Burma, Ban said it presents a
major test for the prospects of peace, democracy and prosperity in the
country.

“An inclusive and credible electoral process can serve to unite the
country and meet the aspirations of its people for a better future,” he
said. Early this week, the Obama administration said it does not see any
progress being made towards holding a free and fair election in the
country.

Noting that the detention of political prisoners and continued house
arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi remains an issue of concern, Ban said it is
regrettable that further opportunities to advance meaningful political
dialogue among key stakeholders have not been pursued.

“The fact that negotiations between the government and key armed ethnic
cease-fire groups remain pending at a time when maximum confidence and
stability is required for any transition to succeed is also cause for
concern,” he said.

“While certain key stakeholders have determined that conditions do not
make it possible for them to participate in the elections, the fact that
some parties have decided to participate both nationally and locally
suggests that some political space may have opened up by the standards of
the past two decades,” he said.

Ban urged the junta to release all the remaining political prisoners,
including Suu Kyi, so that they can freely participate in the political
life of the country.

“This will be the clearest signal of their commitment to a credible
electoral process,” he said. “Respect for the fundamental freedoms of
expression, peaceful assembly and association for all citizens, including
engagement in political debate and access to the media, is also essential
in order for the process and its outcome to be broadly representative and
acceptable. Failure to fulfill these responsibilities could seriously
undermine the credibility of the elections.”

The international community is expected to raise the issue of Burma’s
national reconciliation process at the summit of the Association Southeast
Asian Nations and related summits in Hanoi on Oct. 28-30. US Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to attend the meeting.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 15, Irrawaddy
Who Cares if the Election is 'Free and Fair'? - Aung Zaw

Do Burma's rulers care if this year's election is free and fair? Of course
not. Why should they?

It's not as if holding a sham election will make them the black sheep of
the regional family. The political systems of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
are not even remotely democratic. Even Thailand, long seen as a beacon of
democracy, barely gives off a faint glow these days. And while China's
development over the past three decades puts Burma's once vibrant economy
to shame, Beijing is almost as politically backward and ideologically
bankrupt as Naypyidaw.

Why should the generals care about a free and fair election when even many
in the West have  decided that a grotesque parody of the democratic
process should be good enough for the Burmese people? “It's better than
nothing” has become the new mantra in more than one capital, and some
long-suffering diplomats, tired of backing the losing side in the struggle
for Burma's political future, seem perfectly happy to endorse the junta's
vision of a “discipline-flourishing democracy.”

Even governments that are committed to pushing for genuine political
reform in Burma have made it clear that the Nov. 7 election—no matter how
farcically unfair it has already proven to be—will not stand in the way of
their efforts to engage the regime. But at least they have been honest
about the actual facts on the ground, even if they seem to lack any real
plan for what is likely to come after the election—continuing political
oppression, a resurgence of ethnic conflict and a steady throttling of the
domestic economy at the hands of greedy cronies and junta-friendly foreign
investors.

“I think everything today suggests that the November elections will be
without international legitimacy—no observers, none of the internationally
accepted norms, steps that one wants to see before this election that is
taking place,” Kurt Campbell, the US Assistant Secretary of State for East
Asian and Pacific Affairs, said last month, citing just one of the
election's many flaws.

More recently, however, Campbell said that the election will bring new
players onto Burma's political stage, suggesting that there might be some
among them who are more amenable to meaningful engagement with the West
than the country's current rulers. This view was later echoed by State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley, who said: “We will watch events as they
unfold in Burma and hope that a new government will take a different
approach than it has in the past.”

These comments must have been music to the ears of Burma's generals, who
have become masters of manipulating the West's penchant for wishful
thinking.

But if Campbell's remarks hardly struck fear into the hearts of the
generals, the recently uttered words of Surin Pitsuwan, the
secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean),
must have sounded like a lullaby to Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the junta strongman
who probably sleeps like a baby thanks to the gentle cooing of support
coming from the regional bloc.

“Myanmar [Burma] has been a major issue for Asean in its cooperation,
interaction with the global community,” said Pitsuwan. “We would like to
see this issue behind us. And the only way that that can be done is to
make sure that this election is going to be a relatively effective
mechanism for national reconciliation.”

Translation: “We hope the election will finally silence the West's
criticism of Burma and, by extension, of Asean. And to that end, we will
do everything we can to convince the world that the election has actually
accomplished something besides cementing the generals' hold on power.”

Notably absent from Pitsuwan's remarks was any mention of Burma's more
than 2,000 political prisoners, the exclusion of main opposition and
ethnic leaders from the election and growing international calls for a UN
Commission of Inquiry into the junta's alleged crimes against humanity—all
issues that ensure the election won't be “a relatively effective mechanism
for national reconciliation.”

Inside Burma, too, some have decided that the election is the only game in
town, so they might as well play along. Even more than the international
community's soft response to a slew of reports of electoral
irregularities, the divisions within Burma over how to deal with the
election have made the generals very happy. While the regime has made only
the weakest of efforts to win international legitimacy over the past two
decades, it has been absolutely relentless in its determination to
neutralize the domestic opposition. It is now closer to that goal than
ever before.

In stark contrast to the struggling, divided opposition parties, the
regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is riding
high.

 It has already locked in a victory that should make any election-day
violence or vote-rigging unnecessary. But there is still simmering
resentment against the party, especially in urban areas, even as it seeks
to woo rural voters with rice donations and promises of cheap loans, free
medical care and free national registration cards. Where these things
have failed to win support, the party has reportedly resorted to outright
vote-buying, offering up to 10,000 kyat (US $10) for an advance vote, or
simply threatened violence or imprisonment.

So why should Burma's generals care if their election is “free and fair,”
as long as it delivers the results they want?

At this point, the only thing that would make them care is if they saw
their gains slip away, as they could very precipitously if tensions
continue to rise inside the country and unrest erupts either before or
after the election. Both domestically and abroad, the regime would never
be able to redeem itself if it carried out another vicious crackdown like
the one the world witnessed in September 2007.

But what would trigger renewed protests? The junta's instinctive need for
control could result in some last-minute intimidation, sparking an
explosion of pent-up rage. There have already been reports of deadly
attacks on USDP campaigners in Shan State, which could be a sign of things
to come.

Is a full-blown uprising a likely scenario? It is, of course, impossible
to say. But as long as the regime is betting its future on an election
that will rankle in people's memory for years to come, it will never be
able to end its repressive ways, and this can only mean trouble somewhere
on the horizon.

____________________________________


October 15, Daily News and Analysis (India)
Burma elections, a far cry from a democratic affair  - Gayatri Lakshmibai

In India, when you find your leaders knocking on your door promising
reforms or you hear loudspeakers blaring assurances of a better,
prosperous future or see every square inch of public space taken over by
posters with slogans that beg for your vote, you know what’s coming your
way. It’s the elections! Months of campaigning that precedes the election
day and millions of rupees that they gobble up are very much in your face.
Quite literally.

Now turn six degrees to the east -- towards Burma. On November 7, people
of Burma will vote for the first time in 20 years. However, the missing
link in this attempt at electoral democracy is easy to spot -- large scale
campaigns that spread awareness about options available to the public.

The Burmese elections have been largely dubbed by the West as a means of
legitimising the military rule, far from being a free and fair democratic
affair.

The strict campaigning rules laid down by the military prohibit
participating political parties from waving flags, chanting slogans or
organising processions. The campaigning procedures also require political
parties to apply way in advance to seek permission to hold meetings or
gather people and deliver speeches.

These severe restrictions have forced opposition leaders to carry out
their campaign trails discretely. Most have been going door to door on
foot, explaining to voters about the pressing need to “vote right”.
Distributing pamphlets is seen as a risky proposition -- if the military
finds any content that offends the “country or its rulers” the party could
face a ban.

More than 3,300 candidates from over 37 political parties have registered
to contest for the election. Some of these 37 parties, like the United
Socialist and Development Party (USDP), are said to be proxies for the
military junta -- a mechanism adopted by the rulers to retain power by
pseudo-democratic means.

Complaints from opposition leaders about the difficulties in campaigning
have been innumerable. However, the proxy parties have been allowed to
campaign freely, devoid of any restrictions.

And this to many proponents of democracy is a major cause for concern. The
lack of knowledge about the various parties contesting (fuelled by severe
restrictions on campaigning) directly leads to an inability to distinguish
the good from the bad. This may mean that the public might end up casting
unintelligent or uninformed votes on election day.

The previous elections in Burma, held in 1990, saw Nobel laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi emerge as an iconic leader and win unprecedented. The power-hungry
military, however, retained control forcefully and has kept Suu Kyi under
house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years.

The 2007 Saffron revolution, which saw monks rise up against the regime in
a rare show of political involvement, has been the trigger for the junta
to declare elections this time around. The junta, however, seems to have
learnt a lesson from its previous mistakes of allowing free campaigning,
followed by a fair election. This time around, it seems to have found a
way to meddle with the every democratic aspect of an election.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 15, Human Rights Watch
Indonesia: Press For Justice in Burma

(New York, October 15, 2010) – The Indonesian government should publicly
support the establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry for
Burma, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Minister for Foreign
Affairs Dr. R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa.

“Indonesia should show leadership among Asian nations in supporting
accountability efforts for serious human rights abuses committed by all
parties in Burma,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. “Supporting an international Commission of Inquiry is fully
in line with Indonesia’s active approach to promoting reform in Burma.”

Human Rights Watch urged Dr. Natalegawa to support the establishment of a
UN commission with a mandate to investigate reports of violations of
international human rights and humanitarian law in Burma since 2002 and
identify perpetrators of such violations.

Dr. Natalegawa has taken a similar position towards efforts to establish
an international commission of inquiry into other allegations of serious
human rights abuse in the recent past. In June 2010, he called for the UN
to investigate allegations that Israeli security forces committed serious
violations of international law in using lethal force after boarding ships
that were part of an “aid flotilla” to Gaza on May 31, 2010.

“Indonesia needs to match its rhetoric on international accountability for
grave crimes with action on Burma,” Pearson said. “Indonesia’s
policymakers should step forward to support efforts to ensure
accountability for atrocities committed in Burma, just as it has regarding
allegations of abuse committed outside Asia.”

Burma’s security forces have committed deliberate attacks on civilians,
summary executions, sexual violence, torture, use of child soldiers,
attacks on populations' food supplies, forced displacement of populations,
and use of anti-personnel landmines. Ethnic minority armed groups have
been responsible for summary executions, used child soldier,  and deployed
anti-personnel landmines. These abuses have gone unpunished for decades.

“An international inquiry would be a significant and overdue step toward
justice in Burma,” Pearson said.