BurmaNet News, October 22, 2010

[Editor]

October 22, 2010 Issue #4068


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Western Burma battens down as Cyclone Giri lashes coast
SHAN: Junta troops stage mocked battle
DVB: Cries of foul play as ‘new Burma’ is hoisted
DPA: Myanmar capital welcomes fifth white elephant

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: No forced repatriation: Thai FM

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Myanmar Airways hopes polls will boost tourism
Xinhua: Myanmar jade production up sharply in first four months of 2010-11

ASEAN
DPA: Philippine activists urge ASEAN, UN to step up pressure on Myanmar
Jakarta Post: Myanmar expulsion ‘out of question’

REGIONAL
Guardian (UK): Silence of the dissenters: How south-east Asia keeps web
users in line

INTERNATIONAL
New York Times: U.N. doubts fairness of election in Myanmar
RFA: Ethnic groups face uncertain future

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation (Thailand): Sham election will prolong suffering in eastern
Burma – Editorial
Irrawaddy: Is Cyclone Giri another omen? – Ba Kaung

INTERVIEW
ABC: Commission of inquiry proposed for Burma – Linda Mottram with Tomas
Ojea Quintana




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 22, Mizzima News
Western Burma battens down as Cyclone Giri lashes coast

Rangoon – Winds and driving rain from a strengthening Cyclone Giri are
lashing Burma’s western coast as it was expected to make landfall between
Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships this afternoon, Arakan State, according to
residents and a US weather warning centre today.

Tropical Cyclone Giri had strengthened into a Category 1 storm over the
northeast Indian Ocean as it approached, the US Joint Typhoon Warning
Centre told Bloomberg news agency. It was bearing winds of sustained
maximum strength to 143 miles per hour (235 km/h) from about 40 miles per
hour yesterday, according to an earlier centre warning. The storm had been
expected to cross the coast at 3 p.m.

In Mizzima’s most recent update from the port of Sittwe, a fisheries
businessman said at 4.30 p.m.: “The weather is dreadful. I’ve heard a
storm will hit our area. At the moment moderate rain is falling but it
will be heavy soon. The tide will occur in the evening and a strong gale
is blowing. The weather is dreadful.”

“Township Peace and Development Council arranged motorboats for villagers
to move out of the high-risk areas [up the local river]. All women from
rural areas have moved to high ground,” he said.

However, NetIndian news reported an hour ago that the India Meteorological
Department (IMD) said at 11:30 a.m. in a bulletin the cyclone remained
practically stationary and lay centred at about 90 miles (about 145
kilometres) south of Sittwe and 110 kilometres west-southwest of Kyaukpyu,
and 240 south-southeast of Teknaf in Bangladesh near the Burmese border.

A Category 1 Storm is the lowest on the five-step Saffir Simpson scale and
capable of “very dangerous winds”, according to the US National Hurricane
Centre.

A resident from Kyaukphyu told Mizzima: “I think the storm will come soon.
Now, the gale is stronger than it was at noon. There is also [heavy]
rainfall.”

The cyclone was located about 136 miles (220 kilometres) south- southwest
of Sittwe at 12:30 a.m. local time and was moving north-northeast at 4.6
km/h. Giri is expected to increase in strength and hit the coast near
Sittwe later today, according to the centre. It may make landfall with
winds of 148 km/h.

A motorboat owner in Kyaukphyu told Mizzima about conditions on the ground
at 1:00 pm: “A strong gale is blowing across Kyaukphyu. It is over the
speed of 35 miles per hour. No damage! The authorities warned the people
about the potential cyclone through loudspeakers. The residents from the
villages near the sea were urged to move to the schools. People are
preparing for the potential cyclone. People from rural areas are also
moving to safer places”

In the Indian Ocean, the US Navy uses the term tropical cyclones to
describe all large circular weather systems built around an area of low
pressure. It is the fourth storm of the season in the Bay of Bengal.

British weather analysts from Tropical Storm Risk at University College
London however said the storm was more likely to hit Burma closer to
Kyaukphyu.

Kyaukphyu Township Peace and Development Council warned the cyclone across
the town through loudspeakers.

Similarly, gales were blowing and rainfall logged south along the coast
from Kyaukphyu in Maei and Lamu villages in Toungup and in Manaung
townships, residents said.

“I have prepared bags that are easy to carry. The state radio said the
cyclone was approaching Kyaukphyu, which is why I prepared,” a resident
from Panhtawkyun village in Toungup said.

Dr. Tun Lwin, the former director-general of Burma’s Burma’s Meteorology
and Hydrology Department, also warned of a storm surge from Giri.

“The [storm] tide will occur and it’ll be about five to six feet above sea
level,” he said.

The fisheries businessman in Sittwe explained what the storm surge would
mean for residents.

“Although there is no serious problem for people in the centre of town,
residents in rural areas and villages will encounter many problems. When
the tide rises, salty water will inundate farmland. Then, shrimp farms
will be spoiled. In the past, the shrimp hatcheries and farms had been
spoiled because of the salty seawater,” the businessman said.

State-run media triggered a “red alert” for the cyclone and said that a
storm was blowing in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe with wind speeds of more than 20
miles per hour.

A retailer in the port of Sittwe, northwest along the coast from Kyaukphyu
at 12:30 p.m. told Mizzima: “There is moderate rainfall here. A gale is
also blowing. The local fire department warned the people about the
potential cyclone. People are also preparing.”

An hour later, a housewife also in Sittwe, said: “People from Strand Ward,
Sittwe, are moving to safe places with their own plans. The local
authorities have warned boats to stay in port. Now, the wind is calm, but
people said that it was the sign of serious conditions [on the way]. The
local fire department also warned the public about the storm.”

Cyclone Nargis, which bore winds of more than 120 miles per hour, hit the
Irrawaddy Delta and Rangoon in early May 2008 leaving 140,000 people dead
and at least 2.5 million displaced.

A UN panel on North Indian Tropical Cyclones in 2000 agreed to assign
names to the tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean. After long
deliberations among the member countries, the naming of depressions
developing into a Cyclonic Storm in the North Indian Ocean began from
September 2004, with the first name assigned to Cyclone Onil, which
developed over the Arabian Sea in late September 2004. As with Cyclone
Giri, that name was assigned by the IMD (India) Meteorological Department
(IMD).

Each country gave eight names for the cyclones and a list of 64 names was
prepared. It was also decided that the eight countries would take turns to
name the cyclones. The IMD said at the time: “The practice of naming
storms was adopted because it was proved that short names are easier to
remember than numbers and other technical terms.”

Giri comes from the Sanskrit and means mountain. As a Sanskrit honorific
it means “venerable, elevated, worshipful”.

____________________________________

October 22, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta troops stage mocked battle – Hseng Khio Fah

Burma Army soldiers based in Shan State South’s in Mongnawng were reported
to have staged a mocked battle near ceasefire areas, local sources said.

“The attack was organized with twofold aim: for the villagers to abstain
from supporting rebel groups and probably to make up a report for their
superiors,” a local resident in Mongnawng said.

It was mounted on 18 October by the Infantry Battalion (IB) #286 led by
Captain Ye Myint Kyaw. It was reported to have been taken place near
Mongnang, about 3 miles west of Mongnawng.

“Before the attack, they came to pick up a Tolaji (farm tractor) from the
village including men and headed to the west of the village,” a villager
said. “They fired their weapons for a few minutes. Afterwards, they
[soldiers] arrested villagers and beat them saying they did not inform the
military about the rebel groups.”

The event followed real clashes that had taken place in the area. On 16
October, a 3 truck convoy coming to Mongnawng along the Monghsu-Mongnawng
road was ambushed near Wiang Kao, about 5 miles north of Mongnawng. A
Captain Sithu from Infantry Battalion #286 was reportedly killed on the
spot.

On the next day, 4 police officers guarding a checkpoint between Mongnawng
and Wanzing (a large village south of Mongnawng), were attacked by 4
resistance fighters posing as cowherds, resulting in one officer dead.

In addition, more Burma Army units were deployed around the SSA ‘North’
First Brigade main base Wanhai on 20 October. So far LIB# 9 based in
Loilem, LIB#131 based in Kehsi and LIB#287 based in Wanzing in Kehsi
township, local sources said.

“Wherever they [solider] arrived they took villagers’ properties such as
rice, money and chicken even eggs,” a villager from Haipa said.

As yet, no indications of a major offensive before the November elections
are reported.
____________________________________

October 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Cries of foul play as ‘new Burma’ is hoisted – Min Lwin

As the rooftop landscape of Burma changed yesterday with the hoisting of a
new flag, critics of the junta have said that the country’s identity
change came too early.

According to opposition politicians, Burmese law states that the 2008
constitution must come into force before any new flag is raised. This
shouldn’t happen until after the controversial 7 November elections.

Nay Myo Wei, general secretary of the Diversity and Peace Party (DPP),
which is running in the polls, said that the junta had exploited a legal
loophole to make it appear as if it had complied with the law.

“This is very controversial so it shouldn’t be carried out by either the
government leaders nor the political leaders [competing in the
elections],” he said.

The criticism was echoed by Thein Oo, chairman of the exiled Burma
Lawyers’ Council (BLC), who claimed that the junta was “already abusing
and violating the constitution even before it has started, and this is
definitely not a good sign for Burma in the future”.

A government announcement yesterday said however that it was part of
“preparatory work to bring the Constitution into operation”.

One civil servant who attended the ceremony in the capital, Naypyidaw,
said that every government ministry was ordered to hold the flag-changing
ceremony at 3pm concurrently.

While the star on the new flag is meant to signify ”the perpetual
existence of the consolidated Union’, observers claim it is the stamp of
the army. The green officially represents peace, yellow solidarity, and
red valour.

A name change was also implemented as flags were raised across the
country. It is now officially known as the Republic of the Union of
Myanmar, where previously it was just the Union of Myanmar.

The country’s pro-democracy movement, as well as a number of Western
governments, continue however to call it Burma – the name given to the
country by the British. Prior to the start of colonial rule, it was
variously called Birmah, Bermah and Brama.

The generals have promised a transition to civilian governance following
the elections, but critics say the polls are merely a cosmetic lift, with
military rule set to continue.

____________________________________

October 22, Deustche Presse Agentur
Myanmar capital welcomes fifth white elephant

Yangon - Myanmar's new capital of Naypyitaw has welcomed its fifth white
elephant, adding to a growing stable of the auspicious animals that have
traditionally measured the power and righteousness of an Asian kingdom,
news reports said Friday.

The peach-coloured pachyderm, named Nandavati, was officially welcomed by
junta first-secretary Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo and officials at
Uppatasanti Pagoda, Naypyitaw, 350 kilometres north of Yangon, the New
Light of Myanmar reported.

She will stay with Bhaddavati, 38, another white female elephant that was
captured on June 26 in Rakhine state and arrived on August 9 at Naypyitaw.

The other white elephants now in Myanmar's stable were captured in 2001,
2002 and 2003.

In ancient times, the number of white elephants in a royal stable were
used as an indicator of the power wielded by Buddhist kingdoms in
South-East Asia, where pachyderms were used as war mounts for monarchs,
nobles and archers.

'The emergence of one more white elephant is a source of national pride,'
the New Light of Myanmar reported.

'Elderly people, monks and well-informed people say that a white elephant
would emerge in a certain place where the Buddhist religion flourished and
rulers governed the nation in a just way,' the government mouthpiece said.
'The emergence of more white elephants is an omen that the nation will
remain peaceful and free from various forms of dangers.'

Myanmar's ruling junta will hold a general election on November 7, the
first to be held in the South-east Asian country in 20 years.

Observers say election regulations have rigged the polls to assure that
pro-junta parties will win a majority of the seats in Parliament.

Myanmar has been ruled by military regimes since 1962.

It appears that the junta has mobilized forestry officials to hunt for
more white elephants in the pre-election period.

According to sources at the Forestry Department, a sixth white elephant
was captured on September 23 in Rakhine state, 1,000 kilometres north-west
of Yangon.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 22, Irrawaddy
No forced repatriation: Thai FM – Saw Yan Naing

Thailand will repatriate Burmese refugees staying on the Thai-Burmese
border only when peace prevails in Burma, said Thai Foreign Minister Kasit
Piromya.

He made the statement on Friday when he visited Mae La refugee camp in Tak
Province where some 40,000 Burmese refugees are staying.

Speaking to a camp committee, Kasit said the Thai authorities would not
send the refugees back by force, but will only send them back if political
situation in Burma gets better after the general elections on Nov. 7.

“We will be repatriated voluntarily when the situation in Burma is secure
for us,” a committee member said, adding that they would not be sent back
if there was still armed conflict in their home areas.

Kasit denied a previous remark made in the US in September that he is
working on a plan to repatriate refugees and Burmese intellectuals to
Burma after the elections.

Speaking in the US, Kasit said he would “launch a more comprehensive
program for the Burmese people in the camps, the displaced, the
intellectuals who run around the streets of Bangkok and Chiang Mai
province, to return to Burma after the elections,”  adding that the Thai
government would also assist the return of the Burmese people.

Mae La refugee camp host refugees mostly ethnic Karen who fled from Burma
due to human rights abuses conducted by Burmese government troops in their
villages.  There are about 150,000 refugees living in nine refugee camps
on the Thai-Burmese border.

Meeting with 13 Mae La refugee camp committee members and representatives
of the Karen Refugee Committee, Kasit listened to reports about the lack
of clean water in the camp, the difficulties of health care and food
supply.

Traveling in a convoy of about 20 vehicles with heavy security, Kasit
along with representatives of nongovernmental organizations including the
Thailand Burma Border Consortium, the International Rescue Committee, and
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arrived at Mae La camp
at 2 p.m and left the camp at 5 p.m.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 22, Agence France Presse
Myanmar Airways hopes polls will boost tourism

Singapore — Struggling flag carrier Myanmar Airways International is
hopeful that next month's elections will usher in a new era of growth for
the country's tourism sector, a senior executive said Friday.

"We are hoping that after the elections, the country will be opened up and
we believe there will be more tourists coming in," Ye Jhan, the airline's
assistant general manager, said at an aviation forum in Singapore.

"Once we have a new government and new policies, there will be (a) big
increase in tourist arrivals... because the country has a lot of
opportunities to develop tourism," he said.

The November 7 election is the country's first in 20 years but it has come
under strong criticism from Western governments and human rights
campaigners who say it is a sham meant to entrench the military's grip on
power.

But Jhan told AFP on the sidelines of the forum that he was confident the
new government will encourage tourism "because tourism revenues are quite
good for us."

Jhan said more than 201,000 tourists had visited the country so far this
year, compared with more than 227,000 tourists for all of 2009.

He said Myanmar Airways, like other enterprises in the country, had
suffered because of international sanctions imposed mostly by Western
governments.

Unlike other airlines in Asia, the flag carrier has to make do with
limited resources, Jhan told delegates at Aviation Outlook Asia.

The airline is "barely managing to keep our heads above the water," he said.

"We are still struggling and we need significant improvements in our
capital funding... We are running our business with less than 20 million
dollars only."

This is considerably less than other airlines that easily have at least
five times that amount, Jhan said.

"To be a reputable international airline, that's our new vision," said
Jhan. "We hope we can develop ourselves within a few years with the
support from the political situation... When (the) new government comes, I
think we will have support from other countries."

Jhan said the airline was 20 percent state-owned.

____________________________________

October 22, Xinhua
Myanmar jade production up sharply in first four months of 2010-11

Yangon -- Myanmar's jade production is up sharply in the first four months
of the fiscal year 2010-11, with the output nearest to that of the whole
2009-10 fiscal year, a local weekly reported in this week's issue.

Myanmar produced 21,599 tons of jade from April to July of 2010- 11 fiscal
year, which approached the quantity of 25,795 tons extracted in 2009-10,
the Biweekly Eleven News said.

The fiscal year 2008-09 is so far leading highest production rate of jade
with 32,921 tons.

Myanmar importers estimated that jade stone production of the fiscal year
2010-11 could exceed 2008-09.

At present, the local gems emporiums proved that the demand of the jade
has increased dramatically this year.

Meanwhile, over 600 tons of jade stone, which was unearthed from Lone Khin
area in Pha-Khant township in Kachin state, is to be displayed at the
coming mid-year gems emporium to be held in Nay Pyi Taw in November on the
basis of competitive bidding.

Myanmar mining authorities had displayed the country's huge raw 115-ton
jade stone, claimed to be the world's second largest one, at the annual
gems emporium in Yangon this year.

Earlier, a 3,000-ton giant jade stone was discovered at a depth of 12
meters underground from Phakant mining area in northernmost Kachin state
in 2000 and the stone, measuring 21 meters long, 4.8 meters wide and 10.5
meters high, is said to be the largest one in the world.

Myanmar also claimed that it possesses the world's largest ruby weighing
21,450 carats, the largest star sapphire weighing 63,000 carats, the
biggest peridot weighing 329 carats and the biggest pearl weighing 845
carats.

The government's Central Statistical Organization revealed that in the
fiscal year 2009-10, Myanmar produced over 11.315 million carats of gems
which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot, as well as 229,951
mommis (862.3 kilograms) of pearl.

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond,
cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet
tinged with yellow.

____________________________________
ASEAN

October 22, Deustche Presse Agentur
Philippine activists urge ASEAN, UN to step up pressure on Myanmar

Manila - Philippine activists Friday urged the Association of South-East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to step up pressure on
Myanmar to implement democratic reforms ahead of elections next month.

With only 15 days to go before the November 7 multi-party elections in
Myanmar, the Free Burma Coalition-Philippines lamented they see 'zero
democratic integrity' in the scheduled vote.

The coalition noted that despite mounting international criticism,
Myanmar's ruling junta has not shown significant indications that the
elections would be free, fair and credible.

'Instead, arbitrary arrests, harassment and continued detention of
activists and ordinary people supportive of democracy including
journalists are happening right now in Burma,' it added.

In a rally in Manila as part of the Global Day of Action against the
elections, the activists urged ASEAN and the UN to quickly act to avert a
'political disaster.'

'They should go beyond their usual rhetoric of diplomacy and constructive
engagement and must do all things necessary to compel the military regime
to democratize,' the coalition said.

It noted that with thousands of political detainees languishing in jail,
rampant human rights abuses and a military constitution, 'it is not so
hard to assume that the sole interest of the ruling junta is to maintain
its grasp to power.'

The group also urged ASEAN to support calls for the creation of a UN
Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity in Myanmar,
also called Burma.

ASEAN leaders were scheduled to hold their annual summit in Vietnam next
week, during which they were expected to call for free, fair and inclusive
elections in Myanmar.

In addition to Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, the other members of
ASEAN are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Laos and
Cambodia.

____________________________________

October 22, The Jakarta Post
Myanmar expulsion ‘out of question’

ASEAN would likely suffer if it expelled Myanmar, despite the fact that
its defiant military rulers have barred foreign media from covering the
Nov. 7 election, experts say.

Chairwoman of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights at the Habibie
Center, Dewi Fortuna Anwar, said Thursday ASEAN should not play hardball
against Myanmar or other ASEAN members, when there was no mechanism in the
treaty to provide for this.

“We should persuade and encourage Myanmar to be more open,” she said.

When asked if ASEAN should ask for a favor from Myanmar’s closest friends
China and India to pressure the restive country, Dewi said neither of them
would be willing to do so, and democracy could not be forced from outside.
“China is not a democratic country. So, it won’t be willing to press
Myanmar,” she said.

“India is also likely unwilling” to do so, but the world’s largest
democracy could be asked to promoting democracy and to persuade Myanmar,
she said.

University of Indonesia expert Hariyadi Wirawan said expelling Myanmar
from ASEAN would only let it fall deeper into China’s orbit.

“If China builds a military base in Myanmar [as a further consequence of
expelling Myanmar from the bloc], ASEAN will have no leverage to ask
Myanmar to reject China’s move,” he said.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies executive director Rizal
Sukma said Indonesia and other ASEAN members should pursue bolder
diplomacy against undemocratic Myanmar as human rights abuses in that
country had affected others, making the issue no longer local so that
ASEAN’s non-interference policy no longer applied.

Millions of Myanmar refugees have fled the restive country because of
continuing unrest and landed in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“The refugees leave Myanmar for one reason only: They can no longer bear
life in their country,” Rizal said in an article recently.

“ASEAN should explain to the junta that when their people flee oppression
and end up in other countries, it becomes a transnational issue.”

It was urgent to explain to the junta the meaning of the provision on “the
protection of human rights” in the ASEAN Charter, he said.

“As a country that has received hundreds of refugees from Myanmar, we have
the right, and indeed the obligation, to tell the Myanmar junta to stop
persecuting their own people,” he told the Indonesian government.

Indonesian Ambassador to ASEAN Ngurah Swajaya refused to comment as the
Indonesian government had yet to get formal notification of the ban of
foreign observers.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 22, The Guardian (UK)
Silence of the dissenters: How south-east Asia keeps web users in line –
Ben Doherty

Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines are all moving
towards Chinese-style internet censorship.

Bangkok – Governments across south-east Asia are following China's
authoritarian censorship of the digital world to keep political dissent in
check, the Guardian can reveal.

Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines have all moved or
are moving towards monitoring internet use, blocking international sites
regarded as critical and ruthlessly silencing web dissidents.

* In Vietnam, the Communist party wants to be your "friend" on the
state-run version of Facebook, provided you are willing to share all
personal details.

* In Burma, political unrest can be silenced by cutting off the country
from the internet.

* In Thailand, website moderators can face decades in jail for a posted
comment they did not even write, if the government deems it injurious
tothe monarchy.

While much is made of China's authoritarian attitudetowards internet
access, a majority of south-east Asian governments have similar controls
and , rather than relaxing restrictions on internet use, many are moving
towards tighter regulation.

The Guardian has spoken to five leading bloggers across the region about
the present restrictions they face and future fears.

Raymond Palatino, a Filipino MP and editor with Global Voices, says
governments, in addition to crudely blocking websites, are starting to use
arguments of morality and decency to censor access to information and
quash criticism.

"There is direct censorship to block political dissent. You have
repressive laws in Myanmar (Burma), in Vietnam, in Singapore. In fact I
think Vietnam is catching up with China in terms of building strong
firewalls to prevent dissidents from accessing critical content on the
internet.

"But we also see governments using the excuse of protecting the public
morality in order to censor internet content. Governments use the excuse
of censoring pornography as a safe argument to make censorship acceptable
to the public."

More than a decade ago, George W Bush asked people to "imagine if the
internet took hold in China. Imagine how freedom would spread". But rather
than emerging as a catalyst for democracy, the internet has become another
way to to stifle dissent.

Palatino sees governments using the internet for their own selfish
advantage. "They are learning how to prevent people for using the internet
to criticise government. Instead of being a potent tool for empowering the
people, the internet will be in the hands of an authoritative, repressive
government."

With a population of more than 600 million, south-east Asia has about 123
million internet users. But penetration ratesvary from 0.2% in Burma and
Timor-Leste to more than 80% in Brunei Darussalam and 77% in Singapore.
But south-east Asian use is still dwarfed by China's384 million users.

In the Philippines, cybercrime legislation before the parliament would
outlaw anything deemed obscene or indecent. Palatino says: "The laws are
deliberately broad and vague so they can be used to shut down anything
subversive."

Cambodia's government is seeking to monitor all internet use inside the
country, by appointing the state-owned telephone company to operate the
sole internet exchange.

Websites will be monitored to filter out pornography, officials say, but
opponents say sites critical of the government are also likely to be
blocked.

In Thailand, century-old lese-majesty legislation is combined with new
computer-related crime laws, to mute criticism on the web.

Lese-majesty laws - defaming the monarchy - are imposed inconsistently in
Thailand, but wielded often enough, and against defendants of sufficient
profile, to stifle almost any discussion of the monarchy's role in a
country riven by political factionalism. Chiranuch Premchiaporn, the
editor of Thailand's English-language news website Prachatai.com, faces up
to 70 years in jail for allowing the monarch to be insulted online.

The charges relate to five of 200 comments posted about an interview with
a Thai man who was charged for refusing to stand for the anthem in a
theatre.

Premchiaporn, known as Jiew, did not write the comments, and pulled them
from the website but, according to police, allowed them to stay up "longer
than the appropriate period", a period never defined by authorities before
or since the charge.

Now on bail, the prospect of jail weighs heavily on her. "And it isn't
just about 'Oh, how long I will have to spend in the cell', my whole life
is uncertain. I cannot plan my life because of this legal charge, it makes
everything hard."

Thailand's strict laws, and harsh punishments, have had a chilling effect
on political discussion on webboards and blogs.

"I think the biggest problem in Thai media is self-censorship . . . but we
started Prachatai for the ideals of believing in the rights of people to
access information . . . from many sources and not be dominated by just
one source," Jiew says.

Prachatai is blocked in Thailand, under order of the emergency decree
after the red-shirt uprising of May. It is one of more than 100,000
websites blocked in the country. "We want to promote the rights of the
people to speak up about their issues, not just only people who have a big
name, or who are important in government."

In Vietnam, web-users can become "friends" with their communist
government, joining the country's own version of Facebook. A trial version
of go.vn was launched in May. A full version is expected online by the end
of the year.

The functions are familiar to those versed in social networking. Users can
update their status, post photos and links, and send messages back and
forth.

There are news links, historical articles on founding father Ho Chi Minh
and other revolutionary heroes, and members can also play state-approved
network games (in one particularly violent example, players join a band of
militants sworn to fight the spread of global capitalism).

The site is closely monitored by the government's security services, and
while, for many, the attraction of the internet lies in its anonymity, to
join go.vn users must submit their full names and state-issued identity
numbers to the government.

The Vietnamese government says it expects to have 40 million members, half
the country, in five years. Perhaps because web dissidents are dealt with
so ruthlessly by the communist regime - four bloggers were recently jailed
for 16 years for anti-government posts - five months on, take-up of go.vn
is a bare few thousand.

Burma has one of the poorest records on internet freedom in the region.

All .mm sites and email addresses are closely monitored by the ruling
military junta, and international sites banned, but the tiny internet
cafes that dot the former capital, Yangon, are adept at bypassing the
government's firewalls, using proxy servers to evade the censors and
access banned sites.

Outfoxed on technology, the junta responds during times of stress by
simply unplugging the internet, especially to stop unwelcome news getting
out of the country.

At the height of the monk-led Saffron Revolution in 2007, the junta's
generals shut down access completely, later claiming a break in an
underwater cable had cut the country off.

With Burma heading towards its first elections in a generation early next
month, and the anticipated release of political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi
a week later, there is an expectation the web blackout may be repeated.

Vietnam's version of Facebook includes articles on the founding father Ho
Chi Minh and other revolutionary leaders

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 22, New York Times
U.N. doubts fairness of election in Myanmar – Neil MacFarquhar

United Nations — With just over two weeks until the first elections in
Myanmar in 20 years, a United Nations envoy on Thursday questioned the
fairness of the vote.

At the same time, the ruling junta, which has shown itself supremely
unconcerned by criticism from the world body, pressed ahead with its
military-to-civilian government makeover, unveiling a new flag, name and
national anthem at a date and time apparently divined by astrologers.

The fate of the long-detained Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
tends to overshadow any talk of change, and the country’s highest court
agreed to hear a final appeal to release her, according to press reports.
The generals who run the country annulled the results of the last
election, in 1990, when her party triumphed.

Despite the hearing, scheduled for next Friday, speculation on her release
has focused on Nov. 13, when her latest term of house arrest is set to
expire and the elections will be over. Her absence from the Nov. 7
elections is just one point that Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations
human rights envoy for Myanmar, cited in casting doubt on the vote.

“It is clear the process remains deeply flawed,” Mr. Ojea Quintana, an
Argentine lawyer, said at a news conference here, noting that freedom of
expression and assembly had been further restricted and that more than
2,100 “prisoners of conscience” still languished in prison. Torture is
systematic and 144 such prisoners have died in custody since 1988, he
said.

“The conditions do not show that these elections will be inclusive, free
and fair,” Mr. Ojea Quintana added. “The potential for these elections to
bring meaningful change and improvement to the human rights situation in
Myanmar remains doubtful.”

Those opposition parties that have agreed to participate complain of
harassment and intimidation, Mr. Quintana noted, while some representing
ethnic groups have not been approved. Candidates must pay a $500 election
fee, a prohibitive sum in a country where the average annual income is
$459, he said.

Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, has failed in his
attempts to engage in any kind of dialogue with the government, which even
denied his request to meet with its most famous prisoner during his visit
in July 2009. He has repeatedly said that the elections will be neither
free nor fair unless Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is released.

The government, whose response to Mr. Ojea Quintana was included in his
report, condemned it, denying that there were any political prisoners.
Earlier this year the senior officers who make up the cabinet all resigned
from the military to join a new party, itself formed by the conversion of
an old mass social organization.

The November vote is step five in the government’s seven-point transition
to democracy, with the convening of Parliament and the election of a
president the last two steps. It is basically expected to be the same
government, in suits instead of uniforms.

As part of that process, the government pushed through a new Constitution
in 2008 that called for fresh national symbols, which were abruptly
announced Thursday with no warning.

The new flag sports horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red with a big
white star in the middle, the colors standing for solidarity, peace and
tranquillity, as well as courage and decisiveness. Similar colors graced
the flag during the Japanese occupation, from 1943 to 1945. The country’s
new official name is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, instead of just
the Union of Myanmar, news reports said.

Two hallmarks of the military leaders of Myanmar — formerly called Burma —
since 1962 have been their isolation and a certain reliance on soothsayers
and numerology for major decisions. Government officials nationwide were
told that the old flag had to be lowered precisely at 3 p.m. on Oct. 21,
2010, press reports noted. The numbers all add up to nine, considered
particularly auspicious in Myanmar.

____________________________________

October 22, Radio Free Asia
Ethnic groups face uncertain future – Richard Finney

What will happen to Burma's minorities after the national election?

Burma’s regional ethnic groups, many of whom have fought for decades with
the country’s central government over questions of autonomy, face an
uncertain future as the date for national elections approaches, experts
said.

The vote, scheduled for Nov. 7, is widely predicted by international
observers to be a sham designed to allow the military rulers of Burma,
also called Myanmar, to retain power either directly or through civilians
acting under their control.

Speaking on Oct. 20 at a panel discussion hosted in Washington by Johns
Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and Human
Rights Watch, constitutional lawyer David Williams said that Burma’s army
will likely launch a major attack against the country’s ethnic groups soon
after the vote is held.

“The junta has long claimed that the ethnic resistance forces really want
to disintegrate the Union, that they want to break up the country, and
that only armed force can keep the country together,” said Williams,
executive director of the Indiana University-based Center for
Constitutional Democracy.

Williams noted that a constitution enacted by Burma’s generals in 2008
gives the army authority to act in whatever way it wants to preserve
“national solidarity.”

“Now, recall that this regime has frequently found a ‘threat to national
security’ when people disagree with it publicly,” Williams said.

“They’re prepared to slaughter peacefully protesting monks. So I think
there’s no reason to think that after the elections the military will
define national solidarity differently.”

Power sharing sought

Burma’s ethnic groups, who live mostly in the country’s north and along
its eastern and western borders, have long sought “a credible promise that
the central government will stop attacking them—especially its civilian
populations,” Williams said.

“They want federalism and power sharing in the Union government, and when
they look at this constitution they don’t see it.”

In the run-up to the November election, the junta has already attacked
several of Burma’s smaller ethnic groups and has insisted that the larger
groups’ armies transform themselves into “border guard units,” which they
refuse to do, Williams said.

The larger groups, now coordinating military strategy through a coalition
called the Military Alliance, expect a fight, and are prepared to resist,
he added.

Closely watched

David Steinberg, a professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University,
also speaking on the panel, said that Burma’s military rulers regard
federalism as “a first step toward secession” and will never allow it.

“I think that is a major error on the part of the military,” Steinberg said.

Rights listed in Burma’s 2008 constitution include “the rights of
minorities” and “the fostering of minority culture,” though, Steinberg
said.

Steinberg noted that Burma’s new constitution also provides for
provincial, minority legislatures, though these will be based in the
country’s capital, Naypyidaw, and will be closely watched by the army.

“They are restricted of course, as we know. But this is the first time
this has happened, and this is significant.”

The concerns of ethnic groups may even come to “trump politics” on certain
local issues, Steinberg said.

“For example, some of the minorities in areas where the Chinese have dams,
hydroelectric projects, mining, and other things, may claim that local
people are not getting any benefits.”

“Because the Chinese employ their own people for these projects,”
Steinberg said. “The electricity goes to China, and there are often
environmental problems connected with these projects. ”

Minority rights in Burma have traditionally been ignored, Steinberg said.
“And that has been one of the tragedies.”

Reported in Washington by Richard Finney.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 22, The Nation (Thailand)
Sham election will prolong suffering in eastern Burma – Editorial

'Health emergency' caused by block on humanitarian aid shows that junta is
not about to release iron grip on citizens.

Burma's election commission chairman, Thien Soe, has dismissed the need
for foreign monitors during next month's general election, saying "our
country has a lot of experience in elections". One wonders what planet
Thien Soe has been living on these past few decades.

Meanwhile, in Bangkok last week the report "Diagnosis: Critical" said that
more than half of the deaths in violence-ravaged eastern Burma are being
caused by treatable illnesses, with the junta blocking access to
healthcare.

A "chronic health emergency" in the ethnic areas strung along the border
with Thailand means that 59 per cent of deaths are preventable, said the
report.

The international community has been howling at the Burmese junta for
years to open up politically, and the upcoming election, which has been
widely billed as a sham, will more or less cement the military's place in
the country's national politics.

The US State Department has confirmed its earlier statement, saying that
they don't think "these will be credible elections". At the same time
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly
that his patience was wearing thin with the regime in Burma, also known as
Myanmar.

"Myanmar's lack of engagement is deeply frustrating as it not only
contradicts its stated policy of cooperation with the UN but also limits
my ability to fully implement the mandate entrusted to me by the General
Assembly," he said.

Separately, the special United Nations rapporteur on human rights for
Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said, "The potential for these elections to
bring meaningful change and improvement in the human rights situation
remains uncertain."

Moreover, Quintana's report called into question the 2008 Burmese
constitution, saying it "may impede the government from effectively
addressing justice and accountability in the future".

Echoing leaders from the international community, Quintana called for the
release of political prisoners, particularly the opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, saying that this would be an "important step to establish an
environment for credible, inclusive elections".

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Suu Kyi's freedom and the
release of hundreds of other political prisoners would be a welcome
confidence-building measure from the military junta.

To suggest that the junta does not care at all about its international
image would be misleading, however. But it has long been understood that
in Burma security comes first, not the well-being of its citizens.
Furthermore, it will be the Burmese generals themselves who chart the
country's political future and foreign policy.

After all, this is a country that allows its civilians to bear the
consequences of its fight with minority rebels through insufficient
investment in healthcare and human rights abuses. The regime's blockading
of access for international humanitarian aid means that the needless
deaths will continue.

"The inability of the peoples of eastern Myanmar to enjoy basic rights is
killing them," said Mahidol University human rights expert Sriprapha
Petcharamesree in the report.

It is clear that the biggest losers in the junta's conflicts with ethnic
groups are the Burmese people themselves. But there is one player that is
coming out ahead - China.

This is not to say that it's all hugs and kisses between junta and China.
Neither side trusts the other, but both realise they need each other.
China wants Burma's raw materials and an access point to the Indian Ocean
while the junta needs Beijing's protection on the international stage,
namely in the UN Security Council, as well as the hard currency of its
powerful neighbour.

Last year, Burma irked Beijing when it launched an attack on an armed
outfit known as the Kokang Chinese, a group that controlled an autonomous
region on the Burmese side of the Sino-Burma border. The attack pushed
some 37, 0000 refugees, including Chinese citizens, over the border into
the province of Yunnan.

Like other armed ethnic rebel groups operating in the Burmese sector of
the Golden Triangle, the Kokang had the unofficial backing of the Chinese
Communist Party. And although the Communist Party of Burma is a thing of
the past, many of these groups, such as the Kokang and the United Wa State
Army, continue to enjoy a longstanding friendship with Chinese leaders.
This complex interplay of alliances puts pressure on the Burmese regime.

In the final analysis, any political solution for Burma must include an
exit strategy for the ruling junta. Scolding them for decades hasn't
worked. It's time to think differently.

____________________________________

October 22, Irrawaddy
Is Cyclone Giri another omen? – Ba Kaung

Natural phenomena have long been regarded as a visible precursor to
significant political or historic events in Burma. In a land where
superstition runs deep, any natural disaster is said to portend to the end
of an era, a death or a major shift in the country's political sands.

Believers in karma may well say that “A nation gets the nature it deserves.”

If so, it is high time that the winds of nature started acting in favor of
the oppressed people of Burma rather than its brutal rulers.

A clap of thunder shook the earth in broad daylight on the afternoon of
Sept. 26, 2007, shortly after Burmese security forces had opened fire on
the Buddhist monks who were demonstrating at the foot of Burma's holiest
site, Shwedagon Pagoda.

At the sound of the thunder, several protesters facing the gun-tooting
soldiers looked up at the sky—some even pointed—and screamed that the gods
were displeased, that the army's karma was about to jump up and bite their
behinds, and that Mother Nature would take her revenge.

That was the first day of the junta's deadly crackdown on the Saffron
Revolution. “May all human beings be happy!” was the original chant of the
demonstrators. After the thunder, the slogan changed to: “May lightning
strike the monk-murderers dead!”

But bullets silenced the protests, and the murderers of monks were left
unscathed. Even nature could not topple the evil demons from their
pedestal. The hapless population waited for the day when the regime would
get what it truly deserved.

On the night of May 2, 2008, eight days before the controversial
constitutional referendum was to be held, Cyclone Nargis slashed through
the Irrawaddy delta and hit Rangoon the following morning. More than
130,000 people were killed.

The military junta's new capital, Naypyidaw, which was founded just three
years before on the presumed advice of Snr-Gen Than Shwe's astrologers,
avoided the storm while the former capital was devastated.

While members of the regime rejoiced at the prognostic powers of Than
Shwe, even the Burmese who hated him had to quietly admit that the move to
Naypyidaw was not a stupid move.

Secure in his jungle castle, Than Shwe did not even bother to show up to
see the cyclone victims and refused to accept international humanitarian
aid. The commentaries in state-run newspapers suggested that survivors get
by on frogs and water greens instead.

Undeterred by the cyclone, the regime proceeded with the referendum and
nonsensically declared that 93 percent of the population had endorsed the
regime's Constitution.

And now, today, just 16 days ahead of the general election, Cyclone Giri
has hit the west coast of Burma. Should we run to our soothsayers and
astrologers and beseech them: “Who is the Nature going to side with this
time around?”

Throughout the past week, the official Burmese meteorology department has
repeatedly denied the reports of a storm, trying to assuage the fears of a
public that quickly associates a natural disaster with a landmark event.

While the good people of Arakan State huddle for cover, millions around
the world are praying that nature's wrath is redirected at those military
cadres who deserve it.

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

October 22, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Commission of inquiry proposed for Burma – Linda Mottram with Tomas Ojea
Quintana

With elections in Burma just over two weeks away, the United Nations
general assembly has been hearing yet another grim report on the state of
human rights in the country and the prospects for a genuine poll. After
three visits to Burma, including access to some political prisoners, the
UN's special rapporteur, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has expressed disappointment
that despite a year of preparations the election process remains deeply
flawed. Mr Quintana has also used the release of his report to try to push
his proposal for an international commission of inquiry into Burma, but
some countries are against the idea.

Presenter: Linda Mottram, Canberra correspondent
Speaker: Tomas Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on Burma and independent
expert on human rights, New York

QUINTANA: This is a new development after 40 years of military government
and so there are some people inside the country who decided to participate
and I think that that's a good sign. All the people inside the country
want real change and some of these people believe that the holding of this
election will bring some change and that has to be recognised.

MOTTRAM: So, the argument that some change is perhaps better than none?

QUINTANA: Yes. The thing is how this process towards democracy is being
developed. If basic fundamental human rights in this process towards
democracy, which of course includes these elections, but also in the
national reconciliation for example, then as I say the prospective of real
change and positive change in my opinion remain uncertain. I cannot
anticipate the future and say that everything will be wrong, but I really
believe at this moment this is uncertain, we really don't know what will
happen.

MOTTRAM: You mention in the report that where the government in Myanmar is
not shouldering responsibility for addressing the human rights situation,
it is the international community's responsibility. Has the international
community taken that responsibility, have all players done what they can
do you think?

QUINTANA: Today, I presented my report to the UN's general assembly and 22
states participated, including Australia, and the discussions were about
precisely this issue. How can Myanmar face justice and accountability
right now as part of the process towards democracy. One of my proposals is
to think about a commission of inquiry, not as a means to accuse, but as a
means to somehow help the government of Myanmar to build justice and
accountability. At this moment, however, the government has not shown any
signs in respect to their obligation to pursue justice and accountability.

MOTTRAM: We've had reports that there is a growing support for your
suggestion of a commission of inquiry. Is it your sense that it may come
about?

QUINTANA: The discussions were very, very complex and some states openly
support the idea of dealing with justice and accountability through a body
like a commission of inquiry, some of course do not accept that. The most
important thing at the moment in my opinion as a special rapporteur for
Myanmar is that this issue is discussed.

MOTTRAM: Can I ask you which states are being an obstacle?

QUINTANA: Many states like China and also Russia, for example, have
expressed [that they do not accept] a commission of inquiry, unless it's
as a closed proposal. The discussions today were about an open proposal.
Let's discuss this commission of inquiry as a proposal, but there can be
other proposals, the general assembly can even call on the office of the
secretary general to help on this. So I really believe that the United
Nations members should be united in a common message in respect to justice
and accountability. If they consider this is not the time to discuss
deeply the possibility of a commission of inquiry, then that will be their
decision. But what is important again is that this issue should be on the
table in the context of the elections, particularly if there is a new
government in Myanmar.