BurmaNet News, October 30 - November 1, 2010

[Editor]

October 30 – November 1, 2010 Issue #4073

INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Voters sceptical, indifferent as Myanmar polls near
Reuters: Myanmar to keep close watch on media before poll
AFP: Myanmar's Suu Kyi sidelined but still idolised
Irrawaddy: Burma's internet service sealed off
Irrawaddy: The Nov. 7 election in numbers
DVB: No delay on vote in cyclone-hit region

ON THE BORDER
AP: Myanmar election offers no comfort for refugees

BUSINESS / TRADE
BBC: Turning a profit in Burma

ASEAN
Philippine Daily Inquirer: Burma vote may hurt Asean, the Philippines warns

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: UN chief discusses Myanmar with China

OPINION / OTHER
Guardian (UK): Burma needs our voice – Gordon Brown
Independent (UK): Burma's regime prepares for victory despite poll boycott
call – Ambika Reddy
Reuters: SCENARIOS - Myanmar's uncertain political future – Martin Petty
NLM: Remain vigilant against elements sowing hatred among national people
– Myint Aung (Zeyamye)
NLM: Although having different choices, let's vote for the common goal –
Kyaw Myo Naung

PRESS RELEASE
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Statement on Burma
elections




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 1, Reuters
Voters sceptical, indifferent as Myanmar polls near – Aung Hla Tun

Yangon – An election billed by Myanmar's junta as an historic step to
create the world's newest democracy has generated little excitement at
home, where few expect much to change after five decades of iron-fisted
military rule.

Most of the former British colony's estimated 50 million people have never
seen democracy or any semblance of the civilian rule the junta has
promised to deliver after a November 7 ballot.

The generals refused to cede power when their proxies were trounced by the
pro-democracy opposition in the last poll two decades ago. Few think
democracy will prevail this time, either.

"I'm not sure if our votes will really affect the election. I think the
result has already been decided anyway," said Yin Yin, an accountant from
Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon.

Electrical engineer Myint Kyi, 42, said there was no chance the military
would allow anyone else to run the country.

"I care nothing about the election," he said. "I've wasted years here
hoping for a brighter future. I just want to get a passport so I can go
abroad and start a new life."

At least 28 million people are eligible to vote in an election widely
dismissed as a sham to cement and legitimise the military's controlling
stake in politics.

Two parties backed by the regime, the Union Solidarity and Development
Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP), are contesting almost
every constituency, while their cash-strapped opponents have only minimal
representation in a poll critics have dubbed "an election of generals."

The USDP is stacked with 27 incumbent government ministers and scores of
other generals who retired from the military to become politicians
alongside their cronies in the business elite. The NUP is much the same.

TO VOTE OR NOT TO VOTE?

Many people interviewed by Reuters said they were debating whether or not
to vote because the election would not lead to substantive improvements to
their lives in a country crippled by Western sanctions and bungled
economic policies.

Some said they could not take time off work to travel to their home states
to cast their ballots. Others knew nothing of the parties contesting the
election and were happy to allow local government officials to vote on
their behalf.

"During the constitutional referendum in May 2008, a local official took
the liberty of voting for everyone in our family," said Ma Lashami, an
ethnic Tamil who works as a housemaid.

"It saved us a lot of time and energy and I hope our ward authority will
vote for all of us on November 7, too."

Those who were following the build-up knew of the powerful USDP, which
claims to have 18 million members and has dominated political campaigning.
Its opponents fear voters will be too scared to cast ballots favouring any
other party.

Yangon stonemason Kyaw Gyi, 22, said he and his family would back the USDP
because his relatives were members. "They say the USDP will win no matter
who the people vote for," he added.

Kyaw Soe, a waiter in an upmarket restaurant in the military-dominated
capital, Naypyitaw, admitted he knew barely anything about the election.

"My boss told us to vote for the USDP," he said. "Honestly, we don't know
anything about the other parties either."

A doctor, who asked not to be named, said his father, a retired army
colonel, advised him to vote for the USDP. "Because the others have no
experience running the country," he said.

The difference with the 1990 election is the lack of any real opposition
to the army's proxies.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 poll in a
landslide, has boycotted this ballot and its leader, Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, is under house detention, although she may be freed later
this month.

"It would have been quite different if the NLD took part," said book
seller Tin Aung. "There would be more unity and strength among the
democratic forces."

"We are still studying who to vote for," added grocery store owner Ma
Hlaing. "But we've already decided which party not to vote for," he said,
referring to the USDP. "Most of my friends have the same feeling, too."

Many seemed convinced the junta would rig the vote to ensure the USDP and
NUP won most parliamentary seats and said the elections would create only
a veneer of democracy.

Most are preoccupied with day-to-day struggles in a country where more
than 30 percent of the population lives in poverty.

"To my great relief, I discovered my name wasn't on the electoral roll,"
said carpenter Win Maung. "Frankly, I don't mind at all. I have no time to
think about these things anyway."

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould and Andrew Marshall)

____________________________________

November 1, Reuters
Myanmar to keep close watch on media before poll

Yangon – Myanmar's military government has ordered local journalists
representing foreign news organisations to attend mandatory field trips
ahead of its Nov. 7 election in an apparent move to restrict reporting of
the controversial poll.

Journalists will be sent to different parts of the country to accompany
diplomats on state-sponsored guided tours, and media will be barred from
going within 50 metres of polling stations, the Information Ministry said
on Sunday.

Foreign journalists and observers have been barred from attending the
election, the first in two decades in the former British colony and widely
dismissed as an elaborate stunt to cement the military's 48-year grip on
power.

Internet services in Myanmar have been sporadic and mostly unavailable for
the past seven days, which activists believe is an attempt to restrict
coverage and discussion of the election.

State media in Myanmar is tightly controlled and serves as the mouthpiece
for the reclusive generals. Some foreign news organisations are permitted
to hire local journalists vetted by the government.

Two parties backed by the regime and comprised of recently retired
generals and their proxies are expected to sweep the ballot against
pro-democracy opponents contesting no more than 14 percent of
constituencies.

Aung Zaw, editor of the Thailand-based Irrawaddy magazine, said the
mandatory media tours were probably an attempt by the government to appear
transparent while ensuring reporters were under close watch.

"The regime is always paranoid. The political temperature is rising now
and there's a chance the military's proxy parties might not get the
support they hope for," he said.

"They want to make sure reporters in the country, and outside, have no
idea what's really going on."

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing and additional reporting by Martin
Petty; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

____________________________________

October 31, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's Suu Kyi sidelined but still idolised

Yangon – The taxi driver gestured across Yangon's Inya Lake towards the
mansion -- and prison -- where democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will spend
Myanmar's first election day in 20 years locked up.

"I like this lady. Everybody likes this lady," the 50-year-old said,
raising a finger to his lips in the knowledge that his comment would be
considered seditious by the iron-fisted military rulers.

"She has already won. She is top," he whispered.

Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory
in the last poll in 1990, even though she was confined to her home and
disqualified from standing, but the junta refused to accept the result.

Fearful of her enduring popularity, the regime has kept the 65-year-old
Nobel Peace Prize winner in detention for most of the past two decades --
and off the political scene for the November 7 vote.

Without the participation of Myanmar's symbol of peaceful resistance, many
voters are left without their party of choice, after the NLD boycotted the
process and was forcibly disbanded by the junta.

The decision to shun the vote has deeply split the opposition, between
those in agreement and others who say the move wastes a rare chance for
gradual change, albeit through a deeply flawed electoral process.

"It's better to have something than nothing," said Democratic Party
candidate Nay Ye Ba Swe, the daughter of former prime minister Ba Swe, who
said she and Suu Kyi were "like sisters".

"We have great respect and great admiration for her because she sacrificed
a lot for the country, for the people, and she's an international icon,"
Nay Ye Ba Swe told AFP.

But she added: "We find that by boycotting the election, the democratic
voices will be losing the votes."

Nobody doubts that Oxford-educated Suu Kyi has paid a heavy price in her
struggle for freedom for Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military
since 1962.

Her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in 1999, and in the final
stages of his battle with cancer the junta refused him a visa to see his
wife. She has not seen her two sons for a decade and has never met her
grandchildren.

Although she lives an isolated existence, without telephone or Internet
access and with only two female aides for company, it is largely down to
Suu Kyi's iconic status that Myanmar has remained high on the
international agenda.

"After 22 years since she entered politics, she has become an institution
and so the public will rally around her as long as she's alive," said
Maung Zarni, a research fellow on Myanmar at the London School of
Economics.

But while millions still look to "The Lady" for inspiration, some
pro-democracy activists are questioning whether her refusal to compromise
has helped their cause.

"The boycott was ill-advised as it is, but the way it was arrived at makes
things even worse," said Khin Zaw Win, a former political prisoner living
in Myanmar.

"It's not just relations with the regime that are being affected -- those
with the democrats and with her former colleagues are also going down the
drain," he said.

Suu Kyi's closest political allies reacted angrily after a group of former
NLD members broke away and set up a new party -- the National Democratic
Force -- to contest the vote, accusing them of betraying their colleagues.

Suu Kyi has said she will refuse to cast a ballot and suggested her
supporters consider doing the same, although she stopped short of an
outright call -- which could be deemed illegal -- for a voter boycott.

The softly-spoken democracy leader did not always seem destined for the
role of national heroine.

The daughter of Myanmar's founding father, General Aung San, who was
assassinated in 1947, Suu Kyi launched her political career relatively
late after spending much of her life abroad, first in India and then
Britain.

When she returned to Yangon in 1988 to nurse her sick mother, protests
erupted against the military and were brutally crushed. Suu Kyi was quick
to assume a leading role in the pro-democracy movement.

Alarmed by the support she commanded, the generals ordered her first stint
of house arrest in 1989. Her current sentence is due to expire,
conveniently for the junta, a week after the widely criticised polls.

If she is released, many think the generals will restrict her political
activities.

She has said little about her future plans, aside from expressing a desire
to start using Twitter to engage with the Internet generation.

Observers say her defiant stance means it is unlikely she would be willing
to cooperate with a military-backed government.

"Her historical legacy as The Lady who never compromised is very important
to her, and could rule out any prospect of her reconciliation with the new
administration," said Derek Tonkin, a former British ambassador to
Thailand.

____________________________________

November 1, Irrawaddy
Burma's internet service sealed off – Yeni and Saw Yan Naing

Burma’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPT) has sealed off
Internet access for Internet cafes and businesses, according to experts on
Burma's Internet infrastructure.

Sources close to the ministry who asked to maintain anonymity have told
The Irrawaddy that Internet access is normal at all government and
military institutions serviced by MPT, but “access for businesses and
Internet cafes” is shut down to control the flow of information in and out
of the country.

MPT is connected to the SEA-ME-WE-3 undersea cable and is estimated to
have about 45mbps in bandwidth which it shares with Bagan Cybertech, and
it has an additional 15mbps satellite connection.

Recently, Burmese Internet users have reported Internet connections had
failed or slowed down considerably.

Journalists and global media watchdogs have raised concerns that the
Burmese regime would likely seal off the Internet during the upcoming
election, the first nationwide election in 20 years, by cutting off
Internet access and phone lines.

Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association both predicted
that the military junta would seal off the country for the elections, as
the current slowdown in Internet connections now suggests.

“This would leave the junta’s hands free to crack down if the results give
rise to protests,” the groups said in a recent press release.

No official announcement from MPT has been released, but comments by some
of Burma's Internet users suggested that “the Internet server was attacked
by a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS).”

The experts were laughing. One said simply: “DDoS attacks can only damage
a website. Not a server. There is no news about damage to the undersea
cable. So sealing off  Internet access to the public must be the only
answer.”

Burma has two Internet Service Providers—the Ministry of Post and
Telecommunications (MPT) and the semi-private Bagan Cybertech (BC).
Connections to all government and military institutions are made by MPT,
while corporate and personal subscribers account for the majority of BC's
users.

Observers said that ahead of this weekend's election, the military junta
is working to make it difficult for journalists and the public to get
images and news out of the country through the Internet.

The junta aggressively censors the Internet, routinely blocking
politically sensitive websites. During a crackdown on pro-democracy
protesters in 2007, the junta completely cut access to the Internet and
closed down many cybercafes.

According to a report by The Associated Press on Monday, hotels and travel
agents that rely on the Internet for business say the slowdown began a
week ago and many are advising travelers that Internet connections cannot
be guaranteed for at least a week.

Some sources also reported poor telephone connections starting on Monday.

Meanwhile, Burma's Union Election Commission announced that no media or
photography will be allowed inside or around polling stations during the
general election on Nov. 7.

According to Reporters Without Border, several European journalists were
told that their requests for tourist visas were rejected by the
authorities.

“The Burmese diplomats have clearly learned to use Google and are
rejecting applications by people who are identifiable as journalists,” a
French reporter said.

Foreign journalists have for decades found it extremely difficult to
obtain press visas for Burma and have been forced to travel under tourist
visas.

Reporters Without Border concluded that the developments “reinforces the
impression that the military government intends to isolate the country for
the election.”

In its Press Freedom Index 2010, Reporters Without Borders ranked Burma as
an “Enemy of the Internet.” on Oct. 20, it listed Burma as one of the 10
worst countries in the world to work as a journalist.
____________________________________

November 1, Irrawaddy
The Nov. 7 election in numbers – Htet Aung

More than 29 million eligible voters will cast their ballots in 1,103
constituencies contested by 3,071 candidates in the Nov. 7 election in
Burma, according to the country's Election Commission (EC).

At a press conference in Naypyidaw on October 18, the first since its
formation in March, EC Chairman Thein Soe said the 3,071 candidates
represent 37 political parties, with 82 standing as independent
candidates. Women candidates will number 114.

All are standing for election to a total of 1,163 seats in two national
and 14 regional parliaments.

Voting will not take place in four townships in Shan State and 300 village
tracts in Shan, Kachin, Karen, Karenni (Kayah) and Mon States because,
according to the EC, a fair and free election is impossible there. The
list includes all the village tracts in Ingyangyang constituency 2 and
Sumprabum constituency 2 for the Kachin State Parliament.

Moreover, voting is not necessary in 54 constituencies because only one
candidate is standing there—52 of whom are candidates of the junta-backed
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). They will automatically
become elected candidates, according to the electoral law.

Article 41 (a) of the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) Electoral Law
reads: “If there is only a single Hluttaw candidate in a constituency,
election for such constituency shall not be held, and the relevant Region
or State Sub-commission shall declare such candidate to be the Hluttaw
representative.”

This provision reduces from 1,163 to 1,103 the number of seats actually
being contested in the Nov. 7 poll.

More than 40,000 polling stations will open on Nov. 7 across the country,
serving an average of 700 voters each.

The following chart contains key information researched by The Irrawaddy.

Key Information for Burma Election 2010

Eligible Voters: More than 29 million
Party Candidates: 3,071
Independent Candidates: 82
Women Candidates: 114
Single-Candidate Constituencies: 54*
Political Parties: 37
Total Elected Seats: 1,163
Actual Elected Seats: 1,103
Places Unable to Hold Election: 4 Townships & 300 Village Tracts
Polling Stations: More than 40,000

____________________________________

November 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
No delay on vote in cyclone-hit region – Ahunt Phone Myat

A request to delay voting for the 7 November elections in areas of western
Burma devastated by cyclone Giri has been ignored by the ruling junta.

According to UN estimates, more than 170,000 people have been affected by
the cyclone, which hit the Arakan state coastline on 22 October. Some
70,000 were left homeless, and up to 100 killed.

Dr Aye Maung, chairman of Rakhine [Arakan] Nationalities Development Party
(RNDP) said that no response had yet been given to the request, which was
filed on 27 October.

The party, which is campaigning in the affected areas for the
controversial elections, has asked for the vote to be delayed by one month
in constituencies in the worst-hit Myebon, Kyaukphyu, Munaung and Pauktaw
townships.

The junta delayed by several weeks voting for the constitution in May 2008
in areas hit by cyclone Nargis, which eventually claimed some 140,000
lives.

Also competing in Arakan state is the junta-backed Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP), which is fielding 1112 candidates in the 1158
constituencies across Burma compared to the 44 put forward by the RNDP.

The pro-junta National Unity Party (NUP) and Rakhine State National Force
of Myanmar Party are also competing there.

Reports have surfaced claiming that 200 people are ill and four have died
after dysentery broke out in the cyclone-hit region last week, which is
struggling to receive aid.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 31, Associated Press
Myanmar election offers no comfort for refugees – Sebastian Strangio

Mae La refugee camp, Thailand — It's no wonder that Saw Tun Wai has little
desire to return to Myanmar, even after upcoming elections that its
military rulers describe as a step toward democracy.

The wiry 52-year-old teacher fled to Thailand on foot over rugged mountain
terrain in 2006, escaping a vicious and largely unseen army campaign
against ethnic rebels that shows no sign of ending.

"The government (falsely) accused me of being a partner of the
revolution," said Saw Tun Wai, who belongs to the Karen ethnic group. "I
was beaten and forced into making a confession." Then, he said, he was
press-ganged into working for the army as a porter.

The prospects that the Nov. 7 election will bring change to their homeland
seem negligible to the 150,000 refugees in Thai camps near the border with
Myanmar, also known by its old name, Burma.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party is a shoe-in to
top the polls, the first in two decades. A constitution imposed by the
military in 2008 ensures that the generals will call the shots for the
foreseeable future anyway.

The elections, said Saw Tun Wai, now a teacher in the Mae La refugee camp,
offer no hope for positive change, "neither for the Karen, nor for any of
the people in Burma." His hope is to one day become eligible for
resettlement in another country.

For the refugees, a more immediate concern is a possible shift in the
attitude of Thai officials, who have indicated that they might send them
home sometime after the election.

The first camp was established in the mid-1980s. Thousands of refugees
have been resettled overseas under U.N. auspices, but a constant stream of
new arrivals swells the populations of the nine camps, scattered along the
Thai side of the border.

Picturesque streams and dirt lanes crisscross Mae La, the largest camp
with an estimated 47,000 inhabitants.

In a dirt-floor tea shop, men smoke Burmese cheroots, chatting over shots
of sugary milk tea and the blare of Thai music videos. The voices of
children, chanting lessons in Burmese and English, come out of the many
bamboo schoolhouses.

The prospect that Thailand may consider Myanmar's election a turning point
toward justice and democracy — justifying the refugees' return — casts a
shadow over their future.

Sharp international criticism forced Thai authorities to abort a planned
repatriation in February of 3,000 Karen refugees from another camp to an
area believed to be littered with land mines.

That came just a few months after Thailand forcibly repatriated more than
4,000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos, despite international fears they
would face persecution.

At the end of September, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya set off fresh
jitters.

Speaking in New York, he said that he would 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 Chiang Mai
province, to prepare them to return to Myanmar after the elections."

Kasit's remarks were vague, and the Foreign Ministry later said Thailand
wants to prepare the refugees to go home "when the situation in their
country becomes conducive for their eventual return."

"Thailand clearly wants to send refugees and political exiles back, but
after the election the situation in Burma won't change, so it will be hard
for them to justify it," said Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK, a group
that lobbies for democracy in Myanmar.

Human rights groups accuse the Myanmar army of rape, torture and summary
execution in insurgent areas. They say the military forces villagers to
work as porters and walk ahead of military columns as human land-mine
detectors. The government denies the allegations.

Tu Ja, a 54-year-old teacher from the Kachin ethnic group, fled Myanmar
after distributing political pamphlets during anti-government protests in
2007.

"The Burmese regime wants to destroy this camp, that's for sure, but where
shall we go?" he said. "All of our families are dispersed everywhere and
we have no home. How can we return to Burma?"

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 31, BBC News
Turning a profit in Burma – Joe Boyle

European companies operating in Burma face all sorts of pitfalls -
pressure from their governments, campaigns by activists, boycotts by
customers. So why do so many continue to work there?

Companies exist to make money, and there are plenty of opportunities to
turn a profit in Burma.

But the US and several other nations have squeezed most of their firms out
of Burma by maintaining tough sanctions.

Europe has imposed arms embargoes, asset freezes, import bans and
penalties for companies knowingly supporting military activity or
repression.

But there is no blanket ban on firms investing in the country - so travel
agents, insurance firms, haulage companies, energy firms and telecom
conglomerates can continue to work there.

In fact, doing business with the junta is "not so different from most
other places", according to one Western executive who has worked with the
generals.

"They speak English, so there were no language problems. But they refused
to use e-mail, so all contact was by fax, or face-to-face - which could
make things a little bit tricky," said the executive, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.

"I think now they are more comfortable with using telephones."

Coy companies

Other Western workers say dealing with the junta became more difficult
when they moved their capital city from Rangoon to Nay Pyi Taw, a new town
carved out of the countryside in 2006.

"It's an administrative town, built on paddy fields, and the ministries
are quite spread out," said a European with experience of working in the
capital.

"Only now are there signs of any commercial activity - hotels and shops
are opening, and civil servants are just starting to bring their families
to the town from Rangoon."

Western businessmen paint a picture of relative normality in Burma, yet
few companies will speak openly about their dealings with the junta.

Insurance firms such as Catlin and Atrium Underwriting, which were accused
in a 2008 report by Burma Campaign UK of funding repression, refused to
make any comment.

German insurance firm Hannover Re confirmed it continued to work in Burma,
spokeswoman Gabriele Handrick arguing that insurance would help the whole
country in times of need.

But she added: "We acknowledge that it is questionable whether, in a
dictatorial regime, these funds filter through to those who are most in
need."

French telecom giant Alcatel-Lucent helped to build a communications
network in Burma with Chinese government money, and in a statement on its
website rebuffs reports that it provided surveillance equipment to the
junta.

A spokesman confirmed Alcatel continued to work in Burma, but gave no
further details.

Local benefits?

Dozens of travel agencies across Europe offer holidays in Burma, but few
will speak of their work in the country.

Nick Laing, from UK-based Steppes Travel, is one of the few willing to
defend his position, saying he decided to offer "tailor-made travel" to
Burma after visiting the country himself.

"Without exception, everyone I spoke to during my visits urged us to keep
sending tourists, as the money foreigners spent in markets or on tips
helps the local economy," he says.

Activists say tourism helps to legitimise military rule, provides funds to
the generals and ignores widespread reports that forced labour was used to
build some facilities.

But Mr Laing, who sends only about 40 tourists a year to Burma, says he
uses only independent Burmese agencies and organises tailored trips for
individuals rather than sending people on group tours to official sites.

"Their presence really benefits the local economy," he says.

Charm offensive

The debate about investment in Burma has remained largely unchanged for
two decades.

The firms that invest say their capital helps to improve the lives of
ordinary Burmese, ties the military into international systems of
oversight, and consequently promotes openness and a respect for human
rights.

Opponents say the army is entrenched in every aspect of society, and
investors' money goes straight to the generals, who use it to buy weapons
and widen their repression.

Nowhere is this debate more pronounced than in the energy sector. French
energy giant Total is the biggest Western firm with operations in Burma.
It runs the Yadana offshore gas field with the help of US firm Chevron.
Workers building Total pipelines in 1996 Energy firm Total has been
involved in Burma since 1992, and operates vast pipelines

The Yadana field is not a huge money spinner for either firm when compared
with their operations in other countries, and both have faced lawsuits
accusing them of condoning rights abuses.

Chevron settled one case out of court, and a suit brought against Total by
Burmese exiles in Belgium was eventually dismissed.

The French firm vigorously denies any wrongdoing and has waged a charm
offensive with a website largely devoted to its charitable work there.

Chevron spokesman Morgan Crinklaw says its Burma interests are underpinned
by "compelling business reasons, fundamental of which is to better meet
South East Asian demand for energy supplies".

But such reasoning is unlikely to win over critics such as lobby group
Earth Rights International, which claimed in a 2009 report that the Yadana
field had yielded $4.8bn for the generals since 2000.

It is likely that the two firms persevered when others pulled out in the
hope that Burma would get a government the West could deal with, and
sanctions would be eased.

But in the past year, Indian and Chinese energy companies have been
pouring money into Burma - billions of dollars, if Burmese government
figures are to be believed.

So Western firms hoping to turn a profit in Burma may already have missed
the boat.

____________________________________
ASEAN

November 1, Philippine Daily Inquirer
Burma vote may hurt Asean, the Philippines warns

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III Sunday night (October 31) said he
had told the leaders of Burma (Myanmar) of the importance of holding free,
fair elections next month, as foreign secretary Alberto Romulo warned that
a sham election in that country would undermine the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

“I have told the leaders of Myanmar of our wish that the elections would
be free and peaceful,” Aquino said on his return from an Asean summit in
Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

Romulo had said at the weekend summit that flawed elections “will cost
Asean not only goodwill but its own position. They are also putting at
risk Asean itself.”

Asean leaders have repeatedly pressed member state Burma to ensure the
November 7 vote is free and fair and have urged the regime to release
pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

It will be the first election in 20 years in Burma. The regime says it is
a key step toward democracy, but critics say the polls are designed to
cement military control. Suu Kyi’s party, which won the 1990 vote but was
blocked from power, is boycotting.

Watchdogs say Asean's attitude to Burma and the harsh treatment of
activists by bloc chair Viet Nam before the summit began highlight the
group’s failure to confront human rights abuses.

Others ‘vulnerable’

Just as the Asean leaders arrived for the summit, Vietnamese courts
sentenced three labour activists to up to nine years in jail, convicted
several Catholic villagers in a dispute over a cemetery and arrested a
dissident.

But in Asean circles, a crackdown that activists say is under way in Viet
Nam on political bloggers, activists and others, goes unmentioned.

The timing of the convictions and arrests placed Viet Nam’s rights record
“under the spotlight”, said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a fellow at the
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

He said he did not expect other Asean members to criticise Viet Nam
because they all felt “vulnerable” on their human rights records.

US concerned

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is not bound by Asean's
principle of non-interference in members’ internal affairs, did speak up
on the sidelines of the summit on Saturday.

“The United States is concerned about the arrest and conviction of people
for peaceful dissent, attacks on religious groups, and curbs on Internet
freedom,” Clinton said.

“Viet Nam has so much potential, and we believe that political reform and
respect for human rights are an essential part of realising that
potential,” she said.

Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division,
said Asean members should also speak out because they all signed the
bloc’s charter under which they pledged “respect for and protection of
human rights”.

“If they’re not prepared to do that publicly, at least do it privately,”
Robertson urged.

Asean credibility

Human rights groups say Burma has one of the world’s worst human rights
records, detaining thousands of opponents, systematically destroying
ethnic minority villages and using rape as a weapon of war.

Burma has been a source of embarrassment for Asean's more democratic
members but it has taken prodding by Western governments and the United
Nations for the bloc to do more to push for change.

A coalition of regional lawmakers, the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar
Caucus, said Burma was already in “gross violation” of the Asean charter
and had tainted the reputation of the entire region.

Amnesty International also said the bloc’s credibility was at stake.

“Failure to address both past and present violations may prove critical
for the future realisation of peoples’ rights in Myanmar and the
international credibility of its neighbours,” the watchdog said this week.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 31, Agence France Presse
UN chief discusses Myanmar with China

Beijing – Ki-moon, on a visit to China, has held talks with foreign
minister Yang Jiechi on the situation in Myanmar ahead of the country's
much-criticised election next week.

Ban met Yang in Shanghai on Saturday on his first day in China before
attending the closing of the World Expo Sunday.

"In addition to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, (they)
discussed the situation in the Korean Peninsula, Myanmar and Sudan," a UN
spokesperson said in a statement emailed to AFP, without giving further
details.

The UN leader has already called for more pressure to be put on Myanmar to
free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others ahead of the nation's
first election in two decades on November 7.

Western nations and activists have criticised the vote as undemocratic,
with Suu Kyi locked up, and pro-democracy parties allege that restrictions
imposed by the iron-fisted military regime will virtually ensure it wins
the poll.

China is one of Myanmar's closest allies, and has long helped it to keep
afloat through trade ties, arms sales, and by shielding it from UN
sanctions over rights abuses as a veto-wielding member of the Security
Council.

Ban's visit to China comes amid government anger over the awarding of the
Nobel Peace Prize to jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo.

The UN chief has not criticised China but said the Nobel award recognized
a "growing international consensus for improving human rights practices
and culture around the world."

He is due to make a brief visit to the eastern city of Nanjing near
Shanghai, and then head for Beijing for talks with China's President Hu
Jintao and other leaders.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 31, The Guardian (UK)
Burma needs our voice – Gordon Brown

Next Sunday, 7 November, had the potential to be a truly great day. The
first Burmese elections since 1990 should have seen grassroots and
civilian candidates compete in free elections, as 60 million citizens
finally threw off a brutal military dictatorship in front of international
observers and the global media.

Instead next weekend's poll will be a masquerade. Aung San Suu Kyi – the
one person who in half a century has been democratically elected in Burma
– has been prevented from standing for re-election on the specious grounds
that her late husband was not Burmese, and her party, the National League
for Democracy, has been forcibly dissolved.

It is a "democratic election" where a third of the seats have been
reserved for the military. In addition, 40 "civilian candidates" of the
Union Solidarity and Development party – the junta's party – are senior
military officers who resigned from the army a few weeks ago in order to
stand. No foreign observers are allowed, foreign reporting is banned and
there is no opposition party on the ballot paper because what is left of
the NLD has chosen to boycott a rigged contest.

Twenty years ago, when Suu Kyi won a landslide majority of 392 out of 492
seats, the same military junta that governs today refused to accept the
result and imprisoned the victors. The National Coalition Government of
the Union of Burma, Burma's democratic government in exile, works to
remind the world of the MPs elected in 1990 who are now dead, in prison or
in exile.

But Suu Kyi has not only been barred from taking office and from the
contest to reaffirm her status as the choice of the Burmese people, she
has been in prison or under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. Some
of those were spent in solitary confinement, denied the chance to receive
visits from her sons and her beloved husband Michael Aris, even when he
was dying of cancer. She is not alone in suffering. Win Tin, a senior NLD
politician, spent 19 years in prison; Min Ko Naing, chair of the All Burma
Federation of Student Unions, 15 years; party chairman Tin Oo has just
been released after seven years.

It is impossible not to weep over the fate of Burma. It is a country that,
in the latter days of the second world war, resisted the Japanese. Yet its
first democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi's father, who
negotiated Burma's independence from Britain in 1947, was assassinated at
the age of only 32 as the army took power in a bloody coup. It is the
country that brutally repressed Buddhist monks when they spoke out. It is
also the country where more than 130,000 people were allowed to die two
years ago when the regime initially shunned external aid after severe
flooding. Even as the election campaign takes place, people are suffering
from flooding as not enough help is getting through.

While the election will not be fair, it should alert the world to Burma's
plight. I first became involved in the campaign for Suu Kyi's release in
the 1990s after arranging to meet her husband, then a professor at Oxford,
and offering to do what I could to help. In my book of essays, Courage, I
singled her out as the world's bravest prisoner of conscience after Nelson
Mandela. I was pleased that we screened the film Burma VJ in Downing
Street to highlight the risks dissenters face.

But the time has come for us all to do more. We must ensure there is no
reduction in sanctions against the regime and think how we can each
contribute to raising the profile of this gravest of injustices. Aung San
Suu Kyi should be released immediately but while she is denied a voice, we
must each give ours.

____________________________________

October 31, Independent (UK)
Burma's regime prepares for victory despite poll boycott call – Ambika Reddy

Rangoon – The leader of Burma's democratic movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, is
due to be released from house arrest here on 13 November, but the
governing junta has warned that she could be put on trial again if she
continues to remind the public that they have the right to abstain from
voting.

In a long article published on Sunday in the newspaper The New Light of
Myanmar, which is the regime's mouthpiece, the writer, Kyaw Myo Aung,
said: "A voter can choose not to vote, but a person who is found guilty of
inciting the people to boycott the election is liable for not more than
one's year's prison term or a fine of up to 100,000 kyats [£9,700], or
both."

Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide
victory in Burma's last election 20 years ago, has spent more than 15
years confined to her house in Rangoon since 1989. Her party's triumph in
the 1990 legislative elections – in which the regime's proxy party, the
National Unity Party, won just 10 seats – was never honoured by the
regime.

Earlier this year her party was offered the possibility of registering for
the new elections, which will be held next Sunday, but only on condition
that it expelled Ms Suu Kyi and some 200 other party members who are
serving jail terms. The party refused, and was officially dissolved.

Yesterday's newspaper article accused Ms Suu Kyi's party of trying to
"disrupt" the elections with "subversive acts" and of being aided in the
attempt by the BBC and other foreign broadcasters. "Broadcasting stations
like the BBC... [are] repeatedly airing broadcasts designed to instigate
the people to refrain from voting in the upcoming elections," it claimed.

Endorsed by a stern editorial, which described voting as "a basic right"
but also as "the national duty of citizens," the article left the
unmistakable impression that, although 37 parties are contesting the
election, it is really a contest between the regime's proxy parties and
the genuinely democratic enemy it has been trying to eliminate by all
possible means for 20 years now.

For collectors of psephological oddities, this Burmese election is one for
the scrapbook.

With six days to go, it is hard to find indications that anything out of
the ordinary is about to happen. In Rangoon, nobody is out campaigning.
There are no election meetings, as assemblies of more than 50 people are
banned. Canvassing door-to-door would appear to be out of the question.

The scowling photos of four middle-aged gentlemen stuck to a board outside
a Chinese temple, all standing for the Union Solidarity and Development
Party, the regime's new proxy party, were the only posters of candidates
visible in the city centre.

The only other sign of election activity was a truck on the road to Sule
Pagoda in the city centre with the farmer's hat symbol, the kamauk,
emblazoned on its side. This was the NLD's icon in the 1990 election, but
this time around has been adopted by the National Democratic Force – a
breakaway party formed by NLD members opposed to the party's decision to
boycott the election. The use of the symbol, has angered NDL activists,
who fear it will confuse supporters.

After the disastrous humiliation of 1990, the regime is trying to do
everything in its power to assure a clean sweep this time, and it is hard
to see how it can fail. The £300 fee for candidates to register – a huge
sum here – means that in many constituencies only candidates for the proxy
parties are running. In those constituencies, the junta's favoured
candidates are therefore assured of winning (as long as at least one
person votes for them). In total, the two regime-sponsored parties have
three times as many candidates as those of all the other parties put
together.

The most remarkable aspect of the 1990 election was that there was
apparently very little attempt to rig the result – hence the regime's
black eye. But the outcome of a referendum on the new constitution, held
in 2008, with more than 90 per cent supposedly voting "yes" (including the
millions who had barely survived the disastrous cyclone Nargis a couple of
weeks earlier), suggests that the regime has now mastered the art of
obtaining the result it wants.

Six genuine opposition parties – including the Democratic Party led by the
daughter of Burma's first prime minister, U Nu, and two other senior women
from the political class – are banding together in an alliance to fight
for seats in the former capital, Rangoon. It is the only part of the
country where they are thought to have a chance of landing a significant
blow on the regime's parties.

But even here it may be "the Lady's" call to voters to stay at home on
election day that hurts the generals the most.
____________________________________

October 31, Reuters
SCENARIOS - Myanmar's uncertain political future – Martin Petty

Bangkok – Military-ruled Myanmar will hold its first election in two
decades on Nov. 7, polls that critics say will be a sham resulting in no
substantial transfer of sovereign power.

The resource-rich country of about 50 million people is heading for a
period of uncertainty, with concern about economic, social and political
instability if the new system fails to satisfy the public or the
power-hungry generals.

Following are possible post-election scenarios:

COSMETIC CHANGE ONLY, MILITARY RETAINS POWER

Few believe the military will genuinely cede power. The new constitution
guarantees the army 25 percent of legislative seats; junta proxies
including recently retired generals are almost certain to win plenty more.

The president must include three serving generals as ministers of the
interior, defence and border affairs, and other portfolios are expected to
be held by military proxies, meaning the armed forces will still control
policy and budget decisions. Bills will sail through parliament: the
military will essentially control that also.

This is the most likely scenario. Analysts say the junta sincerely
believes the military is the only institution capable of running the
country. And the generals will want to protect and promote their own
business interests also.

"DEMOCRACY" FAILS, MILITARY TAKES BACK POWER

The last time elections were held in 1990; the result was unfavourable for
the generals and they refused to hand over power. It appears the junta has
learned from that and has carefully drafted a constitution and election
laws to ensure it will, in effect, transfer power to itself.

Widespread public rejection of Myanmar's new "democratic" system could
trigger an uprising or, less likely, a coup d'etat by a military faction
pledging to purge the ruling generals and turn Myanmar into a real
democracy.

The military-drafted constitution has a detailed section on declaring a
state of emergency, which allows the armed forces chief to assume
sovereign power in the face of threats to internal security or national
unity. If the military's power is under threat or its influence wanes, it
could provoke a crisis of its own making as a pretext to wrestle back
control.

GRADUAL TRANSFER TO REAL CIVILIAN RULE

In the long term, Myanmar could undergo a gradual transition of power to a
genuine civilian government free of military control or interference. This
would be an evolutionary process and might not be the military's
intention.

Future elections, constitutional amendments and shifts in the power
structure or patronage systems could lead to the emergence of splinter
groups or factions within the military. Some may favour offering roles to
experienced, educated technocrats deemed capable of handling the economy
or health ministry, for example.

International pressure, a desire to reform or just personal business or
political interests could see factions of the army or its proxies
developing independent agendas of their own.

This scenario is unlikely in the first few governments but could start to
unfold when the ageing junta top brass die or fade from the scene.
However, any fissures in the military would heighten the chance of coups
and political upheaval.

PUBLIC REJECTS MILITARY-CONTROLLED GOVERNMENT

Decades of economic mismanagement, human rights abuses and a failure to
invest sufficiently in education, health and public services have created
deep public resentment of the military that could boil over, especially if
the government fails to deliver the reforms and welfare provisions the
constitution promises.

It has happened before. Nationwide monk-led protests in 2007 triggered by
increases in fuel and cooking gas prices stoked public anger against the
military, which has repeatedly shown its paranoia -- and brutality -- when
faced with public revolt.

Myanmar's new democracy could be plagued by cronyism, corruption and wide
inequalities. If the judicial system is tainted, farmers are neglected and
the government fails to provide adequate welfare, it could have a
rebellion on its hands. There are plenty of pro-democracy groups in
Myanmar with scores to settle that would be willing lead the charge.

(Editing by Andrew Marshall)

____________________________________

October 31, The New Light of Myanmar
Remain vigilant against elements sowing hatred among national people –
Myint Aung (Zeyamye)

My nieces and nephews,

I am satisfied with the discussions I held with you all. Now, I am writing
to tell you some notable points for your knowledge.

I think you have heard of it. Multiparty democracy general elections we
are all looking forward to will be held on 7 November 2010 (Sunday). The
Union Election Commission issued Announcement (89/2010) on 13 August. Now,
you all have turned 18. So, you have an opportunity to show your sense of
duty by casting votes in the elections. I want you all to be dutiful in
the elections because that is the first step to the goal of
discipline-flourishing democratic nation.

My girls and boys, here I must admit that the book "The State, Citizens,
Politics and Democratic Practice" by Minbedar (Pwintpyu) inspired me to
tell you these points. It states an interesting question about five sorts
of citizens. The question is "What sort of citizens do you like among the
five sorts of citizens? What sort of citizen are you?" The five sorts of
citizens are:

(1) isolate citizen who is not interested in politics, who keeps off
politics and whose business is not associated with politics,

(2) bystander citizen who has a watchful eye to political processes. He
studies politics enthusiastically, and is ready to do politics if
necessary. However, he observes with folded arms what is happening without
taking part

(3) Participant citizen who takes interest in politics and studies
political processes. He is capable of doing politics and participates in
politics little by little.

(4) Activist citizen who not only studies but also actively participates
in politics. As for him, politics has priority over his personal affairs.

(5) Diehard citizen who devotes his life to political affairs at risk to
life, and his concepts and ideas.

As you know, our country will practise genuine and discipline-flourishing
multiparty democracy system. Today is in the transitional period to
democracy, so the youth should not place trust in instigations. Indeed,
politics is the affairs of a nation. In other words, politics means what
is happening in the human society, isn't it? And politics is of two types:
party politics and national politics. Short and to the point, party
politics means activities that are concerning with getting support for one
political party in a country. My suggestion in that regard is that after a
political party comes to power, it should continue to serve the interest
of the people and the nation. So, you should vote for such candidates who
are reliable for national interest or who keep the promises they have
given since the run-up to elections.

To be able to make correct choices, you have to stay in touch with what is
going on in the nation and in the world. Therefore, the people should not
ignore politics.

You should not take politics for granted. You should not consider "I'm not
qualified enough to stand for election, so whoever comes to power, it
doesn't matter". To choose a candidate, you should take into consideration
what he has worked for the public and his historical background. As the
theme of democracy, the people who are the real owner of sovereignty of
the nation have to elect the candidates who will exercise sovereign powers
on their behalf. So, you have to choose a candidate and elect him with
votes. In addition, that means you take part in electing candidates
without wasting the chance of voting.

The people have waited for long to vote. The people of us will soon pass
through the gateway to democracy to march to a prosperous democratic
nation. The voters (the people) will have to vote for reliable candidates
who are capable of exercising sovereign powers on behalf of the public.
However, certain internal and external elements are dissuading the people
from casting votes, instead of extending a helping hand to the
strengthening of democratic foundations. I am sure the people know well
that they are trying to disrupt the nation's democratization. So, you need
to be aware of their plots. It is known to all that their activities are
due to subjective rather than objective conditions. In other words, it is
time the entire people opened the gate to democracy, but their intention
is that the people become confused and they cannot pass through the
entrance to democracy. To tell you a bit more, they are criticizing
elections unreasonably.

In a country, stability and peace are essential for development. Now, the
people of us abhor the plots to destabilize the nation. In fact, election
is the first step to democracy, but they are trying to block the first
step. That is based on personality cult, rather than political situations.
They are turning a blind eye to the historic events of the nation,
objective conditions, and requirements for flourishing of democracy. And
they are trying to divert the goal of democracy from its course.
Apparently, they are making something dishonest. I am sure that they are
resorting to various ways to sow hatred among the people. Here, I would
like to tell you a true story. In the time of the Buddha, Vesali in Vijji
was prosperous, so, King Ajatasatta wanted to occupy the country. So, the
king asked. Vassakara Brahmin, his adviser, to enquire about the
conditions of the country. After inquiry, the Brahmin came to know that
Licchivi princes of Vijji practised the Buddha's seven principles for
prosperity and development of a nation, and the citizens remained
harmonious with prosperous future. So, the Brahmin addressed formally to
the king and suggested that the king sow discord among the people of the
country to break up the national unity. And he said that the means of
sowing hatred among the people of the targeted country was the only way to
win victory. Then, the Brahmin got to Vijji and sowed hatred among the
people to undermine national unity, and then King Ajatassata launched a
war against and occupied Vijji.

That is to day: now there are so many people who are like Vassakara
Brahmin and are trying to drive a wedge among national people when our
country is poised to become a democratic nation. So, you should be
constantly vigilant against their schemes, and you should do your bit in
the democratization. I want you to try to become dutiful citizens. Surely,
by then, you have understood that the election is to be completed
successfully as the first step to democracy. We cannot introduce democracy
to our country overnight. To achieve the goal of democracy, every citizen
has to take part in democratization and practise democracy correctly. In
this regard, there are many countries they are now going through the hell
of untold misery including bloodshed due to the fact that they tried to
make a carbon copy of the democratic practice of democracy countries. Such
incidents are usual because selfishness and crave for political power are
the root cause of the collapse of a country. Despite their knowledge of
such horrible incidents, anti-government groups are resorting to all
possible ways and means to push our country to another war-torn country.
It is crystal clear that they are seeking their own interest, rather than
our national interest.

So, I would like to urge you to elect reliable candidates by casting votes
in the forthcoming election that is the first step to democracy.

Translation: MS
____________________________________

October 31, The New Light of Myanmar
Although having different choices, let's vote for the common goal – Kyaw
Myo Naung

Rangoon – I explained to my daughter who attained the age of 18 years last
June voting process as she asked me how to cast a vote. I am delighted to
see she is eager to enjoy the taste of the voting right for the first time
in her life and anxious to vote. The reason why I felt happy is to see a
youth who has attained 18 years of age recently is taking an interest in
upcoming elections. I explained in detail the Pyithu Hluttaw, the Amyotha
Hluttaw, the Region/State Hluttaw and national race representative. She
understood what to do. I noticed she has shown an interest in reading
journals that carry articles about voting process. This is the attention
given by a new generation second year university student to the upcoming
elections.

I became aware recently that broadcasting stations like BBC, VOA and RFA
were repeatedly airing broadcasts designed to instigate the people to
refrain from voting in the upcoming elections. Although they said they
aired stories as they had learnt, l noticed they are inciting the people
not to exercise the voting right with intent to disrupt the 2010 election.
I asked myself and tried to answer the questions of who are instigating
the people to refrain from voting and why they are persuading the people
like this. I got answers in a short time without going anywhere. I have
found out that those who are dissuading the people from voting are members
of an old political party that had been dissolved and antigovernment
groups. There is no need to make a special explanation for their
subversive acts designed to disrupt the 2010 multiparty democracy
elections that they quit.

The constitution won 92.48 per cent approval of eligible voters in 2008.
The forthcoming election is the fifth step of seven-step Road Map.
Moreover, it is an event to elect candidates for respective hluttaws in
accord with the constitution.

As the elections are drawing nearer, candidates from legal parties are
canvassing for votes in their respective constituencies. Demonstrations on
voting process are being conducted by respective township/ ward
subcommissions. The people are studying voting process. It is merely a
situation in which authorities responsible for holding elections are
making all possible arrangements for the upcoming elections while eligible
voters are paying attention tothe voting process. At the same time,
certain destructive elements are resorting to various ways and means to
protest against the elections.

They are inciting the people that the 2010 elections will not be free and
fair; that an eligible voter has the right not only to cast vote but also
to refrain from voting; and to refrain from voting by boycotting the
elections. Possible arrangements have been made for ensuring free and fair
elections by facilitating voters to express their wishes in secret ballot
booth, giving permission to the candidates to appoint polling station
agents and assistant agents and conducting counting of votes in the
presence of the public, polling station agents and assistant agents. So I
felt confused why they are making negative comments that the elections
will not be free and fair.

A total of 37 political parties and 3059 candidates will compete for the
respective hluttaws in elections. Among them, 82 will take part in
elections as independent candidates. The current situation indicates that
political parties and the people are eager to take part in forthcoming
elections. It is strange to see those who are preventing the people from
exercising voting right while some candidates and responsible persons of
some political parties are expressing their views that we have to go
through the elections to meet the goal of democracy and the upcoming
election is the first step to the change for Myanmar's democratization.
They are subversives attempting to puncture the big drum as they stand no
chance to play the leading role.

A country must possess population, territory, government and sovereignty.
Out of these characteristics, our country has gained three, except for
government. So measures are being taken for an executive body or a
government. As the Constitution had been approved firmly for the future of
the nation, the upcoming elections are not only the first step to the goal
but also the beginning of the Constitution.

Voting is a highly prestigious opportunity for a citizen who is eligible
to vote. Persons who are less than a day away to attain the age of 18
years shall not have the voting right. Even though the requirement of 18
years is met, persons of unsound mind and those serving prison terms shall
not have voting right. Arrangements have been made systematically for
those who cannot get into the polling station due to health reasons and
are receiving treatments at the hospital, and service personnel who have
been assigned temporary duties to go somewhere at the election day to cast
votes in advance. But they can cast votes in advance if they are willing
to cast votes. Such persons will be free from pressure of casting votes
without fail.

I would like to present a rumour I have heard. The rumour is that a party
is asking for advance votes to win in elections. In this context, there
are points to take consideration. Parties are not responsible for
conducting advance votes. Only election subcommissions are responsible for
it. These advance votes cannot be conducted in secret. When the casting of
ballot papers is over, advance ballot envelopes will be opened in the
presence of the public in the time of counting votes. Besides, an advance
ballot paper that does not have the seal of the commission and
subcommission and the signature of the in-charge, with more than one tick
to favour more than one candidate, with no tick, with unclear tick and the
commission, the subcommission or the returning officer decides to be a
fake one will be rejected.

Such rumours are designed to get voters to be hesitant, underestimating
that the people are not capable enough to decide if these rumours are true
or not. Rumours have appeared to coincide with the incitement of those who
are persuading the people to protest against voting. Moreover, a party was
accused of giving gifts to win in elections. BBC, VOA and RFA are airing
these groundless and fabricated news stories overstating them along with
review and analysis programmes. But the public who are capable enough to
distinguish between good and bad and differentiate right and wrong will
not accept it. Only an idiot believes it.

Rome was not built in a day, and likewise democracy cannot be introduced
overnight. It takes time. It is the law of nature that everything develops
step by step. Whether the US, the godfather of democracy, had democratic
rights like us now when its constitution came into force is a question
worth examining. We have to pass through the election to march towards a
democratic nation. We have to cast votes to elect candidates who will work
for development of the nation. This is the procedure and this is
democracy. Those who really understand politics never say about instant
practice of genuine democracy. Those who are saying so at present, in
reality, do not understand politics but are dancing to tunes of their
masters.

A drop of water cannot form an ocean, but an ocean is made of many many
drops of water. Any citizen cannot create the opportunity to have
participated in an important case to shape a prosperous future of the
nation. We have right not to cast votes, but in my opinion, voting is
constructive and the reverse is destructive. One has to decide himself
whether he takes part in democratization process or not. However, he
should distinguish between right and wrong and be proud of himself having
made positive contribution to practice of democracy.

I have learnt that there are two to eight candidates according to
constituencies. But, in some constituencies, there is only one candidate
and thus he will become a representative. Candidates elected in the
elections may change the policy of the State within the frame of law. They
will officially submit points that need to be amended in the constitution
to the Hluttaw and seek approval.

It takes all sorts to make a world and so there is no doubt that our human
society has diversity. But, we have to consider the interest of the
community. We have to pass through the election, the gateway to democracy,
only then can we reach our goal. Casting votes means promoting the
interest of the community. And working for the interest of the community
is democracy. So, whoever supports democracy should cast votes and those
dissuading the people from casting votes are mere destructive elements
outside democracy world.

It is usual that contrast perspectives lie in diverse ideas. But, contrast
perspective can be profitable as well if used correctly with right
approach and objective analysis. Contrast perspective cannot deviate from
the interest of the community. No constitution in the world gains
satisfaction of the entire nation concerned, but it is the choice of the
majority. Democracy means respecting the wishes of the majority. The
interest of the community can not be harmed for the interest of an
individual or a party.

Members of an old particular party that refused to participate in the
election are saying that parties participating in the forthcoming election
are reactionaries. Furthermore, they are even criticizing the election
unreasonably and dissuading the people from casting votes, In fact, they
should have registered to participate in the election, in order that they
can amend certain points they disagree democratically in the parliament.
But, now they are saying the forthcoming election is sour grapes. It is
none other than harming the interest of the community.

A voter can choose not to vote, but a person who is found guilty of
inciting the people to boycott the election is liable for not more than
one year's prison term, or a fine of up to 100,000 kyats or both under
Election Law Article 57. If a person is found guilty of trying to destroy
the voting process or the election by giving public talks, writing, and
distributing posters or in other ways, action may be taken against that
person according to Election Law Article 58 (d).

Every democratic nation holds elections according to their schedules.
Those who have right to stand for the election participate in the
elections and those who have right to vote cast votes. And they are proud
of having right to stand for the election and having right to cast vote.
Those who have not been naturalized yet also take interest in voting right
and try to become citizens in time. They are taking pride in doing so. We
should also be proud of having right to vote. Having a chance to take
first step towards democracy goal is something we should be proud of.

Now that the election is drawing nearer, representatives-elect from
different parties and individual representatives are conducting election
campaigns in their respective constituencies. They are also presenting
their party policies, stances and work programmes through air. We, voters
have the right to vote for representatives we favour. The choices may be
different But, anyway it is in the public interest that everyone has to
cast votes for the success of multi-party democracy election. The country
is in need of young citizens who take great interest in election. I would
like to urge all eligible voters to think the same as me and cast ballots
in the election despite the fact that their choices may be different.

Translation: YM+TKK

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PRESS RELEASE

October 31, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Statement on Burma elections

On 7 November Burma will hold its first elections in 20 years. This should
have been a moment to be welcomed for a country that has suffered under
repressive military rule since 1962.

We have very grave reservations about the elections. They are being
conducted under patently unfair election laws that place severe
restrictions on political parties.

International media and international observers are banned. Eleven
political parties have been dissolved by the authorities and several
others have been denied the right to register. Parties' ability to
campaign and gain access to the media is severely constrained.

There are over 2,000 political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Australia has consistently called for their immediate and unconditional
release.

Despite these unpromising circumstances, many democrats in Burma have
chosen to contest the elections. We respect their decision to do so - as
we do the decision of those who have chosen to not participate.

A number of the 37 registered parties contesting the elections are not
affiliated with the regime. We acknowledge their right to pursue the
limited opportunities they have to try and create new political space in
Burma and give opportunities for democratic and ethnic voices to be heard.

I welcome Indonesian Foreign Minister Natalegawa's comments of 28 October
noting the elections' "credibility deficit" and again calling for the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi nd other political prisoners. He also said the
elections must be accompanied by national dialogue and reconciliation. We
support these calls.

We also welcome Philippine President Aquino's call for the immediate
release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Australia knows that the struggle for democratic change in Burma is
ongoing. So our targeted sanctions, travel bans and ban on defence exports
will remain in place to maintain pressure on the Burmese authorities to
address human rights concerns and pursue real change.

At the same time, Australia will continue to help the Burmese people.
Burma is the poorest member of ASEAN. Its child mortality rates are among
the highest in the world, while the level of international aid to Burma is
amongst the world's lowest.

This year, Australia is providing 48.6m dollars in aid, a significant
increase from the 29.1 million in provided in 2009-10.

This aims to meet critical needs in health, especially for mothers and
children, education and agriculture. It also aims to rebuild the capacity
of Burmese people and institutions and address the decline in Burma's
human capital.

In addition, Australia is providing an initial assistance package of
200,000 dollars for those affected by Cyclone Giri, which struck Burma on
22 October.

Australia will continue to work with the United Nations and the
international community to encourage inclusive dialogue and genuine
democratic reform, and promote national reconciliation, in order to help
the people of Burma build a better future.