BurmaNet News, November 8, 2010

[Editor]

November 8, 2010 Issue #4079


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: NDF leader tells opposition parties not to recognize results
Guardian (UK): Burma election observers report voter intimidation
Mizzima: Junta held storm victims’ aid as ransom for votes

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Mae Sot burdened by thousands of Burmese refugees
Japan Times: Police detain Japanese journalist

BUSINESS / TRADE
Telegraph (UK): Burma uses Chinese investment to harass opponents

REGIONAL
Hindustan Times: Obama criticises India's silence on Myanmar
AFP: Philippines says Myanmar vote 'non-inclusive'

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: UN chief slams Myanmar vote
AFP: US envoy to UN slams Myanmar vote

OPINION / OTHER
The White House, Office of the Press Secretary: Remarks by the President
to the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, India
(excerpt)
Wall Street Journal: Burma's hollow election
DVB: What the papers say – Francis Wade
The Hindu: What next in Myanmar? – Editorial
Guardian (UK): Travel independently to help Burma – Benedict Rogers
Xinhua: Myanmar election shows trend of people's aspiration – Zhang Yunfei

PRESS RELEASE
European Parliament: Burma elections: "attempt to consolidate
authoritarian military rule"
European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma: European MPs condemn the elections
in Burma
Council on the European Union: Declaration by the High Representative
Catherine Ashton on behalf of the European Union on the elections in
Burma/Myanmar
Chin Human Rights Organization: Electoral violence and intimidation in
Tedim Township, Chin State

INTERVIEW
Irrawaddy: Tin Oo says election most unpopular ever – Ba Kaung with Tin Oo




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 8, Irrawaddy
NDF leader tells opposition parties not to recognize results

Rangoon—Burma's opposition parties in the Sunday polls have been told not
recognize the election results without transparency and clarity from the
regime's Election Commission regarding the ballot counts. “We have told
other parties not to recognize the results of the polls without a clear
explanation about the suspicious advanced votes and other irregular
activities in the vote counting,” said Khin Maung Swe, the leader of the
National Democratic Force, which fielded 164 candidates.
____________________________________

November 8, Guardian (UK)
Burma election observers report voter intimidation – Jack Davies

Rangoon – Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton echo protesters in Japan and
Thailand in calling the election in Burma a sham Link to this video

Independent Burmese observers have reported widespread allegations of
voter intimidation and bribery in the country's first elections in a
generation.

The poll yesterday has already been written off by most international
observers as a sham designed to entrench military rule, but further
evidence of vote-rigging by the junta will only weaken its claims to have
held a free and fair election.

Several hundred observers from a politically neutral Burmese organisation,
which cannot be named for security reasons, monitored preparations for the
election and polling in districts across the country. They found
widespread interference from the junta in the campaign and conduct of the
elections, particularly in rural areas.

The allegations emerged as at least 10,000 refugees fled across the border
into Thailand to escape post-election fighting between government troops
and ethnic Karen rebels.

Sporadic clashes continued today along the border after rebels of the
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army seized the police station and post office
in the town of Myawaddy. Most of the DKBA sides with the regime, but a
faction is fighting with other rebel groups against the central
government.

At least 10 people were wounded and thousands fled amid gunshots and
mortar fire.

The US, the UK, the EU and Japan have condemned the vote as neither free
nor fair and repeated calls to free the opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi. Her youngest son, Kim Aris, flew from London to Bangkok last week
ahead of her release, which is expected to come on 13 November, but the
Burmese embassy denied his application for a visa.

Speaking in Delhi, President Obama accused the junta of "stealing the
election."

"When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed - as in Burma - then
the democracies of the world cannot remain silent. For it is unacceptable
to gun down peaceful protestors and incarcerate political presoners decade
after decade. It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire
people hostage to the greed and paranoia of a bankrupt regime. It is
unacceptable to steal an election as the regime has done again for all the
world to see," he said.

The Burmese observers' accounts of the election are valuable as the junta
banned all foreign journalists and monitors from the country ahead of the
poll.

A Japanese photographer, Toru Yamaji, 49, was detained in Myawaddy after
slipping across the Thai border to try to cover the election.

State TV said voters cast their ballots "freely and happily" but the
observers said many were coerced into voting for the military junta's
political arm, the Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP).

Civil servants were told they would lose their jobs if they did not
support the party while, in Rakhine state in western Burma, the owners of
salt fields were told their land would be confiscated if they did not vote
for the USDP. In other areas, villagers were warned all development
programmes and public services would be cut if they did not vote for the
government.

Vote-buying was also reported: 30% of observers reported that cash or
in-kind contributions were offered to people in exchange for government
votes.

In Karen state, a USDP candidate paid village leaders 200,000 kyats (about
£125), and in Rakhine state, elderly people were given reading glasses and
hospital patients 50,000 kyats by the government's candidate. Other
villages were promised roads or street lighting in exchange for votes.

At 13% of polling stations, observers said, voters faced intimidation or
disturbance while voting.

Several parties have lodged complaints with the electoral commission over
advance voting, where the military collected votes from people in the days
before the election.

Polling stations were allegedly set up in government offices and at
industrial zones where large numbers of voters could be signed up.

In Keng Tung township in Shan state, all 200 advance votes were cast for
the government party. In nearly two-thirds of polling stations, observers
reported, advance votes were counted separately from regular votes.

Concerns have been raised about votes being counted away from public or
opposition party scrutiny.

Meanwhile the arcane process of counting votes and declaring a winner was
progressing slowly across Burma. It is likely to be days before a final
result is known.

There has been no official report on the number of votes cast on Sunday,
but observers reported a poor turnout across the country, falling as low
as 20% in some areas.

In what is perhaps an indication of the emerging new government, several
names from the military regime were among the first elected.

Foreign minister U Nyan Win, forestry minister U Thein Aung and industry
minister U Soe Thein are now civilian members of parliament.

Forty-one of the 57 seats announced so far went to the junta's USDP, while
the rest were shared by democratic parties, including several ethnic
minority parties.

____________________________________

November 8, Mizzima News
Junta held storm victims’ aid as ransom for votes – Thea Forbes

Chiang Mai – Regime officials in Burma’s west threatened to cut aid to
victims of Cyclone Giri if they failed to vote for the main junta-backed
Union Solidarity and Development Party, a party source said last night.

Mizzima received reports late yesterday that people struggling in areas
devastated by the cyclone had been among the latest victims of junta-USDP
voter coercion. Giri hit western Burma on October 22, killed at least 50
dead and displaced 70,000.

Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) spokesman Thein Tun Aye
told Mizzima last night that “in the storm-affected areas, especially in
Myebon, we’ve lost all seats, but in other townships, we won a landslide
victory”.

He said: “Our candidates told us the authorities, especially the western
military commanders, told all the elders and the villagers to vote for the
USDP, not our Rakhine Party [RNDP] 
 and that if the villagers voted for
the RNDP they would not receive any provisions or any help.”

The USDP had clearly taken advantage of the vulnerability of voters in
areas affected by Cyclone Giri, he said.

Chapter three of the Union Election Commission Law, section eight,
provides that: “The duties and powers of the commission are as follows 

postponing and cancelling the elections in constituencies in which free
and fair election could not be held due to natural disaster or situation
of regional security”.

Before the polls, the RNDP had asked junta officials to postpone voting in
the state to enable storm victims to recuperate and rebuild their homes.
Its calls were ignored.

The pre-election junta had used the electoral laws’ powers to postpone
voting in areas of Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Mon and Shan states, and yet
had deemed it inappropriate in Arakan, where 400,000 people were
reportedly affected by the cyclone.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 8, Irrawaddy
Mae Sot burdened by thousands of Burmese refugees – Wai Moe

Mae Sot—The ongoing armed conflict between Burmese government troops and
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5 has sent thousands of
refugees fleeing across the border to Mae Sot, Thailand.

Thai officials in Mae Sot estimated that more than 10,000 refugees entered
Thailand on Monday after fighting broke out in the early morning—one day
after Burma held its first election in 20 years. Other sources estimate
that the number of refugees may now be as high as 30,000.

Refugees from in and around Myawaddy—Burma's border town across the river
from Mae Sot— included months-old infants and the elderly, who were
carried on the backs of family members. Most refugees fled with few
possessions, crossing the Moei River group by group with the sound of
gunfire and explosions coming from behind.

“My family members and I ran away from the battle in the town, taking
whatever stuff we had in hand,” said a 50-year old housewife from
Myawaddy. “I do not know when we can go back home.”

She said that Thai security forces and volunteers first took them to a
building under construction at a monastery near the river. They were then
taken, along with other refugees, by pickup truck to a Thai army compound
opposite the Mae Sot airport.

____________________________________

November 8, The Japan Times
Police detain Japanese journalist – Simon Scott

A Japanese journalist was arrested in Myanmar at 9 a.m. Saturday while
reporting on the election in the border town of Myawaddy.

Forty-nine-year-old Toru Matsumoto, who works for the Tokyo-based APF news
agency, was believed to have been taking photographs at the time of his
arrest and remains in detention, sources said. He was carrying a pen
camera, a passport, an APF press card, a Thai cell phone and an
international cell phone, all of which were confiscated by Myanmar
authorities, they said.

Matsumoto is believed to have crossed into Myawaddy illegally on foot from
the Thai border town of Mae Sot, where a contingent of international media
have been covering the election at a distance.

Complicating matters, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an
insurgency group in eastern Myanmar, has since conducted a raid on
Myawaddy. The DKBA has taken control of a number of key positions in the
township, including the police station, sources said. They added, however,
that they did not know whether Matsumoto had been caught up in the raid.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 8, Telegraph (UK)
Burma uses Chinese investment to harass opponents – Sue Lloyd-Roberts

Chinese investment in Burma has been harnessed by the regime to
consolidate control of swathes of territory controlled by rebel ethnic
groups on its northern and eastern borders.

Mae Hong Son  - Chinese investment in Burma has been harnessed by the
regime to consolidate control of swathes of territory controlled by rebel
ethnic groups on its northern and eastern borders. A Burmese family casts
their votes in the capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar Photo: EPA

Dam construction has seen thousands of Burmese villagers driven out of the
country in a strategy that prepared the way for the first nationwide
election in two decades on Sunday under a new constitution designed to
bring military backed political parties to power.

Refugees from Burma flock across the Thai border in motley groups with
bags on their backs and babies in their arms. At a refugee camp outside
the town of Mae Hong Son, the numbers of ethnic Karen displaced are
growing at a faster rate than at any time since military rule began in
1962.

They are emptying villages faster than we can cope," said Khu Htebu, the
welfare officer. "They are destroying hundreds of villages.

The victims claim to have been forced out by a government policy known as
"Damming at Gunpoint".

Activists from the Burma Rivers Network claim construction is under way on
forty dams on rivers that flow between Burma and China and Thailand. The
majority are being built as joint ventures between the Burmese military
and Chinese construction companies and government troops have been
deployed to remove local inhabitants from the flood basins.

"The government soldiers started burning the village and then, with
machine guns, opened fire. They were shooting everywhere and it was the
old and the children who were killed. The rest of us ran away", says Boe
Reh, a refugee in his 50s.

His wife, Htay Moe, takes up the story "We had to keep moving. They killed
anyone who stopped. Some women were so pregnant that they could barely
walk and so they got stones and beat their stomachs to kill their babies,
to miscarry so that they could run."


>From Mae Hong Son, I crossed into Burma illegally, where guerrillas from

the rebel Karenni army face the Burmese military along front lines.

Major General Aung Myat, the Karen commander, said Chinese support was
vital to the Burmese operations. "They've brought more army units in,
they've moved the villagers out, they've laid landmines everywhere and
they've brought in Chinese technicians to help them build the dams", he
said.


>From the junta´s point of view, it is a cunning plan. They have been

dealing with uprisings among Burma's recalcitrant ethnic people for half a
century. By flooding the areas where villages support the rebel armies,
they get rid of the insurgents' supply lines and make the money they need
to keep in power by selling hydroelectricity to Thailand and China.

Chinese investment is critically important to the Burmese regime. Beijing
has invested some $8 billion in gas, oil and hydroelectric ventures in
Burma this year alone.

But Burma's other neighbours are happy to co-operate. On signing a recent
Memorandum of Understanding on a hydroelectric project, the head of
Thailand's Electricity Authority announced, "it is a win-win situation.
The Kingdom of Thailand will get cheap electricity while Burma can earn
much needed revenue".

The elections did not provide an opportunity to voice grievances. Many
local parties wanting to stand on local issues were not allowed to
register and over a million people in the ethnic areas were not allowed to
vote. "The elections were just to keep the junta in power", said Maj Gen
Aung. "Once this dam project is finished, the power will be sent over the
border and there will be nothing for us, local people."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 8, The Hindustan Times
Obama criticises India's silence on Myanmar

US President Barack Obama criticised India on Monday for failing to
condemn rights abuses in Myanmar, saying democracies with global
aspirations could not ignore "gross violations" in other countries.

"When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed, as they have been in
Burma (Myanmar), then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent,"
Obama said in an address to the Indian parliament.

"Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the
responsibility of the international community, especially leaders like the
United States and India, to condemn it," he said.

"If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often shied away from
these issues," he added.

Earlier in his speech, Obama had, to sustained applause, given his backing
to India's push for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security
Council.

But he also made clear that a place at the the top table of international
decision-making would require India to promote and defend its values
abroad as well as at home.

"With increased power comes increased responsibility," he said, adding
that he looked forward to working with India, "and other nations that
aspire to Security Council membership," to ensure that Security Council
resolutions are implemented and sanctions enforced.

"Speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering
in the affairs of other countries. It's not violating the rights of
sovereign nations," Obama said, in a clear reference to India's
non-aligned foreign policy tradition.

"It's staying true to our democratic principles. It's giving meaning to
the human rights that we say are universal," he added.

Once a staunch supporter of Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,
India began engaging the junta in the mid-1990s as security, energy and
strategic priorities came to the fore.

As well as needing the military regime's help to counter the separatists
along their common border, India is eyeing oil and gas fields in Myanmar
and is eager to counter China's growing influence there.

India in July welcomed Myanmar's reclusive military leader Than Shwe for a
state visit, outraging human rights groups who said it was reneging on its
principles due to competition with China.

Obama devoted a section of his parliamentary address Monday to rights
abuses in Myanmar, and accused its military rulers of stealing Sunday's
election there -- the first in the Southeast Asian nation for 20 years.

"It is unacceptable to gun down peaceful protestors and incarcerate
political prisoners decade after decade.

"It is unacceptable to steal an election, as the regime in Burma has done
again for all the world to see," he said.

____________________________________

November 8, Agence France-Presse
Philippines says Myanmar vote 'non-inclusive'

Manila – Philippine President Benigno Aquino said Monday Myanmar's
elections suffered from a low turn-out and the exclusion of Aung San Suu
Kyi, again urging its rulers to free the opposition leader.

"The initial reports that we got were that the voter turnout seems to be
very bad," Aquino told reporters.

He said the ruling junta could have done better with a broader-based
electoral exercise to generate consensus and a mandate to govern.

The Myanmar military's political proxies on Monday looked poised to claim
victory in an election condemned by the West as a farce.

With democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi still locked up and opposition
leaders reporting widespread complaints of intimidation and other
irregularities, many world leaders have already rejected the election as
illegitimate.

"We have been appealing for Aung San Suu Kyi and also for her party to be
included because an all-inclusive election is a necessary process to
promote long-term stability in Myanmar," Aquino said.

"Stability there redounds to stability in the region," he said. "Their
neighbouring countries are already sharing the burden of the instability,
through the diaspora of their (Myanmar's) people."

He added: "I hope they can correct the negative effects of having
non-inclusive elections in the coming days, amongst them (by) freeing Aung
San Suu Kyi."

The Philippines, the most Western-oriented of the 10 countries in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has been the most openly critical
of moves by fellow member Myanmar that Manila considers anti-democratic.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 8, Agence France Presse
UN chief slams Myanmar vote

United Nations – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called the
Myanmar election "insufficiently" transparent and made a new call for the
junta to release political prisoners.

Ban also expressed concern about reported clashes between government
troops and ethnic rebels since Sunday's vote "and urges all sides to
refrain from any action that could raise tensions further or create
instability at this sensitive time," his spokesman said in a statement.

The UN leader, who has frequently expressed frustration at the attitude of
Myanmar's ruling generals, believes "the voting was held in conditions
that were insufficiently inclusive, participatory and transparent," said
the statement.

Sunday's vote has been condemned by much of the international community
and Myanmar's opposition as a sham. Pro-junta parties are widely expected
to take most seats in the new assembly and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
Peace Prize winning opposition leaders was banned from taking part.

"Consistent with their commitments, the authorities must demonstrate that
the ballot is part of a credible transition towards democratic government,
national reconciliation and respect for human rights," said the UN chief's
statement.

Ban "urges the Myanmar authorities to release all remaining political
prisoners and lift restrictions on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi without further
delay so that they can freely participate in the political life of their
country.

"He also urges the Myanmar authorities to ensure that the process of
forming new institutions of government is as broad-based and inclusive as
possible."

Ban said: "The international community will look to the Myanmar
authorities to provide greater assurances that the current process marks a
genuine departure from the status quo."

The United Nations warned the junta before the election that it would not
be seen as credible if Aung San Suu Kyi and other opponents remained in
jail.
____________________________________

November 8, Agence France Presse
US envoy to UN slams Myanmar vote

United Nations – Sunday's elections in Myanmar were not free or fair, the
top US diplomat at the United Nations said Sunday.

"Today's elections in Burma were neither free nor fair, neither credible
nor legitimate," said US Ambassador Susan Rice, using Myanmar's alternate
name.

"Yet again, the Burmese regime has missed a critical opportunity to move
toward democracy and improve the lives of the Burmese people," she said in
a statement.

"Instead, the entire election process was flawed and failed to reflect the
will of the people of Burma -- the regime prevented the participation of
the more that 2,100 political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, "
she added.

Myanmar was counting ballots in its first vote in 20 years as Western
governments lashed out at the military-ruled nation for orchestrating an
election that junta-backed parties look set to easily win.

With democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi still under house arrest and two
pro-junta parties fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates, world
leaders rejected the legitimacy of the poll in a broadside of statements.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi led her party to victory in 1990 but the
result was never recognized by the ruling generals. She has been detained
for most of the last 20 years and supported a boycott of Sunday's
election.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 8, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary
Remarks by the President to the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament in
New Delhi, India (excerpt)

Now, we all understand every country will follow its own path.  No one
nation has a monopoly on wisdom, and no nation should ever try to impose
its values on another.  But when peaceful democratic movements are
suppressed —- as they have been in Burma, for example -- then the
democracies of the world cannot remain silent.  For it is unacceptable to
gun down peaceful protestors and incarcerate political prisoners decade
after decade.  It is unacceptable to hold the aspirations of an entire
people hostage to the greed and paranoia of bankrupt regimes.  It is
unacceptable to steal elections, as the regime in Burma has done again for
all the world to see.

Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility
of the international community —- especially leaders like the United
States and India —- to condemn it.  And if I can be frank, in
international fora, India has often shied away from some of these issues. 
But speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not
interfering in the affairs of other countries.  It’s not violating the
rights of sovereign nations.  It is staying true to our democratic
principles.  It is giving meaning to the human rights that we say are
universal.  And it sustains the progress that in Asia and around the world
has helped turn dictatorships into democracies and ultimately increased
our security in the world.

So promoting shared prosperity, preserving peace and security,
strengthening democratic governance and human rights -- these are the
responsibilities of leadership.  And as global partners, this is the
leadership that the United States and India can offer in the 21st century.
 Ultimately, though, this cannot be a relationship only between presidents
and prime ministers, or in the halls of this Parliament.  Ultimately, this
must be a partnership between our peoples. (Applause) So I want to
conclude by speaking directly to the people of India who are watching
today.

For more, visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/08/remarks-president-joint-session-indian-parliament-new-delhi-india

____________________________________

November 8, Wall Street Journal
Burma's hollow election

Don't expect much from the junta's feint toward democratic legitimacy.

If Sunday's elections in Burma were supposed to change the way the Burmese
people regard their military regime, they failed resoundingly. Early
reports suggest that most Burmese weren't interested in participating in a
vote with no serious opposition participation. Turnout nationwide may have
been as low as 35%.

The government has not yet announced the complete results of the vote, but
don't hold your breath for surprises. Restrictions on campaigning and
fielding candidates guaranteed that the military would retain control of
the new parliament. But even those safeguards weren't enough for the
skittish ruling generals. According to reports, voters arrived at polling
stations on Sunday to find ballot boxes stuffed with countless "advance"
votes. In the weeks leading to the elections, army representatives
regularly harassed opposition parties and cajoled, threatened and bribed
people into voting for junta-backed candidates.

Then again, Burma's rulers didn't go to the trouble of holding these
elections for the benefit of their own people. Burma's Asian neighbors
have long sought an opportunity to justify stepping up their trade and
investment in the resource-rich country, and even a sham election might be
a good enough first step toward international legitimacy for their
purposes. China's government sent its good tidings in advance of Sunday's
vote: A Foreign Ministry spokesman declared late last week that Beijing
"hopes to see a smooth election as well as continuous progress in
democracy and development." India and Thailand, two other bordering
countries that do brisk business in Burma, have voiced similar sentiments.

They may have reason to regret being so sanguine. Already, the election
seems to have re-ignited the regime's long-running civil war with
ethnic-minority groups, some of which hold sway in states along the
country's borders. Armed conflict has driven hundreds of thousands to seek
refuge in neighboring countries, and escalated fighting may prove to be a
significant turnoff for foreign business. Two planned pipelines for
carrying gas and crude oil into southern China run directly through
war-torn regions.

Even though voting in many minority-dominated areas had been canceled
under various pretexts, extensive violence was reported along the border
with Thailand on Sunday. By the end of the day, the government declared a
nationwide state of emergency. An observer along the Thai border told the
Bangkok Post that the ethnic splinter groups were not likely to accept the
new government any more than they did the old one: "After the election,
the war will start."

Another factor is beleaguered Nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist
Aung San Suu Kyi, whose house-arrest sentence is scheduled to end this
Saturday. The National League for Democracy, the party she led to
overwhelming victory in the country's last election in 1990, was
officially dissolved for refusing to field any candidates on this year's
ballot. But she remains a potent symbol of opposition, which is why the
regime may try to use her release as another ploy to relieve some of the
pressure to clean up its act.

That's why it's critical that Western nations not let Burma fall off the
table and out of view. So far, the signs aren't encouraging. An
international Commission of Inquiry into the regime's human-rights abuses,
floated earlier this year as a possible way to sow divisions within the
junta, may have already lost momentum; a draft resolution on human rights
in Burma, presented late last month to the United Nations General
Assembly, made no mention of a commission.

It remains to be seen whether the junta will embark on economic reform and
opening to build more good will with its small circle of Asian friends. A
massive asset privatization earlier this year, when huge swathes of state
wealth were sold off to regime cronies, could mean that the junta hopes to
follow China's path toward a liberalized economy with centralized
political control. But it may just as easily have represented a move to
ensure that those officers who gave up their commissions to run for
civilian posts in the new legislature would keep their share of state
treasure.

Whatever their long-term plan, Burma's generals gambled that they could
harness the trappings of democracy for their own ends without sparking
unrest. The Burmese people have put paid to the latter hope; it's up to
the outside world to put paid to the former.
____________________________________

November 8, Democratic Voice of Burma
What the papers say – Francis Wade

By all accounts it was a mute affair: polling stations across the country
hosted desultory audiences of voters who braved the soporific atmosphere
to cast ballots, while the streets of Rangoon, which the media fanfare had
depicted as a carnival in the run-up to yesterday, were quiet.

Footage filmed undercover (despite a less-than-convincing crackdown on
journalists) showed patchy queues outside ballot stations, and voter
turnout was thought to be no more than 60 percent. A bored looking Than
Shwe joined his equally jaded second-in-command on the front page of the
New Light of Myanmar, as they added their support to the ‘transition’ –
perhaps years of rehearsals had finally taken their toll, as both appeared
ready to collapse into the ballot box and make way for a new era of
military rule.

Predictably, the few results that have trickled out place the Union
Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the lead, with the pro-junta
juggernaut given a head-start by its dominance of the one-party
constituencies. Rumours that USDP candidate and Rangoon mayor Aung Thein
Linn was pipped at the post by the opposition National Democratic Force
(NDF) have been corrected, while Democratic Party chairman, Thu Wei, who
pledged to pop the cork when the results came through, struck a sombre
figure today as his loss was announced. It’ll likely take days before the
official winner is declared, but don’t hold your breath – candidates are
already reporting that the requisite box of advance votes at the foot of
every voter counter is reversing any headway made by the opposition.

China acted the counterweight to global condemnation of yesterday’s
proceedings, with a leading state-run newspaper hailing the “step forward”
taken by Burmese across the country, deaf as it was to the hundreds of
complaints of fraud and intimidation that emerged. Barrack Obama’s prelude
to the “illegitimate” vote was nothing new, and so top senator Mitch
McConnell today urged the world’s most powerful man – who has been
conspicuously quiet on the Burma issue – to do more.

The disbanded National League for Democracy party continued to carry the
torch for Aung San Suu Kyi, and unveiled a banner outside their Rangoon
office yesterday in honour of the leader. “Only five days more,” it read,
anticipating the 13 November release of The Lady, whose son, Kim Aris,
remains in Bangkok wrestling for a visa. “They’re unpredictable, these
people,” he said of the generals who have denied mother and son
communication for a decade. “We’ll see what they’ll do.”

Predictions that Burma’s border regions would erupt in violence
materialised sooner than anyone could have guessed. A breakaway faction of
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) yesterday took advantage of a
distracted junta and sent 1000 troops into Myawaddy, where fighting
continues today. The site of a burning police station will concern family
and colleagues of Japanese journalist Toru Yamaji, who was arrested in the
town yesterday. Renegade leader Na Kham Mwe, who led the assault, said the
surprise move followed allegations that Burmese troops were threatening
voters at gunpoint, and more than 5000 refugees have now fled to Thailand,
with more arriving.

They are the first human results of yesterday’s game, and should be used
as ammunition when regional neighbours, especially Thailand, emit their
muffled echoes of China’s praise. “It is possible that it [violence] will
carry on during the next three months, particularly during the transition
from the current government to an elected government,” Abhisit said today,
appended by his desire for “peace and order”. But, he added, Thailand will
not “interfere in Myanmar’s [Burma] domestic affairs.”

In that case, Japan deserves some praise, having broken the trend of
silent Asian nations when it spoke of its “deep disappointment” with the
polls. But back inside Burma, such sentiments may be wasted among the
inured population, who have asked for help so often from the international
community but been provided with little. As the listed air that settled
over Burma yesterday suggests, expectations these days are nil; that it
was only punctuated by gunfire in the east is perhaps even more telling.
____________________________________

November 8, The Hindu
What next in Myanmar? – Editorial

The results of Myanmar's elections are yet to be declared but no formal
announcement is needed to know who the winner is going to be. The November
7 election excluded the iconic Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD), which stood disbanded earlier this
year under crooked election laws manufactured by the country's ruling
junta. The Nobel laureate had called for a boycott of the elections,
probably one reason for the low voter turnout, and elections were not held
in parts of the country that are home to its restive ethnic minorities. A
quarter of the seats in Parliament are reserved for the military; of the
3,000 candidates contesting the elections, more than two-thirds belonged
to parties linked to the military, the Union Solidarity and Development
Party, and the National Unity Party. Many of these candidates were in
uniform until recently. Pro-democracy opposition parties, including a
breakaway faction of the NLD called the National Democratic Force, fielded
only a limited number of candidates as they could not afford the high
election deposit. Under these circumstances, there was never any doubt
about who would call the shots in the new parliament and the 14 regional
assemblies for which elections have been held. The State Peace and
Development Council — the Orwellian name Myanmar's despotic rulers have
given themselves — held the election under a rigged Constitution to
present to the world an illusion of transition to democracy.

With the elections now safely out of the way, there is a possibility that
the junta may release Ms Suu Kyi when her current term of imprisonment
ends on November 13. It is unclear what role she will be allowed to play
in the country's political life. There is nothing to suggest that
opposition parties will be allowed to function freely in the new set-up.
The uncompromising stand taken by Ms Suu Kyi against the junta, especially
on the question of participating in the elections, has led to predictions
that she will fade into irrelevance as a new Myanmar moves ahead, wooed by
a world eager to do business with it. Many countries, including China and
India, already engage substantially with the regime. The United States too
has found ways to work around its own economic sanctions on Myanmar. Ms
Suu Kyi's release may give the generals some more traction with the
international community. The challenges she will face now may be more
daunting than in the last two decades. But by the sheer virtue of refusing
to compromise on her idealism, she is likely to remain a formidable
political force in Myanmar as well as a source of inspiration for the
forces of democracy the world over.

____________________________________

November 8, Telegraph
Burma's election was a sham

The counting of votes in the Burmese election will be an academic
exercise. The first poll in two decades in that benighted country was so
comprehensively rigged by the military junta that its outcome is, in the
words of the British Government, "a foregone conclusion". Yet the election
showed that the people of Burma retain an appetite for democracy, with
spirited political activity frequently managing to break through against
the most intimidating odds. With defeat a certainty, it was perhaps
understandable that the largest opposition party, Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy, should refuse to participate. Nevertheless,
its boycott not only disfranchised its own supporters but also devalued
the efforts of those anti-junta politicians who did participate.

Even so, the presence of alternative, albeit muted political voices in the
governing process must be a welcome development. Much now depends on the
indomitable Miss Suu Kyi, who is due to be released from house arrest this
weekend. If she is able to use her immense moral authority to build on
these admittedly small advances in the democratic process, it is possible
to envisage meaningful change.

The attitude of Burma's neighbours matters. China, India, Thailand,
Singapore and South Korea are all keen to continue doing business with the
country – and in this part of the world, Western notions of pluralism tend
to take second place to hard-nosed economic considerations. But it must be
in the long-term interests of them all that Burma starts shedding its
status as an international pariah – not least because its future will be
inherently unpredictable on its current, despotic path. This is a point
David Cameron could usefully make to China's leaders on his visit to
Beijing this week.

____________________________________

November 8, The Guardian (UK)
Travel independently to help Burma – Benedict Rogers

The National League for Democracy's lifting of the blanket tourism boycott
is wise – it's package tours that are problematic

Yesterday the people of Burma went to the polls for the first time in 20
years, and it is rumoured that democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi may soon
be released. Neither of these events, however, represents meaningful
change. The elections were a sham, designed to perpetuate military rule.
Aung San Suu Kyi was excluded, her party banned and many voters
disenfranchised.

The decision last week by the National League for Democracy (NLD) to lift
the blanket boycott to Burma should not, therefore, be read as any
endorsement of the current situation. It is an important and intelligent
change of tactics in the struggle for freedom.

The NLD has chosen to target the tourism boycott on package tours, which
generate more income for the regime and hide the truth about Burma. NLD
Leader U Win Tin said: "We want people to come to Burma, not to help the
junta, but to help the people by understanding the situation: political,
economic, moral – everything." But he added: "To have a very big cruise
ship with hundreds of tourists coming in – that's a lot of money for the
regime, and so we don't like such big business."

This is a view I have long advocated. I have travelled, as a human rights
activist, inside Burma and along its borders more than 30 times. For me,
the purpose of sanctions is to put pressure on the regime, not to isolate
the country.

Package tourism helps no one except the regime. Itineraries are approved
by the regime, and it is almost impossible to have any meaningful
interaction with Burmese people. Earlier this year, I watched French,
German and Italian tourists get on and off buses in Rangoon, Bagan and
Inle Lake, and for them it was just another town, another luxury hotel,
another pagoda. I doubt they even knew about the daily suffering of the
people.

But I do believe that a certain type of travel is valuable. I have come up
with a formula: independent, informed and intentional. If people are
well-informed before they go to Burma about the human rights and
humanitarian situation, if they travel independently and minimise the
amount they contribute to the regime's coffers, and if they go with the
intention of not just having a holiday, but doing something to help, then
it is worthwhile. People can help on the ground, by listening, learning
and, when they have opportunity to do so, by giving, and upon their return
home they can tell others, support campaigns and raise funds for
humanitarian projects.

So I welcome the NLD's wise new policy: encourage those who want to learn
and help to go, while targeting pressure on the package tours that help no
one except the generals. It reflects the democracy movement's broader
approach of targeted sanctions and targeted engagement, and it is a
formula that can help bring the change we all want to see.

____________________________________

November 8, Xinhua
Myanmar election shows trend of people's aspiration – Zhang Yunfei

Yangon -- The multi-party general election in Myanmar ran smoothly on
Sunday. Although it still needs days to reveal the final result of the
election, the information available so far has indicated that the mass of
people have chosen to cooperate with an eye for change.

The election is the first one in two decades for multi-party
participation, representing the 5th step of its seven-step roadmap to
democracy and aiming at transforming from a military government to a
civilian one.

Observers see the election as playing a significantly important role to
the country and the people.

Prior to the election, some of Myanmar's domestic political forces
collaborated in consonance with forces of external anti- Myanmar military
government, appearing to have taken shape for " boycotting" the election
in a bid to influence the polls, especially that the Aung-San-Suu-Kyi-led
National League for Democracy (NLD) chose to reject re-registration of its
political party, taking a stance of boycotting the election and constantly
voicing people not to vote in the election.

In response, the military government took various measures to cope with
the efforts with administrative bodies ceaselessly organizing the people
not to abandon ballot casting and official media guiding and educating the
mass to cherish the rights of voting in accordance with law.

The official media even issued warning to extend military's long ruling if
electorates give up voting to make the election fail.

Election campaign comprises all-sided canvassing and competition with hope
of getting enthusiastic casting of votes.

The 37 contesting parties include the National Democratic Force (NDF) made
up of ex-senior members splitted from the NLD. The NDF leaders stressed
that the election makes a step forward to democracy, saying that boycott
is not a practical means. Only when democratic force enters the
parliaments then it can emit the democratic voice and gradually attain the
objective of democracy that people demand.

Viewed from the election's initial status, as a whole, voters from
different parts of Myanmar seemed enthusiastic with the
higher-than-estimated turnout.

Analysts said that the opposition force's boycott acts were not
successful. The electorates finally chose to cooperate, expressing their
desire for change.

Some voters, who are intellectuals, told Xinhua at polling stations that
no matter the government will mobilize or not, they are willing to cast
votes by exercising their right, which is a step forward to democracy. The
election is a milestone for the military government to change into a
civilian one.

At polling stations in Nay Pyi Taw, the Union Solidarity and Development
Party (USDA), led by the incumbent Prime Minister U Thein Sein, won more
votes. The situation was the same at other polling stations such as in
Yangon and Taunggyi where votes were counted earlier.

Myanmar's Union Election Commission Sunday announced the first batch of 57
candidates as being elected as parliamentary representatives spread among
three levels of parliaments, the state radio and television reported in a
night broadcast hours after the country's multi-party general election
ended in the afternoon on the day.

The 57 elected parliament representatives include 55 from 55
constituencies where there is only a single candidate each running for the
election, while the remaining two won the seats.

Of the 57 elected parliament representatives, 12 are house of
representatives, 8 are house of nationalities and 37 are region or state
representatives.

The elected house of representatives include U Soe Thein, Minister of
Industry-2 and U Maung Maung Swe, Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and
Resettlement, while the region or state parliament representatives include
U Thein Aung, Minister of Forestry, and U Nyan Win, Foreign Minister.

Of the 57 elected parliament representatives, the Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) accounted for 41, while the rest are shared by
Pa-Oh National Organization, Kayin State Democracy and Development Party,
Taaung (Palaung) National Party and Wa National Unity Party.

The present election was held according to the Republic of the Union of
Myanmar Constitution-2008 approved through a national referendum. Ninety
days after the election, the union parliament will call its first session
to elect president, vice presidents and then form a new government to
which the power is to be transferred from the military government.

The union election commission announced earlier that the election this
time was run by 37 political parties with more than 3,000 candidates and
82 independents for over 1,000 seats of house of representatives and house
of nationalities as well as region or state parliament.

Candidates in terms of the most number fielded for contesting in the
election went to USDA and the National Unity Party (NUP) with more than
1,100 and nearly 1,000 respectively.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 8, European Parliament
Burma elections: "attempt to consolidate authoritarian military rule"

Burma's first elections in 20 years took place over the weekend with the
poll being boycotted by the main opposition party and its leader, Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. The election has drawn its fair share
of criticism with the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek
saying before the poll that "these elections may go down in history as an
attempt to consolidate authoritarian military rule in a civilian guise".

Speaking after the election Mr Buzek said that he "deeply regrets that the
Burmese authorities failed to make these elections a step towards gradual
democratisation. I am disappointed that the elections have not been
inclusive, free and fair".

The last elections in 1990 were won by the National League for Democracy
led by Suu Kyi. Burma's military rulers annulled the result and Aung San
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in the capital Rangoon for most of
period since then. In the wake of the crackdown, Burma's people have
suffered under the crushing weight of the military dictatorship which
spends 40% of the country's wealth of the armed forces and 1% on health
and education.

Validity of election questioned

The National League for Democracy has dismissed the 2010 elections as an
attempt to put a veneer of democratic legitimacy on the dictatorship (25%
of the Parliamentary seats are reserved for Generals) and declined to take
part. This gave the military the pretext to bar Suu Kyi as a potential
candidate.

The validity of the election has also been questioned by the EU's High
Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton. Prior to the election
she said, "elections in themselves do not make a country democratic. The
EU regrets therefore that the authorities did not take the necessary steps
to ensure a free, fair and inclusive electoral process".

Journalists on the spot have reported a low turnout and massive fraud. The
head of Parliament's delegation to Southeast Asia was also sceptical.
German centre right MEP Werner Lang told us, "one cannot really talk of
free and fair elections as several exiled media outlets reported that
there seem to have been strong irregularities surrounding the elections".
He finished by saying that "these elections should not be overrated".

Aung San Suu Kyi released?

One of the questions of the election and its aftermath is the position of
Aung San Suu Kyi. Her House arrest is due to end on 13 November and the
military government has said she will be released. Whether that promise is
fulfilled or not remains to be seen as previous assurances of her release
have not materialised.

In 1991, one year after getting the Nobel Prize she was awarded the
European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights. In his
post-election statement President Buzek called for "the immediate and
unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
For the people of Burma/Myanmar and the whole international community Aung
San Suu Kyi has been over the last 20 years a figure of hope, human
resilience and political courage".

____________________________________

November 8, The European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma
European MPs condemn the elections in Burma

The European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma (EPCB) has published today a
statement on the elections in Burma held yesterday November 7, 2010. Over
100 parliamentarians from Europe are condeming the elections as not free
and fair and are calling the European Union and the international
community not to recognize the results. The conditions of the electoral
process were flawed; there are still over 2 000 political prisoners in
Burma and main opposition political parties were prevented from running in
the elections. The elections also bring into force new constitution which
was drafted by the military junta in 2008 and includes many non-democratic
provisions.

“We would like to see the European Union renew efforts to secure genuine
tripartite dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for
Democracy, genuine ethnic representatives, and the government of Burma,
with the aim of securing national reconciliation and a transition to
democracy.” says the statement.

Silver Meikar, member of the Executive Committee of the EPCB and Estonian
Member of Parliament, is criticising the Election Day and the whole
electoral process. “The opposition parties were basically excluded from
the elections, registration and campaigning was restricted and people were
forced to vote for pro-government party. Although it is the first election
in 20 years in Burma it brings no sign of positive change,” he stated.

In its final 5 points the parliamentarians are asking for the following:
·	the EU should not recognize the results of the elections
·	the EU should maintain targeted economic sanction and ensure its proper
functioning
·	the EU should support creation of UN Commission of Inquiry to
investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma
·	the international community needs to renew effort for the tripartite
dialogue among the junta, democratic opposition lead by Aung San Suu Kyi
and the ethnic groups
·	the EU should keep the pressure on release of political prisoners

See the statement attached or online at
http://www.epcb.eu/download/pdf/statements_20.pdf.

For more information please contact the secretariat at:
United Kingdom: Zoya Phan at +44 (0) 773 863 0139,
zoya.phan at burmacampaign.org.uk
Czech Republic: Kristina Prunerova at +420 777 787 917,
kristina.prunerova at peopleinneed.cz

____________________________________

November 7, Council on the European Union
Declaration by the High Representative Catherine Ashton on behalf of the
European Union on the elections in Burma/Myanmar

1. Today, the first elections were held in Burma/Myanmar, since those of
1990 whose results were never implemented.

2. Elections in themselves do not make a country democratic; nevertheless
they should offer the opportunity for a new beginning and greater
pluralism. The EU regrets therefore that the authorities did not take the
necessary steps to ensure a free, fair and inclusive electoral process.
Many aspects of these elections are not compatible with internationally
accepted standards; notably in the bias against most opposition parties -
such as the NLD - and their candidates, in terms of opportunities to
campaign; in restrictions on their registration; in severe restrictions on
freedom of expression and assembly; in limited access to the media; and in
the lack of free and balanced reporting by the latter.

3. In this context, the EU repeats its call for the unconditional release
of all those detained for their political convictions. Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi remains under house arrest on entirely spurious grounds. The EU calls
on the government to restore her unrestricted freedom.

4. However, the EU notes the fact that civil society could partially
organise itself politically, notwithstanding the many difficulties. The EU
acknowledges the decision of those opposition parties who have chosen not
to participate because of the flawed process. The EU equally acknowledges
the fact that other parties, including from ethnic groups, did
participate, hoping that this could represent an opportunity for change.

5. The EU calls on the authorities to ensure that these elections mark the
start of a more inclusive phase, by allowing in particular representatives
of all groups to participate in the political life of the country, and by
releasing all political detainees. A meaningful dialogue between all
stakeholders is long overdue. Such a dialogue should usher in a transition
to a civilian, legitimate and accountable system of government, based on
the rule of law; to the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
and to the participation of all strata of society in the economic and
social development of the country. We stand ready to support such a
process.

6. The EU will observe closely how accountable the new Parliament and
government will be vis-à-vis the electorate; whether the new institutions
will ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and
contribute to a process leading towards reconciliation and democracy; and
whether they will deliver better policies to improve the economic and
social situation of citizens.

7. The EU recalls the Council conclusions of 26 April 2010, and its
unwavering commitment to the people of Burma/Myanmar. The EU will continue
to work to increase their well-being.

____________________________________

November 7, Chin Human Rights Organization
Electoral violence and intimidation in Tedim Township, Chin State

Chiang Mai, Thailand – The Chin Human Rights Organization has received
several reports of electoral violence and intimidation in Tedim Township,
northern Chin State.

This afternoon, in Buan village, close to Tedim town, Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) agents in campaign uniforms stood at the gate of
the polling station, checking people’s voter registration documents.  They
asked villagers waiting to cast their votes if they intended to vote for
the USDP.  Those who said yes were allowed into the polling station, but
those who said no were turned away by the USDP party agents.

Villagers who were refused entry to the polling station reported the
incident to agents from the Chin National Party and Chin Progressive
Party.  The agents went to the polling station to complain, and a fight
broke out.

At 5pm yesterday afternoon, USDP organizer Go Lun Mang went to the house
of a local resident and told him and his family that there was no need to
go to the polls, as he had already voted in favour of the USDP on their
behalf. When the family objected, and said they would still vote for the
party of their choice, Go Lun Mang told them that soldiers from a nearby
army camp (LIB 269) would come and arrest them.

On arrival at Sakollam polling station in Tedim town this morning, the
local resident and his family members found that their ballot papers had
already been used.  The resident reported that theirs was not an isolated
incident.

On 5 November, the USDP branch in Tedim town summoned all village tract
clerks in the township locality and ordered them to tell villagers in
their respective areas to vote for the USDP.  In Chin State, village tract
clerks are government appointees who oversee all local government staff in
the area.

For media interviews, please contact:

Salai Za Uk Ling, CHRO Program Director (Burmese and English): +66 89 218
0793
Rachel Fleming, CHRO Advocacy Director (English) +66 86 211 0732

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

November 6, Irrawaddy
Tin Oo says election most unpopular ever – Ba Kaung with Tin Oo

Tin Oo, 82-year-old deputy chairman of the detained pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, talks to
journalists at its headquarters in Rangoon two days after his release from
seven-year under house arrest on Feb. 15. (Photo: AP)
Veteran Burmese opposition politician Tin Oo told The Irrawaddy that
Sunday's election will prove to be the most unpopular ever held in Burma.
In an interview on Saturday, Tin Oo, deputy chairman of the National
League for Democracy and a former defense minister, reminded voters they
had the right to abstain from voting if they thought none of the competing
parties represented them.

The interview in full:

Question: What is the latest public mood for the election?

Answer: Just as there are people who would boycott the polls, there are
also those who would vote, saying this is their first chance to do so.
There are also some who said they would choose the [pro-regime] National
Unity Party [NUP] instead of the Union Solidarity and Development Party
[USDP] if they have no other alternative. But there are people also who
view the NUP and USDP as the same. There are also others who are undecided
about the vote. While the public do not understand much about the election
procedures, even the party candidates who are just making a show of
themselves in a few campaigning tour cars cannot solve this confusion.
That generates a good deal of public dissatisfaction with those
candidates.

Q: How is the mood different from the election atmosphere in 1990?

A: People seem lacking in enthusiasm over the vote. We are not seeing the
kind of activeness of 1990. Many of those who are running [for election]
have never breathed a word about democracy in their lives. So I was
surprised when I read their campaign pamphlets. This election is the one
that gets least public attention in our country's history, I would say.

Q: People seem very ambiguous about the vote, as you described. Do you
want to suggest any alternative for them now? Your party's boycott stance
remains very much the same at this point?

A: This is a matter of honor. Contrary to their promises, they [the junta]
failed to recognize the election results of 1990. After all, our party
members have been jailed and tortured for talking about this issue, how
can we participate in this election, saying we want to walk into this
hole, no matter how narrow it is? So people can exercise their democratic
right to vote or not to vote when they see no alternative at all. That
does not change.

Q: Do you think the NLD decision to boycott the polls remains relevant?
Would it be any different for the public if the NLD were participating in
the polls?

A: The NLD decision remains as sensible and honorable as before. Oh! If we
had decided to run in this election, then you would see far tighter
restrictions on the parties' activities, so much so that there is
virtually no space for them at all. Now we are all aware of advance voting
for the USDP. People think they should vote for the NUP in this situation.
But I would say the NUP won't make any difference. After all, if we
decided to run in this election, our party would break into pieces. Now we
have only a group splintering from us and running in this election. The
main body of the NLD remains firm.

Q: Do you have any specific advice for Chinese and Asean leaders over how
they should view the results of this election?

A: As an important player in the modern world, China should be responsible
for its actions along with its new status. It should no longer exploit our
country's natural resources, turning a blind eye to injustices inside
Burma. But there is no prospect of the situation changing anytime soon
despite its public stance that it wants to see peace and progress in our
country.
For Asean, although its members claim that they are marching towards
democracy, they should stand with democratic forces in Burma. Its public
statements seem positive in that regard, but they don't go beyond that.
Both China and Asean would continue eviscerating Burma of what it has,
with all their eyes focused on biting off our natural assets. So, the
election results won't matter much for them.

Q: What is in store for Burma after the election?

A: Since the decision will lie in the generals' hands, as it has in the
past, the situation will not be very different, except that opposition
parties may have a certain amount of say in that military-dominated
parliament. While the parliament should have an upper hand over the
military, we are going to have the reverse. Also, remember that many
representing these opposition forces running in the election have no
proper record of democratic struggle.

Q: As a former defense minister, what is your message to the military
personnel now?

A: The regime claims that the army is the father and mother of the public.
In reality, the public is the father and mother of the army which should
have all respect towards the people. Since 1956, when the army interfered
in politics, our country has declined and this will continue. The army
should only respect the results of an election which receives the public
trust.

Q: We heard that the NLD leader Win Tin said he welcomes tourism to Burma.
Has the NLD changed its stand on that issue?

A: He only encouraged tourists who are coming to our country on individual
arrangements. We have said organized tours will only boost the regime's
pocket.

Q: Do you have any desire to work together with the opposition groups
which are now running in the election? Let's assume they have some space
in parliament.

A: We are willing to work with any opposition and ethnic groups if that
contributes to the struggle for democracy and human rights in our country.

Q: What about with cooperation with the NLD splinter group , the National
Democratic Force?

A: We have the same attitude there. We will see what it will do in
parliament with its handful of representatives.

Q: What is your message for Burmese voters now?

A: I have to repeat Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's message that they can legally
abstain from voting if they don't have their favorite party to vote for.