BurmaNet News, November 22, 2010

[Editor]

November 22, 2010 Issue #4089

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar democracy leader Suu Kyi's son given visa
IANS: Myanmar junta's proxy wins 77% of contested seats
WSJ: Suu Kyi Pledges No Pullback
Mizzima: North command tells KIO to close liaison offices
DVB: Journals suspended for Suu Kyi coverage

BUSINESS / TRADE
Bangkok Post: The colour of money

ENVIRONMENT
ENS: Wildlife Conservation Society Pledges $50 Million to Save Tigers

OPINION / OTHER
BuaNews: South Africa to use UNSC seat to promote peace
Economist: Freedom from fear – Banyan

INTERVIEW
Irrawaddy: Interview with Aung San Suu Kyi – Aung Zaw
Spiegel: Interview with Aung San Suu Kyi


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 22, Associated Press
Myanmar democracy leader Suu Kyi's son given visa

Yangon, Myanmar -  Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be
allowed to see her son for the first time in 10 years after the country's
ruling junta granted him a visa, her lawyer said Monday.

Kim Aris, 33, lives in Britain and has repeatedly been denied visas since
his last visit in December 2000. Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the
past 21 years and was unwilling to leave her homeland even when free for
fear she would not be let back in to continue her political struggle. The
65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate was released from her latest house arrest
term on Nov. 13.

Nyan Win, a lawyer for Suu Kyi, said that Aris was expected to fly to
Yangon from Bangkok on Tuesday morning. He said she would meet him at the
airport, and at some point soon take him to the city's famous Shwedagon
pagoda, a cultural and religious landmark.

"I am very, very happy to finally see him," Nyan Win quoted Suu Kyi
saying. "I haven't seen him for years." She spoke by phone with him soon
after her Nov. 13 release from 7 1/2 years of continuous detention.

Myanmar's junta tightly controls Suu Kyi's movements because it sees her
calls for democracy as a threat to its rule.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace prize for her dedication to the
nonviolent struggle for democracy, was first arrested in 1989 when Kim was
11 and his older brother Alexander was 16.

In an interview last week with The Associated Press, Suu Kyi acknowledged
that her years of political work had been difficult for her family.

"I knew there would be problems," she said of her mid-life decision to go
into politics. "If you make the choice you have to be prepared to accept
the consequences."

Suu Kyi, who was largely raised overseas, married the British academic
Michael Aris and initially raised their two sons, Kim and Alexander, in
England. But in 1988, she returned home to take care of her ailing mother
as mass demonstrations were breaking out against military rule. She was
quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter
of Aung San, the country's martyred founding father.

Elder son Alexander accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on his mother's behalf
in 1991 - while she was serving an earlier term of house arrest - and
reportedly lives in the United States.

Michael Aris died of prostate cancer in 1999 at age 53, after having been
denied visas to see his wife for the three years leading up to his death.
Suu Kyi has never met her two grandchildren.

The British Embassy in Thailand, which has been facilitating Kim Aris'
trip, said that his visit to Myanmar will be strictly a private one, and
he doesn't intend to discuss politics.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a 1990 election but was
barred from taking power. The junta held another election this month, but
it was boycotted by her party, who charged that it was being held under
unfair and undemocratic conditions.
In a sign of how sensitive the military is to Suu Kyi's popularity,
government censors suspended eight magazines after they prominently
published news and photos about her release.

An editor of one publication said the Press Scrutiny board cited the size
of a supplementary section about her as a violation of regulations.

The privately owned local magazines that were suspended had printed photos
of Suu Kyi in supplementary inserts which were used as wraparound covers
when the issues were put on sale. Daily and electronic media in Myanmar
are monopolized by the state, and private publications must submit their
material to the censorship board.

The Weekly Eleven news - a publication that was not suspended - reported
that the suspensions varied from one to two weeks for the eight
publications.

____________________________________


November 22, Indo-Asian News Service via Times of India
Myanmar junta's proxy wins 77% of contested seats

Yangon - The proxy party of Myanmar's ruling junta won 76.8 percent of the
1,096 contested seats in the general election held earlier this month,
compiled media reports said Monday.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the political arm of
the regime, won 842 seats in the lower, upper and state/regional chambers
of parliament in the Nov 7 polls, the first held in the country in 20
years.

The Election Commission has yet to announce the final tally, but
state-controlled press has been running lists of winners on a regular
basis since the election.

According to those figures, the pro-establishment National Unity Party
came second with 5.7 percent, the pro-democracy Shan Nationalities
Democratic Party third with 5.2 percent and the Rakhaing National
Development Party pulled 3.2 percent.

The National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from the main
opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, came in sixth with
1.5 percent of all contested seats.

The NLD is led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who was freed from
seven years under house arrest Nov 13, a week after the polls.

"Suu Kyi's release has taken some of the anger away from the junta over
the election," said Maung Zarni, a former Burmese student activist who is
now a research fellow at the London School of Economics and Political
Science.

He called the election a stage-managed affair, designed to cement the
military's stranglehold on political power.

The junta adopted laws that essentially excluded the NLD, and held the
election while Suu Kyi was still under house arrest.

There have been numerous complaints against the USDP, which is packed with
ex-military men and government ministers, for tampering with advance
ballots, buying votes and intimidating voters, but the military-appointed
Election Commission is not expected to act.

Even the official results printed in state-run media are suspect.

"You have to understand that we are dealing with a totalitarian regime in
Myanmar," Zarni said. "These guys have the power to create any fiction
they want."

Myanmar has been under military dictatorships since 1962.

____________________________________


November 20, Wall Street Journal
Suu Kyi Pledges No Pullback - WSJ Staff Reporter

Newly-released democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi made clear in an
interview that she doesn't intend to rein in her political activities in
Myanmar even if it risks landing her back under house arrest again.

"I don't worry about" getting arrested again, she told The Wall Street
Journal Friday in the brief interview.

Ms. Suu Kyi said she has not yet decided whether to back lifting
international sanctions against Myanmar's harsh military regime. She
intends to study the issue intensively and decide within "a matter of
months," she said,.

The comments came amid speculation over whether the Nobel laureate would
change her views on sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other Western
nations since 1990. She has strongly supported the sanctions in the past.

Critics say the sanctions, which include restrictions on trade and
investment in Myanmar, have harmed ordinary citizens while failing to
influence a government accused of widespread human-rights violations and
economic neglect.

"We'll have to study the whole package, if you like, and decide which
sanctions we think should be lifted immediately, if any," Ms. Suu Kyi said
by telephone. "I have to go into this rather carefully," she said, adding
that she hoped to consult reports by the International Monetary Fund, the
United Nations Development Program and others before making a decision.

Myanmar's military government released Ms. Suu Kyi from more than seven
years of house arrest in Yangon last Saturday, in a move interpreted as a
bid to curry favor with residents and the outside world after a disputed
election Nov. 7 that was overwhelmingly dominated by junta-backed
candidates.

The government had held Ms. Suu Kyi in detention for 15 of the past 21
years and ignored the results of an earlier election her political allies
won in 1990.

Attempts to reach the Myanmar government, which rarely speaks to the
foreign media, in recent days have been unsuccessful.

Ms. Suu Kyi said she's not concerned about getting re-arrested. "That
doesn't mean I want to be back under house arrest. But there's no point in
worrying about it," she said, since her fate can be determined by the
government.

"I'll do as much as I can while I am free. With any luck I'll continue to
be free to do much, much more. And if they put me back in again, I'll try
to do as much as I can" from under house arrest, she said.

Ms. Suu Kyi will now have to decide how far she is willing to go to work
with the new government that resulted from the Nov. 7 elections. On
Friday, she said she understands there are new political institutions that
must be dealt with, including a new parliament that will be formed in the
coming months.

"If they're there, you can't ignore them," she said. But she stopped short
of saying she would accept the newly-elected government, which will
include a handful of other opposition figures who won parliamentary seats.

In Her Words

    * On the elections and the response of her organization: "We never
accepted the election. We boycotted from the beginning. We did say
that this is no reason for us to ignore what went on."
    * On how sanctions affect ordinary people: "This is what I want to
find out first. Are they doing any good? Are they harmful?"
    * On her allies' encouragement of some tourism to Myanmar: "They
decided it would not be a bad idea if individuals (but not large tour
groups) were to come, not just to bring trade to small tourist
enterprises, but also to be able to study the situation in the country
better. I agree with that in general."
    * On what the regime should do: to promote positive change "Open
dialogue is the key."

"We never accepted the election—we boycotted from the beginning," she
said. That doesn't mean her political allies will act like it never
happened, she said. For now, they will focus on investigating whether
there was fraud in the vote, she said.

Ms. Suu Kyi said she has detected little improvement in the country's
economic or political climate since she last was free in 2003, despite
claims by some newer opposition groups that Myanmar's regime was becoming
more open to collaboration with critics so long as they weren't too
contentious.

But Ms. Suu Kyi said she was heartened by one important change since
2003—an increase in the number of young people, including some in their
teens, turning out for her public appearances or otherwise expressing
support.

"What I have seen—and like very much—is that there seem to be a lot more
young people actively engaged in trying to do something to bring about
change in the country," she said. "Among my supporters I notice there are
a lot more young people now than there were seven years ago."

She said she was also pleased to see so many people in Myanmar using
mobile phones. "That's very important if people can communicate with each
other and the outside world—it does empower them," she said. "I think
people are beginning to realize that they have to be more involved, more
engaged."

Critics of Ms. Suu Kyi, and even some of her supporters, have said she is
too inflexible in her dealings with the country's military regime and also
sometimes too vague in her prescriptions for Myanmar's ills, which include
some of Asia's lowest living standards and tight restrictions on political
activity. In her interview on Friday, Ms. Suu Kyi stressed that "genuine
dialogue" would be one of the keys to reconciling with the military and
improving life in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, but she did not
elaborate on how such dialogue could be achieved.

"She needs to translate what she says into something realistic," says Aung
Naing Oo, a Thailand-based political analyst. "Reconciliation is an
overused word in Burma and no one has brought it down to a realistic,
workable level."

Other analysts have said it makes sense for Ms. Suu Kyi to take her time
before nailing down more concrete plans, given how long she has been away
from day-to-day political activities. Ms. Suu Kyi stressed on Friday that
she had limited access to information about the outside world while under
house arrest and now feels a need to spend more time with experts to
refine her strategies.

"I would like to talk to the economists in Burma and those from abroad"
among other people, to get a better idea of how to proceed, she said.

____________________________________

November 22, Mizzima
North command tells KIO to close liaison offices

Chiang Mai  – The Burmese Army’s Northern Command has ordered the Kachin
Independence Organisation to close its 16-year-old liaison offices, a
liaison officer says.

After the ceasefire agreement was reached between the regime and the KIO
in 1994, the latter opened 22 liaison offices in Kachin and Shan States
with consent of the former at which policy matters were discussed.

A Military Affairs Security officer from the Burmese Army’s Northern
Command last week called the Kachin Independence Organisation’s main
liaison office in the state capital of Myitkyina (above) and told staff of
the ethnic Kachin armed ceasefire group to close all of its branch liaison
offices in Kachin and Shan states, a KIO liaison officer told Mizzima.
Photo: Mizzima Archive
Military Affairs Security officer Lieutenant Colonel Thet Pone from the
command’s base in Kachin State capital Myitkyina last week called the
ethnic Kachin armed ceasefire group’s main liaison office in the city and
told its staff to close all such offices in Kachin and Shan states, the
KIO liaison officer told Mizzima.

“Closing the liaison offices suggests we don’t need to deal with them
[junta officials or military] any more. So we shall close them all. It
suggests the junta has withdrawn from the ceasefire agreement reached
between us,” the KIO officer said.

“After the ceasefire, we set up a liaison office at each battalion headed
by an officer at the rank of battalion commander 
 we’d had incidents in
which we arrested each other so we opened these offices to deal with such
problems. Now the election has been conducted and they [the military] have
to transfer power to a new government. So I think they [the KIO] withdraw
all these offices lest they are exposed to the new military regime,” he
said.

Prior to establishment of the offices, there were also firefights between
the two sides, the liaison officer added.

The KIO at a central committee meeting on Saturday resolved to close the
nine offices in Kachin State and two in Shan State. Instructions had
already been passed to the offices to close, a KIO spokesman said.

The Kachin ethnic group rejected junta demands to bring its Kachin
Independence Army (KIA) under Burmese Army control within its Border Guard
Force (BGF) and it had yet to meet recently appointed Northern Command
chief Brigadier General Zeyar Aung, so all lines of communication were
being closed off.

Reached for comment on the Kachin situation, Karen National Union (KNU)
joint general secretary Major Hla Ngwe said the junta’s order to close the
liaison offices increased the chances of war breaking out between the two.

“Its meaning is so clear. They [the junta, can] take the pre-emptive move
of launching war at any time of their choice. Even before this order, they
had raided KIO outposts and arrested KIA members. Moreover they built up
their troops in KIO-controlled areas throughout this period. This suggests
growing tension between them and events could even lead to the breakout of
renewed hostilities. We’ve had such precedents 
 before so we gathered and
discussed all eventualities,” Hla Ngwe said.

The KNU is a part of six-member alliance called the Committee for the
Emergence of Federal Union that includes the KIO.

Under the alliance agreement, if one member was attacked by the military
regime, all other members would co-operate by escalating fighting in areas
under their control, even though they would be unable to send
reinforcements directly to the initial conflict zone, he said.

Other alliance members are the Shan State Army North, Karenni Nationality
Progressive Party, New Mon State Party and Chin National Front. The bloc’s
chairman is KIO vice-chairman Major General En Ban La.

Local sources said the regime had built up a 1,000-strong force near the
Kasone region in areas controlled by KIA Brigade 2 east of Namti in
Mogaung Township, since last week.

The KIO has been under increasing military pressure to adopt the BGF
proposal in the past few months, with travel and weapons bans imposed on
members.

The Tanai Township Peace and Development Council had pressed the KIO last
month to seek alternative premises for its liaison office in Tanai before
this month.

____________________________________

November 22, Democratic Voice of Burma
Journals suspended for Suu Kyi coverage – Nay Thwin

Nine news journals in Burma have been temporarily suspended after
allocating key space in their publications for coverage of Aung San Suu
Kyi’s release.

The majority of the nine, which include the Voice Journal and Myanmar
Newsweek, carried front-page images of the opposition icon, who was freed
from seven years under house arrest on 13 November.

One of the journals, the First Eleven [Sports] Journal which is owned by
the Eleven Media Group, was banned for two weeks after carrying the
headline: ‘Sunderland Freeze Chelsea; United Stunned by Villa & Arsenal
Advance to Grab Their Hope’.

According to the Weeky Eleven Journal, a sister publication of First
Eleven, the government Press Scrutiny and Registration Division accused
the local journals of breaching media regulations.

It is the first time that a ban has been placed on multiple publications,
and follows speculation that the ruling junta may ease tight restrictions
on media following the 7 November elections.

Burma’s has some of the world’s harshest media laws, and all printed
material is required to go through the censor board prior to being
published. It ranked 171 out of 175 countries on last year’s Reporters
Without Borders Press Freedom Index.

The Myanmar Times, the country’s leading English-language weekly, was
suspended in 2007 after publishing an advert from Danish activists
masquerading as travel agency that included the words ‘Killer Than Shwe’,
spelt backwards, a reference to the head of the Burmese junta.

Other journals included in the 21 November ban are: 7 Day News, Venus
News, Snapshot News, Myanmar Post, Pyithu Khit [People’s Era], and the Hot
News Journal, which was also given a two-week suspension.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 21, Bangkok Post
The colour of money – Phil Thornton

Despite a questionable human rights record, foreign governments and
companies are investing billions of dollars to get their hands on the
country's natural resources

Regardless of the many reports documenting and condemning the violent
impacts of their investments on local communities, some of the world's
best-known energy companies are gearing up to partner with the military
regime and profit from Burma's rich reserves of oil and gas.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch reported that, "27 companies based
in 13 countries have investments in Burma's oil and gas fields. Thirteen
of those companies are wholly or partially owned by foreign governments."

The US State Department identifies Thailand, China, India, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia as Burma's major trade partners.

Economist Sean Turnell, of Australia's Macquarie University, said that
Burma has emerged as a major supplier of natural gas in the energy-hungry
region and that investments are concentrated mainly in the oil and gas and
hydroelectricity industries.

"Rising gas prices and increasing demand have caused the value of Burma's
exports to soar, driving a projected balance of payments surplus for this
fiscal year of around US$2.5 billion [74.9 billion baht]. Burma's
international reserves will rise to $6.1 billion-worth by the end of the
year."

Mr Turnell, in a recent report, "Dissecting the Data: Burma's Macroeconomy
at the Cusp of the 2010 'Elections"', exposed how the junta uses sleight
of hand to siphon off most of the foreign exchange earnings for its own
use.

"Burma's US dollar gas earnings are recorded in the government's published
accounts at the local currency's 'official rate' exchange rate of around
six kyat to the dollar. This rate overvalues the currency by nearly 200
times its market value."

Construction of the Shwe gas pipeline within China.

According to the regime's political opponents, this foreign investment
provides a crucial source of support to the regime, allowing it to ignore
the demands of the international community and the sanctions imposed by
the US, European Union and Australia. Analysts say sanctions failed
because regional powerhouses such as China, Thailand, India, Singapore,
Japan, South Korea and Malaysia ignored the human rights abuses and
corruption and continued to invest in Burma.

IT'S ONLY A BUSINESS

A recent report by EarthRights International (ERI), "Energy Insecurity",
calculates that, "from 1998 through the end of 2009, the Yadana Pipeline
has generated about $9.031 billion, of which $1.679 billion has been used
to pay development and operating costs."

Matthew Smith, a senior consultant with EarthRights International,
estimated that the Yadana Pipeline - moving natural gas from Burma to
Thailand - has generated $4.59 billion in revenue for the military regime
over the last decade.

"The pipeline is operated by Total, Chevron, PTTEP and the Myanmar Oil and
Gas Enterprise," he said.

EarthRights International documents, litigates and advocates on behalf of
communities that have suffered human rights and environmental abuses. In a
landmark court case, settled in 2005, ERI helped 15 Burmese villagers take
on the US oil giant Unocal (since absorbed by Chevron) over human rights
abuses during the construction of the Yandana Pipeline. The company agreed
to a substantial out-of-court settlement.

ERI reports that last year, pipeline security forces were still committing
human rights abuses against local villagers, including extra-judicial
killings.

ENERGY CORRIDOR: Map showing the 2,800km route of the Shwe gas pipeline.

Mr Smith said the vast number of reports from international humanitarian
groups detailing the junta's appalling human rights record does not deter
regional investors.

"India, China and Thailand have shown a complete disregard for human
rights impacts and the implications of their investments in Burma's oil
and gas sectors. The international companies currently profiting the most
out of natural gas and oil in Burma are Total [France], Petronus
[Malaysia], Chevron [US], Nippon [Japan] and PTTEP [Thailand].

"South Korea's Daewoo is also set to profit from its investment in the
Shwe gas project."

Daewoo International is the current operator of the contentious Shwe Gas
field and holds a controlling 51% stake in the project.

Adding another twist to who is investing in Burma, Bloomberg reported that
Posco, "the world's third-biggest steelmaker, agreed to buy control of
Daewoo International for $2.8 billion to expand its sales network and gain
raw materials".

Mr Smith explained that the Shwe gas project would significantly increase
the military regime's profits.

"The money is going to benefit one of the world's most corrupt regimes,"
he said.

Mr Turnell's report on Burma's economic mismanagement tallies with Mr
Smith's assessment of the regime.

"In 2009, Transparency International listed Burma as the third most
corrupt country in the world - only Somalia and Afghanistan are regarded
as worse," the report stated.

Pipeline construction within Burma. The Shwe Gas Movement, an alliance of
NGOs and activists, said an estimated 13,200 soldiers are positioned along
the route.

A spokesman for Daewoo cited in a Human Rights Watch report bluntly stated
that business comes first.

"Politics is politics. Economics is economics," the spokesman said. "Many
countries, including the US, France, India, China and Russia, are either
under production or under exploration in Myanmar. These are long-term
plans, and they can't be impacted because of the protests."
CHINA'S PIPEDREAM$

A regional newsletter, The Shwe Gas Bulletin, reports: "The Shwe Gas
project will boost the military regime's coffers with more [than] $29
billion over 30 years after production begins in 2013."

Jockai, editor of the bulletin, said a gas pipeline will stretch from the
Bay of Bengal to Nanning in southwest China. A parallel oil pipeline will
shadow the gas pipeline into China and there are fears the construction
will bring only grief to the communities along its route.

"The gas pipeline is estimated to be 2,800km long. Both pipelines will cut
through many communities in Arakan state, Shan state and central Burma.
The impact on hundreds of communities and thousands of people will be
devastating."

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has heavily invested in
both the oil and gas projects, and is the majority partner in the oil
pipeline. CNPC is state-owned, and China's largest oil and gas company.

The Shwe Gas Movement, an alliance of NGOs and activists opposed to the
regime's exploitation of the country's gas and oil reserves, said in their
report, "Corridors of Power", that the risks to both people and the
environment is great.

"An estimated 13,200 soldiers are currently positioned along the pipeline
route. Past experience has shown that pipeline construction and
maintenance in Burma involves forced labour, forced relocation, land
confiscation, and a host of abuses by soldiers deployed to the project
area," the report said.

The Shwe Gas Movement report points out that Burma's natural gas reserves
are ranked "10th in the world, yet its per capita electricity consumption
is less than 5% of that of its major exporters, Thailand and China".

Jockai said it is criminal that the regime is selling the country's oil
and gas, while most of Burma is without a reliable source of electricity -
most people have to rely on oil lamps and candles for their lighting.

A Human Rights Watch media statement warned that China's unregulated
investments in energy projects in Burma should be a global concern.

"China's massive petroleum project in Burma, as well as large
hydroelectric power projects that Chinese companies also are involved
with, raise serious concerns about the impact of such projects on the
Burmese population, including the risk of forced displacement."

The Bangkok Post reported earlier this month that Thailand remains Burma's
number one investor with $10.3 billion, followed by China at $6.4 billion
and Hong Kong at $5.9 billion. This year, the regime has approved South
Korean investments worth $2.4 billion.

On his return from his recent one-day trip to meet with Burma's leaders,
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced agreements had been reached on
a number of infrastructure initiatives that would increase trade between
the two countries.

These include a developing a deep-sea port at Dawai (aka Tavoy) on Burma's
Andaman Sea and a super highway linking it to the Eastern seaboard in Chon
Buri. A company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand - Italian Thai
Development (ITD) - is a major contractor.

"The first-phase contract that ITD has signed for, the 10-year project, is
worth an estimated $8 billion. The entire project could be worth $58
billion or more."
SELLING THE FARM

A drug policy briefing paper was released last week by the Amsterdam-based
Transnational Institute (TNI), an independent international research and
policy advocacy institute that produces briefing papers and reports on
issues related to democracy and equality. The briefing paper focused on
the impact China's huge agricultural investments in Burma will have on
local communities and farmers. The TNI paper said China is motivated to
promote agricultural investment in Burma as a means to eradicate opium
production and drug trafficking on its borders.

"The huge increase in Chinese agricultural concessions in Burma and Laos
is driven by China's opium crop substitution programme, offering subsidies
and tax waivers for Chinese companies."

TNI's Tom Kramer said these investments are shaping the future of Burma
and the impacts will be felt by millions of people. "Unfortunately, big
business is the winner. These investments were supposed to provide
alternative sources of income and be a way out of poverty, but the poorest
of the poor will benefit least."

The TNI briefing paper noted the agricultural investments include
large-scale rubber, sugarcane, tea and corn plantations.

Mr Kramer said that China encourages agricultural investment diversity,
but the results are almost exclusively mono-plantations, usually rubber.

"The increase in agricultural investments in northern Burma has impacted
on local food security. People are losing access to income, access to land
to grow other crops and to graze animals," he said. "Large
mono-plantations have resulted in huge tracts of deforested land, degraded
landscapes, land confiscation and even more landless farmers."

Mr Kramer said both the Burmese regime and the opposition groups need to
talk more about developing sustainable agricultural policies and not just
focus on politics.

"Policies need to be developed, discussed and reflect the community views.
It is in the long-term interest of all to develop sustainable policies
that benefit the majority of the people and not just the well-connected
few."

POOR NEIGHBOURS

Debbie Stothard from the Alternative Asean Network on Burma
(Altsean-Burma) said the regime is not intent on being a good neighbour or
even a reliable investment partner.

"Their investments come with a hidden cost," she said. "For every dollar
these regional countries spend with the regime, they are repaid by having
to support refugees, fight drug traffickers, deport illegal migrants and
monitor and contain infectious disease scares on their borders."

Altsean-Burma is a network of organisations and individuals based in Asean
member states working to support human rights and democracy in Burma.

Ms Stothard said people in rural areas are suffering from abuses and
mismanagement.

"A Shan farmer told us his rice crop has fallen by 70% in two years. The
Burmese army took land and dammed the river upstream to irrigate army
plantations. It's hard for people to survive from their farms when their
land and water are constantly stolen."

Ms Stothard said international investors are deluded if they think their
projects in Burma are secure. "Investing in Burma is shaky like everything
else - there's no rule of law, there's no stability. Investments without
regulations are contributing to the massive poverty and abuse of the
Burmese people."

ERI's Mr Smith said some companies may have carried out their own impact
assessments, but no company has done a human rights assessment of the
impacts on villages or communities.

"If ever a country needed one it is Burma. The military regime has said it
is looking to develop regulations and they are looking to other Asian
countries for a model, yet the irony is that these same countries are
investing in Burma because there are no regulations. In Burma government
environmental impact statements are non-existent.

"It pretty much guarantees to foreign companies that there will be no
obstruction to their investments or projects."

THE DIRTY LIST

A database, "The Dirty List", compiled by the International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC), the Burma UK campaign and the Global Union
Federation, highlights around 400 companies doing business with the
military regime.

The ITUC on its website said the regime is one of the worst trade union
and human rights abusers in the world.

"Companies investing in Burma are not doing so because of an altruistic
wish to help the people of Burma. They are there to make a profit, and are
attracted by salaries of less than 22 baht a day, a compliant workforce
where unions are banned, limited health and safety laws and a minimum
working age of 13."

The Dirty List includes international timber, gems, tourism,
communications, mining, oil and gas exploration, insurance, banking and
brewing companies.

Alcatel-Lucent, the French telecom company, which is on the Dirty List,
says on its website that with the help of Chinese government money it
signed up to install infrastructure for Burma's fledgling communications
network.

Alcatel also defended itself against accusations that it had "provided or
installed any dedicated solution to Myanmar for monitoring voice calls or
filtering the internet".

Mr Turnell said the recent fire sale of Burma's state assets by the regime
is one of this year's most intriguing and worrying topics concerning their
monetary policies.

"Nearly 300 enterprises and properties have been sold off, including
ports, rice mills, cigarettes and textile factories, cinemas, hotels, an
airline, fish and agricultural processing plants, ruby, jade and gold
mines as well as many government buildings."

Mr Turnell said the buyers of the state assets were mostly individuals and
conglomerates with connections to the regime, all of them spared any of
the formalities of having to "take part in any form of public tendering or
any other accountable or transparent process".

Mr Turnell described Burma's privatisation as a "textbook example of
institutional expropriation by Burma's existing political and economic
elites".

Irrespective of the dubious election result early this month, the military
regime and their cronies have been caught red-handed taking money,
property and state assets rightfully belonging to future generations of
Burmese, he said.

____________________________________
ENVIRONMENT

November 22, Environment News Service
Wildlife Conservation Society Pledges $50 Million to Save Tigers

St. Petersburg, Russia - To help secure the future of Asia's critically
endangered wild tigers, the Wildlife Conservation Society today pledged to
spend $50 million over the next 10 years - $5 million of the total during
the next year.

Dr. John Robinson, WCS chief conservation officer and executive vice
president for conservation and science, made the commitment at the
International Tiger Forum in St. Petersburg, a unique four-day meeting
that opened Sunday.

"Over the next 12 months, WCS will be putting close to $5 million onto the
ground in Asia for tiger conservation," said Robinson. "These are funds
that are entrusted to us by bilateral government donors especially the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Agency for International
Development, and multilaterals like the Global Environmental Facility and
the World Bank."
Wild tigers on a road in India's Ranthambhore National Park, Feburary
2008. (Photo by Robert Parker)

"Private individuals and private foundations are also making crucial
commitments to tigers, such as those of the Liz Claiborne and Art
Ortenberg Foundation which has put tiger conservation as its highest
priority, and collaborating organizations like Panthera," said Robinson.

Based at New York's Bronx Zoo, the Wildlife Conservation Society has more
than 50 years of experience working for tiger conservation.

"Together we will be investing a minimum of well over $50 million in the
next 10 years before the next Year of the Tiger," Robinson said. "And let
me stress again that WCS will work to ensure that all of these investments
are targeted at on-the-ground efforts in tiger range states."

Hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the International Tiger
Forum is unprecedented. For the first time, world leaders are coming
together focused on saving a single species.

Ahead of the forum, officials from the 13 tiger range states had a series
of ministerial meetings and each of these countries wrote its own tiger
recovery program.

The 13 countries took more than year to write a Global Tiger Recovery
Programme, which sets forth a comprehensive set of actions to help the
world's 3,200 remaining wild tigers recover from decades of hunting,
poaching and clearance of their forest habitats.

The Global Tiger Recovery Programme aims to at least double the number of
wild tigers to a target of 7,000 animals by the next Year of the Tiger in
2022.

Heads of government and ministers are meeting in St. Petersburg to endorse
the plan, which is estimated to cost $350 million for the initial five
year stage.
Parts of at least 1,000 tigers were seized in 11 range countries over the
last decade. (Photo by Chris Shepherd courtesy TRAFFIC)

The World Bank Group has been supporting this tiger recovery initiative
since its inception. World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick said in
St. Petersburg Thursday, "This summit may be the last chance for the
tiger; tigers are vanishing. There are fewer than 3,200 living in the wild
today on only seven percent of the land they once roamed."

"We know what's causing the decline in number of wild tigers: It's illegal
poaching, trafficking, lack of habitat," said Zoellick.

"The good news is that tiger populations can recover, but we have to
protect their habitats and ranges, target illegal trade, and find ways
that people can benefit more from live tigers than dead ones," Zoellick
said. "And, critically, we need to see poachers behind bars, not tigers."

Zoellick recognizes that "outsiders can't do this for people. If you don't
have local ownership, it won't work."

So, the World Bank is supporting development of this tiger recovery effort
from the bottom up with the 13 tiger range countries.

"Together with our partners in civil society and elsewhere, the World Bank
Group aims to support the tiger range countries in achieving the goal
they've set," Zoellick said.
A wild male tiger flushed by tourists on elephants in Nepal's Chitwan
National Park. (Photo by Chris Gladwin)

Because tigers don't recongize national borders, Zoellick says resolving
regional trans-border issues is important. On a visit to China last year,
he was able to start to work with the State Forestry Administration on
creating a preserve in Northern China that would allow a wider range area
for the Amur tiger that crosses the Chinese-Russian border.

The World Bank's International Development Association, a fund for the
poorest nations, has some money set aside for regional projects, Zoellick
said. "We have a project that looks like we've got the support of Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangladesh, and perhaps India on a subregional project that
creates tiger reserves that cross borders."

Nepal has already tried to create corridors among some 11 national
reserves to create the opportunity for growth and expansion of its tiger
populations.

There has been collaboration between India, Nepal and China on law
enforcement and, in the case of Nepal and India on protecting the tiger
populations they share.

"WCS is focused on offering technical assistance and support, both
financial and logistical, to our partners in tiger range states," Robinson
said today. To date, he said, WCS has responded to commitments from tiger
range countries to conserve the tigers in Cambodia, China, India,
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Russia, and Thailand.

"We are committed to providing this support and assistance at those
landscapes prioritized by range states. Most of these contain source
sites, nationally important parks and reserves that contain core breeding
populations of tigers, which are embedded in larger tiger landscapes, and
thus act as sources for dispersal throughout those landscapes.

Quick action is essential or most of the world's wild tigers will be gone
within a year, warns James Leape, who heads the global conservation
organization WWF.

"Here is a species that is literally on the brink of extinction," said
Leape. "I think there is every reason to expect that if we do not succeed
now, if current trends continue, by next year, the tiger will have only
scattered remnant populations left - it will be virtually extinct."
Tiger skin openly on sale at a retail outlet in Mong La, Special Region 4,
Shan State, Myanmar, June 2010. (Photo by Adam Oswell courtesy TRAFFIC)

The threats to tiger survival are many. A new report from the wildlife
trade monitoring organization TRAFFIC shows that black markets along
Myanmar, Thailand and China's shared borders play a crucial role
facilitating the illicit trade in tigers and other endangered species.

A joint WWF-TRAFFIC report released November 9 shows that parts of at
least 1,069 tigers have been seized in tiger range countries over the past
decade.

The report, "Reduced to Skin and Bones," shows that from January 2000 to
April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 tigers were seized in 11 of
the 13 tiger range countries - an average of 104 to 119 animals per year.

Of the 11 countries, India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number
of tiger part seizures, the report states, with India by far the highest
number of tiger part seizures at 276, representing between 469 and 533
tigers.

China, with 40, had the second highest number of seizures, or between 116
and 124 tigers; and Nepal reported 39 seizures, or between 113 and 130
tigers, according to the report.

Tiger parts reported in trade ranged from complete skins, skeletons and
whole animals - live and dead - bones, meat, claws, teeth, skulls, penises
and other body parts. They are used for decoration and in traditional
medicines.

In Myanmar, or Burma, the Kachin Development Networking Group has been
monitoring the world's largest tiger reserve in the remote Hugawng Valley
since 2007. The organization reports that reserve is being clearcut for
sugar cane and tapioca plantations by Htay Myint, one of the country's
most powerful tycoons.

Htay Myint's Yuzana Company has brought in fleets of bulldozers and
backhoes that "have been razing forests and destroying animal corridors,
leaving only the conservation signboards standing," the Kachin Group says.

"The reserve was established in 2001 with the support of the US-based
Wildlife Conservation Society. However WCS has remained silent on this
destruction of the reserve and has claimed that Hugawng Valley will be a
cornerstone of tiger conservation in the future," says the Kachin Group.

Still, Robinson of the Wildlife Conservation Society struck an optimistic
note today in announcing the organization's $50 million committment.

"No single country can address the challenges of tiger conservation by
itself," he said. "No organization, no governmental institution can alone
turn around the challenge posed by the decline in tiger numbers. Together,
and in partnership, we can make a difference."

"Following this summit," urged Robinson, "we must put into place the
institutional mechanisms (1) to leverage the additional resources and
funds that will be necessary if tiger numbers are to be doubled in the
years ahead, and (2) to maintain the consensus that we have forged over
the last two years - a consensus that tiger will survive, and indeed will
thrive again."

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 18, BuaNews
SA to use UNSC seat to promote peace
(Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System)

Pretoria - South Africa will use its second term on the UN Security
Council to promote and protect human rights across the globe, said
President Jacob Zuma.

"We are consistent in our support for the consideration and discussion of
human rights matters in relevant UN bodies, including the Human Rights
Council and the General Assembly," said Zuma.

Zuma was responding to a question in Parliament on whether it would use
the seat to advance human rights and free political will in countries such
as Myanmar and Zimbabwe.

He said South Africa, like the rest of the international community, was
concerned about the human rights situation in Myanmar.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, when it was known as Burma.
Decades of human rights abuses and mistreatment of its ethnic minorities
have been reported.

Regarding Zimbabwe, Zuma - who is also the Southern African Development
Community mediator in that country - said both SADC and the African Union
(AU) were attending to the matter.

Although Zimbabwe is not on the UNSC agenda, South Africa's International
Relations Ministry is on the record saying it would again vote "no" to UN
sanctions against Zimbabwe, should the issue return onto the agenda.

In its first term (2007-08) on the UNSC, South Africa surprised many when
it blocked sanctions against Zimbabwe and also voting against resolutions
on Myanmar and Iran.

This in turn led to the country being seen by groups like Human Rights
Watch as siding with countries that had bad human rights records.

South Africa has indicated that it has learnt a lot after its first tenure
as a non-permanent Security Council member. It said it would communicate
better this time.

The country has also indicated that it would work tirelessly toward
improving the working methods of the UNSC to make it more legitimate,
representative and effective, while better synchronizing the work of the
AU and UN.
____________________________________


November 18, The Economist
Freedom from fear - Banyan
On past form, Myanmar’s junta may soon snuff out the hopes it raises

It was hard not to be moved both by the demeanour of Aung San Suu Kyi when
she was freed from house arrest in Yangon on November 13th, and by the
popular reaction to her freedom. Her grace, courage and good humour seem
undiminished. Meanwhile, the thousands who flocked to her gate demolished
the myth that she is no longer central to Myanmar’s politics. Yet in the
euphoria of the moment, it was easy to forget that those politics, too,
are in essence unchanged. The foundations for the optimism she herself
professes seem flimsy.

Since she was first locked up in 1989, Miss Suu Kyi has twice before been
“freed”, only for it to become apparent that she had in effect simply been
moved into a larger prison, so strict were the limits on her activities.
This time she emerges into a changed world. Until this week she had, for
instance, never used a mobile phone or surfed the internet. The political
landscape in Myanmar is also altered, even if the first elections for 20
years, held on November 7th, were designed to strengthen the grip on power
of the ruling junta, whose party has claimed a massive victory.

The elections did at least allow a tiny flicker of pluralist light into
the murk of Burmese totalitarianism. And for the moment, apparently caught
unawares—yet again—by the abiding affection and respect Miss Suu Kyi
commands, the junta has let her hold meetings, grant press interviews and
act like the leader of the opposition. In return, Miss Suu Kyi, though
calling gently for a “peaceful revolution”, has shown her accustomed
generosity of spirit. She chided a journalist who spoke of the junta’s
“brutality” towards her. It has detained her for years on trumped-up
charges; jailed and tortured hundreds of her supporters; orchestrated mob
attacks on her; prevented her from seeing her dying husband; restricted
access to her children; and ignored or vilified her in its stultifying
official press. But, she said, it had treated her well.

She sounded so reasonable that you might expect the junta to leap at the
chance to open a serious dialogue with her. That seems very unlikely. If
past form is a guide, the junta will not tolerate her speaking out for
long. During previous spells of “freedom”, it has ignored her for a while,
gradually tightened restrictions on her, and then found some pretext to
lock her up again. In 2003 it managed to blame her for a massacre and, as
she put it this week, “for allowing myself to get beaten up”, when her
convoy was attacked by pro-junta thugs. Last year it extended her
detention when an American (“a little eccentric”, in Miss Suu Kyi’s words)
swam across the lake outside her house to meet her.

The latest sentence ended on November 13th. However arbitrary its
repressive laws, the junta has always been perversely punctilious in
carrying them out to the letter. So that deadline may have been why the
date of the election was set a bit earlier. Now the widespread joy at Miss
Suu Kyi’s release will have stoked the junta’s fears of her. She alone has
the popular following to mount a serious challenge to its rule.

Her lineage, as the daughter of Aung San, Myanmar’s independence hero, was
always in her favour. So was her charisma, which swayed huge crowds when
she returned in 1988 from British exile to what was then Burma in order to
care for her sick mother. In the election of 1990, her popularity helped
the National League for Democracy to a landslide victory, even though she
was under house arrest at the time. (The results were never honoured.) Her
fortitude through two decades of relentless persecution has earned the
respect and loyalty of her followers.

Yet she has critics among the junta’s enemies as well as the generals
themselves. As a politician, after all, she has been a failure. The junta
seems more firmly entrenched than ever, and, outside a small flourishing
elite, Myanmar’s people are as poor and oppressed as ever. The rigged
election and her own release speak more of the generals’ self-confidence
than their weakness.

She is blamed for refusing to compromise with them. In 1995 she pulled the
League out of a “national convention” drafting a new constitution.
Eventually, as was always certain, the convention came up with the answer
the junta first thought of: continued military dominance. This year again
Miss Suu Kyi advised the League to boycott the election. This led to its
formal disbandment, and a split. Both boycotts may well have been
mistakes, though so crooked were the processes that affording them any
degree of legitimacy would also have seemed repellent.

Glass rods and steel wire

The criticism of her inflexibility was always rather unfair, for two
reasons. It treated her as a functioning politician when in fact she has
been a prisoner with limited access to sources of information and advice.
Now, already, she has hinted at flexibility on a position that has drawn
most criticism: her support for crippling economic sanctions against
Myanmar.

Second, the true refusal to compromise has always been not hers but the
junta’s. Here Banyan should confess a bias. He met Miss Suu Kyi several
times in the late 1990s and remains in awe of her bravery, dignity and
even sense of humour. Those now portraying her as a principled but rigid
dogmatist forget that she used to face just the opposite criticism. When
she was “freed” in 1995, it was to preach dialogue and compromise when
many, buoyed by the electoral triumph in 1990, thought the junta might
simply be swept away. Miss Suu Kyi’s true rigidity was to stick to
Gandhian principles and shun the violence that the people-power revolution
some hoped she would lead would have entailed.

“They have to understand”, she told The Economist at the time, “that
flexibility and weakness are completely different.” A steel wire, she
said, is strong because it is flexible; a glass rod is rigid but may
shatter. In the years since, the junta has done its damnedest to turn her
into a glass rod. It has yet to succeed.

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

November 20, Irrawaddy
“If We Want Change, We Have to Make It Happen”

Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi spoke to Irrawaddy editor Aung Zaw soon after her release from house
arrest on Nov. 13. In this exclusive interview, she discussed her position
on the military regime, her future political activities and her views on
the political situation in Burma after the Nov. 7 election. She also
emphasized the need for her supporters to continue working towards the
goal of achieving democracy, and urged young Burmese in particular to
remain actively engaged in politics.

Question: You are now free after seven years of house arrest. Over the
past few days, you've had a chance to speak to the people and see the
outside world. What do you think has changed?

Answer: The first thing I noticed was that there were many more young
people in the crowd that welcomed me. Many of them were using cell phones.
They were taking photographs with their phones, which I had never
experienced before. There was no such thing ten years ago, but it has
become quite widespread these days. I think there are more communication
lines than before. It is important.

I don't see much significant change in the city. Perhaps that's because I
haven't been to many parts of the city, since I am not the kind of person
who is always on the street. There is not much difference.

Q: Are the Burmese people poorer now than before?

A: They looked poor, but those who came to greet me and give their support
were very happy and smiling. I am very thankful to them. I could really
feel their warmth.

Q: Some say your release is just a matter of transferring you from a
smaller prison to a bigger one. Do you feel that way?

A: I don't see it that way. I always consider myself free because my mind
is free. With my own ideology and beliefs, I am walking on the path that I
have chosen. I have never felt that I wasn't free. Even when I was
officially released, I felt the same—I didn't feel that I was not free
before. Of course, I now have much more work to do. I have been able to
see and feel the changes in person. In fact, my inner mind remains the
same.

Q: Many people say your release one week after the election was just an
attempt by the military regime to divert people's attention from the
polls. What do you think about that?

A: I can't say exactly. It's possible. Since the election is over now,
people don't need to focus on it anymore. That's why they are paying more
attention to me. [Laughs]

Q: Soon after your release, you said you wanted to meet with the leaders
of the military regime to help bring about national reconciliation in the
country. However, the junta leaders don't seem to want to talk to you.
Since you first entered Burmese politics in 1988, the regime has
repeatedly stated that it has never wanted your presence. It has been 22
years now. Why do you think they still don't want to speak with you, even
though you have offered dialogue with them on numerous occasions.

A: I think we have a different understanding of the main purpose of
dialogue and its real meaning and essence. In my opinion, dialogue is not
a debate to make one side lose and the other win. One side says what it
wants, and so does the other. If there are disagreements, a negotiation
should be carried out. Dialogue must be a win-win situation for both
parties. I have said this to them before, but they don't seem to
understand it. I am not sure if they don't understand it or if they don't
believe it. Perhaps its because in the military, there is no such thing as
a negotiated settlement. This is something I really need to give a lot of
thought to.

Q: You met with senior leaders of the military, including Snr-Gen Than
Shwe and Gen Khin Nyunt, in 1994, 1995 and around 2000. Were your
conversations with them fruitful?

A: Yes, we met, but I can't say that we had a true dialogue. I can say
that real discussions took place when I met with Col Tin Hlaing, Maj-Gen
Kyaw Win and Brig-Gen Than Htun after the Depayin incident. However, what
we discussed has never actually been implemented.

Q: They are not in office anymore. Neither is Gen Khin Nyunt. Some are
serving lengthy prison terms. What do think about them? Did you think that
they were the ones who might be able to bridge the gap between you and the
military? Do you plan to see them again?

A: I think they did the best they could. Whenever I spoke with them, I
always noticed that they raised good points. That's why I never thought
that I was always right. But there were things that made me feel a bit
frustrated. Perhaps they felt the same about me.

Q: I heard they became very respectful toward you. How did you feel about
that?

A: They treated me well. Whenever I meet with officers responsible for my
security these days, they treat me well, too. I don't know what they are
thinking in their minds, but from what I can tell from my side, they have
treated me well and I am thankful to them. I also want to be friends with
them. As I told the people in front of my party's office on Sunday, I want
[the military leaders] to treat everybody the way they treat me.

Q: Do you think that in the future you will have a chance to go to
Naypyidaw and meet Snr-Gen Than Shwe?

“Lead, Kindly Light.”
A: I don't think that way. I think of how I am going to make it happen. I
am not sure if you have heard that Gandhi was very fond of a Christian
hymn, even though he was a follower of Hinduism. The name of the song is
“Lead, Kindly Light.” It says, “I do not ask to see the distant scene; one
step enough for me.” Gandhi believed that, and so do I. I will do my best
to walk, step by step. If I am on the right track, I will reach the right
place. I don't want to try to imagine something very distant. For me, hope
is the desire to try. I believe I can only hope for something if I have
tried to achieve it. I will continue to make an effort with this belief in
mind.

Q: There has been speculation, within and the country and outside,
including even in the UN, that there is a prospect of substantial dialogue
between you and senior military leaders. What do you think about this?

A: It's not wrong to think that might be possible. I have sometimes
thought about what I might say if I had a chance to meet with them. Not
often, though. But it's something I must be prepared for, because it would
look awkward if I didn't know what to say if I was invited to take part in
a dialogue. So I don't mind if people say that this is something that
might happen. But sometimes I have wanted to laugh a bit at some of the
predictions that have been made, some of which were quite funny.

Q: Can you recall any that struck you as particularly funny?

A: I won't elaborate on those predictions. Some of them seemed a bit funny
and ambitious to me, but I don't mind. Sometimes people came up with such
predictions because they wanted to see changes for the better in the
country. But some have had quite pessimistic and radical views, such as
that the situation will never get any better. In fact, things sometimes
turn out very differently from what we expect. We must always be ready and
prepared for whatever happens.

Q: So do you know what you will say to Snr-Gen Than Shwe if you meet him
again?

A: It depends on the situation. Whatever I say will depend on the
circumstances and the reason for our meeting.

Q: Some have expressed the view that the military cannot be excluded from
Burmese politics. The new Constitution guarantees the military a dominant
role in future politics. What do you think about the military and its
political role?

A: No one should be excluded from politics, since it is related to
everyone. However, it is important to have the correct relationship to
politics.

Q: We have heard that there are some in the military who support you and
the democracy movement. What is your message to army officers and their
families and others in the military who want to see change?

A: If they want change, they have to make it happen. As I said earlier, I
don't believe in just imagining how things might be better. If we expect
something, we must strive to achieve it.

Q: The election was neither free nor fair. The Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) appears to have won, although the results have
not yet been announced. It will soon form a new government. Some in the
international community think that this will herald a new political
landscape in Burma. How will you face this situation?

A: I don't know what people mean when they talk about a new political
landscape. Are they referring to the new Parliament? In any case, there
are always some who participate in politics inside Parliament, and others
who are involved in politics outside Parliament. We will be in the latter
category. Since we have some experience with how they [the USDP] engage in
political activities, we will use various means to carry out our political
activities outside the Parliament.

Q: Before the election was held, some members of the international
community, particularly in Europe, said that taking part in it was the
only option for the opposition. Now that it is over, however, those who
backed the election have been embarrassed by the way it was carried out by
the regime. What would you like to say to these people?

A: Live and learn. [Laughs]

Q: The international community has welcomed your release. The US
government has said it will continue its existing policy on Burma,
combining sanctions and engagement. What kind of pressure do you think the
international community should exercise on the Burmese regime, and what
kind of relationship should it have with the junta? What would you like to
say to China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)?

A: I want Asean and China to have close relations with us. I want them to
know that we are not people they can't deal with. I think the fact that
sanctions remain in effect is related to what you said earlier—the new
political landscape. I think they are waiting to see if this really is a
new landscape or not.

Q: The exiled Burmese community is becoming larger and larger. Hundreds of
thousands of Burmese have left their country illegally, most of them from
the younger generation. You have often spoken about the importance of
education and helping the young to realize their potential. What are your
plans for young people living inside and outside the country? What is your
message to them?

A: The reason I want to have contact with young people living outside
Burma is to promote the importance of education. They—especially those
living in Western countries—have many more educational opportunities than
young people living in Burma. That's why I want them to have contact with
each other. I don't want young people living overseas to forget those
remaining inside. I don't think they will forget. Many of them have been
involved in blogging and other Internet-related activities, so I don't
think they have forgotten the situation inside their country. I think they
will believe in their strength and continue to stand for their people.

Q: When you were freed in the past, Burma's ethnic communities were
largely silent. This time, however, they have given you their strong
support. You are also in favor of a second Panglong Conference. How do you
feel about the response to your release by the ethnic nationalities.

A: I am very happy, not because of their support for me, but because of
the way they are becoming more united. This will lead to greater unity in
the future.

____________________________________


November 22, Spiegel
Interview with Aung San Suu Kyi - Thilo Thielke
'We Have to Tackle This -- With Peaceful Means'

In a SPIEGEL interview, Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi
discusses her house arrest, which lasted for more than seven years,
overcoming fears of the military regime and her continuing fight for
freedom.

SPIEGEL: Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, you were kept isolated for over seven
years; you were not allowed to leave your home. How did you pass the time?

Suu Kyi: You have a great many things to do when you are under house
arrest. On the one hand, it is more comfortable than sitting in prison; on
the other hand, you have to look after a household, which is strenuous
under such circumstances. Of course I had access to radio and books. I
felt that it was my duty not to senselessly waste my time. And since I
didn't want to waste my time, I tried to accomplish as much as possible.

SPIEGEL: What did you do? What kind of books did you read?

Suu Kyi: Oh, about politics, economics, novels, poems, history -- every
single book that I could get my hands on.

SPIEGEL: Your lawyer told us a few weeks ago that he brought you a copy of
"Harry Potter" to read.

Suu Kyi: Yes, that's right; I try to keep up with my grandchildren. That
way I will know who Harry Potter is if I can ever meet them.

SPIEGEL: What opportunities did you have to maintain contact with people
on the outside? Were you able to send them messages?

Suu Kyi: No, none at all. I had no Internet, no mobile phone and no
satellite dish. It was only a few days ago that I even used a mobile phone
for the first time. The most important contact to the outside was my
radio. I sat in front of it for five, six hours a day and followed what
was happening in the world. Furthermore, my doctor was allowed to visit me
once a month, and sometimes my lawyers came by. During these talks, we
focused primarily on my court cases.

SPIEGEL: How did you get along with your guards?

Suu Kyi: They have treated me very well. Of course they had their rules
and orders that they were not allowed to break. They were friendly and
helpful.

SPIEGEL: You have been able to move about freely since Nov. 13. How does
it feel to be free?

Suu Kyi: Whether you believe it or not, I have always felt free inside.
Being outside primarily used to mean for me: working, speaking and more
people. That is also exactly how my schedule looks again now, totally
different from over the past years. By the way, I feel no difference. I am
fairly tired, though.

SPIEGEL: Over the past few days, you have met with political friends and
diplomats, granted interviews and given a speech to your supporters. At
all of these events, the regime's informers have followed your every step
and monitored the people you have spoken with. How is it even possible to
feel free in a state like this?

Suu Kyi: I think that freedom is sometimes a state of mind. Sometimes,
mind you, but not always. I don't think that the people in this country
feel free. From a legal perspective, what is happening here is
unacceptable. Fundamental violations of human rights always lead to people
feeling less and less human. And when something like this continuously
happens in your country, then you no longer feel comfortable. You, for
instance, will leave Burma again in just a few days. But for those of us
who have to spend the rest of their lives here, life can be very arduous.

SPIEGEL: You once said that fear itself can be a kind of prison. The
people in this country have been terrorized by a military junta for
decades. How can they come to terms with the constant pressure?

Suu Kyi: I'm not telling people that they can flee the fear. It is
important, however, that they don't allow fear to control their lives. You
have to maintain control. If, in addition to an external force, you are
also ruled by an inner one like fear, then you are even less free. Then
you are totally paralyzed.

SPIEGEL: Isn't it true that you could be arrested again at any time? In
the past, the junta has never had any trouble finding a reason for this.

Suu Kyi: I am not afraid of that. But I accept it as a possibility. As
long as there is no law in Burma, any individual here can be arrested at
any time. You could also be immediately arrested and deported. They don't
even have to give you a reason for why they are doing this.

SPIEGEL: Have you ever thought that you personally pay too high a price
for your political struggle? You have spent the better part of the past 20
years in isolation. For years, you haven't been able to see your sons, who
live abroad.

Suu Kyi: No. What I have experienced is nothing compared to what political
prisoners in prisons suffer ...

SPIEGEL: There are currently over 2,100 political prisoners in Burma who
are being detained under horrendous conditions ...

Suu Kyi: ... and I would like to urgently draw the world's attention to
their plight. We must do everything to secure their release.

SPIEGEL: Ever since you were released again, many people in Burma have
found renewed hope. Do you experience these high expectations of you as a
burden?

Suu Kyi: I see them as an incentive to work even harder. But it is also
necessary to make it clear to the people that they have to do something
for themselves. People shouldn't expect that I can do everything for them.

SPIEGEL: Would you, in order to move closer to achieving your objectives,
also speak with the leaders of this junta?

Suu Kyi: Of course. There are many things that we have to discuss with
them. We need a change in this country. Burma's economy is in ruins.
Ethnic tensions are increasing. There are so many political prisoners.
There are too many refugees leaving the country. There is a huge business
with human trafficking. There are so many things that need to be remedied.
And we have to tackle this -- with peaceful means.

SPIEGEL: But what means are available to the opposition to bring about
such a change?

Suu Kyi: I can't exactly say. One thing is for sure: It certainly can't be
done overnight.

'It Is Essential that People See What Is Happening in this Country'

SPIEGEL: On Nov. 7, parliamentary elections were held in Burma, which the
military junta maintains it won by a landslide. Hardly anyone in the world
believed that these elections were free and fair. The opposition was
divided over whether or not it should participate or boycott them.

Suu Kyi: We have boycotted these elections and we are standing by this
position.

SPIEGEL: A number of members of the opposition, including former members
of your National League for Democracy, have established a new party and
taken part in the elections. By contrast, the NLD is banned. The official
reason given at the time was not taking part in elections. Has this
weakened the movement?

Suu Kyi: There were people who believed in these elections, and they ended
up losing them. We, on the other hand, have never believed in these
elections, and we don't believe in them now, either. This of course
doesn't mean that we cannot work together with other groups and
individuals in order to advance the democratic process.

SPIEGEL: How do you propose to shape relations to influential countries
like China and India, which are relatively close to the regime and do
business with it? Neither country has criticized the elections.

Suu Kyi: It is important that we maintain good relations with these
neighboring countries. But it would be better if India and China would
support us rather than this government. We can work on this.

SPIEGEL: In the West there have been heated debates for years over whether
sanctions against the military regime in Burma would be constructive or
not.

Suu Kyi: This issue needs to be constantly re-examined. We are currently
doing this. I don't have a final opinion on this.

SPIEGEL: In the past, you asked Western tourists not to travel to Burma
because this would only support the regime. Do you still stand by this
statement?

Suu Kyi: I was informed that the European Union has debated this issue. It
has spoken out against group tours where Burmese government facilities are
used. It endorses individual trips, however, which could benefit private
companies. I haven't had an opportunity to speak with the European Union
about this. But it is essential that people see what is actually happening
in this country.

SPIEGEL: Will you continue your political struggle?

Suu Kyi: Of course. We have established political goals and we intend to
achieve them.

Interview conducted by Thilo Thielke in Rangun, Burma