BurmaNet News, November 24, 2010

[Editor]

November 24, 2010 Issue #4091

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Fight human trafficking, Suu Kyi urges
DVB: Jailed monk hails Suu Kyi’s release

ON THE BORDER
AFP: Myanmar now the only active landmine user: campaigners

BUSINESS / TRADE
VOV News: Vietnam, Myanmar agree to promote cooperation

HEALTH / AIDS
AP: Myanmar to evict AIDS victims from Suu Kyi shelter
NLM: MoH explains HIV/AIDS shelter in Dagon Myothit (South)
Irrawaddy: HIV/AIDS Activist Says Closure of Shelter Unjustified

REGIONAL
Indian Express: India saddened me... let’s talk now: Suu Kyi
New Straits Times: Myanmar's generals are hard to read

INTERNATIONAL
DPA: Aung San Suu Kyi calls for united EU stance on Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
Financial Times: New pressure can oust Burma’s generals - Amartya Sen


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 25, Mizzima News
Fight human trafficking, Suu Kyi urges

New Delhi – National League for Democracy general secretary Aung San Suu
Kyi yesterday urged NLD women’s wing members to combat human trafficking.

The message came as Suu Kyi and about 200 from the women’s wing of her
party from all states and divisions except Kachin and Karenni met for
about three hours at NLD headquarters in Rangoon.

“Although victims reported their cases to the women rights
non-governmental organisations, the results were fruitless. So the NLD has
to take up this responsibility,” Rangoon Division NLD women’s wing chief
May Win Myint told Mizzima. “Thet Wai, aka Pauk Sa, used to help combat
against human trafficking with complete reporting to the International
Labour Organisation (ILO).”

“Aung San Suu Kyi urged us to help in combating against human
trafficking,” May Win Myint said.

The junta formed the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation (MWAF) in 2004.
Also, Burma, along with Laos, Cambodia, China, Thailand and Vietnam,
signed the “Commit MoU” in Bangkok on October 29, 2004. It stands for
Co-ordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking Memorandum
of Understanding.

Despite being party to these efforts, Burmese rights organisations in
exile said the junta had failed to effectively protect women, meaning many
were trafficked to China, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.

NLD women’s wing leaders including May Hnin Kyi, Hnin Hnin Yu, Khin San
Hlaing, Khin Htay Kywe, Lei Lei, Khin Mar Kyi, Aye Aye Mar and Phyu Phyu
Thin attended the meeting,

They sought Suu Kyi’s lead in educational development for the new
generation to which the Nobel Peace laureate said she would help as much
as she could.

The women’s leaders also expressed fears for Suu Kyi’s safety, and told
her to take care amid assassination threats. Her father National hero Aung
San was assassinated in 1947 by his political rivals just before Burma
largely through his work attained independence from Britain.
____________________________________

November 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
Jailed monk hails Suu Kyi’s release

A monk imprisoned for 63 years for his pivotal role in the September 2007
uprising has welcomed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi but warned that it
must not detract from the struggle to free all political prisoners.

In a letter smuggled out of the remote Kalay prison last week, U Gambira
said that he was “very happy” about Suu Kyi’s release but that now “the
more than 2,000 political prisoners, including myself, need to be released
too”.

The 31-year-old is widely considered the leader of the uprising, which has
come to be known as the Saffron Revolution on account of the thousands of
saffron robe-clad monks that took to the streets more than three years
ago.

Since his sentencing in 2008, U Gambira has been moved through five
prisons in three different divisions around Burma and is now in Kalay,
around 100 miles from the border with India.

He said in the letter, collected by a visitor and transcribed over the
phone by his sister, Ma Lwin Lwin Myint, who is now in Thailand, that
“torture and repression is less [bad] here in Kalay prison” than the
previous places he was detained in, which included Insein prison in
Rangoon. He added that while his health has improved, “my sight is bad
[and] my eyes are hurting”.

Conditions inside Burma’s 44 prisons are notoriously poor, and inmates are
regularly required to bribe prison doctors in order to receive treatment.
Torture is widespread, particularly for political prisoners.

Previous demands U Gambira made for Senior General Than Shwe to visit him
in prison and begin dialogue were met with heavy treatment by authorities,
with his mouth was filled with a cloth, taped up and beaten repeatedly.

But the venerated monk made a further call last week: “I will forgive and
forget the slander, the brutal torture on me and the harassment of my
family, committed by the generals and the clerks. I want you all to
concentrate on national reconciliation.”

Despite the reverence with which Burma holds its monastic community, monks
currently account for 256 of Burma’s nearly 2,200 political prisoners. One
monk, U Nanda Vathu, is serving a 71-year sentence, while 21 of those
detained are serving sentences of 20 years or more.

U Gambira also said that the recent elections, which a pro-junta party won
in a landslide, were “only aimed at legalising military power [and]
can
only increase the problems inside our country”.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 24, Agence France Presse
Myanmar now the only active landmine user: campaigners

Geneva – Myanmar is now the only government still laying landmines after
Russia stopped using such weapons, campaigners said Wednesday, noting that
2009 marked the lowest usage of the deadly explosives in a decade.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) credited the 1997
Ottawa international treaty banning anti-personnel mines for the reduction
in usage.

"Although no additional countries joined the Mine Ban Treaty in 2009 or
the first half of 2010, the power of the international standard rejecting
the weapon continued to be evident," said the group in its annual Landmine
Monitor.

"Only one government -- Myanmar -- newly laid antipersonnel mines, no
state transfers of mines were recorded, and as few as three states were
actively producing mines," it said.

"This is the lowest level of recorded use since the monitor began
reporting in 1999. For the first time, Russia was not identified as an
active user."

However, the report criticised Venezuela, saying it was the only signatory
not to meet its obligations to dispose of the mines.

"One of our sources of concern is Venezuela, which has not started its
demining activities more than 10 years after joining the treaty," said the
report.

"After saying for several years that the conditions were too humid, this
year they said they were too dry," said one of the report's authors,
Stuart Casey-Maslen.

"We are starting to have doubts on Venezuela's good faith in this matter,"
he said.

The report said only 12 countries manufactured anti-personnel mines, with
three actively producing -- India, Myanmar and Pakistan. Nepal was dropped
from the list of producers.

Nevertheless, such mines are still laid by non-state armed groups in six
countries -- Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Yemen,
noted the report.

Landmines and explosive remnants of war caused 3,956 new casualties in
2009, although this is the lowest annual total since the ICBL began
monitoring the issue in 1999 and 28 percent lower than in 2008.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 24, VOVNews
Vietnam, Myanmar agree to promote cooperation

Vietnam and Myanmar on November 23 signed an agreement on cooperation in
many fields, including trade, investment, husbandry, forestry, rubber, oil
and gas, mining, fisheries and tourism.

The agreement was signed under the framework of the 7th session of the
Vietnam-Myanmar Joint Commission being held in Hanoi from November 21-25.

Signatories were Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu of Vietnam and Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Maung
Myint.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Thu said that the two
countries need quick visa exemptions for citizens of each country to
facilitate bilateral exchanges.

She asked Myanmar to have policies towards Vietnamese investors in
Myanmar’s industrial sectors such as telecommunications, construction,
agricultural machinery and fertilizers.

Deputy Minister Thu agreed with the Myanmar side’s proposal to send
Vietnamese officials to Myanmar to discuss possibilities of cooperation in
fishing and said that Vietnam is ready to receive Myanmar officials for
training in the field.

Myanmar Deputy FM U Maung Myint expressed his belief that the fine results
of the session would be an important basis for boosting cooperation in
economics trade and investment to match the two sides’ potential.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

November, The Associated Press
Myanmar to evict AIDS victims from Suu Kyi shelter

Yangon, Myanmar—Myanmar's health ministry has ordered the eviction of 82
HIV/AIDS patients from a shelter run by supporters of democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi because the center is not hygienic, state media said
Wednesday.

An official at the facility said the patients have refused to move,
setting the stage for a showdown with authorities who said they must
vacate by Thursday.

Local authorities last week ordered the HIV/AIDS victims to leave
following a visit by the newly freed Suu Kyi, who promised to help provide
badly needed medicine.

Health officials inspected the shelter in July and August and found it
unhygienic with patients susceptible to infections because of
overcrowding, the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper said.

But shelter organizers said authorities simply want to pressure them
because of the visit by Suu Kyi, who was freed from more than seven years
of house arrest Nov. 13.

Yarzar, one of the center's staff members who uses only one name, admitted
the shelter was crowded but said preventive measures were taken against
the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis.

Health authorities offered to relocate patients to a state-run HIV/AIDS
center, but they refused to move out as their shelter not only offers
medical care, food and accommodation but "warmth and affection that no
other center can provide," Yarzar said.

Since the patients have decided not to leave, Yarzar said he was ready to
face any consequences.

The shelter, which includes a small wooden house and a two-story building
of wood and thatch walls, accommodates 82 patients, including young
children.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace prize for her nonviolent struggle
for democracy, was first arrested in 1989. She has been detained for 15 of
the past 21 years.

Suu Kyi led her party, the National League for Democracy, to victory in
1990 elections, but the junta refused to recognize the results.

____________________________________

November 23, The New Light of Myanmar
Measures to prevent HIV/AIDS, to give treatment to patients being taken
systematically in Myanmar

MoH explains HIV/AIDS shelter in Dagon Myothit (South) about possible
spread of infection from it

Nay Pyi Taw - The Health Department of the Ministry of Health has taken
measures for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS under the directive of the
National Health Committee.

The department is extensively engaged in consultation and conducting
educative talks on health in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in
the country.

Besides, Special Hospital (Waibargi) in North Okkalapa Township and
Special Hospital in Mingaladon Township are providing treatment to
HIV/AIDS in-patients and out-patients. Moreover, Special Hospital
(Thakayta) was inaugurated on 5 August 2010 for HIV/AIDS patients who need
to undergo follow-up treatment. At present, there are 59 in-patients and
150 out-patients at Special Hospital (Waibargi), 55 in-patients and 67
outpatients at Special Hospital (Mingaladon) and seven in-patients and
seven out-patients at Special Hospital (Thakayta).

Meanwhile, 30 other specialist hospitals under the Ministry of Health are
providing medical treatment to HIV/AIDS patients, and 11 NGOs and 21 INGOs
have been allowed to take care of the patients in Myanmar. To be able to
do so, INGOs needs to sign MoU with the Ministry of Health and NGOs need
to register at Ministry of Home Affairs. For a clinic, the size of the
building and registered doctors set by the Ministry of Health and
treatment provided under the recommendation of the specialists are
required, and a monthly report from the clinic is to be presented.

A group led by Daw Phyu Phyu Thin has been providing shelter and medical
treatment to HIV/ AIDS patients at the home, No. 376, Kanbawza-2 Street,
Ward-18, Dagon Myothit (South) Township. With that regard, a medical team
led by Head of Yangon Region Health Department Dr Hla Myint went to the
shelter on 7 July 2010 and 11 August 2010 and explained the group that as
there are many patients at the shelter with a limited space for the
patients it can be the sources of drug-resistant TB cases which are the
complications of HIV/AIDS. During the meeting, the medical team urged
those from the shelter to send the patients to Special Hospital (Thakayta)
as preparations have already been made at the facility.

Since the patients at the home did not undergo treatment at the hospital,
the medical team led by Dr. Hla Myint met with responsible persons of the
home again at the Dagon Myothit (South) Township People’s Hospital on 20
November. During the meeting from 10.5 to 10.3 am, the team told them that
allowing patients with the infectious disease live together in such a
condition could make their health worse. Out of the patients at the home,
30 patients are also infected with tuberculosis, and it is concerned over
the possible spread of the virus from the patients to neignbours, the team
said. It also said that arrangement are to be made for the patients to
undergo medical treatment at Special Hospital (Thakayta) which has already
prepared for not only treatment but also meals for them. At the meeting,
the host thanked the team for the arrangement and replied that they will
transfer the patients to the hospital when they get permission from the
group.

Officials from the Ministry of Health explained those from the home about
the possible spread of infectious disease from the patients for the sake
of the patients and neighbours as the patients are living at a home and
suggested the host to follow the instructions.

- MNA
____________________________________

November 24, Irrawaddy
HIV/AIDS Activist Says Closure of Shelter Unjustified – Ko Htwe

Statements made by government authorities to justify the closure of a
Rangoon shelter for HIV/AIDS patients run by Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) are not accurate and the shelter and its
organizers will defy the government shut-down order, said Phyu Phyu Thin,
a well-know HIV/AIDS activist and the NLD's affiliated welfare group
leader.

The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, reported on Wednesday
that the shelter would be closed because of the “possible spread of
infectious disease from the patients.”

The newspaper said that a medical team from the Rangoon Region Health
Department explained that “as there are many patients at the shelter in a
limited space for the patients it can be a source of drug-resistant
tuberculosis cases which are a complication of HIV/AIDS.”

“Out of the patients at the home, 30 patients are also infected with
tuberculosis, and it [the government medical team] is concerned about the
possible spread of the virus from the patients to neighbors,” and
therefore, “it is suggested that the host follow the [government]
instructions [to have patients vacate the shelter],” the The New Light of
Myanmar said.

In response, shelter organizers said the authorities simply wanted to
pressure them because of a recent visit by pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi,
who was freed from more than seven years of house arrest Nov. 13.

The shelter, which includes a small wooden house and a two-story building
of wood and thatch walls, accommodates 82 patients, including young
children.

Phyu Phyu Thin said there are factual inaccuracies in the newspaper's
reporting and if the Burmese government wants to prevent HIV/AIDS from
spreading it needs to report the truth.

“It is true there is limited space for the patients, but we cannot afford
an extension,” said Phyu Phyu Thin. “But we are serving under the guidance
of doctors and nurses who are HIV specialists.”

“The The New Light of Myanmar's writing style is instigating neighbors,”
she said, but added that after residents in the community living near the
shelter are educated about HIV/AIDS, they are not afraid to deal with the
patients. “Residents donate food for patients and they also participate in
interfacing with township authorities,” said Phyu Phyu Thin.

Since 2002, Phyu Phyu Thin has worked with hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients.
The NLD's affiliated welfare group runs three safe houses in Dagon Myothit
(South) and Dagon Myothit (North) townships.

Dagon Myothit (South) Township authorities said on Thursday, a day after
Suu Kyi's visit to the shelter, that they would not renew the permit for
guests to stay in the safe house and those who remained would face legal
action. In Burma, a host must receive permission from authorities for
overnight visitors.

Shelter organizers said that officials from Burma's Ministry of Health
told them to transfer some patients to the government's Tharkayta Township
clinic because the NLD-run safe house is too small for the number of
patients living there and therefore diseases like tuberculosis can easily
infect the residents.

More than 80 people with HIV/AIDS are now facing a move to the
government's Special Hospital in Thakayta.

“The move depends on the wishes of the patients. We have to care about
their wishes. If the patients don't want to move, we will stand in front
of them even if authorities try to arrest us,” said Phyu Phyu Thin.

HIV/AIDS patients living at the shelter told The Irrawaddy that none of
them wanted to relocate because they did not believe that assistance at
the new location would be as good as that provided by Phyu Phyu Thin with
the support of Suu Kyi.

Patients come to the shelter because they trust the clinic—there is no
discrimination among patients and patients feel the relationship between
them and the staff is warm, Phyu Phyu Thin said.

The HIV patients also worry that they will be required to buy their own
food and drinking water at the Tharkayta clinic.

Meanwhile the Geneva-based International AIDS Society (IAS) on Tuesday
called on the Burmese government to reverse the ruling to shut down the
NLD-run shelter/clinic and allow it to continue operating free from
intimidation.

“This clinic is a well known establishment that is dedicated to helping
marginalized or displaced people get the HIV treatment they need for free.
It should be allowed to continue with its work and I urge the Burmese
government to reconsider and enter productive negotiations with all those
involved,” said IAS President Elly Katabira.

IAS is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals,
with over 19,000 members from more than 190 countries working at all
levels of the global response to AIDS.

According to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on AIDS
report, in 2009 there were 238,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Burma.

____________________________________
REGIONAL


November 24, Indian Express
India saddened me... let’s talk now: Suu Kyi  - Alia Allana

Expressing her “sadness” with the way New Delhi engaged with the military
regime in Yangon while she was in detention, Myanmarese leader Aung San
Suu Kyi today called for “talks with (India) as soon as possible.”

She was speaking to The Indian Express over the telephone in her first
interview to an Indian news organisation since her release on November 13.

“I am saddened with India. I would like to have thought that India would
be standing behind us. That it would have followed in the tradition of
Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru,” said Suu Kyi.

A prisoner in her own land, locked in her lakeside home in Rangoon, Aung
San Suu Kyi, 65, had spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.

She now sees the time opportune for a fresh political initiative between
her party and the Indian government. “We would like India to work closely
with us, that is work with my party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD),” she said.

The NLD has been sidelined by the junta since it claimed an astounding
victory in the 1990 elections.

The junta never recognised the results of the elections that granted the
NLD a 80 per cent mandate to govern.

The junta has ruled over Burma since 1962. “I do not oppose relations with
the Generals but I hope that the Indian government would talk to us as
well. I would like to see talks begin immediately. I would like to see
close and friendly relations, like those that have not been seen
recently.”

“I would like India to remember that the two countries have been through
thick and thin together. We have fought together against colonialism. It
is now time to maintain steady in that direction and encourage a valuable
friendship,” she said.

Suu Kyi, a graduate of Delhi’s Lady Shri Ram College, and her husband, the
late Michael Aris, a scholar in Tibet and Bhutan studies, lived in Shimla
prior to her return to Myanmar in 1988.

“I would love to return to India. My fondest memories are in India. As a
family we lived in Shimla. That has been the happiest time of my life,”
she said.

Myanmar has been the recipient of a stringent sanctions regime due to the
politics of the military men. Suu Kyi has, in the past, called upon
sanctions to keep the generals in tow.

Since her release she has spoken of an easing of those sanctions.
“Sanctions need to be reviewed from time to time. They need to be viewed
not simply from the economic angle but the social implications as well.
There are many people with many different views on sanctions. It is time
we had a look at the sanction regime again. I will need to speak to the
countries that have imposed sanctions and need to hear their qualms. They
did so — after all, do so — to usher in democratic change.”

On China, Suu Kyi said: “China is a neighbour we have a longstanding
friendship with. But currently China is not on the side of those who side
with democracy and human rights. But I maintain that we have to be on good
terms with neighbours.”

Suu Kyi, under the laws of the new Constitution is prevented from
participating in politics.

Her NLD boycotted the November 2010 elections, Myanmar’s first in 20
years, saying the rules prevented a free and fair process but a breakaway
group (National Democratic Force) did participate.

This fractured her party and the NLD is not a legal entity today, as per
the new election laws.

Said Suu Kyi: “The NLD and I believe that there are great flaws in the
constitution... (But) we have to first sort out our differences (within).”

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was reunited with her son
yesterday after 10 years of separation.

“The best moment for me has been the arrival of my son, but that’s a
personal moment. But the moment I hold closest is when I saw the faces of
my supporters.”

Suu Kyi had previously expressed her interest in using Twitter to reach
out to her supporters but she’s keener on Facebook now.

“A lot of young Burmese have told me that Facebook, rather than Twitter is
more useful to them. But I do not have an internet connection. I did go to
apply for an internet permit but I don’t know how easy it will be but I
have made the application.”

Suu Kyi underlined her commitment to a non-violent struggle. “My calm
comes from my people, from my colleagues. Many of who have been in much
worse situations in Burma’s jails. My people have always managed to remain
calm and cheerful.”

She now has her eyes set on the long-run as a free citizen active in
politics. But there is the matter of a book. “I do have ideas and have
jotted down many notes but the time for the book must be right.”

India for its part has prodded along trading with the Myanmarese junta.

Though the MEA called for the release of Suu Kyi, it ensured bilateral
relations in trade continue. This policy is a departure from the 1990s
when India was more vocal and active in persuading the junta to follow on
the route to democracy.

But with increased Chinese investment and interests, India felt it
necessary to deal with the junta.

____________________________________


November 24, New Straits Times (Malaysia)
Myanmar's generals are hard to read - Kamrul Idris

In Mae Sot, Thailand, Khin Ohmar saw a dramatic rejection of Myanmar's Nov
7 elections as thousands crossed the border from Myawaddy to flee fighting
between ethnic rebels and the army.

Old Asia hands suspect the flare-up might have been a show by
truce-breaking Karens to protest the forced vote while the world watched
the country's first polls in two decades. If that was the case, the
malcontents in southeastern Kayin state need not have gone to such
trouble.

It was easy enough to foretell that the elections were never going to be
free or fair. But the finagling of the ballot even after the promulgation
of a constitution designed to disguise military rule, and the cutting of
the opposition at the knees, still had the ability to surprise.

Tampering was "everywhere", said Khin Ohmar, chairwoman of the Network for
Democracy and Development in Burma. "There was not a single place that
didn't have irregularities."

Kyaw Zwa Moe, managing editor of news website The Irrawaddy, based in
Chiang Mai, Thailand, was prepared to concede that the generals' electoral
enforcers might not have had to exert themselves in the new capital of
Naypyidaw, whose soldiers, civil servants and their families had been
coached earlier.

"In Rangoon (Yangon), Mandalay and other cities, and north along the
border areas, there was a lot of vote-rigging, according to our own
reporters inside the country and other local journalists as well as civil
society groups," he said.

Contrary to the government's clampdown, and adding another layer of
opacity to its intentions, the elections were covered rather well by the
local press, underground anti-regime networks and even by banned
international news organisations. BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera all had
incognito correspondents providing regular updates.

What became apparent was that the generals, above all, did not want a
repeat of the last elections in 1990, when the junta, ignorant and aloof
of popular opinion, was sideswiped by the National League for Democracy's
landslide win. So, this time, they bothered to notice where the tally was
going before employing the dirty tricks department on behalf of their
proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

"The counting in the polling stations appears to have been mostly
conducted properly and this led to an initial positive mood as many
opposition candidates could see they had clearly won," said Jim
Della-Giacoma, Southeast Asia project director based in Jakarta for the
International Crisis Group (ICG).

"After that, there were some inexplicable delays in official results, and
some recounts where seats have changed hands in favour of the USDP," he
said.

ICG has been a sophisticated observer of Myanmar politics, sensing in the
holding of elections if not a lurch to democracy then at least a
generational change in the country's military gerontocracy. It is
reserving judgment until the New Year with a dismal impression of the
plebiscite.

"From what we hear, the mood in Yangon is a mixture of confusion,
despondency and anger," Della-Giacoma said as the count went on to an
overwhelming victory for USDP.

Just as disappointed was President Barack Obama, who had steered United
States policy to one of "pragmatic engagement", not only because sanctions
had not worked but to invigorate a consensus, particularly among Asean,
whose efforts to bring Myanmar in from the cold were also at a dead end.

The rest of the international community, briefly raising its eyebrow at
the tensions on the border, settled back to default positions and recycled
statements of disapproval.

Then something happened that did not conform to the usual notions of the
generals' villainy. They released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest on
Nov 7 and stood aside as thousands rejoiced outside her lakeside villa in
Yangon.

Suddenly, the air crackled with possibility. The Asia Society, which had
suggested in March that the US "interact" with Myanmar politicians even if
their elections had been phony, was answered by the State Department in
the affirmative two days after Suu Kyi was set free.

President Jose Ramos-Horta of Timor Leste, and a fellow Nobel peace
laureate who knows a thing or two about forgiveness, called for a lifting
of sanctions, which had kept Myanmar impoverished without loosening the
generals' totalitarian grip on the country.

As chuffed as they were with Suu Kyi's release, Myanmar's diaspora
dissidents were dismayed by some nations' careening desire to view the
generals in a new light.

Khin Ohmar, along with Asia Society Myanmar task force director Suzanne
DiMaggio, believed the Suu Kyi gambit was a deliberate distraction from
the election outcome.

"The whole country was beginning to talk out loud about how flawed the
elections were, and how they rigged the vote and cheated and intimidated,"
she said.

Suu Kyi herself told the Associated Press last week that the generals'
indulgence did not signal a turn towards moderation. Kyaw simply took the
release at face value: the junta had run out of excuses to keep her locked
up after seven years' detention.

"If she moves to organise pro-democracy forces and ethnic forces in the
country, the generals will see her again as a threat," he said.

Asean capitals were swept up by Suu Kyi's pardon, but were too out of
touch with the generals' deliberations to know quite what to make of it.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was guarded as Thailand braced for a
spillover of border disturbances, which were more likely to cause disorder
than the sham elections.

"The transition period may be two or three months, and will be something
we have to watch very closely," he said at the Apec Summit on Nov 14 in
Yokohama, Japan.

What an untrammelled Suu Kyi could bode in that transition has become
something of a parlour game for Myanmar boffins. Unaltered so far is the
fact that the junta operates by an inner logic that cares little what the
public thinks and not a whit about international pariahhood.

"Let us not impose our standards on the Myanmar people," said Verghese
Mathews, visiting fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies,
Singapore. "To deny or reduce the importance of Suu Kyi's release is to
slow the process of national reconciliation, which is imperative for the
long-term political stability of the country." Myanmar's future looks a
tiny bit less bleak with Suu Kyi's ray of hope. But its generals remain as
inscrutable as ever.

( END )

____________________________________


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 24, Deutsche Presse Agentur
Aung San Suu Kyi calls for united EU stance on Myanmar

Bangkok - Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday called for a
coordinated approach within the European Union in its policy towards
Myanmar, warning it would be a "disgrace" if the group fell victim to the
junta's divide and rule tactics.

"In terms of the EU, and other allies of ours, I think we would like to
see a more coordinated approach," Suu Kyi told the German Press Agency dpa
in a telephone interview.

Suu Kyi, 65, was released from seven years of house detention on November
13, a week after Myanmar's junta staged the first general election in two
decades.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party boycotted the polls in
protest against election regulations that would have forced it to drop the
Nobel laureate as a party member in order to run.

Other regulations prohibited registered parties from including people
currently serving prison terms. Suu Kyi had been under house detention
since May 2003.

Suu Kyi was unimpressed by an EU statement on the election outcome which
she described as weak.

"Unless theirs is a coordinated approach, I think their statements cannot
be as strong as we would like them to be," Suu Kyi said.

Members of the EU are known to be split over questions such as sanctions
imposed on Myanmar, also called Burma, and the revival of development aid
to the country, one of the world's poorest.

Suu Kyi expressed concerns over Myanmar's approach to the EU.

"If they are going to let the regime divide and rule them, I think that
would be a disgrace for the EU," she said.

The NLD formerly supported economic sanctions against Myanmar, although it
has promised to look at the question.

"We will review the matter on sanctions and only on the grounds of whether
or not the sanctions are hurting the people, and whether the people have
sound reasons to think they have been hurt by the sanctions," Suu Kyi
said.

The NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide, but the party was
blocked from assuming power for the past 20 years, and many of its members
were jailed.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar independence hero Aung San, has spent 16
of the past 21 years under house arrest.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 21, Financial Times
New pressure can oust Burma’s generals - Amartya Sen

It is difficult for me to talk about Burma without a deep sense of
nostalgia. My earliest memories are all there; I grew up in Mandalay,
between the ages of three and six. But the magically beautiful country I
remember from my early years has now been in the grip of a supremely
despotic military rule for almost half a century, with collapsing
institutions, arbitrary imprisonment, widespread torture, and terrorised
minority communities. The situation has remained terrible for so long that
there is now a kind of defeatism that makes frustrated well-wishers eager
to be thrilled by little mercies. So while Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from
unjust confinement is a great moment for celebration, it is also a time to
think clearly about what the world can do to help her cause.

What can the world do? Many analysts of Burmese affairs have called for an
international commission of enquiry, possibly led by the United Nations.
The case for this is strong, especially after the manipulated elections.
There are, however, immediate measures that can also be taken to put
pressure on the regime.

First, the existing framework of sanctions and embargoes has to be
reshaped. General sanctions that hurt the Burmese people, such as
restrictions on garment exports, can be replaced by those that isolate the
rulers by targeting their own favourite activities. At the top of the list
must clearly be an embargo on arms and armaments of all kinds. There is
also a strong case for sanctions on the commodities – from minerals and
gems to oil and gas – that yield huge profits to the regime. Travel bans
on the personnel running the regime, or those closely associated with it,
can be effectively pursued. Financial restrictions on large transactions
that come from businesses in which the military rulers are directly or
indirectly involved would help too.

Neighbouring countries have a special responsibility. The Chinese
government is the regime’s most important supporter, providing extensive
business connections (not just in oil and gas) and political patronage.
Visitors tell me Mandalay is now largely a Chinese-run city, with most of
the good premises and new constructions being occupied by Chinese
businessmen. But China is not alone: criticisms can be made of the
supportive policies of both India and Thailand. These countries should
realise a change of course is not only morally important, but also in
their long-term interests. The tyrants will, sooner or later, fall.
However, the memory of betrayal of the Burmese people will last much
longer. The intensity of anti-Americanism that is one of the most potent
forces in Latin America today – related to past US support of brutal
dictators – points to something that Burma’s neighbours should want to
avoid.

Yet a global strategy that goes beyond the neighbourhood is also needed.
Several western countries have strong business relations with Burma, for
example in oil. But as yet neither the European Union, nor the US, nor
indeed Switzerland, Australia or Canada, has used the power of financial
sanctions against the regime. Western countries are sharp on rhetoric in
denouncing Burma’s rulers. But given they do not do what is entirely
within their power to do, it is harder to persuade China, India and
Thailand to do the right thing as well.

Finally, we have to start thinking about how a post-military government
should deal with the culprits of the past, both because that will be an
important issue in a non-defeatist scenario, and because it is part of the
considerations that make the present-day rulers decide what they can
reasonably expect if they yield. Here there is something to learn from the
intellectual leadership of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, about not
threatening bloody revenge but opting for the sagacity of offering safety
in exchange for remorse. Even butchers have to find a “way out” if they
are not to go on fighting – and tyrannising – to the bitter end.

Towards the end of March 1999, I received a phone call from an old friend:
Michael Aris, the husband of Aung San Suu Kyi. I knew then that he was
extremely ill with prostate cancer. Michael told me, as he had done many
times earlier, that the one focus of his life was to help Ms Suu Kyi, and
to work for Burma’s freedom. He did not want to die, but he hoped others
would continue to focus on what can be done. I received a call only a few
days later that Michael had died; it was also his birthday. So Michael
Aris is no longer with us, but the need for the focus he championed is now
particularly strong. In Burma’s recent election we witnessed what Vaclav
Havel has described as “a mockery of free expression in which people vote
in fear and without hope.” But with determination and wisdom, the tyrants
can be made to withdraw, and Burma’s people may be free once more.

The writer, who received the 1998 Nobel Prize in economics, teaches
economics and philosophy at Harvard University.