BurmaNet News, December 2, 2010

[Editor]

December 2, 2010 Issue #4095

INSIDE BURMA
Los Angeles Times: In Myanmar, house arrest looks good
DVB: Airtime scrapped for ‘political’ artists
Myanmar Times: Nine journals suspended by censorship board

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: ‘Cablegate’ exposes French business concerns
FT: Why Thailand invests in Burma
Irrawaddy: Burma's exports drop after election
Reuters: Marble carving flourishes in Myanmar

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: Wikileaks says Burma passes Asean news to Beijing

INTERNATIONAL
National Business Review (New Zealand): NZ government ditches Myanmar for
Burma
Bowling Green Daily News (US): Immigrants from Myanmar tell of struggles
as refugees

OPINION / OTHER
VOA: Religious Freedom In Burma – Editorial
Times of Malta: Unwavering and unbowed – Caroline Galea
IPS: U.N. faces hurdles as it seeks mediator’s role in Burma – Marwaan
Macan-Markar
Foreign Policy: Foreign policy and the Burmese balancing act – Roberto
Herrera-Lim
Rolling Stone: Meet the American hacker behind Wikileaks – Nathaniel Rich

INTERVIEW
Straits Times: Democracy comes first, says Suu Kyi – Shefali Rekhi with
Aung San Suu Kyi



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 2, Los Angeles Times
In Myanmar, house arrest looks good

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is a breakthrough, but about 2,200 people
— activists, writers, musicians and comedians — remain in prison on
political charges, facing torture, inadequate medical care and years in
solitary confinement.

Yangon – In the decaying lakeside mansion where Aung San Suu Kyi spent
much of the last two decades under house arrest, the Myanmar opposition
leader and Nobel laureate was forbidden to use the Internet or the
telephone or to watch satellite TV.

She did, however, have two maids, was free to read newspapers and listen
to radio, and had access to a doctor.

For the other 2,200 or so political prisoners in Myanmar, conditions are
quite different.

Sentenced to impossibly long prison terms for speaking out against the
repressive military government, they face torture, barely edible food,
little or no medical care and years in solitary confinement. Some are
forbidden to speak for years.

"There's a great difference between prison and house arrest," said Phyo
Min Thein, an opposition politician and brother-in-law of a political
prisoner serving a 65-year sentence. "Aung San Suu Kyi was treated well,
while those in prison are treated with extreme oppression. Is it fair?
Everything isn't fair. We live under an unfair system."

Before and after her release, Suu Kyi vowed to spotlight the plight and
press for the release of other political prisoners in Myanmar, also known
as Burma.

For hundreds of activists who have openly challenged military rule,
there's little hope of fair treatment at the hands of a clique of generals
that has remained largely impervious to international condemnation,
pressure or sanctions.

The "crimes" prosecuted by the regime include demonstrating, passing on
rumors, "undermining the state" and possessing uncensored videotapes.
Those who have been jailed include comedians, musicians, artists and a
writer convicted of inserting a message in a Valentine's Day poem.

For many, the decades-long sentences are abstract numbers, their release
dependent more on a political deal or a hoped-for change in government
than in serving out their time.

"There's a signboard inside with the length of your sentence," said Phyo
Min Thein, who served 15 years for opposing the regime, including five
during which he wasn't allowed to talk. "My first five years, I hoped for
freedom. After that, you just have to live."

One of the toughest challenges is staying mentally fit. The lack of news,
human contact or contact with loved ones eats away at you, former
prisoners and family members said, deepening your isolation.

"You become more hungry for information than for food," Min Ko Naing, a
leader of the student movement that rose up against the regime in 1988 who
is serving a 65-year sentence, one said.

Some described small acts of defiance: hiding a banned book by Suu Kyi in
a hole carved out of the floor under a chamber pot, smuggling out appeals
to the United Nations or singing protest songs, even if it meant severe
punishment or years added to their sentence.

In 2008, the regime transferred many prisoners to remote sites, making
family visits more difficult.

"Before 2008, I visited him twice," said a relative of prisoner Ko Ko Gyi,
who is serving a 65-year sentence for, among other charges, illegal use of
the telephone system. "But since then I haven't. It's a long way."

Former prisoners said they tried to stay sharp by singing, reciting
Buddhist verses, playing mental games and meditating. Suu Kyi, who was
released from house arrest Nov. 14, said she drew strength from dawn
meditation sessions.

"Some people go mad talking to themselves," Phyo Min Thein said. "You
start imagining you see your mother in front of you."

Family visits, when they're permitted, may be limited to an hour or two a
month, with guards hovering.

Some of the detainees are sentenced to more than century in prison, and in
Myanmar, political prisoners are rarely released for good behavior. U Khun
Htun Oo, 67, a political representative of the Shan ethnic minority in
failing health, received 93 years in 2005 for a private discussion about
political transition.

Human rights groups say their estimate of 2,200 political detainees in
Myanmar is probably conservative, because many in rural areas go
uncounted. Periodically the government declares an amnesty, although
criminals are the main beneficiaries. In 2008, it released 9,000 people;
eight were political activists.

"And they know they can re-arrest you any time; they play games," said Bo
Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Assn. for Political Prisoners
(Burma), a Thailand-based activist group. "Aung San Suu Kyi can definitely
be arrested again soon. Now the military regime is trying to find an
accusation against her."

In fact, many believe it's a matter of time before the defiant leader is
detained again by generals threatened by her popularity and vocal appeals
for democracy.

Some former prisoners surmise that her release has served the government's
interests by deflecting attention from rigged elections held a week
earlier, but that once the inner circle led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe feels
threatened anew, it will find a pretext to lock her up again.

The regime maintains the outward appearance of following laws, replete
with formal charges, witnesses and legal representation, when in fact many
verdicts are decided by a few powerful people, said David Mathieson,
Myanmar researcher with the activist group Human Rights Watch.

Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations, Thant Kyaw, denied last month
that politics played a part in the convictions. "There are no political
prisoners in Myanmar, and no individual has been incarcerated simply for
his or her political beliefs," he told a U.N. committee.

Families disagree, saying that the food in Myanmar's 44 prisons and at
least 50 labor camps is often bad because corrupt officials pocket the
budget, with rice gruel at breakfast, rice and watery bean soup at lunch
and a thin vegetable soup at dinner.

And prisoners deemed "troublemakers" face years in solitary confinement,
they say, and torture sessions that include kneeling for hours, severe
beatings for moving, being suspended by the wrists and water torture.

Conditions varied depending on the prison. A former inmate of Insein
Prison said he spent five years in an 8-by-12-foot room that housed up to
seven people. Prisoners were given 15 minutes a day to clean out their
waste and wash themselves, using a plate, not a bowl.

"It's very difficult to bathe with a plate," he said.

Family members say their relatives eventually become inured.

During Htay Kywe's first prison sentence, his father died, leaving him
quite depressed. During his second sentence, during which his mother died,
he took personal setbacks in stride, relatives said.

"They never tell us about torture, they don't want us to worry," said a
relative of husband-and-wife student protesters Ko Jimmy and Nilar Thein.
"Frankly, we don't want to know either. It would only make things harder."

Many relatives said that though they're happy for Suu Kyi, they hope
political change will ease their family's plight.

"I hope Ko Ko Gyi gets pardoned," said a relative. "His two nieces are
growing up without knowing him. We all really miss him."

____________________________________

December 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
Airtime scrapped for ‘political’ artists – Shwe Aung

Around a dozen entertainment artists were yesterday blacklisted by Burma’s
information ministry and will no longer be given airtime on television and
radio stations.

The list of those banned includes singers, actors, directors and writers,
as well as the former actor Kyaw Thu, who now runs the acclaimed Free
Funeral Service Society, an official at Yangon [Rangoon] City FM radio
station told DVB. The majority had visited the care home for HIV patients
in Rangoon that was initially ordered to close following a visit by Aung
San Suu Kyi last week.

It remains unclear whether material produced by the writers included in
the list will be banned from print publications, a tabloid journal editor
in Rangoon said. Likewise, performance artists are yet to find out whether
the ban extends to live shows.

The MoI oversees Burma’s notorious censor board, which blocks all
politically sensitive material from being distributed and orders that any
printed worked is vetted by the board prior to publication.

“We are artists and not political activists,” said Kyaw Thu. “However,
what matters for our country matters for us. We were just doing
humanitarian work as it’s the right thing to do for human beings.

“The artists are contributing what they can and it’s quite a disgraceful
act to ban and blacklist them for it.”

He added that the ruling junta should make the distinction between
humanitarian work and political activity. This it famously failed to do
following 2008’s devastating cyclone Nargis, when numbers of Burmese aid
workers and teams of people who buried corpses were given lengthy jail
terms.

Mainstream artists in Burma tend to steer clear of including political
commentary in their work. The country’s most famous performer, the
comedian Zarganar, is serving a 35-year prison sentence after he gave
interviews to foreign media critical of the junta’s response to the
cyclone.

Kyaw Thu’s wife, Shwe Zeegwat, is also included in the ban, along with
writer Than Myint Aung, who is in the FFSS. Joining them are singers Saung
Oo Hlaing and Than Thar Win, rapper Anegga, punk-rock musician Kyar Pauk
and film directors Maung Myo Myin, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi and Cho Tu Zaw.

____________________________________

November 29 – December 5, Myanmar Times
Nine journals suspended by censorship board – Yadana Htun

NINE journals have been suspended for up to two weeks for breaking
censorship rules following Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house
arrest on November 13, a Ministry of Information official said last week.

The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) announced the bans –
the largest number in a single week in the division’s history – on
November 21, eight days after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.

Several journals ran photos and articles about the National League for
Democracy leader on their front page – in violation of PSRD instructions
to only use the material on the inside pages – while a sports journal put
a hidden message about her release into a headline on its front page.

First Eleven Weekly Sport and Hot News were suspended for two editions,
while 7Day News, Venus, The Voice, Myanmar Newsweek, Pyithu Khit (The
People’s Age), Myanmar Post and Snap Shot all received a one week holiday.

Most of the journals published the content about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as a
“supplement” and wrapped it around the official front and back pages, in
violation of PSRD rules introduced in October 2009, the senior PSRD
official said on November 23.

“Hot News received one extra week because it also used the news in
promotional material distributed with the journal,” he said.

“The sport journal was suspended for two weeks. We have told the sport
journals to only publish sport news but the editorial team [at First
Eleven Weekly Sport] did things they shouldn’t do and published a version
different from the one they sent to us.”

The official denied rumours that the journals were suspended for printing
articles about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, pointing out that the division had
permitted journals to publish some news concerning her release.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is now a free person. There is no reason to reject the
news about her [automatically]. If the news about her agrees with the
rules and regulations released by the division, we will allow it to be
published. If not, there will be restrictions,” he said.

Editors from the suspended journals met with PSRD on November 19 and the
official said there some “positive results” from the discussion.

“Through the meeting we learnt some of the obstacles that the editors are
facing. We reached some agreement on what is acceptable for both sides,”
he said.

“In a democratic system there should not be any censorship but in Myanmar
we are now in a transition period,” he said.

“We are giving more opportunities for journals now than in the past but
sometimes they are not using these opportunities responsibly,” he said.
“There is only limited trust between us and the media at the moment. It
would be more convenient if we had more mutual trust.”

7Day News editor Ko Arr Man said his journal was not suspended for the
content but rather the way it was used.

“The release of Daw Aung San Su Kyi was just before our publication date;
it was good timing for us. The division allowed positive articles and we
only published what they permitted,” he said.

“But we sent a small sized photo of The Lady to the division and published
it much larger. And we didn’t clarify that the supplement would be the
front page. We thought it would be okay as some other journals published
this news colourfully before us.”

Ko Arr Man said money and effort had been wasted because of the suspension.

“We didn’t expect this so we had already prepared the next issue and were
ready to go to print. Now it’s all useless; we can’t use the news in
coming weeks because it’s too out of date. The publisher will lose
financially and the efforts of the journalists are wasted too,” he said.

It is the second time 7Day News has been suspended, following a first
offence in 2008.

Ko Kyaw Min Swe, editor in chief of The Voice, said there was nothing
wrong with his publication’s supplement.

“We published it as usual but the people from distribution wrapped the
supplement around the front page because of customer demand. All the pages
we printed were approved; we didn’t mean to put [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] on
the front page,” he said.

The suspension was The Voice’s third this year and Ko Kyaw Min Swe said it
would inflict both “financial and spiritual” losses.

“When a journal is suspended, we lose out both financially for the company
and spiritually for the journalists. And we get less trust from the market
and the advertisers,” he said. “We have been suspended more than any other
journal so you can imagine how that has affected us.”

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

December 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
‘Cablegate’ exposes French business concerns – Francis Wade

France’s President Nicholas Sarkozy had considered withdrawing French
companies from activity in Burma before he was reined in by advisors,
leaked US diplomatic cables claim.

Washington’s ambassador to France,  Craig R. Stapleton, described the
French leader as “forward-leaning” in his policies on Burma in an October
2007 cable sent from Paris to the US. Classified as “confidential”, it
forms part of the vast disclosure of diplomatic correspondence passed to
news agencies earlier this week by whistleblowing website, Wikileaks.

“While Sarkozy seems forward-leaning (he reportedly considered French
disinvestment before being dissuaded by advisors), thus far France remains
unprepared to implement unilateral sanctions,” the cable said.

France’s business presence in Burma is substantial. It is led by oil
giant, Total, which operates the controversial Yadana oil and gas project
along with US company Chevron. According to EarthRights International, the
project has netted the ruling regime $US5 billion, much of which stays out
of the official government budget.

Like Washington’s policy to Burma, the EU sanctions currently in place
against the junta block European investment but do not force the
withdrawal of companies there before sanctions were implemented. Thus
Total and Chevron have been able to stay, despite reports of widespread
human rights abuses related to Yadana.

Moreover, the French government has steadfastly refused to order it to
leave Burma. Its comment that Paris was “unprepared” to join the US
sanctions programme was set amongst praise for other actions it has taken
on Burma, notably in the UN Security Council.

But what lies behind the mixed bag of French policy to Burma goes beyond
purely economic reasons, says Matthew Smith, head of ERI’s Burma
programme.

“The main reason why Total has not pulled out is mostly to maintain a
French presence in a geopolitically valuable part of the world,” he said,
adding however that there are concerns that if Total pulled out, the space
would be taken by a Burmese or regional company with a worse human rights
record.

Vested interests in the French government at the time of the cable may
also play a significant role. Five years before Stapleton’s message back
to Washington, Total had paid Bernard Kouchner, who later became French
foreign minister, €25,000 ($US33,000) to carry out an assessment of the
company’s work in Burma.

After the publication of the report, Kouchner told Le Monde that “Nothing
allows me to think that the group could have lent a hand to activities
contrary to human rights”. Regarding allegations of forced labour, he
added that “I am 95 percent sure that the Total people are incapable of
that; they are not slaveholders”.

Smith thinks otherwise. “That project has generated multi-billion dollar
profits for the regime and there have been thousands upon thousands of
instances of human rights abuses directly connected to Total’s presence,”
he said. As recently as February, ERI documented two targeted killings
close to the Yadana site that were carried out by a Burmese army battalion
providing security for Total projects.

“Kouchners’s relationship with Total would colour his assessment of the
company’s human rights impact in Burma,” Smith said. He added that he was
“deeply critical” of the report, which based “very definitive conclusions
about Total’s presence in Burma” on a “very brief trip to the pipeline
area”.

He claims that it is “these types of thin assessments that oil companies
in Burma have relied upon to convince investors that they are a benefit to
Burma rather than an obstacle to human rights protection”.

The cable continued that Sarkozy had “urged French companies to freeze
future investments”, a policy that is more in line with the EU sanctions
package and Stapleton’s demand that the US “appeal to Sarkozy to redouble
French efforts within the EU to push for tough sanctions” on Burma.
____________________________________

December 2, Financial Times
Why Thailand invests in Burma – Simon Roughneen

There is some confusion over whether Thailand or China is the biggest
source of foreign investment in Burma. But it’s clear that Thai interest
is gathering pace: the Saha Group is the latest Thai cash-rich business to
enter the hermetic south-east Asian country, announcing a plan to open 25
stores there by 2012.

And Burma offers more than just a untapped market. For Thai businesses,
the country also offers respite from the environmental and other corporate
standards that exist at home.

The Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, heard as much last month, when
he visited the Map Ta Phut industrial estate (pictured), in south
Thailand. Seventy-six projects on the estate remain closed, after a court
ruling regarding residents’ complaints about leukemia and cancer rates in
the area. A business lobby group is unhappy - and handed Abhisit a letter,
outlining its grievances over the government’s handling of the case.

Compare that to Burma. where there’s little chance of a court intervening
so forcefully. And it’s seemingly with that disparity in mind that Abhisit
has hailed a landmark agreement to develop a massive port and road
transportation facility in Burma. The deal - at Dawei, beside the Andaman
Sea - is between a Burmese company, the state-run Myanmar Port and
Development Co., and the Italian-Thai Development Co..

Worth $8.6bn, the project is the single largest foreign investment into
Burma to date. It will cover 250 square kilometres, and involve the
building of a deep-sea port to be linked to Kanchanaburi in central
Thailand by a new highway. The attraction for investors is an overland
shortcut to China and east Asia - bypassing the Straits of Malacca, and
linking to an as-yet-unrealised labyrinth of Chinese-backed road and rail
links in the Mekong region.

Domestic behemoths Siam Cement and PTT Chemicals - which have both been
hit by the Map Ta Phut moratorium - have expressed their interest. Burmese
businessman Zaw Zaw, who is under US sanctions for his links with Burma’s
rulers, is also reportedly involved in the venture, which the country’s
dictator, Than Shwe, sees a domestic equivalent to the China’s Shenzhen
economic zone.

The construction deal was signed five days before Burma’s election last
month, and it’s noteworthy that Thai politicians have becoming friendlier
towards the Burmese ruling junta in recent years. When in opposition,
Abhisit’s party was hostile to the military rulers next door - and
critical of the then Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, for cosying
up to them. Such antipathy has now been forgotten.

Under Abhisit, Thailand welcomed the election, despite allegations of
ballot stuffing and voter intimidation. According to leaks first published
in Chinese state media, the junta’s party has swept 76 per cent of the
vote.
____________________________________

December 2, Irrawaddy
Burma's exports drop after election – Na Yee Lin Latt

The export of rice, beans and fishery products in Burma has dropped
sharply in the aftermath of the country's November election, according to
business sources.

“We have to send samples of rice, beans and sesame to foreign countries
before we can actually export them. But, since late November we haven't
been able to send as much as before—the order has dropped by half,” the
manager of an export business told The Irrawaddy.

He said that the steady fall in the value of the US dollar has impacted
earnings from exports and some businessmen have chosen to temporarily stop
or reduced the amount of exports while waiting for a better opportunity to
engage in trade.

Samples of rice, beans and sesame have reportedly been sent to Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the UAE.

According to statistics from the military regime's Ministry of Commerce,
Burma exported 270,180 tonnes of rice in the first six months of this
year, compared to 750,100 tonnes in the first six months of 2009.

A sales manager at a beans and sesame export business told The Irrawaddy
that the export of beans  has declined  since September because India, a
major beans buyer from Burma, lowered its orders.

“We don't have year-long contracts with foreign companies anymore, so the
fewer orders we receive the smaller amount we export. Since the domestic
market is not even steady, some are keeping their goods,” he said.

An MOC source said Burma exported 290,000 tonnes of green-grams in
2009-2010 but the projected export for 2010-2011 has been lowered to
250,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the export of Burma's fishery products also has reportedly fallen.

“Our exports have dropped by two-thirds of what we used to export,” said
Kyaw Naing, the director of Annawa Trade Park Marine Products Ltd.

He said that his company has mainly exported fish and shrimp to England,
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Italy, but the amount has dropped since
the exchange rate of one US dollar fell to less than 900 kyat.

According to Burmese economist Khin Maung Nyo, the value of the US dollar
depreciates because of some amount of foreign currency flow into the
country.

“Burma has earned foreign money through gems exhibitions and Cyclone
Giri-related programs, so the amount of foreign currency currently
circulating in the country has increased. As a consequence, the value of
Burmese currency kyat is getting stronger. So export businesses have to
struggle under this pressure,” said Khin Maung Nyo.
____________________________________

December 2, Reuters
Marble carving flourishes in Myanmar

Sagyin, Myanmar - For centuries, villagers at the foot of a hill in
central Myanmar have carved a life out of stone.

"Sagyin" means marble in Burmese, and the village -- about 33 km (20.5
miles) north of the regional capital of Mandalay -- is surrounded by a
mountain range with large quantities of marble.

Two-thirds of its roughly 5,000 families survive on making statues, and
the craftsmen for which the village is known are practically born with the
skill, chiseling rock for as long as they can remember. "If one doesn't
have a degree, it is not easy to get a good job. I am not well-educated --
and I've been doing this job my whole life," U Pho Ni, 66, said.

U Pho Ni has been carving statues for four decades and has passed on the
craft to his son, daughters and grandchildren.

Chit Ko, his son, now runs the workshop, which specializes in 1 foot
(0.348 meter) tall Buddha statues that are sold to Mandalay souvenir
shops. His 19-year-old son, John Ko Ko, will inherit one day.

The whole family is involved. The men hammer and chisel the stone, while
the women polish the finished statues. Men earn a daily wage of 2,000 kyat
($2.25), while women are paid 1,500 kyat ($1.70). "This is our family's
business. It's a legacy," John Ko Ko, himself a carver, said.

Unlike farmers, who are at the mercy of each harvest season's ups and
downs, marble collectors and craftsmen say that as long as there is stone
and demand for Buddha statues, their livelihood will remain profitable.

HIGHLY RATED

Sagyin marble is highly rated for its hardness and texture, varying from
pure white to bluish gray in color. But fine marble is becoming
increasingly rare, and workers can toil for months to extract a 45-tonne
slab that sells for up to $40,000.

Carving workshops began to thrive in the early 1990s, as production
increased with the help of electric tools and the number of workshops
tripled, said workshop owner U Maung Gyi.

The village is now home to more than 100 workshops, some of which export
Buddha statues to China, Thailand, Singapore and Japan as well as some
countries in Europe.

"That depends on the government. The businesses in this village would
develop more if the government opened the market," U Maung Gyi said.

High transportation costs and the lack of good quality marble, which is
controlled by the government, prevent the industry from expanding more
robustly, U Maung Gyi said. Export products also carry a 10 percent tax.

In the city of Mandalay, where most of the products are distributed,
workshops line Kyauk Sitt Thin, "Stone Carving Road." The whir of
chiseling tools reverberates across the powdery pavement, a key stop on
sightseeing tours of the ancient royal capital.

Young apprentices, many of whom have quit school, work about eight hours a
day in the workshops. They don't get paid in their first year of learning,
but slowly start earning as their skill level increases.

Carving a life-sized statue can pay up to 5,000 kyat ($5.60) a day, a
decent wage considering that the average monthly income in Myanmar is $50.

Carver U Taung Nyan, 60, has taken in countless apprentices in the past
decades, and he is optimistic that the age-old craft will be kept alive.

"I'm really delighted when I see students I've taught making a good living
as a craftsman," he said.

Burma's deep devotion to Theravada Buddhism also fuels the carving trade.
Tens of thousands of temples across the country, as well as monasteries,
public buildings and homes, contain a white-washed Buddha image.

The renowned nine-meter tall marble Buddha at the Kyauk Daw Gyi pagoda in
Mandalay, one of the largest in the nation, was carved in Sagyin.

"If this mountain gets all used up, we will think of something else to
do," said U Taung Nyan.

"I don't think the marble will run out, because this has been going on for
generations. From past until present, the mountain continues to exist."

(Editing by Elaine Lies)

____________________________________
ASEAN

December 2, Irrawaddy
Wikileaks says Burma passes Asean news to Beijing – Ba Kaung

Burma, along with Laos and Cambodia, might be working for Beijing as spies
within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to a
US cable leak attributed to Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew.

“Within hours, everything that is discussed in Asean meetings is known in
Beijing, given China's close ties with Laos, Cambodia, and Burma,” a
secret cable stated, quoting Lee Kuan Yew in a conversation with US Deputy
Secretary of State James B. Steinberg on May 30, 2009.

According to a leaked text posted on the Wikileaks website, the cable was
sent from the US Charge d’Affaires in Singapore, Daniel L. Shields, to US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June. The conversation, which was
aimed at “eliciting MM Lee’s views on China and North Korea,” took place
in Singapore's Presidential Palace.

Lee Kuan Yew was also quoted as saying in the same conversation that 
“Beijing is worried about its dependence on the Strait of Malacca and is
moving to ease the dependence by means like a pipeline through Burma,”
referring to China's major oil pipeline construction from Burma's Arakan
coast to China's Yunnan province.

As China's strategic ally, Burma often seeks China's support in the United
Nations whenever its human rights record is raised. And China is widely
assumed to wield influence on the Burmese regime.

The leaked cable also referred to an earlier discussion between MM Lee and
China's Deputy Chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff,
Ma Xiaotian. Lee was quoted as recalling that when he asked Ma Xiaotian
what China could do about North Korea, the Chinese official replied: “they
[North Korea] can survive on their own.”

“MM Lee said he interpreted this as meaning that even if China cut off
aid, the DPRK (North Korea) leadership would survive. This is a leadership
that has already taken actions like killing ROK (South Korean) Cabinet
Members in Burma,” the cable stated, referring to an incident in which
North Korean commandos attempted to assassinate South Korean President
Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit he made to Rangoon in October 1983.

The attempt to kill the South Korean president with a bomb was widely
believed to have been masterminded by North Korean leader Kim Jong II
before he succeeded his father Kim II Sung.

Among the hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables leaked by the
Wikileaks website, there is little mention of Burmese issues. But in its
website, it stated that there are over 3,000 records related to Burma. The
documents remain inaccessible to the public but are expected to be
released soon.

While the Wikileaks website lists US embassies around the world as sources
for much of leaked information, the US Embassy in Rangoon is not included.

In another leaked memo released on Nov. 28 but dated July 31 2009 with its
original source being US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Burma was
mentioned as one of the priority issues in US foreign policy.

The memo mentioned a request for reporting of biographic information
relating to the United Nations, including information about “credit card
account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; and work schedules.”

Regarding Burma, the memo asked for information on “Views of UNSC (United
Nations Security Council) and member states on Burma” and also plans and
intentions of the UN Secretary General on Burma and level of trust in his
Special Adviser, who was then Nigerian national Ibraham Gambari. Also,
views were sought from Burmese officials on the UN Chief and his special
adviser; the development and democratization activities of UNDP in Burma;
and details of the UNDP Resident Coordinator's relationship with Burmese
officials.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 2, National Business Review (New Zealand)
NZ government ditches Myanmar for Burma

The government is to change its position on Myanmar and return to calling
it Burma.

The Asian nation was known as Burma until 1989 when the military
government officially changed it to Myanmar.

The Government has accepted a recommendation from Foreign Affairs Minister
Murray McCully to use Burma, Radio New Zealand reported.

Mr McCully said the change signalled that New Zealand refused to recognise
the legitimacy of the ruling military regime.

The Government's position allows for the use of Myanmar where the country
is recognised as such, including at the United Nations.

Australia, France and the UK prefer to use Burma while the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member, use Myanmar.

____________________________________

December 2, Bowling Green Daily News (US)
Immigrants from Myanmar tell of struggles as refugees – Liz Switzer

Bowling Green’s Karenni community turned out Wednesday night to share
their culture and stories as refugees from the Myanmar diaspora who have
resettled here.

About 1,400 refugees from Myanmar, a Southeast Asian country bordering
Thailand, have arrived in Bowling Green since 2000, according to James
Robinson, director of Bowling Green’s International Center, a
government-backed resettlement agency.

The event, “Forced from Our Villages: The Karenni Community Journey from
Burma to Bowling Green,” drew many from the refugee community to the
auditorium at Western Kentucky University’s Mass Media and Technology
Hall.

Due to brutal persecution of ethnic minorities in Myanmar - or Burma, as
the country is sometimes called - by the military-backed government,
hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee the country since
the late 1980s. Some of the refugees who have come to the United States
are Kayan, an ethnic minority from the Karenni state in Myanmar.

“The needs of people in Burma are pretty basic,” said WKU political
science professor Soleiman Kiasatpour. “They want to have autonomy and
they want to have a voice in their government of their country, Burma.
Unfortunately, this has been very difficult for them to achieve.”

One man, Bu Reh, told the audience how he had been forced to live for 12
years in a refugee camp in Thailand, where food was scarce. Reh and his
brother had to leave the camp to hunt for food in the jungle, where his
brother was killed by soldiers, he said through a translator.

A female refugee, Gee May, said she had been in the U.S. just nine months
with her husband, who works nights at a chicken processing plant, and
three small children. The children are attending school, and the family is
grateful to be safe but has found learning the English language to be
difficult, she said.

Often, media reports from Myanmar, such as the recent release of political
activist Aung San Suu Kyi, tend to portray the situation for the average
person there better than it actually is, Kiasatpour said.

“We need to pay closer attention to what is happening on the ground
there,” he said. “If you search the news carefully you will see that the
day after the Nov. 7, 2010, election there was another attack by a rebel
group on a village near the Thailand border which resulted in another mass
exodus of 15,000 more refugees into Thailand. We hear these stories like
the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, but that does not necessarily mean things
are getting any better for the average citizen in Burma.”

The event was sponsored by the WKU Office of International Programs, the
WKU ALIVE Center for Community Partnerships, the Bowling Green
International Center and DosVelas Pictures, a film company making a
documentary about the refugees.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 2, Voice of America
Religious Freedom In Burma – Editorial

Many monks arrested in the violent crackdown that followed the September
2007 prodemocracy demonstrations still remain in jail.

Promoting religious freedom is a central objective of American foreign
policy. It's grounded in our commitment to advance respect for fundamental
liberties around the world. Freedom to hold or not hold religious beliefs
without government interference is a basic human right. This principle has
played a vital role in American history and culture, as well as those of
nations throughout the globe. Indeed, it is articulated in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

To better inform its policies toward other nations, the U.S. State
Department annually prepares a report on the status of religious freedom
around the globe. Its purpose is to recognize government actions that
protect and promote religious freedom, and to cite those actions that
contribute to religious repression or intolerance.

In Burma, religious groups registered with the government are allowed to
worship as they choose, but other sects and denominations are tightly
controlled despite provisions in the country's constitution prohibiting
religious discrimination. For example, authorities monitor the activities
of religious groups and systematically restrict efforts by Buddhist clergy
to promote human rights and political freedom. Many monks arrested in the
violent crackdown that followed the September 2007 prodemocracy
demonstrations still remain in jail. Islamic and Christian groups,
meanwhile, are barred from building new places of worship, and members of
the Muslim Rohingya sect are so restricted that many have fled the
country.

The U.S. government has repeatedly made an effort to express its concerns
over religious liberties with Burma's military leaders, but these requests
have been ignored. For these and other reasons, Burma has been designated
as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious
Freedom Act for its severe violations of religious freedom.

This year's religious freedom report reaffirms the U.S. government's
engagement with faith-based groups around the world to address the issues
that affect them. Our embassies will continue to support interfaith
dialogue and will work with religious groups across a full range of
issues. We will also continue to speak out against the curtailing of
religious liberty wherever and whenever it occurs.
____________________________________

December 2, Times of Malta
Unwavering and unbowed – Caroline Galea

An international political analyst once described Burma (now officially
Myanmar) as Asia’s Heart of Darkness. In a sense, this is painfully true.
Burma is a nation strategically positioned between India and China,
inhabited by 53 million and once the richest producer of commodities in
Southeast Asia. It remains torn between a profound thirst for democracy
and freedom and the unbending totalitarian regime that has ruled it for 62
years since its Independence from Britain.

In the midst of this political saga stands a demure, delicate and fragile
looking woman. Her name is Aung San Suu Kyi. She is the daughter of one of
the most important figures of modern-day Burma, General Aung San, who was
assassinated in 1947. Suu Kyi was orphaned at the age of two and truly
knows very little of her father in her upbringing. Yet, his legacy has
been unavoidable and has, for Suu Kyi, determined her life and her
family’s destiny for almost three decades.

Before returning to care for her sick mother, Suu Kyi lived a normal life
as mother and housewife in suburban England. Married to an English
scholar, Michael Aris, she continued studying, achieving a PhD in 1985.
The tumultuous events surrounding Burma in 1988 led to a string of events
that saw her enter Burmese politics at a stage when many believed Burma
would turn a page and become a fully fledged modern nation. Sadly, this
would not happen.

Suu Kyi found herself leading the National League for Democracy Party that
would, in 1990, win the elections with a landslide victory. The NLD would
garner 59 per cent of the votes and control 80 per cent of the
parliamentary seats. The generals would have none of this result. Power
would not be handed over and Suu Kyi’s trials and tribulations were just
about to begin. She would spend the next 15 years out of 21 either
incarcerated or under house arrest. Isolated from her husband and family,
she would witness the systematic decimation of her party.

Many nations around the world have recognised Suu Kyi’s titanic efforts to
restore democracy in a pacifist and non-violent manner. For her efforts,
she has received innumerable awards, among which the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991.

Many have accused Suu Kyi of being too moderate. She has eschewed violence
at every turn. Suu Kyi remains adamant that moral right should prevail
over might and force. In this sense, she is likened to another historical
figure, Nelson Mandela. Of course, the conditions and historical
backgrounds of these two personalities differ, yet, by and large, the
quality of perseverance and stoic tenacity are very similar in both. It
takes inner strength and steely courage to survive years of isolation and
frustration without cracking or giving up in the face of apparent
insurmountable odds.

After 20 years of isolation and severe sanctions, especially from the
West, the Burmese Junta have made two apparently significant moves. The
first is to call elections after an absence of 20 years. Many have called
this a bogus political exercise. Suu Kyi remained under house arrest
during the proceedings and the NLD did not participate, hence, leading to
it being dissolved by the Burmese regime.

The second and more important move was Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest
on November 13. Alas, this is not the first time Suu Kyi has been
released. This cat-and-mouse game has been going on for over 20 years and
probably any pretext will see Suu Kyi back in prison or house arrest!

There seem to be three possible reasons as to why Suu Kyi has been
released. The first is that the release is a signal from the generals they
consider her a manageable threat and that her age will now hamper her in
re-establishing any significant power base that has been eroded over time.

Secondly, it could be optimistically endorsing a change of tact on the
part of the regime signalling a slow path to civilian rule and part
democratisation. Finally, it could be a way for the generals to play for
time and restart economic relations with trading partners in an attempt to
re-invigorate an impoverished and underperforming economy.

The real reasons will be played out in the coming weeks and months. It is
unlikely that things will remain status quo and one waits for developments
since, after all, Suu Kyi has made it clear her release is not constrained
by any conditions.

Truly, the events in Burma are far removed from our present day realities.
Yet, it would not be amiss to reflect on the stark reality that surrounds
20th century Burmese history. It should serve as an inspiration for us all
to do our utmost every day to preserve freedom, democracy and the right to
live in peace within the parameters of legitimate human rights.
____________________________________

December 2, Inter Press Service
U.N. faces hurdles as it seeks mediator’s role in Burma – Marwaan
Macan-Markar

Bangkok – Barely a week after a ranking United Nations official visited
military-ruled Burma, the country’s strongman has sharply reminded the
global body about the challenges that await any envoy who refuses to march
in step with the junta.

On Wednesday, Senior Gen Than Shwe declared that the Nov. 7 general
election was "free and fair" and that the South-east Asian nation was
heading towards handing "over state power to the public."

The reclusive military leader’s views of the country’s first general
election in two decades -- made during a speech to mark the anniversary of
a 1920 student strike against British colonialism – could not have been
more blunt.

They ran counter to those expressed by Vijay Nambiar, U.N. special envoy
to Burma.

Only days before, Nambiar told reporters at the end of his trip to Burma,
also known as Myanmar, that he had informed the military government about
the many concerns expressed about the Nov. 7 poll.

The questions about the elections – which many western governments
described as having been rigged to ensure victory for a junta-backed party
– need to be taken up "as transparently as possible," Nambiar informed
journalists at the end of his weekend visit.

"This is important for laying the foundation of a credible transition" to
democratic rule, he was quoted as having said, according to the Associated
Press news agency.

But Than Shwe’s snub is not the only challenge Nambiar faces as the United
Nations mounts its third attempt in a decade to meet its declared
political mission for Burma: to use the office of the U.N.
secretary-general "to facilitate the process of national reconciliation
and democratisation through his special advisor for Myanmar."

Nambiar, who is also chief of staff for U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-Moon, has to grapple with the new political equation in Burma following
the release from house arrest of the widely popular democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

Since her release in mid-November, the 65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate
has been treading a cautious, yet determined path to breathe life into the
besieged democracy movement, which she has been the icon of since late
1988.

On Wednesday, Suu Kyi, who has been shut away for over 15 of the past 21
years as a prisoner in her home, appealed to a broad slice of the country
– including soldiers and civil servants -- to unite under the banner of
national reconciliation.

"I have worked to fulfil national reconciliation, and I will keep trying
to promote national reconciliation," said Suu Kyi during a speech in
Rangoon, the former capital, to mark Burma’s National Day, as the
anniversary to celebrate the 1920 student strike against British colonial
rule is called.

Suu Kyi is open to the United Nations playing a role to bridge the wide
political gulf between the military, the pro-democracy movement and
Burma’s ethnic minorities. "She wants the U.N. to play a role, but how and
what form is not clear," said a European diplomat who visits Burma
frequently.

But the military government harbours other ideas. "They are not receptive
to an explicit U.N. political presence on the ground, which is what Suu
Kyi wants," the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IPS.
"The government does not see a role for the U.N."

Little wonder why analysts concede that Nambiar’s mission should force the
United Nations to examine its political relevance in Burma. "I don’t think
the U.N. has much clout to bring the parties together under the current
circumstances," Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political analyst living in
exile, told IPS. "The military feels it is in a position of power and
economically strong so it does not need to listen to the U.N. on national
reconciliation."

In fact, the junta’s rejection of U.N. mediation efforts has been a
familiar feature of its political exchanges with the world body over the
past 10 years. At times, these have even exploded into open disagreement
between ranking government officials and a visiting envoy or the junta
doing an about-turn on promises made.

Suu Kyi, too, has snubbed the world body during her last seven-year period
as a political prisoner.

Nambiar’s predecessor, Ibrahim Gambari, hit a diplomatic low during a 2008
visit to Burma when the then detained pro-democracy leader turned down two
requests by Gambari for a meeting. Even an attempt by two of Gambari’s
aides to show up outside the gates of Suu Kyi’s home and shout Gambari’s
name proved futile.

But this political minefield has not dimmed the world body’s quest to make
its presence felt in order to pave the way for national reconciliation. In
November, Nambiar’s office received more funds to increase its staff to
four for its Burma mission, up from the two during Gambari’s stint as the
Burma envoy.

"There is definitely a role for the U.N. to play in Burma, but they have
to move beyond thinking it is just about the military and Suu Kyi," said
David Scott Mathieson, Burma consultant for Human Rights Watch, a New
York- based global rights watchdog. "There are so many other elements to
be considered, including the concerns of the ethnic groups."

"The situation now is far more complex," he told IPS. "It is the Mount
Everest of diplomatic efforts. And Nambiar is starting at the shores of
the Indian Ocean."
____________________________________

December 2, Foreign Policy
Foreign policy and the Burmese balancing act – Roberto Herrera-Lim

Western governments recently cheered Aung San Suu Kyi's release, but don't
expect any major changes to their Myanmar (formerly known as Burma)
policies in the near term. By contrast, Asian countries will probably
increase their level of engagement, no matter what the country's politics,
because they want access to its natural resources. So what does this all
mean for Myanmar's relations with the East and West?

Divining the intentions of Myanmar's generals is never easy, especially
their calculations around the release of the country's most famous
dissident. It could be an act of economic desperation, the result of a
power play between the old guard and relatively more moderate factions
within the military, or simply the regime's efforts to achieve some form
of normalization. Regardless of the motives, however, the effects are
clear: While the West remains distrustful of recent moves, other Asian
countries will increase their dealings and investments with Pyinmana,
giving these governments greater leverage with the generals who
effectively run the country (albeit in civilian clothes). In other words,
there will a widening gap between how the West and Asia deals with the
Burmese regime, for the next year at least.

The current U.S. administration, whose priorities in Asia lie elsewhere,
will not expend much political capital on the country. Influential
pro-democracy constituencies in Washington can easily find arguments for
continued sanctions and against engaging with the country's nominally
"civilian" leadership. While the country held its first general election
in 20 years on Nov. 7, it was not free, fair, nor credible. Furthermore,
most Myanmar watchers are mindful of May 2003 when, barely a year after
Suu Kyi's first release from detention, an armed group apparently
recruited by the regime's front, the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), attacked her convoy, killing about 100 people. Senior
generals seen as responsible for the attack are now in the new parliament
as part of the government-sponsored majority belonging to the Union
Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the successor of the USDA. ??

Meanwhile, many countries in Asia (including China, India, and Thailand)
will continue to pursue policies toward Myanmar based on their economic
interests and a sense that the country is an arena for strategic
competition with rivals. China is already Myanmar's de-facto regional
patron. Other countries are now pursuing postures more similar to
Beijing's than to Washington's, which, in turn, eases the environment in
Asia for further Chinese pursuit of Burmese resources such as natural gas.
This year, for instance, CNPC started construction for its oil and gas
pipeline projects from Arakan (Rakhine) state off the Andaman Sea to the
southern Chinese province of Yunnan. The gas pipeline will draw its supply
from the Shwe fields off the Arakan coast in the Bay of Bengal and
transport it to Kunming and Nanning in China. The oil pipeline, meanwhile,
will transport oil offloaded by tankers from the Middle East at Ramree
(Maday) Island in Kyaukphyu to Ruili in China's Yunnan province; it will
be able to carry roughly 10 percent of China's imports from the Gulf. For
Thailand, meanwhile, Myanmar supplies about a fourth of Thai gas needs,
and the amount is expected to increase by 2013, based on new agreements by
Thai state energy company PTT.

The next few months will be critical for Myanmar's political and economic
trajectory. In the days after her release, Suu Kyi was understandably
vague about her plans. She did, however, emphasize "national
reconciliation" and flirted with the line that Western sanctions might
need to be rethought. Increasingly, Suu Kyi will likely test the limits of
the government's tolerance and willingness to pursue political reform. But
she'll have to be careful, as the generals will probably be assessing
whether their experiment of releasing Suu Kyi succeeds -- and they'll
recalibrate as necessary. If they sense that increased instability is the
likely outcome of her freedom, the leadership will likely revert to old
practices, including increasing the military's role in maintaining order
and possibly finding an excuse to again arrest Suu Kyi. On the other hand,
if Myanmar's leaders believe their gamble has paid off -- and that the
economic and diplomatic gains from her release outweigh the risks to their
control over the country -- the pro-democracy movement could be given some
breathing room. In this case, if the regime can claim it has fulfilled
former prime minister Khin Nyunt's seven-step roadmap (announced in 2003),
then a more significant, though slow, thawing of ties with the West
becomes more likely. This process will, of course, take time. But if the
momentum generated by Suu Kyi's release is sustained, some change might
become a more realistic expectation within a couple of years.

Roberto Herrera-Lim is a director in Eurasia Group's Asia practice.
____________________________________

December 1, Rolling Stone Magazine
Meet the American hacker behind Wikileaks – Nathaniel Rich

American hacker Jacob Appelbaum fights repressive regimes around the
world. Now he's on the run from his own government.

On July 29th, returning from a trip to Europe, Jacob Appelbaum, a lanky,
unassuming 27-year-old wearing a black T-shirt with the slogan "Be the
trouble you want to see in the world," was detained at customs by a posse
of federal agents. In an interrogation room at Newark Liberty airport, he
was grilled about his role in Wikileaks, the whistle-blower group that has
exposed the government's most closely guarded intelligence reports about
the war in Afghanistan. The agents photocopied his receipts, seized three
of his cellphones — he owns more than a dozen — and confiscated his
computer. They informed him that he was under government surveillance.
They questioned him about the trove of 91,000 classified military
documents that Wikileaks had released the week before, a leak that
Vietnam-era activist Daniel Ellsberg called "the largest unauthorized
disclosure since the Pentagon Papers." They demanded to know where Julian
Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was hiding. They pressed him on his
opinions about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Appelbaum refused to
answer. Finally, after three hours, he was released.

Appelbaum is the only known American member of Wikileaks and the leading
evangelist for the software program that helped make the leak possible. In
a sense, he's a bizarro version of Mark Zuckerberg: If Facebook's ambition
is to "make the world more open and connected," Appelbaum has dedicated
his life to fighting for anonymity and privacy. An anarchist street kid
raised by a heroin- addict father, he dropped out of high school, taught
himself the intricacies of code and developed a healthy paranoia along the
way. "I don't want to live in a world where everyone is watched all the
time," he says. "I want to be left alone as much as possible. I don't want
a data trail to tell a story that isn't true." We have transferred our
most intimate and personal information — our bank accounts, e-mails,
photographs, phone conversations, medical records — to digital networks,
trusting that it's all locked away in some secret crypt. But Appelbaum
knows that this information is not safe. He knows, because he can find it.

He demonstrates this to me when I meet him, this past spring, two weeks
before Wikileaks made headlines around the world by releasing a video
showing U.S. soldiers killing civilians in Iraq. I visit him at his
cavernous duplex in San Francisco. The only furniture is a black couch, a
black chair and a low black table; a Guy Fawkes mask hangs on a wall in
the kitchen. The floor is littered with Ziploc bags containing bundles of
foreign cash: Argentine pesos, Swiss francs, Romanian lei, old Iraqi
dinars bearing Saddam Hussein's face. The bag marked "Zimbabwe" contains a
single $50 billion bill. Photographs, most of them taken by Appelbaum,
cover the wall above his desk: punk girls in seductive poses and a
portrait of his deceased father, an actor, in drag.

Appelbaum tells me about one of his less impressive hacking achievements,
a software program he invented called Blockfinder. It was not, he says,
particularly difficult to write. In fact, the word he uses to describe the
program's complexity is "trivial," a withering adjective that he and his
hacker friends frequently deploy, as in, "Triggering the Chinese firewall
is trivial" or "It's trivial to access any Yahoo account by using
password-request attacks." All that Blockfinder does is allow you to
identify, contact and potentially hack into every computer network in the
world.

He beckons me over to one of his eight computers and presses several keys,
activating Blockfinder. In less than 30 seconds, the program lists all of
the Internet Protocol address allocations in the world — potentially
giving him access to every computer connected to the Internet. Appelbaum
decides to home in on Burma, a small country with one of the world's most
repressive regimes. He types in Burma's two-letter country code: "mm," for
Myanmar. Blockfinder instantly starts to spit out every IP address in
Burma.

Blockfinder informs Appelbaum that there are 12,284 IP addresses allocated
to Burma, all of them distributed by government-run Internet-service
providers. In Burma, as in many countries outside the United States,
Internet access runs through the state. Appelbaum taps some keys and
attempts to connect to every computer system in Burma. Only 118 of them
respond. "That means almost every network in Burma is blocked from the
outside world," he says. "All but 118 of them."

These 118 unfiltered computer systems could only belong to organizations
and people to whom the government grants unfettered Internet access:
trusted politicians, the upper echelons of state-run corporations,
intelligence agencies.

"Now this," Appelbaum says, "is the good part."

He selects one of the 118 networks at random and tries to enter it. A
window pops up asking for a password. Appelbaum throws back his head and
screams with laughter — a gleeful, almost manic trill. The network runs on
a router made by Cisco Systems and is riddled with vulnerabilities.
Hacking into it will be trivial.

It's impossible to know what's on the other side of the password. The
prime minister's personal e-mail account? The network server of the secret
police? The military junta's central command? Whatever it is, it could
soon be at Appelbaum's fingertips.

So will he do it?

"I could," Appelbaum says, with a smile. "But that would be illegal,
wouldn't it?"

For more, visit:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/17389/238944?RS_show_page=0

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

December 2, The Straits Times
Democracy comes first, says Suu Kyi – Shefali Rekhi with Aung San Suu Kyi

Sounding much like the firebrand of the past, Myanmar opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that she will work to convince fellow
citizens that power lies in their hands, and that they must use it
properly to achieve change.

In her first interview with a regional publication since her Nov 13
release after seven years of house arrest, she told The Straits Times
yesterday that modern methods of communication have made her task much
easier.

Despite the ever-present threat of arrest, the democracy icon hopes to
facilitate democracy in Myanmar by building a global network and engaging
the country's military regime at the same time.

'What I am interested in is creating a wide network of people not just for
Burma, but people all over the world to encourage the democratic process
in our country,' she said in the phone interview, using the old name for
Myanmar. 'That's what I want to do at the moment. I see that as my role
-as a facilitator of such a network.'

That network could include the United States, the European Union, and
countries in the region.

'I would like them to work in concert. Not just the EU and the US...but
also Asean and other Asian countries. If they could coordinate their
efforts, I think it would help the process of democratisation in Burma
greatly,' she said.

'(I hope) that they will talk more to each other and try to find a common
ground on which to approach the problems of Burma.'

The 65-year-old made it clear, however, that she does not aspire to become
the country's president or prime minister, saying her only goal was to
'establish a strong and lasting democratic system'.

'I don't think it is important who is president if the democratic
institutions are genuine and strong and in place. There will be presidents
and presidents after that.'

Speaking in her trademark soft yet forceful voice and with a slight
British accent, Ms Suu Kyi did not sidestep any questions during the
interview -including the fear of arrest.

'It is always a possibility,' she acknowledged. 'Not just with me but with
many of my colleagues as well. They have been in jail and have been kept
in jail for many, many years as well. And they are aware of the fact that
they could be re-arrested. But I don't think we live in fear.'

Indeed, the threat of another clampdown by the reclusive regime has not
stopped Ms Suu Kyi from striving to bring about a return of power to
Myanmar's people -a key message that she sought to emphasise during the
interview.


>From the moment she was released, she has been reaching out to supporters

within the country, addressing thousands of cheering people at public
gatherings.

The speed at which she returned to work appears to suggest that Ms Suu Kyi
is trying to get as much done as possible while her freedom lasts.

'Change has to come from the people and there is nothing more important
than a change in which people think,' she said.

'Our people need to understand that they are empowered; that they are not
powerless and I am trying to instil the idea of the power of the powerless
into them; and that they can use this power in the right way to make the
changes that we want.'

Elaborating, she said she hoped to help people see that 'their power lies
in unity and their ability to communicate with each other'. Only then, she
added, would 'they be able to make their hopes and aspirations felt' by
the authorities.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy had won the national elections
in 1990, sweeping 392 of the 492 seats in Parliament, but was never
allowed to rule. Instead, what followed were long periods of detention for
its leader -15 years in all -with intermittent periods of release.

Yet, she still believes in continuing to try to engage the military
regime. 'We haven't made much progress in the sense we haven't heard
anything from them. It's always been like that. We have always had to ask
for dialogue continuously,' she said. She added that she would keep
trying: 'We will have to make them understand that there is a need for
change.'

Ms Suu Kyi also spoke about her personal life. Her husband, Mr Michael
Aris, died in London in 1999. The younger of their two sons, Kim, finally
managed to visit her in Myanmar after being denied permission for 10
years. It is unclear if the elder son, Alexander, is also seeking to visit
Yangon.

Ms Suu Kyi has not left the country for many years, fearing she would not
be allowed to re-enter. She told The Straits Times she has no intention of
leaving Myanmar any time soon, though she hopes to visit her sons one day.

Asked if the suffering she faced in putting duty before family was worth
it, she replied humbly that others had done it too. 'I am not the only one
who has put duty above family,' she said. 'I don't think I want to make a
big issue out of whether or not I suffered.'