Burma Newscasts

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Revealed: Burma's human exports

It echoes the slave trade –
in the hotels of Rangoon a smart woman is busy
selling people for work abroad, reports Phoebe Kennedy

(Independent) Her glasses were Gucci and her bag YSL. The smart Burmese businesswoman was perched neatly on a sofa in the lobby of a Rangoon hotel, delivering her sales patter to a small group of businessmen. Her product? Human beings. "We supply only strong bodies," she says crisply. "That is our guarantee."

I am sitting at the next table using the hotel wi-fi, and, as she speaks in clear English, I am drawn into a world of desperation and exploitation. The woman is a supplier of workers for deep-sea trawlers, and her stock of men come from Burma's beautiful but impoverished Inle Lake area, where fishing the tranquil waters no longer makes enough to feed a family. "These are just simple fishermen; they are not educated, but what we promise you is strong bodies," she says, using a phrase she repeats again and again.

It appears that the businesswoman's potential customers are middlemen, probably Chinese. Through a translator, they discuss placing the men on boats in the South China Sea, trawling for tuna. First, they will be flown to a Chinese city. In echoes of the slave trade, she describes a selection process worthy of a livestock market. In a 21st-century twist, she does so with the aid of pictures on her laptop.

"We make them stand in the sun for one hour," she says. "In the middle of the day when it is very hot. We see how they manage, if they look uncomfortable." The group leans in to see the pictures on her computer. "We make them carry 20 kilos, like this," she continues, showing them photographs I cannot see. "For deep-sea fishing, they may need to carry very big fish for long distances across the ship."

Then comes the seasickness test. "We put them in here," the woman says, but I can't see the picture. I think it must be an enclosed truck or some sort of container on water. "Then we start to move them around. If they are sick or find it hard to breathe we don't select them. This is how we select the best bodies."

The group nods. The images of Burma's Rohingya boat people, fleeing oppression only to be allegedly abused and cast adrift by the Thai military, has drawn international attention to the plight of one of the world's most downtrodden people. The Muslim Rohingyas face particular persecution in military-ruled Burma, but throughout the country, impoverished men and women who see no future at home are embarking on risky journeys abroad in search of an income for their families.

During the eavesdropping session, I learn more about the business. The fishermen are to earn $2,400 (£1,600) a year, an enticing wage in Burma, where average rural incomes are about $300 a year. But their rights are few, and they are expected to work very long hours for their money. "During the high season, they can work 23 hours a day," says the saleswoman. "Then in the low season they can relax a little and rest." Any fee the agent wishes from the salaries is up to them, the woman says, and the fishermen should only be paid every six months "in case they fall sick, or violate the contract".

Finally, one of the businessmen appears to ask a question about the welfare of the fishermen. The saleswoman suggests there should be an area on board the ships for the fishermen to live and cook, and says that those who operate machinery should get a bonus. "We hope they can make money to help their families," she says, smiling, and the group nods again.

Hit by the global recession and the mismanagement and neglect of Burma's ruling generals, in power for nearly five decades, the country's farmers and fishermen are suffering as never before, say aid workers.

"The agricultural sector, which employs 80 per cent of the population, is imploding," said Kerren Hedlund, an adviser to a consortium of aid agencies in Rangoon. "People are getting into greater and greater debt to finance a livelihood that's not possible."

In the cities, there is high unemployment, frequent power cuts and ever-climbing prices for food and basic goods. Most people try to scratch a living in the informal economy or the black market.

Lack of opportunity has driven millions of Burma's young people on dangerous journeys to South-east Asia's wealthier nations. They sneak across the border to Thailand, to work illegally as domestic helps, labourers, or in the fish-processing industry. Many young men make perilous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Malaysia, paying agents hundreds of dollars for places on rickety boats. If they make it, construction work is relatively well-paid, but migrant workers run the risk of abuse at the hands of employers and the authorities.

The migrants live simply, and try to send all the money they can back home. "There is a huge exodus of people from Burma," said Debbie Stothard, of the Bangkok-based Burma lobby group Altsean. "It is a land of no opportunity. The only way people can survive is to have a family member overseas, sending money home."

Rebels to combat Burma polls

(Bangkok Post) -The Shan State Army has vowed to fight to oppose the country's general election planned for next year, the group's chief Colonel Yod Serk said on Saturday.

Col Yod Serk said at least 10 out of 17 opposing groups had reached a conclusion to thwart the junta's plans for holding the election because of the regime's lack of transparency and cronyism.

"Even groups who laid down their arms join with us to hinder the voting because the Burmese government lacks transparency and drafts a constitution for its own interest. That's not democratic,'' he said.

He added that the United Wa State Army, known as a close ally of the junta, also opposed the upcoming election.

As long as the power was in the hands of a few military officials and not the people who were still under oppression, Burma faced a dead end for its sought-after democracy, Col Yod Serk said.

"The junta announced the upcoming election, but never let the opposing parties run in the race. What about detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi?,'' he said.

Col Yod Serk said the electorate in Shan state were urged to cast no vote. The state has more than eight million people.

Among them, more than four million are illegible to cast their ballot because they do not have identity documents.

Fight against drug menace with synergy

By Mizzima News

The apparently rising drug production is bad news and a menace not only for Burma, but the whole world. All organizations must tackle this problem with synergy.

The declining prices of crop substitutes, the domino effects of global financial crisis, the falling demand of these substitute crops in Chinese market severely affected the former poppy farmers compelling them to return to their poppy fields because of these irresistible factors.

Burma, the second largest drug producer in the world after Afghanistan, achieved some victories in drug its eradication programme in the past. The sown acreage of poppy was 120,000 hectares at the peak which declined to only one fourth of that amount in 2008. The poppy production also declined to just over 400 metric tons. After achieving all these successes, we are seeing the sign of returning to the previous situation.

A UN survey found that the poppy cultivation rising in eastern and northern Shan State, Kachin and Kayah States. Moreover the current political tension might turn to rearmament of 'United Wa State Army' (UWSA) which will encourage poppy growing in these UWSA controlled areas besides the rising production in ATS drugs such as 'Yaa baaa'.

In fact the drug problem is closely linked with politics in Burma. The military regime, which assumed power by killing peaceful demonstrators brutally in the 1988 nationwide uprising, survived because of drug money of drug kingpins and heavyweights, allowing them free investment and free money laundering. This drug money helped much in building and arming its growing army.

The pressure on Burma for drug eradication is being mounted only after this menace overshadowed not only the US and Europe, but also neighbouring countries, especially China.

The recent big haul of 118 kilograms of heroin from a ship owned by Chinese-Burmese hybrid businessman U Kyaw Sein after the vessel left Asia World port was the result of a tip off by Chinese drug enforcement agencies directly to Burmese Prime Minister's Office.

The port and drug authority recalled the ship to the jetty when it was anchoring at a buoy waiting for the rising tide. They found a lot of white, golden and brown poppy and narcotic drugs packed with newsprint, carbon paper and lead foil in the outermost layer, hidden in container carrying logs and wood conversions.

Two similar tip-offs in the past to Burmese drug enforcement agencies didn't work due to alleged non-cooperation by the Burmese side an evidence of the possible nexus between the authorities and drug gangs, and corruption in junta's administrative machinery.

Now we are witnessing the drug menace reemerging which will take the lives of many people again in Burma. Only the synergy efforts by regional countries can deter money laundering and ensuring the rule of law, an independent justice in the region.

The end of the UN may be at hand

By L. Jayasooriya

(Asian Tribune) -The tough words against Israel used by the Secretary General against Israeli action in Gaza could prompt Israel to tell America that the previous time the Secretary General was an Asian from Myanmar he was anti-Israeli and now when it came for the turn of another Asian he has also demonstrated that he is anti-Israeli and therefore America whether she could do it or not, should either remove him or make sure that in future no Asian will be the Secretary General.

If America that exercises hegemony over other members of the UN except China and Russia and hence in the end controls the UN were to agree then it could be a blessing in disguise because the world that has never been happy about the injustices against humanity that have been allowed to take place all over the world would be forced to look for alternatives. It is therefore not without reason why the whole world had shown so much interest in American elections hoping that Obama would make this planet a better place to live in where justice prevails and nations are not de-stabilized, patriotic leaders killed, puppet regimes installed and Africa, Asia and South America exploited.

If Obama were to take a tough stand on Israeli aggression against the Palestinians and were to make a statement that he is seeking a compromise solution where Israel withdraws from Palestinian lands to an extend that satisfies the neighbouring Muslim countries then that compromise solution can be put into effect whether Israel agrees to it or not even if America physically keeps out of it. If Obama can bring about dignity peace and independence to the Palestinians then the rest of the world would have faith in him to undo American policy that has antagonized the whole world against her but if he fails in the Israeli problem, Asia with the exception of Japan and India would turn their heads away from America and try to see what they could make out with China and Russia.

It would be an easy matter for all Asian countries including China and Russia to form a United Nations of Asian Countries without Japan and India and with the protection of China and Russia, not to interfere with any outside country but to seek protection with strength from the domineering countries of the West. With the hand of Chavez considerably strengthened as a result he could very well seek to form a United Nations of South American countries, again not to interfere with outside countries but to secure independence from America. (JEG's: Unfortunately, China, Russia, Japan and Chavez are a bit short on Human Rights, they must start practicing at home first to make a UN Asian group workable - just an illusion with this thought)

Africa will have to wait a little longer but a beginning would have been made for a natural change in world order which would be stronger than what Obama could bring about single handed even if he had the will to bring about the change for the better that we have interpreted to be not just for America alone but for all peoples of this planet.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Indonesia Criticizes Thailand for Towing Burmese Muslims Out to Sea

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda speaks at a press conference in Jakarta, 06 Feb 2009

Hassan Wirajuda said it was now time for "countries of origin" to stop abusing minorities and refugees, in accordance with principles of human rights set out in the new charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

By Katie Hamann

(Voice of America) -Indonesia has criticized Thailand for towing hundreds of Burmese Muslims out to sea in boats and demanded an end to persecution of minorities in the region. Almost 400 Rohingya refugees have been rescued in boats of the coast of Indonesia in the last month. Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda says the men have a clear case for applying for refugee status.

Speaking on Friday Indonesia's foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda directed several thinly veiled comments towards regional countries guilty of human rights violations.

Without naming Burma, Wirajuda said it was now time for "countries of origin" to stop abusing minorities and refugees, in accordance with principles of human rights set out in the new charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The charter was officially passed into law in December last year.

In a later interview foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah repeated the minister's message. "We look at these problems of the boat people arriving on our shore related to the problems in countries of origins," he said. "That's why we call to countries of origins to respect the rights of the minorities."

And there was also this message for countries that refugees travel to as a transit point.

"We call on the countries were the boats pass, to treat them well and not to allow them to arrive in other regional countries so it becomes a regional problem," said Faizasyah.

A local Acehnese woman helps a Rohingya refugee in a small hospital after being rescued by Acehnese fishermen in Idie Rayeuk, Aceh province, Indonesia, 03 Feb 2009

The Thai government has vigorously defended the decision by its navy to tow more than 1,000 Rohingya men out to sea. Those who have been rescued claim they were deserted without engines and little food or water.

Thailand says the men are economic migrants and a threat to Thai jobs. In recent weeks Indonesia also claimed that the Rohingya had left their country seeking better jobs and could therefore be deported under Indonesian law.

But in the wake of the arrival of a second boatload and renewed claims of torture at the hands of the Burmese military regime, foreign minister Wirajuda said was now considering granting the Rohingya refugee status. He said the United Nations High Commission for Refugees would be invited to assess their situation.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Grassroots activist pressured by police - Than Soe

(DVB)–Grassroots activist Than Soe, who helped local farmers in Magwe’s Aung Lan township report land seizures, has gone into hiding after being threatened with arrest by the police.

Than Soe, a resident of San Kalay village in Aung Lan provided legal support to local farmers seeking justice after their farms were seized by local authorities who were seeking a monopoly on sugar cane production.

A resident of Aung Lan said Than Soe had recently been harassed by township police special information branch officers, who came to his home and threatened to arrest him for having connections with political activists.

"Aung Lan special police officer Nyi Nyi Aung kept going to his house constantly and told family members the authorities wanted to question him as they believed that he had given refuge to 88 Generation Students members hiding from government arrest," said the Aung Lan resident.

"He said the authorities would try to catch him if he didn't turn himself in soon."

The resident said Than Soe had gone into hiding to avoid arrest but Nyi Nyi Aung was still showing up at his house frequently, pressuring his family to turn him in.

"Than Soe, who is a farmer himself, was enthusiastically providing assistance to his fellow farmers who were being abused and now authorities are trying to throw him into prison," he said.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Opposition slams junta’s refusal to free prisoners

(DVB)–Pro-democracy groups have criticised the ruling State Peace and Development Council’s refusal to release political prisoners and accused them of stalling national reconciliation.

During the recent visit of United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the country, Burmese government ministers said prisoners already had access to an appeal process.

Regime leaders also called for sanctions to be lifted to allow Burma to develop.

Arakan League for Democracy leader Aye Thar Aung, who is also secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, said the regime was only focused on its own aims.

"The refusal shows in a way that the SPDC is not interested in national reconciliation," Aye Thar Aung said.

Tate Naing of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said the release of political prisoners was vital for progress in Burma.

"With what is happening now in Burma, the essential thing is the release of political prisoners," he said.

Military and political analyst Htay Aung of the Network for Democracy and Development said "We can say that the SPDC's refusal to take basic steps shows that it has no desire for national reconciliation,” he said.

“They might also be worried that the release of political prisoners might ruin their election plans."

Nyo Ohn Myint of the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area) said the regime’s insistence that sanctions be lifted and refusal to release political prisoner meant there could be no compromise with the opposition.

"There would be no economic sanctions if all political prisoners were released; the blockade arose from their human rights violations,” Nyo Ohn Myint said.

“Therefore the SPDC needs to release all political prisoners," he said.

"It is necessary to negotiate with groups inside the country for the release of political prisoners and to solve the problems of Burma."

Aye Thar Aung said the opposition needed to work together to pressure for the release of political prisoners.

"To solve the problems of the country, the NLD and ethnic parties and armed groups should work together in unity,” he said.

“Instead of just making demands, it is more important to start to do what needs to be done,” he went on.

“It is necessary for the people and political parties to work together to make them release political prisoners."

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

Generation Wave launches new campaign

(DVB)–Underground youth activist group Generation Wave began a new campaign in Rangoon yesterday, spraying graffiti and distributing posters and leaflets calling for a new government.

The group called their campaign Change New Government, which shares the initials CNG with the compressed natural gas stickers the authorities have put on cars.

Generation Wave spokesperson Moe Thway said group members had distributed leaflets in crowded places and put up posters on walls in South Okkalapa, Yankin and Kaba Aye.

"We did it early in the morning, at Dagon-1 high school, on the bridge near the Yuzana Garden Hotel and on the walls of diplomatic residences, and we sprayed paint near the zoo and the armoured carriers battalion base," he said.

Moe Thway said the project was intended in part to make fun of the government.

"The military government put CNG stickers on cars; they forced people to change from petrol to CNG,” he said.

“This is a way of raising awareness by using their own brand, and changing the meaning to make people think that they need a new government whenever they see the CNG sign."

Moe Thway said that the new generation in Burma wanted to bring about change and a better future.

Generation Wave was formed on 9 October 2007 and is made up of the younger generation of students and artists.

Twenty members of the group are currently in prison, including hip-hop artist Zayar Thaw of the band Acid.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

Indonesia backtracks on Burmese migrants

(The Age) -Indonesia says it will consider granting refugee status to hundreds of Muslim migrants from Burma allegedly abused and dumped at sea by Thai security forces.

In an about-turn from the government's previous line that the Rohingya men were economic migrants, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda admitted they could have claims to refugee protection.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) would be allowed access to the roughly 400 men who were rescued in desperate conditions off northern Sumatra in two boats in recent weeks, he said, reversing an earlier refusal.

"We did not allow the UNHCR earlier because our early findings were that they (the boat people) were economic migrants," he said on Friday.

He said Indonesia now accepted the possibility the migrants "faced some threats in the legal system from their countries of origin due to religious politics, among others."

"We do not reject that the boat people in Sabang and Idi Rayeuk left their countries due to reasons that were more political in nature," he added.

His comments will likely rile fellow Southeast Asian countries Burma and Thailand, which have denied any wrongdoing after boats full of migrants began appearing in Indian and Indonesian waters last month.

The men from mainly Buddhist Burma's minority Rohingya Muslim community have said they were among about 1,000 migrants who landed illegally on Thai territory late last year.

They say they were beaten for days by Thai security forces and then towed out to sea in around nine engineless boats and set adrift with little food and water.

About 850 have been found but rights groups fear that scores and possibly hundreds could still be missing at sea, feared dead.

© 2009 AFP

A Journey to another World

Scenes of everyday life in the Karenni Refugee Camp-1, near Mae Hong Son.
(Photo: Kyaw Zwa Moe/The Irrawaddy)

By KYAW ZWA MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Mae Hong Son, Thailand – The journey took only 30 minutes or so but it brought me into a different world. The old motorcycle, bouncing along on a rough, unpaved path, sent up clouds of dirt that penetrated my mask and scarf. It was a rollercoaster ride, through steep mountain slopes that dropped away on either side.

Small groups of people made way for us and children looked enviously at the motorcycle, as if dreaming that one day they perhaps could also drive one home.

The snarling machine maneuvered its way stubbornly upwards until another world opened up before me. A world of tiny huts, people carrying bamboo and timber poles, others waiting for their rations, children in soiled clothes playing in the dirt in front of their makeshift school.

Many of the adults wore longyi, the traditional Burmese sarong, and their lips were stained scarlet from chewing betel nuts.

Thousands of huts huddled on the hillsides, cut off from the outside world. No permanent building was to be seen, no power lines, no telephones, no paved roads, only a few motorcycles negotiating the rough paths.

Welcome to Karenni Refugee Camp-1, located only 15 km from Mae Hong Son, a bustling resort town in northern Thailand. The camp houses more than 20,000 ethnic Karenni from Burma’s Karenni (Kayah) State in eastern Burma. A further 4,000 Karenni refugees live in a second settlement, Camp-2.

The camps—and eight others along the Thai-Burmese border—are products of the decades-long rule of Burma’s oppressive military regime. More than 148,000 refugees live in the 10 camps, which are supported by the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, a non-governmental humanitarian relief and development agency financed by 11 charities and other donors.

Across the nearby border, other Karenni refugees—estimated at the end of 2007 to number some 81,000—are living rough or in relocation sites, classed as internally displaced persons, or IDPs. Fighting between government forces and ethnic rebel groups such as the Karenni National Progressive Party uprooted them and sent them seeking the safety of the jungle.

More than 30 percent of the 300,000 Karenni population are refugees or IDPs. As today’s IDPs are the refugees of tomorrow, Camp-1—like the others along the Thai-Burmese border—is preparing to take in more in the future.

The refugees have dramatic and heartbreaking stories to tell.

A teacher told me how his brother was arrested and tortured to death by government troops. He died in the early 2000s shortly after visiting his brother in Camp-1.

“Our family lost him,” said the soft-talking teacher. “I felt so sorry for my brother.”

Many young people in their 20s know no other world than the camp. They were born and grew up here, educated in the camp schools and starting families of their own. A few had managed to visit Thai towns beyond the camp gates.

Kay Mehl, 23, was born in the jungle, daughter of a Karenni rebel soldier. She can’t even imagine what her homeland looks like. “I’ve never seen the Salween river,” she said—referring to one of Burma’s biggest rivers, which runs close to the border.

As hope fades of ever seeing her homeland, Kay Mehl wants to be accepted for resettlement in the US.

Her aim is shared by many refugees. Five hundred residents of Camp-1 have been resettled in western countries so far, while others have been waiting for up to 20 years—living in the hope that one day their turn will come.

Young people were happily playing chinlone and football in the late afternoon sunshine as I left the camp. The images and the questions played in my mind on the rough ride back to the comforts of Mae Hong Son—how long will they have to wait before they lead normal lives, how long will the refugee camps be in existence? How long, indeed, until Burma’s leaders create a country where every citizen can live happily in peace and freedom?

A peek into brutal Burma

By: Nicholas D Kristof

Bangkok Post - Before entering Burma from Thailand, you scrub your bags of any hint that you might be engaged in some pernicious evil, such as espionage, journalism or promotion of human rights. Then you exit from the Thai town of Mae Sot and walk across the gleaming white "friendship bridge" to the Burmese immigration post on the other side. Entering Burma, you adjust your watch: Burma is 30 minutes ahead - and 50 years behind.

Already Burma's government is one of the most brutal in the world, and in recent months it has become even more repressive. A blogger, Nay Phone Latt, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. A prominent comedian, Zarganar, was sentenced to 59 years. A former student leader, Min Ko Naing, a survivor of years of torture and solitary confinement, has received terms of 65 years so far and faces additional sentences that may reach a total of 150 years.

"Politically, things are definitely getting worse," said David Mathieson, an expert on Burma for Human Rights Watch living on the Thai-Burmese border.

"They've just sent hundreds of people who should be agents of change to long prison terms."

A new American presidency is a useful moment to review policy toward Burma, and the truth is that the West's approach has failed. The Burmese junta has ruled despotically since 1988, ignoring democratic elections. Since then, sanctions have had zero effect in moderating the regime.

I have vast respect for Aung San Suu Kyi, the extraordinary woman who won a Nobel Peace Prize for standing up to the country's thugs. But the best use of her courage right now would be to accept that the trade sanctions she advocated have accomplished nothing more than further impoverishing her own people. As with Cuba and North Korea, isolating a venal regime usually just hurts the innocent and helps the thugs stay in power. (JEG's: can anybody explain that the sactions have always been against the generals' pockets not the people)

Instead, the best bet is financial sanctions that specifically target individuals close to the regime - and, even more, a clampdown on Burma's imports of arms. "It would be very difficult to get an arms embargo through the Security Council, but that's something that really goes to the heart of any military regime," Mathieson said. "You lock them out of the tools of their own self-aggrandisement and repression."

President George W Bush tried to help Burmese dissidents, but he had zero international capital. The Obama administration, in contrast, has a chance to lead an international initiative to curb Burmese arms imports and bring the regime to the negotiating table.

Burma's weapons have come from or through China, Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Singapore, and Russia is even selling Burma's dictators a nuclear reactor, Mathieson said.

In crossing from Thailand to Burma, you pass through a time warp. You leave the bustle and dynamism of Thailand and encounter a stagnating backwater of antique cars and shacks beside open sewers. I found it difficult to interview people in Burma, because I was travelling as a tourist with two of my kids (and my wife is sick of me getting our kids arrested with me in dictatorships). But we dropped in on the Myawaddy hospital, which was so understaffed that no one stopped us as we marched through wards of neglected patients.

The most flourishing business we saw on the Burmese side belonged to a snake charmer who set up temporary shop outside a temple. The moment a crowd gathered, an armed soldier ran over in alarm - and then relaxed when he saw that the only threat to public order was a cobra.

In Mae Sot, Thailand, I visited with former Burmese political prisoners, like the courageous Bo Kyi. They are at risk of being killed by Burmese government assassins, yet they are campaigning aggressively for change. Equally inspiring are the Free Burma Rangers, who risk their lives to sneak deep into the country for months at a time to provide medical care and document human rights abuses.

One gutsy American working with the group, who asked that his name not be used for security reasons, communicated with me by satellite phone from his hiding place deep inside Burma. He knows that the Burmese government will kill him if it catches him, yet he stays to gather photos and other evidence of how Burmese soldiers are drafting ethnic Karen villagers for forced labour and are raping women and girls. One recent case described by the Free Burma Rangers involved a 7-year-old girl who was raped, and then killed.

The courage of these people seeking a new Burma is infectious and inspiring. In this new US administration, let's help them - and see if with new approaches we can finally topple one of the most odious regimes in the world.

Nicholas D Kristof is a New York Times columnist.

Suffer the Rohingya

EDITORIAL - Japan Times

About 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar. They are a Muslim group in a Buddhist state. They are not recognized as one of Myanmar's official minorities, which means they are subject to persecution and worse in that army-run dictatorship. Not surprisingly, thousands of Rohingya have fled their homeland. Officially, some 28,000 Rohingya live in refugee camps in Bangladesh; that number is dwarfed by the estimated 200,000 living illegally there.

The Rohingya's precarious existence makes them easy prey for predators of all sorts. Human traffickers promise them better lives outside Myanmar — for a fee. The exodus to countries throughout Southeast Asia exposes them to different dangers. In recent weeks, some 200 Rohingya have been discovered adrift at sea. They tell of being towed into international waters by the Thai military, with engines sabotaged. Hundreds more are thought to have drowned.

After initially denying any involvement, the Thai military admitted towing the Rohingya out to sea, but with food, water and functioning engines. The military also deny charges of beating refugees before exiling them. In the face of growing international criticism, the Thai government has asked the U.N. High Commission for Refugees to inspect the refugees it has in custody. While rejecting allegations of Thai misconduct, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva blamed traffickers for the plight of the Rohingya and has called on all countries of the region to help deal with this problem.

Mr. Abhisit is right about one thing: While the number of Rohingya intercepted in Thai waters has jumped fourfold in two years — from 1,225 in 2006 to 4,886 last year — this is not just a Thai problem. Rohingya refugees are found in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, and refugees say they would rather die than go home.

Using Orwellian logic, Myanmar even denies that the refugees originate there: "Rohingya people are not among Myanmar's more than 100 ethnic minority groups." Nonetheless, the junta has said it will tighten its borders to prevent more people from fleeing the country. That is an ominous promise. The fate of the Rohingya is another line in the indictment against the junta that rules Myanmar. That does not absolve the rest of the world from doing more to help this embattled minority.

UN calls for Myanmar talks

(Straits Times) -UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon is appealing to Myanmar's military rulers and opposition to resume early, substantive negotiations without preconditions, his spokesman said on Thursday.

Michele Montas said the secretary general issued the appeal after being briefed in New Delhi by his special adviser Ibrahim Gambari on the outcome of his four-day visit to Myanmar which ended on Tuesday.

She added that Mr Ban, who was in the Indian capital on the last leg of a two-week swing through Europe, Africa and Asia, looked forward 'to building on the Mr Gambari visit to further foster national dialogue and reconciliation' in Myanmar.

Mr Ban 'calls on the government and opposition to resume substantive dialogue without preconditions and without further delay,' Ms Montas said.

Mr Gambari left Myanmar on Tuesday after a visit aimed at nudging the regime toward dialogue with the democratic opposition, though he failed to secure a meeting with the top junta leadership.

Opposition leader and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most the past 19 years, met Mr Gambari on Monday. She had refused to see him on his previous visit to Myanmar in August.

Less than a day after Mr Gambari left the military-ruled country, Myanmar state media accused Aung San Suu Kyi of being unrealistic, leaving little room for the diplomatic maneuvering the UN envoy is seeking. -- AFP

Jolie visits camp for refugees from Myanmar

Angelina Jolie UN Goodwill Ambassador

BANGKOK (IHT-AP): Angelina Jolie's day job is acting, but since 2001 she has been playing another real-life role: advocate for the world's refugees. This week she took her show to Thailand.

As a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees, she is trying to leverage her celebrity status to put the spotlight on refugees from military-ruled Myanmar, including boat-people from that country's Rohingya minority.

The Rohingya, denied citizenship in their native land, recently drew the world's attention when boatloads who tried to land in Thailand after a treacherous sea journey were towed back to sea and cast adrift by the Thai Navy. Indian officials, who rescued some, believe hundreds perished.

But the Rohingya, from western Myanmar, represent just a part of Myanmar's refugee exodus.

For decades, hundreds of thousands of others — most from other ethnic minorities — have fled by land across the country's eastern border to Thailand, which has accorded most sanctuary.

Most are civilians caught up in fighting between Myanmar government troops and ethnic insurgents. Faced with the risks of war, many flee to Thai refugee camps, where they are cooped up for years on end with little chance of resettlement in third countries and scant incentive to return to their homes.

On Wednesday, Jolie slapped a bright blue U.N. baseball cap on her head and toured the bamboo huts making up the Ban Mai Nai Soi camp, home to 18,111 mainly ethnic Karenni refugees, just two miles (three kilometers) from the Myanmar border, near the northern Thai town of Mae Hong Son. There are between 116,000 and 135,000 refugees in total at camps along the border.

Jolie, 33, sat down in a two-room house on stilts and talked with a female refugee, according to an account of the visit given Thursday in a press release by the U.N. refugee agency. She then met orphans at a boarding school and heard from teenage girls worried that they might be sent back to Myanmar

Jolie asked one 26-year-old woman, Pan Sein, whether she was afraid when she made her perilous journey last year from her home village in Myanmar's Kayah State.

"Yes, I was scared," Pan Sein replied. "It was dangerous to flee, but even more dangerous to stay in my village."

It can also be dangerous in the camp. Ban Mai Nai Soi was attacked by the Myanmar military in 1996, 1997 and 1998. There was fighting just across the border in 2005, and land mines spot the surrounding area.

Jolie is no stranger to the area. She visited one of the other refugee camps along this border in 2004 on another of her missions that have taken her to more than 20 countries to comfort the unwanted.

"I was saddened to meet a 21-year-old woman who was born in a refugee camp, who has never even been out of the camp and is now raising her own child in a camp," Jolie said. "With no foreseeable chance that these refugees will soon be able to return to Burma (Myanmar), we must find some way to help them work and become self-reliant."

Jolie also raised her voice on behalf of the even more neglected Rohingya, whose status is much more precarious than the refugees at these border camps. The UNHCR was only recently able to gain access to 78 being detained in southern Thailand who arrived after a dangerous journey through the Andaman Sea.

Thailand recognizes most at the border camps as refugees with legitimate fear of returning to their homeland, but does not accord the Muslim Rohingyas the same status, and seeks to send them away.

"Visiting Ban Mai Nai Soi and seeing how hospitable Thailand has been to 111,000 mostly Karen and Karenni refugees over the years makes me hope that Thailand will be just as generous to the Rohingya refugees who are now arriving on their shores," Jolie said.

"I also hope the Rohingya situation stabilizes and their life in Myanmar improves so the people do not feel the desperate need to flee, especially considering how dangerous their journey has become," she added. "As with all people, they deserve to have their human rights respected."

Other Rohingya boat people have turned up in Indonesia. Thailand has proposed a regional consultation to come up with a solution to their plight.

___

On the Net:

Jolie's work for UNHCR:

http://www.unhcr.org/help/3f94ff664.html

___

Thailand Burma Border Consortium:

http://www.tbbc.org/index.htm

Myanmar's unwanted boat people

By Najad Abdullahi in Kuala Lumpur
Al Jazeera News

Thai authorties are expected to deport Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar [Reuters]

While the Thai authorities continue to face allegations of abuse of Muslim Rohingya migrants, the policy of rejecting and forcefully repatriating asylum seekers landing on Thai soil is not new.

But increased media attention to the plight of the Rohingya and images of Thai soldiers stood guard over rows of bedraggled men have highlighted the desperation of a minority group effectively rendered stateless by the Myanmar government.

According to Kraisak Choonhavan, a Thai government official, between 2004 and 2008, at least 4,866 Rohingya arrived in Thailand, many of whom have since been repatriated to Myanmar.

In December alone, nearly a thousand arrived along Thailand's Andaman coastline.

Travelling in rickety wooden boats from Myanmar, the winter months when the tides are at their lowest are viewed as the best time to set sail.

Human Rights Watch says the orders to deport the Rohingya are part of a broader policy on the part of Thai authorities aimed at keeping the stateless ethnic group out of Thailand.

"This is not a one-off thing where the authorities decide to deport who they see as illegal immigrants," Sunai Phasuk, a Thailand and Myanmar researcher, told Al Jazeera.

"There is a policy aimed at the Rohingya... a directive given from higher-ranking officials."

'Separatist links'

Rohingya migrants are also facing the prospect of deportation from Indonesia [Reuters]

Sunai is referring to clams by the Thai military that the Rohingya may join the Muslim separatist movement in the country's south – a conflict which has claimed more than 3,000 lives over the past five years.

Al Jazeera has spoken to members of a civilian militia recruited and trained by the Thai military to monitor the movements of Rohingya refugees and to round up illegal immigrants.

"We practise how to shoot guns and train after dark because sometimes the Rohingya come out at night by boat and run up into the hills," said Saman Manee Jansuk, a local resident living near the Thailand-Myanmar border

"We don't want them coming here."

A senior Thai military officer overseeing the treatment of the Rohingya has himself been heavily involved in previous and sometimes controversial military operations in the south.

Colonel Manat Kongpan, now chief of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) in the southern province of Ranong, was one of the officers charged over the deaths of 28 Muslim men at the Krue Se mosque siege in the town of Pattani in 2004.

Repeated requests for an interview with Manat were refused, but he has been quoted as saying that Thailand has "a duty to protect itself".

It is unclear though why ISOC, a shadowy army division revived after the 2006 military coup, has become involved with handling the case of the Rohingya, rather than the Thai immigration or border authorities who normally process migrants.

'No evidence'

Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, a non-governmental organisation documenting the plight of the Rohingya, told Al Jazeera that she has seen no evidence that Rohingya migrants have joined separatist fighters in southern Thailand.

"There is no evidence they have joined any movement. These people are starving and simply want to feed their families.

"They could not do this in Myanmar, and many found themselves destitute in refugee camps in Bangladesh," she said.

"They do not care about some ideology – political or religious."

But according to a leading Thai forensics expert, "explosives residue" was found on one of the Rohingya boats that landed on Thailand's Andaman coast in December.

Dr Porntip Rojanasunan, a forensic pathologist working for the ministry of justice, was asked by the Thai military to examine the contents of some of the boats, specifically to examine whether the refugees may be linked to fighters in the south, and if they held any objects that may be a "security threat".

Explosives

"There were substances and chemicals found that can be used in explosives ... there was actually quite a significant level," she told Al Jazeera.

Asked whether the traces could be directly linked to the separatist movement in the south, she said: "I can only give the authorities what my results of the tests were."

"But I am aware of the factor that these boats may have been used for other purposes in their countries of origin ... before they were used by the refugees."

"The Thai authorities may question them about these findings," she added.

Parakorn Priyakorn, of the Islamic Centre of Thailand, told Al Jazeera the policies of previous governments towards southern Thailand, had created "an atmosphere of suspicion" towards immigrants of Muslim background.

"Just because a group of Muslims come to this country, on their way to a better life, does not mean they will fight the government of Thailand," he said.

"I understand that we cannot handle so many migrants, but we also need to consider human rights issues."

The official justification given by the Thai government for deporting the Rohingya is that the country is simply unable to handle the influx of immigrants.

"We cannot afford carrying the burden of taking care of another 200,000-300,000 people," Suthep Thaugsuban, the deputy prime minister, told the Reuters news agency earlier this month.

"They come from Myanmar and that is where they will be deported to," he said.

But the Myanmar government has denied that the migrants recently seen arriving in Thailand, India and Indonesia could have come from its territory because the Rohingya are not among its officially recognised ethnic groups.

'No place'

According to the UNHCR, at least 230,000 Rohingya now live a precarious, stateless existence in Bangladesh alone, having fled their homes in Myanmar's North Rakhine state.

Those who have not fled are restricted from travel inside the country, while human rights groups say Rohingya face abuses by the Myanmar military that make the recent crackdown on democracy protests seem pale in comparison.

Gabriele Marranci, professor of anthropology of Islam at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera the main reason the Rohingya are "unwanted" in Thailand, and also facing the prospect of deportation from Indonesia, is that they "lack strategic value".

"There seems to be a consensus among countries neighbouring Myanmar to also treat the Rohingya as a stateless group which has no place in their societies," he said.

"It is interesting to note that other groups, such as the Palestinians who are fighting for a state, and recognition, are given attention primarily attributed to their strategic significance in the Middle East; but a minority group such as the Rohingya, who are unable and unwilling to start a conflict in the region, are systematically treated as gypsies to be pushed out into the ocean."

Who are the Rohingya?

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group from the northern Rakhine state of western Myanmar, formerly known as Arakan state.

Their history dates to the early 7th century, when Arab Muslim traders settled in the area.

They are physically, linguistically and culturally similar to South Asians, especially Bengali people.

According to Amnesty International, they suffer from human rights violations under the Myanmar military government, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result.

The vast majority of them have effectively been denied Myanmar citizenship.

In 1978 an estimated 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh.

Approximately 20,000 Rohingya are living in UN refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Detained editor, reporter of Rangoon-based journal acquitted - Khin Maung Aye

By Nem Davies

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Editor and a reporter of Rangoon-based 'News Watch' weekly journal, have been acquitted, after being detained for over two months in the notorious Insein prison.

Editor Khin Maung Aye and reporter Manaw Tun of the 'News Watch' weekly were both charged at the Pabedan Township Court in early November, for publishing a report on the corruption of judges, which allegedly mentioned wrong articles of the Criminal Code Acts.

A source close to the weekly said, both the editor and reporter were arrested on charges of insulting the court with their report, which allegedly mentioned wrong articles of the criminal codes.

"They published a report on the corruption of judges. In the story they used a quote from a legal journal to cite the article with which the judges can be charged. And authorities said the articles were wrong, and charged them for insulting the court," the source said.

"But since the charges were not acceptable they were produced a number of times in the court, but finally they were acquitted," the source added.

Editor Khin Maung Aye and Manaw Tun have been working with the weekly since its inception. According to the literary community in Rangoon, the weekly is considering re-hiring both the editor and reporter for their original posts.

Rights & Wrongs: Burma's Rohingya, Human Trafficking, and More

Juliette Terzieff
World Politics Review

ROHINGYA FIND MORE CRUELTY AFTER FLIGHT FROM BURMA -- Thailand's indifferent and criminal response to the plight of hundreds of Rohingya refugees has stunned the human rights community and highlights the world's continued failure to effectively protect the rights of refugee and asylum seekers.

In the course of the last month, three boatloads of Rohingya males have washed ashore in Indonesia and India telling similar tales of beatings and abandonment by Thai authorities. Thailand has admitted rounding up the men and dragging them out to sea, but says its army did not torture them, and supplied food and water.

Over 1,000 men and boys are believed to have gone through this harrowing process, with nearly half of them still missing and presumed to be dead at sea.

"It starts in Burma, but it spreads pretty much across the board. [The Rohingyas'] position is tenuous throughout the region. It's becoming a regional problem, and there are no easy answers," Joel Charney of Refugees International told the Toronto Star.

Rights groups are calling on the region's governments to help the Rohingya, who Refugees International calls Burma's "subjugated" people, and allow United Nations aid agencies access to the men.

"The Rohingya's situation has reached a critical stage over the last two months. The Thai government must stop forcibly expelling Rohingyas and provide them with immediate humanitarian assistance and cease any plans to proceed with more expulsions," Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific director said in a statement.

The Rohingya, who are Muslim and number around 2 million, say they are fleeing the continuous abuse and discrimination heaped on them by Burma's ruling military junta. The Burmese junta refuses to recognize them as an official minority, denies them citizenship, requires them to ask official permission to marry, forces them to pay heavy taxes in the event of a death or birth and restricts their movement inside Burma at all times, according to rights defenders.

Over the last two decades, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Burma, seeking shelter in countries across the region, including Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh (home to the largest Rohingya refugee population). Thailand and Indonesia have both said they do not consider the Rohingya to be refugees but economic migrants to be deported as soon as possible. Bangladesh has accepted more than 200,000 Rohingya as refugees in the last two decades, but forces them to live in camps cut off from the general population and with little hope for a normal life.

Thirteen 88 Student Activists Transferred to New Prisons

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Thirteen political prisoners who are connected to the dissident group, the 88 Generation Students, have been transferred from Insein Prison in Rangoon to prisons in distant areas of the country, according to Burmese prison officials.

Insein Prison sources said 13 political prisoners were transferred on Friday morning.

Two female activists, Lay Lay Mon and Nobel Aye, also known as Hnin May Aung, were transferred to Shwe Bo Prison and Monywa prisons in Sagaing Division.

Thein Than Tun, also known as Ko Ko Gyi, was sent to Thandwe Prison and Zaw Htet Ko Ko was sent to Kyaukpyu Prison in Arakan State.

Kyaw Zin Tun was transferred to Yamaethin Prison; Aung Theik Htwe was sent to Madalay Prison; and San San Tin, a female activist, was sent to Meiktila Prison in Mandalay Division.

Chit Ko Lin was transferred to Pakokku Prison in Magway Division.

Kyi Than was moved to Pyapon Prison; two female dissidents, Nwe Hnin Yee, also know as Noe Noe, and Aye Thida were sent to Maubin Prison and Hinthada prisons in Irrawaddy Division

Saw Myo Min Naing was sent to Thaton Prison in Mon State.

Another female activist, Tharapyi Theint Theint Tun, was moved to Prome Prison in Pegu Division.

According to dissident sources in Rangoon, 36 people connected to the 88 Generation Students were charged and sentenced to up to 65 years imprisonment at the end of last year. Prominent student activists Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Htay Kyawe and Pyone Cho were among the 36.

Each of the 36 activists was sent to a different prison. The transfers were completed on Friday.

Transferring political prisoners to distant prisons is one of the tactics to further punish prisoners and increase the burden on their families and friends. The current military junta has used the tactic since 1990, according to human rights groups.

As result, many families of prisoners cannot afford to visit their loved ones, since some may be 1,000 miles away from a prisoner’s hometown.

Surviving on a Little Hope and 33 US Cents a Day

Saw Ner has good reason to smile—he’s been selected for resettlement in the US. (Photo: Jim Andrews/The Irrawaddy)

Some have no legs. Others lack hands or arms. About half are blind. But all these landmine victims have one vital faculty in common—a voice. And what a voice!

By JIM ANDREWS
The Irrawaddy News

The teak rafters of their ramshackle quarters in Thailand’s Mae La refugee camp seem to tremble as they belt out Karen songs in an impromptu concert for a group of foreign visitors.

They’re songs of hope and defiance—hope for a better future, defiance in the face of the hardships that fate has dealt them.

More than a dozen landmine victims, scarred by Burma’s long-running war between the Karen National Union and the Burmese Army, are housed in this section of Thailand’s largest refugee camp, Mae La.

“They love to sing,” said our Karen guide. “What else is left for them apart from music?”

Mae La is a small city of more than 40,000 people, housed in teak and bamboo dwellings—some of them little more than huts—crammed into a 4 square km, mountainous corner of Thailand’s Tak province, 57 km (34 mi) from the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sot.

In other circumstances, this would be a beautiful spot. The jungle-clad valley is overlooked by dramatic mountain peaks that hold a visitor in awe. But fear, not awe, is what the people of Mae La feel when they contemplate those mountains, which mark the border with Burma, just 8 km (5 mi) to the west.

Twice in its 25 year history, Mae La has come under attack by Burmese regulars and forces of the regime-backed Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. There’s no guarantee that the Thai Army would rush to Mae La’s defense should Burma again train its guns on this symbol of resistance to tyranny.

For now, the only Thai military presence in evidence near the camp are the Rangers who man checkpoints on the main access road from Mae Sot. Thailand leaves it to the hand of charity to care for the refugees of Mae La.

Eleven international non-government agencies, grouped under the direction of the Thai Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), finance Mae La and 10 other camps, providing food, shelter and essential services for more than 148,000 refugees, on an annual budget of US $23 million.

Soaring commodity prices, a strengthening Thai baht and the pressures on donors because of the global financial crisis have taken a heavy toll on the work of the TBBC, which now fights on a daily basis to keep its refugees adequately fed and healthy.

The meager rations allotted daily to each refugee have been cut, and such small luxuries as soap have been dropped altogether. Even mosquito nets, essential items in primitive homes with unglazed windows and patched walls and roofs, are in short supply.

The daily basket of provisions contains just enough to meet the minimum energy intake for healthy living—2,100 calories. There’s only room in the tight budget for rations costing a total of less than 12 baht (33 US Cents) per head—rice, flour (fortified with minerals and vitamins), fish paste, protein-rich mung beans, cooking oil, salt, sugar and dried chilies. That’s it—no meat, fresh fish or any of the small delicacies taken for granted in the Thai villages that dot this verdant part of western Thailand.

Exceptions are made for undernourished children, pregnant women and nursing mothers, hospital patients and people suffering from HIV-AIDS and TB. Their diet is supplemented by eggs, milk powder, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Our party, led by Sally Steen of the British-based charity Projects to Support Refugees from Burma, brought sweet biscuits, some other simple treats, soap and coffee. As we left, the tables had been laid for lunch—individual plates of the freshly unpacked biscuits, each with a plastic beaker of water.

The grinding routine and the boredom of camp life take their toll on family life. Suicides are no rarity and domestic violence is a common problem.

Yet rays of hope do penetrate the dusty pall of poverty that hangs over the camp. Schools somehow manage against all the odds to offer young people an education that could provide them with the opportunity to exchange camp life for a worthwhile existence in the outside world.

A resettlement program was approved by the Thai government in 2005, and by July 2008 more than 14,000 Mae La residents had left for new lives abroad, most of them in the US. A further 5,000 are expected to be resettled this year.

Among them is Saw Ner, 56, who will be joining his three sons in the US state of Nebraska. He lost his left arm and most of the other when forced by regime troops to help clear landmines in a border battlefield.

“We’ll miss him,” said our guide. “He has a great voice.”

Thursday, February 5, 2009

UN discusses with Thailand to find solution for Rohingya boatpeople

By Solomon

New Delhi (Mizzima) - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand said it is discussing with the Thai government on a possible solution for 78 Rohingya boat people, who were arrested by the Thai authorities and charged for illegally entering the country.

Kitty Mckinsey, the UNHCR spokesperson in Bangkok said, the agency have been granted access to the detained boatpeople and are now trying to find a solution for them.

"We are working with the Thai government to try to figure out what the possible solutions are," Mckinsey said.

She said the agency is briefing the Thai government on their findings about the boatpeople, but decline to reveal on the situation of the boatpeople.

Thailand after weeks of request put forward by the UN Refugee Agency, have allowed access to the 78 Rohingya boatpeople, who are charged for illegally entry.

Despite of several Rohingya boatpeople rescued from drifting in the Andaman Sea, fresh batches of boatpeople have been reportedly rescued this week in Indonesian coast.

According to reports, survivors told Indonesian officials that they were arrested by Thai authorities, who then towed them away into the sea after sabotaging the engine of their boat, a similar claim that earlier batches of boatpeople have stated.

But Thailand has categorically denied abusing the boatpeople and removing the engine of their boats, though it admits that it cannot allow migrants to enter illegally.

Despite Thailand's denial, about 450 Rohingya survivors, those rescued by Indian Navy in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, reveal that they have been abused by Thai soldiers.

An official at the Andaman Island also told Mizzima at the time of rescue the Rohingya were found drifting without engines in their boats.

Since December last year, hundreds of Rohingya boat people were rescued at India's Andaman Island, Indonesia's Sabang Island and in the coasts of Thailand.

When asked of the possibilities of setting up a refugee camp for the Rohingya boatpeople, UNHCR's spokesperson Mckinsey said, "We have not had any plans to set up refugee camp," brushing off Thailand's fears of having to deal with yet a new refugee camp.

"We are just trying to get basic facts about them like who they are? and where they come from?," said Mckinsey adding that it is still uncertain for the UN refugee agency to provide international protection.

"We don't even know whether they will apply for asylum," said Mckinsey.

Thailand, earlier this week, have voice its opposition to allow a new refugee camp to be open in its territory and about 500 people demonstrated on Tuesday.

But Mckinsey said, it is against the principle of humanitarian norms to deport back those boatpeople to their origin, if they could prove of well-founded fear.

"Our position all over the world is no one from Northern Rakhaing [Arakan] State should be force to return home against their will," she said.

Amnesty international (AI), meanwhile, said Rohingya, Muslim minorities from Northern Arakan state, will continue to flee to neighboring countries as persecution by the Burmese military government are still ongoing. So, neighboring countries should help them by following the international human rights law.

"They need to provide humanitarian assistance, they need to feed and treat these people, and UNHCR needs to determine whether or not they are refugees," said Benjamin Zawacki , Amnesty International's Burma and Thailand researcher.

He said, the boatpeople's issue have become a regional issue of six countries and Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh needs to come together to solve the problem. The root courses of the crisis clearly lie with the Burmese authority.

AI also called on the Thai government to investigate accuses against its army over abusing the rights of the Rohingya.

Kyaw Thu’s Transfer Questions Junta’s Intentions

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Two days ago, Kyaw Thu was a deputy foreign minister who traveled to the Irrawaddy delta region with visiting UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari. In Thursday’s issue of The New Light of Myanmar he is described as chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board, considered a minister level but inactive post.

The New Light of Myanmar report was accompanied by a photo of Kyaw Thu at Wednesday’s observances of the 61st anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day in Rangoon.

The apparent reshuffle confused international observers and rang alarm bells within UN agencies and INGOs operating inside Burma.

Why the consternation? Kyaw Thu is chairman of the Tripartite Core Group (TCG) formed after Cyclone Nargis to coordinate aid to the stricken regions and grouping Burma, the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Three representatives from three Burmese ministries were originally appointed to the group—Kyaw Thu, the Acting Director-General of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Resettlement, Aung Tun Khaing, and the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Than Aye.

The purpose of the TCG is to act as an Asean-led mechanism to facilitate trust, confidence and cooperation between Burma and the international community in the urgent humanitarian relief and recovery work after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma.

Since the formation of the TCG, Kyaw Thu has been seen meeting foreign dignitaries and jetting around Asean nations. Despite being a former military commander and a loyal supporter of the regime, he earned popularity among international non-government organizations, UN agencies and Asean itself, where he was praised for being cooperative and helpful.

This is not the first time Kyaw Thu has unexpectedly been shifted from one post to another. He was made an ambassador after a dispute with one powerful military commander, taking charge of embassies in South Africa and India. Ambassador postings are considered a demotion in Burma.

It is still unclear, however, whether Kyaw Thu will be relinquishing his position at the head of the TCG.

Termsak Chalermpalanupap, an official in the Asean Secretary-General Office, told The Irrawaddy by e-mail that, as far as the office understands, Kyaw Thu will remain TCG Chairman, at least until the upcoming launch of the Post-Nargis Recovery Planning (PONREP) Report in Bangkok on February 9.

The TCG agreement between the Burmese regime, the UN and Asean expires in June. A Cyclone Nargis donor meeting is to be held next week in Bangkok.

Burmese analysts said that Kyaw Thu’s future with the TCG is uncertain because, in his new position, he no longer works as a minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry is said to be plagued by rivalry and personal conflict. Foreign minister Nyan Win and Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint, neither of whom speak good English and who lack international experience, are at loggerheads with Kyaw Thu.

Ohn Maung, a veteran politician in Rangoon, said Kyaw Thu was kicked upstairs because he was too exposed, too smart and too popular with foreigners and within Asean.

The xenophobic regime usually suspects ministers and officials who are close to the international community and who are often purged or sent into retirement.

“The generals demand a loyal guy, not a smart one,” said Ohn Maung.

An expert with the TCG said anonymously: “If the regime still wants him at the TCG, he could continue the post. So wait and see.”

According to INGO workers operating in Burma, Kyaw Thu readily approved visas for foreign relief workers who wanted to assist Cyclone Nargis victims.

A Scandinavian aid worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that INGOs and international donors had worked effectively with Kyaw Thu.

If Kyaw Thu were now discarded “this is not good news for INGOs,” he said. “INGOs and the UN working in Burma hope that the door will open more and more. This is not a good sign.”

Leader of pro-junta group resigns

By Than Htike Oo

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Thein Tin Aung, second-in-command of a Student and Youth Organization, which usually criticizes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party and which is also contesting the 2010 general elections, has resigned from his post.

Thein Tin Aung, Vice-Chairman of the alleged pro-junta '88 Generation Student and Youth Organization (Union of Myanmar),' has put in his papers.

"I tendered my resignation letter to Ko Aye Lwin on grounds of my deteriorating health, and suggested allowing someone, who can replace me and work energetically in politics," Thein Tin Aung told Mizzima.

Despite citing medical reasons for quitting the post, a person close to him said that there were some differences among the top leadership in the organization.

"There are some tactical differences among them. It is the usual phenomenon in this organization, in certain tactical matters," he said.

He did not elaborate but said that the Vice-Chairman would not be with the party much longer.

However, Chairman Aye Lwin, when contacted by Mizzima, denied the information that Thein Tin Aung had ever submitted his resignation.

Aye Lwin said that his organization has 44 party members including 14 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members.

During the nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988, Aye Lwin actively participated as a university student alongside detained student leader Min Ko Naing and other colleagues. But, he later switch sides and began severely criticizing mainstream opposition forces and their leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi.

His party has started political campaigns and canvassing since September 2007, and is currently engaged in mobilizing support in Rangoon, Mandalay, Pegu, Magwe, Sagaing, Irrawaddy, Karen, Mon and Arakan in preparation for contesting the 2010 general elections. He also met and discussed issues with businessmen, journalists and local elders in these places.

Junta continues cabinet reshuffle

New Delhi (Mizzima) - In the continuing reshuffle of its cabinet, the Burmese military rulers have appointed two of its Ministers to head an extra ministry each in place of ministers that have resigned, sources said.

Sources close to the military establishment on Thursday told Mizzima that Maj-Gen Maung Oo, Minister for Home Affairs was appointed to co-head the Ministry of Immigration & Population, which was earlier headed by Maj-Gen Saw Lwin.

Similarly, Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint, Minister for Electric Power No 2 will also head the Ministry of Construction, which was earlier headed by Maj-Gen Saw Tun.

Sources on Wednesday confirmed the resignation of both Maj-Gen Saw Lwin and Maj-Gen Saw Tun.

However, the junta so far has made no announcement of the resignations or the new appointments of Maj-Gen Maung Oo and Maj-Gen Khin Maung Myint.

Mizzima in December 2008 ran a story on a possible cabinet reshuffle
http://www.mizzima.com/news/election-2010/1415-eight-ministers-and-rangoons-mayor-to-resign-soon.html.

The source, who cannot be named for security reasons said, the junta is removing some of its ministers as it prefers managing a fewer number of ministers in the run up to 2010 election and in the completion of the process of its roadmap.

Earlier, this week Dr. Than Nyunt, Chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board and Myo Nyunt, the Deputy Education Minister resigned from their respective positions.

The junta also promoted Kyaw Thu, the Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board, which is equivalent to a minister's rank.

Kyaw Thu is currently chairing the Tripartite Core Group, formed with representatives of the Burmese government, the UN and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to facilitate and monitor flow of international assistance into Cyclone Nargis cyclone hit areas in Burma.

ABFSU leader Dee Nyein Linn sentenced to 5 more years in prison - Dee Nyein Linn

By Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The South Dagon Township Court sentenced 'All Burma Federation of Students Union' (ABFSU) leader Dee Nyein Linn to another five years in prison yesterday, for unlawful association. He has already been serving a prison term of over 10 years.

Earlier, South Dagon Township Police Station House Officer Kyaw Sann Htay acted as prosecutor in the case of the 21 year-old student leader and then the prosecutor was changed. The new prosecutor sentenced him to 5 more years in prison, by charging him with Section 6 of the Unlawful Associations Act.

He was previously sentenced to a total of 10 and half years and now his total prison term would be 15 and half years.

"He was given 5 more years in prison by the South Dagon Township Court in connection with establishing unlawful association, charged under Section 6. Previously he had already been given 10 and half years. Aung Htu from Swan Ah Shin, acted as prosecutor in his case," his aunt told Mizzima.

"I feel very sorry for him. The total prison term given to him is more than half his age. On the other hand, I feel proud of him as he did it not for himself, but for the people. He also said to me, 'you don't need to be sorry, don't cry,' before he was sentenced by the court," his aunt added.

The leadership of ABFSU was reconstituted at the height of the monk-led anti-government demonstration, popularly known as the Saffron Revolution. Dee Nyein Linn was one of the newly reconstituted leaders.

Despite struggling against the military dictatorship, the successive military regimes banned the student organization, ABFSU, so that they had to carry on their movement underground.

Rangoon Western University, Geology major final year student, Dee Nyein Linn was arrested on 23rd October last year, at an apartment in Parami, Rangoon.

He was previously given 6 and a half years prison term with 4 cases including crime against public tranquility charged under section 505(b) of the Penal Code, and another 4 years for rioting cases.

His father Zaw Zaw Min is an 88 Gen Student leader and is serving a 65 years prison term and his grandfather was the elected MP of Htee Linn constituency, who died in Tharyawadi prison.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Burma’s fifth column

By Tine Gyaw

(DVB)–In Burma’s current political arena, there are five distinct groups with different approaches to democratisation, the struggle for power, and participation in the 2010 elections.

The first is the military group. The objective of the military is clear – the survival of general Than Shwe and the military dictatorship in power by all available means. They have imposed a seven-step roadmap for the country and written a constitution to suit their own ends and have now stated that they will hold an election – in order to get what they want.

Another is the opposition group inside Burma led by the NLD. This group has declared that it doesn't accept the State Peace and Development Council’s 2008 constitution, but they haven't said clearly and decisively whether they are going to contest the election or not.

The third is the group that opposes and works to bring down the military group's seven-step road map in whatever way they can. This group is strongest outside the country.

The fourth group is made up of the strong armed ethnic ceasefire groups. Out of this group, well-equipped organisations such as the United Wa State Army and the Kachin Independence Organisation neither accept nor reject the SPDC's plans for the 2010 election. This group maintains a policy of neutrality and insists that it will only deal with the government that emerges from the future elections. In essence, this group doesn't seem to accept the SPDC's 2008 constitution and 2010 election.

The last group says it will contest the election in accordance with the 2008 constitution to be organised by the SPDC, and try to achieve democracy reform gradually. This group also opposes the sanctions imposed by western countries against Burma. Although this group was originally made up of opponents of sanctions and those who are rallying for the emergence of civil institutions, they have since been joined by members of the NLD and other opposition groups who have became disillusioned with their leaders. They are also said to have gained support from western countries.

There are three main points to consider with regard to this group. (fifth group)

First, their opposition to the economic sanctions imposed on Burma by western nations.
Second, their struggle to set up civil institutions within the country.
Third, their acceptance of the 2008 constitution and willingness to participate in the 2010 election.

Controversy has raged for years on the first point. Recently, East Timor's president Ramos Horta said that he opposes the sanctions. But this group fails to point out that the military group has been seeking personal benefits from this issue, blocking some national businesses for their own benefit and mismanaging the economy to ensure the perpetuation of its power. It also fails to point out the role of the military government in the deterioration of the economy of the country.

This group even claims that the economy of Burma has suffered because of the economic sanctions, causing the lack of an emerging middle class and the obstruction of democratic change. But there has been no attempt to establish how the military regime would carry out political and economic change, and how political restrictions would be removed, if sanctions were lifted. Instead, the issue has been used to split the opposition.

Another slogan of this group is the need for the emergence of a vibrant civil society. If you take this slogan at face value, it seems to right. But in reality, it is clear that the military government has carried out severe oppression so that civil institutions would not emerge in Burma. The associations which were allowed to exist under the one-party Burma Socialist Party Programme system in schools are now outlawed with the exception of Robert Taylor and Dr Kyaw Yin Hlaing’s groups.

To be frank, Cyclone Nargis presented a positive opportunity to set up civil institutions. The military government made a concerted effort not to allow this to happen, and only allowed the formation of organisations by supporters of the regime and those who share its interests.

What is really needed in Burma is the official right to existence for independent civil organisations that carry out work for the benefit of the people, not just the creation of civil institutions that carry out the wishes of the military.

The final slogan of this group is its willingness to participate in the election and to try to take any opportunities it can for democracy. The idea is to get more democratic rights, step by step. But this seems to be the same strategy the military is taking to preserve the dictatorship, but in another form. There were some bitter lessons to be learned not long ago. The 1962 coup leader general Ne Win's government ruled the country systematically according to the 1974 constitution, Hlutaw and party. General Ne Win became president Ne Win, then party chairman Ne Win with no change in the system of power and no improvement for the country and the people, who were instead led along the road to ruin.

Now, the people of this group could become elected MPs in the coming election as they expect. They could achieve some more rights. But you won't see any road to improvement for the people and the country. It is necessary to see the truth in this group’s words, which are becoming ever louder, and unveil it for what it is.

At this stage, it won't be sufficient for the NLD and opposition groups just to criticise and attack this fifth column. If they are not on the right path, it is necessary to tell people immediately and concisely what this path should be. It is necessary to explain to the international community firmly. It is necessary to persuade and convince army officers and soldiers who do not like the military dictatorship. In the end, it is necessary to be able explain to those who support the military that their actions are not right, until they can understand and accept it.

Only then can there be true change in Burma.

Shwedagon authorities repair cyclone damage

(DVB)–Shwedagon pagoda authorities have been working for the past five months to repair damage caused in May last year by Cyclone Nargis, which dislodged precious gems from the top of the pagoda.

A source close to members of the pagoda administration committee said treasures including a large diamond and several other jewels had come down from the pagoda.

"Some jewels fell off during the storm and they have been kept in the Shwedagon pagoda museum,” he said.

“I heard that some of the treasures have been moved."

The source claimed that State Peace and Development Council leaders planned to move these jewels and other museum exhibits to Naypyidaw where a replica of Shwedagon pagoda, Uppaba Thandi pagoda, is situated.

A member of the pagoda administration committee said he was not aware of any plans to move the valuable items to the new capital but confirmed that some precious gems had fallen off the pagoda.

"We put up the scaffolding on 1 September and formed a subcommittee of three members [to repair the pagoda],” he said.

“Some precious gems had fallen down."

Reporting by Arnt Phone Myat

Bangladesh: Rohingya regional issue

DHAKA (Bangkok Post-AFP) -- Bangladesh said on Wednesday a regional initiative is needed to solve the Rohingya migration issue, echoing a similar proposal by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

"It would have been better if we could settle the issue bilaterally. We have to think regionally definitely, if we cannot solve the issue bilaterally,'' said Bangladesh's junior foreign minister, Hasan Mahmud.

The minister was answering a query more than a week after Thailand's prime minister proposed the formation of a regional forum for dealing with illegal immigration.

The Thai army has been accused of mistreating refugees from the minority Muslim Rohingya group, thousands of whom flee poverty, abuse and repression in western Burma every year.

Mahmud said Rohingya migration had been a decade-long problem for Bangladesh, but denied that boat people from the ethnic minority were using his country as a escape route.

"It's not true that Rohingyas were boarding boats from Bangladeshi side. But it is true that many Rohingyas live in Bangladesh. Rohingyas who live in Bangladesh don't go to Thailand,'' he said.

The Path of Pen or Sword?

By RYAN LIBRE
The Irrawaddy News

The path of the pen or the path of the sword? Young Kachin in northern Burma are preparing and learning on both fronts.

The question dates back to antiquity, but recently it has come to life here in Kachin State where the Kachin have struggled for autonomy for generations.

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fought an armed insurgency for more than 30 years. Despite being out-numbered and out-armed, the KIA was never fully defeated, but they were not able to win full autonomy for the Kachin people.

Since the 1994 ceasefire, there have been 15 years of precarious peace and during that time, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has built a civil society in addition to maintaining an army. Creating a civil society after a generation of war while isolated from the world at-large—and with scarce resources—is a daunting task.

But, the Kachin are making real progress. The liberated Kachin area now has native language schools, a TV station, intensive English colleges, a civil service academy, regular native language publications, a media center, several Web sites and a national library.

These institutions are the building blocks that make it possible, in the next phase of social development, to consider using the power of the pen—communication—as an effective tool to fight for ethnic autonomy.

Choosing to solve conflicts through the path of civil government and through the media instead of through armies and missiles is not an easy task. It’s been all the more challenging since the Kachin first had to create a civil government and mass media.

Mahatma Gandhi would have had little significance without the attention of India’s newspapers, radio and news stations spreading his words and ideas across the country, to the English commonwealth and around the world. But unlike Gandhi, the Kachin have not ruled out the use of military means as a way to ethnic autonomy.

They are, however, coming to understand that the media is as powerful as machine guns.

The question for the Kachin is how to harness the power of the media, and the question for the world is, how it can help them get their message out.

Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Su Kyi, has been effective at getting the attention of the world media, but the Kachin see their struggle for autonomy as separate from the larger pro-democracy movement.

Kachin leadership has yet to capture the attention of the world’s media. There are now more than 700 fulltime photojournalists active in Iraq. Kachin State has zero.

History has shown the Burmese military junta will not hand over autonomy to ethnic people. But, the more the world is able to see and hear the concerns and dreams of the Kachin, the more international pressure the junta will feel to provide for the aspirations of the Kachin people.

Recently, the Chiang Mai based NGO Documentary Arts Asia (DAA) taught a week-long journalism and photography workshop to Kachin youth. The young men and women—the journalists, photographers and researchers of tomorrow—were eager to learn. As part of their training, they published seven projects in the workshop magazine, Jingpaw.

DAA awarded two outstanding students cameras and it donated several cameras for community use.

Doi La, one of the workshop’s outstanding students, now has plans to put the skills he learned in the workshop to use by documenting Kachin traditional festivals. DAA has plans to keep working with Kachin youth, to publish their photographs and stories, and to offer another media workshop in 2009.

DAA considers the media workshop a success, but admits that much more needs to be done.

On the path of the sword, it’s possible to spend money to buy guns and train soldiers to fight in a matter of weeks or months.

On the path of the pen, it can take years of training to forge a group of people who can communicate effectively with words and photos.

KIO community organizer Mung Aung wants to study for a master’s degree in public administration with emphasis on public relations. He rightly sees such a goal as a way he can help his people communicate effectively with the international media.

Mung Aung admits there’s a “brain drain” going on in Kachin State now. Growing numbers of Kachin youth with his qualifications are leaving for jobs in other parts of Asia and the world. Being largely undeveloped, there are few good jobs in Kachin State, plus the Kachin face discrimination by the Burmese majority.

It is much easier to recruit and train soldiers than media experts. Mung Aung gets no salary, but he stays because he believes in a better future for the Kachin people.

The UN cannot directly aid the Kachin people in their struggle. No superpower has directly taken up their cause or offered direct support.

The media is the Kachin people’s best hope for a peaceful solution to their dream of an antonymous homeland.

The Kachin are trying to compete on the frontlines of communication by calling on the international media for attention. But they can't do it alone, and there’s the real possibility that if no one hears their message and they are ignored by the world's governments and media, they could return to the sword.

Ryan Libre spent three weeks in Kachin State supported by a grant from The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

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