Burma Newscasts

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Lawyer in ILO case harassed by authorities - Pho Phyu

(DVB)–Lawyer Pho Phyu, who is well known for representing political activists, has complained of being harassed by local authorities when he went to Nat Mauk township to attend a court hearing.

The case involved farmers who were arrested after reporting land confiscation by the military to the International Labour Organisation.

Pho Phyu said he was denied guest registration on arrival in the Magwe town on 1 January and was pressured by authorities when he tried to check into a guest house.

Later that evening, while he was waiting for a bus to go back to Rangoon, a group of local government officials led by Magwe police station 1 chief Kyu Aye apprehended Pho Phyu.

They took him to the local Ward Peace and Development Council office and questioned him while they went through his belongings and case files.

"I was waiting for a bus and at around 11.30pm, Kyu Aye and some police officers arrived on motorbikes. They said they had suspicions about me and took me to the WPDC office," Pho Phyu said.

"When we got to the office, they started looking in my bags claiming I might be carrying explosives," he said.

"I told Kyu Aye that they needed proper paperwork to search my belongings and also that they didn't have the authority to look at my case files as they contain information that is between me and my clients.

"He said he didn't care and told me he could sue me for disturbing a government official on duty."

He said Kyu Aye had also taken a report he was preparing entitled 'The struggle for human rights in [Burmese] courts', a compilation of testimonials from his clients.

"The report included information about cases relating to the ILO, mainly cases of land confiscation and forced labour," Pho Phyu said.

"They took away the documents under a search warrant and forced me to sign it," he said.

"I explained to him that I had the right to freely consider my cases and legal procedures, but he just said it didn't matter as it was more important for them to be able to bring me to court." Pho Phyu was in Nat Mauk to attend court hearing for his clients Hla Soe of Nat Mauk and Zaw Htay from Aung Lan.

The two men were arrested by authorities on 29 October last year after they filed a report on the confiscation of land from local farmers by the army.

"They did this to me intentionally to disrupt my clients’ court hearing, making it impossible for me to be present or call witnesses," Pho Phyu said.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Detained NLD member denied family visits - Tun Tun Naing

(DVB)–Insein township National League for Democracy member Tun Tun Naing has been banned from receiving family visits in Meikhtila prison, where he has been detained since 24 November last year.

Tun Tun Naing was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment in connection with the September 2007 protests.

Aye Aye Thet, Tun Tun Naing’s wife, said he had been banned from receiving visitors for one month.

"Apparently some senior officials came to the prison on Monday to check on sanitation systems and the personal hygiene of the inmates there,” Aye Aye Thet said.

“Most of the inmates did not talk directly to the senior officials but just communicated via the prison officials," she said.

"But he talked to them directly and the prison officials were disappointed in him for doing that, so later in the day, they banned him from receiving prison visits for one month as a punishment for violating prison regulations."

Aye Aye Thet was told she should come back on 5 February.

Tun Tun Naing had previously told his wife he was having trouble maintaining his healthy lifestyle as he was only allowed a short time for walking, and was not given any blankets on cold nights or any kind of container to use for a toilet.

When Aye Aye Thet tried to bring him food, prison officials told her the items she had brought were not allowed.

"I brought some fish sauce and vegetables like cabbage to him as he had asked for them before in a letter he sent me,” Aye Aye Thet explained.

“But the prison officials refused to accept those items for him; they said cabbage was prohibited as it might damage the inmates' health because a lot of insecticides were used in growing them," she said.

"They said instant noodles were also prohibited as the prison had no hot water to give the inmates to prepare them," she continued.

"Instant coffee mix packs bought from outside were not allowed either – only those sold by prison officials were allowed."

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

Commodity protestor beaten in Bago prison - Aung Kyaw Oo

(DVB)–Detained commodity protester Aung Kyaw Oo, who has now been sent to the remote Pu-Tao prison, has told his wife he was badly beaten when he arrived in Bago prison on 24 December.

Aung Kyaw Oo is the joint secretary of Taik Gyi township National League for Democracy.

He was sentenced to 13 and a half years’ imprisonment in December 2008 and has now been sent to Pu-Tao prison on the northern edge of Burma in Kachin state.

Aung Kyaw Oo’s wife Aye Aye Maw said her husband had told her about his mistreatment during their last meeting.

"When I met him the last time, he told me he had had a problem with [Bago] prison officials on the day he arrived as he didn't obey their order to sit in a stress position," Aye Aye Maw said.

"All he did was tell them politely that there was no rule in the prison regulations and they started throwing his begs and belongings around," she said.

"Then he told them they would have to pay if they damaged his belongings and they swore at him and beat him up."

Aye Aye Maw said Aung Kyaw Oo was beaten by five wardens, the prison chief and the prison administrator.

"When I went to the prison on 3 January, the prison authorities did not allow me to see him as he was in bad shape,” she said.

“His face was black and blue and he had some minor damage to his ribs. The prison officials told me to come back on 13 [January]."

Aye Aye Maw said she did not find out about her husband's transfer to Pu-Tao until she was told by a family member of a political inmate in Bago prison.

"I called the prison today [Wednesday] and they said they had sent him to the northern edge of Burma," she said.

Aung Kyaw Oo was arrested by authorities on 23 August 2008 and was sentenced to 13 and a half years’ imprisonment on five different charges including sedition.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

Withholding of case files hampers ICRC applications

(DVB)–Families of political inmates are having difficulties getting copies of their relatives’ case files, which they need to gain assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross, from courts in Rangoon.

A family member of one political prisoner said the judges had been banned from giving copies of the documents to relatives of the detainees.

"I was told by a judge that they were given orders not to give us copies of the case file documents,” he said.

“We need them in order to get assistance from the ICRC."

A relative of another inmate said Insein prison court had been withholding the case file of another political prisoner.

"The mother of political prisoner Ko Kyi Phyu, who is youth coordinator of the National League for Democracy in North Dagon township, has been having trouble gaining a copy of her son's case file from Insein prison's special court,” he said.

“Now she is unable to get help from the ICRC as she doesn't have the necessary documents."

The ICRC spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

Goodbye cruel 2008 and hello to reality

By Pascal Khoo Thwe

(DVB)–For the majority of people in Burma, 2008 will be remembered as the year an apocalypse by the name of Cyclone Nargis visited their country, and the year the international community headed by the United Nations thoroughly failed them.

But people who are in the position to help, both the ruling generals and powerful nations who could push the generals to help their own people, still pretend that it was only a passing phenomenon that can be ignored. Or is it? You may say I am a cynic but I'm not the only one, though I sincerely wish I were the only one.

When the evil wind struck the Irrawaddy delta in early May, the world was waiting for the arrival of the biggest Olympic Games ever to be held by the biggest nation on earth. The 'great and the good', who always regard Burma as merely a footnote in world history, regarded the disaster there as an inconvenient and uninvited blip from Mother Nature and thought it wise not to do anything which could upset the striding dragon that is China, situated next door.

It wasn't so much the destruction caused by the storm that was most painful for the people affected as the lack of collective political will by the people who were in a position to help which caused the indelible scars on their hearts.

When an Indian meteorological station warned in advance that the storm was heading towards Burma, the state media reacted as if it was merely a seasonal storm that would just skim over the country like a breeze over a lake, and the junta made no serious effort to forewarn or make systematic preparations to protect the people.

As soon as the cyclone struck, Burmese soldiers were ordered to stay in their bases until the worst was over. Not a single general was to be seen on the television or anywhere near the disaster zones for many days.

It makes sense for the generals not to help the people in need because the junta has never been interested in improving the lives of the people in the slightest, but only in holding on to power whatever happens. The more people the storm killed, the better for the generals as no one could blame them for it and they could seize the prime lands of the people who perished. Among those who perished were many Karen people whom successive military regimes had been trying to wipe out – in various ways and many times – from the region. When Indian, French and US warships rushed towards Burmese waters to help the survivors, the junta refused them permission to come ashore to help those stranded in remote regions.

Foreign governments, 'urged', 'denounced', 'condemned' and 'demanded' that the generals take action but no concerted efforts were made to push the junta where it matters, and the blame was thrown back on people who pointed out that effective help could be given, leaving potential donors and helpers confused at best. Politicians have many 'critical' words to say when they are not keen to help – with an undertone of blame on the people of Burma for the existence of military regime to boot.

While it was estimated that around 80,000 people had died and 50,000 were still missing after more than a week, western governments and donors were still arguing as to how to help the victims without infringing the 'national sovereignty' of Burma, and the UN admitted it hadn't a clue how bad things were. It was like watching a school bully taunt a slowly starving boy with food while another bully grabs the boy’s throat. The mental cruelty inflicted on the surviving victims was so painfully comical that it was hard not to laugh.

The UN knew perfectly well that the junta would accept aid only on its own terms, refusing to allow foreign humanitarian workers into the country and insisting – despite having little experience in the area – on distributing aid itself. As usual, it opted to pursue a ‘wait and see’ policy and diplomatise while hundreds of people were dying day by day, instead of taking decisive action – either to negotiate with or to overrule the junta – to save lives.

While world leaders were arguing with aid organisations, a major-general Karel Vervoort, former head of Training and Support Command in the Belgian Air Force, revealed that life-saving parcels could bring instant relief if the will was there.

His 'revelation', published in a reputable British newspaper, the Independent, on 18 May, was particularly critical to the UN, to the say the least. He insisted that there was a way of distributing aid from the air in small packages containing food, water and medicines, which could be scattered widely, minimising the chances of them being monopolised and misused, similar to a system known as 'Snowdrop' conceived by a man named Geoff Woodford. After 10 years of tests and investment, it was declared ‘operational’ in the Belgian Air Force by the Minister of Defence. Vervoort argued that if the food arsenals had been in place, aid could have been dropped within 24 hours of the cyclone. He added that many actual ‘experts’ did not even know of its existence at the time.

He also pointed out that there had been a dispute over the ownership of the patent as the UN World Food Programme began implementing its own Snowdrop programme, stating that they had devised the system themselves, prompting Geoff Woodford to file a complaint insisting that the patent was his, and asserting ownership of the intellectual property.

After reading the article, I had no energy left to say anything about the suffering of the people to the media or anyone who cared to ask. I knew then that the people of Burma had no one to depend on. They are expected to die in their hundreds or thousands just to get the fleeting attention of the world to their plight without getting any solid action from those who can help them help themselves.

When individual Burmese people saw that neither their government nor the international community was going to help their distressed countrymen, they packed whatever supplies they could give or collect, and drove down to the affected areas to help. They were stopped, robbed, harassed and intimidated at every turn by agents of the junta, and some of them, including famous comedian Zarganar, were arrested later and imprisoned for their efforts.

A Burmese army officer later said that the international community should have entered Burma willy-nilly to help. "Speaking as an army officer, there would certainly have been an initial shoot-out if the planes came but we would have had to retreat as we can't compete with their weapons. They could have saved thousands of lives," he said. Meanwhile, while Burmese people in exile were working hard to raise funds for the victims, I overheard a Burmese doctor at a gathering outside London comment, "They are giving too much to them. Foreigners don’t understand our people." Some people could be as selfish and arrogant as the Burmese generals without having their power, I thought.

Some weeks after the storm, a farmer, the only survivor of his family, told a visiting foreign aid worker: "Thanks for nothing and for coming too late. Keep on helping tyranny." The farmer disappeared without a trace and nobody knows what happened to him.

Local people later said that the population of carnivorous crabs exploded at the end of the monsoon season and most of them exported to South East Asian nations. I didn't have to wonder why the population of crabs exploded that year. But I still do wonder though how many people remembered to send words of comfort, not to mention presents, to the survivors at Christmas. "Speaking as a human being, there is a deep sense of hopelessness here," a religious figure who helped the survivors told me from Burma.

But all was not lost.

The most prominent journalist and political figure of Burma, Win Tin, was released in late September along with ten other political prisoners. Around 9000 criminals were released at the same time. His release was as unexpected as it was strange. He insisted on wearing his prison uniform as he argued he was evicted, not released.

Win Tin revived the fortunes of his battling party the National League for Democracy, rife with all kinds of problems. But – and it's a big but – his efforts and those of thousands of others who sacrificed their lives in the fight for dignity would be just a waste of energy and lives unless the international community gives them solid help or stops supporting the generals through various means.

What is the future of Burma then?

Will the president-elect Barack Obama be a better man to ensure the freedom of Burma as many activists think? I dare not even dream of it, having seen the way previous presidents raised hope for democracy in Burma and petered out into mere babbling. At best, the new president will make the right noises about Burma at the beginning of his term.

For one thing, Obama has too many things on his plate to sort out as the most powerful leader on earth, such as the mess in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel/Palestine and the global economic crisis, to name but a few. I would advise my countrymen that we should not pin our hopes on events abroad.

If anything, incidents in 2008 (and previous years) sent a clear message to all the people of Burma and the generals alike that we must all stop mentally depending on foreign powers, or accusing each other of depending on foreign powers if we are to achieve something resembling national identity, and go beyond the politics of emotion.

The reality is, Burma is not an island and we are not unique. We have to import foreign goods, ideas and support, and utilise them in an organic way, and we must export competitive ideas and materials abroad if we want to survive as a stable nation. At the moment, the only exports from Burma are natural resources, human beings and a feeling of resentment against all the people we are in touch with. Burma cannot survive on emotion alone and it needs the confidence to know its limits and potential in equal measure. The opposition groups must also remember that there is more than one solution to each problem and those who find the right ones are likely to be winners in the long run. In a word, we must stop our reliance on a magic bullet formula in politics, by really listening to the concerns of those at the grassroots level.

Of course, one could wait until everything falls down in Burma but by then it would have become a wasteland of second-hand ideological and material junk which would take even longer to clear. Having said that, Burma is already a wasteland in many ways despite its placid appearance and the orderly buildings one often sees on television frequented by finger pointing, green-uniformed generals. Look deep into their faces next time, you will see fear and inferiority in these handfuls of dust that have nothing else in their heads but the boredom of the devils who look after hell.

If Burma is to come out this episode of its dark and sordid history, the opposition groups and those who want to help the country must learn to chase pacific opportunities that work – not all the passing butterflies. Admittedly, opportunities have been lost because we were unable to sort out basic problems, thus storing up problems for the future for ourselves. I once retorted to my father that his generation had piled all the problems on us, and now our generation is likely to do the same if we are to just wait and see and mope around. All the ingredients for greater tragedies are there in Burma, but they could be averted if they were handled with less emotion and neurosis – as Burma is a geographical entity as well as a country of emotion.

Although there have been many suggestions and ideas as to how to solve the problems of Burma, they can only be realised through a combination of hard-thinking people and the actions of energetic experts who posses the efficiency of Nordic countries and the resilience and ruthlessness of the post-war Japanese generation who rebuilt their country from ashes.

The history of Burma has shown that good ideas or actions or foreign support alone are not enough to govern or rebuild a nation and maintain its soul.

Humanitarian crisis in Chin state likely to escalate in 2009: NGO

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – With crop yields declining due to severe weather conditions and the devastation caused by rat infestation, a humanitarian crisis is imminent for western Burma's Chin state in 2009, a leading humanitarian worker in Chin state said.

Joseph Win Hlaing Oo, director of the Rangoon-based Country Agency for Rural Development in Myanmar (CAD), on Thursday said the humanitarian crisis in Chin state caused by both drought and rat infestation in 2008 is far from being over.

"This year, the situation seems to be getting worse," Joseph told Mizzima, adding that people have already begun running short of food.

"People will need more help," iterated Joseph, whose organization with help from the World Food Programme (WFP) has begun distributing aid supplies to a few villages in Chin state.

On Thursday, CAD began distributing about 700 rice bags to villagers affected by drought and rat infestation in Hakha township, home to the capital of Chin state.

Since the end of 2006, food security in the region has been gradually threatened by the infestation of rats, which are multiplying in great numbers after consuming a special bamboo flower that blossoms only once every 50 years in Chin state.

"Today, we started distributing rice bags to the people in four villages, including Pinam in Hakha township," Joseph said.

But he said aid is not simply given, with villagers instead receiving aid in exchange for community work, such as assistance in the construction of roads to connect villages, under a program called "Food-for-Work".

"We provide rice to villagers according to the work. We give [a total of] 100 bags of rice to 18 people on completion of a mile of road," said Joseph, adding that the 'Work-for-Food' model was utilized to help villagers get the best out of aid supplies.

Joseph said CAD intends to reach at least 30,000 people in three townships - Hakha, Thangtlang and Matupi – with aid supplies. However his initial plan of distributing aid last November was derailed due to difficulties in purchasing good quality rice and high transportation cost.

Additionally, he said aid supplies are still insufficient, as many more villages in other parts of Chin state, including those that are close to the Indo-Burmese border, are yet to be covered. According to him, the food crisis is far more severe along the Indo-Burmese border.

"The problems in the areas close to the India-Burma border are more serious than other areas," said Joseph, with the crux of the problem being a lack of proper roads and means of transportation to reach those areas.

According to an assessment done by the WFP and other relief agencies such as CAD, KARET, World Vision and Karuna Myanmar Social Service (KMSS), at least 60,000 people from 139 villages in Chin state are severely affected by food scarcity caused by rat infestation.

In 2008, the WFP coordinated a relief aid program to help victims in Chin state with 1,451 tons of rice through international and local relief agencies, Joseph said. He added that an additional 800 million kyat (approximately US$ 600,000) will be made available for the first six months of 2009.

Meanwhile Van Lian Thang, spokesperson for the exile-based Chin Humanitarian and Relief Committee (CHRC), recently said people from at least 16 villages in northern Chin state are facing food insufficiency as the harvest of crops such maize and paddy has fallen sharply.

"Because the rate of crops harvested this year is very low, people from some villages in Tedim and Falam townships are facing a shortage of food," said Van Lian Thang.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Soldier’s Arrest for Transporting Drugs a Sign of the Times

By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News

A warrant officer from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 701, based in Hmawbi Township, Rangoon Division, was arrested for drug trafficking in late December, according to a source close to Rangoon Regional Military Command.

“He was not selling, he was just a carrier,” said the source. “He did it because he couldn’t support his family on his salary.”

The man was found to be in possession of the drug while going through a checkpoint on the main road from Rangoon to Mandalay, the source said. No further details about the type or quantity of the drug were available.

The arrest highlighted a growing problem among low-ranking members of Burma’s 400,000-strong armed forces. Unlike the top generals who use the military to maintain their hold on power in the country, most rank-and-file soldiers are struggling to get by.

“Regional military authorities don’t provide sufficient rations and other supplies for soldiers and their families,” said a sergeant from LIB 701, speaking on condition of anonymity. “That’s why soldiers are always looking for some other way to support their families.”

While many military families try to subsist on earnings from a variety of side businesses, from raising livestock to making bricks or wooden furniture, even this extra income is often not enough. Like other public servants in this impoverished country, many soldiers survive on the spoils of petty corruption and other illegal activities, including drug trafficking.

Non-commissioned members of the armed forces are paid less than half as much as junior officers, with monthly salaries starting at 21,000 kyat (US $16) for a private. First class warrant officers can make as much as 50,000 kyat ($40) per month.

“We earn small salaries and work six days a week, even though we are not on the frontlines,” said the sergeant from LIB 701. “We don’t care where we get our money from, as long as we can support our children.”

With such attitudes prevalent among lower-ranking soldiers, commanding officers often look the other way or engage in illegal activities themselves. When caught, however, soldiers often face harsh sentences for their crimes.

Unlike soldiers near the bottom of the military hierarchy, those close to the ruling generals rarely face serious penalties for breaking the law.

Last year, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, son of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, was briefly detained at the Wat Htee Kan military camp in Prome, Pegu Division, after Burmese police raided his office at Rangoon’s Yetagun Tower on May 29 and found illegal drugs and six guns.

The Wat Htee Kan camp has served as a sort of reform school for the miscreant sons and grandsons of top-ranking generals since Burma’s socialist era.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint was a familiar figure in Rangoon’s elite circles, mingling with movie stars and the children of other top generals. He was well known as a reliable source of hard-to-find street drugs for a small but well-connected clientele.

NCUB Plans to Form Parallel Government in 2009

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), an umbrella organization of Burmese opposition groups, announced on January 1 that it will found a parallel government as part of its action plan for 2009.

In a special New Year statement, the NCUB said that it would establish a “National Unity Government” and “National Unity Parliament” to counter plans by Burma’s ruling military regime to hold an undemocratic election in 2010.

“As a tactic to challenge the junta’s legitimacy, we will form a parallel government,” Nyo Ohn Myint, a member of the NCUB’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

He added that plans to create a new government would go into effect after a forthcoming conference of the Members of Parliament Union (MPU), a group consisting of MPs elected in Burma’s last election in 1990. The MPU’s annual conference is scheduled to take place on January 19 in Dublin, Ireland.

Nyo Ohn Myint added that the parallel government will include both elected MPs and representatives of ethnic groups who have their own territories and armies.

The NCUB statement has excited controversy among Burmese exiles, many of whom question the value of forming a new parallel government when the democratic opposition already has a government in exile, the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).

The NCGUB was formed by exiled MPs elected in 1990 and is led by Dr Sein Win, the cousin of Burma’s detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Founded in December 1990 in Manerplaw, the former headquarters of the Karen National Union, the NCGUB now operates out of Washington, DC.

Nyo Ohn Myint denied that the new National Unity Government would function in the same manner as the NCGUB, saying that it would not merely consist of a prime minister and five cabinet ministers like the NCGUB.

He also questioned the NCGUB’s leadership because of its failure to cooperate with the NCUB’s efforts to challenge the Burmese junta’s seat at the United Nations.

Responding to criticism about its effectiveness, the NCGUB accused the NCUB leadership of embarking on a meaningless campaign without any attempt to form a consensus among members of the umbrella group.

Khun Marko Ban, the NCGUB’s federal affairs minister and a member of the MPU, said that the NCUB’s secretary-general, Maung Maung, did not even inform all concerned parties before issuing the New Year statement.

“Even though I am an executive member of the NCUB, I knew nothing about the statement until after it was released,” said Khun Marko Ban, who is also President 3 of the NCUB.

“We need to respect the organization’s consensus principle and ensure that this does not happen again,” he added.

The NCUB was formed in September 1992 by four organizations: the MPU, the ethnic-based Democratic Alliance of Burma, the National Democratic Front, and the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area).

Khun Marko Ban said that at its last conference in February 2008, the MPU initiated reforms that would make the NCGUB more proactive in the future. The MPU, which elects the NCGUB’s cabinet, will choose a new lineup at the conference in Dublin, he added.

Detained Hip Hop singer Yan Yan Chan released

by Than Htike Oo

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese military junta authorities on Tuesday released popular Hip Hop singer Yan Yan Chan, who was arrested in April 2008.

The popular singer was released on Tuesday evening by the western district court in the notorious Insein prison in Rangoon after the judge during the court session ordered his release, a lawyer close to the singer's family said.

"The judge ordered his release and so he was freed yesterday evening," the lawyer said.

The lawyer, however, said he is not aware of the charges against the singer and the reasons for his release.

"As far as I understand, he [Yan Yan Chan] was charged in a drug related crime but I am not sure what the charges exactly were. I have not been able to speak to him yet," the lawyer, who requested anonymity, told Mizzima.

When contacted, Yan Yan Chan's family members confirmed his released but refused to elaborate.

Yan Yan Chan was arrested in early April 2008, while staying at his friend's residence in Monywa town in upper Burma.

Yan Yan Chan along with Kyaw Kyaw (alias) Zeya Thaw, was arrested in February 2008 for his political activities and for being a member of the 'Generation Wave (GW)'. He co-founded the first Burmese hip hop band the 'Acid'.

Rangoon's Christians banned from worshiping

What is the purpose of having a church if not allowed to congregate for praying?

by Mungpi & Phanida

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Christians in Burma's former capital of Rangoon find themselves in a precarious state as local authorities on Monday banned the holding of regular church services and threatened to seal off churches if congregations failed to comply.

The Kyauktada Township Peace and Development Council on Monday summoned a meeting of local church pastors from leading downtown Rangoon churches and informed them to stop the conduct of worship services in residential apartments.

"They [the authorities] warned us that our churches would be sealed off if we continue worshipping," said a pastor of a church in Pabedan Township who attended the meeting.

The pastor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told Mizzima that nearly 50 church leaders and pastors who attended the meeting were made to sign more than five papers of pledges concerning the cessation of church services.

"The papers also said that we could be punished [and could be jailed] if we fail to obey the order and the church would be sealed off," the pastor said.

When contacted by Mizzima, an official at the Kyauktada Township Peace and Development Council office confirmed a meeting was held on Monday but declined to further elaborate on the substance of the ensuing dialogue.

However, according to the pastor, authorities sent an invitation to representatives from over 100 churches, mostly located in the downtown Rangoon area, and informed them of the new order.

"We received the meeting invitation last Sunday," said the pastor. "Now we don't know what to do with our Sunday services."

Burma's military authorities had long stopped issuing permits to religious organizations and churches for the possession of land and the building of churches, forcing several local churches in Rangoon to conduct worship services in residential apartments, which are often rented or purchased in the names of private owners.

"Since the late 1990s authorities have stopped issuing permits [to churches] to purchase land or construct church buildings," the pastor said, adding that he himself bought an apartment in Pabedan Township for use as a place of communal worship.

According to church leaders including the pastor, there are at least 100 churches located in residential apartments in downtown Rangoon, including those in Kyuaktada, Lanmadaw, Latha, Pabedan, Bothathaung, Minglar Thaung Nyunt, Dagon, Tamwe, Hlaing, Kamayut, Ahlone, Sanchaung and Bahan Townships.

A Christian youth in Rangoon in an email message to Mizzima said the order virtually puts a stop to Christians worshiping, as most churches in Rangoon are convened in apartments.

"Eighty percent of the churches in Yangon [Rangoon] are included in the order. Only a few churches have their own land. Most churches use rented buildings, houses and office style rooms for worship places," the youth explained.

"We need your prayers for Christian communities in Myanmar [Burma]," the youth added.

While religious persecution and the prohibition of religious rites are not uncommon in military-ruled Burma, the new order, according to another pastor, is an attempt to stop Christians from regularly meeting.

In September 2007, Burma's military junta, in its determination to suppress the people and sustain their rule, violently crushed Buddhist monk-led protests, killing what opposition sources say were hundreds of monks, a highly revered population in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Chinese activist sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison - Chen Qitang

Photo: Chen Qitang

BEIJING (IHT): An Internet writer and activist in southern China has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of impersonation and fraud, human rights groups said Tuesday.

Chen Qitang, who wrote under the pen name Tianli, was sentenced in secret on Dec. 31 after being detained for more than a year, Chinese Human Rights Defenders said.

The group said it believes Chen was targeted by authorities because he posted critical articles on the Internet and helped villagers in Foshan city in Guangdong province to resist land grabs.

Chen's wife found out about the sentence five days after it was imposed when she called the court in Foshan in Guangdong province, according to Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch, a China-based activist organization. She and other members of the family were not told about the trial.

Chen was taken into custody in October 2007 and formally arrested in December that year, Chinese Human Rights Defenders group said in a statement.

Neither rights group provided details of the fraud allegations against Chen. However, China has previously leveled fraud charges against people who challenge the system.

Liu Hong, a spokeswoman for the Foshan District court, declined to comment Tuesday but said she would release information within two days.

A Nanhai district police spokesman, who refused to be named, refused to comment on the issue and hung up the phone.

___

On the Net:

Chen's blog: http://chenqitang.blogspot.com/2007/10/blog-post_3794.html

UWSA changes nomenclature of administrative territory

by Ko Wine

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The 'United Wa State Party' has changed its administrative territory from 'Shan State Special Region No. 2' to 'Wa State Government Special Administrative Region', with effect from January 1.

According to observers who are closely watching the situation, UWSA has already informed the change of nomenclature to the Burmese military junta.

"They are not asking for permission, they have just informed the junta. They will refer to their territory by the new official term 'Wa State Government Special Administrative Region' from now on", the Sino-Burma border based Burma observer U Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

"The names of 'United Wa State Army' (UWSA) and 'United Wa State Party' (UWSA) will remain unchanged. They changed the name of their administrative region only. They have already made office seals. The new signboards of their offices have also been changed," he added.

U Sein Kyi, editor of the Thai based 'Shan Herald News Agency' (SHAN) which usually and specifically covers Shan State related news, said that he also heard this news but they are still in the process of verifying it.

He said that the Kengtung based Triangle Region Military Command Commander Maj. Gen. Kyaw Phyo called and met military and administrative officials of Wa 417th Brigade, No. 171 Wa Military Region of Mengyawn, Mengsat, Mengton townships in Kengtung on 26 to 27 December last year.

At the meeting, he briefed the officials on necessary reforms including transformation of Wa Army units in accordance with the new constitution. After that, Wa Party informed the change of name of the territory under their control to the junta, the editor said.

The Burmese observer U Aung Kyaw Zaw said that this action of Wa HQ, which controls both northern and southern Wa State, informing of their name change to the junta shows that constitutional crisis exists in Burma, even though the regime is unhappy with this letter, they are in dilemma in taking military action against the Wa Army.

"They have no other strong points other than showing the international community that they are making peace with the armed groups. They (regime) cannot afford breaking the ceasefire agreement and exchanging fire again under the current circumstances of heavy international pressure being mounted on them. Moreover over 87-89 per cent of the population in these areas is ethnic Wa people. The Burmese regime dare not try military stunts at this time because it would be like banging a brick wall with the head," U Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

"The armed groups do not accept this newly approved constitution at all. They expressed their positions against this constitution in various ways. Wa issued a statement on 10 October 2007 after the monk-led saffron revolution. In this statement, they demanded that the junta let them grant 'Special Region' status in the new constitution being drafted as promised earlier" he added.

The 'Office of Foreign Assets Control' (OFAC) under the United States Finance Department issued a notification on 13 November last year which froze the assets and accounts of 26 people and 17 companies including the senior officials and commanders of UWSA namely Wei Xiaokhan, Wei Xiaolong, Wei Xiaoying, Bao Yochang, He Chuntin and Sik Gonan among others.

Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration

Jan 6, 2009 (DVB)–Weekly news journals in Burma have been ordered by the state censor board to publish articles criticising National League for Democracy members for staging a demonstration in Rangoon last week.

Journalists and publishers in Rangoon said yesterday that censor board officials had recently ordered them to publish a government-approved article on the protest.

The article accused senior NLD member Win Tin of being behind a demonstration on 30 December by nine NLD youth members who were arrested by authorities.

It also claimed that their demonstration was not supported by the general public.

A journalist in Rangoon said he had seen the article printed in several news journals and other publications.

"I saw the article in the True weekly journal and a few others; it accused U Win Tin of encouraging the youths to stage the demonstration," he said.

"The publications had other choice but to include the article to keep their business out of trouble, but everyone knows whether or not the details of the article were accurate."

Veteran journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin said he had read the article in the Morning Post.

"It has two main points – first, that the youths were brainwashed by the propaganda of me and U Khin Maung Swe's speech, and second, that the public has no interest in their activities," Win Tin said.

"If they want to say that I brainwashed the youths, then they should include the details of how I did that," he said.

"Just claiming U Khin Maung Swe was behind the [demonstration] because the youths did it after listening to his speech is wrong,” he went on.

“U Khin Maung Swe only talked about independence and they have no reason to say there is a link between what he said and the demonstration."

Win Tin also challenged the claim that the demonstration had no public support.

"The article said there is no public interest in the NLD youths' demonstration and I think that is also wrong," Win Tin said.

"A lot of people oppose the government and want to rebel against it,” he said.

“Saying that these people, who would applaud anyone acting against the government, have no interest in such activity is actually very wrong."

Nine NLD youth members were arrested on 30 December while taking part in a peaceful march following a talk at the party headquarters in Rangoon.

The activists carried placards calling for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and were walking towards the Myenigone area when they were arrested in front of the old parliament building.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

Journals ordered to condemn NLD demonstration

(DVB)–Weekly news journals in Burma have been ordered by the state censor board to publish articles criticising National League for Democracy members for staging a demonstration in Rangoon last week.

Journalists and publishers in Rangoon said yesterday that censor board officials had recently ordered them to publish a government-approved article on the protest.

The article accused senior NLD member Win Tin of being behind a demonstration on 30 December by nine NLD youth members who were arrested by authorities.

It also claimed that their demonstration was not supported by the general public.

A journalist in Rangoon said he had seen the article printed in several news journals and other publications.

"I saw the article in the True weekly journal and a few others; it accused U Win Tin of encouraging the youths to stage the demonstration," he said.

"The publications had other choice but to include the article to keep their business out of trouble, but everyone knows whether or not the details of the article were accurate."

Veteran journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin said he had read the article in the Morning Post.

"It has two main points – first, that the youths were brainwashed by the propaganda of me and U Khin Maung Swe's speech, and second, that the public has no interest in their activities," Win Tin said.

"If they want to say that I brainwashed the youths, then they should include the details of how I did that," he said.

"Just claiming U Khin Maung Swe was behind the [demonstration] because the youths did it after listening to his speech is wrong,” he went on.

“U Khin Maung Swe only talked about independence and they have no reason to say there is a link between what he said and the demonstration."

Win Tin also challenged the claim that the demonstration had no public support.

"The article said there is no public interest in the NLD youths' demonstration and I think that is also wrong," Win Tin said.

"A lot of people oppose the government and want to rebel against it,” he said.

“Saying that these people, who would applaud anyone acting against the government, have no interest in such activity is actually very wrong."

Nine NLD youth members were arrested on 30 December while taking part in a peaceful march following a talk at the party headquarters in Rangoon.

The activists carried placards calling for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and were walking towards the Myenigone area when they were arrested in front of the old parliament building.

Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat

USDA grants loans to farmers

(DVB)–The Union Solidarity and Development Association in Rangoon division is offering agricultural loans to local farmers for this year's harvest, but some farmers claim the move is intended to secure votes in the 2010 election.

A farmer in Thonegwa said the local township USDA was going to provide farmers with loans under a different system to that used by the government's agricultural bank.

For farmers with 1-5 acres of farmland, the USDA is giving loans of 8000 kyat per acre, while farmers with 5-10 acres farmlands can borrow up to 5000 kyat per acre up to a maximum of 50,000 kyat.

"At the moment, the USDA is offering loan agreements to farmers in 64 villages within Thonegwa township and they are offering a total of around 500 million kyat in loans. Some people have already signed up," the farmer said.

"A lot of people think they are providing loans as a way of getting our support in the 2010 elections," he said.

"We are worried they might pressure us to vote for them in the election because we have borrowed money from them."

Many farmers are in financial difficulties this year, particularly in areas affected by Cyclone Nargis, due to low yields and falling crop prices.

Farmers in some areas have said the loans provided by the government are not sufficient, and have been forced to take out loans with private lenders.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

Suu Kyi Issues a New Year Challenge

The Irrawaddy Editorial

News reports from Rangoon suggest that Burma's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi commemorated the country’s Independence Day alone at her house—but this time not so quietly.

Behind the locked gates of her home, where she has been under house arrest since 2003, the Nobel Peace Prize winner played old songs, popular in the pre-independence era, according to members of her election-winning party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Suu Kyi has also put up a new red banner, which can be viewed from the street, with words in yellow quoting her father, independence hero Gen Aung San: “Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people.”

Rumors are coursing through Rangoon and the diplomatic community suggesting that Suu Kyi could be released this year. If she is freed, the big question remains: who is going to ensure her safety ahead of the election in 2010?

There’s profound concern that she would again become the target of the anger of the regime and its thugs. Some Western diplomats are talking about the possibility of a “gradual freedom” for Suu Kyi in order to guarantee her safety.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said Burmese authorities still have not replied to his request to meet with the detained opposition leader to discuss her appeal against her continued detention. Suu Kyi’s personal doctor, Tin Myo Win, was allowed to visit her on January 1, and he reported that she was in good health.

Two days before the doctor’s visit, nine NLD members were arrested when they staged a protest in Rangoon calling for her release. Repeated calls by world leaders and the international community for her release continue to fall on the deaf ears of the regime.

Burma entered a new year with bleak prospects for the future. In an Independence Day message, NLD Chairman Aung Shwe said candidly: “Hope for the present and future of the country is totally lacking.” Many Burmese will agree with his assessment.

Aung Shwe’s pessimism was, of course, countered by an upbeat message from junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who urged people to “cooperate in realizing the state's seven-step Road Map with union spirit and patriotic spirit with the firm resolution to build up a peaceful, modern and developed democratic nation with flourishing discipline”.

Than Shwe repeated his old refrain of accusing “neo-colonialists”—usually a reference to the West—of interfering in Burma's affairs.

“The entire people are duty-bound to safeguard the motherland...while keeping a watchful eye on attempts of neo-colonialists to harm the sovereignty of the country,” he said.

Than Shwe failed to appear at the Independence Day state dinner usually hosted by him and his wife, although he was seen in the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta a few weeks ago and gave a speech at the Defense Services Academy in Maymyo in December.

Observers ask: Was he sick or perhaps suffering from fatigue after his travels? Or is he just depressed at seeing so little support for his “road map?”

Whatever the cause of Than Shwe’s absence from the dinner table, the less he is seen on the political stage, the better for the country. A younger generation of army leaders should be taking over progressively more of his duties and undertaking work for genuine reconciliation.

Despite the discouragement that Burmese people must feel, they should not lose faith in seeing a new democratic and prosperous Burma.

On the eve of Burma's Independence Day, the US State Department wished the Burmese people well on the 61st anniversary of their independence from British rule.

“We wish to express our warmest wishes to the people of Burma on this occasion,” said a brief State Department statement. “As we reflect on Burma's independence struggle, led by Gen Aung San, we are reminded of our own history.”

The statement said the US stands with the Burmese people in honoring Aung San's vision of an independent, peaceful and democratic Burma.

It said the US also looks forward to the day when Burma's citizens will be able to enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. “We earnestly hope that day will come soon,” the statement said.

In reality, it is depressing to look at Burma’s political situation, and few would argue with Aung Shwe’s sober assessment.

Nevertheless, news of Suu Kyi playing old music and putting up a new banner at her home raised some hope. The message “Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people” has a definite meaning for many Burmese, and can be interpreted as a call to the leadership and members of the NLD.

Critics lament that over the past 20 years, NLD leaders have failed to act decisively to seize and exploit political opportunities as they present themselves.

Even during the “Saffron Revolution” of 2007, some critics said NLD leaders lagged behind the mass uprising when monks and activists bravely took to the streets. Now they sit and watch from the sidelines as Than Shwe prepares to implement his “road map” to “disciplined democracy.”

Although the year 2009 begins with depressing news, Suu Kyi’s new banner demanding decisive action in the interests of the nation poses a challenge to all Burmese, including members of the armed forces—and also to world leaders and the entire international community.

DKBA Told It Must Provide Border Guards

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union, is expected to provide border guards under the terms of Burma’s new constitution, members were told at Independence Day celebrations at the headquarters of the DKBA’s Battalion 999.

The battalion commander, Col Chit Thu, said he had been given the news at a meeting with government officials in Naypyidaw. The DKBA, which signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military regime after splitting with the KNU in 1995, was not expected to disarm, however.

Chit Thu was addressing DKBA members at Independence Day commemoration ceremonies at Shwe Kokko village, in Myawaddy Township, near the Thai-Burmese border.

A Karen businessman who is close to the DKBA leadership said some senior members of the group were unhappy with the news that DKBA members were expected to serve as border guards and had threatened to resign. He thought low-ranking members of the DKBA would continue to serve, however.

Meanwhile, a government team that arrived in Myawaddy on December 27 closed all border checkpoints near DKBA-controlled areas and ordered the group to halt illegal business, said a Burmese police official in Myawaddy.

According to a member of the New Mon State Party, some members of DKBA Battalion 999 had explored the possibility of establishing a base in the Three Pagodas Pass area, on the Thai-Burmese border at the end of December.

Col Nyan Tun, a member of the Mon National Liberation Army, said the Burmese military had established a base of its own in the area in preparation for an assault on KNU forces.

Political Activist Hospitalized - Kyaw Ko Ko

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

A prominent Burmese political prisoner, Kyaw Ko Ko, who has been detained in Insein Prison since March 2008, was yesterday moved to the jail’s hospital suffering from jaundice, according to his family in Rangoon.

Kyaw Ko Ko, 27, a leader of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), was arrested by Burmese authorities in March 2008 following his involvement in the Buddhist monk-led uprising in September 2007 and has since been detained at Insein Prison.

Photo: Kyaw Ko Ko
Since his arrest, Kyaw Ko Ko has appeared in court several times, but has not been sentenced. His latest appearance in court was last Friday, said his father.

A master’s degree student from Yangon Economic University, Kyaw Ko Ko called on the Burmese military government to allow Burmese students to exercise their freedom of expression in terms of thinking, writing, forming groups and establishing students’ unions in an interview with The Irrawaddy on the occasion of Burma’s National Day in December 2007.

The ABFSU was active in leading demonstrations during the 2007 uprising and many of its members have since been arrested by Burmese security forces. The students’ organization was originally founded by Gen Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, in 1936.

Due to poor medical treatment and physical restrictions, two political prisoners—Maung San and Htay Lwin Oo—died in prison last month, according to Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP).

About 138 political prisoners have died in Burmese prisons in recent years, according to AAPP, and there are currently more than 2,100 political activists behind bars.

Pro-junta group announces formation of political parties

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A pro-junta group, the 88 generation students (Union of Myanmar), has said it is all set to contest the upcoming 2010 general election as drawn up by the ruling junta.

Aye Lwin, a former 88 generation student and leader of the group, said they will have two parties to contest the election, believing the process could set Burma on the road to political reform, though democracy in Burma will admittedly require more time to evolve into a mature and stable political institution.

"We will have two parties to contest the election," Aye Lwin told Mizzima on Tuesday. While he will be leading the National Political League (Union of Myanmar) as its chairman, the 88 generation students (Union of Myanmar) will be led by other former students who participated in the 1988 general uprising.

"We are waiting for the announcement of the Election Law and specifics regarding the registration of political parties," he said.

Aye Lwin added that the election is the only way forward for Burma, which has remained in a virtual political stalemate for the past 20 years.

"We have begun campaigning in at least six divisions and three states and will continue with it," commented Aye Lwin, a former Rangoon Institute of Technology student and a colleague of detained student leader Min Ko Naing during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

Aye Lwin, who later switched political stands and criticized fellow student leaders and the mainstream opposition movement, including Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said he believes that democracy can be best and earliest achieved through the junta's roadmap.

Meanwhile, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said his party has not yet decided on whether or not to contest the upcoming election, saying, "We would like to first observe the situation."

The NLD and other opposition groups have condemned the junta's roadmap and criticized the constitution as a tool to cement military rule in Burma.

Reporting by Salai Pi Pi

Nargis volunteer sentenced to 10 years imprisonment - Ko Khin Maung Win

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – An individual arrested while undertaking volunteer relief services for victims of Cyclone Nargis was yesterday sentenced to ten years imprisonment by a court in Rangoon's outlying district of South Dagon.

Khin Maung Win (29), a resident of South Dagon Township, yesterday at approximately 2 p.m. was sentenced to ten years imprisonment with hard labor, having been found guilty of establishing an unlawful organization and undertaking an illegal border crossing.

"Ko Khin Maung Win was given five years under an unlawful organization case and another five years through the Immigration Act, totaling ten years", Rangoon lawyer Nyi Nyi Hlaing, who is familiar with this case, told Mizzima.

An eyewitnesses heard Khin Maung Win reciting a poem written by 88 Generation student leader Min Ko Naing, 'I'll plant the fighting peacock flag on the classroom walls', as he was boarding a prison van to take him back to Insein prison following the sentencing.

Khin Maung Win is a member of the anti-junta organization 'New Generation' and was arrested on the 10th of October last year while acting as a relief campaign volunteer in storm ravaged areas of the country. Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on May 2-3 of last year, left around 140,000 people dead or missing.

Previously, Khin Maung Win worked in Malaysia and was forced to return illegally to Burma after losing his passport abroad.

"Most Burmese citizens who lose their passport return to Burma illegally. But only Ko Khin Maung Win was punished because of his political activities," Nyi Nyi Hlaing iterated.

The 'New Generation Group for Justice', of which Khin Maung Win is reportedly a member, was formed in March 2008 by youth in Rangoon who subsequently took part in the 'Red' and 'NO' campaigns associated with drumming up support in opposition to the junta's draft constitution, which was put to a referendum in May of last year.

Khin Maung Win officially married Pan Phyu Phyu Pwint (29) on the day of his sentencing by signing a marriage deed at the main entrance to Insein prison in the presence of the parents of both the bride and groom.

UWSP Proposes Wa Autonomous Region

A United Wa State Army caravan in Shan State. (Photo: Thierry Falise)
The Irrawaddy News

The United Wa State Party (UWSP), an ethnic ceasefire group based in northern Burma, has proposed to the country’s military regime that territory under Wa control be designated a special autonomous region from the beginning of January 2009, according to political observers based in the area.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border, said that some Wa leaders had told him in recent telephone conversations that the party was now issuing documents stamped “Government of Wa State, Special Autonomous Region, Union of Myanmar.”

“This is a sign that they are preparing to establish a Wa autonomous region,” said Aung Kyaw Zwa.

However, observers said that the Burmese military still hasn’t responded to a proposal to rename the Wa territory the “Wa State Government Special Region.”

The Wa area has been known by the Burmese military as “Shan State Special Region 2” since the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the armed wing of the UWSP, entered into a ceasefire agreement with the regime in 1989.

In 2003, when the UWSP attended a junta-sponsored national constitutional convention, the party asked to be allowed to form a Wa State within Burma.

Wa political observers estimated that there are 20,000 UWSA soldiers currently deployed along Burma’s borders with Thailand and China, while an estimated 60,000 to 120,000 Wa villagers inhabit areas of lower Shan State.

Under the regime’s new constitution, six townships in two districts of Shan State—Hopang, Mongma, Panwai, Nahpan, Metman and Pangsang—comprise an area designated the Wa Self-Administered Division.

Khuensai Jaiyen, editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, said that the UWSP was using the constitution as the basis of its call for autonomy. “The UWSP is testing the Burmese military government’s new constitution to see if it is genuine or not. If it is, the regime has to allow the Wa to form an autonomous region,” he said.

“The Wa will take part in the [junta’s 2010] election if the Burmese military recognizes their proposal,” said Mai Aik Phone, who is close to Wa leaders. “At the moment, they are in wait-and-see mode.”

Meanwhile, tensions between the regime and the UWSA have been mounting since Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe, the Burmese Army’s regional commander in the Golden Triangle area of Shan State, told the UWSA to disarm in December and join the upcoming election in 2010.

Wa leaders categorically rejected Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe’s proposal, according to sources.

Suu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with MusicSuu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with Music

THE IRRAWADDY
January 5, 2009

On Independence Day this year, Burma's detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has chosen not to stay quiet behind the locked gates of her home where she is under house arrest.

Members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said they heard old songs, popular in the pre-independence era, playing in her home.

On Sunday, Burma marked the 61st anniversary of its independence from Britain in 1948.

Suu Kyi has also put up a new red banner, which can be viewed from the street, with words in yellow quoting her father, independence hero Gen Aung San: ''Act decisively in the interest of the nation and the people."

The NLD, in a ceremony at its headquarter in Rangoon attended by 300 people, including veteran politicians and diplomats, called for the release of Suu Kyi, who has been detained for more than 13 of the past 19 years.

On December 30, nine NLD members were arrested when they staged a protest in Rangoon calling for her release. A commentary in the recent issue of the Weekly Eleven journal says the junta will charge those arrested "according to the law."

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Kyi Win, said Burmese authorities still have not replied to his request to meet with the detained opposition leader to discuss her appeal against her continued detention. But Suu Kyi was allowed a visit by her personal doctor, Tin Myo Win, on January 1 and she was in good health.

Suu Kyi’s latest five-year term of house arrest was extended in May for a further year—illegally, according to Kyi Win, because Article 10 (b) of the Burmese State Protection Law 1975 stipulates that a person judged to be a "threat to the sovereignty and security of the State and the peace of the people" can only be detained for up to five years.

Meanwhile, junta ministers, and about 3,000 government employees and senior officials, attended the official Independence Day ceremony and military parade in Naypyidaw. Junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe did not attend.

However, in his official speech, read at the gathering, Than Shwe accused "neo-colonialists"—normally a reference to the Western countries led by the US—of interfering in Burma’s affairs.

"They are using some international organizations to gain support for their schemes and driving a wedge among national people and inciting riots to undermine national unity, peace and the stability of the nation," he said.

In December, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Burma to free all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

The resolution also voiced concern over the junta’s so-called "seven-step roadmap" to democracy, including the planned general election in 2010, noting the failure of the regime to include other political parties, members of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, and representatives of ethnic political organizations in the process.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Taunggok NLD chair’s jail term extended by 15 years - Min Aung

Jan 5, 2009 (DVB)–Burmese authorities last month extended the sentence of Taunggok township National League for Democracy chairman Min Aung, who had been serving a two-and-a-half-year jail term in Sagaing's Kalay prison.

NLD spokesperson and information wing member Nyan Win said Min Aung was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison under the electronics act at a court hearing held in Sagaing division's Tamu township from 10 to 17 December.

Min Aung was detained by the authorities in October 2007 after the monk-led demonstrations in September and was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison four days later.

His term was later reduced to two and a half years and he was transferred from Rangoon's Insein prison to Sandoway prison, and then later to Mandalay prison.

In March 2008, Min Aung was transferred to Kalay prison in Sagaing division.

"We just can't understand this - he has been in prison for over a year and obviously was not able to take part in any [political] activities during that time," said Nyan Win.

"Min Aung told his father who visited him not long ago that he had been brought to Tamu court where he had 15 more years added to his term for an offence he didn’t know about," he said.

"It's like [the authorities] are deliberately making it impossible for these people to leave the prison, and sending someone to jail for something he or she doesn’t know about is not fair at all."

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Looking Back at Burma 2008

DECEMBER, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.12- The Irrawaddy News

January

11—Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with the Burmese junta’s liaison officer, ex Maj-Gen Aung Kyi. The meeting was the fourth since the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in August and September 2007.

18—The UN Security Council (UNSC) held a closed door meeting on Burma. Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi of Libya, UNSC president for January, said that the Security Council members regretted the slow rate of progress to date toward meeting its objectives. The presidential statement that followed said that the UNSC emphasized the importance of the early release of all political prisoners.

February

Tay Za, left, speaks with transport minister Maj-Gen Thein Swe and Rangoon Regional Commander Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win. (Photo: AP)

5—The US government slapped additional targeted sanctions on the cronies of Burma’s authoritarian regime. Four companies and three individuals connected to a well-known Burmese tycoon, Tay Za, were added to the list. The individuals were: Aung Thet Mann, son of Gen Thura Shwe Mann; Thiha, Tay Za’s brother and business partner; and Kyaw Thein, the director of Tay Za’s business ventures in Singapore. Also targeted were the wives of four senior Burmese government officials: Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Construction Minister Saw Tun, Lt-Gen Ye Myint and Foreign Affairs Minister Nyan Win.

25—The US government added more names to the targeted sanctions list of the Burmese junta’s business cronies. On the list were Tun Myint Naing, aka Steven Law, his father, Lo Hsing-han, and his wife, Cecilia Ng, a Singaporean citizen. Ten companies they own which are based in Singapore and four companies they own based in Burma were also targeted.

March

10—UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari met Suu Kyi for the second time during his third mission to broker political reconciliation efforts and to encourage democratic reform in Burma. Junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe had already refused to meet Gambari and the junta would later reject Gambari’s call to allow international observers to monitor the upcoming referendum on a new constitution in May.

Burmese soldiers march during the 63rd Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on March 27, 2008. (Photo: AFP)

27—During a ceremony in the capital, Naypyidaw, to mark Burma’s 63rd Armed Forces Day, Than Shwe denied that the regime was power hungry, saying “The handing over of state power can be done after multi-party elections in 2010.”

April

1—The enshrined body of revered abbot U Vinaya, known as Thamanya Sayadaw, was stolen from its resting place at a temple in Karen State in eastern Burma by a group of armed men wearing camouflage uniforms. Thamanya Sayadaw was renowned and respected for his integrity and generous donations to local development projects and was a supporter of and spiritual adviser to Suu Kyi. He died at age 93 in 2003.

9—Fifty-four Burmese migrants suffocated to death in a container truck in Ranong Province on the west coast of Thailand while they were being transported to the resort island of Phuket to work illegally. Among the victims were 37 women. Sixty-seven migrants survived the ordeal.

May

2—Tropical Cyclone Nargis, which was rated Category 3 and formed in the Bay of Bengal, started to rip through the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon on the night of May 2. At wind speeds of 190 km/h (120 mph), the cyclone wreaked havoc on the region, causing Burma’s worst natural disaster in modern history. Nargis claimed the lives of more than 140,000 people and directly affected millions.

8—The US announced it was ready to airdrop relief materials and food to hundreds of thousands of people in the cyclone-hit areas of the Irrawaddy delta upon approval of the Burmese government. Three US ships in the Gulf of Thailand sailed toward Burma to be in position to provide help. A French amphibious naval craft, Mistral, and the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster joined the American ships a few days later. However, all appeals to allow relief supplies ashore were rejected by the Burmese authorities.

Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta and once again drew international attention to the Burmese regime’s brutal indifference to the needs of the country’s people. (Photo: AFP)

10—Despite the natural disaster, Burma’s constitutional referendum went ahead as planned in areas not affected by Cyclone Nargis, amid accusations of massive cheating at polling stations and reports of a very low turnout. Many voters told The Irrawaddy that referendum officials had handed out ballot papers already filled in with ticks indicating approval of the government’s draft constitution.

23—Than Shwe finally met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Naypyidaw to discuss the UN’s role in the aid operation. Ban had previously complained that Than Shwe would not take his calls or communicate with him. After the meeting, Ban announced that Than Shwe had agreed to allow all foreign aid workers into Burma to assist in the humanitarian mission.

25—The Asean-UN International Pledging Conference was held in Rangoon with 51 donor nations attending. The UN secretary-general later said he was cautiously optimistic that this could be a turning point for Burma to “be more flexible, more practical and face the reality as it is on the ground.”

June

10—A major multilateral operation of some 250 experts from the UN, the Burmese government and Southeast Asian nations was launched to assess the needs of Burma’s cyclone survivors.

1-18—Ten social activists were arrested for helping victims of Cyclone Nargis. The arrested aid workers were identified as Zarganar, Zaw Thet Htwe, Ein Khaing Oo, Myat Thu, Yin Yin Wine, Tin Tin Cho, Ko Zaw, Tin Maung Oo, Ni Mo Hlaing and Toe Kyaw Hlaing. Zarganar is Burma’s most popular satirist and an outspoken critic of the regime.

26—The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said that the alarming increase in opium production in Afghanistan and Burma in 2007 is posing a serious threat to the progress made in drug control over the past several years. The 2008 World Drug Report noted that after six years of decline, opium poppy cultivation increased by 29 percent in Burma.

July

21—The Burmese regime signed the new Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Charter, which includes a regional human rights body.

Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan holds up a copy of the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment report at the Asean Ministerial Meeting on July 21. (Photo: Reuters)

21—The Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Report, prepared and released by the UN, Asean and the Burmese regime, said the damage from Burma’s Cyclone Nargis in May was estimated at US $4 billion. That was in sharp contrast to the Burmese government’s initial report, which called for $11 billion in aid.

29—US President George W Bush signed into law the Block Burma JADE Act, restricting the import of precious Burmese gems and stones. The US Department of Treasury said the sanctions targeted two conglomerates: the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and the Myanmar Economic Corporation. Both are extensively involved in a variety of sectors critical to the Burmese government, including the gem, banking and construction industries.

August

7—US President Bush met nine Burmese activists in Bangkok while first lady Laura Bush visited Mae Lah refugee camp and Mae Tao Clinic at the Thai-Burmese border.

20—UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari was snubbed by Suu Kyi. In an attempt to meet Burma’s detained opposition leader, two aides shouted for Suu Kyi through a loudspeaker outside the gate of her house in Rangoon, but to no avail. Observers later said that Suu Kyi’s refusal to meet the UN envoy showed her disappointment with his failed attempts to broker a solution to the country’s decades-old political standoff.

September

12—After weeks of refusal to accept deliveries of food and household supplies in protest against her unlawful detention, Suu Kyi won some concessions from the military regime, including deliveries of international magazines and personal mail. She had earlier discussed an appeal against her current term of house arrest with lawyer Kyi Win.

23—Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner, 79-year-old journalist Win Tin, was freed after 19 years in prison. He was among 9,002 prisoners released, only a handful of whom were political detainees. Press freedom organizations throughout the world welcomed the release of Win Tin, winner of the 2001 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize.

October

13—Seven people died and one person was critically injured when an explosion ripped through a passenger-carrying pickup truck in Rangoon. It was later confirmed that a compressed natural gas (CNG) cylinder had exploded, one of several such accidents since the introduction of CNG on public transportation in Burma in recent years.

Members of the National League for Democracy march in support of their detained leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on May 27, 2008. (Photo: AFP)

16—More than 100 youth members of the opposition NLD resigned, complaining that the party hierarchy did not give them a democratic voice in the decision-making process. The group urged the NLD leaders to air discussions on the junta-drafted constitution as well as campaign for the support of the people and conduct a dialogue with ethnic leaders.

17—Zipporah Sein, a well-known Karen leader and the 2007 winner of the Perdita Huston Human Rights Award, was elected general-secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU) at its 14th Congress. She became the KNU’s first woman general-secretary, succeeding Mahn Sha, who was assassinated on February 14.

27—Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited North Korea for the first time since the two reclusive regimes resumed diplomatic ties more than a year ago. Burma severed relations with North Korea in 1983 following a bombing in Rangoon, allegedly by North Korean secret agents targeting South Korea’s then President Chun Doo-hwan.

November

11—Twenty-three leading activists, including five women, from the 88 Generation Students group were each given 65-year sentences for their political activities during the monk-led uprising in 2007.

Throwing away the key: Lengthy prison sentences for dissidents will likely mean continued international isolation for Burma’s junta. (Illustration: Harn Lay/The Irrawaddy)

14—The United States named 26 individuals and 17 companies as “specially designated narcotics traffickers” and imposed new economic sanctions, including the freezing of assets held in the US. The individuals and companies were associated with Wei Hsueh Kang and the United Wa State Army.

16—At least 21 convicted political prisoners, including Buddhist monks, 88 Student Generation group leader Min Ko Naing and prominent human rights activist Su Su Nway, were transferred from Rangoon’s Insein Prison to remote prisons around Burma.

7-18—The military government sentenced at least 86 activists, including monks and women, in special courts held in Insein Prison in Rangoon. The White House said that the international community and the UN should not remain silent to the oppressive, anti-democratic actions of the junta.

21—Ashin Gambira, one of the leaders of the September 2007 uprising, was sentenced to a total of 68 years.

25—About 25,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses in Burma in 2007 and 76,000 out of an estimated 240,000 people who are believed to be carrying HIV/AIDS urgently need antiretroviral treatment, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

27—Zarganar, whose anti-regime satire was a constant thorn in the side of Burma’s ruling generals, was sentenced to an additional 14 years imprisonment, following an initial sentence of 45 years imposed on November 21.

The Drama of 2008

By KYAW ZWA MOE
The Irrawaddy Editorial
DECEMBER, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.12

Kyaw Zwa Moe

EVENTS in Burma during 2008 added up to a drama packed with mixed emotions. They began with an appalling disaster, arousing sympathy and anger, and ended with frustration as the year approached its end. Out of the drama, however, lessons can be learnt for the year ahead by all those involved, from the average Burmese citizen to national and international leaders, by organizations of all kinds, global and local alike.

The year 2008 was scarcely four months old when immense misfortune hit this beautiful but economically battered and politically stalled country. Cyclone Nargis swept in from the Bay of Bengal, killing about 140,000 people and leaving some two million homeless and bereft of their livelihoods. The world watched with horror—but this was just the first act of the drama.

The international community responded with immediate offers of assistance, but governments and relief agencies hadn’t reckoned with the callousness of a suspicious regime, which at first barred aid organizations and workers from entering the country before eventually allowing them in under tight restrictions.

An angry but impotent world watched helplessly as the cyclone victims struggled to survive, neglected by their own government. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke for many world leaders when he said: “The Burmese regime is behaving appallingly.”

Even when US, British and French ships loaded with thousands of tons of relief supplies sailed to the region, the Burmese government banned them from landing emergency aid that would have saved an unknown number of lives. Frustration grew as helicopters sat on ships’ decks just half an hour flight from starving communities, and some foreign government members, led by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, called for the employment of a little-known UN principle, the “responsibility to protect” (known as “R2P”), allowing outside intervention in situations where a national government is unable or unwilling to protect its people.

While the world dithered, cyclone victims suffered and died, and finally the fleet of foreign relief ships withdrew and the regime was able to report that all had returned to “normalcy.” Faced with growing international pressure, the regime did, however, agree to allow relief flights to land, although tight restrictions were still imposed.

Much more important for the regime than the cyclone crisis was the smooth execution of its pet project—the national referendum on the draft constitution that had taken a convention of hand-picked delegates 14 years to draw up and which not even the worst natural disaster to hit the country in living memory was allowed to delay.

A UN demand for a review of the draft constitution by a special committee, to make sure it provided for an all-inclusive political process, was rejected by the regime. The result of the referendum was no surprise, and the outside world was asked to accept the absurd fiction that the draft constitution had been approved by more than 90 percent of the electorate.

Some consoled themselves with the belief that “something is better than nothing.” Burma has lacked a constitution for the past 20 years, after its second post-independence charter was revoked at the time of the 1988 national uprising, and it was certainly time for a new one.

Like it or not, the people of Burma will have to live for now with this constitution, which won’t be easy to review or amend. Its salient features are:

• The perpetuation of a leading political role for the military, with the commander in chief of the armed forces, currently the junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe, entitled to fill 110 seats in the 440-seat parliament with appointees from the ranks of the armed forces. The commander in chief will occupy a political position on the same level as that of the two vice presidents. In the event of a “state of emergency,” which the military can declare at any time, the commander in chief will assume full legislative, executive and judicial powers.

• No role for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and limited participation by other veteran politicians and activists. Suu Kyi’s exclusion is determined by a clause reading: “The President of the Union shall be a person who has been residing continuously in the country for at least 20 years up to the time of the election and the President of the Union himself, parents, spouse, children and their spouses shall not owe allegiance to a foreign power, shall not be a subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country. They shall not be persons entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign country.” As the widow of a British scholar and mother of two sons who are not Burmese citizens, Suu Kyi is, therefore, barred from any leadership role. The same applies to political exiles who have lived outside the country since 1988.

• The inviolability of the constitution is guaranteed by its Chapter 12 which states that any amendment requires the approval of more than 75 percent of all members of parliament. Since 25 percent of the parliament will be made up of military appointees, the constitution is as good as cast in stone.

Under these conditions, only a massive uprising on the scale of the 1988 turmoil could lead to changes in the constitution. With the country now in the grip of a regime determined to eliminate all opposition to its rule, this is highly unlikely to happen.

Frustration with military rule is still very evident, however. Suu Kyi’s unprecedented refusal to meet UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his last trip to Burma in August was evidence of this.

The failure of Gambari’s repeated missions to Burma should lead the UN to do some serious soul-searching. It should at least ensure that its envoys aren’t exploited by the regime or even negotiate with the generals without the promise of some tangible result.

The UN’s future role in the Burma question will amount to nothing as long as it lacks the capability to convince all key players to play their roles effectively. That means the Burmese government and opposition groups, regional players such as China, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and—on the wider international stage—the US, EU and the UN Security Council (UNSC). It won’t be an easy task. But nothing is impossible.

World politics have had a big impact on the Burma issue.

The UNSC issued its first presidential statement on Burma in October 2007 in an attempt to pressure the Burmese generals to enter a dialogue with the opposition.

In May this year, the UNSC issued another presidential statement, toned down because of opposition by China and Russia to some of the wording. The three authors of the resolution—the US, France and Britain—not only had to water down their original draft but they also had to delete a demand for the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi. In an attempt to persuade the 15-member council to approve the presidential statement, the three Western powers were also forced to scrap the portion which urged the junta to take tangible and timely steps towards a genuine dialogue.

Chinese and Russian support within the UNSC also ensured that Burma avoided total isolation in the world community.

In October, Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited North Korea and met his counterpart, Pak Ui Chun, in Pyongyang, a significant encounter following the resumption of diplomatic ties ruptured in 1983 when North Korean agents plotted to assassinate the then South Korean president in Rangoon.

The world’s divided approach to Burma has emboldened the regime to resist international demands for political change and to challenge the Western powers, including the US. The question is how much those powers are interested in getting directly involved in the issue.

In November, outgoing US President George W Bush appointed Michael J Green as the special representative and policy coordinator for Burma with rank of ambassador. Since the junta’s brutal crackdown against the uprising in 1988, the US has lowered its official representation in Rangoon to the rank of chargé d’affaires.

Although the US is the world’s staunchest supporter of Burma’s pro-democracy movement and the strongest critic of the regime, the Burmese people realize that world politics don’t favor drastic US action against their country’s leaders. But, like a drowning man clutching at a straw, most Burmese still hope for a real change-oriented policy by the international community led by the US.

They ask whether the “change” promised by US President-elect Barack Obama means anything for the Burmese people. Will a “changed” foreign policy mean more than remaining a staunch supporter of the pro-democracy movement and the strongest critic of the regime?

The Burmese appreciate the US stand, but many realize that they can expect little more. They haven’t lost all hope, however, and feel a resolution of the political stalemate could yet come. The resolution could materialize from a greater engagement by the US and other Western powers alongside China, India and Asean.

Burma signed an Asean human rights charter in July, but already the regime has blatantly breached it by hauling more than 150 activists—including monks, journalists, lawyers and volunteer relief workers—before kangaroo courts, which have been handing out sentences of unbelievable severity—up to 65 years imprisonment for leaders of the 88 Students Generation group.

Asean’s political culture and deeply-rooted non-interference policy appeared to combine to allow these monstrous acts by a member state.

Despite Asean’s stand on non-interference, differences between East and West or between governments which advocate sanctions and those which favor engagement must be bridged. The differences can only serve to maintain Burma’s status quo, and nobody benefits except the country’s rulers.

The US, other Western nations, the EU, China, India and Asean must take a united approach, based on one common strategy, including the appointment of an ambassador to Burma possessing a powerful mandate from the whole international community.

The aim will not be to remove the regime, but to get it to work together with all opposition parties, ethnic groups and the international community in a combined effort to break the deadlock.

Burma’s opposition groups are not talking about regime change. They are calling for reconciliation. Pragmatists recognize that the role of the military will have to be accepted in the future political structure of the country—although it will have to be different from what is envisaged in the constitution.

History has shown that Burma’s military leaders possess no will for reconciliation or collaboration with the outside world. Rewards and punishment will have to be employed to bring them to their senses.

There must be a will for national reconciliation, the relief of the economic and political suffering inflicting the Burmese people and the release of all political prisoners.

The achievement of this dream belongs in the hands of a new united front of all domestic and international parties. With a combined policy of a united world, this mission can be accomplished. It will be much more than just difficult—but nothing is impossible.

Burma’s drama has by no means ended, and it’s still uncertain whether its finale will be tragic or happy.

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