Two NLD youth members arrested - Htet Soe Lin and Thet Pain Min

(DVB)–Two National League for Democracy youth members from Dala township in Rangoon were arrested at their homes in the early hours of yesterday morning, according to party spokesperson Nyan Win.

Nyan Win said the Dala township NLD youth wing coordinator Htet Soe Lin and youth organising wing leader Thet Pain Min were arrested by about 20 Special Branch police officials from their houses at around 2am on Monday morning.

"We still don't know the reason for the arrests or any other details," Nyan Win said.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

READ MORE---> Two NLD youth members arrested - Htet Soe Lin and Thet Pain Min...

When the Market Speaks

By YENI

(Irrawaddy News) -The sharp fall in oil prices on world markets has created a unique situation in Burma, where the cost of fuel on the black market is now lower than at government-controlled pumps.

Until the recent precipitous fall in world oil prices, the government was cashing in by rationing fixed-price fuel at state-run pumps while also attempting to control the flow of gasoline and diesel on the black market.

The sudden drop in world market prices by more than half has turned the system upside down. Today, the black market price for a gallon of gasoline is 300 kyat (US $0.27) lower than the 2,500 kyat ($2.20) charged at government-run pumps, while diesel is 400 kyat ($0.35) cheaper than the official price of 3,000 kyat ($2.70).

The official price of gasoline and diesel had remained unchanged since sharp increases at the state-run pumps sparked the demonstrations that led to the September 2007 uprising.

Burma’s “black” economy controls everyday life, where consumers contend with differences between state-decreed prices and black market rates for many basics, particularly fuel.

The military took advantage of the situation by selling to the black market while keeping rationing. Ordinary citizens are allowed only two gallons (nine liters) a day and often have to queue for hours at the pumps. Black market sources, on the other hand, were readily accessible—although at a price—and many found a handy means of income by dealing in this dark side of the Burmese economy.

Trapped in a spiral of rising costs by having to buy fuel on the international market in dollars and then selling it in the local currency, kyat, the regime’s Ministry of Energy dropped its subsidy on pump prices in 2007.

The junta undertook a partial "liberalization" of Burma’s energy market by allowing Myanmar Economic Holding, Ltd, which is owned by the military, and Htoo Trading Co, Ltd, which belongs to Tay Za, a close associate of leading figures in the ruling junta, to import fuel.

When oil prices on world markets hit $100 a barrel in early 2008, the regime again tried to control fuel sales. In May 2008, black market prices spiked at 7,000 kyat ($6.20) for a gallon of diesel and 6,000 kyat ($5.30) for gasoline.

In response to the impact on businesses, the regime authorized the formation of a “diesel committee” to ensure that companies operating heavy equipment had adequate access to fuel at reasonable prices. The committee, at that time, set the price of gasoline at 4,500-5,000 kyat ($4.00-4.40) a gallon and diesel at 4,600-5,200 kyat ($4.10-4.60).

Along with a dramatic decline in world oil prices in recent months, according to business sources in Burma, large amounts of lower-priced fuel are being smuggled into the country from China, India and Thailand, making it additionally difficult for the military to reap profits from its own artificially created black market.

Pressure is now increasing on the Burmese regime to free the country's fuel market from government price-control.

That should be a good news. Declining energy prices should lower other living costs and provide some much-needed relief to consumers.

Traditionally, the regime has shown little understanding of the dynamics of a market economy, looking instead only at short-term problem-solving. Now the market is starting to speak loudly—and this time the regime has to listen.

READ MORE---> When the Market Speaks...

Clinton Makes No Remarks on Burma

By LALIT K JHA

WASHINGTON (Irrawaddy)— During her Senate confirmation hearing, the US Secretary of State-designate, Hillary Clinton, made no remarks about her views on Burma, but praised first lady Laura Bush for taking up the cause of the people of Burma.

"Mrs. Bush has been outspoken on behalf of the plight of Afghan women, on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and other women facing oppression around the world," Clinton said during the course of her nomination hearing at the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

Except for this, there was no reference to Burma during the hearing convened by Senate Foreign Relations for the secretary of sate-designate. During the day-long hearing, almost all other aspects of the US foreign policy were discussed.

Clinton said that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East. She implicitly criticized the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.

Clinton spoke confidently of President-elect Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen US diplomacy.

"The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality,” she said.

There were no questions on Burma from any senator on the committee and no remarks from Clinton on what the new administration's policy would be towards the Burmese military junta.

READ MORE---> Clinton Makes No Remarks on Burma...

Army officers lash out in karaoke bar

(DVB)–Two army officers from Light Infantry Battalion 15 based in Myin Chan, Mandalay division, lashed out at customers in a karaoke bar in ward 19 on 8 January after the owner refused their demand to hand over female singers.

A Myin Chan resident said police officers were present during the incident but did not intervene to stop the two men.

"LIB-15 sergeant Ko Tun Win and an unidentified army captain arrived at the New Life karaoke bar owned by a man named Ko Kyaw Htoo and said they wanted to have some of the girls who were working there as singers," the resident said.

"Kyaw Htoo refused their demand and said it would not be possible. The army officers went berserk after the argument and started breaking bottles and held people in the bar up at gunpoint," he said.

"Police corporal Than Myaing from Myin Chan police station 1 was on the scene with a group when it happened but did not try to stop them," he went on.

"Finally the two army officers left the place after loudly cursing the whole ward."

The Myin Chan resident said the police officers could have been afraid to intervene because a police private had previously been sacked after intervening in a fight between army personnel and locals at a pagoda festival.

"We want the police to do something. We don’t feel safe with these young army officials being able to do whatever they want in our community just because they have weapons,” he said.

“Now it's like the army can commit any crime they want and get away with it."

LIB-15 and the police station were unavailable for comment.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> Army officers lash out in karaoke bar...

Burma's gem industry: profit that fills the generals' pockets

by Mungpi & Solomon

New Delhi (Mizzima) – To promote production of gems and jewellery, Burma's Ministry of Mines said it is allocating six blocks in three states to local entrepreneurs to mine gems, an official at the ministry said.

An official at the Ministry of Mines in Naypyitaw said, the six blocks, located in Shan state's Mongshu and Namhyar, Kachin state's Moenyin and Sagaing division's Mawhan, Mawlu and Hkamti will be leased out to private entrepreneurs for a three-year term.

"These areas are regular mining zones and we are giving out new blocks in these areas. Those who are interested can apply now," the official told Mizzima.

While Burma's military government by occasionally granting gem mining blocks claims that it is promoting domestic entrepreneurs, local residents in the mining areas said mining and the gem trade has largely deteriorated since the current batch of generals grabbed power in 1988.

A local businessman in Mogoke in Mandalay division, a mining town which produces one of the world's finest rubies, said, mining business has largely been monopolized by a few businessmen who maintain a close relationship with the junta.

"Even those (the announced) blocks will be dominated by some of the cronies of the junta, others will only get it if the sites are not producing much gems," he said.

He said, since the early 1990s, the junta has taken control over all gem mines and only permits companies to carry out mining in collaboration with government enterprises, popularly known as Oo Paing.

Since then, companies such as Shwe Pyi Aye, Lynn Yaung Chi and Kadekada, who have close relations with the ruling generals, have dominated gem mining and production in Mogoke.

While Burma's Ministry of Mines designates Mogoke, Mongshu, Lonkin, Phakant, Khamhti, Moenyin and Namyar as gem mines, Phakant of Kachin State and Mogoke of Mandalay division and Monghshu of Shan state are the most famous areas, where mining of gem is carried out on a large scale.

According to a veteran gem trader residing in Mogoke, with the mining industries solely dominated by junta's allied companies, most high quality gems are directly transported to Rangoon and Mandalay to be sold to foreign buyers.

He also insists that a part of the high-quality gems produced is also smuggled directly to China, Thailand and Hong Kong.

"The mining scene in Mogoke today has drastically changed. Earlier we could look for gems in 'Hta Pwe' but now the machines do the work and most products, specially the high quality gems, would not even be noticed by local traders," the trader said, referring to a local gem-bazaar in Mogoke town, known as 'Hta Pwe', where traders and local miners come to meet and bid.

Despite the big companies coming in to take control over mining, Mogoke, a town with abundant gems beneath, still holds the 'Hta Pwe' where small time businessmen and private, now illegal, miners still hold business meets.

Similarly, in Phakant in Kachin State, a town popularly known for its quality and abundance of jade products, with the advance of Oo Paings, most jades have disappeared from local businessmen only to be sold off to China, Hong Kong and other countries, through the borders.

But the business community in Phakant said a few of the products still reaches Rangoon to be exhibited in government sponsored gems and jewellery exhibitions.

The Burmese government has been conducting annual exhibitions in Rangoon since 1964, and later in 1992 extended it to twice a year by having a mid-year exhibition. Through these exhibitions, the junta earns millions of dollars. In October 2008, the junta said, it earned more than US $ 172 million from the sale of gems in such an exhibition.

But a long time jade businessman in Mandalay calculates that the junta's generals are earning much more from sale of gems mainly jade to China through the borders, which are then re-sold to buyers in Hong Kong and other parts of the world.

Burma, from its various gem mines across the country produces some of the best quality rubies and jades in the world, and also produces emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow.

"If all of these precious stones and gems are made use for the development of the country, people won't be starving," the veteran businessman, who now resides in Mandalay, said.

READ MORE---> Burma's gem industry: profit that fills the generals' pockets...

Food Aid Starting to Reach Chin Villages

By LAWI WENG

The director of the Country Agency for Rural Development (CAD), a nongovernmental organization, says his group has handed out food aid to about 20 villages in Chin State, in an area that has experienced food shortages for about two years.

At least 70,000 Chin have faced food shortages after rice crops in Chin State were destroyed by a rat infestation and drought, according to NGO workers in Rangoon.

“There are thirty more villages where our aid hasn’t reached yet because of poor transportation,” said Joseph Win Hlaing Oo, the CAD director. He said the Burmese military government allowed aid groups to distribute rice starting in the middle of November 2008.

"We’ve started rice distribution under a food-for-work program, and we started two weeks ago," he said.

“They had no food when we arrived in some villages,” he said. “They try to borrow food from village to village. They promise to pay it back next year. That is how they survive.”

The 50 villages earmarked by the CAD group are near three townships, Haka, Lantalang and Matupi.

Joseph Win Hlaing Oo said an unknown number of additional villages could be experiencing food shortages. He said the CAD group can help only about 50 villages because of budget restrictions.

Many villagers cried when thanking the aid workers who handed out food, he said.

Ray Hay, a resident of Haka Township, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that other villages are receiving rice aid from other NGOs and religious groups.

A report by the UN World Food Program said 75 percent of the crops in the area had been destroyed by rats and 30 percent of the villagers surveyed had been forced to abandon their fields.

The rat infestation began two years ago in Chin State, sending hundreds of Chin to live near the Indian border where they sought to enter the country illegally in order to find work.

In September 2008, about 50 village elders from Chin State traveled to Mizoran on the Indian border to appeal for international aid to address the food famine. The Chin Union Council previously reported that 31 children had died from a lack of food.

Chin Union Council leaders based on the Indian border said the Burmese military authorities had banned ethnic Chin people from receiving food supplies donated by Burmese in foreign countries.

According to a Mizoram-based Chin relief group, the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee, about 100,000 of the 500,000 people in Chin State had experienced food shortages. The shortage began in December 2007. Many people were surviving on boiled rice, fruit and vegetables.

A famine occurs about every 50 years in the area when the flowering of a native species of bamboo gives rise to an explosion in the rat population, say experts. The International Rice Research Institute had warned of widespread rice shortages in the region.

READ MORE---> Food Aid Starting to Reach Chin Villages...

Abhisit Needs to Set a New Course on Burma

By AUNG ZAW

(Irrawaddy News) -Here’s some good news: Thailand’s new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, says he shares the West’s desire for change in Burma.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Kingdom is about to impose sanctions on its recalcitrant neighbor. Because of its culture and geographic proximity to Burma, Thailand could not embrace such an approach, he explained.

The young prime minister was disappointingly short on details about what his country could do to bring about change in Burma, but at least he made a clear break from the policies of former PM Samak Sundaravej, who visited Burma a year ago and returned full of fulsome praise for his hosts.

Samak, who was widely regarded as a proxy for ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, infamously came to the defense of Burma’s brutal generals, describing them as pious Buddhists who pray and meditate every morning.

More importantly, Samak was intent on restoring Thaksin’s policy of highly personalized, business-based relations with Burma. Under Thaksin, Thailand’s Burma policy was driven by purely commercial considerations. The lack of transparency that characterized some of his deals with the Burmese junta was widely criticized.

Most Burmese now hope that Abhisit will be able to restore transparency and accountability to Thailand’s dealings with its troubled neighbor. But even if he succeeds in staying in office long enough to undo some of the more damaging aspects of Thaksin’s legacy, he will have his work cut out for him setting relations with Burma on a straighter course.

Almost from the moment the Burmese regime seized power in a bloody coup in 1988, Thailand has been deeply conflicted over how to respond to its neighbor’s problems.

In the immediate aftermath of the army’s crackdown on protests, Burma’s nascent pro-democracy movement enjoyed strong popular support in Thailand, which soon became an important base for thousands of anti-junta dissidents; even now, hundreds of exiles remain in the country, to the perennial irritation of Burma’s rulers.

At the same time, however, many in Thailand’s ruling class saw the bloodshed as an act of desperation by a military clique despised by the majority of Burmese and with few friends abroad. The government of late PM Chatchai Choonhavan wasted no time in exploiting this rare opportunity to win access to Burma’s resources in exchange for Thailand’s economic and diplomatic support of the regime.

For most of the past 20 years, Bangkok has pursued a policy of “constructive engagement” with Burma. Only during the two terms of former PM Chuan Leekpai has Thailand’s Burma policy been guided by principles other than economic self-interest.

In 1993, the Chuan government allowed Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to visit Thailand to lobby for the release of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to highlight the need for democracy in Burma. The regime in Rangoon was furious and the relationship was strained.

During his second term, from 1997 to 2001, Chuan took an even tougher stance toward the generals in Burma. He declined to pay an official visit to Burma and he put Thailand’s defense in the hands of then-Army Chief Gen Surayud Chulanont and then-Third Army Commander Lt-Gen Watanachai Chaimuenwong—two hawks who looked askance at their neighbors to the west. Gen Surayud was also known to be sympathetic to Burma’s ethnic minorities.

As a result, troops from both sides massed along the border, leading to serious skirmishes and repeated border closures. Relations were then at their lowest ebb.

All this changed when Thaksin became the prime minister in 2001. He quickly restored a business-based approach to relations with Rangoon. But after Thaksin was deposed by a military coup in October 2006, relations with Burma were put on the back burner.

Surayud returned to a position of influence, this time as Thailand’s interim leader, and Bangkok kept its distance from Burma.

Surayud condemned the regime’s bloody crackdown on Buddhist monks and activists in September 2007 and called for a concerted international process to deal with Burma, modeled on the six-party talks which successfully persuaded North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

So what can we expect from new Thai government?

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya has indicated that the new Democrat-led coalition government in Bangkok would depart from Thaksin’s business-oriented Burma policies, saying that Thailand would now run “an ethical foreign policy.”

“We shall have no [personal] business deals with the [Burmese] junta; we shall observe human rights and environmental concerns; we shall treat Burmese as we do Thais,” he said at an academic conference on December 19.

Burmese who listened to Kasit via shortwave radio stations hailed the remark. But we all know that Thailand cannot afford to allow ties with Burma to sour too much.

In reality, Thailand is Burma’s leading investor and trading partner. Thai state-owned energy firms are the largest buyers of natural gas from Burma and Thailand has won a concession to energy from the 7,110-megawatt Tasang dam on the Salween River in Burma’s Shan State. The Thai-financed project has seen no progress to date.

Under Samak, the two sides also discussed a plan to build a deep-sea port in Tavoy in Burma’s southeast, for which the regime leaders reportedly asked assistance from Thailand.

Thailand and Burma can do more business in the future, but Abhisit’s government must also take the lead in pushing for political change in Burma.

There are several ways it can do this.

As a chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Bangkok can help to formulate a comprehensive policy to bring about positive change in Burma. If Thailand, in coordination with Asean, begins to make a move, China and India, the regime’s two major allies, will listen.

Abhisit has already indicated that his Burma policy is likely to involve a more proactive stance on human rights issues in the military-ruled country. In an interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network, Abhisit said that he would try to convince fellow members of the Asean of the importance of human rights to the international community.

Unless Asean’s efforts to enshrine human rights are credible in the eyes of the international community, “the grouping will not be able to achieve its objectives,” he said.

Abhisit, an Oxford-educated economist, can also help Asean and the West to find some common ground in their approach to Burma.

Thailand could, for instance, take a more active role in humanitarian relief efforts in Burma’s cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta, which have brought together a wide range of international participants focused on addressing some of Burma’s immediate needs.

Perhaps with this in mind, the Thai foreign minister has offered to help Burma coordinate fundraising for the reconstruction of temples damaged by Cyclone Nargis.

But Abhisit must also take care to ensure that Thailand’s efforts to rebuild Burma do not end with its temples. He should remind his Asean counterparts that Burma’s political system also needs to be fixed, and that the sooner that can be achieved, the better it will be for the whole region.

READ MORE---> Abhisit Needs to Set a New Course on Burma...

Burma’s Economy Feeling the Pain

By MIN LWIN

(Irrawaddy News) -Businesses in Burma are struggling to sell a backlog of stock buildup due to the global financial recession, which is undermining trading and the economy, said Khin Maung Nyo, a Rangoon-based economic analyst.

“Even though the financial crisis hasn’t affected the banks in Burma, because the banking system is not integrated with global banks, in trading a lot of businesses have been affected,” he said.

Business people at the wholesale Nyaung Binlay and Mingalar markets said consumers are not buying as much and as a result, manufacturing and commodity sales could decrease as much as 50 percent.

Many business sectors have been letting workers go because of falling orders due to the global financial crisis and lack of local demand.

“We reduced workers’ wages because we cut the normal working hours,” said one business owner in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone on the outskirts of Rangoon. “I am not sure how much I can control labor under these market conditions.”

According to statistics from the Ministry of Labor, there are 134,900 registered workers in 18 industrial zones in Rangoon Division. No statistics were available on how many have been laid off.

Burma’s garment industries have faced factory closures since September last year.

“Since the financial crisis, orders for new consignments have been reduced, and we will see a serious impact by the middle of December,” Myint Soe, the chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, told The China Post on October 15, 2008.

The success of the country’s apparel industry is largely tied to global demand, so a fall in orders will lead to workers being dismissed and the closure of some production facilities, Myint Soe said in the report.

More than 100,000 garment workers have already been laid off at garment factories across the country, according to sources with the Myanmar Garment Manufactures Association.

Meanwhile, the powerful Burmese businessman, Tay Za, told senior officials at his Htoo Trading Company that the global recession has affected his businesses.

Tay Za, a crony of Burma’s junta chief Than Shwe, plays a major role in the Burmese economy. Htoo Trading’s business activities range from logging, tourism, hotels, air transport and construction to technological investment in Yadanabon Cyber City in Mandalay Division.

Htoo Trading, which is one of Burma’s largest timber exporters, has been hit heavily by falling global demand.

Burma businesses associated with tourism declined severely in 2007 and 2008 compared to previous years, following the 2007 September pro-democracy uprising and the 2008 Cyclone Nargis.

READ MORE---> Burma’s Economy Feeling the Pain...

Mark My Words - Mark Canning

Interview - The Irrawaddy News

British ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, talks to The Irrawaddy about the role of the UN and Asean in Burma, the Cyclone Nargis relief effort and his expectations for the election in 2010

Question: How do you assess events in Burma in 2008?

Answer: It was a bad year on almost all fronts. It was especially cruel that on top of all their other problems, the people of this country had to cope with the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis—but at least there we’ve seen some good progress. After a difficult start, relief reached those who needed it, a creative mechanism was established for overseeing the operation and a number of tricky problems were overcome.

Elsewhere, there was no movement, in fact quite the opposite. The UN secretary-general himself said very recently that the degree of cooperation between Myanmar and the UN had been unsatisfactory. There was no move towards any sort of dialogue between the government and the opposition. There was continued repression.

The number of political prisoners doubled, and more than 200 activists, who’ve done nothing but espouse peaceful protests, were given massive prison sentences. Aung San Suu Kyi remains locked away and prevented from playing the conciliatory role she could fulfil if allowed. The various concessions made at the turn of the year, like the series of meetings between her and the labour minister came to nothing. The population has been told to expect the introduction of “disciplined democracy” in 2010—they’ve seen plenty of the former but not much of the latter.

Q: Many critics, including Burmese both inside and outside the country, believe that Gambari’s mission has been a failure. What can he do to win greater credibility for his mission and to achieve political reconciliation in Burma?

A: The UN is playing a key role and we support it 100 percent. Dr Gambari has been working the problem extremely hard, but, as he and the secretary-general have made clear, the level of cooperation from the government has simply not been good enough.

There’s always been a tendency to criticise the envoy—you saw the same with Razali Ismail, you see it now with Dr Gambari, but that’s a mistake. It’s quite clear where responsibility lies for the lack of forward movement. The priority for 2009 therefore is to rebuild more solid international backing for what the UN is trying to do. The secretary-general’s personal engagement is a great asset and should help achieve that, and we hope very much to see him back here once conditions allow. We have now a clear assessment of where things have got to on which to build. It’s crystal clear there’s not been the kind of progress over the past 12 months which a number of countries claim to have seen. In fact, the situation has gone backwards and will continue to do so until there is clear and unambiguous backing for the UN. Issues like the release of political prisoners, rather than being internal matters, are central to what the UN is trying to achieve—political reconciliation.

Q: The UK played a major role in the cyclone relief operation—where do you see things going now?

A: The operation is going far better than we feared at the outset. The Tri-Partite Commission Group mechanism has proved a great success, and there has been excellent collaboration between the government, Asean and the UN. Most of the affected population is getting some form of support, a wave of secondary deaths has been avoided, and the operation has been instrumental in saving hundreds of thousands of lives. As you say, the UK has been the largest contributor, and we’re proud of that. Most of all though it’s been a fantastic co-operative effort which has involved a range of donors, agencies, and local and international NGOs, all of which has rested on the hard and innovative work of the three TCG partners.

Our ministers are now in the process of assessing what more we might do. Looking ahead, we—and I think most donors—hope to see the TCG mandate extended beyond July so that it can build on what’s been achieved. We hope also that in partnership with government, some of the underlying policy issues in the area of agriculture and livelihoods, that affect the ability of those in the delta and elsewhere to make a sustainable living, can be considered. There’s good work going on there too, but there’s probably more that could be done. The key point is that there’s no point bandaging the patient if you then send him back into the environment that helped cause the problem in the first place.

Q: Do you think that the “humanitarian space” in the delta can be expanded to other areas of the country? What makes you believe that this will be possible, and what obstacles do you foresee?

A: That’s certainly the hope of all of us who are involved in the operation. The Nargis operation has helped build confidence and trust between the government and the donor community. We’ve seen good co-operative working, and both local and international NGOs play a fantastic role. All this has been excellent, but, as you say, the rest of the country is out there and it’s important in coming months that collectively we start to raise our eyes from the delta to address some of the serious situations elsewhere. Whether we’ll succeed, and the environment will almost certainly be difficult and unpredictable in the period up to 2010, remains to be seen, but it’s essential we try to build on the gains and keep up the momentum.

Q: The UK has tended to take a hard political line on Burma. Why in this case were you willing to donate so generously? And how would you respond to sceptics who say that
aid organisations cannot operate effectively in Burma because of government restrictions? You recently asked the Burmese military government to increase its assistance to the Burmese people. Do you think that they have increased their aid to people who are in need?

A: We’ve always believed that, while the search for a political solution goes on, the people of this country should not be made to suffer further. We’ve steadily extended our humanitarian work in-country, particularly in health, but in other areas too, like livelihoods and primary education. Our role in the relief operation was consistent with this, and we hope that the success it’s enjoyed will encourage other donors to work in this country, which remains one of the most under-aided in the world.

To the sceptics you mention, I’d say that while this is not always the easiest of environments, good work can and is being done. The Three Diseases Fund is a good example. It’s delivering real health benefits to vulnerable populations, has benefited from excellent cooperation from the Ministry of Health and has at all times operated within the guidelines donors set at the outset. We very much hope to see more donors come in and are more than happy to share our experience with them. We hope to see the government’s contribution increase—that not only makes more funds available for the delivery of health, education, etc, but it also sends a signal of commitment that helps draw in new donors and encourages those already here to provide more assistance.

Q: Turning back to politics, what about Burma’s neighbours? Apart from the members
of Asean, what do you think other countries, such as India, China and Russia, can do to bring about positive change in Burma?

A: There’s a key role for the countries of the region. Everyone understands the intractable nature of this problem. There are no easy solutions, and it must be tempting at times, when the issue is on your doorstep, to give up on it. Regional integration is hard enough at the best of times, yet alone when one of the members is moving in the opposite direction in political and economic terms. For the members of Asean, the situation poses an obvious reputational challenge—at the very time they are launching the human rights charter, we have a member flouting the standards it is designed to promote and as the situation declines—and it will—the practical effects on the neighbours, are likely to become more pronounced.

The fundamental question for the region therefore is whether the course on which the government is embarked is going to deliver the sort of stability and prosperity they have achieved in their own countries? There’s very little evidence in my view that it is. Nobody is under any illusions about the scale of the challenge, and a number of countries in the region have been working to address it, but the key in coming months is to build a more unified backing for what the UN is trying to achieve. It’s essential that the government should constantly be reminded, by those that have influence, of the need for change and meaningful cooperation with the UN.

Q: There has been a great deal of speculation that Aung San Suu Kyi could be released this year. If so, what do you think she will be able to achieve?

A: Whether she’ll be freed we obviously don’t know, but she should be. She has made clear repeatedly her willingness to work with the government and other political and ethnic nationality forces to address the challenges this country faces. She has made clear her wish to work for gradual, stable, evolutionary change, and change which takes account of the interests of the many different parties involved, including the military.

The fact that she’s under house arrest suggests she’s regarded as a threat. But she’s actually an opportunity in the sense that she could be instrumental in helping to forge the sort of broad-based dialogue with government that is the only way that progress is going to be made. If she’s not allowed to play that role, then it’s difficult to see how this will be done.

Q: The regime has accused the British and other Western embassies of meeting with
NLD members. How do you respond to this charge?

A: We keep in touch with as wide a range of opinion as we are able. That includes government, as well as a range of other actors, and that’s very much the role of an embassy.

Q: How do you see Burma’s political landscape in 2010 and beyond? What is the UK government’s stance on the 2010 election?

A: The coming year will obviously be dominated by preparations for the elections in 2010, and we’ll presumably soon get some more detail of what the SPDC will allow in terms of participation. This can all represent a healing process, and a step on the way to resolving longstanding political difficulties—or it can be the opposite—as has been the case till now.

There’s clearly time to make the process more inclusive. We hope to see that happen. The European Union has always made clear that it is willing to respond to movement in a positive direction. Clearly, you can not have a credible electoral process without certain things happening—the release of political prisoners, engagement between government, opposition and the ethnic nationalities—and those are the criteria against which it should be judged.

READ MORE---> Mark My Words - Mark Canning...

104 Years Given to Political Dissident - Bo Min Yu Ko

By MIN LWIN

(Irrawaddy News) -A Burmese court sentenced Bo Min Yu Ko, a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Upper Burma, ABFSU), to a total of 104 years in prison on January 3, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP).

Bo Min Yu Ko, known as Phyo Gyi, in his early 20s, was sentenced by a special court in Obo Prison in Mandalay. He was arrested on September 18 and charged under different laws, including six charges under the Burmese immigration act, said the AAPP.

Bo Min Yu Ko’s 104-year sentence is the harshest punishment for a political dissident since the recent series of dissident trials which started in October 2008. He was not allowed to be represented by a lawyer, and his family was prevented from attending the trial.

“This is yet another harsh and cruel sentence handed down by the regime’s kangaroo courts,” said Bo Kyi, joint AAPP secretary. “The courts are not independent and simply follow orders from the regime.”

“Criminals sentenced on drug charges are often given relatively light sentences, but political activists are given very long terms of imprisonment,” Bo Kyi said.

Meanwhile, three other members of the ABFSU (Upper Burma) were sentenced by an Obo Prison court in late December.

Kay Thi Aung, 23, who is pregnant, was sentenced to 26 years; Ko Nyi was sentenced to 50 years; and Wai Myo Htoo was sentenced to 26 years, according to Tun Tun, an ABFSU member.

Since October 2008, Burmese military courts set up in prisons across the country have sentenced scores of political dissidents and their supporters on charges relating to involvement in peaceful demonstrations or freedom of expression. At least 280 political activists have been sentenced.

READ MORE---> 104 Years Given to Political Dissident - Bo Min Yu Ko...

Rights group calls on Thailand to change policy for boatpeople

Thai Navy holds Rohingya boatpeople where Navy keeps like dried fish and exposed to the hot sun

Kalandan Press

Chittagong, Bangladesh: A rights group, Refugees International (RI) from Washington, D.C called on the Government of Thailand to change their policy towards boat people, who have been recently entering their territory, through a press release yesterday.

The boat people are primarily stateless Burmese Rohingya escaping severe oppression and harsh poverty at home, but also include some Bangladeshi migrants. Both group board boats of varying seaworthiness with the aim of finding security and economic opportunity in Thailand and Malaysia, the statement said.

"The Government of Thailand should instruct its Army to desist from its new and troubling policy of pushing refugees and migrants intercepted on boats back out to sea which endangers their lives, and exposes them to the risk of capsizing or sinking," the statement said.

The Thai government is detaining them on a remote island and then forcing them back out to sea, statement added.

Thai Navy holds Rohingya boatpeople, and giving punishment like drying on hot sand

"The actions of the Thai government contravene accepted standards of international law that discourage putting civilians at greater risk after being in the custody of government officials. The Thai authorities should, at a minimum, revert to the practice of deporting undocumented migrants. Thai officials should also ensure that refugees seeking asylum are properly screened and are not forced back to their country of origin if it will put them at risk," the statement more added.

"The Thai government is taking highly vulnerable people and risking their lives for political gain. It should be engaging the Burmese government on improving conditions at home for the Rohingya if it wants to stem the flow. The Rohingya will continue to make the journey because they have no hope for a better life in Burma. Pushing them back out to sea is not an effective deterrent – it just jeopardizes lives," said Advocate Sean Garcia.

Thai Navy holds Rohingya boatpeople and tied with plastic rope on Navy

"The Rohingya are stateless and have no rights inside Burma. The Burmese government targets them for forced labour and extortion, and restricts their movement. The Burmese government's policy of actively displacing the Rohingya from their homeland means that any refugee who is forced back is subjected to arrest and abuse. Until the Rohingya are recognized by Burma as citizens, neighboring countries like Thailand must protect and assist this vulnerable population," he added.

"It was a sick and bizarre situation, and there appeared to be children in the groups as well. They were forcibly exposed to the hot sun although trees provided shade a few meters away. Some of the tourists went over to look at what was going on," said Mrs. Skibelig, who had her Christmas holiday in Similan Islands, Thailand, together with 20 other family members, is one of the eyewitnesses about the policy of Thailand regarding boatpeople.

"When we first arrived on the beach we thought the Thai military was going through a military drill. Later we understood that something very, very serious was going on," Mrs Skibelid explained to the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet.no

The refugee (boatpeople) had been arrested and forcibly kept on the beach since 10 a.m. and were still lying there when the Norwegian travelers left in the afternoon, at around 4 pm. They also witnessed the guards hitting and kicking the refugees, she added.

Nearly 200 people (174 Rohingyas and 19 Bangladeshi) reached Indonesia's Sumatra island on a wooden boat on January 7, and after drifting for a few days were found by local fishermen and transferred to the coastguard where medical treatment and food were provided by the Indonesia government, according to local Navy Commander Yanuar Handwiyono.

Nurse helping a boatpeople in Indonesia

On January 4, 2009, a motor-boat carrying about 97 people returned to Shapuri Dip of Bangladesh, at about 12:30 pm, after Burmese naval forces from Rangoon Division pushed them back. The Burmese authorities provided the travelers with some ration and fuel, according to a person who returned from the Rangoon coast.

Towards the end of last year, the British "The Guardian" newspaper mentioned, "More than 300 people believed to be illegal migrants and mostly Bangladeshis were feared to have drowned. The accident took place off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal on December 28, as the victims jumped into the sea and tried to swim ashore."

"The men were mostly Bangladeshis and some Burmese nationals, aged between 18 and 60, who drifted through the Bay of Bengal, and we are trying to rescue the boatpeople with navy ship and helicopter," said authorities in Port Blair.

"To arrest people when they enter Thai waters then release them in international waters, without motors or sails, would clearly be a violation of international human rights,'' said Chris Lewa, a Bangkok-based social worker who is seeking better treatment for the Rohingya boat people.

Refugees International is a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates to end refugee crises. In November 2008, Refugees International staff conducted a mission to Bangladesh and Malaysia to assess the humanitarian conditions for Burmese Rohingya refugees, including boat migrants. There are approximately 1 million Rohingya living outside Burma.

READ MORE---> Rights group calls on Thailand to change policy for boatpeople...

Elected MPs’ lawyers denied access to court - Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut

(DVB)–Lawyers defending two 1990 people's parliament representatives, Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut, were denied entry to the courtroom at Insein prison special court yesterday.

Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut are facing four different charges including sedition and disrupting the national convention.

Central court lawyer Kyaw Ho said he had arrived in court at around 9am yesterday morning with fellow lawyers Maung Maung Latt and Sithu Maung to attend the hearing.

"We already have obtained all the necessary documents to act as defending lawyers for the two on 6 January," Kyaw Ho said.

"We filled out and submitted forms to gain entry to the courtroom but then we were told by the deputy prison chief and another official we were not allowed in," he said.

"I asked them whether it was the prison's decision to not let us in, and they said the prison had nothing to do with it and that it was an order from the special police's prosecution department."

Kyaw Ho said the lawyers had asked secondary provincial judge Tin Htut of western Rangoon provincial court, who was hearing the case, to help them negotiate with government authorities to gain access to the courtroom.

"It's the judge's responsibility to enable us to come to the court hearing; otherwise it disadvantages defendants whose lawyers are not present,” he said.

Relatives of Nyi Pu and Tin Min Htut who went to the prison to visit them yesterday were not allowed to see them due to the court hearing.

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew

READ MORE---> Elected MPs’ lawyers denied access to court - Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut...

Singaporean Activists Detained after Protesting Burmese Migrants’ Plight

Plainclothes police officers keep watch and block a demonstration placard
by standing in front of activists (wearing red t-shirts) during
a two-man protest in Singapore January 12. (Photo: Reuters)
Blogger's Note: look careful and watch the "struggle and resistance" during the arrest,
also note that the activists are OUTSIDE the premises opposite to the
Minister's press statement.
The law is corrupted and this is the evidence to be presented in a closed doors court.

By LAWI WENG

(Irrawaddy News) -Two Singaporean activists were detained for five hours on Monday by police after they had protested outside the Ministry of Manpower in solidarity with Burmese migrant workers in the country.

Activists Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong said they felt guilty because their government had refused to extend the work permits of two Burmese migrants who had protested outside the Burmese embassy last year.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, artist Seelan Palay said, “We will go to jail for three months if we are found guilty. We have to go to court in two weeks.”

The two Burmese in question, Moe Kyaw Thu and Win Kyaw, had actively participated in demonstrations last year and when their work permits came up for renewal, they were denied on the basis of having police records.

“I will go to either Indonesia or Cambodia,” said Moe Kyaw Thu. “If I return to Burma, the government will arrest me.”

According to Moe Kyaw Thu, he has sent four letters of appeal to the Ministry of Manpower office requesting an extension of his work permit, but they were rejected. His work permit expires on January 27.

“The Singaporean government doesn’t want me to stay because I am a Burmese activist. They are afraid Singaporean activists will emulate our demonstrations,” he said.

Burmese migrants have held demonstrations several times recently outside the Burmese embassy in Singapore, including protests in May against the junta's insistence on pushing ahead with the referendum in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

The Singaporean government refused to extend the work visas of at least five Burmese migrants last year for having police records of for being involved in demonstrations.

According to Burmese workers in Singapore, the city-state hosts more than 60,000 Burmese, who mainly work as general workers or technical skilled laborers, while some are students.

Public demonstrations are not allowed in Singapore without a police permit.

The Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs warned Burmese political activists not to ignore repeated police orders to stop illegal public protests in August 2008.

According to a report in the Singaporean daily Strait Times in August, a ministry spokesperson said that the rights of a foreign national to work or stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement or a right to be secured by political demand and public pressure, and the activists had repeatedly ignored requests from government officials to meet to discuss the group's conduct.

READ MORE---> Singaporean Activists Detained after Protesting Burmese Migrants’ Plight...

Burmese Rice Farmers Struggle to Make a Living

Farmers till a field while water buffaloes and calves feed near
Kungyangone Township in Rangoon Division.
(Photo: Tint Aung/The Irrawaddy)

By MIN LWIN

(Irrawaddy News) -The destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis, combined with falling world prices, is hitting Burmese rice farmers hard, with many of them complaining they are working at a loss.

Sub-standard seeds and inadequate stocks of fertilizer are also taking their toll on Burmese rice production, particularly in the cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy delta.

A farmer in Nyaung Laybin Township, Pegu Division, said income from the sale of his rice amounted to 70,000 kyat (US $59) per acre, while production costs were about 90,000 kyat ($78).

Recent rice harvests in cyclone-hit areas of Irrawaddy and Rangoon Divisions had dropped by at least 35 percent, farmers report.

Khin Maung Nyo, a Rangoon-based economic analyst, said the global financial crisis also played a major role. Businessmen were withdrawing from the rice market. “We are facing liquidity problems,” he said.

About 70 percent of Burmese rice millers are unable to invest any further in their businesses because of the cyclone, and 70 percent of stockpiled paddy had been depleted, Aung Than Oo, chairman of the Myanmar Rice Miller and Crops Traders Association, told the Rangoon-based Weekly Eleven journal.

“Most of the rice millers in the country suffered heavy losses owing to the cyclone,” he was quoted by the journal’s Web site as saying. “Their purchasing power went down about 70 percent. That is why the trading is low in the domestic crop market. These businesspeople usually sell the stored crops of the previous year, and they buy the new seasonal paddy. But after cyclone Nargis they could not purchase the crops any more.”

Aung Than Oo said merchants had low capital. The price of paddy dropped from 575,000 kyat ($500) per ton in July 2008 to a current level of 287,500 kyat (US$ 250).

“Although some merchants wanted to export the paddy, they cannot afford the necessary investment,” Aung Than Oo said.

Burma has two rice harvests—the summer paddy, planted in April and harvested in late December, and the monsoon harvest, planted in May and harvested in December.

“We didn’t plant the summer paddy because we haven’t enough money,” said farmer Win Maung, who owns 10 acres of paddy in Pegu Township.

READ MORE---> Burmese Rice Farmers Struggle to Make a Living...

Thailand to Help Rebuild Temples in the Irrawaddy Delta

(Irrawaddy News)-Thailand’s foreign minister said on Monday that his recently formed coalition government was ready to help Burma rebuild temples damaged by Cyclone Nargis, according to reports in the Thai press.

“The Burmese government wants the international community to help renovate its temples damaged by the cyclone,” Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post. “Thailand is ready to act as the coordinating center for donations to help it.”

According to Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, 1,163 temples in Irrawaddy Division and 284 temples in Rangoon Division were destroyed when Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3.

If Thailand’s offer is accepted, it will be the first foreign assistance that Burma has received for work on temples damaged or destroyed by the deadly cyclone, according to local relief groups operating in the Irrawaddy delta. In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, the temples played a key role in providing shelter and coordinating emergency assistance for survivors.

Kasit earlier indicated that the new Democrat-led coalition government in Bangkok would depart from the business-oriented Burma policies of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his hand-picked successors, saying that Thailand would now run “an ethical foreign policy.”

“We shall have no [personal] business deals with the [Burmese] junta; we shall observe human rights and environmental concerns; we shall treat Burmese as we do Thais,” he said at an academic conference on December 19.

On Monday, Kasit held a meeting in Bangkok with Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu to discuss bilateral relations.

After the meeting, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters that Thailand wanted to see change in Burma.

“The goals of Western countries and the countries of this region for Burma are not different. We all want to see some changes,” Abhisit said. “But our methods may differ because of two main reasons: cultural differences and the distance of the countries.”

Abhisit did not, however, comment on what specific steps Thailand might take to push for change in Burma, where the ruling junta has imprisoned more than 2,000 pro-democracy activists.

“I don’t believe Thailand can change Burma because Asian countries have tried to change Burma for more than 20 years. But there is still no change,” said Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the opposition Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, responding to the Thai prime minister’s comments.

READ MORE---> Thailand to Help Rebuild Temples in the Irrawaddy Delta...

Rangoon Under Tightened Security: Sources

By WAI MOE

(Irrawaddy News)- Burma’s ruling authorities have tightened security around Rangoon after anti-government leaflets were distributed last week, according to sources in the city.

“There are riot police and soldiers, in standby position on trucks and on the ground, at important junctions and corners in the downtown area, as well as around Shwedagon Pagoda,” a student in the former capital told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

Other residents of the city also reported an increased security presence since last week. Last night, security forces were sighted patrolling in various parts of the city, including Dawbon, Sanchaung, Thingangyun, and North and South Dagon Myothit townships.

A businessman in Rangoon’s Bayintnaung Market said he heard that anti-junta leaflets were distributed around the city last week. “Since then, there are a lot more security forces around here,” he said.

An unknown dissident group has been carrying out an anti-government campaign since the beginning of January, distributing leaflets which read,

“As people have not attained freedom yet, we must continue our struggle.”

On January 4, Burma’s Independence Day, nine members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested after they held a small protest in front of the People’s Parliament building on Prome Road in Rangoon.

The protesters called for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The parliament building has been unused since the current junta seized power in 1988.

READ MORE---> Rangoon Under Tightened Security: Sources...

Pro-junta party kicks off campaign for 2010 polls in northwestern Burma

by Salai Pi Pi
Mizzima News

In the run-up to the junta's general election in 2010, a pro-regime party has launched its poll campaign in Burma's north western Chin state.

Ling Ha, organizational in-charge of the National Unity Party (NUP) of Hakha town, capital of Chin state, on Tuesday said they have begun recruiting new members as part of its campaign for the elections.

"We plan to contest the elections from all the nine townships of Chin state and have started recruiting members," Ling Ha told Mizzima over telephone, adding that he, personally, is gearing up to contest from a constituency in Kanpalat Township, southern Chin state.

Ling Ha said he and his party believe that the junta's roadmap, which has reached the fourth stage since it was chalked out in 2003, is the only way out from the political deadlock and humanitarian crisis.

The NUP is a political party formed in 1990 by members of former military dictator Newin's Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP). NUP, while not representing the current batch of military generals, is largely endorsed by the junta.

Ling Ha said junta authorities had not imposed any restrictions on them while campaigning.

"We are into all campaigning within the legal framework," he said, adding the 1990 election law allows parties to assemble less than 50 people during campaign but prohibits parties from using loudspeakers and disallows campaign in public places.

In Burma's last election in 1990, the NUP got one seat in Chin state out of a total of 13 seats. Other parties that had contested the election include the National League for Democracy, Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), Zomi National Congress (ZNC), Mara People's Party (MPP) and Mro or Khami National Solidarity Organisation (MKNSO).

While the junta in 1992 abolished all other political parties in the state, the NUP and MKNSO continue to function as legal parties. The NLD, though it was not abolished, is banned from opening their offices.

According to Ling Ha, political parties that have been abolished by the ruling junta are unlikely to be allowed to contest in the ensuing elections.

He said, the likely candidates so far in Chin state includes the MKNSO, a party that failed to garner a parliamentary seat in Chin state in the last election, and an independent candidate Dr. Hmu Thang, who individually attended the junta's national convention.

The MKNSO, a party that also contested from the Arakan state's Kyaukdaw constituency in the 1990 election and won a parliamentary seat, also sent a representative to the junta's national convention.

Meanwhile, a leader in exile of the Mara People's Party told Mizzima that Mara people in Chin state are likely to form yet another party to contest the election.

The veteran politician, who requested not to be named said, "I heard that the Mara people are very interested in the 2010 election. They held a meeting and had sent a delegate to study the nature of the election."

However, he said, things would only be clearer once the junta announces the election law.

Edited Mungpi

READ MORE---> Pro-junta party kicks off campaign for 2010 polls in northwestern Burma...

Meeting to foster people's participation in 2010 election

By Than Htike Oo

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Gearing up for the ensuing general election that the ruling junta has proposed for 2010, a few politicians in Bogale Town in Irrawaddy division held a meeting on Monday.

The meeting held at the residence of Nay Myo Wai, who has been writing critical articles against Burma's mainstream opposition on internet web pages, in Padauk Street of Bogale town in Irrawaddy division, lasted about three hours. It was a gathering of a few politicians, who are believed to endorse the ruling junta's roadmap to democracy.

"The aim was to create awareness among the people so that people will know how to choose their representatives in the elections in 2010," Nay Myo Wai told Mizzima.

He said, people are not much aware about politics and are not even able to raise questions to test the intellectual levels of possible candidates.

"They don't even have questions to ask. So through this meeting we were able to explain and teach them," he added.

He said, the meeting was attended by a few dignitaries in the area including Thetkatoe Myat Thu, Tin Win, who was an elected Member of Parliament of Kyaik Latt Township in the 1990 election, an economist Ohn Lwin, and a few villagers and local people. The meeting was held after obtaining permission of the District Peace and Development Council.

"Authorities said we can conduct the meeting if it was for less than 50 people. So we called a few elders, some respected persons and a few local people totaling less than 50," he added.

The meeting, according to him, was part of the plan to prepare the public for the ensuing elections in 2010, and the process will continue among the people.

READ MORE---> Meeting to foster people's participation in 2010 election...

Burma ranks among worst nations for civilian freedom: Rights Group

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A United States-based Freedom House in its annual global release on freedom in the world, has ranked Burma among the 'worst of the worst' countries, where civilians enjoy negligible political and civil liberties.

The Freedom in the World 2009, which examines the state of freedom in 193 countries and 16 strategic territories, ranked Burma along with North Korea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Somalia among the worst countries that impose restrictions on the lives of civilians.

The report said freedom "retreated in much of the world in 2008, the third year of global decline," and countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa, the former Soviet Union, and a few countries in Asia including China, North Korea and Burma saw the most reversals.

The Freedom House survey categorized countries, according to the political rights and civil liberties which their civilians enjoy, into three categories – Free, Partly Free and Not Free. Burma along with 41 other countries was ranked as 'Not Free'.

In 2008, Burma's military rulers have widely attracted criticism and condemnation from international communities for its high-handedness on opposition activists by arresting and sentencing them to long prison terms.

Following the September 2007 monk-led mass protests, Burma's military junta escalated its crackdown on dissidents by arresting several activists, including prominent student activist Min Ko Naing and group.

Since August 2008, the military junta has conducted secret trials in prisons and handed down harsh sentences of imprisonment upto 68 years. Among those handed harsh prison terms, a dissident Buddhist monk, Ashin Gambira, who had played a vital role in leading the September 2007 protests, was given 68 years of prison term.

Burma's military rulers have said that the country is building a roadmap to democracy and are gearing up to hold general elections in 2010. However, critics doubt whether the elections will be free and fair.

The junta in May, amidst a severe crisis faced by the country's southwestern coastal region after it was hit by Cyclone Nargis, held a referendum to approve a draft constitution, which critics and opposition parties said was a tool to cement military rule.

Regional and international communities including the United Nations have urged Burma's military rulers to implement a broad based dialogue with all political stake holders and to speed up the process of democratization.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962.

READ MORE---> Burma ranks among worst nations for civilian freedom: Rights Group...

2 arrested for protest - Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong

The two activistsstood outside the Ministry of Manpower's
building in the city's business district for about an hour
before they were handcuffed by police without showing any resistance.
-- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

POLICE on Monday arrested two Singaporean activists for staging a protest in support of Myanmar nationals allegedly being forced to leave the city-state for involvement in political activities.

Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong stood outside the Ministry of Manpower's building in the city's business district for about an hour before they were handcuffed by police without showing any resistance.

They wore red T-shirts and held a banner that read 'Stop ill-treatment of Burmese activists'.

The protest was in support of two Myanmar nationals, Moe Kyaw Thu and Win Kyaw, whose work permits have not been renewed by Singapore, effectively forcing them to leave, Palay said.

He said the two men were among 40 Myanmar nationals who took part in a protest against their country's ruling junta during a summit of Southeast Asian leaders hosted by Singapore in November 2007.

'We can't just stand by as Singaporeans, as personal friends, and watch them being expelled one by one,' he said.

Moe Kyaw Thu told AFP that he was required to leave Singapore by January 27. Win Kyaw could not be contacted for comment on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately reply to emailed queries from AFP on the case of the Myanmar nationals. A few others who took part in the same protest in 2007 have also had their work permit renewals turned down.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in September defended the government's decision not to renew the visas of some Myanmar nationals working or studying in the city-state, saying they were 'undesirable' people.

Singapore has eased rules governing protests in a designated public park but it remains illegal elsewhere to hold a public gathering of five or more people without a police permit.

Singapore is home to an estimated 30,000 Myanmar nationals, many of them drawn by jobs as labourers that pay far above what they could earn in their poverty-stricken homeland. -- AFP.

READ MORE---> 2 arrested for protest - Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong...

Burma needs reform, unified and balanced structure

by Htet Win

Rangoon (Mizzima) Burma is in urgent need of mainstream political figures who are capable of shaping unified public opinion, which will allow the country to take up a really democratic direction in the future even after the proposed general election in 2010.

One such most prominent figure is no other than Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, inside Burma even though she is currently under house arrest and is not provided any legal or formal platform for the time being in domestic politic developments.

However in a country under military rule, the agent factor comes in again: Imagine the Lady on Rangoon's streets tomorrow, we will definitely see a changed scenario. No other elite can achieve that feat.

"No other elite can draw over tens of thousands of people coming out voluntarily, which means a lot," said an observer who is familiar with diplomatic circles in Rangoon.

That is the single agent that can shape public opinion and challenge the vicious structure. It is really amazing. We do not think yet that a future civilian-military government has solutions or ways to handle this agent.

"Principled" and "firm" politicians like the Lady and all those under 65-year, 88 Generation Students in prison persistently remain due to their sheer obstinacy, but the structure-agent question remains the same," the observer said.

He added that a "principled", "firm" and "obstinate" opposition is the need in 2010 backed by mainstream players, who are not supposed to be military-elite-friendly businessmen and some educated – now known as Third Force. (They do not claim themselves as the Third Force but as patriotic mainstream opposition)

If the Third Force is not playing a key role in real democratic progress and the mainstream players like the Lady and the '88 generation has got space to play, the country would be able to avoid another vicious circle.

The country has had such vicious circles relatively in a ten-year cycle. Examples include the 1962 military coup, the 1975 U Thant student-uprising, more student uprisings in 1988 and in 1996 and 2007 protest led by monks.

"Myanmar is highly expected to make an exit from those similar circles in history," the observer remarked, adding that new actors/agents or new circumstances were likely to emerge for a democratic transition in the country.

The military government must reserve space for those agents for domestic improvement, if it continues to claim that the country is moving towards democracy. It would be another big mistake for both the army and the country's future, if and when the military elites try to get rid of the opposition or make them surrender. It can never happen.

The Opposition is like any agent today, who is coming up with opportunities and challenges, both of which are already interlaced. The government and the governed including the Opposition – must face them, living up to their historical commitments. For instance - the military government's early 1990 declaration to transfer political power to a civilian government.

"The longer it takes to transfer power, the harder it will be for the military elites to find a political way out. That's because time makes the military elite offensive making them commit more and more mistakes under the present structure," the observer said.

Political opponents – including present ones, the Lady and the '88 Generation Students – continue to be a thorn on the side not only for the military but also for new power broker elites. Politics is business. Or it should be understood as such. In a change, some lose and some win.

It is a waste of time and resource that the military government is pushing ahead to start a new age, which is in its favour. It is important not to lose sight of the "big picture," building an economically prospered democratic nation.

Many who pursue a pragmatic view can accept theoretical basics such as - emergence of an illiberal democracy, role of moderates in democratic transition, and democracy as an elite compromise.

To achieve a widely-accepted public opinion in Burma, opposition groups must continue to play a crucial role, which the military elites have found themselves unable to gain in history. Getting rid of the Opposition is killing the country's future and space for the military as well.

Public opinion – including national reconciliation and development of progressive agents – could be primarily through the efforts of the Opposition. A military government is found to lack "philosophy" for the development of the nation as a whole.

That's one good option to avoid future internal armed conflicts and/or instability in Burma.

READ MORE---> Burma needs reform, unified and balanced structure...

Junta struggling to keep state budget afloat

by Moe Thu

Rangoon (Mizzima) – Experiencing increased pains related to the global financial crisis, Burma's military government is struggling to maintain a solvent state budget, seemingly exploiting every option available to them, such as the introduction of a pre-paid phone system and further state-run auctions.

"Given the measures of the military government, they are apparently absorbing cash from the general public, which is adding to the woes of poor cash flow among public trading activities," said a retired professor from the Rangoon Institute of Economics.

Only last month, a pre-paid cellular phone system was introduced, attracting many customers.

"Theses days, public voices over stagnant business, from street vendors to large-scale exporters, are getting louder," added the professor, who declined to be identified.

He said many items normally intended for export – like seafood and agricultural produce – have instead flocked into the already suffering local market.

He also said revenue from natural gas, primarily exported to Thailand, is declining – as prices of crude oil have fallen under US $50 a barrel in the world market.

"Decreased energy prices are symbolic of reduced economic activities," he said.

Additionally, the military government is facing a limited supply of raw gems, reduced extraction possibilities the result of aggressive extraction over the past few years in previous attempts to service the country's cash-strapped budget.

The supply of Burmese rubies dropped to 1.5 million carats in fiscal year 2007-2008 from 2.3 million carats in 2004-2005, according to government statistics; while sapphire decreased to 308,642 carats in 2007-2008 from 1.088 million carats in 2003-2004.

"These [the gems] are not just decreasing in quantity, but in quality also," the professor said, adding that the real situation signals the sector's decreasing reliability as a means of revenue.

Yet, to counter pains from the ongoing financial crisis, Burma's military government has limited options. However, one such proposed course is the plan to maintain the construction sector by contracting for new projects in the country's nascent capital of Naypyitaw.

For example, the government has recently revealed that the development of a prototype of a countrywide geographical profile map is beginning around Naypyitaw, utilizing a model scaled at 1: 60 kilometers.

"The government hopes that the multi-million dollar project will provide job opportunities for general workers who are in dire straits, increasingly suffering from economic hardship," the professor said.

However, he iterated that most infrastructure projects are politicized on purpose, not really for the sake of the general populace, but more in a move to make an impression on the public.

READ MORE---> Junta struggling to keep state budget afloat...

Senior SPDC officers and Western Command Commander visit Buthidaung

Buthidaung, Arakan State - (KaladanPress): Six high level SPDC officers and the Western Command Commander Major General Thanug Aye arrived today morning at about 10:45 am in a helicopter in Buthidaung Township, said a military source.

The names of six senior officers were not mentioned but people hoped that the transport minister General Tint Shew and other officers had come to inspect the situation of the border area and business opportunities where the junta wants to develop marine products in the area, said a school teacher in Buthidaung.

On the eve of the officers' arrival to Buthidaung, curfew was imposed in the town at night and there was tight security, with armed personnel coming from Maungdaw, he added.

Nobody has a clue to why the officers have come.

READ MORE---> Senior SPDC officers and Western Command Commander visit Buthidaung...

Villagers forced to supply free timber and firewood to Burmese army in Ye Township

Arka (MonNews)- Residents in southern Ye Township are being forced to provide free timber and firewood to Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 31, say local sources.

On December 10th, residents of Toe Thet Ywa Thit who own chain saws were each ordered to provide one ton of timber to IB No. 31. The timber is to be used for the construction of a new Dhamma hall at the battalion headquarters.

Toe Thet Ywa Thit is only home to four chain saws. According to a local source, the four men must travel far from the village to find timber and pay for all their expenses, including fuel.

“The machine owners are still cutting wood according to the order from the battalion,” the source told IMNA in early January. “It is difficult to get wood near the village because of deforestation. And the Burmese army doesn’t give any money to the owners. The owners need to fill gasoline for cutting the trees.”

A few kilometers to the south, villagers in Yin-Ye are being required to provide 30 large piles of firewood for a brick factory operated by IB No. 31. Each pile must be carefully organized into square stacks 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 3 feet tall.

“The battalion gave the order on January 2nd,” said a source in the area. “The total is about 30 piles. Our villagers are still working to provide for that amount.”

Last year, every four households in Khaw –za (Khaw Zar) were required to provide similar, though larger, stacks of wood for the brick factory. The piles had to be 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Most vehicle owners were subsequently ordered to transport the wood to the factory. No one was paid for their labor, though some vehicle owners were reimbursed for their fuel costs.

READ MORE---> Villagers forced to supply free timber and firewood to Burmese army in Ye Township...

Thailand’s Burma policies may be more proactive on human rights

CMM Reporters

During a recent series of interviews, Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has given indications that he would be speaking to representatives of other ASEAN nations regarding the importance in the international community of due regard to human rights.

He considers that unless a believable stance worldwide is taken by ASEAN member countries, the group may have problems achieving its stated objectives, and that both the West and Asia should unite to bring change to Burma.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that a group of armed Burmese nationals who were arrested in Mae Sot, on the Thai-Burmese border, are claiming that they were working under the orders of the military Junta.

Sources in the area have confirmed that, in the past, prominent opposition leaders in exile have been targeted for assassination by the Junta, as have leaders of ethnic groups and human rights organisations working in the border area.

Opposition sources have also stated that armed undercover agents have been deployed by the Burmese government in assassination attempts.

Vol. VIII No. 1 - Tuesday
January 6 - January 12, 2009

READ MORE---> Thailand’s Burma policies may be more proactive on human rights...

Meikhtila local official sells off communal land

(DVB)–Residents of Meikhtila's Yadanar Maung ward have complained that a local Peace and Development Council official has been selling unregistered land near a local creek for his own profit.

A local from Meikhtila in Mandalay division told DVB that Yadanar Maung ward PDC member Win Myint was selling off land on the banks of Sithu creek to locals for between two and three hundred thousand kyat for each plot.

He is also reportedly renting out plots of land for 3000 kyat a month.

"He is selling the land around the creek, including one stretch owned by the local community hall [for] around 300,000 kyat," the Meikhtila resident said.

"There have been a few problems because he sold some stretches of land to new buyers when others had already paid him for the land, and he refused to give them their money back," he said.

"A lot of people want to report what Win Myint has been doing to senior government officials but they don't know how to go about it."

The resident said Win Myint had recently evicted a couple who were living in a house on the land, which they had bought a long time before from previous WPDC officials.

"The house owner agreed but he couldn't move out immediately as he was having trouble finding a new place," the local resident said.

"Win Myint was disappointed and sent his relatives to ransack the house," he said.

"His brother-in-law went into the house and broke the owner's possessions while his mother and his sisters beat up the man's wife. She was in hospital for about a month."

The resident said Win Myint's sisters were also running a gambling business in the ward, which had led to an increase in crime in the neighbourhood, particularly burglaries.

Meikhtila police station and Yadanar Maung WPDC were unavailable for comment

. Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> Meikhtila local official sells off communal land...

Did Than Shwe’s Grandson Kidnap Model?

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

The Rangoon rumor-mill is frequently active, but this might be the juiciest story for years—a soap opera-style plot involving Than Shwe’s grandson, a celebrity model, a jealous ex-boyfriend and a sordid kidnapping.

Sources close to Burmese celebrities told The Irrawaddy that rumors have spread like wildfire around Rangoon in the last two weeks that Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s favorite grandson, Nay Shwe Thway Aung, 17, helped a friend, Aung Myo, kidnap his ex-girlfriend, celebrity model Wut Hmone Shwe Yee (in turquoise).

The two allegedly abducted Wut Hmone Shwe Yee from an unknown location in mid-December and drove her to Nay Shwe Thway Aung’s house in Hlaing Thayar Township where they held her for three days.

The teenage model’s friends apparently attempted to contact her during that time but could not locate her.

According to tabloid journals in Rangoon, model Wut Hmone Shwe Yee is currently the girlfriend of Burmese Hip-Hop star Sai Sai Khan Hlaing. Last year, a YouTube video clip of Sai Sai Khan Hlaing and Wut Hmone Shwe Yee was popular among Burma’s young internet users.

Private journals and magazines in Burma were reportedly refused permission by the Burmese censorship board to publish photos of the model for at least a week in late December after rumors of her kidnapping spread, according to members of the journalist community in Rangoon.

Rangoon-based Weekly Eleven published an interview with Wut Hmone Shwe Yee in its December 31 edition. However, no mention of any abduction was made.

Sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that Wut Hmone Shwe Yee has taken out a lawsuit against Aung Myo. Nay Shwe Thway Aung has reportedly provided a lawyer for his friend.

Wut Hmone Shwe Yee declined to comment on the issue when The Irrawaddy contacted her by phone on Thursday, saying she was too busy.

Nay Shwe Thway Aung is currently studying at Yangon Institute of Technology in Rangoon and is known to be Than Shwe’s first and favorite grandson. He has often appeared in Burma’s state-run media alongside his dictator-grandfather at state ceremonies and on trips.

However, Nay Shwe Thway Aung is no stranger to controversy. In October, reports circulated that he had used influence to get his girlfriend, model Nay Chi Lin Let (Left in white), enrolled in Institute of Medicine 1 in Rangoon.

Nay Shwe Thway Aung was also implicated in a drug scandal in Rangoon last May. Two of his friends, Burmese tycoon Maung Weik and a son of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, were arrested after a member of the Than Shwe family found some pills—thought to be ecstasy—on Nay Shwe Thway Aung’s person.

Maung Weik and Aung Zaw Ye Myint were charged with procuring and selling drugs.

Than Shwe’s son, Thant Zaw Shwe, was also at the center of a scandal in recent years when rumors spread that he was involved with certain Burmese celebrities and models.

This is not the first time a kidnapping plot has been associated with the families of Burma’s powerful military elite. In the late 1990s, rumors spread that Gen Ne Win’s favorite grandson, Kyaw Ne Win, and his friends had kidnapped Nandar Aye, a daughter of junta No 2 Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye.

A few years later, in early 2002, Ne Win’s grandsons and his son-in-law were arrested and charged with treason.

“Sometimes, government intelligence services produce rumors as tactics of psychological warfare,” said a journalist in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Sometimes rumors come from rival groups among the ruling hierarchies.”

READ MORE---> Did Than Shwe’s Grandson Kidnap Model?...

Police fail to investigate stabbing in Laiza

(DVB)–Police in the border town of Laiza in Kachin state have failed to investigate the recent stabbing of a visiting businessman, according to local residents.

A local man in Laiza told DVB that a visitor from another township had been stabbed by a local Military Affairs Security informer at around 10pm on 5 January, but the culprit has so far escaped punishment.

"The victim was visiting Lajahyan village in Laiza on business," the resident said.

"He was stabbed by local MAS informer Ko Htay but the police did not follow up the crime," he said.

"The military tried to get him medical treatment themselves but later they sent him to a private clinic."

The local resident said the incident was just the latest example of the police failing to properly investigate crimes in the area.

"The police are not bringing any criminals to justice. They just look at the crime scene as a way of filling their own pockets," he said.

"Whenever there is a road accident, they show up straight away and harass the driver of any vehicles travelling on the road," he continued.

"They threaten them, saying they will charge them with manslaughter and they only let them go when they pay them around 400,000-500,000 kyat."

If the vehicles are transporting smuggled goods, the drivers are happy to pay the fine to avoid further trouble with the police, the resident said.

"Most of the vehicles passing through the area are delivering goods, which have not been cleared by customs when they came into Burma from China," he said.

"So they cannot afford to have problems with the police and they just pay the money."

Reporting by ATK

READ MORE---> Police fail to investigate stabbing in Laiza...

Bean farms flooded by authorities in Bago

(DVB)-About 60 acres of bean plants were destroyed in Bago division's Nyaung Lay Pin province when authorities opened the nearby floodgates, allegedly to force farmers to grow summer paddy on the land.

A local farmer from Pyun Tansar township told DVB yesterday that the plants were completely destroyed in the deluge.

"Our bean plants were doing so well until three days ago when water from the floodgates submerged the farmland and drowned the plants," he said.

The farmer said locals believed the authorities had deliberately flooded the fields because the farmers had ignored orders to grow summer paddy this year instead of the beans they usually grow.

"Farmers are assuming that the authorities deliberately opened the water gates because they think we will grow summer paddy as they asked us to when our bean crops are destroyed," the farmer said.

"After our farms were flooded, township administration officials came to see us and told us they would grow summer paddy themselves on those fields," he said.

"We didn't want to have their people working on our farms, so we had to agree to grow summer paddy."

Authorities in Pyun Tansar were unavailable for comment.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> Bean farms flooded by authorities in Bago...

Regional NLD members disillusioned with party leaders

(DVB)-Members of regional National League for Democracy branches are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the party leadership for not acting on their suggestions, according to an elected member of parliament.

Aung Soe Myint, the elected people's parliament representative in Taung-ngu township's voting zone 1 in 1990, said many regional NLD members felt the party's Central Executive Committee was not taking their suggestions into account.

"Most of the NLD organising wing members in other townships outside Rangoon are now less keen to attend meetings at headquarters as they are frustrated with the CEC for not giving significant attention to what they say," he said.

Regional NLD members had asked party leaders to include capable younger members on the CEC and to convene a parliamentary conference.

"We want [party leaders] to be more enthusiastic as leaders of the group and that's why we made this request to them to give positions to youth members on the CEC," Aung Soe Myint said.

"We are not very happy with the results. We have been asking the committee to call a conference for our people's parliament representatives, but they rejected that idea because of the difficulties in getting all of us together, government harassment and so on," he continued.

"But they never look for alternative plans. They can't just reject the idea because there are difficulties because then it will never happen."

Myint Myint Aye, secretary of Meikhtila NLD, said morale was low in regional branches.

"Now we have no work to do as we do not get any direction from the CEC," she said.

"We are depressed and morale is low. The NLD is slowly fading away in every township in Burma."

NLD information wing member Nyan Win said party leaders were open to suggestions from members.

"NLD leaders always welcome ideas and suggestions from them. But there are just so many things to follow up at the same time," Nyan Win said.

"The leaders have to keep the ideas in mind and implement them when the time is right," he said.

"But we can't just take up everyone's suggestions."

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

READ MORE---> Regional NLD members disillusioned with party leaders...