BurmaNet News: July 15 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

July 15 2003 Issue #2284

INTERNATIONAL

AP: House OKs trade sanctions against Myanmar

INSIDE BURMA

Narinjara: Future of the construction of bridges uncertain in western Burma
Kaladan: Football tournament organized by NaSaKa with the villagers
Mizzima: KIO to celebrate tenth anniversary of truce

DRUGS

Irrawaddy: UWSA leader’s arrest questioned

REGIONAL

Kaladan: Burma-Bangladesh border alert
Asia Pulse: India’s ICC wants more trade routes opened to China
Xinhua: Myanmar, India sign MOU on setting up joint trade committee

MONEY

Xinhua: China exports road rollers to Myanmar
FT: Boycott Burma, minister tells travel operators

ON THE BORDER

Irrawaddy: Migrants’ permits extended

OPINIONS/STATEMENTS

Washington Post: Engage Burma
Reuters: Myanmar to export heavy metal to US

INTERNATIONAL

Associated Press July 15 2003

House OKs Trade Sanctions Against Myanmar
By JIM ABRAMS

The House voted Tuesday to slap economic sanctions on Myanmar in response
to the military-led Asian country's most recent suppression of democracy
and arrest of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 418-2 House vote came a month after the Senate voted 97-1 on a similar
measure. President Bush is expected to sign the bill once the two chambers
agree on a common version.

The bill would ban the import of goods from Myanmar, also known as Burma,
and freeze the military government's assets in the United States. It would
expand the current ban on granting U.S. visas to Myanmar leaders and
codify the existing policy of opposing new international loans or
technical assistance to Myanmar.

The bill allows the president to waive the trade ban if he deems it's in
the national interest.

The legislation, said Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, a senior member of the House
International Relations Committee, reflects "the growing frustration and
dismay as prospects for a transition to democracy have withered in the
face of the ruling military regime's determination to maintain an iron
grip on power."

"These are tough measures but no tougher than Burma's ruling thugs
deserve," said Rep. Tom Lantos of California, top Democrat on the
committee and author of the bill.

The bill would strengthen previous actions taken against Myanmar,
including visa restrictions on its military leaders and a 1997 ban on new
investment by U.S. companies.

The Senate vote came less than two weeks after the military government's
May 30 arrest of Suu Kyi and the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement
the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has led the past several decades.

The military seized power in 1988 and stepped in to void the 1990
elections that would have given power to Suu Kyi and her National League
for Democracy. Suu Kyi was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and again
for 19 months before her release in May 2002.

Congress held off on similar legislation banning imports last year after
Suu Kyi was released. But her re-arrest in May following clashes between
her supporters and government backers revived the effort to ostracize the
military government of the already isolated and impoverished nation.

The House trade ban would affect Myanmar exports to the United States that
reached some $356 million in 2002, mostly in garments. The measure also
directs the Secretary of State to encourage other nations to cut off
support for the Myanmar government and assist the country's democratic
movement.

Language attached to the bill also singles out Myanmar's two neighbors,
China and Thailand, as countries that need to do more toward ending
repression in Myanmar. Those countries "must recognize that national
reconciliation will not happen under the current regime, and stop their
economic and political patronage of the Burmese dictatorship."

Voting against the bill were Republican Reps. Ron Paul of Texas and Jeff
Flake of Arizona.


INSIDE BURMA

Narinjara News July 15 2003

Future of the construction of bridges uncertain in western Burma

Maungdaw, 15th July 03:  The future of the construction of bridges in
western Burma has become uncertain due to the stoppage of Japanese aid to
Burma, sources in the local administration said.

In Maungdaw Township, bordering with the southeastern part of Bangladesh,
a number of bridges have been under construction utilizing Japanese aid
offered by the BAJ (Bridge Asia Japan), a Japanese NGO.  The bridges would
link the detached sections of the proposed Sittwe  Maungdaw road, which
may later be used as link between Bangladesh and Rangoon.

The construction of the bridge number 64 at Kyauk-pan-du in Maungdaw
Township was supposed to be finalized by signing an agreement by the BAJ
and the ministry of foreign affairs, Japan, this month.  But due to the
suspension of Japanese aid to Burma the project has become uncertain.  The
plan of the construction of the bridge numbered 87 at Aang-daung (Inn-din)
in the southern part of Maungdaw Township, too, has become uncertain

Since June 26 last the Government of Japan has stopped its ODA assistance
to Burma as a stern measure against Burmese junta SPDC’s action against
the National League for Democracy, the majority opposition party of Burma,
by imprisoning its popular leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  Japan vowed not
to offer any assistance until and unless the Burmese opposition leader is
freed from imprisonment.
____

Kaladan July 15 2003

Football Tournament Organized by NaSaKa With the Villagers

Taungbro( Maungdaw) July 15: A football competition was held, between
NaSaKa Sector Nos. 3 and 4,  from 30 June to 5 July 2003, at Laikra
village (Kumirkhali), the headquarters of the NaSaKa Sector No.4, about 15
miles north of Maungdaw town, said our correspondent.

For six days it had been participated and competed by the villagers and
NaSaKa soldiers of the two Sector areas in jubilant mood, although it was
organized with the collection of the villagers, a village elder said.

All teams participated in the tournament were made up of Rohingya
villagers and NaSaKa personnel. The players from the areas of Sector No. 3
went to the place in special motor boats. The Sector No.4 had won the
competition by two goals, he further said
_____________

Mizzima July 15 2003

KIO to celebrate tenth anniversary of truce

July 13, 2003: The Kachin Independence organization is preparing to
celebrate the tenth anniversary of its truce with the junta, a Kachin
leader informed Mizzima News.

Lavish celebrations for the decade-old cease-fire celebration will be held
on 24 February 2004 at Laiza, close to the China-Burmese border, and are
expected to be attended by Kachin delegates from around the world along
with non-governmental organizations.

It is not known who will represent the Burmese junta at the festival,
which will feature sports and entertainment. "General Khin Nyunt told
ceasefire broker Sabweikyun during his last trip to Kachin state that if
peace celebrations were planned, he would attend. He said that he would
not attend if it was the cease-fire itself that was going to be
celebrated", said a KIO officer who requested that his name be withheld.

The KIO entered into a ceasefire agreement in 1994. A local Kachin leader
in KIO-controlled Laiza argued that the ceasefire was not beneficial to
the Kachin people. He stated that the KIO had lost the Pharkent jade mines
and strategically important military bases to government's troops,
suffered under the devastation of forests, Chinese influence, as well as
large-scale of corruption within the KIO leaderships.

About 50 Burmese battalions are stationed in Kachin state, ten times more
than in 1994. The Kachin Independence Army has only 4,000 foot soldiers.
So far, political dialogue between the SPDC and the KIO, which the latter
had expected to take place after signing cease-fire agreement, has failed
to materialize. Meanwhile, the junta has warned the KIO not to lend
support to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during her tour of Kachin
State before the 30 May crackdown.

On June 14, one of the regime’s foremost leaders, Brig. Gen Kyaw Thein,
met with KIO central committee members and said: "You can do business as
much as you like but you must stay away from politics". He strongly warned
KIO leaders not to demand a tripartite dialogue and not to corporate with
other ethnic political parties. Kyaw Thein added: "The KIO must not
support Daw Suu Kyi ".

The seven armed ethnic groups which are bound by ceasefire agreements
released a statement regarding the 30 May crackdown in first week of July,
demanding the immediate start of a tripartite dialogue to resolve the
current political crisis.

These organizations include the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO),
the Kayan New Land Party (KNLP), the Kayinni National People's Liberation
Front (KNPLF), the Palaung State Liberation Army (PSLA), the New Mon State
Party (NMSP), the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) and the Shan State
Nationalities People's Liberation Organization (SNPLO).


DRUGS

Irrawaddy July 15 2003

UWSA Leader’s Arrest Questioned
By Naw Seng

The English language daily Bangkok Post has reported the arrest of Wei
Hseuh Kang, a reputed drug kingpin from northern Burma. Sources inside
Burma dispute the report, saying the arrest would undermine the junta’s
efforts to establish better ties with ceasefire groups, including the
United Wa State Army (UWSA), of which Wei is a high-ranking leader.

On Sunday, the Post said, "Reports seeped out of northern Burma at the
weekend that Rangoon has detained Wei Hsueh Kang and charged his brother
Wei Hsueh Tang with drug trafficking." Sources in Shan State suggest the
reports could be false.

Wei, the UWSA’s southern 171st Military Region commander, is regarded as
one of the world’s most notorious drug traffickers. The US government has
offered a ransom of US $2 million to anyone who turns him over to American
authorities.

 Detaining the UWSA leader is unlikely, he said, since the Burmese junta
is currently trying to foster better relationships with ceasefire groups
before moving forward with national reconciliation


The news of Wei’s house arrest also reached the Post from a source at
Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). An officer from the
ONCB told the paper that Wei has not been arraigned. "He is only
restricted from activities," said the officer, adding that Wei was in
Lashio, in northern Shan State.

Some Burmese ethnic leaders, however, believe Wei’s house arrest is
impossible due to the current political situation in Burma.

Mai Ai Phone, Sec-Gen of the Palaung Youth Network Group (PYNG), also
questions the validity of the reports. Detaining the UWSA leader is
unlikely, he said, since the Burmese junta is currently trying to foster
better relationships with ceasefire groups before moving forward with
national reconciliation. No one in Lashio knows about Wei’s arrest, he
added.

Maha San, who used to have close ties to Wei and is the leader of the Wa
National Organization, said the news is not reliable. "Wei Hseuh Kang is
now in Panghsang," he said.

But a source from the Burmese Communist Party (BCP) and with close ties to
the UWSA believes Wei may be under house arrest. He cited Wei’s souring
relations with top junta leaders and his support for extending the drug
eradication deadline in Wa State from 2005 to 2007. On the weekend, the Wa
reportedly decided it would be impossible to meet the 2005 deadline in the
prevailing economic and political climate.

A few months ago, Wei reportedly criticized the regime to his fellow Wa
officers. A UWSA officer told the source that Wei disappeared after a July
7 emergency meeting at the UWSA headquarters in Panghsang.

The Chinese and Americans would certainly welcome the arrest if it did
indeed occur, said the BCP source, who added that Chinese authorities have
reportedly banned Wei from entering China because they believe he was
formerly associated with the Taiwanese.

Wei Hsai Tang, who was reported to be Wei Hseuh Kang’s brother in the
articles, was arrested by his own army and handed over to the Burmese
authorities in May 2002. He was charged with printing counterfeit Burmese
bank notes. Sources say the two men are not actually brothers.

REGIONAL

Kaladan Press July 15 2003

BURMA-BANGLADESH BORDER ALERT
By Md. Sadek

Taungbro (Maungdaw)July 15: From last week of June 2003, the border
security forces of both Burma and Bangladesh are on alert all along the
border due to possible sporadic fresh influx of Rohingya refugees into
Bangladesh, according to our correspondent.

At present, about 80 Rohingya families, most of whom were repatriated
refugees from Bangladesh have, in their attempt to cross the border to
Bangladesh, gathered in a bordering village of Taungbro Left in Nasaka
Sector No.3. After repatriation, they are not properly rehabilitated in
their original places and are denied the right to own their lands and
properties, sources said.

The returnees are living under constant threat of the authorities, who are
accusing the Rohingyas of Bangladeshis, while creating impossible
situation for them to continue a peaceful living in their own homeland, a
VPDC member said. Now they are in complete despair over the recent arrest
of Burmese democracy leader Daw Suu Kyi, he further added.

Most of these uprooted families are from Taungbazar area of Buthidaung
township and Tamintha area of Maungdaw Township. Restriction on paddy
cultivation, price hike of essentials, land confiscation, forced taxation,
forced labor and humiliating restriction on their movement even within the
same locality are some of the root causes of their displacement, source
further said.

During the recent weeks, some of these internally displaced people had
entered into Bangladesh. Of them about 20 newcomers were arrested by
Bangladesh Border security Forces (BDR) and were sent to jail. On the
other hand, the Nasaka is dispersing the gathering of such uprooted people
on their side of the border, another source said. #
_____________

Asia Pulse July 15 2003

INDIA'S ICC WANTS MORE TRADE ROUTES OPENED TO CHINA

The Indian Chamber of Commerce has made a strong pitch to open up more
trade routes through the North-eastern states and Myanmar to access the
bustling business hubs of South-Eastern China.

Calling for a new step in this direction, called 'Initiative for India
China Cooperation', ICC president, Vikram Thapar, said in a statement here
that the recent Sino-Indian joint agreement for opening up the Nathu La
pass in Sikkim was a symbolic gesture which heralded a new era of an easy
business environment between the two countries.

"However, the real gains of trade and business opportunities would be felt
by opening up of land routes from the North-East through Bangladesh and
Myanmar to Kunming in China. This could then be linked up to the proposed
Asian Highway to link up with Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and onward to the
south east Asian countries," he said.

He emphasized that the recent enhancement of economic cooperation between
India and China could bring in a significant business opportunities for
eastern and north-eastern India. However, that would require a focus on
looking east, to really maximize the potential for Sino-Indian business
cooperation, he said.

Kolkata could be the key location for connecting the eastern region to the
rest of the sub-region, Thapar said, adding that he foresaw strong
business potentials and synergy between the eastern and north-eastern
states in India and China.
___________

Xinhua News Agency July 15 2003

Myanmar, India sign MOU on setting up joint trade committee

Myanmar and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) here Monday
afternoon on setting up a joint trade committee to boost the bilateral
trade, official newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

The document was endorsed by Myanmar Minister of Commerce
Brigadier-General Pyi Sone and visiting Indian Minister of Commerce and
Industry Arun Jaitley, who arrived here earlier on Monday.

The signing of the MOU came after Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung
visited India in January this year, during which a protocol on
consultation, a provision of 25 million US dollar line of credit to
Myanmar and a framework for increased private sector cooperation were
produced.

According to Myanmar official statistics, the bilateral trade amounted to
440.13 million dollars in 2002 with India standing as Myanmar's fourth
largest trading partner after Thailand, China and Singapore.

India is also Myanmar's largest export market of beans and pulses and timber.

Since a border trade agreement was signed in 1994, Myanmar and India have
opened one border trade point each at Tamu and Manipur and have agreed in
principle to open another trade point at Rhi and Champhai respectively in
the future.

MONEY

Xinhua News Agency July 15 2003

China exports road rollers to Myanmar

China has exported 100 road rollers, worth over 1.2 million US dollars, to
its Southeast Asian neighbor country Myanmar.

The machines, under the brand of "Luoyang" were manufactured by the
Luoyang Yituo Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. in Luoyang City, central
China's Henan Province.

The Chinese company beat two dozen domestic and overseas competitors in
open bidding by the Myanmar government, the sources said.

China is one of the largest machine builders in the world and in recent
years, local manufacturers have been trying hard to export more electrical
and mechanical equipment.

Luoyang is a major industrial production base in China.
________

Financial Times July 15 2003

Boycott Burma, minister tells travel operators
By MATTHEW GARRAHAN

The Foreign Office has asked British tour operators to stop arranging
holidays to Burma because of the ruling regime's record on human rights.

In a letter to the Association of British Tour Agents, Mike O'Brien,
Foreign Office minister, said that there were "compelling reasons" not to
holiday in Burma.

"Forced labour has been used to build some of Burma's tourist
infrastructure," he said. "Some communities have been forcibly relocated
to make way for tourism-related developments."

In recent months the military regime had stepped up its actions against
democracy groups in a campaign of violence and intimidation.

This culminated in an armed attack on Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the
National League for Democracy, and her supporters in an ambush in May.

Mr O'Brien said: "The Burmese democracy movement do not encourage tourists
to visit Burma in the present circumstances. They argue that continued
international pressure is essential to bring the Burmese generals to the
negotiating table and that the tourist industry can play a part in this."

Abta said it left commercial and moral decisions on holiday destinations
to its members. "It's up to our members to make that decision," said
Frances Tuke, an Abta official. "It would be different if the Foreign
Office were advising people not to go to Burma because it was dangerous."

Abercrombie & Kent, a tour operator which organises adventure and luxury
holidays, is one of a handful of Abta members that sells trips to Burma.

Kuoni, a larger tour operator, withdrew its services to Burma recently
following the lobbying of Burma Campaign UK.


ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy July 15 2003

Migrants’ Permits Extended
By Aung Su Shin

Work permits for many migrants in Thailand will be extended for one more
year, announced the Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Dr Premsak
Phiayura. Next year all migrant workers who want to work in Thailand must
come legally, Premsak told reporters in Mae Sot yesterday, after meeting
with Tak Province authorities and private sector representatives.

Premsak said that factory workers will be eligible for the extension.
Those working in massage parlors, beauty parlors and other "light jobs"
will not, because "there is no interest for the country."

Thailand has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Laos, Cambodia and
Burma, and is now preparing the terms which will govern the treatment of
workers from neighboring countries who come to Thailand.

"We are discussing who will handle the workers," said Premsak. It will
take about one year to determine how to collect taxes, and decide whether
to establish government-to-government or private-to-private relationships
to manage the in-flow of migrants, he added. The period covered by new
work permits is also yet to be determined.

 Encouraging factory owners is likely to help our neighbors — Premsak
Phiayura


According to Premsak, the Prime Minister wants to promote a border
economic zone and aid factories on both sides of the border so migrants do
not continue sneaking into the inner provinces and Bangkok.

"Encouraging factory owners is likely to help our neighbors," said
Premsak. He added that both Burmese and Thais should have an equal
opportunity to make a good income in their home country.

Premsak has also blamed the traffickers who led Burmese to the Thai
capital and said they will be considered a "dark influence."

Viraphong Subanaphong, secretary of the Mae Sot district office said the
trafficking fulfilled the demand of Bangkok entrepreneurs. If there is no
demand in Bangkok, the suppliers will disappear, he said.

Labor analysts question the Thai government’s plan to legally import
workers from Burma, saying the practice is very difficult. Malaysia
already allows legal Burmese to work in factories, but the practice has
not been successful. Malaysian entrepreneurs continue to use illegal
Burmese migrant workers, say sources.


OPINIONS/STATEMENTS

Washington Post July 15 2003

Engage Burma
By David I. Steinberg

Burma gets the world's attention only in times of political crisis --
that's when the international media rally around. But there is, in that
potentially rich but benighted country, a destructive malaise that is
generally ignored by the rest of the world. It has serious effects
throughout Burma's ethnically diverse population of about 50 million.
The basic problem, after four decades of military rule, is the bifurcation
of the society into a military that is effectively a state within Burma
and the unresolved issue of power-sharing between the majority Burman
population and the one-third of the people who are members of minority
groups.
Strategically, Burma is pivotal in India-China relations and in other
regional relationships. Moreover, its poverty, mismanagement and
suppression of opposition groups have driven more than a million Burmese
into neighboring countries, spreading social and health problems in that
part of the world.
The latest crisis is the deplorable incident in central Burma in which the
opposition National League for Democracy entourage, led by Nobel peace
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was attacked by a military-backed mass
mobilization group, with an unknown number being killed and wounded. Aung
San Suu Kyi was taken into custody along with other leaders of her party,
and party offices were closed. She needs to be released immediately. After
she was freed from modified house arrest in May 2002 (her second
confinement), there was international euphoria about a military-opposition
reconciliation process. But it has never really taken place. The prospects
of political conciliation are now even less encouraging.
The military leadership of the country is exceptionally hierarchical in
structure, and those at the top have been secluded from global, even
internal, realities. Their education is parochial, their international
experience and information minimal and their contacts with the outside
world carefully controlled. It appears that some are so isolated they do
not even comprehend Burma's internal problems, let alone international
affairs.
The military thinks it can remain withdrawn from the world, as it has been
for decades, and still survive because of the country's natural wealth.
But in fact, population growth, whimsical economic and social policies,
insurrections and fear have transformed what should be the richest country
in the region into one of the poorest.
In 1997 the United States imposed sanctions on new investment in Burma and
prohibited that country's senior military from visiting here. Now, in
reaction to the current crisis, it has widened the travel ban. Meanwhile,
Congress will likely pass legislation prohibiting garment and textile
imports of more than $300 million, and Burmese assets will probably be
frozen. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said the Burmese ambassador to
Washington should be declared persona non grata to indicate our
displeasure, even though he is one of the few positive links to that
state.
These responses may be morally comforting to all of us who wish the world
were more democratic, but have they been or are they likely to be
effective? What the United States has been doing is to drive the Burmese
back onto themselves and more closely into the Chinese sphere of
influence.
We seem to believe that sanctions and a broader policy of political and
economic quarantine will force change -- a highly dubious proposition. The
sanctions of 1997 did not work, and no country on Burma's borders wants
them. More sanctions mean simply more isolation. We are cutting off
effective contact, reinforcing diplomatic and economic purdah and, rather
than bringing change, are virtually mandating a xenophobic military
response. We thus limit our potential influence.
The Burmese military has been inept. Some of its stated goals -- national
unity, better health and education, cultural preservation -- sound
acceptable. But the military cannot achieve such goals with its repressive
internal policies and external relations.
The United States should not foster Burma's isolation. It should, with
Japan, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
engage that state to encourage positive changes. It should induce China to
warn the Burmese of their predicament.
Simply to wish or try to force the military from power will not work. The
military will be important in Burma, as it has been since independence in
1948, under any civilian administration. Its members need to be educated
to the reality that the interests of the Burmese people, and indeed the
military as a Burmese institution, require compromise and compassion. The
present and planned U.S. policies will not achieve the ends we all hope
for.
The writer is director of Asian studies at Georgetown University's School
of Foreign Service.
_____________

Reuters July 15 2003

Myanmar to Export Heavy Metal to U.S.
By Dominic Whiting

Five long-haired Burmese men, calling themselves Iron Cross, are looking
to conquer the United States after taking military-ruled Myanmar by storm.
The heavy-metal musicians, who have packed open-air stadiums across the
insular Southeast Asian country for a decade, plan to head off this month
for a tour taking in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. While
international attention hones in on the detention of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi by Myanmar's ruling generals, lead singer Lay Phyu wants
the world to hear his Burmese-language stories of love, which have been
influenced by counterfeit Metallica (news - web sites) cassettes censored
by the military.
"You can't talk about ... politics to me. It's just music," Lay Phyu told
Reuters in a telephone interview from Myanmar's capital Yangon. "Our songs
are about love and life, experiences, this and that."

Iron Cross raised the hackles of Myanmar's junta by naming an album "Power
54" in 1995, when Nobel peace prize winner Suu Kyi -- whose house number
was 54 -- was freed from the first of two spells of house arrest.

Former colonial power Britain says the junta is now holding her in the
notorious Insein jail, the biggest prison in the British empire before
1945, following a clash between her supporters and pro-military youths on
May 30.

"There's obviously fear," said Aung Zaw, editor of a Thailand-based
magazine run by Myanmar exiles. "The group has had problems in the past
with Power 54."

Lay Phyu said he changed the album's name to just "Power."

"I had to do it. I wanted to," he said. "It's a long story."

BAN ON LADY IN RED

A military censorship board screens all lyrics before they are recorded,
looking for any, however oblique, reference to Suu Kyi, her National
League for Democracy (NLD) and its red flag.

The NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990 but was prevented from
taking power by the army, which has ruled the country in various guises
since a 1962 coup.

"If they're not happy they will summon writers to their office and ask for
the meaning of songs," Aung Zaw said.

"There are no rules. Sometimes you can't mention the color red. You can't
talk about a lady who is brave because it might resemble Aung San Suu
Kyi."

A few poets, artists and singers jailed in the early 1990s for opposing
the military regime have been released in recent years. But the United
Nations (news - web sites) says some 1,200 political prisoners still
languish in Myanmar's jails.

Lay Phyu says he leaves the lyrics to others.

Aung Zaw said the band had not recorded any of the propaganda songs often
commissioned by the junta extolling the message that the army is vital to
nation building in the ethnically diverse country, formerly known as
Burma.

Singers who have gone along with the government line get invited to
military events but are often hit by a slump in popularity.

"I don't write a single lyric. We have so many songwriters," Lay Phyu
said. "But we're the best in Myanmar because the songs are just quality.
And the other guys in the band do very good stuff."

Iron Cross are waiting to clear U.S. visa complications for their drummer
before setting off on the tour.

The United States, which has threatened harsher sanctions on Myanmar's
rulers for their treatment of Suu Kyi, hosts thousands of Myanmar migrants
and hundreds of dissidents who fled a 1988 crackdown on the pro-democracy
movement.