BurmaNet News: October 30, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

October 30, 2003 Issue #2358

INSIDE BURMA
RFA: Pregnant Woman, Child Die in Burma Fires: Witness; Buddhists, Muslims
said to riot in Kyaukse
AFP: Myanmar imposes curfew on town, admits casualties after religious unrest
DVB: Anti-Muslim attacks spread to southern Burma
DVB: Monk killed in Mandalay clash with soldiers

Xinhua: Myanmar PM meets Chinese auditor-general
SHAN: Khin Nyunt counters resistance to roadmap

DRUGS
SHAN: Exotic high yield paddy turn out poor

MONEY
AP: Japan gives US$40,000 to Myanmar hospital
AFP: Myanmar junta says US sanctions forcing women into sex trade

GUNS
BP: Joint Border Patrols With Burma in January

REGIONAL
BP: Fifty Thai army generals to visit Burma

INTERNATIONAL
AP: EU to continue humanitarian aid to Myanmar despite displeasure
NCNA: Joint Press Statement of Sixth China-EU Summit

OPINION / OTHER
Baltimore Sun: Lost in the shuffle


----INSIDE BURMA----

Radio Free Asia   October 29, 2003
Pregnant Woman, Child Die in Burma Fires: Witness
Buddhists, Muslims said to riot in Kyaukse

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2003—A pregnant woman and a child were among dozens
of people who died in fires during riots in the central Burmese town of
Kyaukse on Oct. 19, according to an eyewitness who gave an exclusive
interview to Radio Free Asia (RFA).

The fires, which razed dozens of family homes and a mosque, appear to have
been started by a mob protesting the alleged defacement of Buddhist images
by two Muslim men. However, the actions of government agents have
triggered ethnic violence in Burma in the past.

"When I ran there to see, the firemen had already put out the fire, so we
approached further and looked and we saw the bones and the flesh. We saw a
small skull," said the eyewitness, a Muslim, who asked not to be named.

"There was a skeleton of an adult and a skull. I heard the people near
there saying that the dead woman was pregnant," he said, adding that he
broke down in tears when he realized the dead woman was his own niece. "I
saw a small skull that could be assumed to be a child's skull and a larger
skeleton."

The man also reported seeing many more corpses of people who had died in
the fires. "Soon we saw one corpse after another. They were taking them
away to the hospital," he told RFA’s Burmese service.

The resident of the Kan Oo ward, or district, said he saw the human
remains on the morning after the riots, on Oct. 20. The previous night, he
also saw a shouting crowd march through the streets, and many neighbors
reported that the local mosque had been burned.

"Even though at first I thought it was impossible to destroy the mosque
that was opposite the police station, later my next-door neighbor
telephoned me," he told RFA. "My family also told me that people were
destroying the Su Gyi Mosque."

The man said he was forced to take refuge in a neighbor’s house. "Later, I
heard noises. It was the sound of a crowd marching toward us. They were
shouting, ‘Yay, yay.’ Well, it was impossible to stay inside this house
anymore."

"So I went to the opposite house, which is a Buddhist family's house, to
ask for help. I said,‘Please give my wife and children permission to seek
shelter. Please help,’ and so they said, ‘Your entire family should come.
We will help you.’ And so we sent the children."

RFA also learned that while the corpses were taken to hospital, relatives
of the victims were barred from entering the morgue. Many of the bodies
were buried according to Muslim tradition the following day.

"They allowed us to bury them around 1:30 p.m.," the man said. "We brought
all the burned bodies of 11 people, including the fetus, in bags. We went
to the Muslim cemetery. We buried them. We buried them only on the 20th,
around 2 p.m.," he said, adding that many of the bags contained body parts
that were difficult to sort.

Unconfirmed reports initially described the rioting and burnings as part
of religious riots between Buddhists and Muslims. But Burma’s military
government has provoked violent clashes between ethnic and religious
groups in the past. The junta has so far issued no official account of the
unrest.

The eyewitness from Kyaukse told RFA there had previously been no tension
between the two communities, who had mingled freely throughout the
district.

"We have been living together with love, laughter, and happiness. When the
incident took place, the Buddhists helped us and only they helped and hid
our families as well," he said.

In 1997, anti-Muslim riots in central Burma were characterized by some
reports as being provoked by the junta. Human rights groups also point to
evidence detailing anti-Muslim persecution by the government in Kayin
State the same year, during which mosques were burned, Korans destroyed,
and Muslims evicted from their homes.


Agence France Presse   October 30, 2003
Myanmar imposes curfew on town, admits casualties after religious unrest

Myanmar said Thursday it imposed a curfew on a central township following
violence between Muslims and Buddhists which resulted in undisclosed
casualties in the township and neighbouring Mandalay.

"Recently there have been some disturbances in Mandalay and a few other
places between people professing different faith," Myanmar's military
government said in a statement faxed to AFP.

"A curfew has been imposed in Kyaukse Township for precautionary measures
after a disturbance took place."

Radio Free Asia (RFA), citing an eyewitness report, said Wednesday that
dozens of people, mainly Muslims, died in fires during riots in Kyaukse on
October 19, including a pregnant woman and a child.

The Washington-based RFA said the eyewitness saw many corpses of people
who had died in the fires.

"Soon we saw one corpse after another. They were taking them away to the
hospital," the unnamed witness, a resident of Kyaukse's Kan Oo ward, told
RFA.

He also reportedly described bringing the burned bodies of 11 people in
bags to a Muslim cemetery for burial on the afternoon of the 20th.

Yangon would not disclose whether anyone had been killed in the violence,
preferring to use vague language to describe what happened.

"Unfortunately there are some casualties and property damage as a result
of the disturbances," the junta added, stressing that details could not be
publicised as an investigation was ongoing.

It said the areas affected by the riots "are now back to normal" following
the intervention of local authorities and religious leaders, and "legal
action has been taken against those individuals which disrupted law and
order as well as peace and tranquility in those places."

Riotous crowds were seen marching through the streets of Kyaukse on the
night of October 19, RFA said, and cited residents' claims that the local
Su Gyi mosque had been torched.

Rights groups have expressed concern that Myanmar's military has provoked
violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups, in part to draw
attention away from political difficulties.

More than 250,000 Rohingya Muslims fled forced labour and violence by
Myanmar's military government during 1991 and 1992, mainly to Bangladesh,
but later went home, the aid group Doctors Without Borders has said.

About 19,000 Muslim refugees remain in Bangladesh.


Democratic Voice of Burma   October 29, 2003
Anti-Muslim attacks spread to southern Burma

Anti-Muslim attacks which started in central Burma are spreading to the
capital Rangoon in the south of the country. On 25 and 26 October, a group
of Buddhist ‘monks’ raided the properties of local Muslims in Thinganggyun
Township and the owners were attacked and their properties destroyed.

Although the authorities arrested and detained the attackers of a local
businessman, U Htay Kywe on the 25th, most of the local people believe
that the authorities themselves systematically organised the assaults from
the evidence they have seen. He was hospitalised and had 9 stitches for
the wounds he received on his head. The unprovoked attacks were committed
by some ‘monks’ and normal civilians. The attackers also poured petroleum
on him while they were demanding money from him but they didn’t burn him,
according to a local resident.

On the 26th, the attackers also went on the rampage and attacked the
owners and employees of local Muslim restaurants.

Meanwhile, threatening letters were sent to the homes of Muslims in
Moulmein, Mon State and their homes were thrown with stones and local
security forces are ‘guarding’ their homes.


Democratic Voice of Burma   October 29, 2003
One monk killed in clash between monks and soldiers in Mandalay

There had been a clash between Buddhist monks and Burmese soldiers on 27
October in Mandalay and one monk was killed and two other were seriously
wounded and they are being treated in a local hospital after the soldiers
open fire on them.

The clash occurred after a monk named Ashin Werathu who was delivering
anti-Muslim sermons was arrested by the authority. Then, 1000 monks from
New Masoeyein and Myataung monasteries staged a demonstration, according
to a local resident in Mandalay.

Security forces were placed around the hospitals and the New Masoeyein
Monastery. The novice monks were ordered to go home and their classrooms
were forced to close down.

Moreover, curfew was imposed in Mandalay around the monasteries. The
authorities also stopped the traditional religious Tazaungdaing festival,
according to local residents.

A senior monk from New Masoeyein Monastery told DVB that the authorities
are partly to be blamed in this incident and accused them of splitting and
exploiting the monks. He said that all lay people and monks should know
the political trickeries of the government so that they could give the
right reaction when exploited.

The authorities are also detaining 20 monks at the moment. The monks at
Masoeyein Monastery are ordered not to go out on the pain of being shot by
the order of the military commander of Central Military Command, General
Ye Myint.


Xinhua General News Service   October 30, 2003
Myanmar PM meets Chinese auditor-general

YANGON, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) --Myanmar Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt met
with visiting Auditor-General of the People's Republic of China Li Jinhua
and his entourage here Thursday afternoon.

Khin Nyunt said at the meeting that Myanmar-China friendship has been
long-standing, and leaders of successive governments of the two countries
have appreciated it.

China has extended great support to Myanmar in the fields of politics,
economy and culture, whereas Myanmar has also given much support to China,
for instance, the Myanmar government always adheres to the "One China"
policy, he said.

Noting that China is a big country with vast territory and large
population, he praised China's achievements made in its development.

Speaking of China's successful launching recently of the " Shenzhou-5"
manned spacecraft, he expressed admiration for such a great achievement.

He expressed Myanmar's belief that under the leadership of the Chinese
leaders, the living standard of the Chinese people would be further raised
and China's national construction and development would be further
enhanced.

Khin Nyunt went on to say that as China's comprehensive national strength
grows, the international community's respect for China increases day by
day, paying more attention to the voice of China.

On the occasion, Li Jinhua said China's support to Myanmar is
disinterested. China respects Myanmar people's choice. The Chinese
government and people always hope Myanmar people would live and work in
peace and contentment, believing that Myanmar would make progress and
develop.

Present at the meeting were Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Aung,
Auditor-General Lun Maung and Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Li Jinjun.

Li Jinhua and his entourage arrived here last Sunday for a five-day visit
at the invitation of Myanmar.


Shan Herald Agency for News   October 30, 2003
Khin Nyunt counters resistance to roadmap

Prime minister Khin Nyunt has swiftly responded to the growing opposition
to his 7 step roadmap that was announced on 30 August during his maiden
speech to the country by extending invitation to the ceasefire group
leaders for separate meetings with him in Rangoon, according to reports
coming from northern Shan State.

"We stand by our five-point conditions," a highly-placed source quoted his
immediate superior, a signatory to the "Panghsang declaration" on 15
October. "And that means 'No to the National Convention' if our conditions
were not met."

The five-point conditions include Freedom of meetings among ethnic
leaders, Freedom to choose representatives, Participation of "proper
delegates" in the National Convention, Freedom of discussion and To lay
down democratic principles.

"All have agreed that unless the Convention rules are revised, it will be
difficult for us to attend," he said. "A summit meeting among groups have
also been proposed to further deliberate on the question."

There are 9 ceasefire groups in Shan State:
    * Special Region-1 Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Kokang)
    * Special Region-2 United Wa State Army
    * Special Region-3 Shan State Army "North"
    * Special Region-4 National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State
(Mongla)
    * Special Region-5 Kachin Defense Army (Mahtu Naw)
    * Special Region-6 Pa-O National Army (Aung Kham Hti)
    * Special Region-7 Palaung State Liberation Army (Ai Mong)
    * Shan State Nationalities People's Liberation Organization (Taklay)
    * Shan State National Army (Gunyawd)
"With the exception of PNA, all of us have reached a common agreement,
according to my information" he said. "As for PNA, it is a tough nut to
crack being close to Gen Khin Nyunt, but we shall not abandon it."

Groups in Karenni State, he added, are also well disposed to the Panghsang
agreement. They are
    * Karenni Nationaliteis People's Liberation Front (Sandar)
    * Kayan New Land Party (Shwe Aye)


----DRUGS----

Shan Herald Agency for News   October 30, 2003
Exotic high yield paddy turn out poor
Reporter: Hawkeye

The Hsin Shweli paddy seeds imported from China, contrary to official
media reports, did not fare well compared to the native cereal, said
farmers in northern Shan State who had just completed the monsoon paddy
harvest.

According to The New Light of Myanmar, 7 October 2003 issue, the Hsin
Shweli DU-527 quality strain yields 163 baskets per acre.

"The way the officials calculated the output was quite unbalanced," said
an educated farmer from Panghsai, Muse Township. "First they chose a plot
of paddy field, singled out plants with the most paddy ears and worked out
how many baskets a field of one acre would produce if the whole field were
covered with choice paddy plants."

Actually, most of the Hsin Shweli fields turned out poorly, they said.
"Most of the plants were without or just a few ears of paddy ," said
another farmer. "One of the reasons was the seeds were those donated by
China since 2001, two years ago. The fields of some who just discarded the
seeds sold to them by the officials and crossed over the border to buy
fresh seeds were better off."

The price in China was 15 yuan per kg (1 yuan = 110 kyat). Each paddy acre
uses 10 kg. Most farmers said it was fortunate they could still grow their
native Shan paddy after fulfilling the official quota. "Otherwise, the
whole family is going to starve," sighed a farmer.

U Tin Win, Secretary of the Panghsai municipality, had already allotted 10
acres in each of the villages around the town to grow the summer paddy
using the Hsin Hsweli seeds. Some of the villages named are Lawn-in,
Kiangyang, Khonglong, Khongkang, Kawngkha, Namhsawn, Wanmai, Namhu and
Namtao. "Captain Aung Lwin, who had just replaced the outgoing Captain Ant
Maw, as the township officer will be coming to preside over the planting
ceremony, we were told," said a farmer's wife.

According to official announcement, 100,000 acres in northern Shan State
were ordered to grow the Chinese strain. As a result, "the percentage of
the paddy production is higher than the previous year," said Lt-Gen Aung
Htwe, Chief of Bureau of Special Operations #2, who is effectively
governor of Shan and Kayah (Karenni) states, on 3 October. His Shan is
quite fluent, said a ceasefire group commander.

The Hsin Hsweli program is said to be part of the poppy substitution
project of Rangoon.

However, some of those interviewed by S.H.A.N.. thought it might be part
of the spell-obsessed military rulers to ward off disasters.

"When Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo was Northeastern Region Commander (who oversaw
northern Shan State), he had ordered us to grow maize-corn," explained a
Burmese-speaking Shan farmer. "In Burmese, maize-corn is known as
pyaung-hpu, which means 'not going to change'. Well, I can't really say
whether their magic works or not. But the fact is they're still there."


----MONEY----

Associated Press Worldstream   October 30, 2003
Japan gives US$40,000 to Myanmar hospital

Japan said Thursday it will give nearly US$40,000 to a private hospital
run by the Methodist church in northwestern Myanmar.

A Japanese Embassy statement said the US$39,953 grant will be used to buy
medical equipment by the Wesley Clinic in Kalaymyo, about 700 kilometers
(435 miles) northwest of Yangon.

The 115-bed nonprofit hospital is run by the Methodist church with
donations from organizations and individuals inside the country and
abroad.

In 2002, the clinic treated 32,500 outpatients and 5,000 inpatients, the
embassy statement said.

It said the money will be used to buy a blood storage refrigerator, plasma
expresser, gastrofiber scope, oxygen concentrator, suction machine,
electro-surgical unit and patient monitor.

Japan, Myanmar's largest aid donor, froze all financial aid to the Myanmar
government after the junta detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
on May 30. The Japanese government has said it will consider resuming aid
only after Suu Kyi is released.

The hospital grant is the second grass root donation given by the Japanese
government to a non-government organization since May. On Oct. 16 it gave
a U.S.$ 54,504 grant to 'World Concern Development Organization' for the a
water supply project in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State.


Agence France Presse   October 30, 2003
Myanmar junta says US sanctions forcing women into sex trade

Myanmar's junta on Thursday blasted the United States for its tough new
sanctions against the regime, seizing on a State Department report which
found the measures were forcing young women into the sex trade.

In its biannual report on the situation in Myanmar, the US State
Department on Monday vowed to press on with the economic sanctions
introduced after the May 30 detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.

It conceded however that it was not yet clear whether the raft of
sanctions were working, saying they were having "some unexpected effects"
on Myanmar's economy, which has long been near collapse.

"In other words, after 15 years of imposing sanctions on Myanmar, the US
has no evidence that they work," the junta said in a statement.

"Yet despite its own belief that sanctions destroy the lives of ordinary
Myanmar people without accomplishing anything positive, Washington is
considering even more sanctions on Myanmar."

According to the US report, the fallout from the sanctions have included
the loss of 30,000 to 40,000 jobs in the garment sector typically filled
by young women, some of whom have reportedly been forced to enter the sex
trade.

"Before the lives of more young women are ruined, before more families
lose their incomes, and before more instability is forced on Myanmar, we
urge the United States to reconsider this misguided and counter-productive
policy," the junta said.

"If the United States wishes to help Myanmar toward peace and democracy,
we welcome their cooperation," it added.

"But if the United States does not wish to cooperate, we ask at least that
they stop forcing the people of Myanmar into poverty and prostitution."

Washington also warned in its report that it may consider fresh penalties
on top of the new sanctions, which came into effect at the end of August,
if human rights and other conditions in the Southeast Asian nation did not
improve.

It also warned it would continue to lobby other governments to impose
similar punitive measures, which currently include a blanket trade ban, a
bar on new investment in Myanmar and a prohibition on financial services.

US President George W. Bush has led a chorus of international outrage over
Aung San Suu Kyi's detention and a crackdown on her National League for
Democracy (NLD) party by pushing through the new sanctions.

Both Canada and the European Union imposed tougher sanctions on Myanmar to
express their anger, while Japan, the country's largest donor, has
suspended new economic aid.

But the United States has been disappointed by the response of some
countries, and rapped the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
for earlier this month noting "positive developments" implemented by the
regime instead of condemning it.


----GUNS----

Bangkok Post   October 30, 2003
Joint Border Patrols With Burma in January

Thai and Burmese soldiers will start making joint border patrols in
January after an agreement to that effect is signed in December, the Third
Army chief said yesterday.

Lt-Gen Picharnmeth Muangmanee said the Third Army would host the 22nd
Thai-Burmese Regional Border Committee meeting in Chiang Mai in the middle
of December.

He expected to sign an agreement on drug suppression and joint border
patrols with Maj-Gen Thura Myint Aung, Burma's Southeast Region commander,
at the meeting.

Thailand and Burma had already agreed in principle on this kind of
cooperation at the 21st RBC meeting on April 22-24 in Cha-am, Phetchaburi.

After the signing of the agreement, Thai and Burmese army teams, each
about 40 strong, would make coordinated patrols on their side of the
border. They would keep in contact by radio.

Targeted areas are located along the border in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae
Hong Son and Tak provinces.

The patrols would search for illicit drug factories along the border and
destroy them.

Lt-Gen Picharnmeth said this was part of a "decisive drug suppression
strategy" which would be announced on Nov 3 by army chief Gen Chaisit
Shinawatra.


----REGIONAL----

Bangkok Post   October 28
Fifty Thai army generals to visit Burma

Fifty army generals holding inactive posts will tour Burma to get to know
the Burmese top brass. Army advisory chairman Gen Vichit Yathip will lead
a group including 50 major-generals, lieutenant-generals, and full
generals holding advisory and specialist posts from Thailand. The Oct
28-30 trip would be one of the largest official foreign trips involving
generals. Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, Burma's director of strategic intelligence,
would be on hand to take care of the group.

Gen Vichit said he wanted Thai and Burmese military leaders to get to know
one another better. There would not be serious talks and the trip would be
mostly devoted to sightseeing in Rangoon.

The tour, Gen Vichit said, would forge closer military ties now that the
bilateral relations were cordial. The general added that he understood
Rangoon's difficulty in solving bilateral problems involving border
friction and drug trafficking. Burma is made up of many ethnic territories
and it was an uphill battle to control them.

Gen Vichit also said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would pay a visit
to Burma next month to meet his counterpart, Gen Khin Nyunt, to follow up
on progress on cooperation against illicit drugs.



----INTERNATIONAL----

Associated Press Worldstream   October 30, 2003
EU to continue humanitarian aid to Myanmar despite displeasure
By Grant Peck; Associated Press Writer

The European Union said Thursday it would continue assistance to Myanmar
despite its displeasure with that country's military government for
suppressing democracy and violating human rights.

The Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission, or ECHO, annually
provides millions of dollars in aid for water and sanitation projects and
anti-malaria programs, as well as health care and food assistance for
Myanmar refugees in Thailand. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

"We made very clear we do not agree with the state of affairs in Burma,
but EU policy does not preclude that we address humanitarian needs," said
Ruth Albuquerque, head of the ECHO unit responsible for Latin America and
Asia.

"The EU criticizes Burma but does not prohibit ECHO from addressing the
humanitarian needs of Burma," she said at a news conference to announce
the expansion of ECHO's Asian office in Bangkok.

The European Union, along with the United States, has been one of the
harshest critics of Myanmar's junta for its poor human rights record,
failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government and the
continuing detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The junta took power in 1988 after brutally suppressing a pro-democracy
movement. It held an election in 1990, but failed to honor the results
after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's NLD party.

In late 2000, it began closed-door talks with Suu Kyi to end the political
deadlock. But the efforts came to a grinding halt after Suu Kyi was
detained in May.

Albuquerque, who will visit Myanmar on Sunday, said ECHO annually provides
an average of [euro]500 million (US$584 million) in aid internationally to
victims of natural disasters and other crises. Last year, about 25 percent
of the total went to Asia, she said.

ECHO provides [euro]12 million (US$14 million) in annual aid for programs
inside Myanmar and [euro]28 million (US$33 million) for the 140,000
Myanmar refugees at 10 camps in Thailand.

Albuquerque said the expanded office in Bangkok "will allow ECHO ... to
better assess the humanitarian situation in the region and respond more
effectively to crises as they occur."


New China News Agency   October 30, 2003
Joint Press Statement of Sixth China-EU Summit

Beijing, 30 October: The sixth summit meeting between China and the
European Union was held here Thursday (30 October). Following is the full
text of the joint press statement of the summit:  [EXCERPT]

8. Leaders reaffirmed China and the EU's commitment to promoting peace,
security and sustainable development throughout the world, and stood for a
strengthened UN role in this regard.

Leaders expressed concern about the destabilizing effect of regional
conflicts. They reaffirmed their active support for the peace process in
the Middle East and stressed the need for Iraq's early resumption of
sovereignty and reconstruction. Leaders exchanged views about the
political situation in Myanmar (Burma).


----OPINION / OTHER----

Baltimore Sun   October 29, 2003
Lost in the shuffle

LAST SUMMER -- after Myanmar's military junta murdered an estimated 100
followers of Aung San Suu Kyi and detained the democracy leader for the
third time in 14 years -- President Bush signed into law tough sanctions
barring all U.S. imports from the country formerly known as Burma. Many
other nations similarly acted: Japan suspended new aid, the European Union
tightened its sanctions, and even China, a good friend of the Yangon
regime, called for the Nobel Laureate's release.
So with the approach of Mr. Bush's trip to Asia last week to attend the
21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, 35 U.S. senators sent
him a letter asking him to put on a "full-court press" to highlight at
that gathering Myanmar's repression, and the administration sent out
strong advance signals that the president would significantly raise the
profile of U.S. concerns.

But once in Bangkok, Mr. Bush unfortunately put on barely a half-court
press. Myanmar came up in his bilateral discussions -- most notably with
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- but the cause of freedom in
Myanmar did not make it on APEC's multilateral agenda as promised, taking
a back seat to terrorism, trade and the latest U.S. diplomatic move to
counter the North Korean nuclear threat.

This is perhaps understandable given the many challenges that the United
States faces across Asia these days. But it's far short of the kind of
pressure that must be applied to Myanmar and its regional supporters,
particularly Thailand and China, if the 50 million Burmese people are to
be freed from oppression.

Myanmar may not pose a presumed nuclear threat, like North Korea. But it
presents the case of Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, legally
elected in 1990 but barred from power by illegal rulers supported in one
way or another by much of the rest of Southeast Asia. When Yangon's
generals recently offered a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" -- with no
timetable and no reference to including the NLD -- the Association of
South East Asian Nations incredibly endorsed the hollow scheme as a
"positive development" and criticized U.S. pressure as "not helpful."

This is simply donning blinders. Myanmar is a festering source of regional
instability with its widespread use of forced labor and child soldiers and
its exports of refugees, narcotics, sex slaves and AIDS. "The facts are
self-evident," an outspoken critic of the junta, U.S. Sen. Mitch
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said on the Senate floor this week.
"Burma poses a clear and present danger to itself and to its neighbors."

But U.S. concern over that danger appears to be getting lost in the
shuffle. Senator McConnell has been pushing for the United States to make
the case for U.N. Security Council sanctions against Myanmar. With such
regional powers as Thailand and China reluctant to oppose Yangon, that is
the necessary next step.