BurmaNet News, April 29, 2004

[Editor]

April 29, 2004, Issue # 2466

‘Citing a new report by a Thailand-based Burmese ethnic-minority group,
the Karen Women's Organization, Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback said
in an April 27 statement that "this horrifying evidence . . . suggests
that Burma's regime is deliberately using rape as a weapon to terrorize
and subjugate the Burmese people." ‘

- “Burma Accused of Rape Policy,” Far Eastern Economic Review, cover date
May 6 2004


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar Opposition Says Cautious 'Yes' to Talks
AP: Myanmar Opposition Optimistic on Suu Kyi
AFP: Myanmar's opposition leaders hold second meeting with Suu Kyi
Xinhua: Myanmar enacts law for crime-suppression-related int'l cooperation
Narinjara: Long-term jail sentenced to 11 NLD members by Burma military
government

ON THE BORDER
Nation: Chiang Mai: 866 get citizenship back

BUSINESS
Xinhua: Dhaka may allow transmission of gas to India from Myanmar
Mizzima: Government Sanctions Rs. 60 million for Burma Trade Point

REGIONAL
AFX: Malaysia sets up special security squad to protect foreign embassies
Japan Times: Food aid eyed for Myanmar poppy farmers

INTERNATIONAL
FEER: Burma Accused of Rape Policy
AP: Survey: Global Decline in Press Freedom
Guardian: Immigrants Shetland pleas to be reheard

OPINION/ OTHER
FEER: Don't Help Burma's Generals
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Keep up pressure on Burma junta
Council of the European Union: EU Council Common Position on Burma Renewed

PRESS RELEASE
USCB: Democracy Activists Praise US Congress on Burma Sanctions


INSIDE BURMA
_____________________________________

April 29, Reuters
Myanmar Opposition Says Cautious 'Yes' to Talks

Yangon: Myanmar's main opposition party led by detained pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi gave a conditional thumbs up on Thursday to talks
organized by the ruling junta on a new constitution, a party spokesman
said.

National League for Democracy (NLD) secretary U Lwin said if the military
government released the Nobel peace laureate from house arrest and agreed
to a set of procedural proposals, the party would take part in the planned
May 17 National Convention.

"We've decided to cooperate with the SPDC with a view to the interests of
the country," U Lwin told reporters at his house in the capital, Yangon,
referring to the military government, officially known as the State Peace
and Development Council.

"There has been a certain understanding between the two sides," he said
after party leaders met Suu Kyi at her home in Yangon, where she has been
detained.

The NLD's conditions also included the release of party vice chairman Tin
Oo, the reopening of all NLD offices across the country and certain
procedural proposals for the constitutional convention. He declined to
give details.

Myanmar's ruling generals, under diplomatic pressure to install democracy,
have asked about 30 NLD members to take part in the convention starting on
May 17.

But Suu Kyi and Tin Oo, who have been detained since a clash between NLD
supporters and pro-junta youths last May, have not received invitation
letters.

The NLD has said it will not take part unless both are released and is
unhappy invitations have been extended to individuals rather than to the
party.

The junta has asked about 1,000 people, including members of ethnic
minority political parties, to join a process it is touting as a step on a
"road map" to democracy.

The constitution-drafting conference was suspended in 1996 after the NLD
walked out accusing the military of manipulating the process to enshrine
its role in politics, and its hold on power.

The NLD swept to a landslide election victory in 1990 but was never
allowed to take power by the military, which has ruled in various guises
since a 1962 coup.

_____________________________________

April 2, Associated Press
Myanmar Opposition Optimistic on Suu Kyi – Aye Aye Win

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's opposition party on Thursday expressed rare
optimism that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be released from
house arrest in time for a constitutional convention next month.

The National League for Democracy also said party members will likely
attend the constitutional convention, which was called by the military
government. The party will send a letter to the junta Friday with some
conditions for attending the May 17 convention, party spokesman U Lwin
told reporters.

Among the demands is that Suu Kyi, the NLD general secretary, and party
vice president Tin Oo be released from house arrest before the meeting, he
said.

"I strongly believe that it (the releases) will take place before the
National Convention in view of the current improvement of relations
between the NLD and the government," he said.

U Lwin did not elaborate but the comments indicated that the party
apparently has been given some kind of assurance by the government. Until
last week, U Lwin had been saying he did not expect Suu Kyi to be freed
anytime soon.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been held in detention and
subsequent house arrest since May 2003, when a pro-junta mob clashed with
her supporters in northern Myanmar.

She has been detained and released several times since the junta came to
power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy uprising that saw the rise of
Suu Kyi as a political leader. It called elections in 1990 but has refused
to honor results showing an NLD victory.

Her latest arrest provoked widespread international criticism as she was
held incommunicado for several months before being moved to house arrest
in Yangon.

During her years in detention, Suu Kyi has continued to criticize the
dictators and condemned human rights abuses by the government.

_____________________________________

April 29, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's opposition leaders hold second meeting with Suu Kyi

Yangon: Top members of Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD) Thursday met with their detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her home
for the second time to discuss next month's constitutional convention.

All nine members of the NLD's decision-making Central Executive Committee
were present, including vice-chairman deputy Tin Oo who was again brought
from house arrest to attend the talks, an AFP reporter on the scene saw.

The NLD officials also met with Aung San Suu Kyi Wednesday, but said
afterwards that no definite decision had been reached on whether to attend
the military government's March 17 convention aimed at drafting a
constitution.

"We could make no decision regarding the national convention one way or
another," NLD secretary U Lwin said at the time.

"Things are very sensitive at this stage," he said, adding: "This is a
time when things are so uncertain about the nation's future so we are
taking time over this."

The ruling junta is keen for as many political parties and ethnic groups
as possible to attend the convention to draft a new constitution, which is
the first step in its so-called "roadmap to democracy".

But the NLD refused to make a decision on whether to take part in the
forum until it could talk with Aung San Suu Kyi who was taken into
detention along with the rest of the leadership during political unrest a
year ago.

U Lwin said the party had many things to discuss, including six
"objectives" laid down by the regime as the basis for the new
constitution, one of which mandates a leading role for the military in any
future political scenario.

"Not only the sixth objective which specifies the role of the military,
but the other objectives also -- they are all up for discussion," he said,
calling for a dialogue with the regime on the issue.

Hopes were high until recently that Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo would be
freed before the convention began, but those prospects faded in recent
days as the political atmosphere in Yangon grew tense.

Expectations sank further when Yangon announced it would not attend
international talks on prospects for reform due to be held in Bangkok this
month, forcing their postponement.

But U Lwin said Wednesday that relations with the government had improved
and that the NLD would continue to push for Aung San Suu Kyi's release
because she "will never ask to be freed".

Analysts have said the convention would have no credibility without the
input of the currently detained pro-democracy icon and her party.

The convention is expected to assemble government, political parties and
ethnic representatives in a forum that would essentially mirror a previous
convention which collapsed in 1995 when the NLD walked out.

The junta drew strong international criticism Tuesday when a group of
British parliamentarians accused the regime of "neo-Nazi policies" and
carrying out ethnic cleansing through systematic killings and rape.

US President George W. Bush also discussed the situation in Myanmar with
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a telephone conversation
Tuesday.

_____________________________________

April 29, Xinhua News Agency
Myanmar enacts law for crime-suppression-related int'l cooperation

Yangon: Myanmar has enacted the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Law
which will serve as a legal basis for the country's international
cooperation in crime suppression, according to Thursday's official
newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.

The nine-chapter law, signed by Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council Senior-General Than Shwe on Wednesday, aims to render
mutual assistance in bilateral, regional and international cooperations
with respect to investigation, prosecution and judicial proceedings in
crime matters.

The law also aims to enable effective prevention and suppression of other
serious crimes including terrorism, transnational organized crimes and
crimes related to money laundering.

The law empower the government to form an 11-member Central Authority for
rendering such assistance among states in criminal matters with the
Minister of Home Affairs as Chairman and the Director-General of the
Myanmar Police Force as Secretary.

Meanwhile, in August 2002, Myanmar joined in signing the United
States-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Joint Declaration
for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism.

_____________________________________

April 29, Narinjara News
Long-term jail sentenced to 11 NLD members by Burma military government

Dhaka: Recently Burma’s military government has sentenced long-term jail
to 11 members of National League for Democracy.

In a report issued by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of
Burma (AAPP) dated 28th April 2004, said 11 members of NLD have been
sentenced to such long term jail on 9th April by a special tribunal set up
inside the Aofoe prison under Mandalay division.

The prisoners were sentenced jail ranging from 7 years to 22 years
respectively, the report said.

Those 11 NLD members were falsely accused and arrested in connection with
Depayin incident where 70 people were killed when a group of thugs backed
by SPDC military government tried to attack NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi in her organizational trip to northern part of Burma on 30th May 2003.

The arrestees were accused of maintaining relationship with illegal
organizations, under emergency act 5 (Nya) sections 17(1) and in a brief
trial they were awarded such punishment. The prisoners were deprived of
right to appoint any advocate or legal aides, the report added.

SPDC military government has been making arrest of many political
activists along with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi since May 30 incident and
sending many of them to prison awarding long-term jail.

The 11 prisoners were jailed just before a month for holding National
Convention, it was learnt.

The 11 people and their respective jail terms are: (1) U Hla Saw of
Mandalay, 17years (2) U Myint Oo of Mandalay, 7 years (3) Daw Nhin Pa Pa
of Mandalay, 17 years (4) Maung Aung Naing Thu of Mandalay, 12 years (5)
Ko Aung Aung of Mandalay, 7 years (6) U Win Kyi of Mandalay ( layway), 22
years (7) Ko Thay Lwin Oo of Mandalay, 7 years (8)U Than Win of Rangoon,
12 years (9) Ko Ray Tun Min of Rangoon, 12 years (10) U Tin Oo of Rangoon,
12 years and (11) Ko Zaw Min Naing of Rangoon, 12 years.


ON THE BORDER
_____________________________________

April 29, The Nation
Chiang Mai: 866 get citizenship back

Court says Mae Ai residents were wrongly stripped of nationality, orders
reinstatement

The Chiang Mai Administrative Court yesterday ordered the reinstatement of
Thai citizenship for 866 Mae Ai villagers, saying they had been wrongfully
stripped of their nationality in 2002.

The villagers said the verdict had rectified the injustice caused by a
bureaucratic bungle. 'Provincial authorities should respect the court
ruling instead of trying to appeal the decision. This is not about winning
or losing a suit but about the restoration of our Thai nationality that we
are all proud of,' said Prasert Guytuan. The Local Administration
Department revoked the citizenship of some 1,243 villagers residing near
the border opposite Burma on suspicion that they were not Thai-born
citizens.

The department had denied a hearing for villagers to present proof of
their citizenship, prompting lengthy protests and litigation.

The National Human Rights Commission assisted the villagers in their legal
defence and the Law Society of Thailand assigned lawyer Winit Lumlua to
represent the villagers in the case.

Reacting to the verdict, Winit said it set a precedent for almost 400
other villagers to have their citizenship reinstated. Mae Ai district
chief Adisuan Kamnoedsiri said he would have to consult with the central
government on whether to immediately enforce the verdict or to seek an
appellate review. The government has 30 days to file an appeal. The LST
took the case of the nationality dispute to provincial administrative
court in December 2002. It filed a lawsuit against the Mae Ai district
office and the Local Administration Department, accusing them of abuse of
authority.

The Thai nationalities of Mae Ai residents first became an issue in
February 2002 when the district head decided to revoke the citizenship of
1,243 residents, claiming their house registrations were illegal. Their
nationalities were withdrawn after complaints from the Army about alleged
corruption among Mae Ai officials when it came to authorising Thai
citizenship.


BUSINESS / MONEY
_____________________________________

April 29, Xinhua News Agency
Dhaka may allow transmission of gas to India from Myanmar

Dhaka: The project for laying pipeline for transmission of gas to India
from Myanmar through Bangladesh is likely to receive government's nod.

The ministry of energy and mineral resources is going to send the proposal
to the highest office of the government as early as possible for approval,
The Financial Express reported Thursday.

If the proposal is approved, a gas transmission line will connect
Bangladesh with Myanmar and India. The natural gas to be lifted from the
reserves in Akyab area in Myanmar will pass through a section of the gas
transmission network in Bangladesh to India's West Bengal state.

An Indo-Korean consortium discovered vast gas reserves in the offshore
Myanmar. A component of the consortium announced it's plans of investing
more than 800 million US dollars for transportation of Myanmar's gas to
India.

_____________________________________

April 29, Mizzima News
Government Sanctions Rs. 60 million for Burma Trade Point - Surajit Khaund

The Indian Commerce Ministry has released Rs 6 crore for the new trade
point - Zokhuthar - along the Indo-Burma border.

Rs 4 crore has been granted for improvement of the existing road while Rs
2 crore has been released for upgrading the trading point, the Joint
Director of the Commerce Ministry M.K Mero told Mizzima correspondent.

Mero, who is monitoring the progress of construction work at the trade
point, informed us that the Ministry would release more funds soon in
order to accelerate the ongoing work.

Zokhuthar trade point of Mizoram in north east India was inaugurated by
both the Indian and the Burmese government in February last year as part
of a bid to increase the volume trade between the countries.

However, poor infrastructure and bad roads have affected the growth of
trade through the point and as a result, the Indian government has decided
to improve existing road conditions so that the traders of both the
countries can run their business without hindrance.

Mero further pointed out that once the trade point is fully operational,
the volume of business through Zokhuthar will increase. "Several traders
are now willing to trade through this point with Burma by involving the
Chin people living on the opposite side of the border," he said.

In this context, the joint director expressed the hope that Zokhuthar
would emerge as a major trade point in north east India in near future.

Commenting on initiative of the Commerce Ministry, the chairman of the
North East Federation on International Trade (NEFIT), RC Agarwal, said
that the new trade point would help to benefit both the countries for the
long term.

"The traders are facing severe hardships through the Moreh (in Manipur
State of India) point due to reviling insurgency problems, but Mizoram
State is free from any problems and hence more and more traders will
come," Agarwal said.

He appealed to the Indian government to construct the roads in bordering
areas of Burma so that Burmese traders can run their trade easily.

The Commerce Ministry's decision has been welcomed by the Indo-Myanmar
Traders Union of Manipur.

The adviser of the trade body, T Samarendra has requested the Commerce
Ministry to open more trade points in north east India in a bid to tap
into the Southeast Asian market.


REGIONAL
_____________________________________

April 29, AFX News Limited
Malaysia sets up special security squad to protect foreign embassies

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police said a special security squad will be set
up in Kuala Lumpur to protect foreign embassies, which have been the
target of several recent threats.

The squad will beef up the current system in which mobile units are
stationed at "sensitive" missions such as that of the US, the capital's
Police Chief Mustafa Abdullah told the official Bernama news agency.

The move comes after threats were sent by letter to the Japanese and Thai
embassies in the past week, less than a month after the Australian and
Myanmar embassies were attacked.

A Myanmar diplomat was wounded when a group of refugees set fire to the
building this month, while on March 30 a small explosive device was thrown
at the Australian High Commission from a speeding car, causing no injuries
or damage.

Local media reported that the letter to the Japanese embassy demanded that
it pull its troops out of Iraq. The embassy declined to confirm this,
while admitting that it had tightened security because of "the general
situation".

Malaysia has had no major terrorist attacks on its own soil, but has
detained scores of alleged Muslim militants accused of membership in
regional groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah.

Most Western embassies here have already put their own tight security
systems in place.

___________________________________

April 29, Japan Times
Food aid eyed for Myanmar poppy farmers

The government said Wednesday it will provide emergency food aid worth
$300,000 to former opium poppy farmers in Myanmar through the U.N. World
Food Program in response to an appeal by the WFP, the WFP and the Foreign
Ministry said.

The farmers in the northern part of Myanmar's Shan State need food
assistance because they are finding it hard to shift to cultivating
substitute crops following a government ban on poppy cultivation.

The WFP said Japan's aid is the second-largest amount after Australia,
which has pledged $620,000. The WFP has asked for $3.7 million. It said
many residents in northern Shan depended on poppy cultivation for their
livelihood. Food shortages have led to an increase in infectious diseases,
it said.

The ministry said Japan's aid will be delivered mainly through the WFP's
so-called food-for-work program.


INTERNATIONAL
___________________________________

May 6, Far Eastern Economic Review
Intelligence: [excerpt] Burma Accused of Rape Policy

Two members of the United States Congress have alleged that the Burmese
military government uses rape as a weapon of war. Citing a new report by a
Thailand-based Burmese ethnic-minority group, the Karen Women's
Organization, Kansas Republican Sen. Sam Brownback said in an April 27
statement that "this horrifying evidence . . . suggests that Burma's
regime is deliberately using rape as a weapon to terrorize and subjugate
the Burmese people." The report documented more than 100 recent rapes by
the regime's soldiers. California Republican Elton Gallegly, who chairs a
House of Representatives subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and
human rights, said in a statement published in the Congressional Record on
April 20 that he was "especially horrified with evidence that over half of
the rapes were committed by military officers, and 40% were gang rapes."
Gallegly noted that the report found that in 28% of the cases "the women
were brutally killed and often mutilated after being raped by officers."
The study adds additional evidence to that already presented in previous
reports by the U.S. State Department and two private groups--the Shan
Women's Action Network of Burma and U.S. advocacy group Refugees
International.
___________________________________

April 29, Associated Press
Survey: Global Decline in Press Freedom

New York: Freedom of the press declined substantially around the world in
2003, including a worrisome drop in Italy, according to a survey released
Wednesday by a pro-democracy nonprofit group.

Freedom House's survey of 193 countries found that some of the most
serious setbacks occurred both in eroding and established democracies.

"Some of the most serious setbacks took place in countries where democracy
is backsliding, such as in Bolivia and Russia, and in older, established
democracies, most notably Italy," the organization said.

Titled "Freedom of the Press 2004: A Global Survey of Media Independence,"
the survey found that freedom for news media had declined for a second
consecutive year.

"Legal harassment, political pressure and violence by state and non-state
actors against journalists combined to worsen conditions in many
countries," it found.

The organization rated the degree of press freedom in each country and
issued a category rating of free, partly free or not free.

Of the countries surveyed, 73 were rated free, 49 partly free and 71 not
free.

It said the numbers showed that "the proportion of the world's population
living in countries with free media has declined 5 percent over the last
two years."

The organization found that the five worst offenders were Burma, Cuba,
Libya, North Korea and Turkmenistan.

It said Italy had slipped from free to partly free because of the
influence of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose media holdings
include Italy's three largest private television stations.

"Berlusconi has been able to exert influence over the public broadcaster
RAI," said Karin Deutch Karlekar, the survey's managing editor. "This
further exacerbates an already worrisome media environment characterized
by unbalanced coverage within Berlusconi's enormous media empire."

It said other countries that slipped in the ratings included Bolivia,
Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Moldova, Morocco
and the Philippines.

Freedom House is a nonprofit organization with offices around the world
that aims to promote democratic values such as human rights, free markets
and an independent media. It is partly funded by the U.S. government and
supports U.S. involvement in global affairs.

___________________________________

April 29, The Guardian
Immigrants Shetland pleas to be reheard - Kirsty Scott

Two women who face being deported from the Shetland islands are to have
their cases reviewed by the Home Office.

Hazel Minn, 37, originally from Burma, and Tanya Koolmatrie, an Aborigine,
have been fighting to stay on the islands with the support of the local
community. The women, both mothers, had been told by immigration
authorities they must leave.

But Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland,
confirmed yesterday that the Home Office had agreed to look again at their
cases.

The plight of the women, highlighted in the Guardian last week, has
galvanised the local community. Almost 4,000 Shetland residents have
signed a petition objecting to the women's deportation back to Burma and
Australia.

Schoolfriends of Ms Minn's two adopted sons, Simon, 11, and Vincent, 10,
also wrote to Mr Blunkett pleading with him to allow the boys to remain.


OPINION/ OTHER
___________________________________

May 6, Far Eastern Economic Review
The 5th Column: Don't Help Burma's Generals - Zaw Oo

The writer is a director of the Burma Fund, a Washington-based think-tank

As I write this, the Burmese military junta called the State Peace and
Development Council, or SPDC, is expected to soon free pro-democracy
leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo. But it will do this solely for
ulterior reasons. The SPDC is seeking some measure of international
credibility. Releasing Suu Kyi will get Asean off its back. Next, by also
pretending to seek a road map towards some form of "disciplined"
democracy, the SPDC gives Asean the cover to accept Rangoon's chairmanship
of the group in 2006. But in a vicious circle, the SPDC is strong-arming
the democratic opposition by using any legitimacy it gains abroad to force
the opposition into accepting its road map--which will only strengthen its
position as a regime. The generals don't plan to retire from politics any
time soon.

The SPDC is rushing to implement its seven-point road map towards
"democracy" by reconvening on May 17 a national convention to prepare a
new constitution. The original convention was aborted in 1996 after the
SPDC expelled the National League for Democracy for complaining that the
convention was being manipulated. The new convention will just as likely
be manipulated. First, holding the meeting in a remote town called Mhawbi
is meant to isolate and intimidate opposition delegates. Moreover, the
convention commission will be made up only of SPDC officials, who will
completely control the agenda and procedures. The junta could also use its
notorious military rule, "Order 5/96," to suppress those who oppose its
wishes. Certainly, that was what it did the last time around.

The junta's hand-picked delegates are expected to ram through 104
constitutional principles laid down in 1996 before the last convention was
scrapped. Those principles include setting aside 25% of parliamentary
seats for the military, indirect election of the president through an
electoral college, the requirement that presidential candidates have
military experience, and total autonomy for the military. They are a
comprehensive list of military prerogatives that make a mockery of any
modern notion of constitutionality. Thus, through a "guided" convention,
the SPDC's road map will lead to a "disciplined" political form: a
constitutional military autocracy.

Clearly, the SPDC's version of "reform" will continue to be a disaster for
Burmese. Its vision of democracy with dual power centres in the form of a
military commander-in-chief and the president could easily become unstable
because of the intermittent power struggles that emerge within the
military. Its economic model won't bolster investors' faith. (Even the
Chinese have become frustrated with Burma's appalling economic policies.)
Dreams of Thai industrialists relocating manufacturing plants to Burma
will remain just that: fantasies. And the continuing gross neglect of
Burma's social capital and a likely failure to stem the lucrative drug
trade will export instability from Burma to its neighbours.

A year ago, at a gathering in Bangkok of like-minded individuals from 10
countries, there was the promise of a start to building an effective
regional strategy towards Burma. The gathering, called the Bangkok
Process, could have sent a clear signal to the SPDC that its intentions
were unacceptable. Sadly, the meeting chose to build on the earlier
constructive-engagement policy. Still, the damage could have been
minimized if the process had crafted a larger international strategy by
inviting the participation of the United States, and provided the United
Nations a stronger mandate to mediate and enforce a democratic settlement
in Burma.

Today, only a democratic breakthrough can stop the looming confrontations
in Burma. Suu Kyi has been consistent in offering a reasonable role for
military leaders in jointly transforming Burma into a democratic country.
In 1990, the Burmese military organized an election and supervised it; the
NLD won but the military refused to honour the results. Now is the time
finally to resolve this impasse. The key is to assist negotiations in
Burma for implementing this as-yet-unrealized national mandate in a way
that provides shared responsibility between the NLD, the military and
ethnic leaders. Compromise is needed to allow for a sharing of power and
responsibility in managing a democratic transition. All this is clear. But
what would not be helpful is for Burma's neighbours to help efforts by the
SPDC to strengthen and prolong its rule. This would not be in the interest
of anyone in Asia, let alone Burma.

___________________________________

April 26, Council of the European Union
Council Common Position 2004/423/CFSP of 26 April 2004 renewing
restrictive measures against Burma/Myanmar

Source: Official Journal of the European Union
http://www.burmanet.org/Burma_common_position_April04.pdf
___________________________________

PRESS RELEASE

April 29, US Campaign for Burma
Democracy Activists Praise US Congress on Burma Sanctions

US Campaign for Burma Calls for "Swift Passage" of Sanctions Renewal

(Washington, DC)  Leaders of the United States Campaign for Burma today
praised Congressional leaders for introducing a joint resolution to
reauthorize sanctions placed on Burma's military regime in July of last
year.  The resolution, led by Powerful Senate Majority Whip Mitch
McConnell (R-KY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the Senate and the top
Democrat on the International Relations Committee Tom Lantos (D-CA) and
Peter King (R-NY) in the House of Representatives, would maintain a ban on
all imports from the Southeast Asian country.

"These sanctions will deny my country's military regime part of the hard
currency it needs to stay in power and we call for their swift passage,"
said U Mya Win, a USCB board member and elected member of parliament from
1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD).  He was forced to flee Burma in 2000 after serving nearly
10 years behind bars as a political prisoner.  The NLD has publicly called
for sanctions on the regime.

On July 28th of last year, President Bush signed the Burmese Freedom and
Democracy Act into law after Congress passed the Act by a landslide vote
of 97-1 in the Senate and 418-2 in the House of Representatives.  The law
froze the assets of the regime in the United States, installed a ban on
transactions with US financial institutions, widened a ban on travel to
the US by leaders of the military regime, and banned all imports from the
country.  A provision in the law allows the reconsideration of the import
ban once a year during a 90-day time period before the anniversary of the
bill's passage.

The push by Congress follows the European Union's renewal of its sanctions
on Burma on April 27th.

Over the past month, Burma's military regime has dangled the possibility
of the release of Suu Kyi in front of the international community.  It
would be her fourth release in recent years-she was most recently let go
in May 2002, only to be rearrested after surviving a bloody assassination
attempt orchestrated by the regime on May 30th, 2003.  During the attack,
agents of the military regime beat, bludgeoned, and stabbed to death an
estimated 100 members of the NLD.

Under intense international pressure after the attack, in August of 2003
the military regime touted a "roadmap to democracy" in which it pledged to
reconvene a national convention and bring about genuine change.  However,
international observers have called the convention a sham, since the
regime' s handpicked delegates represent military interests and the
convention
includes rules bar public debate.

The regime's brutality is well-documented.  According to credible
nongovernmental organizations and the US State Department, it has
imprisoned over 1,500 political prisoners, conscripted 70,000 child
soldiers, carries out a modern form of slavery, and uses rape as a weapon
of war.  Suu Kyi led the National League for Democracy to an 82% victory
in Burma's last democratic election, in 1990. The military regime has
refused to allow the party to take power.