BurmaNet News, July 2, 2004

[Editor]

July 2, 2004, Issue # 2509


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar democracy icon's party dismisses junta offer
FT: Burma at the crossroads of HIV epidemic
DVB: Burmese veteran politicians to hold a meeting

ON THE BORDER
Nation: Chiang Rai police hunt two people-smugglers
Kaladan: Rohingya Refugee Called off 21-day Long Strike

BUSINESS / MONEY
Energy Compass: Union sounds alarm over Myanmar gas plans

REGIONAL
AFP: Thai PM urges Myanmar critics to temper attacks
Irrawaddy: Pakistan joins ASEAN Regional Forum
Kyodo News Service: Indonesia: ASEAN Regional Forum begins discussions on
security issues

INTERNATIONAL
Australian: Burma a major problem, Downer warns
AFX: ASEM summit to go ahead, compromise to be reached on Myanmar - EU
official

PRESS RELEASE
NCGUB: Time for ASEAN to prove itself
AAPP: 7 years imprisonment for going to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house


INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

July 2, Agence France Presse
Myanmar democracy icon's party dismisses junta offer

The party of Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said
Friday it held out little hope for her early release after Southeast Asian
foreign ministers refused to censure the military junta over her house
arrest.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) also dismissed as empty promises
the regime's claims that Aung San Suu Kyi would be allowed to take part in
elections, which it has promised as part of its much vaunted democracy
"roadmap".

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently more than a year into her third period of
house arrest under the military regime that has run Myanmar since 1962.

The NLD won elections in 1990 by a landslide but has never been allowed to
rule, prompting international trade sanctions.

A statement released this week by foreign ministers of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) called for a smooth transition to
democracy in Myanmar but failed to mention Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It was rather predictable," said NLD spokesman and party secretary U Lwin.

"They usually make a lot of noise just before these meetings and then tone
everything down afterwards. We had expected this to happen. I don't expect
her to be released yet."

He also dismissed claims by Myanmar Foreign Minister Win Aung that Aung
San Suu Kyi could take part in what the junta claims would be "free and
fair elections" at an unspecified date in the future.

"He is a responsible person and must take responsibility for what he
says," said U Lwin. "I don't understand why he has brought it up at this
early stage since there are so many steps to take and a number of
complications."

Myanmar's military rulers began a national convention in May, the first of
what it says are seven steps to democracy, but it has been boycotted by
the NLD because it said its views about reform were being ignored.

The regime's many critics have dismissed the democracy process as a sham
with the European Union and the United States leading the criticisms.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, however, on Friday urged the
critics to cool their attacks for fear of threatening any move towards
democracy.

______________________________________

July 2, Financial Times
Burma at the crossroads of HIV epidemic: Travellers are the lifeblood of
Aung Ban’s community but prosperity has come at a price as Aids rates
surge - Amy Yee and Amy Kazmin

The small town of Aung Ban, a community of 22,000 people in mountainous
central Burma, is a crossroads for migrant workers, small traders,
truckers and travellers heading east to booming Thailand. While pedlars
along the two main streets tout vegetables, clothing and household goods,
Aung Ban's economy depends on providing meals, shelter, and other services
- including sex - for travellers.

But Aung Ban's profits have come at a heavy price. The town has an
emerging HIV/Aids epidemic that has orphaned at least 20 children. United
Nations experts fear the virus will wreak havoc on the community and those
passing through, most of whom still lack basic facts about the disease.

Since 1999, the Aung Ban Community Group has had a team of about 40
volunteer counsellors, some HIV positive themselves, working to inform
residents of the town and surrounding villages how to prevent the spread
of HIV/Aids.

Myo Kyaw, a 33-year-old betel nut seller who volunteers as a peer
educator, says many people have misconceptions about the virus - some
believe it is transmitted by mosquito bites, or haircuts. But while Myo
Kyaw says he and fellow educators are working hard to dispel such myths,
it is already too late for many.

Myo Kyaw, a thin, weathered man with a six-year-old son, is infected with
HIV; his wife died from Aids. The boy is not infected but faces a bleak
future as one of Burma's growing number of Aids orphans.

The Community Group, which operates with the financial support of the UN
Development Programme, also runs a spartan clinic providing minimal
medical care - mostly treatment for opportunistic infections and pain
relief - to 80 adults, most aged 25-30, suffering from full-blown Aids.

Conditions in Aung Ban reflect the uphill struggle facing Burma as it
belatedly tries, after years of inaction, to rein in what the UN describes
as one of Asia's most serious epidemics.

Through most of the 1990s, Burma's military junta dismissed warnings of an
impending HIV/Aids epidemic as politically motivated, arguing that Burmese
society's "impeccable morals" would protect it. Western donors, frustrated
by the generals' obstinacy on Aids and political reform, said there was
little they could do to help a pariah regime.

But over the last several years the generals appear to have woken up to
the dimensions of the epidemic and its potentially devastating impact. And
while western countries remain aggrieved by the military's refusal to ease
its oppressive rule, donors are pouring money into the battle.

The UK, Sweden, Norway, the European Union, the US, Australia, Japan and
several private foundations have contributed a total of Dollars 48m (Euros
40m, Pounds 26m) towards an Dollars 88m, three-year HIV prevention and
treatment programme, developed by the UN and the military government and
endorsed by Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy opposition
leader. The funds have remained committed in spite of international dismay
over Ms Suu Kyi's re-arrest in May 2003.

"Everyone recognises the seriousness of the HIV/Aids epidemic," says
Eamonn Murphy, the country co-ordinator for UNAids. "I don't think donors
would withdraw the funds. The only reason they would not replenish it is
if we cannot prove to them that the funds have been used effectively."

Health workers now face the challenge of scaling up HIV prevention
programmes across a large country with poor infrastructure and an array of
ethnic and linguistic groups. Even recruiting capable local staff is a
challenge, after Burma's four decades of isolation.

"We need to build capacity. both technical and managerial," Mr Murphy
said. "This is a country that hasn't had international community support
for a long time."

Burma has little time to lose. Of its 50m people, UNAids estimates that
about 330,000 - and maybe as many as 620,000 - are infected with the
virus. Adult HIV prevalence is estimated at 1.2 per cent, a generalised
epidemic, and the virus is known to have spread widely.

Treatment options in Burma are almost non-existent for most and prevention
remains the priority. Condoms, once confiscated as evidence of
prostitution and subject to advertising bans, are now widely available
thanks to organisations such as US-based Population Services
International, which distributes heavily subsidised condoms. In 2003,
sales of PSI condoms, retailing at about 1 cent, hit 18.5m; by 2008 it
hopes they will reach 50m. PSI and Sail Marketing, its local partner,
devised a subtle marketing campaign that finally won government approval.
Condom advertisements featuring a chameleon in a jaunty pith helmet can
now be seen from popular magazines to roadside billboards.

Burmese are increasingly aware of Aids, Mr Murphy says, as they watch
friends sicken and die. But health workers aim to get the message to all
Burmese so they can protect themselves from a similar fate.

______________________________________

June 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese veteran politicians to hold a meeting

The Veteran Politicians of Burma are planning to hold a meeting on 4 July
in Rangoon to discuss the current situation of the country.

One of the veterans, Thakhin Chan Tun told DVB that they are going to
discuss and exchange views on current situations in the world and Burma.
He added that the veterans are not going to issue a statement because
nothing is known about the developments at Nyaung-Hnapin-Kwin ‘National
Convention’ and the delegates dare not talk about it openly. He admitted
that Burma’s military junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
will try to make the convention a success unilaterally but there is no
prospect of recognition from the international community.

The European Union has already made clear that it would not attend the
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in October to be held at the Vietnamese capital
if the junta is included in the summit. When asked if the UN should put
more pressures on the junta, Thakhin Chan Tun pointed out that neither the
UN’s special envoy Mr. Razali Ismail nor human rights envoy are allowed to
visit Burma at the moment and he insisted that it is up to the General
Secretary Kofi Anan to decide to take more drastic measures against the
junta. He also added that apart from the peaceful way through the UN there
is no prospect of solving the problems of Burma by violent means through
the nationwide uprising.


ON THE BORDER
______________________________________

July 2, The Nation
Chiang Rai police hunt two people-smugglers

Police are searching for two Thais suspected of running a human-smuggling
gang following the arrest of 28 Burmese illegal immigrants this week.

Pol Colonel Adul Narongsak, a deputy commander at the Institute of
Prosecution Affairs Development, yesterday identified the suspects as
Sompong Luangsaen and Chairit (surname unavailable). Six people have
already been arrested in connection with the alleged smuggling operation.
The gang allegedly collected between Bt12,000 and Bt15,000 from each
Burmese.

Adul said police in Chiang Rai managed to nab the illegal immigrants after
they received clues from complaints sent to a box addressed to Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

He said 10 illegal immigrants were caught at a Chiang Rai immigration
checkpoint on Tuesday, while the remaining 18 were caught on
Wednesday.Police are still looking for another 15 suspected illegal
immigrants.

______________________________________

July 1, Kaladan News
Rohingya Refugee Called off 21-day Long Strike

Cox’s Bazar: Burmese Rohingya (Arakanese) refugees in Kutupalong camp
under Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh called off their 21 day long food
Strike yesterday, after they have received positive assurance from both
UNHCR and the Govt. of Bangladesh, according to our correspondent.

On 30 July 2004, at about 10:30 am, a team of high officials from UNHCR,
Govt. of Bangladesh, NGOs and other local authorities met with refugee
leaders at the women center of the Kutupalong refugee camp and discussed
in details the matter of standoff between refugees and Bangladesh camp
authorities for an amicable solution, he further added.

A total of 20 persons took part in the meeting. UNHCR Country
Representative Mr. Christopher Lee, Head of UNHCR sub-office at Cox’s
Bazar Mr. Boonchan, Protection Officer Ms. Suzeena and other field
assistants had represented the UNHCR at the meeting. From the Bangladesh
side Mr. Ishaq Ali Khan, Joint Secretary of the Relief Ministry together
with Mr. Mohammed Siddik, In-charge of Refugee Relief and Repatriation
Commissioner (RRRC), Mr. Masud Karim, Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Mr.
Abu Hurairah, the Camp-in-Charge of the Kutupalong camp had participated
at the same. 7 refugee leaders represented the refugees. Also Mr. Shah
Jahan, in- charge of WFP for Cox’s Bazar District, Mr. Dayal Babu and
Project Manager of Bangladesh Concern were among those attended the
meeting, said a refugee leader.

In the meeting Mr. Christopher Lee had categorically assured the refugee
leaders of all their rights as in the followings:

 No action would be taken against refugees for their altercations or
arguments in the camp during standoff, from 6-30 June 2004; all the cases
filed against the refugees would be withdrawn; and no future harassment
would be made against them. As agreed upon by the Bangladesh Government,
the refugees would be allowed to work out-side the camps and to educate
their children in local schools, collages and universities, which would
be implemented after 15 days from the time of their withdrawal of strike.

The “Majees”, who are collaborators and nominated by the camp-in-charge,
will be removed and a Refugee Committee will be allowed to be formed by
refugees themselves, he further added.
Having been satisfied by the above assurances, they refugees had called
off their strike and have started collecting their ration after 21 days.
Yesterday about refugee 200 families were reported to have collected the
ration, said a refugee.

Nevertheless, according to refugees, no untoward incident was occurred in
refugee camp during the standoff.

After the meeting, the UNHCR officials took along with them the two Majees
namely Nurul Haque and Hafez Ahmed for reason still unknown. But the two
are well known in the camp for their anti-refugees activities, he further
added.

However, doubt looms in the refugee minds if something untoward would
develop like the unpleasant incident that took place in the refugee camp
in 1997, he continued.

In this connection, it may be mentioned that a food boycott at Kutupalong
ended after camp leaders decided to drop their protest following talks at
the camp involving United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and a government delegation. After peaceful end of agitation, the camp
officials terrorized the refugees putting arms to innocent refugees named
Salimullah and Sayed Hossain of the camp through Majees in front of the
police barrack of the refugee camp while refugees were collecting their
rations. Later on, the camp officials with corporation of police arrested
many refugees from sheds. Now, Salimullah and Sayed Hossain are still
serving 14 years of jail term in Bangladesh. That altercation made many
children, parentless under forced repatriation of 399 refugees on July 20
and July 22 in 1997 by the camp officials.


BUSINESS / MONEY
______________________________________

July 2, Energy Compass
Union sounds alarm over Myanmar gas plans

The number of investors active in Myanmar (Burma) has increased to over
400, despite official censure of the military rulers by Washington, London
and the European Union, and disinvestment campaigns by human rights
groups, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (Icftu) says
(EC Jan.23,p10).

The union report highlights gas development plans by South Korea's Daewoo,
which said six months ago it had found 4 Tcf-6 Tcf in Myanmar's offshore
block A-1, and could boost this by 7 Tcf-12 Tcf. It has three state-owned
partners: Indian ONGC Videsh and Gail, plus Korea Gas Corp (Kogas). While
Daewoo said pipeline sales could occur by 2009, Kogas chief Oh Kang Hyun
suggested more recently that Myanmar was a potential LNG exporter (WGI
Jun.9,p8).

Initial estimates of the Daewoo project "dwarf the Yadana gas fields where
...Total and US-based Unocal operate," said Brussels-based Icftu, noting
that upstream work in Myanmar has traditionally been accompanied by
"appalling human rights violations." Last year, Total threatened to sue
over newspaper reports alleging collusion with the Burmese army, while
Total chief Thierry Desmarest faces court action for alleged "complicity
in imprisonment"  (EC Dec.19,p11).

Icftu's Myanmar hit list includes the three foreign shareholders in the
Yetagun gas field -- Malaysian Petronas, Japan's Nippon Oil and Thai
PTTEP. European firms listed include Italian Eni affiliate Snamprogetti
and France's Compagnie Generale de Geophysique.


REGIONAL
______________________________________

July 2, Agence France Presse
Thai PM urges Myanmar critics to temper attacks

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday urged critics of
Myanmar's military regime to cool their attacks for fear of threatening
any move towards democracy.

Thaksin claimed that Myanmar would refuse to listen to the international
community if "we rush them and put pressure on them" over the military's
42-year rule and continued detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thailand has attempted to put itself at the heart of international
mediation efforts to encourage movement towards democracy but Myanmar has
turned up to only one 12-nation meeting that was held in December.

Myanmar's military leaders then refused to join a conference in April but
Thaksin insisted that Thailand still planned to organise a second meeting
to include the regime on a date yet to be set.

But he warned that Myanmar's leaders could be scared off if criticisms of
the junta continued following a stinging rebuke by the European Union
after Southeast Asian nations refused this week to censure the regime at a
regional meeting in Jakarta.

"There will be no use in countries admonishing Myanmar at the (planned)
meeting but they should discuss how to settle the issues as every country
has its own problems," Thaksin said.

"Every country has dignity and face. If we talk reasonably I am convinced
that Myanmar is ready to comply but if we rush them and put pressure on
them they will lose face and dignity and they will not listen."

A statement released by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) after a meeting this weeks called for a smooth
transition to democracy in Myanmar but failed to mention detained
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won elections in 1990
by a landslide but has never been allowed to rule.

Aung San Suu Kyi has remained under house arrest for more than a year --
her third period in detention since 1989 -- after an attack by a
junta-backed mob on her and supporters during a political tour of northern
Myanmar.

Thailand has repeatedly called on its neighbouring country to release the
democracy leader but its requests have been spurned.

Myanmar's regime has launched a democracy "roadmap" ahead of proposed
elections but the process has been widely dismissed as a sham by human
rights groups, the Myanmar opposition and foreign powers led by the United
States.

The European Union is one of the harshest critics of Myanmar's military
rulers and has imposed trade sanctions to pressure the junta into reforms.

______________________________________

July 2, Irrawaddy
Pakistan joins ASEAN Regional Forum

Pakistan joined the Asean Regional Forum on Friday as its 24th member. The
forum, which meets annually, includes the US, China, Japan, the two
Koreas, Russia, India and the European Community, along with ten members
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, group. “The fact
that Pakistan is here together with India provides another venue for them
to have conversations,” said Marty Natalegawa, a spokesman for host
government Indonesia.

Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri was representing Pakistan at Friday’s
conference, which followed two days of Asean ministerial meetings.
Pakistan also was scheduled to sign Asean’s Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation, which aims to boost regional peace and stability.

______________________________________

July 2, Kyodo News Service
Indonesia: ASEAN Regional Forum begins discussions on security issues

Text of report in English by Siti Rahil, carried by Japanese news agency
Kyodo

Jakarta, 2 July: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional
Forum, a loose multilateral grouping for security issues, began its annual
foreign ministerial talks Friday 2 July in Jakarta.

The forum, better known as ARF, will discuss issues including North
Korea's nuclear development programmes, the situation in Iraq,
international terrorism, maritime security, and non-proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, officials said.

In the one-day meeting, foreign ministers from 23 member countries will
adopt a statement on cooperation in transport security to combat
international terrorism and another on nonproliferation of WMD, the
officials said.

On the North Korean nuclear issue, members involved in the six-nation
framework to find a breakthrough to the impasse are expected to brief
delegates on the outcome of the third round of talks held recently in
Beijing, the officials said.

The six nations - the two Koreans, China, Japan, Russia and the United
States - also belong to the ARF. The nuclear dispute has remained since
October 2002.

In the ARF meeting, the United States and the European Union are also
expected to pressure Myanmar Burma to release pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, now under house arrest. US Secretary of State Colin Powell
indicated Thursday the United States plans to discuss the issue in greater
detail at the forum.

The ASEAN foreign ministers, in their annual gathering here Wednesday,
decided against openly calling on Myanmar to release Suu Kyi.

In a joint communique adopted at the end of their meeting, the ministers
instead urged Myanmar's junta to involve "all strata of Myanmar society"
in the country's national convention tasked with drawing up a new
constitution.

They dropped phrases written in a draft communique expressing "the need
for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy
members" and "the need for Myanmar to substantiate its path to democracy
and reconciliation."

The ARF ministers are also expected to welcome China's proposal to
establish an ARF security policy conference involving senior defence and
security policy officials, the officials said.

The ministers also plan to approve the establishment of an ARF unit within
the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat to better coordinate activities of the
group, they said.

Pakistan is participating in the forum talks and will likely be approved
as the 24th member in the conference, the officials said. Rival India, an
ARF member, had opposed Pakistan's entry but relented in May when
Islamabad promised not to turn the forum into a platform for their
bilateral disputes.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The ARF also includes
Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Japan, Mongolia, New
Zealand, North and South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Russia and the United
States.


INTERNATIONAL
______________________________________

July 2, The Australian
Burma a major problem, Downer warns - Sian Powell

Stopping short of condemning ASEAN for its weak position on Burma's
repression of democracy, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in Jakarta
yesterday that Australia was particularly disappointed by Rangoon's lack
of reform.

Mr Downer said the ASEAN countries were focused on Burma hosting the ASEAN
meetings in two years, which had fuelled their push for Burmese reform.

However, the final communique of the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting,
which ended in Jakarta on Wednesday night, merely called for a smooth
transition to democracy in Burma and failed to mention detained democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I think it's going to be a very big problem for Burma and potentially a
very big problem for ASEAN," Mr Downer said.

Mr Downer, in Jakarta for a round of high-level regional meetings that
will focus on counter-terrorism, said he expected to meet the foreign
ministers of both Burma and North Korea.

Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, and the seemingly stalled six-way talks in
Beijing, have dominated the ASEAN round.

Mr Downer said he would discuss the talks -- which have shown faint signs
of promise -- with North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun.

Regarding Burma, Mr Downer roundly condemned the nation's lack of action,
despite Rangoon's earlier promises.

"We're very disappointed the convention that they're having is not a fully
fledged convention which incorporates the main democratic movement in
Burma, which is the National League for Democracy; that they still keep
Aung San Suu Kyi and Tin Oo under house arrest," he said.

"And for as long as they keep them under house arrest, it's impossible to
believe progress can be made in terms of constitutional reform.

"We were told last year by the Burmese they had a road map which would
lead to a greater degree of democracy, and not much is happening. It's
very disappointing."

Mr Downer met Muslim leaders in Jakarta yesterday and signed a joint
Australia-ASEAN Declaration for Co-operation to Combat International
Terrorism.

He also met briefly with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and
told her Australia looked forward to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand
summit in Vientiane, Laos, in November.

Australia has long expected an invitation to this commemorative ASEAN
summit to discuss a free trade area. Mr Downer said the issue of
continuing ASEAN-Australia meetings would be broached at the summit.

______________________________________

July 2, AFX
ASEM summit to go ahead, compromise to be reached on Myanmar - EU official

An Asia-Europe summit, that was in jeopardy over Myanmar's involvement,
will go ahead this year after both sides agreed to compromise, a senior
European Union official said.

The biennial Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of heads of state or government,
planned for Hanoi in October, had been put at risk over the European
Union's insistence that military-ruled Myanmar should not attend. The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countered that if Myanmar
could not participate, neither could the EU's 10 new member nations. But
an official travelling with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said a
breakthrough had been reached on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum
(ARF) being held in Jakarta.

"It was a very positive meeting. Both sides immediately agreed that the
summit would go ahead," the official, who did not want to be named, told
Agence France-Presse.

"They have found a common denominator. There are not any rigid positions
any more." The official said that while a definitive solution had not yet
been reached on the question of Myanmar's attendance, the core issue both
sides will explore over the next few months will be "the level of
representation". Asked whether this might mean Myanmar will be allowed to
send a lower-level delegation, the official said that was one possibility.

The EU is one of the fiercest critics of Myanmar's military, which has
ruled the country since 1962 and continues to keep democracy leader and
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. The EU has
in place tough trade sanctions in a bid to pressure the regime into giving
up power. In contrast, ASEAN has taken a much lower-profile stance in
dealing with member nation Myanmar, leading to accusations the group is
soft on the issue.  An ASEAN foreign ministers' statement after their
annual meeting on Wednesday called for a smooth transition to democracy in
Myanmar but failed to mention Aung San Suu Kyi.

After much lobbying from Myanmar, ASEAN dropped a line from a draft of the
communique that would have "reiterated the need for the release of Aung
San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy members". Solana sharply
criticised ASEAN yesterday for the wording of the foreign ministers'
communique. "There's nothing there ... I would have preferred to have had
something in it," Solana said.


PRESS RELEASE
______________________________________

July 2, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
7 years imprisonment for going to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's house

It has been reported that the Burmese military regime arrested and
imprisoned a Burmese citizen Ko Thet Lwin, age 46, who is working at the
Ivanhoe Co., a Canada-based company that has invested in Burma.

Ko Thet Lwin was following an officer of the company who made a visit to
the residency of the National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi in December 2003. Both of them were arrested. Although the alien
officer was released later, Ko Thet Lwin is still under detention. It is
not clear why they went to her house, but it is reported that the officer
was allowed to go back to his native country after his release.

Regarding Ko Thet Lwin, the authorities charged him under one Criminal Act
and sentenced him to 7 years in prison in February 2004. In May 2004, he
was sent to Taungsoon Labor Camp located in Mon State. Concerning his
imprisonment without any clear reason, his family has already reported to
the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC), it is reported.

______________________________________

July 1, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Time for ASEAN to prove itself

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) is
flabbergasted by the nonchalant attitude of the ASEAN countries in
handling the issue of Burma at its Ministerial Meetings in Jakarta.

Lest it be forgotten, the NCGUB wishes to remind ASEAN countries that the
Burmese generals that they have been coaxing are none other than the ones
who ordered the murderous attack against the members of the National
League for Democracy (NLD), the detention of the NLD leaders, including
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the closure of all NLD offices, and are currently
proceeding with a convention to establish a dictatorial regime which will
assume the Chair of the ASEAN Standing Committee in 2006.

Yet, ASEAN has given full endorsement of that convention and even avoided
mentioning the detention of the legitimate leaders of the democracy
movement whom the generals had promised to release and include in the
process to determine the future of the nation.  This pledge to do so was
made before ASEAN leaders.

Furthermore, the whole world knows that the military regime in Burma is
the source of drug, AIDS, refugee exodus, and a myriad of problems in the
region.  When ASEAN admitted Burma as a member despite the warnings, it
was with the hope that the generals would change their attitude after
joining the association.  Not only has this not happened, they have even
brought dishonor to ASEAN.  Yet, ASEAN pretends as if nothing has
happened.

As an association, ASEAN is responsible for a member like Burma committing
state-sponsored crimes against its people and perpetrating the worst kind
of human rights violations.  If ASEAN has no fortitude to deal with a
glaring problem like Burma now, it may never muster the will to deal with
regional problems in the future.

The tackling of Burma's problem now will determine ASEAN's resolve to deal
with the future.