BurmaNet News, September 18-20, 2004

[Editor]

September 18-20, 2004, Issue # 2562


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar mystifies again with cabinet shakeup
Irrawaddy: Introducing Burma’s new foreign minister
S.H.A.N.: Shan ceasefire groups will attend next convention

HEALTH / AIDS
Kyodo: Myanmar boosts measures to prevent bird flu outbreak

REGIONAL
Hindustan Times: Cong for democracy in Myanmar: Shastri
AP: Myanmar to launch online visa application

INTERNATIONAL
Daily Yomiuri: Refugee screening under fire

OPINION / OTHER
Nation: Shake-up consolidates Than Shwe’s power
Bangkok Post: Gen Than Shwe has styled himself a monarch

ANNOUNCEMENT
Project Maje: Burma "Sea Gypsies" Report

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 20, Reuters News
Myanmar mystifies again with cabinet shakeup - Darren Schuettler

Bangkok: The surprise sacking of Myanmar's foreign minister and his deputy
triggered intense speculation on Monday about the motives behind the
latest shakeup in the secretive military-ruled country.

Foreign Minister Win Aung and Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win were
"permitted to retire" on Saturday, replaced by military officers with
scant diplomatic experience two weeks before Myanmar is due to attend its
first Asia-Europe summit.

Vietnam, the summit host, and Thailand called the latest political
upheaval in Yangon an internal matter.

With the junta and state media silent, diplomats and analysts were
mystified by the reshuffle, which also ousted two other senior ministers.

"We can only speculate it was ASEM that triggered it," said one Asian
diplomat in Hanoi where the Asia-Europe Meeting, or ASEM, is due to be
held on Oct. 8 and 9.

Some saw the removal of Win Aung and his deputy, both long serving
diplomats, as a hardening of the military's stance in the face of growing
international pressure on human rights.

European and Asian nations had clashed in recent months over Myanmar's
attendance at the summit, with former colonial ruler Britain leading the
charge on human rights grounds.

A compromise was struck last week allowing Yangon to attend, but with its
representation at a lower level than other states.

However, the European Union threatened tighter economic and visa curbs if
Yangon did not free democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and make other rights
reforms before the meeting.

"I'm not enthused about it," one European diplomat said of the changes,
noting that some EU members may balk at rubbing shoulders with military
men at the summit.

Win Aung, the public face of the junta since he was appointed in 1998
after his predecessor was also sacked, had a reputation for being
reasonable, but with no known influence within the junta, diplomats said.

Some analysts say he may have been caught in a power struggle between
Senior General Than Shwe, who heads the ruling military council, and Prime
Minister Khin Nyunt.

Khin Nyunt was appointed prime minister last year and promptly announced a
seven-step roadmap to democracy. But some analysts believe Than Shwe dug
in his heels by refusing to free Suu Kyi ahead of talks on a new
constitution.

"Khin Nyunt has been clipped and the people around him are being clipped,"
said a Singapore-based security analyst.

"Than Shwe is taking control of events and he does not care about the view
of Western countries," said Chayachoke Chulasiriwongs, a Myanmar watcher
at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"This power play has been going, but I'm quite sure that the military,
whatever the internal conflict, will not allow military power to decline
in favour of civilian rule."

The new foreign minister, Major General Nyan Win, is one of three deputy
chiefs of Armed Forces Training. His new deputy, Colonel Maung Myint,
commanded the 77th Light Infantry Division.

Apart from that little is known about them.

The military has ruled the former Burma in various guises since 1962 and
Saturday's cabinet shakeup was the 15th in seven years.

"This is not a surprise. It is common in a country ruled by military
dictators. They need to make room for the powerful newcomers," said a
retired Yangon politician.

An Asian diplomat in Hanoi agreed the reshuffle might be related solely to
domestic issues and not necessarily meant to send a message to the ASEM
meeting.

Still, he said the event must be unsettling for Vietnam, which dispatched
a former premier to Yangon last month to calm the dispute about Myanmar's
attendance.

"It's just when you thought you had taken care of any disruption, here
comes another one over the horizon."

A Vietnamese diplomat in Yangon said the junta had said nothing about its
ASEM delegation. "We are hoping to hear something from them these days,"
he said.

(Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun in Yangon, and Christina Pantin in
Hanoi).

____________________________________

September 20, Irrawaddy
Introducing Burma’s New Foreign Minister

Maj-Gen Nyan Win was named Burma’s new foreign minister during the
weekend, replacing Win Aung, a civilian, after Burma’s military junta on
Saturday replaced four ministers. The junta gave no reasons for the
Cabinet shake-up.

Nyan Win is one of two vice chiefs of Armed Forces Training, a unit that
is headed by Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, a member of State Peace and Development
Council junta. Until early last year Nyan Win was the Commandant of
Command and General Staff College of Kalaw, in southern Shan State.

Later in the year, he was moved to the Ministry of Defense’s Office of
Strategic Studies, now called the Office of the Chief of Military
Intelligence, an intelligence and policy bureau which was founded in 1994.

Last September he was named to the National Convention Convening
Commission to continue the constitution-drafting assembly, which
reconvened in May, after an eight-year interval. Earlier this year he was
promoted from brigadier-general to major-general.

Nyan Win graduated from the 18th intake of the Defense Services Academy.
Sources close to the army said that the new foreign minister has little
experience in international diplomacy but add that he did meet a few
foreign visitors when he served with the General Staff College in Kalaw.

____________________________________

September 20, Shan Herald Agency for News
Shan ceasefire groups will attend next convention

Shan State Peace Council that comprises two ceasefire groups, Shan State
Army 'North' and Shan State National Army, will be sending its
representatives to the National Convention when and if it resumes,
according to its General Secretary Sao Gaifah.

"The SSPC has made up its mind after deliberations among its members," the
51-year old former field commander of the SSA 'North' informed S.H.A.N.
"We have decided nothing's going to be accomplished by staying outside. We
have started it and now we've got to see it though. But it doesn't mean we
are going to bow to everything we're told and do nothing."

During a meeting with Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt two weeks earlier,
Maj-Gen Hsoten, the SSPC's chairman, was reported to have responded to the
same query by the former by saying the SSPC meeting would decide whether
or not to attend.

The SSA 'North' and SSNA were two among the 13 ceasefire groups that had
presented a joint paper calling for a federal democracy. To which the UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan had commented that their 'statements and
submissions' 'were a positive development' and counselled Rangoon that it
"remains essential for a mutually acceptable agreement to be reached" with
the ethnic groups.

Gaifah also said officials from one of Burma's neighbors had recently
recommended to him that "the show should go on with firm principles and
flexible approaches."

Burma's two largest winning parties, National League for Democracy and
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, and others had boycotted the
National Convention, 17 May-9 July, held at Nyaung-hnapin Camp, 28 miles
north of Rangoon.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

September 20, Kyodo News
Myanmar boosts measures to prevent bird flu outbreak

Myanmar has stepped up precautionary measures against possible outbreaks
of bird flu following outbreaks of the virus in Southeast Asian countries,
the semiofficial Myanmar Times reported Monday.

The measures include a temporary ban on poultry imports from Malaysia put
in place last month, alerting farmers to report any unusual increases in
mortality rates among poultry, and training veterinarians to improve
diagnostic capacity, the report said.

So far, ''no cases of bird flu have been reported in Myanmar, but
precautions are necessary,'' Than Hla, director of the Research and
Disease Control Division of the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary
Department, was quoted as saying.

Myanmar banned all poultry imports in January after the initial outbreaks,
but eased the ban on imports of broiler chicken breeding stock from
Malaysia, Germany and France in April to meet domestic demand, the paper
said.

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 29 people in Asia this year and ravaged
its poultry industry.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 19, Hindustan Times
Cong for democracy in Myanmar: Shastri

Congress working committee member Anil Shastri has said his party supports
restoration of democracy in all countries, including Myanmar. He was
speaking at a seminar on the 1988 'coup' in Myanmar. The event was
organised by Mizzima News and an NGO, The Other Media.

Shastri asked the Myanmarese in exile in India to create awareness about
their country among political parties to influence the government's
policy. He also said that the Myanmarese people needed to build a strong
movement of their own rather than expecting help from India.

CPI (M) leader Prakash Karat, who was scheduled to speak at the event, was
unable to attend it. He sent a message, saying both countries have
historical and cultural ties and fought together for Independence, and
that India could not remain indifferent to the plight of the Myanmarese
people.

Exiled Myanmarese leader and general secretary of the United Nationalities
League for Democracy (Liberated Areas), Dr Lian Sakhong, pointed out that
the Myanmarese people were risking their lives for the cause of democracy.
Even Aung San Suu Kyi had been physically attacked, he said. In such a
situation, the people needed help even to help themselves, Sakhong said.

Author Sanjib Baruah noted the close link between India's northeast and
Myanmar. He said the Mizo Accord, which New Delhi saw as a successful
model, was in fact not such a good model at all because it created layers
of citizenship by empowering a particular group at the expense of others.

A resolution adopted at the concluding session urged India to support the
cause of democracy in Myanmar, and to facilitate a tripartite talks
process involving the Myanmar government, the pro-democracy forces, and
ethnic nationalities.

_____________________________________

September 18, Associated Press
Myanmar to launch online visa application

Bangkok: Myanmar on Saturday officially launched a system that allows
tourists to apply for visas online.

The e-Visa system began on a trial basis in January this year, and has
already processed more than 2,000 applications, said a statement issued at
a Bangkok news conference, quoting the chairman of the task force in
charge, Thein Swe.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is trying to promote tourism as its economy
struggles under sanctions imposed by many Western countries which
disapprove of the junta's poor human rights record and failure to hand
over power to a democratically elected government.

The online applications are available in English, German, Chinese and
Japanese, and allow payment of the EUR 24.6 fee by credit card.

Approved applications are supposed to be processed and returned in 24
hours, and travelers need only show the e-mail printout of the approved
application to immigration officials on arrival in Myanmar.

A deal with Thailand-based Phuket Air also will allow the airline -due
soon to inaugurate flights to the Myanmar -to process visa applications,
the statement said.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 19, Daily Yomiuri
Refugee screening under fire - Akino Yoshihara

At a symposium on the nation's refugee recognition system held in
mid-September in Osaka, Maung Maung, 36, an asylum-seeker from Myanmar,
complained of his detention at the West Japan Immigration Center in
Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture.

"Why did I have to be detained at such a terrible place? Did I do
something wrong? I want people to understand Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi and
political prisoners in my country," he said.

The symposium was organized by four organizations supporting foreign
immigrants and asylum-seekers to discuss the necessity of videotaping
dialogues between refugee examination officers and applicants for refugee
status during the screening process.

Maung Maung applied for refugee status in January 2002, claiming that he
was in danger of persecution from the military regime in his country. But
the immigration authorities denied his application in the following month.

Maung Maung, who participated in a democracy movement in his country, said
the military administration in Myanmar does not respect freedom of speech
or human rights. He was detained at the immigration center soon after he
came to Japan in October 2001. He said he had to stay in a small, dirty
room jammed with people for a year and five months, adding that he could
not shower every day or receive prompt medical attention when he was sick.

Maung Maung filed a suit in May 2002 with the Osaka District Court to seek
nullification of the government's decision.

In April 2003, Maung Maung was provisionally discharged from the
immigration center after the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees recognized him as a refugee.

But he lost the suit in July and has appealed to the Osaka High Court.

In response to the revision of the Immigration Control and Refugee
Recognition Law, which was announced in June, three panelists exchanged
their views on the refugee recognition system, seeking transparency and
accuracy in the screening process. They urged the videotaping of refugee
screening procedures to make sure they were carried out properly.

The revised refugee recognition system, which will be enforced by June,
abandons the current requirement for people to apply for refugee status
within 60 days after their arrival in Japan and grants permission for
provisional stays to asylum-seekers if they meet certain requirements. The
procedures for deportation will be suspended for those who have been
granted a provisional stay until the screening is completed.

It also stipulates that third-party counselors examine petitions to
overturn government rejection of applications for refugee status.

But Ikuko Sato, an assistant professor of Obirin University, said a third
party should be involved in the screening procedures from the beginning.

The counselors will comprise legal professionals, people familiar with
international issues and experts in international law and other types of
law. They will be chosen through the recommendation of various
organizations such as the UNHCR, the Japan Federation of Bar Association
and nongovernmental organizations supporting refugees.

Under the current system, only officials of the Justice Ministry are in
charge of refugee recognition procedures.

In 2003, there were 336 applicants for refugee status. Only 10 of them
were recognized as refugees.

Lawyer Masashi Akita believes that videotaping will improve refugee
examinations.

He also stressed the importance of training examination officers, saying
the same immigration officers who have been trained to handle immigration
control also assess refugee status in some cases.

He said some immigration officers did not know enough about the situations
in the countries of asylum-seekers.

Akita believes videotaping refugee recognition screenings will show
whether examining officers and individual counselors carry out their roles
appropriately.

He said, "A dialogue between a refugee examining officer and an
asylum-seeker is written in the first person as if the asylum-seeker were
writing a statement in his or her own words."

He said immigration officers usually write the statements, so
misinterpretation due to language and other factors may produce
unfavorable results, citing the case of Ghulam Hussain from Afghanistan.

Hussain, a member of the Hazara ethnic minority who came to Japan in July
1999, applied for refugee status in October the same year after he was
warned by a friend not to return to Afghanistan because the country's
Taliban rulers were looking for him. After his refugee status was
rejected, Hussain filed a suit with the Osaka District Court in February
the following year, but the suit was rejected in September 2002. The
ruling said he should have applied for refugee status within 60 days.

Akita said the immigration authorities asserted Hussain's evidence was
unreliable and denied him refugee status because of a misinterpretation of
the circumstances of his persecution, which is the key factor in refugee
recognition screening.

He said, "The immigration authorities should explain why they denied
asylum-seekers refugee status and how they assessed the evidence in the
procedures."

Hiromi Nagao, a court interpreter and president of the Japan Judicial
Interpreters Association, warned that a misinterpretation at court could
seriously affect a judgment, adding that some court interpreters in Japan
lack a comprehensive knowledge of legal terms.

She is concerned that the same thing could happen in the refugee
recognition screening.

Nagao said a series of misinterpretations resulted in the "Melbourne
case," in which five Japanese tourists were convicted of smuggling about
13 kilograms of heroin into Melbourne in 1992, despite their pleas of
innocence.

In Australia, all evidence must be recorded on audiotape or videotape when
a suspect is interviewed by the police.

Therefore, Nagao was able to listen to the recorded statements again with
a group of lawyers and discover that an interpreter and a suspect both
seemed confused and that the interpreter also made mistakes.

"I believe we can overturn the court's decision now because the Melbourne
case can be reviewed with the audio or video recordings," she said.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 20, The Nation
Shake-up consolidates Than Shwe’s power - Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Burma’s cabinet reshuffle late Saturday saw the removal of two experienced
diplomatic figures in a move that is seen as cementing the government’s
hardline stance amid mounting international pressure to break its
political deadlock with the opposition National League for Democracy.

Win Aung, who served as the foreign minister from November 1997 was
dismissed, along with his deputy Khin Maung Win.

Senior military officer Maj-General Nyan Win was picked to replace the
minister and Colonel Maung Myint was selected as his deputy.

Little is known about the two new cabinet members.

Sources said the major-general was regarded among his colleagues in
Rangoon as a ‘smart’ soldier but that he was not well known among
diplomats inside and outside the country.

Burma’s new foreign minister is therefore expected to face crucial tests
of strength in the United Nations General Assembly and the Asia-Europe
meeting (Asem) to be held on October 8 and 9 in the Vietnamese capital,
Hanoi.

The minister was ordered to attend Asem on behalf of Prime Minister Khin
Nyunt after the European Union barred Burma’s heads of government from
participating.

Being foreign minister of a junta is not an easy task, Win Aung once said,
considering the negative press attached to Burma’s domestic political
wrangles and unceasing international criticism.

‘My face is like a dartboard,’ he once told reporters when asked about his
personal feelings over the barrage of questions fired at him over the
detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma has been stuck in a political quagmire since a bloody demonstration
in May 2003 that led to the most recent house arrest of Suu Kyi.

The outgoing minister hinted several times that Suu Kyi might be released
but she never was. His comments, although not binding in terms of foreign
policy, revealed much more than any other Burmese officials.

Sources said the foreign ministry reshuffle reflected military leader
General Than Shwe’s belief that the nation needed a more reticent
ministerial-level spokesperson to deal with the international community.

The reshuffle also indicated that Than Shwe, chairman of the junta’s State
Peace and Development Council, has taken a firmer grip on power. Win Aung
was generally considered a strong ally of General Khin Nyunt, the premier
whose position in Burmese politics has recently been destabilised.

Since assuming the high-ranking post in August 2003, Khin Nyunt championed
political reform, pushing forward his seven-point road map towards
democracy and national conciliation that was intended to culminate in a
general election.

Sources said Khin Nyunt and Win Aung discussed the road map at length and
ways of drafting a constitution but were continually frustrated in their
plans.

Saturday’s reshuffle also affected other cabinet positions and effectively
handed the military a cabinet majority.

Colonel Zaw Min was handpicked to be the new Minister of Cooperatives. He
will replace Maj-General Htay Oo following the latter’s transferral to the
Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry as a successor to Nyunt Tin.

Meanwhile, Brig-General Tin Naing Thein will head the Ministry of Commerce
as his predecessor Brig-General Pyi Zone moves to a vacancy within the
Prime Minister’s Office created by Maj-General Thein Swe’s appointment as
transport minister. He in turn will replace outgoing Transport Minister
Hla Myint Swe.

Labour Minister Tin Win, the only civilian involved in the shake-up, will
also be transferred to the position of minister at the Prime Minister’s
Office.

State-run media reported yesterday that the cabinet reshuffle was
effective immediately upon its announcement late Saturday night.

This is the 16th official cabinet of the junta but the first reshuffle
since Khin Nyunt became prime minister in mid-2003.

_____________________________________

September 18, Bangkok Post
Gen Than Shwe has styled himself a monarch; there are rifts between the
top generals, and Prime Minister Khin Nyunt fears for his life - Larry
Jagan

Burma's military leaders are quietly celebrating 16 years in power. And
the last thing they seem to be contemplating is standing down. In fact
Burma's military rulers appear to preparing to hold on to power at almost
any cost. They have continued to shun international pressure for change,
suppress the pro-democracy activists, including keeping the opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest, and run the economy into the
ground.

The military seized control of the country in a bloody coup on Sept 18,
1988, after months of pro-democracy demonstrations had brought the country
to a standstill. Since then they have shown no intentions of handing over
power to a civilian administration, despite constantly describing their
rule as a transition to a multi-party democracy.

But 16 years on, there are serious divisions beginning to appear within
the military regime over how to preserve the army's leading role in
Burma's political future.

In the face of mounting international pressure, including sanctions, the
military leaders are split between those hardliners who simply believe
that doing nothing and resisting pressure is the best strategy, while the
pragmatists understand that allowing a measure of controlled political
reform would strengthen their position in the long-run.

For the moment, the hardliners are in complete control. This means Burma's
political future remains bleak as the country's supreme leader Senior
General Than Shwe holds the country to ransom.

Gen Than Shwe has made no secret of the fact that he expects to rule the
country for at least another decade, according to a senior military source
close to the top general.

Everywhere in government, in the army, in business circles and out on the
streets -- people are getting frustrated by his intransigence. But there
are no signs in Rangoon that the generals have any intention of opening
political discussions with the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. As
far as Gen Than Shwe is concerned, the political parties have no role in
Burma's future. Despite assurances to the international community through
Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and Foreign Miister Win Aung that they would be
involved in the constitutional process, he never had any intention of
giving them a role.

For Gen Than Shwe, the National Convention is determining the country's
future constitution.

"Unfortunately, Burma's future lies in the hands of only one man," a
western diplomat based in Rangoon said on condition of anonymity. "And
that is not the prime minister."

There is no doubt now that Burma's paramount leader Senior General Than
Shwe is calling all the shots. Mr Khin Nyunt cannot do anything without
Gen Than Shwe's approval. He has become known throughout the army and the
nation as "the king".

The general's teenage grandson who attends an international school in
Rangoon proudly told his classmates recently that his veins had royal
blood running through them; his grandfather had told him, he boasted.

The tragedy is that the senior general actually believes it. As a result
of his military training and now his royal pretensions, he will not listen
to anyone, seeks no advice from his subordinates and believes he is always
right.

"He simply barks commands to his staff and never engages in any discussion
whatsoever," according to a senior government official who sees him
regularly.

Gen Than Shwe has frequently told the UN envoy Razali Ismail that the
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he never refers to by name, is
only one person in 52 million and her views cannot hold the country to
ransom.

In fact, it is Gen Than Shwe who is the single biggest obstacle to change
in Burma. But he is also pro-active. He is not alone in resisting pressure
within the country and abroad for political change. There are several key
generals around him who support this hardline position.

Gen Than Shwe is known to be cautious and xenophobic, as well as
authoritarian. He does not trust his subordinates. He sits in a cocoon in
his own room, meets few people and listens to none, a western diplomat in
Rangoon said. But he does spend time surfing the internet on his computer
and understands that this is the future and one which Burma must
encompass.

Gen Than Shwe has ordered all senior commanders in the army to learn how
to use computers and access the internet. Army officers of the rank of
colonel and above were all recently told to buy their own personal
computers.

But while Gen Than Shwe sees no need for a political dialogue with the
opposition, Prime Minister Khin Nyunt understands the need for the
national reconciliation process to involve Aung San Suu Kyi and the
pro-democracy parties. But under the orders of Gen Than Shwe the National
Convention reconvened in May without the National League for Democracy.

There is no doubt that there are major differences between the top
generals over how to deal with the pro-democracy leader and her party.
Diplomats in Rangoon believe originally that Mr Khin Nyunt was originally
scheduled to give the opening speech at the National Convention in May.
But the prime minister obviously wants to distance himself from the
Convention.

"Khin Nyunt does not want to discuss the progress of the National
Convention nor have the National Convention used to criticise him," said a
western diplomat based in Rangoon.

In mid-June, Gen Than Shwe cancelled Mr Khin Nyunt's scheduled visit to
Indochina, his symbolic first visit as prime minister to Cambodia and Laos
and ordered him to go to the National Convention and sort out the ethnic
groups who had been resisting the convention management and refusing to
buckle under.

The trip was rescheduled, but Mr Khun Nyunt refused to go and talk
directly to the ethnic leaders.

Now that the National Convention is in recess there are growing signs that
Burma's constitutional process has also run into deep trouble. The
cease-fire groups are completely disenchanted with the National
Convention.

Although the Convention organisers accepted their papers proposing
regional autonomy and a federal state, they have been told privately that
these will not be discussed when the Convention resumes, now expected to
be in November.

Only the six objectives and the 104 principles that were drawn up by the
original National Convention will be incorporated into the new
constitution.

"We feel betrayed by Khin Nyunt and his men," a senior Kachin leader told
the Bangkok Post recently. At this stage it is unclear if the ethnic
groups will return to the Convention when it resumes. Senior military
intelligence officers have been visiting the cease-fire groups to try to
convince them to return.

In the meantime, the current political stalemate is certain to continue as
long as the senior general remains in control. Although there is growing
resentment within the army over Gen Than Shwe's attempt to establish
himself as a new Burmese monarch, this is unlikely to lead to a power
struggle to oust him -- though this is what he fears most.

The pragmatists including the prime minister who favour involving Aung San
Suu Kyi in the national reconciliation process and engage in a dialogue
with the international community are being sidelined and are worried about
their future.

"There is extreme unease and nervousness within the senior ranks of
military intelligence," said a UN official who regularly deals with the
military. "It seems everyone is running for cover in anticipation of a
backlash against them."

Earlier this year, Mr Khin Nyunt, who is still nominally head of military
intelligence, warned his senior military intelligence officers to be
careful as he could no longer protect them.

One senior military intelligence officer even told friends in Rangoon that
he suspected that his phones were being bugged. This kind of paranoia is
increasing amongst the senior ranks of military intelligence.

"My prime minister is in a very dangerous situation," Foreign Minister
Wing Aung reportedly told his counterparts and the UN envoy Razali Ismail
at the Asean foreign ministers meeting in Jakarta in late June.

Mr Khin Nyunt is obviously worried about his position, may even fear for
his life, according to a senior Asian diplomat who met Mr Win Aung
recently. The foreign minister hinted that both he and the prime minister
may have to leave the country for their own safety in the near future. So
it seems certain that there will no political progress in Burma for some
time yet.

_____________________________________

ANNOUNCEMENT

September 16, Project Maje
Burma "Sea Gypsies" Report

A new report is available on the Project Maje website at:
http://www.projectmaje.org/gypsies.htm

"A Burma 'Sea Gypsies' Compendium" focuses on a small nomadic ethnic group
surviving on boats in Burma’s Andaman Sea. Burma’s Moken (Salon) “Sea
Gypsies” face particular problems which may even threaten their existence
as a culture and people. Amid the vast array of documentation on Burma’s
human rights situation and ethnic groups there has been very little
investigation about Burma’s “Sea Gypsies.”

 As a compendium, this new Project Maje report seeks to fill some of this
information gap with a collection of 29 documents and articles from 1997
to 2004 concerning Burma’s “Sea Gypsies” in a format accessible to those
who are interested in Burma and indigenous/nomadic peoples issues. It
draws upon available information in English about Burma’s “Sea Gypsies”
from an array of sources, including news  articles, tour agencies, and
researchers.

Project Maje is an independent information project on Burma's human rights
and environmental issues, founded in 1986. www.projectmaje.org