BurmaNet News November 9, 2004

[Editor]

November 9, 2004, Issue # 2597

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Khin Nyunt sentenced 40 years imprisonment
The Australian: Sacked PM's plan to talk
Irrawaddy: OCMI staffers sentenced—Rangoon source
Kyodo News: Myanmar vows to host World Buddhist summit without Japanese
sponsor
Irrawaddy: Report of Gov’t abuse of monks released soon

ON THE BORDER
AFP: Indian army says it seizes key rebel base in northeast
WMRC Daily Analysis: Military captures rebel camps in India's border areas
with Myanmar

BUSINESS
Platts Commodity News: Myanmar reiterates its offer to sell its gas to India

INTERNATIONAL
Waverley Leader: Bribes to flee Burma hell
Third Sector: Reed Elsevier rejects call from Burma Campaign UK
Agence Europe: SOLIDAR Prize for Social Justice goes to Burmese opposition

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: The talk of the town

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INSIDE BURMA

November 9, Mizzima News
Khin Nyunt sentenced 40 years imprisonment

The ousted Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt was sentenced to 40-year jail
term, sources close to former NIB said.

His senior aides, including Brig-Gen Thein Swe, to 15-20 years in prison,
for alleged involvement of corruption.

But no alternative confirmation yet about when they were sentenced and
where they are.

However, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win, former deputy military intelligent chief, is
still immune to allegation mainly because he has taken refuge in Senior
General's unfair protection from corruption charges.

An informed observer said another possible crack among high-ranking
military officials is gradually looming. "Some are found to be wary of the
junta's handling corruption charges," he said.

Although military government distributed their allegation of corruption
charges on former prime minister yesterday along with newspaper, didn’t
mention about the jail sentence to MIs.

The internal situation of Burma is apparently unstable, rumors in Rangoon
about fake 1000 Kyats currency notes, and people are worrying that
government would demonetise soon.

______________________________________

November 9, The Australian
Sacked PM's plan to talk

Burma’s ousted Prime Minister Khin Nyunt planned to reveal corruption
among regional military commanders at a cabinet meeting before he was
sacked, in an apparent move to save his own skin by heading off attempts
to link him with corrupt intelligence officials.

The move was seen as a threat to the military Government and he was
"allowed to retire", according to General Thura Shwe Mahn, the
third-ranked member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council.

A long speech given by General Thura Shwe Mahn published in an 18-page
booklet with three state newspapers on Sunday supports theories that
General Khin Nyunt was the loser in a complex power struggle.

While the Prime Minister was visiting Singapore in mid-September, 186
people, including military intelligence officials, were arrested at the
Burma-China checkpoint at Muse, with 3billion kyat ($629 million) and 42
tonnes of jade.

The general said General Khin Nyunt was "extremely disappointed and
annoyed over the Muse incident from which one can assume that Khin Nyunt
was involved in the corruption scandal".

Senior General Than Shwe, who is head of the SPDC and head of state, then
told the prime minister he would relieve him of his post of head of
military intelligence, which he has headed for decades and from where he
derives his power base, to enable him to concentrate on his prime
ministerial duties.

General Khin Nyunt responded by ordering his officers to compile
corruption allegations against senior commanders loyal to the Senior
General, the speech said.

"As this was not only leading to the disintegration of the Tatmadaw (armed
forces) but also posed a serious threat to the nation, Prime Minister
General Khin Nyunt was permitted to retire on October 19," General Thura
Shwe Mann said.

______________________________________

November 9, Irrawaddy
OCMI staffers sentenced—Rangoon source

At least two high-ranking staffers from the Office of the Chief of
Military Intelligence, or OCMI, have been sentenced to long jail terms for
corruption, according to a Rangoon businessman.

Among the sentenced were Brig-Gen Than Tun, head of the OCMI’s Politics
and Counter-intelligence Department and Brig-Gen Myint Zaw, head of the
OCMI’s Border Security and Intelligence Department (often referred to by
its Burmese acronym Na Sa Ka) according to the source, who spoke to The
Irrawaddy on Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Than Tun was sentenced to
21 years in prison and Myint Zaw to 40 years, he said.

The two intelligence officers’ jail terms, yet to be confirmed by official
sources, come in the wake of the October 18 ouster of OCMI chief and prime
minister Gen Khin Nyunt (he was arrested on October 18, but officially
relieved of his duties the next day). Members of Khin Nyunt’s family,
intelligence personnel and a number of businessmen were arrested, then the
National Intelligence Bureau Law was annulled. Khin Nyunt’s personal
astrologer Bodaw Teinkyar Than Hla was also detained, according to the
source.

State-run Burmese vernacular newspapers on Sunday, November 7, ran the
full text of a speech given by Gen Thura Shwe Mann on October 24 to
Rangoon businessmen in justification of the putsch. According to the
printed text, he said that 186 government servants from OCMI, the
ministries of immigration and home affairs and the customs department were
punished in accordance with the law.

Most of the detained intelligence officials are being held at a Burma Army
Light Infantry Battalion compound at Ye Mon, on the outskirts of Rangoon,
according to an editor of a weekly Rangoon journal.

On Friday, November 5, Minister of Home Affairs Col Tin Hlaing, Minister
of Labor Tin Win were “granted permission” to retire.

______________________________________

November 9, Kyodo News
Myanmar vows to host World Buddhist summit without Japanese sponsor

Myanmar Prime Minister Lt. Gen Soe Win said his government will host the
fourth World Buddhist Summit as scheduled next month despite the
withdrawal of the main sponsor, Japan's Nembutsushu Buddhist sect,
official media reported Tuesday.

Speaking at a coordination meeting on the Buddhist summit in Yangon on
Monday, Soe Win said, ''We are certain that we will be hosting the summit
smoothly and on a grand scale according to schedule as we have enough time
in making preparations for it,'' according to the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper.

''We have invited representatives from more than 40 countries and they
will attend,'' Soe Win reportedly said.

The summit is set for Dec. 9 to 11.

Earlier reports said Nembutsushu had withdrawn for unannounced reasons,
opening speculation the entire summit might be canceled.

The withdrawal of the Japanese sponsor followed the ousting by Myanmar's
junta of Gen. Khin Nyunt as prime minister last month.

Khin Nyunt was chairman of the Leading Committee to Host the Summit and
regularly dealt with Nembutsushu.

The Japanese withdrawal also led to summit cancellations by more than
1,500 Japanese observers who had been set to attend the summit along with
about 200 delegates from other countries.

The first World Buddhist Summit was held in Japan in 1998, the second in
Thailand in 2000 and the third in Cambodia in 2002.

The Nembutsushu sect sponsored the previous summits.

Official figures say 89.3 percent of Myanmar's 53 million people are
Buddhist.

_____________________________________

November 9, Irrawaddy
Report of Gov’t abuse of monks released soon

A Thailand-based prisoner assistance group will release a report next week
which documents the abuse against Buddhists monks by Burma’s military
government.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), or AAPP, will
release the roughly 100-page report in English, titled Burma: A Land Where
Buddhist Monks Are Disrobed and Detained in Dungeons.

“By publishing the report, we intend to let the Burmese and the
international community to know that the prisoners of conscience being
detained under the military regime include monks,” said AAPP
Joint-Secretary Bo Kyi on Tuesday.

The group says that more than 1,400 political prisoners are in detention
in Burma, including about 300 monks. The report documents the arrests of
26 Buddhist monks from a school at the Maha Gandha Yone monastery who late
last year were given 18-year jail sentences for refusing alms offered by
military officers.

_____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 9, Agence France Presse
Indian army says it seizes key rebel base in northeast

India's army said Tuesday it had seized an important separatist base in
the revolt-hit northeastern state of Manipur during a month-long offensive
against insurgent groups.

The base, believed to be the headquarters of the outlawed People's
Liberation Army (PLA), was captured Monday inside a densely forested
region in the Churachandpur district that borders Myanmar.

"The fall of the PLA headquarters is a major success," army spokesman
Major Santanu Dev Goswami told AFP from the state capital Imphal.

There was no comment available from militants in Manipur, one of seven
states in India's remote northeast which is a hotbed of ethnic and tribal
groups fighting for autonomy or independence.

The rebels say they are trying to protect their ethnic identities and
accuse New Delhi of plundering resources from the region which is rich in
minerals, tea, timber and oil.

The PLA is among the most influential of the 19 rebel groups active in
Manipur. The army says they are equipped with anti-aircraft guns, rocket
launchers and other weapons.

"We seized computers, communication gadgets, weapons and explosives,
besides large stocks of food grains from the PLA base," Goswami said. He
said the militants fled the camp before the troops arrived.

At least 20 rebels have been killed and 59 captured during the action that
began last month by about 7,500 troops, the army official said.

The army said it had the "rebels on the run" and they were unable to sneak
into Myanmar because the military regime has sealed the border with India.

Last month New Delhi and Yangon agreed to cooperate in fighting terrorism.
Myanmar military leader Senior Gen Than Shwe pledged not to allow his
country to be used for anti-India activities.

Many of the rebel armies in India's northeast are believed to have bases
in northern Myanmar.

"Most of the camps and shelter places have come under our control now,"
the army spokesman said. "The rebels are trapped in a no-man's land and it
is for them to decide whether to surrender and accept offers for peace
talks."

_____________________________________

November 9, World Markets Research Centre Daily Analysis
Military captures rebel camps in India's border areas with Myanmar

The military has captured a number of camps belonging to the People's
Liberation Army (PLA) guerrilla group, with reports suggesting that the
group's headquarters may have fallen. Operations are currently under way
in the north-eastern state of Manipur, which borders Myanmar. A number of
rebel groups are known to operate out of Myanmar's border areas, crossing
the porous border back into India to launch attacks.

Manipur has this year been the focus of considerable popular unrest, after
the military outfit in the region, the Assam Rifles, was accused of
killing a female rebel while in their custody (see India: 20 September
2004: Fresh Strikes Over Security Force Powers Hit North-Eastern India).
Protesters have subsequently called for the controversial Armed Forces
Special Powers Act to be scrapped. Government policy has not changed,
however, with the authorities arguing that tough measures are needed to
address the rebel problem.

It appears that these measures are now being pursued, with reports
suggesting that anywhere between 20 and 30 rebels have been killed and a
further 100 detained. Furthermore, explosives have been seized along with
computing equipment and food supplies. It is thought that 6,000 troops are
involved in the operation.

Significance: The timing of the offensive is notable following a recent
meeting between the country's leaders and Myanmar's head of government,
General Than Shwe. Troops from Myanmar are reportedly securing their side
of the border to stop rebels escaping from India, a move that comes of
little surprise following last month's cordial leadership talks (see
India: 26 October 2004: Indian Leaders Extend Warm Welcome to Myanmar's
Head of Government).

Furthermore, the authorities might be pursuing this action to provide them
with the opportunity to scale back the powers of the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act. By neutralising the rebel threat, it will make it easier to do
this, a move that will in turn serve to allay increasing human rights
fears.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS

November 9, Platts Commodity News
Myanmar reiterates its offer to sell its gas to India

The government of Myanmar has reiterated its offer to sell India its share
of gas from Myanmar's A1 block, where gas was found in January, a
spokesman for India's state-run GAIL said Tuesday. Myanmar renewed its
offer in late October when Myanmar military strongman Senior General Than
Shwe visited India. The A1 block is estimated to hold up to 6-Tcf.

Myanmar is entitled to roughly 50% of the gas produced from the block,
while partners would share the remaining gas produced in proportion to
their equity holding, the spokesman said. South Korea's Daweoo holds a 60%
stake and India's ONGC Videsh a 20% stake. The balance 20% stake is
equally shared between Korea Gas and GAIL. Commercial gas production is
likely to start in 2006. GAIL is also keen to buy Daweoo's share of gas
from the block, the spokesman said.

The company is mulling five options to import gas from Myanmar that
include building an onshore pipeline from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh.
Snamprogretti of Italy is studying the options and is expected to submit
its report by December.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 9, Waverley Leader
Bribes to flee Burma hell

MYINT Myint Wai's six months of living hell in Insein Prison has fuelled
her wish to help suffering women and children in Burma.

In September 1999, Mrs Wai was sentenced to two years' hard labour. She
says she had committed no crime.

Her family had been active in the pro-democracy movement in Burma and had
begun picking up warning signs that the military was watching them. So Mrs
Wai sent her daughters to Australia for protection.

Mrs Wai and her husband, Aung Kyaw Min, who now live in Glen Waverley,
suffered terribly at the hands of the military intelligence and they were
jailed, she said.

While their children lived a peaceful existence in Australia, Mrs Wai says
she and her husband were interrogated, poisoned and physically abused
behind bars.

Mrs Wai, now 54, described her first night in jail as disgusting.

"I was dumped behind the bars, no bed, nothing but huge rats and
cockroaches all over me," Mrs Wai, said.

"The room was filled with such a stinking, disgusting smell from the
toilet that I stayed awake, leaning to the wall, as the floor was
extremely dirty."

Mrs Wai's traumatic experience drove her to a suicide attempt.

After failing to take her own life, she was transferred to the prison's
women's clinic, where many young women delivered babies without medical
help.

Many babies and women died as they fought infectious diseases, some
sexually transmitted.

Although the jail was supposed to provide medical support, women were
forced to deliver babies on bloodied concrete floors.

There was no clothing for the babies, no milk and no health checks.

Many mothers and babies were HIV-infected.

But one day Mrs Wai helped deliver twin boys Aung Naing Kyaw and Aung
Naing Oo.

She made a deal with a warden to get milk powder to feed the babies.

"I realised that the mother would like to give away the babies as she was
very ill and could not manage to take care of them," Mrs Wai said.

"I decided straight away to look after them and adopt them.

"In a way, the twins saved my life as I saved theirs because at the time I
was very confused, desperately wanting to take away my life as I was
facing the horrific scenes and the pain of these young women."

Bribery was the only way the family survived, Mrs Wai said.

Their bank accounts were drained of funds as they fought corrupt legal and
political systems.

After six months in jail, Mrs Wai was released after a series of bribes.
It was the only way to fight a corrupt system, she said.

Mrs Wai believes the twins' critically ill mother has since died.

The military regime drove Mrs Wai and her husband out of the country, but
they were unable to take the twins, she said. They were finally able to
bring them to Australia last month.

Her father, a high court lawyer, is still in the country and is monitored
around the clock, despite being 80 years old, she says.

Mrs Wai's father-in-law, a politician linked with the National League for
Democracy, died in prison in October 1999.

She cannot talk to her family in Burma, as they are seen as a threat to
the military. Her father fought passionately for democracy and human
rights.

Mrs Wai is urging humanitarian groups to support the women and children of
Burma.

_____________________________________

November 9, Third Sector
Reed Elsevier rejects call from Burma Campaign UK

Reed Elsevier, the publishing group, rejected a call from the Burma
Campaign UK to withdraw invitations to a Burmese delegation to Reed's
World Travel Market in London's Docklands this week. The campaign also
called on the Government to deny visas to the delegation,but the Foreign
Office said that civilians could not be denied visas.

_____________________________________

November 9, Agence Europe
SOLIDAR Prize for Social Justice goes to Burmese opposition, Graça Machel
and Ukrainian NGO

The Silver Rose Award 2004, the prize for Social Justice awarded by the
SOLIDAR network of NGOs goes to: The National League for Democracy, the
main opposition party in Burma led by Nobel Peace Prizewinner San Suu Kyi
(and winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize); Graça Machel for
her work promoting women's and children's rights in Africa over three
decades; Narodna Dopomoha, a Ukrainian NGO set up by students in 1993 to
help the worst off.

The prizes were presented at the European Parliament in Brussels on 9
November, at a dinner to be addressed by European Commissioner Margot
Wallström and MEPs Martin Schulz and Glenys Kinnock.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 9, Irrawaddy
The talk of the town - Aung Zaw

Three weeks after Gen Khin Nyunt was suddenly sacked as Burma’s prime
minister, the surprising leadership shuffle is still the talk of the town.

In Rangoon, discussions of how the once-untouchable Khin Nyunt and his
feared intelligence network were eliminated without bloodshed and without
a single shot being fired are, however, marked more by rumor and confusion
than by solid information.

The remaining ruling generals tried to clear the air with half-baked
explanations of the purge—the state-run press citing Khin Nyunt’s failing
health for his “retirement”.

But in recent days Gen Thura Shwe Mann, the junta’s third-ranking member,
came clean by explaining that Khin Nyunt was involved in corruption, that
he disobeyed orders from the government, and that he posed a serious
threat to the country.

And the purge continues. Last week, Minister of Home Affairs Col Tin
Hlaing and Labor Minister Tin Win, both former military intelligence
officers, were dismissed. Four deputy ministers also got the boot:
Brig-Gen Khin Maung (Agriculture and Irrigation), Brig-Gen Kyaw Win
(Industry-1), Brig-Gen Aung Thein (Livestock and Fisheries), and Nyi Hla
Nge (Science and Technology).

The junta also pulled the plug on the National Intelligence Bureau and its
existing laws, a move which effectively dismantled the entire military
intelligence network. High-ranking spooks, considered close to spy chief
Khin Nyunt, have already been arrested, including Brig-Gen Khin Aung,
Brig-Gen Thein Swe, Brig-Gen Than Htun, Col San Pwint and Col Hla Min.

Rounding up the country’s leading intelligence officials could not have
been an easy task. It may prove even more difficult, however, to find
enough qualified and competent individuals to fill the vacant posts.

Khin Nyunt alone held several posts in government organizations of social
welfare, education, health and culture, and it is unclear who will take
those jobs. But his wife, Khin Win Shwe, has already been replaced as head
of the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation by Than Than Nwe—the wife of new
Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win—and as head of the Myanmar Maternal and
Child Welfare Association by Khin Khin Win, the wife of Secretary-1 Thein
Sein.

The leadership shuffle will mean little to the Burmese. Even Soe Win and
Thein Sein, who is also head of the constitution-drafting committee, have
stated publicly that they will continue with the road map to political
progress and that all ceasefire arrangements will be unchanged.

Also, opposition leaders in Rangoon sense that the generals are in no mood
to compromise, judging by the speeches they have delivered since purging
their ranks a few weeks ago.

U Lwin, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party expects no
change. “Khin Nyunt or Soe Win? It doesn’t matter because they are all
hardliners,” he said, adding that now is a golden opportunity for the
junta to reform. “They should not miss it,” he urged.

Still, the generals have neglected to mention the sensitive issues of
national reconciliation and the dialogue process with opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in May last year has been virtually
silent ever since. But diplomats said that the leadership purge has
awakened the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Diplomats in Rangoon say Suu Kyi is
following the events closely but is reluctant to comment on the junta’s
personnel changes.

In the past, Khin Nyunt and his intelligence team would visit Suu Kyi at
her home. But she never really trusted Khin Nyunt, according to a Western
diplomat in Rangoon, and the junta’s liaison officer Brig-Gen Than Tun is
now under detention.

It may be a long time before Suu Kyi has another house visitor.