BurmaNet News, February 15, 2005

[Editor]

February 15, 2005 Issue # 2656


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Myanmar extends detention of opposition's deputy leader
Reuters: Myanmar to reopen charter talks, critics sceptical
Irrawaddy: Ethnic delegates attend national convention
SHAN: Rangoon, Shans: No more Mr Nice Guys

HEALTH / AIDS
New Light of Myanmar via BBC: Burmese PM, ministers meet UN officials to
discuss AIDS issues

REGIONAL
Narinjara: ALD-exile holds a press conference in Dhaka

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Will Burma’s National Convention actually end?

______________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 15, Associated Press
Myanmar extends detention of opposition's deputy leader

Yangon: Myanmar's military rulers have told the detained deputy leader of
the country's main opposition party that he will remain under house arrest
for another year, relatives said Tuesday.

National League for Democracy Vice Chairman Tin Oo, 78, was arrested along
with the party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in May 2003 after Suu Kyi's
motorcade was attacked by a pro-junta mob.

Tin Oo was first held in Kale prison, infamous for its harsh conditions,
about 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of the capital, Yangon. He was then
sent to his Yangon home on Feb. 13 last year and has been under house
arrest since.

Authorities informed Tin Oo on Sunday that his detention order will be
valid until February next year, family members said on condition of
anonymity.

In November, authorities extended the detention of Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace
Prize laureate, by a year. Suu Kyi is currently also under house arrest at
her Yangon residence.

NLD party spokesman U Lwin said Tin Oo was being held under the same law
as Suu Kyi, the 1975 State Protection Law, which allows the detention of
one year without trial that can be extended up to a total of five years.

Tin Oo's detention period was extended from Feb. 13, he added.

______________________________________

February 15, Reuters
Myanmar to reopen charter talks, critics sceptical - Ed Cropley

Bangkok: Military-ruled Myanmar's constitution-drafting National
Convention restarts on Thursday after a monsoon break during which human
rights and democracy groups say its shaky credibility has been eroded
further.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, and
her National League of Democracy (NLD) party are boycotting the talks,
which are meant to pave the way for the return of multi-party civilian
rule in the former Burma.

With Suu Kyi in detention, the United States and most western governments
have dismissed the process -- part of a seven-point "road map to
democracy" -- as a smokescreen by the generals who refused to accept Suu
Kyi's 1990 landslide election victory.

Since the talks adjourned in July, human rights workers say the junta has
put pressure on rebel ethnic groups which agreed ceasefires, and to attend
the convention, to make sure they are at its second sitting "or face
serious consequences".

"This is not the way we invite people to participate in a democratic
forum. It is the way of dictators," said Sunai Phasuk, a human rights
activist and foreign affairs adviser to the Thai Senate.

"Perhaps it is time for the democracy and ethnic groups to reassess the
value of the National Convention -- whether it is still useful," he told a
discussion forum in Bangkok.

Myanmar's military, which has been in charge in various guises for four
decades, said it had invited 1,086 delegates back to the convention, which
is held in a specially done-up military camp outside Yangon.

SLEEP TALKING

Most of the delegates are handpicked by the junta from all walks of life
and, according to a official New Light of Myanmar newspaper, 87 percent of
them are "educated".

"Although the remaining delegates have not acquired a formal education,
they are wise, well-experienced and respected by local populace of the
respective regions," Information Minister Brigadier-General Kyaw Hsan was
quoted as saying.

Arrangements had also been made to ensure the convention centre and its
surroundings were kept "green and pleasant", the paper said.

In fact, conditions were so pleasant in the first phase of the convention,
which ran from May to July 2004, that delegates were frequently shown
fine-tuning their golf swings or fast asleep in full military regalia.

Few observers expect any more energy this time round from the talks, at
which delegates are forbidden to speak to reporters or even leave the
compound, causing the U.N.'s special human rights envoy to Myanmar to
liken it to "mass house arrest".

In May, foreign reporters were barred from covering all but the meeting's
opening ceremony.

Frustrated by the lack of noticeable progress, Washington and Europe have
slapped increasingly harsh sanctions on Yangon's secretive generals.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Myanmar one of six
"outposts of tyranny" during her Senate confirmation hearing in January.

Myanmar's neighbours have preferred a more conciliatory policy of
"constructive engagement" but neither approach appears to have made any
difference.

Asada Jayanama, a former Thai ambassador to the United Nations, said a
recent U.N.-sponsored meeting in New York on Myanmar had been "very
pessimistic" on prospects for change.

"As to the usefulness of the convention, I suppose you have to let it to
go, let it take place, to show to the world that it is a fake process,"
Asada said.

______________________________________

February 15, Irrawaddy
Ethnic delegates attend national convention - Nandar Chann

Several delegates from ethnic ceasefire groups will attend the
constitution-drafting National Convention scheduled to resume on February
17, despite the unease of Shan representatives.

Delegates are required to state by Wednesday whether they will attend the
National Convention.

The latest round of the convention will start on Thursday in Nyaung
Hnapin, Hmawbi Township, about 40 km from Rangoon. Delegates have already
begun to arrive in the city.

Five representatives of the New Mon State Party, or NMSP, led by Commander
in Chief Nai Aung Nai, will attend the convention, according to NMSP
spokesman Nai Tala Nyi.

But the Shan State Army (North), or SSA-N, one of the ethnic ceasefire
groups, is unable to decide if the group will join the assembly. It
remains in negotiations over the release of its leaders, detained early
this month, according to sources close to the SSA-N.

Last week several leaders including Maj-Gen Sao Hso Ten, president of the
Shan State Peace Council, or SSPC, were arrested by the military
government after attending a meeting held in Taunggyi, capital of southern
Shan State, on February 7. Maj-Gen Sao Hso Ten was a representative to the
previous session of the National Convention.

“[We] cannot decide at the moment whether to attend the National
Convention or not,” a member of the SSA-N told The Irrawaddy by telephone
from Rangoon. He added that Sao Khai Hpa, vice-chairman of the SSA-N,
“went to military headquarters [in Rangoon] and is still negotiating with
the junta for the leaders’ release.” Other Shan sources are reluctant to
talk with the media, saying that the situation is too delicate.

Among others arrested are 82-year-old Shan politician Shwe Ohn, as well as
Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin, the chairman and the general-secretary of
the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, or SNLD.

The National Convention was praised as the first step in a seven-point
“roadmap to democracy” announced by former prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt.
It last adjourned on July 9, 2004. The SNLD, along with the National
League for Democracy, or NLD, the main opposition party, boycotted the
National Convention when it began again in May 2004 after an eight-year
pause.

The government proclaimed the last round of the convention a success since
1076 of the 1088 invited delegates showed up, including representatives
from 17 former ethnic insurgent groups, all of which had signed separate
ceasefire agreements with Rangoon after 1988.

______________________________________

February 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Quakes in central Burma

Three strong earthquakes struck Pegu in central Burma consecutively on 14
February at around midnight, local time, causing worries and panic among
the local population.

According to the local residents the first quake occurred at around 10 pm,
the second at midnight and the third at one am, the following morning.
They were all said to be quite strong. Although there had been no damages,
the local people are very frightened by the incidents and they are staying
outside their homes for fear of more aftershocks.

There have been frequent quakes in Burma since the devastating tsunami
struck southwest Asia on 26 December, 2004 and the people are living in
constant fear.
______________________________________

February 15, Shan Herald Agency for News
Rangoon, Shans: No more Mr Nice Guys - Hawkeye

Lt-Gen Thein Sein, Chairman of the National Convention Convening
Commission and Col Gaifah, General Secretary of the Shan State Peace
Council, were at loggerheads with each other yesterday in Rangoon over
last week's arrests of several prominent Shan leaders, reports ceasefire
sources from northern Shan State:

When Sao Gaifah informed Gen Thein Sein, in no uncertain terms, that the
SSPC's two principal member groups, Shan State Army "North" and Shan State
National Army, were boycotting the next round of the National Convention
due on Thursday, 17 February, the latter's response was reportedly blunt.
"We'll manage without you," he was reported as saying. "Remember, if we
could do it to our Gen Khin Nyunt, so could we to your Hkun Htun Oo and
Hso Ten. What matters is you toe our line, when you're with us."

Gen Khin Nyunt, former Prime Minister and spy chief, was incarcerated on
18 October.

"The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, the Burmese military's
highest organ) will be held responsible for whatever is going to happen,"
said the highly-placed source from the Sino-Burma border.

A joint statement on the latest political developments by several
ceasefire groups that have arrived in Rangoon to attend the National
Convention is expected sometime today.

Both junta and Shan forces in northern Shan State has been on full alert
since the arrest of Maj-Gen Hso Ten, Chairman of Shan State Peace Council
Hkun Htun Oo, President of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy,
and others on 9 February.

There are 7 brigades under the command of the SSPC. The First Brigade,
under the command of Col Panghfah, with 2,800 men fully armed, is regarded
as the strongest.

Meanwhile, Japan's Overseas Courier Service in Rangoon, where Hkun Htun Oo
has been its Technical Representative since 1984, has been ordered to
suspend its operations. The order came from Communications, Postal and
Telegraph Ministry yesterday.

"We are worried," said a family source. "Both Hkun Htun Oo and Sai Nood
(also known as Sai Nyunt Lwin, his secretary) have not been heard since
they were taken."

______________________________________


______________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

February 15, New Light of Myanmar via BBC
Burmese PM, ministers meet UN officials to discuss AIDS issues

Yangon: Lt-Gen Soe Win, Prime Minister PM of the Union of Myanmar Burma,
received Dr Nafis Sadik, special adviser to the United Nations
secretary-general and special representative of Asia and the Pacific
Region anti-AIDS campaign, at Zeyathiri Beikman on Konmyinttha here this
afternoon.

Also present at the call were Minister for Foreign Affairs U Nyan Win,
Minister for Health Dr Kyaw Myint, deputy ministers of foreign affairs U
Kyaw Thu and U Maung Myint, Director-General at the Prime Minister's
Office U Soe Tint, and Director-General of the Protocol Department Thura U
Aung Htet.

Dr Nafis Sadik was accompanied by Mr Charles James Petrie, regional
coordinator of UN agencies, and Mr Brian Williams, coordinator of UN
Anti-AIDS Unit. At the call, they discussed matters related to tasks for
control of AIDS.

_____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 13, Narinjara News
ALD-exile holds a press conference in Dhaka

Dhaka: In a press conference at the Dhaka press club yesterday, the Vice
president of the Arakan League for Democracy-Exile (ALD) urged the people
of Burma to join together in the opposition of the SPDC sponsored National
Convention (NC), which will resume on 17 February.

U San Hla Pru, Vice president of the ALD, said a new constitution drawn by
the military government would not develop any political affairs of Burma’s
future. He said that people need to understand why the SPDC is holding the
National Convention without any political parties and leaders, and that
people should together react against such a sham of a convention.

"I, as the vice president of ALD, as well as on behalf of the Arakanese
people, urge the people of Burma and the international community to go
against the National Convention," said U San Hla Pru in the press
conference.

The press conference was held at 11:00 am local time, in Dhaka with about
25 reporters from respective newspapers in attendance, along with other
Arakanese exiles.

In the conference, U San Hla Pru talked of the present situation in Burma
and the condition of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is still under house arrest
in Burma.

The vice president also read a statement issued by the ALD that stated
that the so called national convention has been boycotted by the NLD, and
the UNLD, including the ALD, due to the lack of free discussions allowed
in the conference.

The statement added that the constitution drawn up by the ruling
government’s handpicked yes-men will surely give legal authorization to
the military to be able to stay permanently in power.

The groups urged the SPDC military government to comply to the demands
outlined in their statement: to immediately stop the national convention;
to release Daw Aung Suu Kyi and other political leaders; to immediately
hold a tripartite dialogue, and to allow all parties to freely and
actively participate.

In the conference, Mr Mahbub Alam, chairman of BAKSAL, Mr Kaqmrul Alam
Sabuj, Coordinator of Students and Youths against plundering well and gas,
and Mr Rosiuddim Arif (NPRM) were also in attendance, as chairmen.

ALD was a wining party in Arakan State in 1990’s election, but the
military government has not allowed them the freedom of their activities
in Burma. Some leaders have since left for neighboring countries in order
to carry out their work, under the name of ALD (Exile).

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 15, Irrawaddy
Will Burma’s National Convention actually end? - Aung Naing Oo

Burma’s State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, will resume the
National Convention on February 17. The process, begun in 1991, will then
have consumed more than 14 years – perhaps the longest charter-writing
exercise ever conducted on earth. Speculations proliferate that Rangoon
will conclude the protracted gathering swiftly.

However, retracing the history of the convention, it seems improbable that
the near future holds an end. The key question to ask is if the regime
genuinely wants to finish the charter that may eventually enshrine
unchecked powers for the generals. I think not.

Burma was left without a constitution following the popular democracy
uprising in 1988. In 1991 the junta, proclaiming that the task of the
parliamentarians elected in 1990 was to write a constitution, enacted the
1/91 decree. In 1992 the junta issued an order to convene a
constitution-writing national conference, eventually organized only in
January 1993.

>From then the convention met off and on. In December 1995 the National
League for Democracy, or NLD, walked out, claiming that the proceedings
were “not even as free as a censored publication.” However, the convention
trundled on until it came to a complete halt in 1996. Six years later in
2004, the junta resumed the convention where it left off. Again, the
convention ground to a stop after meeting for only a few months.

Before this latest round of the convention, the SPDC so far has never
specified a finish date – just as on previous occasions. This should make
you wonder whether the government really plans to ever turn the light off.

Reflecting on world history, we see that convening such a conference often
signaled that authoritarian regimes hoped to gain a façade of legitimacy
through making an outward show of encouraging public participation in the
decision-making process. Truly, a nation could discuss its future or
change or write a charter. Therefore the idea of a convention initially
sounded not bad at all.

In addition, after 1988 the opposition was calling for such a conference
to discuss Burma’s future. By agreeing, the junta made itself appear
flexible. Certainly, the SPDC might have truly wanted, at some point, to
clarify an opaque political system through a convention.

However, clearly the junta has successfully overextended its rule for 14
years, using the pretext of writing a constitution. During this time, the
SPDC consolidated its power and severely weakened opponents. It
successfully warded off international criticism by repeating the mantra
that the nation is committed to writing a ‘durable’ constitution.

The generals know the SPDC alone cannot solve country’s political impasse.
If they go solo on the constitutional process, there will come a time when
they must tackle the 40-year-old problems they have long avoided –
including the issues of ethnic minorities and democratization. Thinking
about them with a military mindset is impossible.

Yet it is obvious that the generals hate the thought of sharing power with
anyone outside the military establishment. Therefore, a stalemate is the
junta’s best solution. An unfinished and protracted constitutional process
neatly provides this.

In addition, some of the junta’s opponents have feared an actual
conclusion to the constitution-writing. Their concern is that, at any
given time, the junta may hijack Burma’s chance to democratize by usurping
all powers allowed under a constitution. For the junta, the convention may
simply serve as bait for the opposition to hang on, allowing it to
continue its rule. The lack of effective domestic and international
pressure also makes this possible.

Most Burmese believe that the junta has the power, means, and resources to
finish the convention at any time and write any sort of constitution it
desires. After all, the SPDC is a military dictatorship and has all the
power imaginable.

So if the regime stops in its tracks a few months from now and postpones
the convention yet again, one should not be amazed. It also seems hugely
possible that, if it does indeed conclude the convention, the regime will
emerge the sole victor. Either way the junta wins.

Aung Naing Oo is a research associate with Washington-based the Burma Fund.