BurmaNet News, May 27, 2005

[Editor]

May 27, 2005 Issue # 2728


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar pro-democracy party marks bleak anniversary of stolen election
AFP: Myanmar army torturing, killing Shan civilians: Human Rights Watch
DVB: Shan ceasefire group members pressured to surrender weapons
Irrawaddy: Exiled news group back online in Burma

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara News: Bangladesh army begins operation on Bangladesh-Burma border

BUSINESS / FINANCE
Deepika Global: Make Myanmar gateway for Indian products to SE Asia: PHDCCI

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Opposition radio to launch a TV program
Mizzima: US calls for Suu Kyi's freedom

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Regrets—the residue of the 1990 election

PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Department of State: Burma: second anniversary of attack on Aung San
Suu Kyi


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 27, Agence France Presse
Myanmar pro-democracy party marks bleak anniversary of stolen election

Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) marked a bleak
anniversary Friday 15 years after its never-recognized election victory,
and called for the release of its "terrorized" leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel laureate and her deputy Tin Oo have been under house arrest
since a violent ambush in May 2003 suspected to be orchestrated by the
junta. Their party's regional offices have been closed, leaving the NLD
with only its dilapidated Yangon headquarters operating under the regime's
ever-watchful eye.

The party won 392 of 485 contested seats in the 1990 elections, considered
free and fair by the international community, but the junta has never
allowed the winners to take office.

"We call for... the immediate and unconditional release from house arrest
of U Tin Oo, vice chairman, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, general secretary of
the NLD, who had been terrorized" by the junta, the NLD said in a
statement.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than eight years under detention since
1989. Her party last year accused the junta of reducing visits by her
personal doctor and cutting her personal NLD security detail from 13 to
six.

The party called for the release of all political prisoners and jailed
members-elect of parliament, as well as the reopening of offices of all
political parties.

It also said a timely dialogue between the NLD, ethnic minority groups and
the ruling State Peace and Development Council was crucial if the country
was to move towards democracy.

"Reinstating democratic rights and removing the anti-democratic procedures
are essential" for a constructive dialogue to take place, the NLD said.

About 300 NLD members and supporters and a dozen foreign diplomats
gathered at the party's headquarters to mark the anniversary.

Last year at a similar gathering the NLD demanded the generals recognise
the 1990 election result and said its refusal to do so had "shamed" the
nation.

The junta has clamped down on the NLD and launched its own seven-step
"road map" to democracy, which outlines what so far has been only a
halting path to reforms demanded by the international community.

It has opened constitutional talks as a first step on its road map, but
adjourned the latest session after six weeks and suspended the meetings
possibly until the end of the year.

The talks were boycotted by the NLD, Myanmar's largest opposition party,
and derided by western countries as a farce. The result has been a
political stalemate as the country's economy crumbles.

"The NLD is like a soccer team without a soccer pitch to play on," one
political analyst told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Boycotting the constitutional talks at Myanmar's National Convention has
left the party with no meaningful dialogue with the government, he said.

A few days before this year's anniversary, unusually conciliatory remarks
appeared in the state press.

"Instead of arguing over who is right and who is wrong, we should find a
solution by discussions over differences and working together on mutually
accepted issues for the sake of national reconciliation," read a
commentary in the Mirror daily.

One analyst said the remarks were a rare overture by the military.

"NLD should regard this as an official overture and respond positively,"
he said.

As with all things in Myanmar, the military's intentions are hard to read.

The capital is still reeling from the unprecedented triple bombing on May
7, in which at least 19 people died.

The military faces pressure within the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations to either meet its promises of democratic reform or pass
over the rotating chairmanship of the grouping which Yangon is due to take
next year.

On Thursday the United States urged Yangon to release Aung San Suu Kyi,
who turns 60 next month, and other political detainees ahead of the second
anniversary of the May 30 ambush against her and her supporters.

On May 30, 2003, suspected junta-affiliated forces went on a rampage,
killing or injuring members of the NLD and pro-democracy supporters.

____________________________________

May 27, Agence France Presse
Myanmar army torturing, killing Shan civilians: Human Rights Watch

Myanmar's military is waging a campaign of torture, rape and execution
against ethnic Shan villagers and forcing the displacement of thousands in
its latest offensive, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday.

The US-based rights group also accused Myanmar neighbour Thailand of
"turning away from a problem at its doorstep" and urged the government to
allow the targeted civilians to cross the border to escape the attacks.

About 100,000 Myanmar troops backed by forces of the United Wa State Army
were implementing a counterinsurgency strategy against the Shan State Army
(SSA), and the troops were burning down entire villages in Shan state,
said HRW, citing Thai government sources.

"In the name of counterinsurgency, the Burmese army and its proxies are
executing, torturing, raping and forcibly displacing Shan civilians," Brad
Adams, the asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement
received Friday.

"Shan civilians live under constant threat of having shells rain down on
their heads or being burned out of their villages."

HRW expressed particular concern about the fate of more than 2,000
civilians living near an SSA base in Doi Talaeng near the Myanmar-Thailand
border, saying the civilians have been under heavy attack by the Wa since
March.

Between 200 and 500 Shan villagers had fled to Thailand daily via northern
Chiang Mai province, either sneaking across the border or allowed in by
local Thai commanders for humanitarian reasons, it said.

HRW accused Thailand of refusing to allow Shan asylum seekers to cross the
border and not recognizing their possible refugee status.

"The Thai government still refuses to officially recognize Shans fleeing
fighting and abuses as refugees, even though the risk they face in Burma
is patently obvious," Adams said, using Myanmar's former name.

"By denying Shan people refugee status and humanitarian assistance, the
Thai government is violating international law and turning away from a
problem at its doorstep."

The lack of protection has helped make many women and girls the victims of
human trafficking and or sexual violence, the group said.

The report comes less than a week after a brigade of the Shan State
National Army (SSNA) reportedly broke its ceasefire with the military
government and merged with the SSA to fight the junta, which has ruled the
impoverished country for more than 40 years.

HRW warned fighting may intensify and abuses against Shans could increase
as a result of the merger.

The junta blamed a series of deadly bomb blasts this month in Yangon on an
alliance of "terrorist" ethnic rebels, including a wing of the SSA,
working with pro-democracy exiles. The groups have denied involvement.

Thai authorities were not immediately available for comment on the statement.

____________________________________

May 27, Associated Press
Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party marks anniversary of election victory with
call for dialogue

Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party on Friday marked the 15th
anniversary of its aborted 1990 election victory by reiterating its
long-standing calls for a dialogue with the ruling military junta and the
release of all political prisoners including its leaders.

The landslide election victory by the National League for Democracy was
not recognized by the ruling military, which refused to let Parliament
convene and instead stepped up harassment of the party. Suu Kyi, the 1990
Nobel peace laureate, was under house arrest at the time, as she is again
today.

The anniversary celebration at party headquarters was attended by 350 NLD
members, and by veteran politicians and diplomats from Britain, the United
States, Australia and Germany, all nations which shun the junta for its
failure to hand over power.

NLD chairman Aung Shwe read a statement sounding the same themes the party
has been stressing for the last decade: a call for the ruling junta to
release political prisoners from detention, and for the government - as a
first step to solving the crisis - to open a dialogue with the party.

The statement said any political issue including the convening of
Parliament "can be solved through politically substantive negotiations
with a fair attitude and open mind."

In a brief speech, party vice chairman U Lwin said the NLD "had faith in
the democratic system" and did not believe the political stalemate should
be solved through violence.

His words were an apparent reference to May 7 bombings of three public
places in the capital, Yangon, which killed at least 19 people and injured
more than 160. The military government has blamed dissidents based in
neighboring Thailand but no arrests have been announced.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won 392 seats out of 485 seats in
the 1990 election, which the military itself had called.

After the election, the junta insisted that the country needed a new
constitution before a civilian government could be installed. It had
suspended the previous constitution when it came to power in 1988 after
violently suppressing mass pro-democracy demonstrations.

The junta in 2003 announced a seven-step roadmap to restore democracy,
beginning with a national convention to draft a new constitution which
opened in May last year.

The NLD refused to take part in the convention, in part because Suu Kyi
was not released. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been under detention
since May 30, 2003 when her convoy was ambushed by a pro-junta mob during
her political tour of northern Myanmar.

____________________________________

May 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
Shan ceasefire group members pressured to surrender weapons

Members of Shan State National Army (SSNA) who are still remaining at
Namtu and Theinni (Hsenwi) areas in northern Shan State near the
Sino-Burmese border, have been surrounded by Burmese troops and pressured
to surrender, according to sources from ceasefire groups in nearby Lashio.

The move came after SSNA military commander Sai Yi recently announced the
merger of SSNA with Shan State army (SSA) which is still fighting the
country’s ruling junta, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and
declared the end of truce with the junta.

Namtu-based SSNA Brigade-6 members were told by local Burmese authorities
to surrender their weapons or else the 30 villages under their control
would be forcibly relocated. Three SSNA brigades are believed to be under
the command of Sai Yi and two other brigades were forced to lay down their
weapons before he went underground to join the SSA.

Meanwhile, SSNA offices in Lashio have been sealed off and other ceasefire
groups including its main ally Shan State Army (North) members were
ordered not to make contact with SSNA.

____________________________________

May 27, Irrawaddy
Exiled news group back online in Burma

The exiled Mizzima news group reported Friday that Burma’s military regime
had lifted a ban on its website.

Mizzima, based in India, announced: “This ban on www.mizzima.com was
quietly lifted by the Burmese authorities recently.”  The news group’s
editor, Soe Myint, in a phone interview from Delhi, said he didn’t know
why the ban had been lifted.

A Rangoon-based online media employee confirmed in a phone call from the
Burmese capital that the Mizzima website was accessible there. Other
exiled news websites such as The Irrawaddy and Khitpyaing (New Era) were
still blocked, she said.

The Mizzima report confirmed that websites of The Irrawaddy
(www.irrawaddy.org), Khitpyaing (www.khitpyaing.org) and also the Bangkok
Post (www.bangkokpost.com) were still banned.

Burma’s military government strictly monitors Internet and email access
throughout the country. The country’s sole Internet and email provider,
Bagan Cybertech, founded in 2000, operates under strict government
scrutiny.

Despite the lifting of the ban on Mizzima, Internet and email users in
Rangoon report that government control of Internet access seems to have
increased, with the installation of more firewall software. One user
raised the possibility that a technical problem or oversight was
responsible for Mizzima again being accessible.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

May 27, Narinjara News
Bangladesh army begins operation on Bangladesh-Burma border

The Bangladesh army has started a combing operation in the remote area of
the hill district town of Bandaban, opposite townships in Burma’s western
Arakan state since May 19, 2005, according to an official source.
The operation is intended to rescue two road construction workers who have
been abducted by a foreign terrorist group in Roangchchari township of
Bandaban district on 1st April for ransom.

The Bangladeshi authorities suspect an Arakanese rebel group in connection
with the abduction. But the Arakanese rebel group denied they had any
involvement in the affair.

Last year, a retired army officer and a farmer were also abducted by
several foreign armed groups.  The Bangladeshi authorities accused one
Arakanese rebel group of the abduction.

The Bangladesh army had to launch a one month long operation to rescue the
abductees last year. During the operation the Bangladesh army was unable
to arr est any of the terrorists, but the army did seize a number of
sophisticated arms from the armed groups.

Over 300 army personnel have taken part in the current operation, and the
drive is still going on in the border area.

Arakanese rebel groups stationed along the border are closely watching the
Bangladesh army’s search for terrorist groups, said an Arakanese
politician in Cox’s bazaar.

There have not been any confirmed reports concerning how long the
operation will continue, he said.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / FINANCE

May 26, Deepika Global
Make Myanmar gateway for Indian products to SE Asia: PHDCCI

Industry chamber PHDCCI has recommended to the Government to strategically
engage Myanmar so as to make it a bridge between South and South East Asia
for India's products to ASEAN.

The proposal was forwarded based on PHDCCI team's visit to Myanmar earlier
this month, considering that it was the only ASEAN country sharing a land
border with India.

The business delegation, led by its International Affairs Committee for
Asia and Oceania Chairman L K Malhotra, had visited Myanmar to study
first-hand the business opportunities and ground realities in that
country.

The members of the delegation represented sectors like hospitality and
tourism industry, textile machinery, infrastructure consultancy and
engineering services, medical equipment and devices, transport and
logistics services and agro products among others.

The PHDCCI recommendations said government-to-government interaction needs
to be sustained, while business-to-business interaction needs expansion.
Promoting and sustaining institutional contacts between the two countries
will be key factors.

''It is essential that the two countries encourage people-to-people and
institution-to-institution contact by exchanging business and other
delegations and by organisation of trade fairs and exhibitions in each
other's country. While some business delegations from India had visited
Myanmar in the recent past, the reciprocation should be mounted to enhance
business contacts,'' it noted.

PHDCCI urged the Government to soon announce a fresh line of credit needs
to make them work act as a catalyst to enhance trade. All the earlier
credit lines (1998 - credit line of 10 million dollars; 2000 - credit line
of 15 million dollars and 2003 - credit line of 25 million dollars) were
fully utilised within short periods of time, it recalled.

The chamber pointed out that US sanctions against Myanmar made it
impossible for India to get into direct dollar trade with the neighbour.
Therefore, it was essential that the two countries collaborate in
financial services, particularly banking, it added.

Noting that the Central Bank of Myanmar had opened accounts with banks in
Singapore and more recently in China to facilitate easy trade, it said a
similar arrangement should be worked out between India and Myanmar.

''Bilateral trade can also be conducted in Euros. Even rupee trade between
the two countries can be considered,'' it said, observing that the US
trade embargo on Myanmar provides an ''excellent opportunity'' to India to
enter and establish presence in the Myanmar market.

The chamber also suggested the need to start a direct container service
between the two countries, explore the potential of tourism so as to
collaborate on join tourism packages and promote necessary infrastructure
facilities.

''There is economic restructuring taking place in Myanmar and there is
significant potential for Indian investment in the country. Lack of
knowledge of specific projects, business opportunities and commercial
information is an obstacle in greater Indian business interest in Myanmar.
There is urgent need for preparation of feasibility studies/project
reports/market surveys in Myanmar, which could be offered to foreign
investors,'' it added.

According to PHDCCI, lack of indigenous expertise in these areas should
prompt India to provide assistance to Myanmar, under which Indian
consultants could be engaged to prepare specific project profiles/reports
and pre-feasibility market reports, which could be offered to foreign and
Indian investors.

The chamber also recommended to Myanmar that authorities in Myanmar should
also help foreign investors in locating suitable domestic partners for
foreign investors so that proper matchmaking can take place.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 27, Irrawaddy
Opposition radio to launch a TV program – Aung Lwin Oo

The Norway-based opposition radio, Democratic Voice of Burma, is to launch
a Burmese language television service on Saturday, the first such
broadcasts to be beamed into Burma from abroad.

The satellite TV program is in response to public demand in Burma,
according to DVB director Aye Chan Naing.

Aye Chan Naing said that prior to their program, they have talked with
people inside Burma. He said that because of lack of press freedom within
Burma, people wonder “who the opposition figures are, who the refugees are
and how do they live.”

The Oslo-based service will broadcast two hours a week, initially
targeting an audience of between 1.5 million and 2 million satellite
users, Aye Chan Naing said. Broadcasts will consist of Burma-related news
and regular stories featuring local or foreign documentaries on the
democracy struggle, using Burmese sub-titles.

Saturday’s inaugural broadcast will include video-recorded footage of the
recent bomb attacks in Rangoon. Access to video cameras and an increased
readiness on the part of Burmese to talk to the foreign media had made it
easier to report on events in Burma, despite government restrictions, Aye
Chan Naing said.

The DVB television project was approved by the radio station’s management
in April last year. The annual budget of 3 million Norwegian kroner (US
$157,072) is funded by non-governmental US and European organizations.

The DVB radio service was launched by Burmese exiles on Martyrs’ Day, July
19, 1992, with financial support from the Norwegian government, which
issued a broadcasting license to the National Council of Government of
Burma, the Burmese government in exile. It broadcasts short-wave radio
programs to Burma in Burmese for two hours a day.

The broadcasts are condemned by the Burmese government, which regards the
DVB as an outlaw group affiliated with the exiled community.

_____________________________________

May 27, Mizzima
US calls for Suu Kyi's freedom – Sein Win

The United States has urged the Burmese junta to set free opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

The call has been made by the US state department ahead of the second
anniversary of the attack on the pro-democracy leader and her supporters.

"The United States calls on the Burmese junta to release immediately and
unconditionally Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, Khun Htun Oo and all political
prisoners", said a statement issued by the spokesman Richard Boucher.

Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, Deputy Chairman of her party,
National League for Democracy, were arrested in May 30, 2003 after
junta-backed thugs attacked their convoy resulting in the death of a dozen
of people.

The statement said "Over the last year, condition in Burma has
deteriorated further. National reconciliation and the establishment of
democracy still remain beyond the grasp of Burma's suffering population.
Arrests of pro-democracy activists continue unabated."

Today is the 15th anniversary of NLD's overwhelming electoral victory. The
junta refused to recognise it and did not hand over power to NLD.

Over the half of the past fifteen years, Suu Kyi has been kept in
detention and house arrest to be denied contacts with outsiders.

The US imposed sanctions on Burma in trade and investment for several
years. But backed by China and India, the Burmese junta described the
action as an "interference in the country's internal affairs".

At a recent news conference on Rangoon bomb blasts, Information Minister
Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan alleged that those involved in the incident were
terrorists, trained in a "neighboring country by an internationally known
organisation of a superpower country.", although he declined to identify
the superpower and the organisation, he apparently referred to the US and
CIA.

The US called upon the junta to allow the NLD to reopen its offices, hold
dialogues with the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups for
national reconciliation, establish democracy and respect the fundamental
human rights of the Burmese people.
_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

May 27, Irrawaddy
Regrets—the residue of the 1990 election – Aung Zaw

Regret. This word can mean a lot for many Burmese.

Looking back over the last 15 years of Burma’s political history, many
Burmese, including its military leaders, might have many regrets.

In 1990, the military government held a free and fair election, in which
the National League for Democracy won a landslide victory. The victory
probably stunned the regime, which might have anticipated an inconclusive
result at worst. The generals couldn’t have been more wrong, and after 15
years that election result is still haunting them. They might now regret
holding the election at all.

However, the winning party also miscalculated the will of the military
government. The opposition didn’t act boldly to persuade the army leaders
to hand over power, nor did they offer any sort of firm proposal.
Subsequent public gatherings and clandestine meetings were ruthlessly
crushed. Opposition leaders soon found themselves behind bars.

It’s of course regrettable that the military refused to honor the outcome
of the election. But opposition leaders and former activists might now
regret that they had not adopted a better strategy to sway the regime to
honor the outcome of the election. Perhaps, as one option, the opposition
should have proposed soon after the election a plan of power sharing. That
might have worked at the time.

Now, however, everything seems to be too late. The military government has
its own road map plan. It has sponsored the National Convention which is
boycotted by the NLD. The election outcome is now a thing of the past.
After 15 years, the victory of 1990 is no longer valid, some political
analysts say. We all know that Rangoon will never honor the outcome and it
has chosen its own path, whether it leads in the right or the wrong
direction—it won’t matter anyway.

Regional governments in Southeast Asia no longer bother to talk about the
election issue. Some western governments, particularly the US, may
continue to ask Rangoon to honor the result, and on Friday the US State
Department issued an anniversary statement saying that 15 years after the
election “national reconciliation and the establishment of democracy still
remain beyond the grasp of Burma’s suffering population.” But these are
just words, unfortunately without substantive force.

What about the opposition and the NLD? The NLD, led by elderly members, is
struggling to survive. The party leaders are as stubborn as the military
leadership, and they are as dull as the government’s policies. They are no
longer pro-active. The party is in bad shape and it has lost its potency
and vision. The party leaders are unpopular with the press, which in fact
commands huge sympathy within the movement at large. The government and
NLD are, after all, not so different. Alas, they still cannot come to
terms!

Aung San Suu Kyi, the charismatic leader of the democracy movement and the
NLD, is spending her third term of house arrest. There’s no doubt that Suu
Kyi has sacrificed much for the country. She is truly Burma’s democracy
icon and will remain so for many decades more. The Burmese are proud to
have a Nobel Peace Prize winner, but they also yearn for an astute
political figure able to confront tough-minded generals, hoping then that
they can aspire to lives of freedom, prosperity and human dignity.

Suu Kyi has been pretty silent since her current spell of house arrest. No
letters or messages have been smuggled out, and consequently it is
difficult to know what she is thinking. But questions abound. Does she
have a more pragmatic approach now towards the hard-line military
leadership? Is she working out a better strategy to bring about a genuine
transition to democracy, not just a blueprint version drawn up by scholars
or exiles? Will she start making conciliatory gestures by changing her
stand on a tourism boycott and sanctions? Or does she think she is more
effective if she remains under house arrest, hoping for eventual dialogue?
Who knows what she is thinking? One thing is certain: domestic and
international attention is still focused on “the lady”, although perhaps
the strength of the spotlight may be weakening. I also wonder these days
if she has gone through some soul-searching and whether she also has some
regrets.

Military leaders and Suu Kyi must be aware that the two sides they
represent are going in different directions. It really does take two to
tango. While dancing out of step, they can bring nothing but disorder and
disunity to the country they all claim to love. I believe they have missed
great, great opportunities. It is regrettable indeed.

In the last 15 years the country and people have suffered a great deal.
People voted for the party they believed could bring them a better life
and freedom. The people of Burma clearly voted out the military and its
associates. This was not a pointless exercise. But they might feel now
that they were betrayed. Looking back over the last 15 years, they
probably experience not only regrets but also deep disappointment.


PRESS RELEASE

May 26, U.S. Department of State
Burma: second anniversary of attack on Aung San Suu Kyi - Richard Boucher,
Spokesman

May 30 marks the second anniversary of the brutal attack on Nobel Laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters. Government-affiliated forces used
bamboo staves and metal pipes to kill or injure members of the National
League for Democracy and pro-democracy supporters. The Burmese junta
continues to ignore requests by the international community to investigate
the attack and refuses to take any responsibility or hold accountable
those officials reportedly involved in the assault. The junta, which has
detained Aung San Suu Kyi on numerous occasions over the past fifteen
years, again detained her following the May 2003 attack. Today, she is
held under house arrest and is virtually incommunicado.

The Burmese people continue to suffer serious abuses at the hands of the
ruling junta. Over the last year, conditions in Burma have deteriorated
further. May 27 marks the 15th anniversary of the National League for
Democracy's overwhelming victory of an election the Burmese junta has
refused to honor. National reconciliation and the establishment of
democracy still remain beyond the grasp of Burma's suffering population.
Arrests of pro-democracy activists continue unabated.

The Junta has convened a National Convention to draft a constitution that
will entrench military rule in Burma. Any new constitution, referendum, or
election emerging from the deliberations of this unrepresentative process
will be seriously flawed and cannot represent the true will of the Burmese
people.

The United States calls on the Burmese junta to release immediately and
unconditionally Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, Khun Htun Oo and all political
prisoners; to permit the re-opening of offices of the National League for
Democracy; to engage the democratic opposition and ethnic minority groups
in a meaningful dialogue leading to national reconciliation and the
establishment of democracy; and to respect the fundamental human rights of
the Burmese people.