BurmaNet News, August 10, 2005

[Editor]

August 10, 2005 Issue # 2779


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Another one bites the dust: Top Burma junta official sacked
DVB: A new committee formed within Burma junta
Burma Issues: A dangerous journey to get to school

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Karenni refugees register for resettlement
Narinjara: Three Burmese rebels arrested after four hour gunfight

HEALTH / AIDS
Irrawaddy: Burma’s HIV/AIDS funding under threat

BUSINESS / FINANCE
AFP: Unocal to be swallowed by Chevron after Chinese pullout
Xinhua: Myanmar takes fresh measures to encourage tourism operation
DVB: Expert says banking regulations not followed by Burmese authorities

REGIONAL
Thai Press Reports: Thailand: Multiple country visas under discussion

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima: Australian Senator wants Burma issue discussed at UN Security
Council

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

Aug 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Another one bites the dust: Top Burma junta official sacked

The director-general of Burma’s military junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) Office, Lt-Col Pe Nyein was removed from his
position on 8 August, according to sources close to the office.

Although it is not clear why Pe Nyein was removed, his removal could be
related to the ongoing banking scam, according to business circles in
Rangoon. Pe Nyein was not only removed from his position but also being
kept under house arrest.

Pe Nyein was said to be on friendly terms with the ousted Premier Gen Khin
Nyunt and he could be one of the latest victims of the intra-army purge,
according to sources close to his family.

Similarly, a retired army officer and director general of the junta’s
Prime Minister’s office Soe Tint, was also removed from his position and
he is being detained for interrogation. Soe Tint accompanied the new PM
Gen Soe Win in his trip to China last month and it is not clear why he was
removed either. But he is being replaced temporarily by a Col Thant Shin,
according to sources close to the PM office.

Political observers and diplomatic circles in Rangoon believe that there
could be more purges within the Burmese army before 18 September, the day
the Burmese army seized power in 1988.

____________________________________

August 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
A new committee formed within Burma junta

A 13-member committee led by Burma’s military junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) vice-chairman Gen Maung Aye and Gen Shwe Mann,
was formed recently with the intention of ‘stabilising’ the situation
within the army and the future of Burma, according to sources from the
military HQs in Rangoon.

The main purpose of the committee is said to be the purging of all those
who are loyal to the ousted Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt and the control
of country’s economy by the army companies backed by the army.

It is not known who else are in the committee, but the secretary of
junta-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) Aung
Thaung was given the duty to spread the government’s propaganda within the
country and Science and Technology minister Thaung was given the duty to
spread the junta’s propaganda abroad.

It is not known whether Aung Thaung and Thaung are included among the
committee members, the sources told DVB.

____________________________________

July 2005, Burma Issues
A dangerous journey to get to school: Why are students fleeing the Burmese
education system? - Saw Ehna and C. Guinard

In military ruled Burma, parents are struggling everyday to afford basic
education for their children. This is true in urban areas but the
situation is even more acute in rural ethnic regions of Burma. As a
consequence, many young ethnic people from southern and eastern Burma face
the only option of leaving their homeland to seek education in refugee
camps located on the Thai-Burma border.

Thelay, 16, an ethnic Karen student living in Tenasserim division,
southern Burma told us her family’s story. Thelay’s grandmother has lived
all her life in rural Tenasserim where she raised Thelay when her parents
died. She is old now and needs to eat healthy, protein rich food, however
this is just too expensive. She spends all her money on extortion by
Burmese soldiers and above all trying to educate her granddaughter. Thelay
pitied her grandma but felt helpless. She wanted to study very much but
school fees are just too high for Burma’s rural villagers like them. To
overcome this impasse, there is only one option. “If I go to the refugee
camp, I will be able to continue my study. If I don’t go, I am sure that I
have to quit,” Thelay said.

Thelay studied until grade nine in Ashidgone, in Palaw township of
Tenasserim division. She is among many Karen and Tavoyans students whose
parents cannot afford high school for their children. This is due partly
because of the high number of school fees parents are requested to pay but
also as this population is riddle by poverty for five decades of civil war
and military rule.

So, in May 2005, Thelay along with 29 students from southern Tavoy town
walked through war torn jungle to reach the Thai border. Some of them
endured this dangerous trip to attend school in a refugee camp and others
to find a work in Thailand.

Naw Eh, 17, student in grade nine, accompanied Thelay to the Thai border.
She is now going to school in Htam Hin refugee camp. “In Burma, we had to
pay for many things in our village and one day my mother told me that she
could not send me to school anymore. So, when I met people traveling to
the border, I followed them,” Naw Eh said. Like many other villagers in
this rural area, Naw Eh’s parents are farmers earning their living from
betel nut and cashew nut plantations.

Naw Eh said that among her friends who recently arrived to the border,
many of them went to Thai’s towns to work because they don’t have any
relatives to depend on. For these people, access to higher education is
now only a doomed dream.

Indeed in recent years, an increasing number of students, like Naw Eh,
Thelay and their friends from Tenasserim division, living either in Burma
army controlled areas or forced relocation sites in southern Burma, reach
refugee camps to study, while many finally end up on Thai fishing boats,
in factories or service labour.

According to an official from the Karen insurgent group -the Karen
National Union (KNU)- since the beginning of 2005, they have registered
more than 400 young people from south of Tavoy who have crossed to
Thailand at the KNU check point. This is only one of many routes that
people can use.

The same phenomenon is happening in Karen State in eastern Burma where a
rising number of students are fleeing Burmese Army controlled areas and
free-fire zones to study in refugee camps. Thera Htoo Thaw, who is in
charge of a boarding school in Mae Ra Moe Luang refugee camp in Thailand’s
Mae Hong Son province said about 100 students from Nyaung Lin Bin district
came to study this year.

And there will be more to come. Villagers from Nyaung Lin Bin district are
facing deteriorating living conditions since the last Burma army offensive
in the region in November-December 2004. At that time, thousands of rice
stocks were destroyed and villagers are now facing food shortage. Schools
were constantly interrupted and many students were forced to study on the
run. Many just stopped going to school to help their family in the field.

An educational NGO worker from the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief
and Refugees (COERR) based in Mae Ra Moe Luang camp said that last year
they registered about 900 students from Karen State who came to study in
the camp. Sadly, for many Karen students inside Burma, refugee camps
scattered along the Thai border symbolize the only hope for education.

According to a recent report released by the All Burma Federation Student
Unions (ABFSU), “there are four main reasons for the current poor level of
education in ethnic areas, and they are: (a) Relocation; (b) Language1;
(c) Lack of investment by the government and (d) Forced Labour and Child
soldiers.”2

Indeed, lack of investment in education is obvious, especially when
looking at UNICEF general statistics on Burma. According to the UN agency,
Burma’s ruling regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
allocates 29% of central government expenditure to Defence but only 8% on
Education (1992-2004). Owing to such a budget policy, Burma’s education
system is the least efficient in the whole of Southeast Asia.

To go to school, or to join the fight?

There are 39,000 publicly run primary schools throughout Burma, giving an
average of one school for every two villages in Burmese dominated regions.
But, according to a report published in 2003 by the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, in ethnic border areas, there may only
be one school for every 25 villages. Just 46% of these are equipped with
sanitation, and as little as 17% receive drinking water. In relocation
sites where many villagers are forced to move by the military, education
is pretty much nonexistent. If a system of education is set up, parents
are required to pay the full cost of schooling. However, facing various
additional extortions from the army, and frequently subject to forced
labour, parents living in relocation sites can rarely support their
children’s education at all.

If we listen to SPDC propaganda, public education should be free in Burma.
But, in reality, even outside of relocation sites, parents have to
contribute not only financially but also physically. In rural communities,
most of the schools are built by parents. Teachers are hired by them as
well. Villagers are also often forced to pay for the expenses of the
building of government schools.

According to Thelay and her friends, they even have to pay for the
teacher’s children milk, expenses covering army officers’ visits and a
host of other things related to the running of the school. They estimated
that one student had to pay at least 104,000 kyat (102.26 US$) to 200,000
kyat to pay for school enrollment fees, examination fees, text books,
tuition and other expenses including the school’s sanitation. Naw Eh
noted, “because of my schooling, my parents’ debt was over 30,000 kyat.”

But students are not only rushing out of Burma because of high school
fees; they are also trying to escape a poor quality level of teaching. In
ethnic areas, high qualified and experienced teachers are rare.
Educational staff are still trained with conservative and traditional
teaching methods, and often lack of motivation because of very low
salaries (between 4,500 to 10,000 kyat per month). According to a middle
school teacher living in Tenasserim division, she is only paid 7000 kyat a
month. After paying Burmese authorities for sports fees, calendar fees,
and others taxes, only 3000 kyat is left at the end. This amount has to
cover expenses for poor quality rice, other basic foods and clothing.

To the detriment of the children’s education, teachers have to find
additional ways to survive. Thus, they often organize extra classes at
night or during weekends to get additional incomes. The children who
cannot afford to attend are often disadvantaged.

Naw Ler Htoo, 18, who also came to the camp with Thelay said she used to
participate in extra classes in two subjects: English and mathematics. She
attended from Monday to Friday at 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM. One month she had to
pay 700 kyat for each subject. “In Burma if you don’t get these
extra-classes, you will not pass the exam and the teachers don’t like you.
Most of them earn their living by teaching extra-classes,” she said.

Approximate Expenses for a Student in Grade Eight or Nine

    * Bording fees per year = 12,000 to 90,000 Kyat (food not included)
    * Textbook per year = 2,500 to 5,200 Kyat (second hand book), 6,000
(new book)
    * Notebook (for one year about 6 to 7 dozen). Cost per dozen = 1,800 Kyat
    * School Enrolment Fees = 32,000 up to 100,000 Kyat
    * Pens and Pencil (for one year, around 40 to 50) = 150 - 200 Kyat
    * Night Class per month = 4,000 Kyat
    * Extra Class (Saturday) per month = 2,000 Kyat
    * Monthly Examination Fees = 100 Kyat and up
    * Sports Fee per month = 150 Kyat
    * Garbage bag fee per month = 150 Kyat
    * Funeral, teacher's children milk per month = 100 Kyat
    * "Pwe", Burmese tradiional show, one ticket = 450 Kyat
    * SP{DC officer visit (per visit) = 500 Kyat
    * School Building = around 5,000 Kyat from each student
    * School uniform (three pairs) = 9,000 Kyat

There are stil many other expenses such as closing school ceremony, food,
transfer of the teachers, chairs, tables, sanitation, etc. Cost can also
vary from area to area.
The daily wage in Burma is about 800 Kyat (0.78 US$)

She also described the kind of additional hardship students have to face
on regular basis. “Every time when SPDC officials came to visit the area,
the school asked for 500 kyat from each student for their feast. When I
studied in Palauk, I had to go and work for SPDC Infantry Battalion 280 to
clear their helipad and construct buildings. We were also asked to welcome
the soldiers with flowers, clear monasteries and plant paddy.”

Naw Wut Ye Mway, 17, a Tavoyan student in grade nine, said that she
attended extra class from 6 PM to 9 PM every evening and had to give 4000
kyat per month. For Saturday class she paid 2000 kyat per month. She said,
“in normal class, teachers just teach loosely, but during extra class they
do their best. In my school, during exam, we cheat by writing on paper,
feet and hands. Some teachers also give exam questions to the students
they adored.”

She estimated that her education cost around 140,000 kyat per year. “My
brothers and sisters said to me that I just spent money for nothing
because it cost a lot. My mother has to pay various fees in the village.
Every year she got into debt and she cannot pay back even she worked
really hard with a little rest.”

“For students in Burma, if their parents are not rich, most of them will
get into debt. I decided I will not return to Burma unless the situation
has changed.”

Endnotes:

   1. The SPDC uses education as a political tool in the "Burmanisation"
of ehtnic regions of Burma. In all Burma's schools, it is forbidden to
study ethnic languages
   2. Year 2004 - Education Report, Foreign Affairs Committee, All Burma
Federation of Students Unions, February 2005

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 10, Irrawaddy
Karenni refugees register for resettlement

More than 20,000 Karenni internally displaced persons based at two refugee
camps on the Thai side of the Burma border are in the process of
registering with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the hope of
being allowed to resettle in other countries.
“The purpose of [making] the refugee name list is for sending them to
third countries, but only those who [meet the] refugee criteria will be
sent,” said Hanne Mathisen, the head of the UNHCR officer in Mae Hong Son.
In order to qualify for resettlement, applicants must be able to
demonstrate that returning to Burma would endanger their life or that
family members have already been resettled in a third country.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Augustino, a 45-year old Karenni who has been
living and teaching at one of the camps for 11 years, expressed concern
over what lay in store if the refugees were not resettled. “It is
impossible to continue our lives here,” he said. “We have to think about
our future, especially our children’s education.”

The registration process is expected to last from August 9-11, with
refugees going on to have interviews with representatives from their
proposed third country during September and October.

There are currently more than 100,000 refugees based at nine camps along
the Thai-Burma border.

____________________________________

August 10, Narinjara News
Three Burmese rebels arrested after four hour gunfight

3 Burmese rebels were reportedly arrested on the 8th August after a 4 hour
long gunfight between rebels and a Bangladesh arms force on the border
near Burma, said a local press report.

The BDR, Bangladesh rifle, also seized one US made M16 and one light
machine gun and large amounts of ammunition from the scene.

Those arrested were Burmese nationals Aung Tun Sein, Kyaw Sein and Aung
Zhai; there are no reports on which organization they belonged to, said
the report.

According to sources, a team of BDR led by Lt Col Abdul Awal, commanding
officer (CO) of Naikkhangchari zone, raided a rebel camp in the deep
forest of Alekkhong, 29 kilometers from the town Nakkhangchari, on Monday
night.

After about 4 hours of fierce gun-fighting between Burmese rebels and the
BDR, the rebels retreated and the camp was occupied by BDR.

The BDR, however, caught three of the rebels and seized one M16, one LMG,
400 bullets, a few combat uniforms and secret documents in the camp.

A BDR source said this is the third time in the last two months the rebels
engaged in the border area fired on Bangladesh security forces. The BDR
arrested five rebels in a previous gunfight in the area.

The BDR recently seized five AK 47, one SMG, eight point-12 bore rifles
and a hug amount of ammunitions from the remote frontier area near the
Burmese border.

It has been learned that the BDR arrested at least 30 people in the area,
mostly Burmese nationals, said a report.

_____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

August 10, Irrawaddy
Burma’s HIV/AIDS funding under threat - Clive Parker

HIV/AIDS funding for Burma is under threat from efforts in Washington DC
to regulate the UN more strictly in its dealings with the junta, the chair
of the Fund for HIV/AIDS in Myanmar [Burma], Jean-Luc Lemahieu, has told
The Irrawaddy.

Humanitarian organizations in Burma say the UN Development Program is
facing calls from US government officials to abide by its own strict terms
of engagement with the junta. Should UNDP be forced to follow its own
rules, which it set for itself in 2001, aid agencies say it would no
longer be able to act as the main holding body for HIV/AIDS funds in
Burma, a role which requires direct consultation with Burma’s Ministry of
Health. The UN agency’s main self-imposed rule is that it cannot deal
directly with any Burmese government office.

Experts suggest there are few alternatives open to the UNDP because of the
delicate political situation in the country, causing many humanitarian
organizations in Burma to warn of a potential “humanitarian disaster.”

“Nobody in Burma with AIDS or at risk of HIV will benefit from a financial
aid boycott,” said a senior HIV/AIDS humanitarian worker in Rangoon.

The driving force behind the maneuvers taking place on Washington’s
Capitol Hill—as a result of lobbying by rights groups—is reported to be
Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, an outspoken backer of
sanctions against the Burmese regime. Senator McConnell’s office was
unavailable for comment.

Burma’s HIV/AIDS programs attract the majority of funding through two
channels—FHAM, a grouping of UN departments, non-governmental
organizations, European governments and the Burmese Health Ministry, along
with the Geneva-based Global Fund, a financial aid body set up in 2002 to
fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This money is then held by UNDP
which distributes it to HIV/AIDS projects throughout the country, a system
described as “good” by one other humanitarian organization.

“There was hope and optimism that efforts to combat HIV in Myanmar [Burma]
would supersede what is happening there,” Rosie Vanek of Global Fund said.
“Like many countries where there is a complex political situation, yes, it
is controversial. There has been criticism in the past,” she confirmed,
refusing to elaborate on whether Global Fund would have to pull out of
Burma.

Global Fund money is particularly under threat, experts say, as it is
understood to have insisted UNDP act as fund intermediary before it agreed
to involvement in Burma.

“FHAM could send their money through another channel; the Global Fund
probably not,” the senior HIV/AIDS humanitarian worker said.

At stake is at least US $35 million that has already been allocated by
Global Fund. But humanitarian workers in Burma say the total that could be
lost as a direct result of US pressure would be much higher should UNDP
pull out of its current role, as many donors are unwilling to give money
straight to the junta.

Funding in 2004 led to the provision of an estimated 32.6 million condoms,
the distribution/exchange of 430,000 needles for drug users and free
antiretroviral drugs for confirmed HIV/AIDS patients. The senior HIV/AIDS
worker said the withdrawal of UNDP would mean “less money for an already
poorly funded AIDS program in Myanmar [Burma]. Or to put it more
simply—more people with HIV and more people who die from AIDS.”

According to latest UNAIDS figures, Burma had between 170,000-610,000
people infected with HIV/AIDS in July 2004, compared to a Burmese
government estimate of 340,000 people.

While the numbers are relatively low compared to sub-Saharan Africa,
Burma’s lethal mix of poverty, inadequate state health care, along with
rampant intravenous drug use and prostitution in some areas means “Myanmar
[Burma] faces an epidemic with the potential to be one of the most serious
in Asia,” according to UNAIDS.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / FINANCE

August 10, Agence France Presse
Unocal to be swallowed by Chevron after Chinese pullout

Los Angeles: Months of controversy that saw China rebuffed in its attempt
to enter the US oil industry were set to culminate Wednesday in Unocal
Corp. accepting a takeover bid by US rival Chevron Corp.

After state-owned Chinese oil group CNOOC angrily withdrew its bid for
Unocal last week, the path has been left clear for Chevron's bid of more
than 17 billion dollars in cash and stock.

In a joint statement, the two California firms announced preliminary
results from a vote of Unocal shareholders that showed investors
controlling about 85 percent of the stock favoured a Chevron offer of 69
dollars cash a share.

Most of the rest wanted payment for their Unocal shares exclusively in
Chevron stock, or a mixture of cash and stock.

Unocal spokesman Barry Lane said the vote was only on the method of
payment that would be accepted if the merger goes ahead. The actual vote
on the merger itself was to come later in the day, he said.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) said Tuesday last week that it
was abandoning its superior bid for Unocal worth 18.5 billion dollars in
cash because of "unprecedented political opposition" in Washington.

Chevron first made an offer for Unocal worth about 61 dollars per share in
April.

But CNOOC, keen to gain control of Unocal's drilling and exploration
activities in Asia, entered the race in June with an offer of 67 dollars
per share, prompting Chevron to raise its own offer.

CNOOC's intervention sparked an almighty political furore in Washington as
US lawmakers, egged on by Chevron, denounced the prospect of the ninth
largest US oil group falling into Chinese communist hands.

CNOOC said it was ready to raise its offer but decided against because of
the political uncertainty that had been whipped up around its bid.

Now, it is Chevron instead that is poised to gain access to Unocal's
operations, which lie largely outside the United States, particularly in
Asia.

Unocal has major operations in military-ruled Myanmar, making it the
object of vilification for local and foreign pro-democracy campaigners.

Chevron and Unocal said the final results of the shareholder vote were
expected to be announced by Wednesday next week.

____________________________________

August 10, Xinhua News Agency
Myanmar takes fresh measures to encourage tourism operation

Myanmar has taken fresh measures to encourage hoteliers and tour operators
by designating foreign exchange income, derived from hotel and tour
operations, as legal export earning after relevant tax has been paid to
the state, a local weekly reported Wednesday.

The legal earning will be allowed for sale or transfer to importers for
buying in their goods at will, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism was
quoted by the 7-Day News as saying.

Hoteliers are prescribed to pay 10 to 20 percent for tax from their
income, while tour operators 7 percent, the report said.

Tourism operators generally welcome the move as a positive changing
process, it said.

According to the ministry's figures, there are 596 hotels, motels and
guest houses in Myanmar providing a total of over 18, 500 rooms. The
number of travel agencies in operation stands over 500.

In the fiscal year 2004-05 which ended in March, a total of 900, 000
foreign tourists, including cross-border ones, visited Myanmar from whom
over 50 million US dollars were earned, statistics show.

More figures revealed that contracted foreign investment in the sector of
hotels and tourism has so far amounted to 1.06 billion dollars since
Myanmar started to open to such investment in late 1988. Of the
investment, that in hotel projects amounted to over 580 million dollars.

____________________________________

August 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Expert says banking regulations not followed by Burmese authorities

The ongoing banking crisis in Burma has been caused by the authorities not
following banking rules and regulations, a Burmese legal expert from the
High Court in Rangoon, speaking on condition of anonymity, told DVB.

The expert said, according to the rules and regulations, it is neither
easy to set up a bank nor close down an existing one. He added that the
government must openly declare why it takes over or closes down a bank
which is entrusted by the people, and why their moneys have been allowed
to be withdrawn in instalment and the like, in accordance with the rules
and regulations.

The comment came after Burmese authorities and banking officials seized
control of a private bank, Myanmar Universal Bank (MUB) last weekend.
MUB’s chairman Tint Sein and managing director Win Kyaw were also detained
for interrogation. Tint Sein is said to be related to the opium warlord
Wei Hsueh Kang, alleged controller of Mayflower Bank and Asia Wealth Bank
(AWB) which were closed down at the beginning of 2005 on suspicion of
laundering drug money.

On the other hand, a high-ranking official at MUB told DVB that the latest
crisis is more than mismanagement of banking system and money laundering,
but a blatant business coup. He added MUB was taken over thus with various
excuses because the SPDC chairman Gen Than Shwe’s son-in-law Tayza wants
to take control of the whole banking system in Burma.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 10, Thai Press Reports
Thailand: Multiple country visas under discussion

Tourists may in the near future enjoy immigration privileges to travel in
five Southeast Asian countries with a single visa, The Nation reports.

The foreign ministers of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and Laos will
discuss the issue when they meet here today. The two-day meeting will
convene under the "Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation
(Acmecs) umbrella.

"The one-visa, five-countries scheme proposed by Thailand is aimed at
boosting tourism throughout the region. Its character will be along
similar lines to that of the Schengen visa for European countries, by
which a tourist can travel with a single visa," Foreign Minister Kantathi
Suphamongkhon said on arriving in Siem Reap.

The idea aims to help Acmecs countries that do not have embassies in many
countries and aid potential visitors who do not have convenient access to
the embassies of their intended country of destination.

"All five countries have agreed in principle to the Thai initiative. We
are open, however, if not all countries are ready to enter the scheme.
Countries that are ready can start first and the rest can join later,"
Kanthati said.

Piyawat Niyomriksh, the Thai ambassador to Cambodia, said: "We are well
aware that some countries still have some concerns about safety and
security. Their laws may not enable them to join it right now. They can do
so when they are ready," he said.

The ministers will also discuss details of the scheme, including the
sharing of visa fees among the member states, he said.

The five-country meeting is aimed at strengthening cooperation on energy,
transportation and farming, in the hope that cooperation brings more
income and greater understanding to visitors and countries alike.

A principle of Acmecs is to ensure that all countries earn equal benefits
from their cooperation, said Thai Ambassador to Burma, Suphot Dhirakasal.

"Each country has to be in a win-win situation as a result of their
cooperation. And their people would surely gain benefits once the project
came into practice," he said.

On the subject of energy cooperation, Suphot said each Acmecs country had
many different energy resources and the world was in urgent need of more
energy, particularly oil and its substitutes.

"Thai [foreign ministry] permanent secretary Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn told
the gathering of senior officials during preliminaries to the main meeting
that to counter the shortage of energy, all countries had to be interested
in energy security and planning," said Suphot.

Krit Kraichitti, the Thai ambassador to Vietnam, said the meeting of
senior officials had agreed that people should be encouraged to use road
networks linking the five countries.

"Now the routes that connect the five countries are finished, but a
relatively small number of people use the roads. The governments will
launch campaigns to encourage them to travel overland," he said.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 9, Mizzima
Australian Senator wants Burma issue discussed at UN Security Council

On the 17th anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising in Burma Australian
Greens Senator Kerry Nettle has called for the Australian government to
urge UN Security Council consideration of the plight of the Burmese
people.

"The World Food Programme has found last week that the Burmese regimes
actions are starving its own people. The Australian government must
recognise the urgency of the plight of the Burmese peoples and urge the UN
Security Council to address the issue," Senator Nettle said.

"A UN report this weekend has identified dangerous levels of hunger in
Burma where one in three children under five ''chronically malnourished,''
with that figure rising to two in three in the border regions and has laid
the blame for these appalling statistics at the door of the Burmese
military junta.

"The Greens call on Alexander Downer to make a statement to parliament
this week in response to the report from the World Food Programme on the
Burmese situation, and detail the steps the government will take to help.

Mr James Morris, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), has
just completed a tour of Burma and reported that 'The humanitarian
situation is serious, and it's getting worse,".

Mr Morris is the most senior UN official to visit Burma since
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was place under house arrest in May
2003.