BurmaNet News, August 16, 2005

[Editor]

August 16, 2005 Issue # 2783


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: No compensation for Burmese force labour victim’s family
AFP: Myanmar's Buddha tooth replica back on display after theft
SHAN: Sniffer dogs flown to Rangoon

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Book for political prisoners released in Burmese

HEALTH / AIDS
Thai Press Reports: Asian nations, WHO plan bird flu vaccine bank

REGIONAL
Asia Times: Myanmar plays off India and China
Narinjara: ANC holds memorial ceremonies in remembrance of the Rice
Killing Day

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: How World War II shaped Burma’s future

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

Aug 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
No compensation for Burmese force labour victim’s family

The Ministry of Labour of Burma’s military junta, State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), officially notified the family of Win Lwin who
was killed during a forced labour session that no compensation would be
forthcoming for his death.

Win Lwin, from Ngapyin Village, Aunglan (Allen) Township, Magwe Division
in central Burma, was killed in December 2004 while he was forced to work
in the construction of Rangoon-Magwe motorway. He was crushed to death by
an avalanche of stones and pebbles.

In order to stop forced labour practice in Burma, Win Lwin’s family
members reported the incident to the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) office in Rangoon. Labour minister U Thaung himself promised to give
them ‘suitable’ compensations and development works for the village if
they withdraw the complaints to the ILO.

A local resident from Aunglan told DVB that the compensation would not be
given to the family of the deceased because the authorities argued that
Win Lwin was killed while doing community work for the village.

“I assume that if the authorities give compensations, they are afraid that
it might set a trend by recognising it officially,” the resident said. “In
order to take action on the matter, they sacked a villager authority clerk
named Nyunt Than. During last month, the village chairman, Myint Maung,
also took his pensions.’

He added that the matter would not just go away easily, however hard the
authorities are trying to eradicate the memory of Win Lwin by pressurising
all those involved to recant.

____________________________________

August 16, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's Buddha tooth replica back on display after theft

Yangon: A Myanmar copy of a tooth relic of the Buddha was back on display
in a Yangon pagoda Tuesday after being stolen in a daring raid, a security
official said.

The tooth replica, made by Buddhist pilgrims in honour of an original
Buddha tooth that toured Myanmar from China in 1996, was stolen along with
a small solid gold plate that it rested on.

The thief, who kept the plate but threw away the relic from Swedawmyat
Paya pagoda in the capital's northern suburbs, remained at large.

"We were happy when we found the tooth relic," a security source told AFP.

Exactly when the replica tooth was recovered remains unclear, but a
massive search was conducted Sunday and Monday around the pagoda,
shopkeepers and residents in the area said.

Crowds were light at the attraction Tuesday and security checks enhanced,
including a ban on cameras.

Large crowds turned out to see the original Buddha tooth when it toured
the military-ruled country in 1994 and 1996. A copy of the relic was made
in 1996 and put on display in the purpose built pagoda that opened the
same year.

Myanmar has two replicas of the China-based tooth, in Yangon and the
central city of Mandalay.

More than 10 other tooth relics are located across the country, but it is
unclear how many are replicas.

The ministry of home affairs declined to comment about the theft, and the
value of the gold plate was not immediately known.

____________________________________

August 16, Shan Herald Agency for News
Sniffer dogs flown to Rangoon

Trained sniffer dogs assigned to cross-border towns have been reassigned
to Burma's two main cities Rangoon and Mandalay since yesterday, reports a
source close to the Army.

The dogs were administered anaesthetic before embarkation from Tachilek.
"We were only told there weren't enough dogs to go round," an officer was
quoted as saying. "No reason was given."

The source said there were speculations that the generals wanted to keep
the international airports at the two cities under close surveillance.
"Most likely the consequence of the May 7 bombings (that killed more than
70 and injured hundreds," he commented. "But some have pointed out the
suddenness of the order from Rangoon, which might mean that there is a
crisis situation that calls for urgent and swift action."

New Delhi-based Mizzima News reported yesterday that the Buddha's tooth
relic, a religious object of much occult value to Burma's rulers, was
stolen on Sunday, 14 August.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 16, Irrawaddy
Book for political prisoners released in Burmese

A Thai-Burma border-based advocacy group, Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (Burma), has published a handbook for former political
prisoners and their families in Burmese. The 67-page document includes the
experiences of former political prisoners in South Africa, advice from a
counsellor on relaxation exercises and interviews, adding with two
articles on the experience of former political prisoners from Burma. The
book is based on Counselling Torture Survivors by Allan and Mia Staehr for
the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims in
Copenhagan. "After reading it, I had an idea,” said Bo Kyi, a joint
secretary of AAPP as well as a translator of the book. “If we translated
and distributed it, both ex-political prisoners and their families—and our
society—might know ways to confront the problems they are facing,"

AAPP has received much recognition internationally for its work in
providing support to political prisoners and their families and
campaigning for the release of all political prisoners inside Burma. In
2001, Bo Kyi received an award from Amnesty International for AAPP's
achievements.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

August 16, Thai Press Reports
Asian nations, WHO plan bird flu vaccine bank

Asian countries threatened by the continuing bird flu epidemic Thursday
agreed to set up a centralised reserve 'bank' of anti-bird flu virus
vaccine.

Speaking after a meeting among public health ministers from 11 Asian
countries affected by avian influenza, Thai Public Health Minister Dr.
Suchai Charoenratanakul said the idea to establish a single holding center
for bird flu vaccines was endorsed by all the participating countries,
including Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines, China, Myanmar, Malaysia,
Vietnam, Japan, Bhutan, Laos and Thailand.

Dr. Suchai said that stocking the medication in a single location should
be made so that vaccine supplies can be flown to an outbreak location
within 24 hours.

He said the World Health Organisation (WHO) would investigate funding and
supply options and undertake implementing the idea.

In addition to the vaccine bank, the partner countries agreed to form a
rapid information exchange network regarding bird flu and to lend
technical support to one another.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 16, Asia Times
Myanmar plays off India and China - Sudha Ramachandran

Bangalore: Even as counter-insurgency cooperation between the armies of
India and Myanmar has grown in recent years, collaboration between the
navies of Myanmar and China - India's rival - on issues impinging on
India's national security interests is moving far more rapidly, and now a
Sino-Myanmar joint intelligence operation is underway near India's Andaman
and Nicobar Islands.

Last month, reports suggested that India and Myanmar were considering
upgrading their counter-insurgency cooperation from coordination to joint
operations. With the Myanmar army seemingly unable to use military
equipment supplied by India to fight anti-India rebels taking sanctuary in
Myanmar, India apparently asked the Myanmar junta to consider inviting
Indian troops to Myanmar to deploy the equipment in operations that the
Indian and Myanmar forces would use against the rebels.

Even as India awaits the invitation from the junta, the latter has stepped
up its interaction with the Chinese. According to the Public Affairs
Magazine, Myanmar's navy "is conducting a survey near the Andamans to set
up a patrol base and a small port, but officials and diplomats suspect an
intelligence operation is underway both to map the Andaman Sea at the
behest of China and to study deep-water movement of big ships". Given the
undemarcated sea boundaries between India and Myanmar, encroachments -
accidental and deliberate - into each other's waters do take place. But
this time it seems intentional. According to the the report, "The present
activity appeared inspired by Chinese intelligence requirements in respect
of the Andamans and the surrounding waters."

Myanmar-China cooperation in the waters around the Andamans is not new. It
has been an issue of concern for India for several years now and was, in
fact, among the main reasons why India decided in the mid-1990s to correct
its pro-democracy tilt in Myanmar and court the generals instead.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are scattered across 750 kilometers north
to south in the Bay of Bengal. This chain of islands separates the Bay of
Bengal from the Malacca Strait. While it is more than 1,200 kilometers
from India, it is just 90 kilometers from Indonesia and 50 kilometers from
Myanmar. Its strategic significance to India lies, among other things, in
its proximity to the Malacca Strait. Besides, Myanmar's Coco Islands lie
about 45 kilometers to the north of the Andaman Islands.

Myanmar's military government leased the Coco Islands to the Chinese in
1994. China has a maritime reconnaissance and electronic intelligence
station on the Great Coco Island and is building a base on Small Coco
Island. The significance of these facilities for China stems from the fact
that the Coco Islands are located at a crucial point in traffic routes
between the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait and lie very close to
India. India's first joint services command, the Joint Andaman and Nicobar
Strategic Defense Command, is headquartered in Port Blair in the Andaman
Islands.

The Coco islands are an ideal location for monitoring Indian naval
facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and also movements of the
Indian navy and other navies throughout the eastern Indian Ocean. India
believes that the Chinese are using the Coco Islands to keep an eye on
India's missile-testing facilities at Chandipur-on-Sea located in the
eastern coastal state of Orissa.

According to Indian defense analyst Rahul Bedi, "China is reportedly
training Myanmar's naval intelligence officials and helping Yangon execute
surveys of its coastline contiguous to India." Drawing attention to the
"burgeoning naval cooperation" between the two countries, he writes that
China is helping Myanmar modernize its naval bases at Hianggyi, Coco,
Akyab, Zadetkyi Kyun, Mergui and Khaukphyu. It has provided help in
building radar, refit and refuel facilities that are expected to support
Chinese submarine operations in the region.

"China's interest in the region is part of its Offshore Defense Strategy,"
said Lawrence Prabhakar, associate professor at the Madras Christian
College and research fellow at the maritime security program at the
Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore. The offshore
active defense strategy envisages the setting up and operating out of a
number of island chains. It is believed that the Chinese navy - the
People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will expand its operations to bases
in Myanmar. These bases will provide the PLAN with direct access to the
Malacca Strait and the Bay of Bengal.

The Chinese, points out Prabhakar, are keen to secure the sea lanes of
communication (SLOCs), which are pivotal to China's maritime trade and
energy flows from the Persian Gulf to southwest Asia. "They are interested
in developing naval capabilities in the Indian Ocean region and with this
in mind are developing access and basing facilities in Gwadar [Pakistan]
and Mergui, Hianggyi, Coco, Akyab, Zadetkyi Kyun, Mergui and Khaukphyu
Yangon and other ports in Myanmar as that would open the Irrawady River
for Chinese inland commerce through Myanmar, with its sea access to the
Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean. This is an effort to develop an alternate
route complementing the sea access via the Malacca Strait," he told Asia
Times Online.

Bedi points out that China is working hard at securing a corridor to the
Indian Ocean from southern China via Myanmar, in addition to the
established route via the Malacca Strait. "As a first step in this
direction China has already constructed a highway from Kunming, capital of
its Yunan province to Shewli on the Myanmar border. According to a
proposal that is being reviewed by Myanmar's military junta, Beijing wants
to extend that road link to Sinkiang for access to the Irrawady River
flowing through to Yangon, and into the Andaman Sea. Once completed,
Chinese barges would transport Chinese goods down the Irrawady to Yangon
and transfer them onto waiting Chinese ships."

India's interest in the Bay of Bengal stems from the fact that this is its
backyard. The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is vital for India's
outreach and defense, points out Prabhakar. Piracy, maritime poaching,
gun-running and narcotics trafficking in the waters here threaten India's
interests. Besides, India has to secure its SLOCs in its Eastern seaboard
to Southeast Asia via the Malacca Strait and also its strategic nuclear
and missile installations along its east coast that are vulnerable to
Chinese surveillance.

To protect its interests in the region against China's rapidly growing
presence here, India has increased naval-air surveillance of Chinese ship
movements. "It has also conducted joint exercises with Southeast Asian
navies in the Andaman Sea, especially with the Royal Malaysian Navy and
the Republic of Singapore Navy. They are meant to enhance India's
cooperative maritime security with Southeast Asia - China's backyard,"
said Prabhakar.

While India and China seek to enhance their security by stepping up their
presence in the Bay of Bengal and wooing countries like Myanmar, the
latter is gaining by cooperating with both its big-power neighbors,
bargaining with them and getting itself a good deal in the process. In
return for Chinese investment in its economy and massive arms transfers
and training to its armed forces, Myanmar is making gains with China in
the naval-maritime front. With India, Myanmar is getting technical
assistance and investment in infrastructure development as well as
securing its border with India. In return, it is helping the Indian army
fight insurgency in its troubled northeast.

While taking what it can from its powerful neighbors, Myanmar has sought
to use them to counter the other from gaining an excessive hold over its
economy, polity and society. The India-China battle for influence in the
region has provided Myanmar with a win-win situation.

Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore.

_____________________________________

August 15, Narinjara News
ANC holds 38th anniversary memorial day ceremonies around the world in
remembrance of the Rice Killing Day

ANC, or the Arakan National Council, an umbrella organization of Arakanese
people, held the 38th Memorial Day anniversary of the rice killing day at
various locations around the world including Thailand, Bangladesh, India
and Malaysia, on 13 August, 2005.
In Thailand, the ANC held the ceremony in Chiang Mai where about 60
Arakanese and Burmese politicians from AASYC, ALP, ALD, AYNG, NUPA and
ANC, students and foreigners, attended the ceremony. During the ceremony,
Dr Khin Maung from NUPA and U Re Htun, a former ABSDF leader, acted as
chairpersons for the ceremony.

In India, the ANC held the ceremony in New Delhi where about 100 people
attended the ceremony. U Sadawara, a cc member of the ANC, acted as a
chairperson for the ceremony. U Thein Pe, president of ANC, and Dr Tin
Shwe, a MP from the 1990 election in Burma, delivered speeches. Many other
Burmese ethnic people staying in New Delhi also delivered speeches about
the day of August 13.

In Malaysia, the ANC held the ceremony in Kualarlumpur where about 50
Arakanese patriots attended the ceremony. U Min Maung, a chairperson of
the ANC supporting group from Malaysia, was president of the ceremony.

In Bangladesh, the ANC held the ceremony in Dhaka where over 30 Arakanese
politicians and laypeople were in attendance. U Maung Soe Tin, a senior
politician, was the president of the ceremony.

U Kyaw Mra Tha, director of the ANC Bangladeshi branch, said in the
ceremony that today marks of 38th anniversary of rice killing day that
took place on August 13, 1967. On this day, the Burmese military
government killed over 300 Arakanese on the street of Akyab while they
were demonstrating in the streets in an effort to persuade the government
to provide rice to hungry people.

He said, ”How can we forget our innocent people who fell in the incident,
killed by the Burmese military government on that bloody day? We request
all Arakanese people to unite and resist suck kinds of atrocities
perpetrated by the Burmese military government so that they will not occur
again in Arakan in the future.”

The Burma government stored a large amount tons of rice after forcing to
buy rice from Arakan farmers to export the rice to China and other
countries. The people of Arakan were starving during those days due to the
secrecy of rice in Arakan.

However, the Burmese military government did not make efforts to solve the
starvation problem of the Arakanese people peacefully. The Burmese
soldiers opened fire into the crowd of Arakanese demonstrators who were
involved in the demonstration.

Arakanese people used to hold the August 13 memorial day every year, but
the Burmese military government has not allowed the ceremony to be held
inside Burma since the incident took place.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 15, Irrawaddy
How World War II shaped Burma’s future - Bertil Lintner

Next to Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine, where Japan commemorates its war dead, is
the equally controversial Yasukuni Yushukan Museum, which exhibits
military uniforms, weapons and other war memorabilia. But regardless of
the memories those exhibits call to mind of the atrocities the Japanese
committed in the territories they occupied during World War II, the museum
displays make a point that is undeniable: the initial victories of the
Japanese army over the Americans, British, French and Dutch showed the
peoples of Asia that the colonial powers were not invincible. Even if the
Japanese lost in the end, they had proved that an Asian army could defeat
the mighty Westerners.

When they returned after the war, it was evident that there was no way
back to old-style colonial rule, even if some of them tried. The
Indonesians had declared independence on August 17, 1945, and the Dutch
launched a costly “police action” to restore colonial rule until they, in
1949, were forced to accept the inevitable and withdraw for good. On
September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed himself president of the
independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The French were even more
stubborn than the Dutch, and it was not until 1954 that Vietnam was
granted independence, and then as a divided country.

Burma became nominally independent in 1943 under Japanese occupation, but
that taste of limited home rule was enough for the Burmese nationalists to
begin negotiating the country’s future with its colonial masters when the
Pacific War was over. Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith was reinstated as British
governor in October 1945, but his main duty then was to oversee Burma’s
transition to independence. Japan had, in effect, crushed colonial rule
throughout East Asia, and, inadvertently, fostered a new kind of
nationalism throughout the region.

The Americans granted full independence to the Philippines in 1946,
Britain left India the following year, and Ceylon and Burma in 1948. The
French gave up Cambodia in 1953, and not only Vietnam but also Laos in
1954. Only in Malaya, where a civil war raged for several decades after
the end of the Pacific War, did the British continue to rule until 1957.
Two years later, Singapore — Britain’s erstwhile fortress in the Far
East—was granted full internal self-government.

But while the Pacific War marked the beginning of the end of colonialism,
it had another, more severe impact on Burma. In the beginning, Aung San
and his Burman nationalists had sided with the Japanese. His Burma
Independence Army was armed and trained by the Japanese, while the Allied
powers armed and equipped hill peoples such as the Karen and Kachin to
fight the occupiers. Centuries of mistrust between the Burmans and the
hill peoples resurfaced, and those wounds have not yet been healed. Even
today, many Karen talk with bitterness about atrocities carried out
against them by the BIA during the Japanese occupation, and the Kachin are
proud to point out that they already had celebrated their victory manau in
Myitkyina by the time the Burman nationalists in March, 1945, turned their
guns against the Japanese.

The arming of the hill peoples, and vast quantities of weapons left behind
by the Japanese, meant that Burma’s ethnic conflicts from the very
beginning turned violent. The hill peoples had the means to form their own
militias and armies and the first, the Karen National Defence
Organisation, was set up in 1947, a year before independence. The Mon
formed a similar militia in 1948, while the most militant of the Burman
nationalists, the Communist Party of Burma, dismissed independence as a
sham and resorted to armed struggle in April 1948. That war continued
until 1989, when the hill-tribe rank-and-file of the CPB’s army mutinied
against the ageing Burman leadership of the party and drove them into
exile in China. But the army remains under a different name, the United Wa
State Army, and although it has had a ceasefire agreement with the
government in Rangoon since the mutiny, it still has at least 16,000
soldiers—and they are better armed and equipped than the CPB’s army ever
was.

Although younger generations may view the Pacific War as something that
happened in the past with little or no relevance to today’s Asia, the
impact of the Pacific War cannot be underestimated. It paved the way for
independence for countries in the region. In Burma, it also led to the
world’s longest-lasting civil war. Thus, the war never really ended in
Burma. The leaders of the Karen rebels, Bo Mya and Thamla Baw, even began
their military careers as anti-Japanese guerrillas, and they are still
fighting.

It may be 60 years since the Japanese surrendered, but the legacy of the
war is still strong. And the Yasukuni Yushukan Museum emphasizes a side of
the war that we do not usually read about. After all, it is always the
victors who write history.