BurmaNet News, November 4, 2005

[Editor]

November 4, 2005 Issue # 2838


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burmese ceasefire groups to attend National Convention
Mizzima: National Convention still a sham: political groups
Mizzima: Loosing touch

ON THE BORDER
S.H.A.N.: S.H.A.N. under fire
Kao Wao News: Dirty secrets: Thugs more dangerous than police

BUSINESS / TRADE
Asia Pulse: Analysis - Myanmar is Asia's economic basket case
Deutsche Presse-Agentur: E.U. ambassador foresees more investment in
Southeast Asia

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burmese migrants acquitted

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese ceasefire groups to attend National Convention - Khun Sam

Burma’s ethnic ceasefire groups will continue their participation in the
junta-sponsored National Convention, set to resume early next month,
according to ethnic minority leaders.

Five ethnic ceasefire groups confirmed to The Irrawaddy by phone today
that they will attend the resumption on December 5 of Burma’s National
Convention, the first—rather tentative—step on the military regime’s
much-touted roadmap to democracy.

“We will definitely continue attending as we have previously done,” said
Col Sumlut Gun Maw, a delegate from the Kachin Independence Organization.

Each of Kachin State’s three ceasefire groups—the KIO, the New Democratic
Army-Kachin, and the Kachin Defense Army—confirmed that they will send 5
representatives, the number of delegates being set by the junta.

Though no official letter of invitation has been received as yet by any of
the groups, they are confident that, barring any further breakdown in
relations with Rangoon, they will be welcome when the convention resumes
next month.

Aung Myint, spokesperson for the United Wa State Army, confirmed to The
Irrawaddy by phone from Rangoon that representatives of the group will
also attend the convention, despite growing dissent among members over
future participation.

The Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front also confirmed their
intention to attend the convention, though the group’s vice president,
Htun Kyaw, refused to comment on the KNPLF’s past involvement.

The last assembly of the National Convention, held in Nyaung Hnapin—about
40 km from Rangoon—ended in late March. According to government sources,
17 former ethnic insurgent groups with independent ceasefire agreements
attended the convention.

A similar convention convened by the junta in 1993 collapsed two years
later after democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National
League for Democracy walked out of the proceedings, saying that it was
being forced to rubber stamp the junta’s decisions.

The NLD has continued its boycott of the National Convention because the
junta has refused to agree to its demand that Suu Kyi be released from
house arrest. The party’s spokesperson, Myint Thein, said that the NLD
currently has no intention of participating the convention when it resumes
next month. He added, however, that the party’s policies are not fixed,
and they could re-evaluate their position based on future developments
from the government.

In late October, Sergio Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur for human
rights in Burma, addressed the 60th session of the UN general assembly and
said that restrictions placed on Burma’s ethnic minorities could derail
the convention. “Many key political actors, such as the National League
for Democracy, have been excluded from the process. Critical voices are
not tolerated. Inclusion is dependent upon the participants’ acceptance of
the six objectives that should serve as the basis for the future
constitution.”

_____________________________________

November 4, Mizzima News
National Convention still a sham: political groups - Nem Davies

The National League for Democracy maintains the National Convention will
be ineffective and the party had no interest in attending spokesperson
Nyan Win said.

The National Convention, run by Burma's ruling State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC), is part of the government's seven-point 'road map' to
democracy and is designed to bring representatives from across the country
together to draft a new constitution.

Last week the SPDC confirmed the convention would reconvene on December 5.

But Nyan Win said the NLD had no intention of participating in the
convention this year as the government had refused to listen to repeated
request for the release of political prisoners.

"The NLD did not attend the past convention which was held in March due to
the SPDC ignoring our demands including the release of Aung San Su Kyi,
Tin Oo and all the political prisoners in
Burma," Nyan Win told Mizzima.


Many of Burma's political groups say the convention will not allow ethnic
minority or opposition groups the chance to question the government or
have any real input into the drafting of the new constitution.

Htaung Kho Htan, an elected representative of the United Nationalities
League for Democracy and member of the Committee for Representing People's
Parliament said his groups also had no intention of attending.

"Based on past experiences, the coming National Convention will not be a
form of democracy, there is no opportunity for ethnic-minorities (to speak
out). . ."

But some organisations will attend including ceasefire groups the Kachin
Independent Organization (KIO) and the National Democratic Army-Kachin
according to the Network Media Group.

Major Gum Maw, director of the KIO research and study section said, "We
will attend the convention, because we focus on democracy for our own
ethnic people. But I do not want to give my commands whether our hopes may
fulfill completely by this convention or not".

The National Convention convened for the first time in 1993 and has
stalled many times since. It convened briefly in March this year before
stalling again.

_____________________________________

November 4, Mizzima News
Loosing touch - Alison Hunter

The implications of the junta's Pyinmana move and its effect on political
life in Rangoon

Official confirmation of the Burmese government's shift to Pyinmana in
Mandalay division is still fresh and most political analysts and Burma
watchers admit they are not completely sure what effect the move will have
on the military's grip on power.

The relocation will take several government departments almost 250 miles
from the capital Rangoon and while it is unclear whether the shift
represents a retreat or a consolidation of power it is clear the distance
will drive a further wedge between the junta, opposition groups and
Rangoon's media.

A significant concern is that with the military's upper echelons in
Mandalay division, the National League for Democracy will become
irrelevant to Burmese politics unless they also make the move.

An experienced Burmese journalist told Mizzima he thought that as the NLD
was unlikely to get permission to open an office in Pyinmana they would
become removed from day-to-day political life. He said the distance would
mean, ". . . the NLD will not be legitimate" as a functioning political
party.

But the NLD denies the move will have any impact on their involvement in
politics and that the party had no intention of moving. NLD spokesperson
Nyan Win said it would not make it harder for the opposition to engage the
regime in dialogue – something the NLD has been calling for in past few
days.

"It will not be more difficult to create channels for dialogue with the
government," Nyan Win said. He also said the NLD had no intention of
moving its headquarters.

But many people disagree and well-known political analyst Aung Naing Oo
said the move would not only isolate the opposition but that it was
designed to exactly that.

". . . the military not only want to pursue their own agenda and in the
process they need to alienate and they need to keep the NLD out of the
process or at least minimise what the NLD can do to the military's
political agenda . . .," Aung Naing Oo told Mizzima.

Nyan Win said he believed the party's activities will be no less
restricted despite the headquarters of the special police being further
away and that the distance would not translate into increased political
freedom.

"It will not concern us . . . if they want to control us they will keep
some sort of police force here . . . the restrictions will remain the
same."

While sources in Rangoon agree the capital will not be totally free from
the junta's grip, most say they suspect the tense atmosphere in Rangoon
will lift slightly and activist may have more of a chance to operate.

Journalists said they thought people in Rangoon may feel more relaxed as
they knew less intelligence officers would be in the capital.

Aung Naing Oo said while he thought there might be increased opportunities
for political activism, Rangoon would still be heavily controlled by the
junta.

"There will be some advantage for political activism but again it will
have limits," he said.

One Burmese media worker said the only change he expected was that the
electricity supply to Rangoon would get worse.

But if the NLD will be isolated as a result of the move, foreign
diplomatic missions are likely to feel just as alienated.

Western diplomats in Rangoon said they knew little about the move to
Pyinmana and had heard no talk of plans to relocate the diplomatic corps.
They said it was possible to government had grown tired of having to deal
with them.

Similarly international humanitarian workers are likely to be frustrated
by the move, with one saying he thought the move has designed to push aid
workers away and could make already restricted operations even harder to
maintain.

"It will make things more complicated in terms of getting work done,
though, if the only guy who can give the go-ahead on a project is in
Pyinmana, while you're stuck in [ Rangoon]," he said.

The move is unlikely to signal any changes to the media's freedom to
collect and report the news. The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division
is reported to be staying put and censorship is likely to be as strict as
ever sources said.

One journalist suggested some media outlets would open offices in Pyinmana
as they would otherwise be unable to follow political developments.

While some analysts even wonder if the long term aim of the move is to
create a new capital, most believe Rangoon will retain its status as the
country's financial hub.

At most the move to Pyinmana gives the government the chance to retreat,
regroup and create a new and more secure environment for themselves and
their cronies according to Aung Naing Oo.

"Perhaps it is a sign that the military understands that they need to
retreat, a strategic retreat . . . from the center of political control .
. . But again this is still part of a long term plan to dominate Burmese
politics," he said.

_____________________________________
ON THE  BORDER

November 4, Shan Herald Agency for News
S.H.A.N. under fire

The Shan group that professes to be the interim government of Burma's Shan
State has lambasted the Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) for its
report, "Shan FM faces the sack," 1 November 2005, as "groundless
slanderous rumor-mongering and character assassination".

S.H.A.N. had reported, on the basis of information provided by the
"Interim Shan Government" (ISG) insiders, that its "Foreign Minister" Khun
Hom was under pressure to quit his office.

Prince Surkhanfa aka Tiger Yawnghwe, President of the group, who claims of
having been assigned the job by the majority of the people of Shan State,
has denounced the report as "treasonous" and promised "grave consequences"
and "severest penalties under law" if S.H.A.N. is found guilty.

Sao Surkhanfa is the eldest son to the late Sao Shwe Thaike, Prince of
Yawnghwe and President of the Union of Burma (1948-1952) and the late
Mahadevi Sao Hearn Hkam. His younger brothers include the late Chao Tzang
(1939-2004) and Harn Yawnghwe, Director of the Brussels-based Euro-Burma
Office.

His namesake, the first Surkhanfa (1291-1364), was "the only Shan that
ever united these squabbling states into one solid kingdom", according to
W.W. Cochrane's "The Shans".

The severest penalty that the Shan Herald Agency for News has been dealt
out so far for its reports and publications by Shan activist organizations
has been temporary bans on its members and its Independence newsletter,
widely read among Shans.

____________________________________

November 5, Kao Wao News
Dirty secrets: Thugs more dangerous than police

Unregistered Burmese migrant workers are forced to pay up to 700 Baht a
month to thugs so they can stay and work in Thailand, says a Mon migrant
worker in Bangkok.

“Without a work permit, migrants who arrived in Thailand after the
registration period have to pay off police illegally through the boss of
their workplace,” the migrant said.

Mon migrant workers working in Mahachai province, a seaport, number in the
tens of thousands, with many living under constant threat of deportation,
bribery, and harassment. There are about 37,000 registered Burmese workers
in Mahachai, about 70% are ethnic Mon, but the number of migrants working
there could be as high as 100,000.

“They are more afraid of Thai gangsters than they are of the Thai police,
most of the thugs are taxi drivers,” said Nai Gore Lavi, a Mon businessman
who spoke about friends who were harassed in Mahachai.

Paying off police is a vicious circle, part of a racket between police and
local thugs.  The money just pays for more violence and harassment against
vulnerable migrants.

Many Mon women migrants are reluctant to wear gold jewelry, such as
necklaces and rings, in case they become a walking target for thugs during
festivals and religious gatherings.  In the streets, thugs sometimes ride
up and steal whatever they can from migrants and take off on their
motorcycles.

There are a few non-governments, grassroots organizations working to help
migrants receive proper treatment and fair justice from the Thai
community. In particular, the MAP foundation, which stands for Migrant
Assistance Program, the Thai Raks Foundation which provides free medical
treatment with Burmese speaking staff and who are working to improve the
health conditions of migrants alongside the Mon community.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 4, Asia Pulse
Analysis - Myanmar is Asia's economic basket case

(Analysis from Asia Today, Australia's regional business magazine.
Contact: asiatoday at asiatoday.com.au)

Yangon: Myanmar is indisputably the economic basket case of Southeast
Asia. Despite claims by the military government that Myanmar's economy
grew by 12.6 per cent in 2004, the Asian Development Bank says it cannot
give any estimate for GDP growth because of incomplete and unreliable
data.

Transparency and rule of law in the land formerly known as Burma are for
all intents and purposes absent. Blessed with a wealth of natural
resources - such as gems, timber and fossil fuels - Myanmar remains one of
Asia's poorest.

Both the US and EU have applied economic sanctions to Myanmar because of
its abysmal record on human rights. Its enduring poverty can be blamed
more on mismanagement by the generals than sanctions. However, investment
still flows in, chiefly from neighbouring Thailand, India and China. A
good deal of Chinese investment cannot be measured, though, as it is
brought in by a wave of illegal immigrants who locals complain are turning
the northern part of the country into an extension of China's Yunnan
Province.

Diplomats in Yangon (as the capital Rangoon is now known) estimate that
Myanmar's black market economy is at least five times larger than its
legal economy. Corruption is widely acknowledged to be rampant.

Most large-scale investments by Western firms are in the energy sector.
Myanmar has rich deposits of natural gas off its southern coast. American
firms will have to think twice, though, about partnering to develop energy
projects there. Earlier this year, Unocal was sued in a US court and
forced to reach a settlement for hiring the military to provide security
for a gas pipeline project. The Myanmar army inflicted a reign of terror
on villagers in the pipeline area.

Many foreign firms operating in Myanmar had formed partnerships with
officers from Military Intelligence. But with the sacking of Gen. Khin
Nyunt in late 2004, and the purging of his military intelligence division,
foreign firms are finding they have new partners in the form of army
officers who have less exposure to, and understanding of, modern and
ethical business practices.

____________________________________

November 4, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
E.U. ambassador foresees more investment in Southeast Asia

Bangkok: A possible free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union
and Southeast Asia along with the governments' recent moves to liberalize
their economies could lead to a boost in sadly lagging E.U. investments in
the region, an E.U. official said Friday.
"I think we will see an increase in investment in Southeast Asia because
we have started exploratory talks on an eventual free trade agreement
between ASEAN and the EU, and secondly, we see an improvement in a more
open attitude towards foreign investment," said Friedrich Hamburger, head
of the European Commission office in Bangkok.

The possibility of setting up a free trade agrement between the E.U and
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was first raised by
E.U. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on a trip to the region earlier
this year.

Hamburger noted that E.U. investments in ASEAN amounted to only 2.8 per
cent of Europe's total foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide in 2002,
and less in 2003 and 2004 when many European companies shifted their
attention to the rapidly growing markets of China and India.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma),
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The E.U. will host its 4th Asia Invest Forum 2005 in Bangkok, on November
14 and 15, in an effort to stimulate flagging European investment interest
in the region. The forum is expected to attract 200 participants from 90
organizations representing private and public sectors.

"A surprisingly small share of E.U. FDI - less than 6 per cent - comes to
Asia, including China," said Hamburger. "This is only about half of the
E.U.'s annual investment in Latin America, despite Asia clearly being the
most dynamic growth area in the world."

The E.U. ambassador to Bangkok attributed the sharp decline in European
investment in Southeast Asia to the 1997 financial crisis and the
protectionist measures many Southeast Asian governments put in place as
result of the crash.

"Now we are seeing a slow reopening of the markets," said Hamburger.

He noted, for example, that Thailand was mulling legislation that would
allow up to 49 per cent foreign holding in local telecommunication
companies, the same percentage that was allowed in Thailand prior to the
1997 crisis.

To protect the local telecommunication industry in the 1997 post-crisis
period, the Thai government restricted foreign holdings in
telecommunication companies to only 20 per cent.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese migrants acquitted - Shah Paung

Five Burmese migrant workers accused by Thai police of theft during last
year’s devastating tsunami were acquitted yesterday, after being detained
for more than ten months.

A Phang Nga Province court in Takua Pa found the Burmese defendants not
guilty on November 3, and they are expected to be released today,
according to representatives of the Thai Human Rights Commission and the
Lawyers Council of Thailand. It is likely, however, that the defendants
will not let the matter drop there.

“The next step is unclear until we get copies of the case files,” said
Thanu Ekchote, a sub-committee member of the Human Rights Commission and a
member of the LCT. “It is possible that the workers will bring a case
against Thai authorities.”

Members of the Grassroots Human Rights Education group and the LCT are
expected to meet the five migrant workers at the Phang Nga Province jail
upon their release.

Local Thai news covering last year’s tsunami included reports of migrant
workers plundering damaged Thai homes. Following the reports, local police
in Phang Nga arrested 14 Burmese migrants on charges of theft.

The five migrants set for release today have steadfastly maintained their
innocence. The nine other migrants, however, confessed to the charges and
are currently serving 30-month sentences.

Htoo Chit, director of GHRE—a subsidiary group of the Human Rights
Education Institute of Burma, based in Thailand—claims that the nine
migrants were pressured to plead guilty in the hope of receiving lighter
punishment.

Three of the five Burmese migrants set for release today were working
illegally in Thailand and will be sent back to Burma, according to Thanu.
The other two plan to continue working in Thailand after their release.

“We will find a way for the illegal workers to remain in Thailand until
further legal options are exhausted,” said Htoo Chit.

A June 2005 press release from Amnesty International suggested that
hundreds of thousands of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand are routinely
exploited by employers and local authorities, and that they need stronger
legal protections.