BurmaNet News, January 18, 2006

[Editor]

January 18, 2006 Issue # 2881


INSIDE BURMA
Myanmar Times: UN food programme boosts girls' schooling in Burma's Arakan
State
Mizzima: Muse residents forced to plant bio-fuel crops by Burmese military
SHAN: Fresh campaign against SSA begins

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Prisoners die from cholera outbreak at Sittwe in west Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar steps up curbing cross-border timber smuggling
Xinhua: Myanmar eyes physic nut oil as fuel to help solve oil crisis

ASEAN
Xinhua: China trade with ASEAN soars in 2005

REGIONAL
South China Morning Post: Fear is stalking Asia, says chief of rights
watchdog

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Myanmar's pledges on human rights remain "empty rhetoric": HRW
New Straits Times: Razali played into junta's hands

OPINION / OTHER
SHAN: Turning point for Indian policy on Burma - Comrade Day
Irrawaddy: The EU and Burma in 2006 – Harn Yawnghwe

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 18, The Myanmar Times via BBC
UN food programme boosts girls' schooling in Burma's Arakan State - Khin
Hninn Phyu

The United Nations World Food Programme [WFP] said that its
food-for-education project in Rakhine [Arakan] State had resulted in a
significant rise in school enrolments among girls.

The programme was introduced in 1996 to reduce a gender gap in education
in the area, where parents were less likely to send their daughters to
school because of cultural beliefs.

Primary school enrolment rates for girls had risen from 32 per cent the
year the programme was introduced to 70 per cent in the 2003-2004 academic
year, said WFP country director Mr Bhim Udas.

He said the programme gave parents an incentive to send their daughters to
school by providing them with 15 kg of rice a month to take home as long
as they had an attendance rate of 80 per cent.

The programme in Butheedaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships started
with 271 primary schools and expanded to 345 schools in 2002-2003, said a
statement issued by the WFP.

It said that when the programme was introduced, there were 12,767 girls
and 26,928 boys enrolled at the 271 schools. By 2000-2001, the number of
girls enrolled at schools under the programme exceeded that of boys, it
said.

During the 2003-2004 academic year, there were 61,456 girls enrolled at
the 345 schools, compared with 25,856 boys, the statement said.

Mr Udas said the success of the programme had resulted in the WFP changing
its approach to focus on both boys and girls to improve the net enrolment
rate.

This had resulted in a gender balance in the current school year, with
43,205 girls and 43,058 boys enrolled at the 340 schools for which figures
were available.

The WFP has also expanded food-for-education programmes at primary schools
in its project areas in Shan State and Magwe Division.

In Shan State, the programme benefits 44,458 students at 486 schools in
Lashio township, 14,910 students at 164 schools in Laukkai township and
16,320 students at 251 schools in Pangkam township. In Magwe Division it
benefits 29,210 students from 254 schools.
____________________________________

January 18, Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Muse residents forced to plant bio-fuel crops by Burmese military

Authorities in Muse, northern Shan State, have forced residents to grow
castor oil plants as part of a military drive to develop bio-fuel sources.

Starting Monday, one man from every household in the city's wards was
ordered to help plant 10 acres of the crop or 1,200 individual plants for
each of Muse's 10 wards.

Sai Aung Myo Hlaing from Muse told Mizzima it was unusual for residents of
the town's wards to be used for forced labour.

"Previously they didn't call the people from wards, only the people from
village tracts. Now they call the people from the wards as forced labour
at their own expenses and with their own meal packet," Sai Aung Myo Hlaing
said.

Another resident of the area said the men were forced to spend whole days
in the fields but some hired others to do the work for them.

"We left here at 9 am by car and arrived back our home only at 4 to 5 pm.
Most of the people hired the labour for their mandatory quota. These
labourers stayed there at night," the resident said.

The Burmese military launched a nationwide campaign for the production of
castor oil after fuel prices skyrocketed late last year. Each regional
government department has a plantation quota with northern Shan State
forced to produce 2,000 acres.

The government intends to use the castor oil as bio fuel and even police
departments have been ordered to start planting.

Land was seized for the project from farmers in Muse, Kyukok and Pangsai
and planting has started six miles from the city in Man Moe village.
____________________________________

January 18, Shan Herald Agency for News
Fresh campaign against SSA begins

The Arakan state-based Military Operations Control Command #5 that had
moved into southern Shan State last year has launched a fresh campaign to
search and destroy Shan State Army's 758th Brigade, report sources from
the border.

Sources have identified at least 6 light infantry battalions (LIBs): 346,
371, 543, 544, 562 and 566 converging on the 4-Corners area (Mongkerng,
Kehsi, Kunhing and Laikha), where the 758th under Col Moengzuen is active.
There are 11 battalions under the Military Operations Control Command #5.

So far no clashes have been reported although Col Moengzuen told S.H.A.N.
3 Burma Army men had surrendered to him on 13 January:

Corporal Shwe Thein, 27, Infantry Battalion 287, Wanzing
Private Nay Win Htike, 24, Infantry Battalion 287, Wanzing
 (yet to be identified), Infantry Battalion 131, Kehsi

The three had brought 2 MA-1 and 1 MA-2 automatic rifles. The information
however could not be confirmed by other sources.

"The Burma Army wants Moengzuen to become another Khun Kyaw," commented on
SSA-South officer, referring to the group's 241st Brigade Commander who
finally surrendered on 2 January in northern Shan State. "But conditions
facing Moengzuen and Khun Kyaw are quite different."

Moengzuen is operating in his home base area while Khun Kyaw had been
trying to set up a new base among people who knew very little about him

Moreover, Khun Kyaw was completely cut off from friendly forces that he
could count on when he left southern Shan State to the far north, while
Moengzuen could easily escape to neighboring SSA units that know him if
not exactly on friendly forms with him

Col Moengzuen declared his allegiance from the SSA 'South' of Col Yawdserk
to the Interim Shan Government, whose authenticity is still a highly
controversial subject among Shan activists.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 16, Democratic Voice of Burma
Prisoners die from cholera outbreak at Sittwe in west Burma

At least 12 prisoners had died from an outbreak of cholera, which started
in December at Sittwe (Akyab) Prison, Arakan State in western Burma.

More than 80 people have also been admitted to the prison clinic,
according to sources close to the prison.

The outbreak was reported to have started from eating cabbages grown on
the plots and laced with human excrements within the prison.

The relatives of the victims are said to be very upset by the secret
burials of their loved ones without notifying them, according to local
residents at Sittwe who are close to the prison circle.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 18, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar steps up curbing cross-border timber smuggling

Yangon: The Myanmar authorities have stepped up curbing smuggling and
illegal trading of timber in the country's border areas in order to
prevent serious repercussion on its economy and legitimate timber
exporters, the local Myanmar Times reported here Wednesday.
Smuggled timber has resulted in reducing prices for Myanmar's on the
international markets and a fall in production in the country's wood-based
industry, the Forestry Ministry was quoted by the news paper as
complaining.

"In an attempt to solve this problem, the authorities has taken some
measures including to hold negotiations with some neighbor countries in a
bid to seek ways to end such illegal undertakings along its border areas
and calling on timber entrepreneurs to cooperate with the government," the
Ministry said.

Meanwhile, the country has established wood-based industry, giving
priority to manufacturing value-added finished wood products for export. A
number of wood-related industrial zones in the country have also been set
up to boost the production of such products.

More than 140,000 cubic meters of precious teak or 30 percent of the
timber were smuggled across border annually from Myanmar's northern Kachin
and Shan states and only about 40,000 cubic meters of them were recovered
through law enforcement, the Ministry said, adding that putting an end to
the illegal timber trade is essential in a move to regain fair market
prices for Myanmar timber in Asia.

According to official statistics, Myanmar exported about 1 million cubic
meters of timber including 450,000 cubic meters' teak in 2004-05 fiscal
year. The year's timber export earning amounted to nearly 400 million U.S.
dollars.

Timber stands as the country's third largest export goods after mineral
and agricultural products.

Myanmar is rich in forest resources with forests covering about 50 percent
of its total land area.
____________________________________



January 18, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar eyes physic nut oil as fuel to help solve oil crisis

Yangon: The Myanmar industry authorities have advocated using physic nut
oil as fuel in the country, urging the people to grow such nut plantations
on a wide scale to help find a way out of oil crisis.

At a meeting here on Tuesday, Minister of Industry-1 U Aung Thaung
highlighted the need for the country to use such biodiesel to avoid
spending millions of foreign exchange on fuel in the wake of rising world
crude oil prices, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Wednesday.

He said the use of biodiesel as an alternative fuel for petrol, kerosene
and diesel would enable rural people to avoid searching fuelwood and help
protect forests from depletion and conserve trees.

He added that the utilization of such physic nut oil would also help
improve the people's living standard and develop the economic sector.

Noting that the cultivation of an acre (0.405 hectare) of land with 1,200
physic nut plants can produce up to 100 gallons (454.6 liters) of
biodiesel, he said the government has made arrangements to put nearly
8,000 hectares under more than 5 million physic nut saplings.

There are two physic nut species in Myanmar -- Castor and Jatropha. Crude
oil derived from milled Jatropha can be directly used as fuel only after
filtering it with cloth. Experimental use of the Jatropha crude oil in
running machines and cars has shown promising results, experts said.

In last November, Myanmar raised its fuel prices by nearly nine times to
1,500 kyats (1.22 U.S. dollars) from the previous 180 kyats (14 U.S.
cents) per gallon for petrol and 160 kyats (13 cents) per gallon for
diesel.

The government has said that despite the fuel price hike, which is still
comparatively lower than the regional and the world market prices, the
government still remains subsidized with the fuel supply.

Myanmar produces about 6 million barrels (798,000 tons) of crude oil
annually at home, yet it can not meet the demand and the country has to
import over 200 million dollars worth of diesel and crude oil per year.

____________________________________
ASEAN

January 18, Xinhua Financial Network News
China trade with ASEAN soars in 2005 - state media

Shanghai: Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) soared 23.1 pct to a record high of 130.4 bln usd last
year, state media said.

China and the 10 members of ASEAN signed historic trade pacts last
November to pave the way for the world's biggest free-trade zone by 2010,
covering nearly two bln people.

"China and ASEAN have entered a new stage in terms of economic cooperation
and trade ties," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Yi Xiaozhun, a
commerce vice minister as saying.

Last year ASEAN became the fifth-largest export market for China and the
fourth-largest source for imports, in part due to tariff reductions on
approximately 7,000 categories of goods, Yi said.

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

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 18, South China Morning Post
Fear is stalking Asia, says chief of rights watchdog - Peter Kammerer

Cambodia, Nepal among worst violators, report concludes

Politically motivated torture, kidnappings and killings increased
dramatically across Asia last year as governments took advantage of what
has been described as an erosion of democracy.

One of the region's leading human rights groups released its annual report
yesterday, in which it blamed the deteriorating situation on "adventurous"
governments taking advantage of the collapse of institutions such as
judiciaries and other upholders of the rule of law.

The governments of Cambodia, Nepal and the Philippines came in for
particularly heavy criticism in the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights
Commission's The State of Human Rights in 10 Asian Nations - 2005, which
also focused on Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, South
Korea and Sri Lanka.

Fear was stalking Asia, the commission's executive director, Basil
Fernando, said during the release of the 179-page report at a workshop on
torture at a Mongkok hotel involving participants from seven of the
countries.

"There was a serious deterioration of human rights in 2005," Mr Fernando
said. "There has been progress in the past, but last year the level of
violence in all these countries worsened.

"In the Philippines, where I was for two months last year, you get
frightened and begin to feel the lack of security. The nighttime has
changed in many places - people are too frightened to go on the streets.
It has been a sad year."

He said that political systems of control had broken down, allowing for
"regimes which are much more adventurous and disregard the democratic
rule".

"The types of regimes that are emerging are more for direct rule over the
democratic institutions, trying to exercise power and in the process,
problems that could be negotiated are pushed into violence," Mr Fernando
said.

Philippines representative Alfonso Cinco, legal consultant to the
Franciscan Justice and Peace Office in the city of Cebu, described last
year as "probably the worst" year for human rights in his country since
the collapse of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship in 1986. A total of 874
violations had been committed, including 151 political killings, a 100 per
cent increase.

"This is clearly a part of the state campaign against legal, progressive
organisations because almost all of the human rights violations were
committed while the military was conducting counter-insurgency
operations," Mr Cinco said.

Nepali non-governmental organisation Advocacy Forum director Mandira
Sharma said her country's situation was "worse than the worst" since King
Gyanendra seized power from the democratically elected parliament in a
royal coup last February.

"There has been a complete collapse of the rule of law and democratic
institutions," Ms Sharma said. "The judiciary, in which we used to have
some faith, is even now being infiltrated by the pro-king people."

In Cambodia, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has been accused of moving
towards a Myanmar-style military dictatorship, a weak judiciary was also
blamed for carrying out a government-orchestrated policy of silencing
critics by having them arrested and jailed.

Mr Hun Sen's government and others accused of violating rights and
freedoms claim strong-arm tactics by their militaries and police are
necessary to maintain stability.

Mr Fernando said that in many countries, the dismantling of state
institutions had also been accompanied by a growing movement for
democracy. If given backing from international organisations and
governments, this movement could yet claim victory.

"In some places, such as Cambodia, there is no immediate solution because
the political movements do not exists, so there needs to be much more
intervention from international bodies," he suggested.

"In other countries, there are strong movements. On the one hand there has
been a collapse of the rule of law, but the cry for democracy has never
been so sharp as well. If these movements are supported and strengthened,
it is possible to reverse the political trend."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 18, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's pledges on human rights remain "empty rhetoric": HRW

Myanmar's military rulers have failed to meet promises of democratic
reform and continue to break international law in battling ethnic rebels,
Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

"The junta's pledges of democratic reform and respect for human rights
continue to be empty rhetoric," the New York-based watchdog said in its
2006 global report on human rights.

"The 2003 'road map' for a transition to democracy in Burma has made no
progress," it said, using the country's former name.

Despite promises of political reform and national reconciliation, the
ruling State Peace and Development Council "continues to operate a strict
police state and drastically restricts basic rights and freedoms," the
report said.

"It has suppressed the democratic movement represented by Aung San Suu
Kyi, under detention since May 30, 2003, and has used internationally
outlawed tactics in ongoing conflicts with ethnic minority groups."

Those tactics include recruiting child soldiers, forced labor and rape,
the report said.

Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly ethnic minorities, live as
internally displaced people and two million have fled to neighbouring
countries, especially Thailand, the report said.

Although some political prisoners have been freed, including 249 in July
2005, at least 1,100 remain imprisoned for their beliefs.

These include pro-democracy icon and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, under house arrest for more than 10 of the past 16 years and kept
isolated from the outside world.

While ceasefires have been signed with 17 ethnic rebel groups, they have
not resulted in improved living conditions or political settlements, the
report said.

"In 2005 there was an increase in government military presence in certain
ceasefire areas, and the political concerns of ethnic communities appear
to have been left unaddressed in the deliberations of the National
Convention."

The convention, which is drafting a constitution, has been condemned
internationally as a sham because Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National
League for Democracy has boycotted the talks until she and other leaders
are released.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 17, Shan Herald Agency for News
Turning point for Indian policy on Burma - Comrade Day

It is time for India to change its policy on Burma from pro-fascism to
pro-democracy and 2006 is the critical point for India.

To quote an article dated 15 Jan 2006 from Indiadaily.com, "The
Billion-Dollar Pipeline of Bangladesh-Burma-India is a Pipedream", it is
stated there that the Petroleum Ministry Joint Secretary Tyagi, on the
previous weekend (circa 7 Jan) , cut short his trip in Rangoon when the
Burmese regime, the ridiculously misnamed State "Peace and Democracy"
Council (SPDC), told him that they had already agreed to sell their
natural gas to China and not to India. This is the gas field of Block A in
the Bay of Bengal, in which Indian and Korean companies played a huge
role.

What a loss to India! The Chinese will get 6.5 trillion cu.ft. over a 30
year period through a secret Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that SPDC
signed with China on 7 December 2005 ( which, by the way, is the 54th
anniversary of the sneak Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, igniting WW2 in
the Pacific).

India, despite its democratic traditions, has been shamelessly trying to
woo the fascist SPDC regime for years despite pleas from Ethno-Democracy
groups. India has been providing military aid, open trade, and diplomatic
recognition, all in the hopes of tempting it away from China -- all in
vain. SPDC will brazenly pretend to be India's friend and take everything
it gets, while all the time it has already turned Burma into a vassal
state of China in all but name. China has been militarily aiding, trading,
and diplomatically supporting the SPDC regime since it came to power after
the bloody massacres of 1988 and went far ahead of India in aligning the
SPDC under its influence, so much so that it has become no better than a
puppet regime under its control. Is it any surprise then, that SPDC would
kick India in the back on orders from its northern masters?

SPDC waited a MONTH after its betrayal of India on 7 December 2005. It
waited and did not tell Secretary Tyagi until AFTER he had arrived in
Rangoon which is insult upon injury. After all, Indian companies, together
with South Korean companies, played a large role in this project, and they
deserved to win this huge contract from SPDC. Instead, the sneaky SPDC,
(like the fascist Japanese who trained its progenitor, General Ne Win,
during WW2) committed an act of treachery against its neighbor.

This betrayal is going to be one in a series of more disappointments for
India in her future dealings with SPDC fascists. Recently, the Naga
fighters announced a renewal of fighting. In the news photograph depicting
a couple of Naga rebels, their AK 47 assault rifles and their distinctive
Mao Zedong caps clearly show where their military support has been coming
from. Since the 1970's, support for rebels in India's Northeast has been
coming from China. And yet, India is actually hoping that this faithless
SPDC will help stamp out China's clients in the Northeast.

The recent battles between Burma SPDC army and rebels from India is just
for show in return for the total wipe-out of Chin and Arakan Freedom
Forces on the Indian side of the border. India, always very trusting, will
do a faithful job of really driving out all these Freedom Fighters, but in
return, the SPDC will only make a pretense of token raids, just enough in
the media to make it seem like SPDC is a helpful ally of India, when, in
reality, it is not. This will ensure that the ethnic conflicts on India's
Northeast will continue for decades. It is the strategy of the Chinese
Communists that India should be preoccupied in wars of attrition along
both of her flanks: the NE rebels and the NW Pakistanis, who, themselves,
have been loyal clients of the Chinese in the past half-century.

What, then, should the Indian People do? Urge their government to stop
aiding the fascist SPDC and instead support the People of Burma in their
struggle for Freedom? Yes. 2006 should be the Turning Point for India.
True, the SPDC will retaliate against India but in the long run, this will
be only a small sacrifice in comparison to the greater rewards later in
the form of a reliable friend and ally --- a Democratic Burma.

India can hold more military maneuvers with SPDC navy and army and
continue dreaming of an alliance, but it will be a pipedream, just as the
$1 billion gas pipeline has become. Worse yet, the pro-fascist policy of
India will certainly arouse more anger and resentment from Burmese People.
During a recent conference in India, the MP's attending the session
discussed how to help democracy in Burma. Unnamed members of the
government told the prodemocracy activists, don't pressure us. Instead,
persuade the Indian People to protest the government's profascist policy.
In the wake of this SPDC betrayal of India that deprives the People of
India of vitally-needed gas, they have every reason to be angry. Yes, as a
democracy, Indian leaders will have to listen to their voters. A grass
roots campaign will be needed to reach out and appeal to the Indian
People.

The People of Burma and India have had a long history of shared
traditions. Written language, religion, and culture all came from India in
past millenia. What a tragedy that now, oppression is also indirectly
coming from India, too. India must stop helping the fascist regime that is
oppressing the People of Burma. Helping the fascist SPDC is like an old
Burmese proverb: "A-sake pin yay laung." (watering a poisonous plant).
Already, it is blooming and bearing poisonous fruit for India -- the
painful loss of natural gas and rebel flare-ups are only hints of greater
tribulations to come.

There can be no two Superpowers in Asia just as there could never be a
peaceful co-existence of the two other Superpowers, the US and the
now-defunct USSR. Thus, in this century, there will be a power struggle
between India and China. True, India has been trying to promote friendly
relationships with China. But it will not work.

History speaks for itself. In this past half-century since Independence,
why does Pakistan keep waring with India? Because it is a client catering
to China's imperialistic whims. Why have Northeast rebels never been
pacified? Because they have always been in stigated by China. Why are
there Maoist rebels in Nepal? The litany goes on. The idea is simply to
keep India deprived, drained, and distracted. These wars of attrition will
prevent India from becoming a top-rate Superpower.

How about the time when Premier Chou En-lai, around 1960, came to India to
meet PM Nehru? They made a pact of friendship, the so-called "Chini-Hindi
Bai-Bai" (Brother-to-Brother) but no sooner had the Chinese Premier
departed when Chinese Forces poured over the border and seized most of
Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast, yet another treacherous war. The
Bai-Bai had become Bang-Bang. No, China cannot be trusted by India. China
took away India's land in the Northeast, now it has taken away the natural
gas from the East. What next?

To compound the injury, consider the timing. While Petroleum Secretary
Tyagi was going to Rangoon to negotiate the gas deal, at the same time,
his boss, the Petroleum Minister Aiyan, was going to Beijing to discuss
sharing energy supplies. This is reminiscent of Friendship Treaty of the
1960's. According to the 15 Jan 2006 news article, both the Minister and
Secretary were told by their respective hosts about the sneaky done-deal
of 7 Dec 2005. In this modern day of the instant Internet, couldn't these
two governments at least email India about this deal BEFORE the Petroleum
officials flew to each country? They deserved the courtesy of a warning,
not just to save the cost of unnecessary flights, but also to save face
and avoid humiliation. This just shows how mean the SPDC and its Chinese
Masters are, and how they cannot be trusted.

Both India and China have competed in giving military aid to t he fascist
SPDC, China being the far superior of the two in this respect. Their aid
has enabled the fascist regime to stay powerful and suppress all dissent.
As mentioned earlier, Mother India gave culture and tradition to the
People of Burma. Thus, they are her cultural children. Do not abandon them
to the Fascists. Do not let Burma become a Hatchet of China. The southern
Tenasserim coast is like a handle and the rest of Burma is like a
triple-pointed hatchet: the western point towards India; the northern and
eastern points to China and Thailand. Instead, help Burma become free; in
gratitude, not only will India have gas, but also a true ally. Turn Burma
into a Spear-head pointing north. Thus, now is literally the Turning Point
for India.

____________________________________

January 18, Irrawaddy
The EU and Burma in 2006 - Harn Yawnghwe

Despite some engagement in 2005, the EU is not softening its stance on Burma

Recent EU activities have raised eyebrows among Burmese democracy
advocates: the opening of a Burmese embassy in Brussels; the opening of an
office in Rangoon of the European Community Humanitarian Office; the visit
to Rangoon of an EU mission to unveil an EU Country Strategy Paper for
Burma outlining its aid strategy for 2007-13; and the commissioning at the
beginning of 2005 of Robert Taylor, dubbed by many a Rangoon regime
apologist, to write an EU policy review paper. These events all seem to
indicate a relaxing of the EU’s policy towards Burma at a time when the
military dictatorship itself seems to be hardening its stand on democracy
and human rights. What is happening and what can we expect in 2006?

If the ruling junta thinks it can expect an easy time from the EU in 2006,
it is sadly mistaken. The EU’s Common Position on Burma has not changed
and will not change in the foreseeable future. Unless, and until, the
situation of a lack of democracy and human rights in Burma improves, there
can be no way to change the Common Position. Even though certain countries
like Austria, France, Germany and Italy are sometimes cited as “friends”
of the regime, there is no country in the 25-nation EU which can support
the regime’s repressive policies. The Common Position is exactly that. It
reflects the consensus view of the EU. Each country stands by it without
exception.

It is true that there are differences among the 25, but these have nothing
to do with support for the junta. Some EU nations in principle are against
sanctions of any kind (this was also true of UN sanctions against Iraq),
while others believe that engagement is a much more effective tool than
isolation to bring about change. They cite North Korea as a case in point.
Whatever the differences, all 25 nations believe that democracy and human
rights in Burma must be respected. These twin requirements are basic to
the people of the EU and cannot be ignored.

It is also commonly, but wrongly, assumed that the EU’s policy towards
Burma is exactly the same as that of the US. While they both have common
elements—such as investment and visa bans, the two policies are quite
different. The US will have nothing to do with Burma until the situation
improves. The EU has sent several missions to Burma to try to talk to the
Burmese generals. The EU Common Position actually allows such a dialogue.
Since 1997, the EU has also been trying to work with Asean, which Burma
had just joined, and within the Asia-Europe Meeting to bring about change.
We can expect more dialogue initiatives within ASEM in 2006.

The EU also looks at humanitarian aid differently. Since the international
community, led by the UN in 2000, decided that humanitarian aid to Burma
should be a priority, the EU has been trying to find ways to increase aid
to Burma. This is also part of the EU Common Position which is not widely
understood. The Taylor paper, the opening of the community humanitarian
office, and the EU mission to Rangoon are part of this initiative.
Ironically, it has been the regime which has been blocking aid. For some
perverse reason, the generals see humanitarian aid as something to be
ashamed of, as an admission of failure, and so does not want to accept it.
They would rather receive development aid, which sounds more respectable
to them.  The difficulty, of course, is that the Burmese military would
like to control the aid—humanitarian or otherwise—and the EU cannot allow
the aid to be diverted from the intended recipients. Development aid under
the regime is also out of the question.

What we can expect from the EU, therefore, are: the maintenance of its
political stance through its Common Position; a more active promotion of
dialogue with the generals in order to promote a political solution; and
at the same time an increase in humanitarian aid to the people of Burma.
The promotion of dialogue, especially at a time when the Burmese generals
are not open to such an initiative, is what bothers many people. They fear
that the generals may see it as a sign of weakness on the part of the EU,
and thus it would encourage the generals to be even more stubborn. While
this may be so, the EU’s openness to dialogue is winning it much needed
support from Asean. Malaysia, as Asean chairman, has said that while the
grouping supports Burma, it wants to see tangible progress on reforms.
This is a major achievement. The fact that the UN Security Council also
agreed to be briefed on the situation in Burma shows that the Burmese
generals have few friends left.