BurmaNet News, March 3, 2006

[Editor]

March 3, 2006 Issue # 2912


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar junta forces out international mediator with Suu Kyi ties
Irrawaddy: New flights to Pyinmana
Mizzima: Burma's prison department moves back to Rangoon
AFP: Small bombs hit central Myanmar, no injuries: report

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Hundreds of migrant workers visit family in Burma

DRUGS
SHAN: SSA-South challenges drug involvement claim

BUSINESS / TRADE
Narinjara News: India-Thailand row over BIMSTEC rules of origin

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN should consider distancing itself from Myanmar if no reforms:
Singapore

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Indonesia to appoint special envoys to Burma - Clive Parker
AP: Indonesia urges Myanmar to give regional monitors access to the
military country

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: EU call for Suu Kyi release welcomed
Mizzima: Bush, Singh call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release
Associated Press: U.S. calls Myanmar's roadmap to democracy 'completely
inadequate'

OPINION/OTHER
The Nation: Paranoid Burmese military a regional threat

PRESS RELEASE
Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute: Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and
Mohamed ElBaradei among those to receive the 2006 Four Freedoms Awards

___________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 3, Agence France Presse
Myanmar junta forces out international mediator with Suu Kyi ties

Myanmar's military rulers are forcing out an international mediator who
had more contact with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi than
any other foreigner over the last five years, the negotiator said Friday.

Leon de Riedmatten told AFP that the junta has refused to renew his visa
and has forced the closure of the Yangon office of the Centre for
Humanitarian Dialogue, which he has headed since it began operating here
in August 2000.

"I asked them to renew my work permit" but after two months of hot and
cold talks, he said the authorities "gave me until the end of March to
empty and close the office."

The Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue is an independent
foundation that works to reduce human suffering in conflicts through
negotiation.

During his tenure, De Riedmatten has acted informally as a local
representative for UN special envoy Razali Ismail -- who has since
resigned -- as well as the International Labor Organization, a UN human
rights envoy, and a children's rights group.

"We hope that the closing of the Centre will be temporary, and that the
authorities will reexamine their position as soon as possible," De
Riedmatten said, while warning that he was pessimistic about the future of
Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

"The situation is worse today than it was in 2000. There's no reason to
feel good about the future," he said.

During 2003 and 2004, Myanmar's former prime minister Khin Nyunt
orchestrated an informal dialogue between the junta leader Senior General
Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest.

De Riedmatten and Razali were go-betweens for the two sides during that
process, which collapsed in May 2004.

Khin Nyunt was sacked less than six months later, and the feared military
intelligence apparatus that he led was dismantled.

"I was a facilitator for anything that was sensitive. That worked very
well until the fall of 2004," De Riedmatten said.

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue employed 10 people in Yangon.

Razali resigned in January as the special representative of UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan. He had been blocked from entering Myanmar for two
years.

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the icon of the pro-democracy
movement, has been under some form of detention for more than 10 of the
last 16 years.

Her party won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but has never been
allowed to take office.

___________________________________

March 3, Irrawaddy
New flights to Pyinmana - Khun Sam

New air, rail and bus routes linking Rangoon with Burma’s new
administrative capital, Pyinmana, are now in operation, according to local
sources.

Privately-owned Air Bagan made its first flight between the capital and
Pyinmana’s Ela airport on Wednesday, said an airline official, who also
confirmed that the company is planning to operate three weekly flights
between the cities, using a 46-seater ATR-42 carrier and a 68-seater
ATR-32.

Air Bagan Ltd is owned by Te Za, a famous Burmese tycoon and ally of the
country’s ruling generals. He is also president and managing director of
Htoo Trading Company, which won lucrative construction contracts in the
recent development of Pyinmana. Air Bagan is the first privately owned
company to operate flights to the new administrative capital.

Staff at the Air Mandalay office in Rangoon confirmed that both they and
Yangon Airways—both private companies—would also be operating on the new
route. Until recently, the only carrier to operate flights to Pyinmana was
the state-owned Myanmar Airways.

State-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported on December 27 that
Myanma Railways has launched a new railway service linking Rangoon and
Pyinmana using Indian-made trains. Meanwhile, local residents told The
Irrawaddy that nine new bus services had opened running between Pyinmana
and Rangoon, and three new routes linking the town with Mandalay.

Pyinmana has become increasingly crowded since the government’s decision
to relocate key ministries there last November, and the new links have
been established to help combat existing transport inadequacies.

___________________________________

March 3, Mizzima News
Burma's prison department moves back to Rangoon - Nem Davies

Burma's Prison Department, which had recently been moved to the
government's new administrative capital in Pyinmana, has moved back to
Rangoon, sources told Mizzima.

A clerk from the Home Ministry said, "The prison department was put back
about four or five days ago . . . but I do not know the reason".

Officials at the Home Ministry office in Pyinmana refused to give an
official reason for the move and staff at the prison department's Insein
office said they did not know why the department had move back to Rangoon.

Government sources in Pyinmana told Mizzima they were having trouble
keeping in contact with other departments as phone lines in the new
capital were unreliable.

The Department of Border Trade and the Ministry of Commerce are still
waiting for orders to move to Pyinmana from Rangoon.

___________________________________

March 3, Agence France Presse
Small bombs hit central Myanmar, no injuries: report

Two small bombs exploded in the central region of military-ruled Myanmar,
one of them near a high school, but caused no injuries, state-run media
said Friday.

The first blast occurred early Thursday near a school in Toungoo township,
about 255 kilometres (160 miles) north of the capital Yangon, causing
minor damage, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said, without naming any
suspects.

The second blast damaged a wall near a power transformer in a neighbouring
area, the report said, adding police were investigating.

The military, which maintains tight security and often blames outsiders
and exiled dissidents for such explosions, has ruled the country formerly
known as Burma, since 1962.

___________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 3, Independent Mon News Agency
Hundreds of migrant workers visit family in Burma

Hundreds of migrant workers go back to Burma each day to visit their
family even as they worry over the new Thai law placing restrictions on
migrant workers.

“The number of migrant workers going back to Burma has increased. Just
yesterday about a thousand of them went back from Three Pagoda Pass town,”
Ko Win Hlaing a Three Pagoda Pass town resident said.

Most migrant workers go back to visit their family given the ensuing Water
Festival. At least about 150 migrant workers go back to Burma interiors
from Three Pagoda Pass border town each day, he added.

“Hundreds of migrant workers working in rubber plantation sites in Phang
Nga, Phuket area go back for annual visits to their families,” Nai Ya a
migrant worker in Phang Nga area said.

Some migrant workers go back on their own and some join forces and request
the Thai immigration officers officially. Thai immigration department send
these migrant workers to the border.

“I paid 5,000 Baht to the broker to take me from Mahachai to my home
safely. The brokers have to take responsibility for my safety in both
countries,” Long Aung, a migrant worker who went back to Burma with an
agent in Myawadi road explained.

Burmese migrant workers are shocked with the new Thai law. New migrant
worker have to pay about 50,000 Baht to the Thai government for
registration. And Thai employees have to take responsibility of migrant
workers.

Some migrant workers go back to Burma because they are concerned with the
new law. “We will wait and see if the law is implemented. If the law is
implemented it means trouble for migrant workers. But some of them will
not accept the law and try to keep working in Thailand,” Nai Ya explained.
Most migrant workers are waiting to see if the law is put into effect.

Each migrant worker spends at least 15,000 Baht in costs to enter Thailand
illegally. They have face many kinds of trouble while crossing the border
by bribing officials of both countries to avoid arrest. They walk through
jungles and hide in trucks while crossing the border. Some of them are
known to die in the jungle after being afflicted with malaria. Some are
lost in the jungle.

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 3, Shan Herald Agency for News
SSA-South challenges drug involvement claim

Col Yawdserk of the Shan State Army-South has rejected the March 1 US
State Department report that the SSA (South) has drug refineries in areas
under its control.

"Any international agency which doubts our integrity is welcome for an
inspection trip to our operational areas," said Khurhsen Heng-awn,
spokeswoman for the Restoration Council of Shan State, the SSA-South's
political arm. "We are ready to escort them on a tour that will reveal to
them where the refineries are and where they are not."

Her statement was in response to Washington's charge that drug refineries
are "in areas controlled by the United Wa State Army, the ethnic Chinese
Kokang, and the Shan State Army-South."

One of the SSA-South's Six Guiding Principles is Anti-Narcotics.
Nevertheless, Col Yawdserk, during an interview with Reuters in January,
admitted that some of his members "might still be dabbling in the trade."

"Opium has been in the Golden Triangle for a long time. In Shan State the
SSA is formed by the Shan people, so may be, partially, some people will
be involved," he had said.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 3, Narinjara News
India-Thailand row over BIMSTEC rules of origin

Two big economies in the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) - India and Thailand – are
embroiled in a battle over the rules of origin on creating a free trade
zone among the member states, sources said.

The sources said that a separate working group meeting on rules of origin
is going to take place from March 10-12 in New Delhi to sort out the
issues. It has become important to remove the hurdles in order to make
progress in the overall deal making process, they said.

Official sources here, however, declined to accept it as a hurdle, saying
there are many complex issues that need to be sorted out to move the
process along.

The seven-nation forum was formed in 1997 with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma,
India, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka to link South Asia and Southeast Asia
across the Bay of Bengal.

The sources said that the BIMSTEC free trade zone is scheduled to come
into effect in July 1 this year and any slow-down in negotiations at this
stage might derail the launch deadline.

A trade negotiating committee is conducting the overall trade negotiation
for the BIMSTEC free trade zone. Many working groups on important issues
like customs, arbitration, rules of origin and negative product lists are
contributing to the work of the trade negotiating committee to seal the
deal.

The sources said in view of the huge differences between the two major
economies - India and Thailand - and the rules of origin issue, the trade
negotiating committee has agreed this time to facilitate a separate
meeting of the working group on the subject to sort out the nations'
interests.

The smaller economies like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma are just
onlookers as the larger two remain locked over the issues. It will be an
important factor in determining duty exemptions and tariff differentials
on intra-regional trade under the emerging trade bloc.

The sources said the trade the negotiating committee would be meeting in
early April to move the overall negotiation to its final goal. However,
much of it will depend on the progress of the working group on the rules
of origin, they said.

___________________________________
ASEAN

March 3, Agence France Presse
ASEAN should consider distancing itself from Myanmar if no reforms: Singapore

Southeast Asia should consider distancing itself from Myanmar if the
military regime does not reform, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo
said, while conceding China and India's open policy meant ASEAN has
limited clout on the issue.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting
in Bali next month are expected to make "some hard decisions" on their
approach towards Myanmar, Yeo said in remarks to parliament released to
the media late Thursday.

"If Myanmar needs time out to attend to its own domestic preoccupations, I
think we should respect it but, at the same time, the rest of ASEAN should
not be held back," he said.

"I think we will have to distance ourselves a bit if it is not possible
for them to engage us in a way which we find necessary to defend them
internationally."

Yeo however said ASEAN's options are limited because Myanmar's gates to
giant neighbours China and India remain wide open -- a fact that also
means Western sanctions have limited impact.

Indian President Abdul Kalam is scheduled to visit Myanmar from March
8-10, signalling New Delhi's long-term interests there.

"I think let's take a realistic approach. We are in no position to affect
the course of internal developments," Yeo said.

ASEAN has been increasing pressure on Myanmar to speed up democratic
reforms and be more transparent so that they can effectively defend their
fellow ASEAN member internationally.

Western powers have accused Myanmar's ruling junta of human rights abuses
and political repression, citing the continued detention of democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Yeo deplored the lack of transparency in Myanmar, saying that internal
developments there "are sometimes a mystery to us, like the sudden bizarre
decision to shift the seat of government from Yangon to Pyinmana."

Myanmar's notoriously secretive State Peace and Development Council
abruptly announced in November it was moving the government to Pyinmana,
320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Yangon.

On February 17, the country's military leader Senior General Than Shwe
arrived in Pyinmana, indicating the completion of the relocation.

Under international pressure, ASEAN at its annual meeting in December
reached agreement with Myanmar to allow Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed
Hamid to visit as an envoy to check on the progress of democracy.

Official sources in Malaysia said Syed Hamid was expected to visit in
March, after an original trip scheduled for January was cancelled.

Replying to a suggestion in Singapore's parliament to suspend or expel
Myanmar, Yeo said ASEAN should be realistic.

"China has decided that whatever happens in Yangon, the backgate to China
will be wide open," Yeo noted. "And because of that, India in its own
strategic calculation, has decided that it would keep its sidegate to
Myanmar open.

"It is in our interest we stay engaged with Myanmar, that our own gate to
Myanmar is open."

Aside from Singapore and Myanmar, ASEAN's other members are Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam.

___________________________________
REGIONAL

March 3, Irrawaddy
Indonesia to appoint special envoys to Burma - Clive Parker

Indonesia today signaled it would take the lead within Asean to prompt
change in Burma, confirming it was about to nominate two special envoys to
the country.

Presidential spokesperson Dino Patti Djalal said one of the
representatives would be Ali Alatas, the former foreign minister of
Indonesia who now represents the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Even
though Alatas does not currently have any official role within the
Indonesian government, he was part of the delegation lead by Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that visited Rangoon and met with
Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other top junta officials on Wednesday.

Alatas last visited Rangoon—representing Annan—in a surprise trip last
August, when he also met with Than Shwe. At the time, it was described as
a trip to discuss UN reform with the junta, although Alatas’s meeting with
the National Convention Convening Committee led most observers to believe
the visit was directly related to Burma’s democratization process.

Djalal said again today that Alatas’s role in Rangoon had been to discuss
UN reform with Burma’s military government, adding that he did not know
whether Alatas was being considered to replace the former UN Special Envoy
Ismail Razali, who left the post in January.

Djalal declined to reveal the identity of the Indonesian president’s
second representative to Burma, although he confirmed it would be “another
ex-military person, a general,” and someone who had been part of this
week’s delegation to Rangoon. A full list of those delegates has not been
made available.

Both were being appointed to serve “as part of the increased dialogue
between Indonesia and Myanmar [Burma],” Djalal told The Irrawaddy.
“President Yudhoyono wants to add more substance to that relationship. Not
much had happened with that relationship recently.”

Commenting on Burma’s much-trumpeted—and widely scorned—seven-step roadmap
to democracy, Djalal said that Indonesia would support the process: “It
can be some form of democracy. We believe that it can, which is why we are
supporting it, but of course—and our president has expressed this—there
needs to be an element of national reconciliation
future stages in the
Roadmap that allow for inclusion of other parties.”

The presidential spokesperson would not be drawn on whether Indonesia’s
increased involvement with Burma’s struggle towards democracy would mean
engagement with the National League for Democracy, hinting only that the
junta needed to be reassured first.

“There will be more communication and dialogue and changes coming,” Djalal
said. “All I can say is we are quite happy with the result of the visit.”

Indonesia and Burma do not currently have a fixed time or place for the
next round of discussions as part of the Memorandum of Understanding on a
new bilateral framework signed in Rangoon on Wednesday, “but we want to do
it as soon as possible,” Djalal said.

Meanwhile, Singapore today said Asean might have to reduce ties with Burma
if the 10-member bloc is not consulted on the regime’s efforts towards
democratization.

Foreign Minister George Yeo told Associated Press today: “I think we will
have to distance ourselves a bit if it is not possible for them [Burma] to
engage us in a way which we find necessary to defend them
internationally.”

He said that the forthcoming Asean ministerial meeting in Bali, Indonesia,
from April 17-18, would likely be the scene for some “hard decisions” on
the part of the bloc’s other nine members.

“If Myanmar [Burma] needs time out to attend to its own domestic
pre-occupations, I think we should respect it but, at the same time, the
rest of Asean should not be held back,” he said.

___________________________________

March 3, Associated Press
Indonesia urges Myanmar to give regional monitors access to the military
country

Indonesia's president told Myanmar's ruling generals that regional
monitors should be allowed to visit the isolated country, saying
neighboring Southeast Asian governments needed to be kept informed about
its democracy efforts.

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's comments followed a two-day visit to Myanmar,
the first by a Southeast Asian leader since the region's ASEAN bloc called
on the military-ruled country to release political prisoners and implement
a political "roadmap" that is supposed to lead to elections.

So far, there have been few signs of progress.

Myanmar's leader Gen. Than Shwe told Yudhoyono he was committed to
democracy, but said his country was facing "problems" and "needed
political stability" before moving forward, presidential spokesman Dino
Pati Djalal said Thursday.

He said Yudhoyono told Than Shwe that the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asian Nations needed "constant communication" about its
democracy efforts, and said regional monitors should be allowed to visit
the country.

In January, U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail quit his job
because the country had not let him visit since March 2004, and a planned
trip by Malaysia's foreign minister last month also was canceled.

Myanmar's military junta took power in 1988 after violently suppressing
mass pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but
refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by Aung San Suu
Kyi's party.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is among some 1,100 documented
political prisoners and has spent 10 of the last 16 years in detention.
The international community has repeatedly called for her release.

Yudhoyono did not discuss Suu Kyi's plight with Than Shwe or ask to meet
with her, Djalal said.

Asking to "meet this person or that" would "not be good," Kompas newspaper
quoted Yudhoyono as saying.

"It would be like a head of state visiting Indonesia and asking to meet
say a rebel leader," he said.

___________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 2, Irrawaddy
EU call for Suu Kyi release welcomed - Shah Paung

Burma’s leading opposition group, the National League for Democracy, today
welcomed the EU’s call for the immediate release of democracy icon Aung
San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners in the country.

Aung San Suu Kyi“This is an encouraging move for us,” said U Lwin,
spokesperson for the NLD. “It shows the EU’s sympathy for political
prisoners.”

The EU’s issued statement coincided with the awarding of Sweden’s Olof
Palme Prize 2005 to Suu Kyi on February 28, and expressed regret that her
continued detention would prevent her from accepting the award in person.

“The European Union remains gravely concerned over the human right
situation in Burma/Myanmar,” the press release said, “and wishes to
reiterate its commitment to supporting national reconciliation and respect
for human rights and democracy in Burma/Myanmar.”

A meeting of EU foreign ministers last month to discuss the lifting of the
visa ban on high-ranking Burmese government and military officials—in
advance of their forthcoming participation in the Asia Europe Meeting
later this year—drew criticism from some Burmese exile groups in Europe.

The Germany-based Forum of Burmese in Europe expressed concern over the
prospect of easing restrictions on visas for Burmese officials, as well as
the opening of a new Burmese embassy in Brussels. The EU’s recent
statement has provided some reassurance of their commitment to progress on
human rights in Burma, the organization said.

“It has been a long time since the EU has released such a statement about
current conditions in Burma,” said Nwe Aung, a representative for the FBE
in Germany. “It’s well overdue.”

The EU, like the US, maintains economic sanctions against Burma, though
last December they approved a humanitarian aid package worth 15 million
Euros (US $17.8 million).

“They have imposed sanctions on Burma, but they remain committed to
humanitarian work in the country. And now, it is clear that they still
care about the situation among the country’s political prisoners.”

___________________________________

March 2, Mizzima News
Bush, Singh call for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release - Nem Davies

United States president George W. Bush and Indian prime minister Manmohan
Singh called for the release of jailed National League for Democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a press conference in New Delhi today.

Bush, who was on a state visit to India, said he and Singh shared similar
views on the situation in Burma.

“On Burma we agreed on the deplorable state of human rights in Burma and
all nations should seek the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” Bush said.

Burmese pro-democracy groups in India welcomed the call by the two leaders
and expressed their gratitude in statements sent today to the US Embassy
in New Delhi and the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Burma Democratic forces in India together with our people inside Burma,
firmly hopes that such support of the two great democratic Nations would
certainly bring changes in our country and people of Burma will get rid of
the dictatorial regime of the State Peace and Development Council,” the
statements said.

But Indian member of parliament Abani Roy said while he agreed India
should take a firmer stance on Burma, he doubted the practical
implementation of Bush’s statement.

“We will see what [Bush] does when goes back to his country
 now he has
only said
 not done anything yet
. But India should take a positive stand
on Burma,” said Roy, who is also a member of the Revolutionary Socialist
Party of West Bengal State.

___________________________________

March 3, Associated Press
U.S. calls Myanmar's roadmap to democracy 'completely inadequate'

The United States criticized Myanmar's moves toward democracy as
"completely inadequate" Friday, saying the military state should release
Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi if it's serious about reforms.

"We are concerned about the direction Burma is taking," U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State Christopher Hill said during a brief stop in Indonesia,
adding that the junta's roadmap to democracy was "not going to take Burma
anywhere."

Myanmar's military has ruled the country since 1962, and the current junta
took over in 1988 after violently suppressing pro-democracy protests.

It announced a seven-point political plan in 2003 that was supposed to
lead to the creation of a new constitution and elections, but so far
little progress has been made.

"With regard to the roadmap, we feel this is a completely inadequate
approach," Hill told reporters, urging the country to think more broadly
about national reconciliation.

"We believe they should start with the release of hundreds, indeed
thousands of political prisoners in jail in Burma," he said. "And a good
place to start would be the release of Aung San Suu Kyi."

The pro-democracy leader has spent 10 of the last 16 years in detention
and is now under house arrest.

___________________________________
OPINION/OTHER

March 3, The Nation
Paranoid Burmese military a regional threat - Aung Htoo

Burma’s ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), is
increasingly preoccupied with defending itself against foreign invasion. 
Although such posturing may appear ludicrous to the outside observer, the
international community should take note.  Burma’s defense policies
warrant serious concern.

Although the Burmese junta has invoked the threat of foreign invasion for
decades, it has often been unclear whether the general’s are genuinely
gripped with paranoia, or merely mongering fear to inspire patriotic zeal
among the populace.

A “Top Secret” army document, leaked to this author, substantiates claims
that the SPDC genuinely fears a U.S. led invasion.  The document, over
forty pages in length, contains the minutes of a meeting in late 2005, in
which one of Burma’s regional commanders briefed subordinate battalion
commanders about his previous meetings with senior officials in the regime
including Senior General Than Shwe.

In this meeting, the regional commander elaborates a wide range of
security concerns troubling the embattled regime.  These include the
dangers posed by the opposition party and exiles, the Islamic
establishment and Holy Crusades, the separatist desires of ceasefire
groups, and the potential for public unrest in the cities.  Most
prominently, the document elaborates a fear of US invasion, noting,
bizarrely, that defensive measures must be taken because the CIA may
invade Burma in pursuit of Chinese communists.

Such fears appear to have inspired drastic defensive measures in Burma. 
There are clear indications, for example, that the SPDC has been carefully
studying US military strategy in Iraq, and has developed contingency plans
to repel a US invasion.

A massive arms procurement program, and the expansion and strategic
deployment of the Burmese armed forces, seem to be similarly oriented
toward repelling external enemies, including Thailand, which the Top
Secret document identifies as Burma’s “nearest enemy”.  Following a 2001
border dispute with Thailand, and the alleged dropping of a bomb in
Burmese territory by a Thai Air Force F-16, Burma purchased twelve MIG-29s
from Russia.  This incident may also have inspired the SPDC to bolster its
joint forces command structure, and the Office of the Chief of Air
Defense.

A dramatic expansion of artillery and armored units also followed, many of
which are now deployed along Burma’s borders.  Between Mae Sot and the
confluence of the Salween and Myawaddy Rivers alone, the SPDC has
currently deployed ten artillery outposts.  Heavy artillery is relatively
useless against mobile guerrilla forces operating in that area, and is
clearly intended to provide a defensive perimeter against foreign attack.

Preparing for an imagined attack of the country has not come cheaply. 
Since 2003, Burma’s defense expenditures have annually exceeded one
billion dollars.  If spending trends continue, 2006 expenditures will
approach or exceed the US $2 billion mark.  That’s big bucks for Burma’s
flagging economy, comprising fifty percent or more of central government
disbursements, and severely cutting into spending on health care and
education.

High defense spending, however, has not forged an able fighting machine. 
Coercive recruitment practices, low pay, and meager rations have led to
serious drops in the morale of soldiers and widespread desertion.  The
Tatmadaw Organization Committee, elaborated in the minutes of the regional
commanders meeting, was apparently formed to address some of these serious
institutional problems.

According to that document, the army has bolstered its ranks with 6275 new
soldiers in sustained recruitment drives, but these impressive numbers
have failed to offset the loss of 8760 soldiers from service, including
4701 soldiers who were absent without leave and 2000 of whom were
arrested.  This trend reflects deeper staffing problems.  According to
this same source, 284 of the army’s infantry battalions are staffed with
fewer than 200 men, while 220 infantry battalions are staffed with only
200 to 300 soldiers each.  Burmese military doctrine prescribes that an
infantry battalion should be staffed with 700 or more soldiers.

The Tatmadaw Organization Committee was presumably formed to address these
issues and boasts lofty ideals.  For example, the SPDC aims to reduce the
rate of attrition to less than 2 percent, and exhorts battalion commanders
to make the life of the soldiers easier and better so that they will not
run away. However, steps to solve the army’s deep rooted problems are half
hearted.  Soldiers are poorly paid and per capita expenditures on rations
are miniscule.  The document notes for example, that funds for wet rations
were recently increased from 30 kyat to 100 kyat per day.  Although a
three fold increase, the amount of food that one can purchase with 100
kyat (equivalent to less than 4 baht) is minuscule.

Consequently, morale remains low and reform is greeted with cynicism.  One
soldier recounted to this author that although his battalion’s Tatmadaw
Organization Committee was required to meet monthly, they would fake
meetings by photographing the assembled members in front of four
differently dated backdrops as evidence that they were doing their job.

The Burmese suffer most immediately from this broken backed war regime. As
a means of increasing domestic security, the regime leadership aspires to
post the army in every village.  This amounts to a huge burden for the
populations among whom the army comes to reside.  After various fees are
levied and deducted by his battalion commander, a private soldier
typically takes home a monthly salary of 300 baht or less.

Poorly provisioned and poorly paid soldiers are forced to rely upon
resident populations to support them.  Until there is a significant reform
of the manner in which defense expenditures are appropriated, underpaid
and undersupplied soldiers will remain dependent upon extortion,
confiscation and forced labor in order to survive.

Ultimately however the problems posed by the Burmese army are borne
regionally.  The regime’s defensive posturing has drained precious
resources from critical sectors of the government.  Flagging educational
and health care systems threaten to make Burma a technological and
developmental black hole in the region.  Burma’s deepening internal crisis
will continue to entail cross border flows of refugees, drugs and disease.

There is also a significant threat that Burma’s leaders, gripped by
paranoid delusions of invasion, may attempt to acquire nuclear technology
in order to level the playing field against the technologically superior
forces of its imagined invaders.  The junta has been in dialogue with
Russia for assistance to develop a nuclear reactor, Russian technical
advisors are reportedly present in Burma for this purpose, and in the past
few years the regime has increasingly engaged North Korea.

These mounting problems require a concerted international response.  The
lifting of Western sanctions and piecemeal humanitarian responses will
fail to resolve these problems that are deeply rooted in the institutional
features of the regime.  The Security Council is correct in its efforts to
prompt international intervention; governments in the region, and Thailand
in particular, should support this process.

Aung Htoo is a pseudonym

___________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 3, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar and Mohamed Elbaradei among those to receive
the 2006 Four Freedoms Awards

For more information: Dr. David B. Woolner, Executive Director
845-486-7766; dwoolner at feri.org

HYDE PARK, NY: Aung San Suu Kyi, Mohamed ElBaradei, and three others will
receive Four Freedoms medals from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
Institute in recognition of their substantial, courageous and personal
contributions to advancing freedom in our world. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
and Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Co-Chairs of the Roosevelt
Institute, announced today the Four Freedoms laureates who will receive
the awards on May 13, 2006, in the Abbey of Middelburg, The Netherlands.

The annual awards, given on an alternating annual basis in Hyde Park, NY,
the birthplace and home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Netherlands, the
Roosevelts' ancestral home, are presented to national and world citizens
of extraordinary achievement whose words and deeds best exemplify the
qualities proclaimed by President Roosevelt in 1941 as necessary for
flourishing democracies everywhere in the world: "Freedom of Speech and
Expression, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear."

The International Four Freedoms Medal, recognizing a lifetime of work in
advancing freedom and peace for all peoples everywhere in the world, will
be awarded to Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei of Egypt, the Director General of the
International Atomic Energy Agency. Dr. ElBaradei is being honored for his
pioneering role in the development of international governance mechanisms
for the control and restraint of nuclear weapons. He has guided the
peaceful uses of nuclear energy and he has been the principal exponent of
the control of the destructive uses of that energy. His career as a
diplomat, as an international lawyer committed to the Rule of Law, and as
an advocate and guardian of the Non-Proliferation Treaty has earned him
the respect and admiration of the world community.

Joining Dr. ElBaradei in receiving medals reflecting specific freedoms are:

Freedom of Speech and Expression: Carlos Fuentes of Mexico, whose
extraordinary writings have had a significant influence and impact not
only in the Hispanic world but in every place where freedom is cherished.
He served Mexico as a distinguished diplomat but the true power of his
influence has been the eloquence of his words. He is a defender of Freedom
of Speech and his brilliant career has established him as one of its
principal guardians.

Freedom of Worship: The Taize Community of France, reflecting its great
work in the cause of international ecumenicism. Bringing together
representatives of all religions from many nations, the Community in the
simplicity of its life has provided an example to the world of the meaning
of the Lord's work. In a time of violence and fear, the Taize Community
has been a voice of understanding, of compassion and of courage. It has
given hope that the conflicts which disturb the world and the universal
search for truth and purpose can find peaceful resolution.

Freedom from Want: Muhammad Yunnus of Bangladesh, whose leadership in
establishing the Grameen Bank and in the field of micro-financing has
enabled millions in developing nations to live a better life. He is a
visionary with a dream to eradicate poverty from the world, and has had
phenomenal success in helping people lift themselves out of poverty not
only in Bangladesh but in many nations of the world. His efforts have
helped liberate the poor and have shown the way for countless individuals
to gain economic self-sufficiency for themselves and for their families.

Freedom from Fear: Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, who has kept alive the
hope of freedom, justice and democracy for her people. The triumph of her
courage in the never-ending struggle against militarism and
totalitarianism has made her voice one of the most eloquent for freedom
and social justice. She has given power and meaning to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Her continued imprisonment by the military
junta that rules her country demands that the world take notice and bring
before the tribunals of the world her cause for freedom. Aung San Suu Kyi
is fearless, and in her example all peoples and all nations find
inspiration to resist tyranny.

Past recipients of the International Four Freedoms Medals include: Kofi
Annan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama,
and Shimon Peres.

Based at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, NY,
the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute is committed to informing new
generations of the ideals and achievements of Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt and to inspire the application of their spirit of optimism and
innovation to the solution of common problems.

http://www.eisinc.com/release/storiesh/FDRLIB.017.html