BurmaNet News, March 4, 2006

[Editor]

March 4-6, 2006, 2006 Issue # 2912

Dear Readers,

BurmaNet has been experiencing some technical problems with its listserv
software. Issues have been delayed. Friday's and this weekend's issue will
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Thank you, Editor

INSIDE BURMA
DVB via BBC: Burma ministry observed selling book on Suu Kyi
DVB via BBC: Burmese opposition to press leader on talks amid worsening
poverty
The Daily Telegraph: New evidence backs claims of genocide in Burma
Kaowao: SPDC degrading river ecosystem in Mon State and Tenasserim Division
Xinhua: UNICEF, Israel launch early childhood learning activities in Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: DKBA dissatisfied with Burmese explanation over killing of its soldiers

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Dhaka eyes Burma drug market
Narinjara: Smuggled timber seized by Burmese authorities in Bangladesh

REGIONAL
PTI via BBC: Indian government mulls rail link to Burma
Irrawaddy: Burma denounces Taiwan’s abolition of reunification body
Narinjara: 496 Burmese prisoners await return to their homeland

OPINION / OTHER
Nation: Kingdom has lost its voice and influence on Burma - Kavi
Chongkittavorn
Irrawaddy: Thaksin’s Burma blunder - Aung Zaw

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 6, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Burma ministry observed selling book on Suu Kyi

It has been learned that a book describing brief personal histories of
more than 700 prominent Burmese people including [National League for
Democracy General Secretary] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and [former student
leader] Min Ko Naing has become the flavour of the month in Rangoon book
market.

Rangoon-based journalists told DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma], copies of
the book, which carries neither the name of the publisher nor the writer
nor the permit number for publication, are being sold at the Information
Ministry bookshop on Theinbyu Road [in Rangoon].

The book, titled "Thi Hmat Phweya Ko Yay Achet Let Myar [personal
biographies you should know]", features the biographical data and
photographs of 717 prominent people most of whom had spent time in prison.
The 758-page book is being sold at 4,000 kyat [Burmese currency unit] a
copy, but the persons featured in it are said to be furious because the
majority of the facts in the book are, at best, half-truths.

Sunday [5 March] news feature will carry a discussion on who could have
published the book, for what reason, and the prevailing situation of the
journalistic circle in Burma.

____________________________________

March 5, Democratic Voice of Burma via BBC
Burmese opposition to press leader on talks amid worsening poverty

Veteran politicians who participated in Burma's struggle for independence
urged the military junta [the State Peace and Development Council, SPDC]
to hold political talks as soon as possible, as suggested in the special
Union Day statement issued by the National League for Democracy [NLD] as
the way to overcome the difficulties facing the country today.

Takhin Chan Tun, one of the veteran politicians, told DVB [Democratic
Voice of Burma] the agreement for the call was reached at an informal
meeting held at the home of Takhin Thein Pe in Rangoon on 3 March. He
added that an official statement addressed to SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than
Shwe will be issued on 7 March.

[Takhin Chan Tun recording] Yes, we discussed the matter today. After
[attending the first death anniversary religious ceremony at] Takhin Chit
Maung's residence we had an informal meeting at Takhin Thein Pe's house.
We agreed to write an official letter to Sr Gen Than Shwe urging him to
hold talks as suggested by the NLD. We will send the official letter on 7
March to the SPDC Chairman Sr Gen Than Shwe. The important thing is he is
the main person. It is between the NLD and the SPDC. If the SPDC chairman
accepts the NLD's suggestion for a dialogue and endorses the proposal,
then the earlier it materialize the sooner the people and the country
could be free from their trials and tribulations. [End of recording]

That was Takhin Chan Tun, one of the veteran politicians. He also insisted
that a political dialogue is urgently needed because the country is facing
unprecedented economic and social difficulties.

[Takhin Chan Tun, recording] We feel the [NLD's] proposal is aimed to
alleviate the country from the prevailing difficulties because the economy
and social affairs are in a shambles. If the government complies with the
suggestion, then we should be very thankful to the military junta. We
should honour them. In reality the country's situation is getting worse.
The first impact was the increase in petrol prices. The second was the
move of the administrative capital to Kyatpye. We heard that some generals
and ministers had reluctantly moved to the new capital. Many are suffering
physically and mentally. The only solution to the prevailing problems is
the NLD's suggestion. We overwhelming support a political dialogue between
the groups led by NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the military junta
as soon as possible. [End of recording]

That was veteran politician Takhin Chan Tun supporting NLD's statement and
urging the military junta to hold a political dialogue as soon as
possible.

____________________________________

March 5, The Daily Telegraph (London)
New evidence backs claims of genocide in Burma - Mike Thomson

Rangoon: Fresh evidence has emerged that Burma's military government,
which seized power in 1962 and has since waged a brutal war against rebel
ethnic groups, has been carrying out acts of genocide against its own
people.

There have been allegations that in the past decade, soldiers have burnt
to the ground as many as 3,000 villages and raped, looted or killed many
of their inhabitants. Now, a Thai intelligence officer has uncovered what
he believes is proof that these were systematic atrocities ordered by the
state.

The middle-aged officer, who asked to be identified only as Thau, has
spent several years studying intercepted Burmese military communications
and analysing material found at the scene of horrific incidents inside
Burma.

It was during recent searches of the bodies of Burmese soldiers killed by
rebels that the evidence was discovered. "We found some leaflets on the
corpse of a Burmese officer,'' he said. "They said that the minority Shan
people are the enemy and have to be destroyed.''

When asked whether this referred to Shan or simply Shan fighters, he
replied: "It's the Shan race. That's happened with other races, too.''

Shan state, which lies just inside Burma's border with Thailand, has seen
some of the most brutal battles between rebel fighters and Burmese
government soldiers. Beheadings by troops of the State Peace and
Development Council - the official title of Burma's ruling military junta
- are common. So too are beatings, the use of forced labour and rape.
Growing use of amphetamines among Burma's 400,000-strong army is fuelling
this violence.

David Mathieson, a narcotics expert from the Australian National
University who is based in Thailand, said researchers had concluded that
many troops went into battle high on amphetamines. "When they come across
dead Burmese soldiers, they find methamphetamine tablets on most of them
if not all of them, particularly in the Shan state,'' he said.

The brutality of the attacks is evident in video footage, taken by members
of the evangelical Christian missionary group the Free Burma Rangers, of
the burning of villages. The organisation is one of the few to travel deep
into the Eastern Burmese forest region where an estimated 500,000 people
have been driven from their homes by the military.

The video shows young men, armed with AK47s, setting fire to bamboo homes
as residents flee in terror.

The Rangoon government of Gen Than Shwe seems content with the status quo.
Its biggest opponent, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning leader of
the National League for Democracy, remains under house arrest.

Her party's landslide election victory in 1990 has never been recognised
by the government, which continues to hold more than 1,100 political
prisoners. The junta has been gaining ground in its long-running war with
rebel ethnic minority groups such as the Karen, Shan and Karenni. These
groups, who are trying to win autonomy from Rangoon, have had to adopt
guerilla warfare after sustaining heavy losses.

The Karen's commander, Gen Mu Tu See, is not in any mood to give up the
fight against the nation's military Junta. "To stop the war is to
surrender,'' he said. "The atrocities will go on because these people are
not for democracy.''

But does a man who has seen so many of his people die and his army dwindle
really believe that his military campaign has been a success? With a weary
smile he replies: "It's a draw. Nobody is winning and nobody will win.''

In Rangoon, grinding poverty is accompanied by a lack of political
freedom. Locals emerging from a cinema were too petrified to discuss their
lives or give their names. However, two students described how they had
spent 15 years in jail for speaking out in favour of democracy. One
claimed he was forced to act like a dog, moving on all fours and
"barking'' when wardens called his name.

Severe restrictions are being placed on foreign aid agencies, including a
proposed new requirement that they employ only people offered to them by
the government. Charles Petrie, the United Nations resident co-ordinator
in Burma, said implementation of this would lead to an exodus of aid
organisations because of their "inability to function''. As ever, it is
the ordinary people who suffer most. At a refugee camp at Mae Sot, a Thai
border town, a young Burmese man called Salwa, who lost a leg after
stepping on a mine as he fled his home, described how his parents had
urged him to run for his life when soldiers arrived.

"They are old and couldn't keep up with us,'' he said. "We wanted to stop
and help them but there was no time. When I returned, I found their
bodies.''

BBC correspondent Mike Thomson's reports on life in Burma will be
broadcast on Radio 4's Today programme at 7.30am from Monday to Friday
this week.

____________________________________

March 6, Kaowao News
SPDC degrading river ecosystem in Mon State and Tenasserim Division

The Ye State Peace and Development Council Development Council and their
families have been collecting stones of different sizes from streambeds to
build military camps and selling the rocks to local people as part of the
policy, says Miss Mi Pakaomoh, an environmental activist.

“Removing the stones from the streams will degrade the river’s environment
and will destroy the balance of the aquatic system. The stones check
erosion of the riverbed and protect animal and plant life. Each rock has
an important influence on both the water flow and the species of animals
and plants that thrive in this environment,” she explained.

“The steams are very vulnerable to human activity and what the SPDC is
doing is a direct assault on the streams by taking the stones which will
affect water flow. The swifter current will dry up the river ecosystem
quickly. It will also disrupt the life cycle of small plants and fish in
the stream, eventually many species will die for lack of water and oxygen
during the summer season which is drier and the aquatic life will have no
chance,” the young woman said.

“The SPDC has been removing the stones from streams in Mon and Tenasserim
Division for several years now since they signed a ceasefire with the New
Mon State Party which allowed them to collect the stones without
intervention from them,” she added.

According to other sources, Burma’s longest bridge the Moulmein and
Martaban Bridge was completed in 2003 and this also causes widespread
erosion with over 100 acres of farmland in Beluukyun Island.

____________________________________

March 6, Xinhua General News Service
UNICEF, Israel launch early childhood learning activities in Myanmar

Yangon: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Israel launched
here on Monday training workshops to provide Myanmar children with
appropriate learning activities.

The training is the first of the two back-to-back ones on developmentally
appropriate practice in early childhood development, conducted by the UN
organization involving Israel's Center for International Cooperation and
Myanmar's Department of Social Welfare and Department of Education and
Training.

"By developing learning activities that correspond to each child's
interests and abilities, we can help build their self- confidence, improve
the quality of their educational experience and enhance their prospects
for intellectual growth," said UNICEF Education Chief Niki Abrishamian.

Experienced early childhood educators from across Myanmar will develop
strategies to help inform families about early learning opportunities and
ease children's transition from home to school.

The training will give rise to a set of guidelines, specific to Myanmar,
to help educators identify activities that nurture young children's
development.

Myanmar is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which
the country ratified in 1991.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 6, Independent Mon News Agency
DKBA dissatisfied with Burmese explanation over killing of its soldiers

The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) is not satisfied with the
Burmese Military Security Force’s explanation over the killing of two of
its soldiers.

The DKBA believes Burmese soldiers killed the DKBA soldiers but later
claimed that they were killed in the crossfire between Burmese troops and
soldiers of the Karen National Union (KNU).

Lt- Col Soe Moe, DKBA No.901 battalion commander said they would avenge
the killings of two DKBA soldiers by Burmese troops. He pointed out that
even the Southeast Commander of the Burmese Army in Moulein had ordered
paying of compensation to the DKBA.

The Southeast Commander in Moulein ordered Major Hla Min of Infantry
Battalion No-18 in Three Pagoda Pass Township to pay compensation to the
satisfaction of the DKBA.

The two DKBA soldiers were shot dead by Burmese soldiers yesterday while
they were on the way to Thabu miningsite at the Makatha natural road gate.
The Burmese Army later claimed that they had mistakenly shot two DKBA
soldiers while fighting KNU troops.

Before shooting the DKBA soldiers, Major Hla Min ordered his troops into
the area in Thabu where they met KNU soldiers. But they did not shoot at
each other.

When Major Hla Min’ troops met DKBA soldiers, they thought they were KNU
soldiers and fired on them. Major Hla Min’s troops arrived on the first
week of March.

After shooting the DKBA soldiers, Burmese soldiers took away their M-16s
and pistols.

The two DKBA soldiers were around 16 years old and had just joined the
command of DKBA officer, U Aye Once.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 6, Mizzima News
Dhaka eyes Burma drug market - Siddique Islam

Bangladeshi drug manufacturers will take part in a trade fair in Rangoon
from March 10 as the country's top pharmaceutical companies try to
increase their share of Burma's imports.

About 28 drug manufacturers are due to take part in the three-day fair,
which had been cancelled twice by the Burmese military due to security
concerns.

The military cancelled the fair in June last year, when several bombings
occurred in the country, and in February citing "internal problems".

Bangladeshi drug manufacturers attending the fair also plan to appoint
sales agents in Burma and apply for export registration with Burmese
authorities, sources in the industry told Mizzima.

"We are hopeful to increase the market share of pharmaceutical products in
Burma through the fair," President of the Bangladesh Oushadh Shilpa Samity
(association of pharmaceutical manufacturers) M Shafiuzzaman told Mizzima.

The trade fair will also feature health seminars and video presentations
on the pharmaceutical industry. About 80 Bangladeshi businessmen and
government officials are expected to attend.

Shafiuzzaman said Bangladesh was the second largest exporter of
pharmaceutical products to Burma. According to statistics, Bangladesh
exported US $1.34 million worth of pharmaceutical products to Burma from
2004 to 2005.

____________________________________

March 6, Narinjara News
Smuggled timber seized by Burmese authorities in Bangladesh

A cargo boat used for smuggling timber from Burma was seized in Bangladesh
territorial waters by Burmese authorities on March 3 said a border report.

This is not the first time Burmese authorities have had to intrude into
Bangladeshi waters to detain Burmese boats into smuggling. They intrude
into Bangladesh whenever they want to seize such boats.

A police team led by Sergeant Aung Myo Thwin from Maungdaw Myoma police
station carried out the seizure and arrested the boat owner Soe Win Tun.
Another seven boatmen escaped the police dragnet by jumping into the
water.

Although three of the boatmen reached the Bangladesh town Teknaf, four
have been missing since the incident took place. The local Arakanese
community in Teknaf is still looking for the missing boatmen on the
Bangladesh side.

The cargo boat came to Bangladesh from Taungup Township, in southern
Arakan State, on February 27, with about 50 tons of timber to sell at a
premium in Bangladeshi markets.

In Arakan State, people are becoming poorer by the day as the Burmese
military authorities deprive them of business opportunities. Therefore, a
number of businessmen are now engaged in smuggling along the border areas
as they struggle for survival.

A number of smugglers have died in untoward incidents during the course of
their business and authorities from both Burma and Bangladesh have
arrested several smugglers. However, the Arakanese people continue to stay
involved in smuggling in order to overcome the current economic and
business crisis.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 5, PTI via BBC
Indian government mulls rail link to Burma

Text of report by Jamaluddin Ahmed, carried by Indian news agency PTI

New Delhi: The union [federal] government is considering a proposal of
Indian Railways for setting up of a rail link with neighbouring Myanmar
[Burma] through the northeastern states. A feasibility study in this
regard has been completed, top level Railway Ministry sources told PTI.

It has suggested construction of a new rail link between
Jiribam-Imphal-Moreh (in India) at a cost of 29,410bn rupees, while in
Myanmar, it recommended construction of a new rail link between Tamu
(Moreh)-Kalay-Segyi at a cost of 13,390bn rupees and rehabilitation of
existing line from Segyi-Chaungu Myohaung at a of cost of 283bn rupees,
sources said.

The Jiribam-Imphal (Tupul) sector is scheduled to be completed by March
2010, they said and added that no decision has been taken with regard to
construction and rehabilitation on other sectors. Referring to security
concerns in the north-eastern states in case of a rail link with Myanmar,
they said that was under constant review.

There are four new ongoing rail line projects in Eastern Railways which
are targeted to be completed during 2005-06. The new lines are
Deogarh-Sultanganj, Banka-Barhat and Banka-Bhitia Road, Deogarh-Dumka,
Tarakeshwar-Bishnupur with extention upto Kumarkundu bypass connecting
Howrah-Bardhman Chord and Mandarhill-Rampurhat via Dumka.

In Northeast Frontier Railway, the Railway Ministry sources said there are
seven new ongoing projects which, except few, are targeted to be completed
by 2010. The seven projects are Eklakhi-Belurghat and Gazole-Itahar
(completed), Dudhnoi-Depa, Kumarghat-Agartala (to be completed by
2006-07), Harmuti-Itanagar, Bogibeel Bridge with linking lines between
Dibrugarh and North Bank line (by 2009-10), Jiribam-Imphal (2010) and New
Moinaguri-Jogighopa.

Besides, there are 13 ongoing doubling projects in Eastern railway and
five ongoing Gauge conversion projects in Notheast Frontier Railway
excluding one doubling project. Survey has also been conducted for eight
new rail projects in the northeastern region. They are Naginimora-Amuri
New Line, Bairabi-Sairang/ Aizwal, Bedeti-Itanagar, Jogighopa-Silchar via
Panchratna, Kokrajhar-Gelephu (Bhutan), Pathsala-Naglam (Bhutan), Rangia-
Samdrupjongkh (Bhutan) and Murkongselek-Pasighat new line.

As per the budget 2005-06, there were 50 ongoing gauge conversion projects
in the country requiring over 11,000 crore [one crore is 10m] rupees for
completion, which would convert 8,000 kms of lines into broad gauge.
Another 935 kms of conversion has been targeted for completion during
2005-06. During the fiscal 2006-07, another 1,100 kms of conversion has
been proposed. The completion of all these projects, however, would depend
upon availability of resources, the sources said.

____________________________________

March 6, Irrawaddy
Burma denounces Taiwan’s abolition of reunification body

Burma’s military government yesterday issued a statement in the official
The New Light of Myanmar denouncing Taiwan’s decision a week ago to end
the functions of the National Unification Council, a body that had
previously worked on reunification with China. Already widely criticized
in China’s press, yesterday’s statement from the Burmese government said
the move by Taiwan’s President Chen Shui-bian was “unacceptable for the
region as a whole.” In backing Beijing’s position on the issue, the
statement said the decision would “raise tensions on cross-strait
relations and could affect the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific
Region.” The Burmese government again reaffirmed its support for the “One
China Policy,” which comes just a few weeks after Burmese Prime Minister
Gen Soe Win gave his explicit support to Chinese efforts to reunify with
Taiwan during a trip to Beijing last month. China has maintained that any
move by Taiwan to try to seal independence will meet with military action
across the short Taiwan Strait, which separates the island from Fujian
Province on the mainland

____________________________________

March 6, Narinjara News
496 Burmese prisoners await return to their homeland

Another group of 496 Burmese prisoners in Bangladesh are awaiting return
to their homeland after 75 Burmese citizens prisoners were handed over by
Bangladeshi authorities to Burmese authorities on March 1, said an
official from Cox’sbazar jail.

The Burmese prisoners are now in Cox’sbazar jail, a bordering district
town of Bangladesh close to the Burmese Arakan State. They have been in
jail for two or three years since being convicted.

The prisoners were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities for crossing the
border illegally, piracy, dacoity, smuggling and other unlawful
activities. But a few numbers of the Burmese prisoners are politicians who
were arrested by Bangladeshi authorities when they came to Bangladesh for
political reasons.

In Cox’sbazar jail, at least 6 Arakanese freedom fighters were detained by
Bangladeshi authorities and were accused as foreigners. Among of them are
Maung Kyaw Aye, Kyaw Win and Khaing Sakyar.

The freedom fighters sent several letters of appeal to UNHCR Bangladesh to
remove them from jail and recognize them as refugees. After sending the
appeal letters to UNHCR, officials from UNHCR reportedly visited the
cox’sbazar jail two times to meet with them, said a friend of the freedom
fighters.

But there is no official confirmation on two officers visiting to
cox’sbazar jail and their situation in Cox’sbazar jail has been
maintained.

This is similar to what has happened over the last two years when 5
Burmese prisoners, who were not able to return to Burma, were released
from Bangladeshi jail after UNHCR negotiated with Bangladeshi authorities.
After the release UNHCR recognized them as refugees.

Several Burmese prisoners in Bangladeshi jails are not willing to return
back to their homeland due to fear of persecution by Burmese military
authorities but are not able to appeal to the UNHCR as other prisoners
have been able to do.

Thus, many Burmese prisoners are returning back to Burma even though they
do not want to return.

According to a source close to Nasaka, the Burma border security force, 75
Burmese prisoners might be rearrested by Burmese authorities after
Bangladesh hands them over Burmese authorities because they illegally left
Burma to a foreign country.

75 Burmese citizens were handed over to a Burmese delegation led by U Tho
Maung, deputy director of Maungdaw immigration department, by Bangladeshi
authorities during a flag meeting between Bangladesh and Burma in Teknaf
on March 1.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 6, Nation
Kingdom has lost its voice and influence on Burma - Kavi Chongkittavorn

Thailand has missed a golden opportunity to contribute to the
democratisation process in Burma. In fact, Bangkok has been sidelined. As
ongoing political uncertainties put Thaksin Shinawatra's future in doubt,
other countries in Asean and beyond are taking the lead to push for
positive change across our western border.

One immediate effect will be the diminishing of Thailand's notorious
support of the Burmese junta. When he came to power Thaksin shifted the
international attention on Burma and in the process tried to make the
issue a bilateral one, foolishly believing that this could influence the
junta to open up.

Since 2001 this flawed policy has been pursued blindly and vigorously due
to Thaksin's personal preference and strong political foundation. But as
he struggles to stay relevant to Thai politics these days, Burmese policy
has returned - at least for now - to the domain of the foreign ministry.

Early last month, Thai-Burma ties were the subject of a heated
brainstorming session among officials at the director-general level. Their
task was to discuss and identify what necessary changes, if possible,
could be made to the current Thai position, which was described as too
pro-Burma. The question that immediately came to mind was, why now?

Two concerns were expressed. One was directly linked to the effect
Thailand's Burmese policy has on our international reputation and the bid
for the United Nation's top position. The other was the level of support,
either verbal or tangible, to be given to Burma.

The first point has proven to be a nightmare. As the race to find Kofi
Annan's successor draws near, closer scrutiny of candidates'
qualifications and views on global issues are inevitable. In the case of
Thailand's candidate, the Burmese issue stands out like a protruding nail.
Worse still, former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai was closely
associated with Thaksin's Burmese policy. In private conversation he has
expressed views and assessments that differed significantly from official
policy, but he has been unable to state these views publicly.

On the level of support, senior officials were quite succinct - Thailand's
unwavering backing of the regime is so hazardous that a more benign
approach is essential. As Thaksin's chances of political survival near
zero, the officials hope to initiate subtle changes in Burma policy to
create a better rapport with their counterparts in the region and
international community.

Since the failure of the Bangkok process, Thailand has gradually lost its
voice and influence on the overall method for dealing with Burma. Bangkok
has been further isolated by changes in Rangoon's leadership. It does not
have close ties with the junta's new leaders. Most recently, Thaksin's
ignorance about the situation in Burma has become quite apparent.

At the Kuala Lumpur summit in December, he criticised Burma for not
telling Thailand and Asean that its new capital would be moved from
Rangoon to Pyinmana. He even suggested that Thailand should no longer be
Burma's spokesperson. What he did not say was that Thailand had already
begun construction of a new embassy in Rangoon.

Last week, he made another foolish gaff comparing Thai and Burmese
elections. He urged the major opposition party, the Democrats, to consult
imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi on the imperative of participating in
elections. While the Nobel laureate Suu Kyi was being honoured last week
by organisations promoting human rights and liberty in the US and EU--the
Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and Olof Palme Prize--Thaksin was
using her to poke fun at the opposition.

Suu Kyi won the May 1990 polls by a landslide, but the junta's leaders
refused to honour the result and arrest her instead. She repeatedly asked
the junta to honour the polls but to no avail. The international community
has kept on pressing Burma to honour the vote.

During the Cambodian conflict (1978-1992), as a frontline state, Thailand
led Asean for nearly two decades in the international arena. Asean members
accepted Thailand's leading role because of the clarity of its policy to
push foreign occupation out of Cambodia. Of course, there were also times
of dissension. In 1980, for example, Indonesia and Malaysia broke ranks
with Asean to announce the Kuantan Principle, which recognised Vietnam's
security interests in regard to China.

If Thai policy towards Burma had resembled the stand on the Cambodian
conflict, individual Asean countries, especially core Asean members, would
not be pursuing their own. They would not challenge Thailand's lead as a
frontline state. Instead, the absence of leadership from Bangkok has
prompted Asean MPs and civil society to form a caucus on Burma to fill the
void. Now this support has proliferated and transformed into official
platforms.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already seized the
moment knowing full well that the Burmese situation, if left unattended,
can be a threat to regional and even international security and stability.

Now Jakarta is taking the lead in engaging Burma. It will be the first
time that Indonesia has regained its diplomatic confidence in initiating
policies and measures to break the Burmese deadlock. For decades, the
Rangoon junta had long been hoping to emulate Indonesia under Suharto's
dictatorial rule.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo has recently warned that Asean
might have to downgrade its relations with Burma if the regime does not
consult the grouping on the democratisation process. Progress in Asean
should not be delayed by Burma's domestic development, he added.

As some Asean countries become bolder, the United States and the European
Union are stepping up their efforts to promote change in Burma. The Bush
administration has not only hardened its position on Burma, it has also
tried to convince major powers - including China, India and Japan - to do
more to democratise the country.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill has
said that Burma's roadmap was inadequate. In the weeks to come, the US is
leading an effort to place the Burmese issue on the UN Security Council's
agenda.

Once again, with regional and global communities focusing on the Burmese
crisis, Thailand's position is increasingly looking like a charade. New
policy on Burma supporting international solidarity is necessary to regain
the country's eroding influence.

____________________________________

March 6, Irrawaddy
Thaksin’s Burma blunder - Aung Zaw

Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has claimed that he and his
government know the situation in Burma very well because the two countries
are immediate neighbors. Yet last week Thaksin showed that he is, in fact,
quite ignorant about Burma’s ongoing political woes.

The besieged Thai premier, who faces increasing pressure to resign,
disclosed his limited understanding of current Burmese politics when he
cynically urged Thailand’s three opposition parties, led by the Democrat
Party, which are to boycott the snap election called by Thaksin for April,
to consult detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the imperative
of participating in elections.

The fact is that Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy are not
calling for new elections in Burma but are insisting that the military
regime honors the outcome of the 1990 elections, in which the NLD emerged
the outright winner.

It is disturbing to see Thailand’s PM making blunders such as this in his
attempts to exploit any issues in the political situation to confuse the
Thai people.

Thaksin is a known friend of Burma’s military regime. Since he came to
power, Thaksin and his government have courted the regime by offering
loans, improving border trade and sending numerous delegations to Rangoon.
While other governments in the region—and worldwide— are piling on the
criticism of the junta and championing speedy change in Burma, Thaksin is
seen defending the generals, investing in the country and promising
piecemeal progress.

Thailand is Burma’s third most important investment partner, and Thai
exports to Burma amount to around US $1.26 billion annually. Thaksin also
has his own business interest in Burma—in 2003, Shin Corp, the telecoms
company until recently owned by Thaksin’s family, signed a deal with Bagan
Cybertech, the Internet service provider run by Ye Naing Win, the son of
disgraced prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt.

In 2004, Thaksin went to the ancient Burmese former capital Pagan to sell
his Economic Cooperation Strategy, and promised Burma aid and support
worth $45 million.

He also set his sights on what he has called the "excellent prospects" in
Burma’s tourism industry, proposing the construction of a ski resort in
Burma’s northern Kachin State and the development of the unspoilt beaches
of Arakan State.

At the same time, his administration has cracked down on Burmese seeking
economic and political refuge in Thailand, raising concerns about a
conflict of interests and doubts about Bangkok’s ability to act as an
honest broker in Burma’s political standoff. The “Bangkok Process,” hosted
by Thaksin’s government two years ago ostensibly to advance democracy in
Burma, fizzled out when Burmese representatives failed to turn up for a
planned second session.

Sadly, Thaksin’s government, by criticizing Burmese migrants and refugees
living in Thailand, has played the nationalism card in order to boost his
popularity.

In early 2004, UN human rights envoy Hina Jilani visited Thailand and
declared: "Many of the Burmese human rights defenders feel very insecure
with regard to their freedom of movement inside Thailand." Not
surprisingly, Jilani received a cool reception in Bangkok.

Thaksin’s hard stance on Burmese in Thailand has also alarmed some US
legislators in Washington. In 2004, US Senator John McCain sent a letter
to Thaksin, citing "credible, first-hand reports" that Bangkok had taken
steps to curtail the activities of democracy activists in border areas.
"As a friend of Thailand, I write to express my deep concern over recent
actions by Thai authorities along your border with Burma," McCain wrote.

Somchai Homlaor, head of the Bangkok-based rights group Forum Asia, once
told The Irrawaddy that Thaksin’s tough stance on Burmese refugees and
political dissidents living in Thailand was seen as part of an appeasement
policy aimed at forging better relations with Rangoon.

During the Asean summit in Bali, Indonesia, in 2004, Thaksin surprised
many of the delegates by giving Burma his unconditional support and
praising Khin Nyunt’s “sincerity.” Philippine president Gloria Arroyo
later told journalists that Thaksin defended Burma throughout the entire
summit.

But Rangoon was not that pleased with Thaksin. The irony is that the
regime believed Thaksin to be too close to Khin Nyunt. When Khin Nyunt
fell in October that year, Thaksin lost his hotline to the Burmese top
brass, and even now the Thai government has little communication with the
regime.

Other strains were put on Thai-Burmese relations when the regime learned
that Thailand’s Shin Corp listened in to phone conversations at the War
Office in Rangoon, when Khin Nyunt was removed in 2004. Thailand was the
first country to break the news of the downfall of Khin Nyunt and his
military security apparatus, which was disclosed in Bangkok before any
official announcement from Rangoon.

Now Thaksin is in trouble. Military leaders in Rangoon are quietly
watching the political crisis that surrounds the Thai prime minister.
Although Thaksin can expect no sizable support from Rangoon, it’s still
safe to say that the Burmese regime prefers him to any alternative. And
after his ill-considered remark downplaying Suu Kyi’s plight, it might be
persuaded to believe Thaksin is comparing the Burmese generals’ opposition
to his own.