BurmaNet News, March 8, 2006

[Editor]

March 8, 2006, Issue # 2914


INSIDE BURMA
AP: India's president arrives on three-day state visit to Myanmar
AFP: Myanmar arrests ethnic rebel over small bombings
Narinjara: Burmese Army collects new tolls from local people
DVB: Two NLD leaders sent to jail by Burmese authorities

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: International Women's Day celebrated on Thai-Burma border - Mi Joi Htaw

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: Myanmar keeps gas options open with India pact

DRUGS
SHAN: Fields destroyed by ceasefire group

ASEAN
Malaysiakini via BBC: Malaysian foreign minister says still no date for
Burma trip

REGIONAL
DVB: Aung San Suu Kyi’s release will help smoothen transition – India
Philadelphia: While others push to free Myanmar, China takes a more
profitable path

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Burma’s Red Carpet for the Indians

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INSIDE BURMA

March 8, Associated Press
India's president arrives on three-day state visit to Myanmar - Aye Aye Win

Yangon: Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and a 40-member entourage
arrived in Yangon amid tight security Wednesday for a landmark trip aimed
at strengthening ties between the neighbors despite Myanmar's continued
suppression of democracy.

While Indian officials expressed concern over the human-rights situation
in Myanmar, also known as Burma, restoring democracy and securing the
release of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi were not expected
to be a focus of talks when Kalam meets the head of the ruling junta Gen.
Than Shwe.

Instead, Kalam will look at boosting India's strategic ties with Yangon
over the three-day trip, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, who
accompanied Kalam, told reporters ahead of the visit.

On the top of the agenda was signing a deal to bring natural gas from
Myanmar to energy hungry India, Saran said.

India also wants further help from Myanmar to combat a separatist
insurgency in India's remote northeast, which shares a 1,400-kilometer
(870-mile) border with Myanmar, he said.

Another agreement will set up a ground station in Myanmar to receive data
from an Indian satellite used for such things as analyzing soil and
minerals for use in agriculture.

Saran denied that Kalam was visiting Myanmar to counter growing Chinese
influence there. China, which borders Myanmar to the north, is frequently
regarded as a rival by India.

Last month, a coalition of Indian human rights groups and political
parties urged the government to put off the visit until Suu Kyi is
released.

However, Saran said India attached great importance to its ties with
Myanmar, which it regarded as a "gateway" to Southeast Asia.

"For various reasons it is important for India and Myanmar to remain
engaged," Saran said, adding that India cares about democracy in Myanmar
despite its ties to the military government.

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

Saran said India supported the release of Suu Kyi. The pro-democracy
leader has spent 10 of the last 16 years in detention and is now under
house arrest.

During his visit Kalam is also expected to visit the mausoleum of Bahadur
Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor of India, who was exiled to Yangon by
the British.

India has kept close relations with Myanmar despite international calls to
isolate the country until the military restores democracy.

Associated Press writer Gavin Rabinowitz in New Delhi contributed to this
report.

____________________________________

March 8, Agence France Presse
Myanmar arrests ethnic rebel over small bombings

Yangon: A 24-year-old ethnic Karen rebel has been arrested over two small
bombings last week in central Myanmar in which no one was hurt, official
media said Wednesday.

"The bomber was identified as Saw Gay The Mu ... a private of KNU
Brigade-5 Headquarters, and an investigation into the case is continuing,"
the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

The Karen National Union (KNU) is waging one of the world's
longest-running insurgencies, in a 57-year struggle for autonomy in the
ethnic Karen regions of eastern Myanmar.

Saw Gay The Mu was arrested on March 2 in the central township of Toungoo,
just hours after he allegedly planted one bomb near a high school and
another near a power transformer, the paper said.

The bombs caused only minor damage and injured no one, the paper said.

Efforts by the KNU and Yangon to reach a ceasefire were called off in 2004
after a shake-up in the government.

The military has ruled the country formerly known as Burma since 1962.

____________________________________

March 8, Narinjara News
Burmese Army collects new tolls from local people

The Burmese army is now collecting tolls from local Arakanese people using
a new method, said a teacher from Mrauk U Township. This new means of toll
collection is different from previous methods and is done very cleverly by
the army.

The teacher said that if one village produces bamboo, the army orders the
village to send the stitched nipa, or palm, for construction of the army
camps. Conversely, if one village produces timber from the nearby
mountains, the army officers order the village to send bamboo for the army
camps.

After such an order is given, the village authorities will travel to the
army camp to explain to the officers that they are unable to send the
requested product because their village does not produce it. They then
request that they be allowed to send timber instead of bamboo, for
example, because their village does not produce bamboo.

After the village leaders explain their situation, the army officers order
that the village must pay in cash instead of bamboo, and the officers will
then purchase the bamboo themselves from other bamboo traders.

Burmese officials from LIB 379, 377, and 540 based in Mrauk U have
implemented this new system of demanding inappropriate products and then
collecting cash from the villagers for their own interest.

Several villages including Bauk Kan Chaung and Makyar in Mrauk U Township
are suffering under this toll collection.

____________________________________

March 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Two NLD leaders sent to jail by Burmese authorities

Burma’s western Arakan State, Sittwe (Akyab) Township National League for
Democracy (NLD) chairman San Shwe Tun and organising committee member Aung
Pan Tha, were each sentenced to three years in jail by a local court
within last week.

The two active NLD leaders were arrested on 20 July and tried at Sittwe
court under Act 24-1, on the charge of trading illegal foreign currencies.

“In fact, what the lawyers from outside are saying is – if they (the
defendants) are to be punished, they should get 3 months or 6 months. Not
more than that,” a close family friend of the two told DVB. “Now that they
are given three years, people don’t know how they were given the
punishment.”

A local resident told DVB that the two leaders were approached by
‘unknown’ currency dealers but the they refused to buy any money from
them. They were arrested, nevertheless. When the authorities searched
their homes not a single note of foreign currency was found.

Observers believe that San Shwe Tun and Aung Pan Tha were arrested and
imprisoned with trumped up charges because of their vital and active roles
in the NLD.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 8, Independent Mon News for Agency
International Women's Day celebrated on Thai-Burma border - Mi Joi Htaw

Women on the border held the International Women's Day in Sangkhlaburi
today. Over 60 people joined the celebrations.

A member of the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) Southern-Burma
explained the history and significance of the International Women's Day.
It was meant to create awareness that women were discriminated against and
oppressed. The United Nation had recognized March 8 as the International
Women's Day (IWD) to symbolize the struggle of women internationally.

“Let's implement a liberal and fair constitutional system. And try to find
out how we can achieve unity among our ethnic women's groups,” those who
participated said.

“Now a days men and women are on equal terms, so we should not
discriminate in terms of position or standard,” added a participant.

Equal rights should be based on equality and fairness. Everyone should get
equal opportunities in the community, said Nai Yeup from Mon Unity League.

“If we look at the current situation in Burma ( Myanmar ), women are
absolutely not involved in movements because their leader is still
imprisoned and not allowed to participate in political movements,” he
added.

The Women's League of Burma (WLB) released a statement urging inclusion of
women rights --“Constituting Our Rights” in Myanmar 's Law and
Constitution. In the future of Myanmar 's federation, the WLB urged that
women be allowed to participate in political movements and given equal
rights.

The WLB, Mon Women's Organisation (MWO), WCRP, Mon Youth Progressive
Organization (MYPO), Overseas Mon Women Organisation (OMWO), Safe House
(Karen Organisation), other Mon Women Organizations from villages worked
together and celebrated the International Women's Day.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 8, Reuters
Myanmar keeps gas options open with India pact - Aung Hla Tun

Yangon: An energy co-operation deal that Myanmar will sign with India this
week is identical to one it agreed last year with China, as Yangon keeps
both options open for its huge natural gas reserves, officials said on
Wednesday.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Cooperation will be finalised
during a three-day visit to the former Burma by Indian President A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam this week. The Indian foreign secretary announced the
agreement on Tuesday.

"What we are going to sign with our Indian counterpart is just like the
one we signed with China last year," a senior official in Myanmar's Energy
Ministry told Reuters.

But the official, who declined to be named, said more exploration and
feasibility studies were needed before Yangon decided on gas sales to
either Asian giants.

"All these things come before we make a final decision on the sale of the
gas and how to do it. We will do whatever is best for our country," he
said.

India and China, both seeking to feed energy-hungry economies, are cozying
up to neighbouring Myanmar's military junta with an eye on its vast
natural gas reserves.

The agreement with China, reported by Indian and Myanmar media in January,
raised concerns that India might miss out on getting a share of the gas
resources, which would be enough to satisfy its own demand for 80 years at
current consumption rates.

India has been pressing to build a pipeline from Myanmar through
Bangladesh into India to meet a yawning supply gap. Other options to buy
Myanmar's gas include a liquefied natural gas (LNG) development or a
pipeline directly to India's northeast.

Myanmar says it has the world's tenth-biggest gas reserves estimated at
more than 90 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in its 19 onshore and three major
offshore fields, although the BP Statistical Review puts proven gas
reserves much lower at 19 Tcf.

The fields are also estimated to contain around 3.2 billion barrels of
recoverable crude oil.

Its recently discovered A-1 field, operated by South Korea's Daewoo
International, has commercial reserves of 2.88-3.56 Tcf of gas. That
figure may rise as nearby fields are appraised, possibly supporting
several export pipelines.

Indian state-run gas firms ONGC Videsh, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oil
and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), has a 20 percent stake in A-1, while GAIL
India has 10 percent. Korea Gas Corp. also owns 10 percent.

India, whose economy grew at 7.6 percent in the fiscal quarter ending in
December, produces barely half the gas it needs and is also planning gas
pipelines from Iran and Turkmenistan.

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 8, Shan Herald Agency for News
Fields destroyed by ceasefire group

A recent truce between two warring factions of the Shan Nationalities
People's Liberation Organization (SNPLO), a ceasefire group, failed to
save the poppy fields destroyed by one rival faction, according to new
arrivals of migrants from southern Shan State:

Due to the intervention by the Burma Army's Taunggyi-based Eastern Region
Command and the United Wa State Army (UWSA), all hostilities between
factions led by Chit Maung and the aging Takelay have ceased since early
February. On 2 February, Takelay, 77, was invited to Taunggyi and
"requested" to retire peacefully to his home in Myaybyu Quarter.

As for Chit Maung, who appears to be in the Burma Army's favor, he was
told the change of name from SNPLO to PNUO (PaO Regional Nationalities
Unity Organization) would not be recognized by Rangoon, and was advised to
revert to the old name adopted in 1968.

As for the poppy farmers in Loimaw, Hsihseng township, the truce came too
late. Hundreds of acres of their fields were razed to the ground by the
Chit Maung faction that controls the SNPLO area west of the Pawn. "It was
to prevent the Takelay faction that has refineries in areas under its
control (i.e. East of the Pawn: Namzang, Mongnai and Mawkmai townships)
from buying up the harvest," said the SNPLO officer who is among the 300
newly arrived people who came to find refuge in one of the fruit
plantations in Chiangmai's Fang area. "It's a sort of scorched earth
policy."

The farmers had pleaded with the destruction teams, explaining they had
paid tax both to the local Burma Army units and the SNPLO itself, all to
no avail. "With the Burmese (Army), they only cut down the poor looking
fields or those harvested," said a local farmer. "But the SNPLO, they just
destroyed everything."

As a result, the price has risen from 500,000 kyat ($500) per viss (1.6
kg) to 520,000 kyat ($520).

Loimaw in Hsihseng township is one of the principal producers of opium in
Shan State.

The Takelay faction "fortunately" is still in possession of Loiye in
Mongzit tract, Namzang township, that is reputed to have some 2,000 acres
of poppy fields.

It has also moved its refinery, reportedly managed by Takelay's son-in-law
Kao Shan, to Nayai, Mongzit tract, Namzang township, where Kao Shan's
brother Chou Sang has already had another one in operation. Both brothers
are formerly from the Mong Tai Army of Khun Sa that surrendered in 1996.

All sources coming from southern Shan State agree there are more poppy
fields this year than any other year in the past. "The Chinese bosses, who
have agreement with local commanders, are responsible for the safety of
the fields," said the source, who had been a hired farm hand before he
left his home in Loilem.

The boss paid 30,000 kyat ($30) per month plus meals to a few of those who
worked on a monthly basis and 3,000 kyat ($3) per day plus meals to the
rest who worked part-time, he added.

The SNPLO joined forces with the Chinese-backed Communist Party of Burma
(CPB) in 1974 but made peace with Rangoon later on 9 October 1994. It
still enjoys cordial relations with the UWSA, the successor to the CPB.
Zhao Zhungtang, a UWSA leader, is Takelay's son-in-law. The group split in
October 2005.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 8, Malaysiakini via BBC
Malaysian foreign minister says still no date for Burma trip - Petaling Jaya

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said his plans to visit
military-ruled Burma to check on the progress of democratic reforms have
been stalled.

"My trip is still stalled," said Syed Hamid, who is acting as the envoy of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A trip planned for January was cancelled by Burma's ruling generals and
Malaysian officials said last month that it had been rescheduled for
March, but Syed Hamid said there was now no date for the mission.

"They have not given us a date. We recognise there is a communication
problem since they relocated their capital," he told AFP, referring to the
ruling junta's surprise decision last year to shift its administration
from Rangoon.

Syed Hamid said ASEAN leaders were expecting his trip to take place before
April when the 10-nation bloc's foreign ministers gather in the Indonesian
resort island of Bali.

"We must receive some report on the progress of democracy in Myanmar
[Burma] before the April meeting. I do hope seriously, the trip could be
made before April," he said, using the military junta's new name of the
country.

The minister declined to speculate on why Burma was delaying his mission.

"I hope they will cooperate and do whatever necessary to allow me to make
this trip. Malaysia has been supportive of a constructive role," he said.
"When we are given a task, we would like to perform the task."

Syed Hamid said that resolving the vexed issue of Burma, which is under
intense international pressure to end four decades of military rule and
shift to democracy, would benefit the entire region.

"If we succeed, then it will boost ASEAN's image and credibility
internationally," he said.

Insisting to see Suu Kyi

Under pressure from the international community, ASEAN at its annual
meeting in December reached agreement with Rangoon to allow Syed Hamid to
visit as an envoy to check on its claims that it is steadily introducing
reforms.

However, the regime soon said it was "too busy" moving its administrative
capital to a logging town 320km north of Rangoon.

The main sticking point in negotiations over Syed Hamid's trip is believed
to be his insistence on seeing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who
is currently under house arrest.

Burma's junta brutally crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988 and
two years later rejected the result of national elections won by Aung San
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy.

In November, it extended her house arrest by another six months,
irritating regional leaders who held their annual summit shortly
afterwards. The Nobel peace laureate has spent more than 10 of the last 16
years under house arrest.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi’s release will help smoothen transition – India

Only when Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house
arrest, would the transitional period to democracy for the country be
smooth, said the Indian government.

The comment was made by the Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran during a
news conference held at New Delhi on 7 March, one day before the visit of
Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to Burma.

Saran, also a former Indian ambassador to Burma who is accompanying the
president said that Aung San Suu Kyi grew up, studied and lived with her
mother who was a Burmese ambassador in India and has strong ties with the
country. Saran added that his government believes Aung San Suu Kyi is
someone who could bring about democracy quickly to Burma as she is the
daughter of Burma’s independence hero Gen Aung San and that she possesses
the ability of her late father.

Saran added that Kalam’s visit would be the highest level visit to the
neighbouring country in recent years, a response to the successful visit
by Burma's ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC) chairman Gen Than Shwe to India in 2002.

At the same time, other reports from New Delhi said that Kalam’s three-day
trip to Burma is part of his efforts to further India's Look East policy,
strengthening economic, business, education and cultural bonds.

Describing it as a significant visit with an enormous amount of
"substantive content", Saran said an agreement between the two sides for
evacuation of natural gas to India would be tied up. The reports added
that India has been keen to tap Burma's gas reserves in the Gulf of Bengal
and this could be routed through a pipeline to the northeast of India or
any other option including converting it into liquefied natural gas (LNG)
and shipping it to India – a plan opposed by environmentalists and people
affected by the project, claiming it would lead to more damages to the
environment and human rights abuses on local people by the junta.

During his visit, the president will pay his respects at the historic Shwe
Dagon Pagoda and at the shrine of India's last Mughal emperor, Bahadur
Shah Zafar. He will also visit Mandalay, Burma's second largest city and
take a trip to the school of traditional medicine there.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 8, The Irrawaddy
Burma’s red carpet for the Indians

As Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam arrived in Rangoon on Wednesday, few
observers expected his talks with the ruling generals to include moves
towards democracy, human rights or any other of the controversial issues
for which Burma is assailed by the international community. It is also
doubtful whether the issue of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s
prolonged detention will be raised.

Bilateral relations between the two neighbors are becoming warmer these
days, with India trying to offset Burma’s close links with its other giant
neighbor, China, and seeking a new bridge to Southeast Asia, and both
countries talking of military cooperation. Significantly, Kalam’s visit
closely followed Indian Vice Admiral Arun Pradesh’s trip to Rangoon in
January.

Rangoon laid out the red carpet for the president, with the state-owned
press calling him “one of the most distinguished scientists 
 transforming
India into a developed nation by 2020.” Evading a political agenda, talks
will focus on energy, cooperation in satellite links, trade and generally
cementing what New Delhi characterizes as a need to “engage” Burma.

Only last week, at the end of President George Bush’s visit to India, a
joint India-US press release mentioned a need for a restoration of
democracy in Burma, and Suu Kyi’s release. But the Burmese regime is not
expecting the two issues to crop up during Kalam’s current two-day visit.

On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters in New
Delhi that his government prefers engagement with Burma: “There are very
good reasons why India must remain engaged with Myanmar [Burma.]” In a
signal that India is also concerned about Burma’s move to democracy, and
Suu Kyi, he added that Suu Kyi’s “welfare and release would be very hepful
in the process of [restoring] democracy.”

When Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his Burmese counterpart Gen
Soe Win while both attended the East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, he
reportedly urged the regime to release Suu Kyi. But it appears India has
no intention of dictating to the generals, preferring a softly-softly
approach, despite its earlier stance of siding with Burma’s pro-democracy
movement.

Military cooperation between the two countries was first given a boost
during Burmese supreme Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s visit to India in 2004, when
both sides agreed to jointly combat “terrorist activities” in their
northern border region. Several Indian insurgency movements operate in
this area.

This year, it appears cooperation is shifting to prospects of Burma buying
Indian warships and aircraft at “friendly prices,” and India also
providing military training.

Ironically, while the Burmese generals are putting out the welcome mat for
Indian dignitaries, an Asean delegation led by Malaysian Foreign Minister
Syed Hamid Albar is still having to cool its heels waiting to be allowed
to visit fellow member Burma.

The delegation was proposed at Asean’s summit in Kuala Lumpur before the
East Asia Summit in December. It was tasked with monitoring Burma’s
progress on it professed path to democracy, and was originally destined to
visit Rangoon in January. But the visit has been twice postponed by the
Burmese junta’s insistence it has been too busy moving the capital north
to Pyinmana.

But the generals are not too busy to talk to visitors talking about arms
and buying Burmese natural gas.