BurmaNet News, March 30, 2006

[Editor]

March 30, 2006 Issue # 2930

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Junta indicates it may not accept NLD compromise
DVB: Lawless Burma: Police beat up and detain innocent civilians at Daik-U
Narinjara: Government agricultural plan resulted in land confiscation in
Arakan
Reuters: Prevented from working, the French section of MSF leaves Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Global Fund opens new malaria posts along Thai-Burmese border

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Burmese Kyat hits all-time low
Xinhua: Myanmar seeks ways to cope with rising commodity prices

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Medical charity pulls French staff from Myanmar

ASEAN
Malaysian News via BBC: Burmese "government in exile" urges ASEAN to press
for meeting with Suu Kyi
AP: ASEAN seeks to prod Myanmar to democracy

REGIONAL
Mizzima: Burmese activists stage hunger strike in India

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima: Experts, activists call on US to create international coalition
on Burma
AP: Official says U.S. will continue to press U.N. to act on Myanmar
Reuters: S.E. Asian nations ask China, India to prod Myanmar

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 30, Irrawaddy
Junta indicates it may not accept NLD compromise - Clive Parker

Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, has
received the first indication that the junta may not accept the proposal
it made last month to end its long-running political standoff.

The NLD on February 12 announced for the first time it would recognize the
State Peace and Development Council as an interim ruling body ahead of the
formation of a democratic parliament, should the junta accept. Part of the
proposal includes the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her participation in
discussions between the NLD and the government that would take place
during this transitional period.

However, an article in the Burmese edition of state-run The New Light of
Myanmar yesterday that also appeared in the English version of the
newspaper today, suggests the government is unlikely to accept the NLD’s
proposal.

“The NLD announcement is not new,” the piece says. “It is questionable if
the NLD announcement is a flexible policy or not for democratic transition
in Myanmar [Burma].”

It continues by saying that the NLD must first abandon its calls for
economic boycotts by other countries, arguing that Burma cannot expect
democratic progress without first experiencing economic development and
stability. Efforts to dislodge the government had resulted in the
perpetrators being “put behind bars,” it admitted.

“National reconciliation cannot be achieved through any kind of pressure,
and the dialogue cannot yield results unless the NLD reconsiders and
addresses its own problems that make the negotiations between the Tatmadaw
government and the NLD impossible,” it adds.

Entitled “Flexibility or Trickery,” the article was written by Kyaw Myint
Naing, a well-known contributor to The New Light of Myanmar, who has
published a number of pieces criticizing the NLD, including one entitled
"Negotiation is NOT the solution for Burma's democracy."

New York-based Human Rights Watch has previously suggested that Kyaw Myint
Naing is the pen name of a senior military official, although the chief
editor of The New Light of Myanmar, Maung Maung Aye, today refused to
confirm this, saying his identity was “a secret.”

Asked whether the piece reflected government policy and therefore the
junta would not accept the NLD’s request, Maung Maung said “our newspaper
is a government-owned newspaper” without elaborating further.

Such articles in Burma’s state-run press—which is directly controlled by
the Ministry of Information—are usually considered highly representative
of the government’s thinking. The NLD acknowledged as much today, saying
it was the first feedback it had received from the government on the
requests made last month.

Spokesperson Myint Thein said the NLD still expects an official response
from the junta ahead of the deadline it set for April 17, Burma’s New Year
Day.

“We want to compromise with them so we are calling for dialogue always
we
very much welcome dialogue. If we have a dialogue we can discuss
everything and be flexible,” he said. “There is no trickery, we are just
hoping for the country’s and the people’s future.”

____________________________________

March 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lawless Burma: Police beat up and detain innocent civilians at Daik-U

A team of policemen at Daik-U, Pegu Division in lower central Burma
brutally beat up four innocent civilians of the same family in public on
19 March, causing outrage among the local population.

The incident started on the night of 18 March when a relative of the four
victims, Naing Too from Ward-3 was forced to guard a security checkpoint
by the local authorities. As the police beat up those who fell asleep
during the night, Naing Too kept awake by playing guitar to entertain his
fellow guards. On the following day, two policemen Min Aye and Tin Soe Win
came to arrest Naing Too at his home for causing noisy dins while on duty.
But Naing Too tried to resist arrest by locking himself in the house. The
two policemen then smashed the door open with bricks but they were
confronted by sword wielding Naing Too who wounded Myint Aye on the head,
requiring him seven stitches at the hospital. Fifteen minutes later the
whole local police force, numbered around 60, came to arrest Naing Too but
he managed to escape. Then, the police beat up Naing Too’s 70-year old
father Tun Shwe who was not well, mother Yin Myint, younger brother Zeya
San and his wife Ni Ni Mar for letting off the accused.

“The old man was handcuffed and his longyi (sarong) fell off and he was
dragged out onto the street stark naked,” a local resident told DVB.
“Then, they all beat him up mercilessly with sticks, kicked him with their
feet. There is nothing to salvage from his face
they then arrested four of
them and like kidnapping they said that they will be exchanged with Maung
Naing Too”.

The police are also pressurising and intimidating other relatives of the
family. The local resident who witnessed the brutality of the police said
it reminded him of the brutality of the fascist Japanese military police
Kempetai during WW2.

Recently, a former political prisoner Thet Naing Oo was brutally beaten up
by a mob led by the police and fire brigade members of Rangoon
Kyimyintaing (Kemmendine) Township. He died on the following day.

____________________________________

March 30, Narinjara News
Government agricultural plan resulted in land confiscation in Arakan

The Burmese military authority from Rangoon ordered all army battalions in
Arakan State to cultivate Physic nuts from this year dry season to promote
state income through this agriculture project, said army personnel.

In the order, at least 35 acres of farms will be cultivated by per
battalion where each battalion will have to cultivate 1200 plants per
acre.

Following the authority's order, the army authorities confiscated several
farms near the army cantonment after the army official's examination of
the land. Several farms in Arakan state including several arecas of farms
nearby Ramaung Bridge in Minbya were confiscated by army authorities
recently for this agriculture project.

Moreover, a number of townships in Arakan including Sittwe, Rathidaung,
Buthidaung, Kyauktaw and Mrauk U are also facing the problem of land
confiscation by the Burmese army, said a primary teacher.

In Arakan State, there are 43 light infantry battalions and 10 other army
headquarters including west command and one artillery battalion.

Burmese army has already confiscated a large section of land from Arakan
people to cultivate rubber, teak, pepper and rice before the new Physic
nut endeavor.

____________________________________

March 30, Reuters
Prevented from working, the French section of MSF leaves Myanmar

"The Burmese regime wants absolute control over any humanitarian actor
present in these politically-sensitive regions," explains Dr. Hervé
Isambert, Program Manager for the French section of MSF in Myanmar.

MSF : Paris - After four years in Myanmar (Burma), the French section of
Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) has closed its medical programs and left
the country. The programs were situated in the Mon and Karen states, a
region bordering Thailand, and caught in an armed conflict between the
Burmese military government and rebel groups.

MSF has left because of unacceptable conditions imposed by the authorities
on how to provide relief to people living in war-affected areas. The
French section of MSF ended its presence in Myanmar on the 26th of March
when the head of mission departed from the country.

In 2001, MSF began medical activities in Mon and Karen states, mainly
focusing on malaria treatment. Malaria is one of the main causes of death
in this area of conflict where there is poor access to health care. Since
2004, MSF’s access to the population became increasingly difficult.

By the end of 2005, the military authorities had imposed so many travel
restrictions on MSF and applied such pressure on local health authorities
not to cooperate with our teams, that it became impossible for MSF to work
in an acceptable manner.

"The Burmese regime wants absolute control over any humanitarian actor
present in these politically-sensitive regions," explains Dr. Hervé
Isambert, program manager for the French section of MSF in Myanmar. "If we
accept the restrictions imposed on us today, we would become nothing more
than a technical service provider subject to the political priorities of
the junta. It appears that the Burmese authorities do not want anyone to
witness the abuses they are committing against their own population."

Faced with this deadlock, the French section of MSF has decided to close
its programs and leave the country.

The Dutch and Swiss sections of MSF continue to work in Myanmar. Although
they too are facing serious access problems in the regions where they work
and are concerned about the future of their projects, for the time being
they feel they can remain in the country and provide quality care to their
patients without making unacceptable compromises with the authorities.

Only selected MSF documents are posted on Alertnet. For a complete
selection of MSF news, please visit the MSF International website
http://www.msf.org

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 30, Irrawaddy
Global Fund opens new malaria posts along Thai-Burmese border - Shah Paung
and Sai Silp

Global Fund, the world’s largest funding body which withdrew its
operations from Burma last year, has opened additional malaria posts in
three Thai provinces along the Thai-Burmese border.

The funding group now operates some 87 malaria posts, comprising 100
staff, throughout Tak province, according to Dr Suphakit Sirilak, deputy
director of the Tak Provincial Health Department.

Global Fund opened its first malaria posts in 2003 in Tak, Mae Hong Son
and Kanchanaburi. Others quickly followed in Chumporn, Prachuap Khirikhan
and Yala in 2004. The three newest posts are now operating in Trat, Surat
Thani and Ranong, areas that have large populations of migrant workers
from Burma.

“The results from our operations over the last two years show that we are
becoming very effective,” said Sirilak. “In about five years, the number
of patients—both Thai and Burmese—reached more than 80,000, but over the
last two years, we have treated less than 20,000. And the death rate has
dropped.”

He added that since Global Fund’s withdrawal from Burma, there has been
concern that outbreaks of malaria will increase in Thailand because people
are crossing the border from Burma every day. The group pulled out of
Burma last August, and prior to its departure had committed nearly US $100
million to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Burma.

The community malaria post projects receive financial support from Global
Fund and are operated by the Thai Ministry of Public Health. The group has
pledged nearly $5.3 million over five years to fight malaria along the
Thai-Burmese border.

The community posts are staffed by local villagers trained by the health
department to identify the presence of the disease in blood samples
quickly and without the use of a microscope. Examinations and treatment
are provided free of charge to anyone who needs them.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 29, Irrawaddy
Burmese Kyat hits all-time low - Yeni

A ten-fold increase of Burmese government workers’ salaries at the end of
April looks set to further exacerbate the country’s already high
inflation.

Burma’s national currency, the kyat, dropped from 1,250 to the dollar on
Monday to an all-time low black market rate of 1,400 on Thursday. The
price of gold also shot up from 380,000 kyat ($270) per tical of 24-carat
gold to 420,000 ($300.)

Meanwhile, a gallon of diesel on the black market went up to 3,800 kyats
($2.50) from 3600 kyats, affecting other prices as transportation costs
increased. The price of commodities such as rice, cooking oil and other
food increased over 10 percent since the salary increase was announced
last Sunday.

Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, addressing reporters in the new
administrative capital of Pyinmana on Sunday, said the wage increase would
go into effect from April 31, the start of the new fiscal year.

Burma’s state-controlled media has yet to make any official comment on the
salary hike. Instead, reports today indicated that Rangoon’s Mayor
Brig-Gen Aung Thein Linn had discussed price-control measures with
officials from various bodies including the Union of Myanmar Federation of
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Myanmar Rice Dealers Association,
Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, Myanmar Livestock Breeding
Federation, and Myanmar Goldsmith Association.

So far, no privately owned publications—which are subject to rigorous
scrutiny by Burma’s notorious censorship committee—have not been permitted
to cover the price increases.

“These days, the government even censors updates on the market price for
rice,” a Rangoon-based business editor told The Irrawaddy.

A Rangoon economist claimed that the government would need about 100
billion kyat ($71,500,000) to implement the wage hike. “We’re expecting
the regime to increase revenue by raising taxes and printing more money,”
he said.

Last September, the government increased tax on utilities such as
electricity and water, and even the cover price of newspapers.

A recently published review by the Economist Intelligence Unit—a division
of The Economist magazine—forecasted that the Burmese junta would continue
to monetize the budget deficit and, in an attempt to contain inflation, is
likely “to implement ad hoc, ill-devised remedies, such as imposing
controls on the price and sale of important commodities.” The review also
warned that such measures “could stoke popular unrest.”

____________________________________

March 30, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar seeks ways to cope with rising commodity prices

The Yangon municipal authorities are seeking ways to cope with rising
commodity prices resulting from last Friday's government decision to raise
salaries of civil servants to an unprecedentedly high margin.

A meeting between the Yangon City Development Committee and business
circles including goldsmiths, rice, edible oil and bean dealers, livestock
breeders and industrial entrepreneurs was called on Wednesday to discuss
measures to be taken to stabilize the commodity prices, the official
newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Thursday.

A plan of forming committees for controlling prices of basic food items in
Yangon division was outlined at the meeting which urged respective
business associations to make their efforts in the price control, the
report added.

As news about the government's move spread, gold prices soared immediately
last weekend from 340,000 Kyats to 390,000 Kyats per tical (0.0163
kilograms) and continued to jump on the first two days of this week to a
record high of 420,000 Kyats per tical. Despite panic buying of gold by
people, triggered by the news of the sharp salary increase, dealers were
forced to stop selling gold bars in Yangon as well as in Mandalay,
resulting in the fact that despite existence of the sky-rocketed gold
prices, business transactions were few, gold dealers said.

Meanwhile, local Myanmar Kyat currency devalued from 1,100 Kyats against
US dollar to over 1,200 Kyats and then to 1,300 Kyats until Tuesday. The
prices of the basic commodities such as rice, edible oil, meat and fish
and other daily necessities as well as fuel also went up so far by over 10
percent, according to traders.

However, due to some measures preliminarily introduced, the gold prices
went down to 370,000 Kyats per tical, while the value of Myanmar Kyats
picked up to 1,250 Kyats per dollar on Wednesday in the latest
development.

According to an order of the Ministry of Finance and Revenue issued from
the newly relocated administrative capital of Naypyidaw (Royal City), the
monthly salaries of government employees will be increased with effect
from April 1, the start of the next fiscal year 2006-07, by a range from
nearly six times to 12.5 times depending on their respective rank status.

The order designated that the lowest-pay-earning basic workers will
receive nearly six-time increase of their pay from 3,500 Kyats up to
20,000 Kyats (16 US dollars) a month, while top- ranking officials will
see their pay soar as high as over 12-time from 16,000 Kyats up to 200,000
kyats (160 US dollars) per month.

The news about the raising of the government servants' salaries was not
carried on the state media although it has been officially confirmed.

Observers here view that the salary increase would bring about a
significant inflationary impact on the country's economy which has been
hit by a nine-fold rise in official fuel prices in October last year.

Since 1989, the Myanmar government has raised salaries of government
servants for three occasions by 180 percent, 26 percent and 500 percent
respectively.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

March 30, Agence France Presse
Medical charity pulls French staff from Myanmar

The international medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said
Thursday it was closing its French office in Myanmar after four years
because government restrictions had made it impossible to work there.

The aid agency said the head of its French mission had left Myanmar on
March 26, because unacceptable conditions imposed by the authorities on
working with people who live in a war zone.

MSF said its Swiss and Dutch sections would continue to operate in the
country, formerly known as Burma, which has been ruled by the military for
four decades. But it said they were also "questioning the future" of their
projects in Myanmar.

The Paris-based charity has since 2001 been working in the Thai border
regions of Mon and Karen, which are caught in the armed conflict between
Myanmar's military regime and armed rebel groups.

"The Myanmar regime wants to get rid of all humanitarian workers in these
politically sensitive regions," said Herve Isambert, head of MSF's French
programme in Myanmar.

"The restrictions imposed on us reduced us to the role of specialist
contractors subjected to the political will of the military junta. In
reality, the Myanmar authorities do not want anyone to witness the acts of
violence they are committing against their own people," he added.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 30, Malaysian news agency via BBC
Burmese "government in exile" urges ASEAN to press for meeting with Suu Kyi

Text of report by D. Arul Rajoo carried in English by Malaysian news
agency Bernama website

Bangkok, 29 March: A Myanmar [Burmese] government-in-exile has urged ASEAN
[Association of Southeast Asian Nations] to set clear conditions and
pressure the Myanmar government to let ASEAN special envoy Datuk Seri Syed
Hamid Albar to meet opposition parties, student activists and,
particularly, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is under house
arrest.

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) said Syed
Hamid's recent fact-finding mission was incomplete as he had failed to
meet these groups of people who were important in any national
reconciliation process.

Its minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Bo Hla-Tint, said the ASEAN
foreign minister's retreat in Bali next month must affirm its stance that
the Malaysian foreign minister must be allowed to meet Suu Kyi and other
opposition figures.

"This must be a continuous process and such visits must be frequent. It's
good that ASEAN managed to have direct political engagement but it's not
enough just meeting government leaders," he said when launching NCGUB's
12th report on "Human Rights in Burma 2005" here today.

Myanmar's military rulers do not recognize the Suu Kyi-led National League
for Democracy party's victory in the 1990 general election.

Bo said Syed Hamid was not allowed to meet opposition figures because the
military government considered him as visiting the country in his capacity
as the foreign minister of Malaysia and not as a special envoy of ASEAN.

"They have been telling their people and the media it was a visit by the
Malaysian foreign minister and not a visit by the ASEAN special envoy," he
said.

Last week, Syed Hamid made a two-day visit to Yangon [Rangoon] and met
Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and Foreign Minister Nyan Win but did not meet
the junta leader Senior Gen Than Shwe.

He made the trip after ASEAN, under pressure from the international
community, reached an agreement with Myanmar during the ASEAN summit in
Kuala Lumpur last December to allow a delegation led by Syed Hamid to
visit the country and evaluate its progress towards democracy.

Syed Hamid is expected to submit a report on his trip at the ASEAN foreign
ministers' meeting in Bali on 17 and 18 April.

Bo said he had made a request through the Malaysian embassy here to meet
Syed Hamid but had yet to receive approval.

Asked about Suu Kyi's condition, Bo, a qualified civil engineer who won a
seat in the 1990 general election in Myanmar but is living in exile in
Washington, said there was hardly any confirmation as outsiders were not
allowed to see her.

"Only her doctor can see her with permission from the top authorities but
he is not allowed to reveal her condition. She underwent two operations
last year ... [ellipsis as carried] we are also not sure of rumours that
she has cancer," he said.

Bo said that while ASEAN was doing its best to change the situation in
Myanmar, the country's neighbours China, India and Thailand could play a
bigger role to pressure the military regime.

Former Thai diplomat Asda Jayarama said that while India and Thailand
could be influenced, it needed intervention from United Nations Security
Council members with veto powers to talk with China.

"I am sure this can be done ... [ellipsis as carried] there are a lot of
tradeoffs happening among the big five," he said.

On the Myanmar military regime's sudden decision to move the country's
capital to Pyinmana, Bo said it was an irrational one and was done due to
phobia and fear of foreign invasion.

"This is not a joke but from what we heard from inside the country, the
first lady (Than Shwe's wife) had a bad dream. [no closing quotation mark
as carried]

So, an advisory group of prominent astrologers came up with the idea of
moving the capital to avoid bad luck. Until then, they had wanted to move
only the military headquarters, said Bo.

Source: Bernama website, Kuala Lumpur, in English 29 Mar 06

____________________________________

March 30, Associated Press
ASEAN seeks to prod Myanmar to democracy - Sean Yoong

Regional powers China and India must step in to prod Myanmar toward
democratic reforms since efforts by its Southeast Asian neighbors have
largely failed to bear fruit, the chief of the ASEAN bloc said Thursday.

Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, acknowledged the group has so far been unable to persuade member
country Myanmar to make good on its promises to reform its political
system.

"Maybe Myanmar feels that ASEAN is not in a position to dictate terms to
them. I think we should ask our friends in China and India to be more
persuasive," he said during a visit to Malaysia.

Ong's comments reflect a growing feeling in ASEAN that it is powerless to
force the generals in Myanmar to hand over power to a civilian government
and free hundreds of political dissidents, including Nobel Peace laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last week, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed
frustration that he was not allowed to meet with Suu Kyi during a two-day
visit to the country. He also said he saw little change in the country.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China and India to
press Myanmar on its human rights violations and said the United States
cannot bring about change alone.

China wields enormous strategic and economic clout over Myanmar, and is
its main ally. Neighboring India also has been courting Myanmar as an
economic partner. But both countries have refused to chide the ruling
junta for its failure to restore democracy.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, and the current crop of
generals took power in 1988. They called elections in 1990 but refused to
recognize the results that gave a resounding victory to Suu Kyi's party.

Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest and has spent 10 of the last 16
years in custody.

The junta says it has a road map to democracy and is drafting a
constitution, but shows little evidence to back its claims. The West
dismisses the junta's claims as a sham, and even its ASEAN allies are
growing weary as their reputations are becoming sullied by association.

Myanmar was forced to give up the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year
following protests by the United States and Europe.

ASEAN has no provision for expelling Myanmar from the 10-country bloc. But
Musa Hitam, the chairman of a panel debating a planned ASEAN constitution,
said penalties such as expulsion could be considered in the charter.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 30, Mizzima News
Burmese activists stage hunger strike in India

Fifteen Burmese pro-democracy activists have staged a 100 hour long hunger
strike in New Delhi to protest the Indian government’s close relationship
with the Burmese military.

Three New Delhi-based activists started the strike on Tuesday morning and
were later joined by 12 Chin Student Union members.

“We support this hunger strike and we welcome US foreign secretary
Condoleezza Rice’s call for support to China and India for democratic
changes along with US,” said CSU president Sanga, referring to comments
made by Rice to US lawmakers at a senate sub-committee on foreign affairs
meeting yesterday.

Indian security forces visited the protesters today to monitor their
conditions. The hunger strike is due to end at 3 pm on March 31.

Despite opposition from pro-democracy groups living in India, Indian
president APJ Abdul Kalam travelled to neighbouring Burma for three days
on March 8.

Kalam and junta leader senior general Than Shwe signed agreements across a
number of sectors including gas, military affairs and education.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 30, Mizzima News
Experts, activists call on US to create international coalition on Burma -
Mungpi

A prominent Burma expert told a United States senate foreign relations
committee yesterday an international coalition was needed to promote
democratic change in Burma.

Michael Jonathan Green, associate professor of international relations at
George Town University, told the committee a coalition of countries
including the US and China was needed to address the situation in Burma.

“We must make it clear to Beijing that China will be held accountable in
Washington for the company it keeps,” Green said.

Green also said a successful coalition of regional countries would bring
China into the international fold.

“China will not want to be anti-status quo outlier in Asia,” he said.

The committee hearing was held to review the US’s policies on Burma and
members heard speeches by several Burmese activists, experts and
politician.

Thin Thin Aung, a Burmese activist from India urged the committee to hold
ASEAN accountable for the actions of the Burmese regime.

While reiterating calls for the US to push the Burma issue at the United
Nations Security Council agenda, activists urged the US to take the lead
in organising an international coalition to provide humanitarian
assistance to the people of Burma.

____________________________________

March 30, Associated Press
Official says U.S. will continue to press U.N. to act on Myanmar - Foster
Klug

A top State Department specialist on Asia says the United States is
committed to galvanizing U.N. support for action on Myanmar.

Eric John, deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that before a rare U.N.
Security Council briefing last year on the political and social
deterioration in Myanmar, also called Burma, many countries had been
"willing to effectively turn a blind eye to what's happening in Burma."

After the briefing, John said, countries realized that Myanmar's problems
with refugees, disease and drugs hurt the region. And that, he said, is
helping the United States "make a case that there's an obligation for
other nations to be interested and be involved in finding a solution for
Burma."

John said it was difficult to predict when U.S. efforts might result in
action at the United Nations, but "we want to keep up that pressure as
long as it takes."

Myanmar is run by a military junta that has kept pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi in detention for 10 of the last 16 years; she is among some
1,100 political prisoners.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican head of the powerful subcommittee that
considers funding for international programs, testified that lawmakers and
the administration of President George W. Bush must continue to encourage
Myanmar's neighbors to confront the generals in Myanmar.

McConnell praised the State Department's willingness to pressure countries
to speak out against Myanmar. "Frustration with the junta is palpable in
some capitals," he said.

He called on Congress to renew existing import sanctions, saying they
should "remain in place until Suu Kyi and other Burmese champions of
freedom call for them to be lifted."

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged China and India
to press Myanmar more strongly on its human rights violations. China and
India maintain close ties with Myanmar, despite international calls to
isolate the country until democracy is implanted there.

John testified on Wednesday that India should encourage reform in Myanmar,
"rather than appearing publicly to accept the status quo."

____________________________________

March 30, Reuters
S.E. Asian nations ask China, India to prod Myanmar

Neighbours China and India must coax Myanmar to hasten democratic reform,
ASEAN's chief said on Thursday, after an envoy from the Southeast Asian
grouping failed to meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi last week.

Frustrated by Myanmar's glacial pace toward reform, and under pressure to
do something about its most awkward member, the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) sent Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on
a mission there.

Ong Ken Yong, ASEAN secretary general, said the outcome had disappointed
the 10-member grouping but not discouraged it.

"I am not pessimistic but I'm disappointed that this opportunity has not
yielded the kind of sweeter fruit that we want," Ong told reporters in the
Malaysian capital.

ASEAN was founded on the principle of non-interference in a member state's
internal affairs, and Ong said the grouping had little leeway on what it
could do next over Myanmar.

"ASEAN loves to look after everybody's ego and interests, so there is a
very limited space for us to maneuver on this issue," he said. "Don't
forget, Myanmar is a member so we can't be nasty to our own brothers and
sisters from Myanmar."

But giant neighbours China and India could take a larger role in
encouraging Myanmar to speed reform measures. "We should ask China and
India to be more persuasive," Ong added.

Asked if such a step would show the grouping's own approach had failed, he
said: "Every coin has two sides. I don't think we have been unsuccessful
in dealing with this issue. Don't forget Syed Hamid went to Myanmar as
ASEAN chairman, so I believe on that count alone we have moved maybe 2
centimeters."

ASEAN had resolved at its summit in December to send an envoy to meet both
Myanmar's ruling generals and Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy
won elections in 1990 but was denied power by the junta. She has spent
nine of the last 16 years behind bars or under house arrest.

Syed Hamid met the generals, who he has said dismissed Suu Kyi as having
no more influence, and voiced ASEAN's position. He said he would report
back on his trip to ASEAN foreign ministers next month in Bali where the
grouping would decide its next step.

Myanmar has proposed a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" but the military,
which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, says it is still only midway
through the first step, drafting a new constitution, and will not set a
timetable.

The West does not treat the roadmap seriously, and Myanmar's neighbours
criticize it as too vague and too slow.