BurmaNet News, April 20, 2006

[Editor]

April 20, 2006 Issue # 2945

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Explosions rock downtown Rangoon
Irrawaddy: Forced labor in Kachin State
DVB: Mysterious blasts near Burma’s Kyaukse cause concerns to local people

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Burmese refugees buck world trend

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Burmese deputy FM visits China
The Telegraph: Myanmar gas heat on Delhi

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN fails to find Myanmar strategy
Nation: Asean meeting goes easy on Burma
Mizzima: Burma opposition welcomes Timor-Leste’s ASEAN bid

OPINION / OTHER
International Herald Tribune: China's silence boosts tyrants - Kenneth Roth

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 20, Irrawaddy
Explosions rock downtown Rangoon - Yeni

A series of bomb blasts rocked the business heart of Rangoon early
Thursday morning, causing property damage but no reported casualties.

According to Rangoon residents, at least five bomb blasts were heard
between 2 and 3 am on Thursday morning. Local residents said that
explosions damaged the government’s general post office, located near
Rangoon’s historic Sule Pagoda. Other blasts targeted electricity
transformers and a railroad behind the Bogyoke market in the heart of
downtown Rangoon.

Residents said the explosions also shattered windows at the adjacent
Myanma Post and Telecommunications building. Rangoon’s central Kyauktada
Township police spokesman told The Irrawaddy that the cause of the blasts
was not immediately known. “We can only say that there were no
casualties,” he said.

Onlookers said police and security forces have increased activity in the
areas around government offices. At the time of writing, no group or
individual has taken responsibility for the bombings.

The latest wave of bombings come on the back of junta charges against four
anti-government associations— the Washington-based National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma, the Thai-based Federation of Trade Union
- Burma, the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front and the National League
for Democracy-Liberated Area—with committing terrorist acts.

Burma’s Ministry of Home Affairs claimed the opposition groups were
“disrupting the peace and stability of the country by planting bombs at
many locations.” All the groups have denied the regime’s allegations.

Local resident and politician, Win Naing, told The Irrawaddy that the
bombings had caused panic among the populace.

“We feel we are living in a state of fear. We are scared of the
consequences from this. People are already worried about the price of food
and the falling exchange rate of the kyat,” he said.

After the regime made an official announcement about the ten-fold salary
hike last month, Burma’s national currency, the kyat, has dropped to an
all-time low black market rate of 1,400 to the US dollar. The price of
gold also shot up to 420,000 (US $300) per tical of 24-carat gold.

In spite of feeling scared following last May’s deadly bombings at two
supermarkets and a convention center—at least 23 people were killed and
more than 160 injured— Rangoon’s residents are trying to go about their
normal daily routines.

____________________________________

April 20, Irrawaddy
Forced labor in Kachin State - Khun Sam

The Burmese Army has forced villagers in Sinbo, Kachin State, to renovate
their military camp and to build a road leading to the state capital,
Myitkyina.

According to a local businessman, residents from three villages near the
town of Sinbo are being ordered by the government’s Light Infantry
Battalion 141 to repair a road leading to the capital and to clean the
army camp.

The Kachin businessman, who often travels to the Sinbo region, told The
Irrawaddy on Thursday he saw about 80 people apparently being forced to
work on the road. “They included children and elderly people, digging the
soil with hoes,” he said. There were others digging up tree stumps and
cleaning up undergrowth around the military camp.

The businessman said he learned the Burmese battalion ordered the villages
of Yinna Pinlong, Min Thar and Man Khin to provide one person from each
household to work without pay in a “voluntary program.”

“Villagers have to make shelters for themselves and work free for a week,”
he added.

The battalion has been based in the area since 2004, and was reportedly
ordered by northern commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint to upgrade the road. The
soldiers reportedly make their own laws and collect taxes from villagers
and businesses.

Although the Burmese regime has promised that it is abolishing forced
labor, the International Labour Organization reported on March 15 it is
failing to take the necessary steps.

____________________________________

April 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Mysterious blasts near Burma’s Kyaukse cause concerns to local people

Local residents living in Lunkyaw and Taungdaw Villages, Mandalay
Division’s Kyaukse Township in central Burma, have been living in fear due
to some mysterious explosions, presumed to be weapon tests, carried out by
the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) ‘nuclear’ battalion.

The villagers reportedly have been hearing mysterious explosions and
rising flames almost every night from the beginning of April. When the
villagers enquired about the explosions and flames, they were told by
local authorities to shut up and stay put if they don’t want their
villages to be relocated.

The ‘nuclear’ battalion has been built up among Setkhya mountains situated
between Lunkyaw and Taungdaw since 2000. The battalion is based in
Taungdaw and made up of artillery and communication battalions.

The ‘nuclear’ battalion itself is built into the mountains with a complex
tunnel system. The battalion is said to be supervised by the SPDC army
officers who were trained in Russia, according to sources close to the
military.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 20, Irrawaddy
Burmese refugees buck world trend - Clive Parker

The UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, announced on Wednesday that the number
of refugees globally dropped to the lowest level for nearly 25 years.
Meanwhile, Burma’s refugee situation shows no sign of improving—people
continue to flee fighting in Karen State and Muslim populations that have
left Arakan State remain trapped in Bangladesh.

In its latest report “The State of the World’s Refugees,” the UNHCR says
the number of refugees worldwide dropped to 9 million by the end of 2005,
a period in which there were 161,013 registered Burmese refugees, up from
151,384 in 2004.

“Despite a decrease in the overall number of conflicts and those displaced
across international borders, recent years have seen new refugee movements
from lower-profile clashes,” the UNHCR says, describing the ongoing
conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic insurgent groups as a
“protracted” conflict.

While the UNHCR’s latest findings are depressing news on Burma’s
situation, recent reports by rights groups and non-governmental
organizations working along the Burmese border suggest the actual
situation is far worse, given that many displaced Burmese are not
registered and therefore do not appear in UNHCR records.

The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People told The Irrawaddy on
Thursday that up to 800 Karen remain in no-man’s land just on the Burmese
side of the border, with little hope of being able to return home after
fleeing attacks by government troops in Toungoo district.

A further 200 Karen have already entered nearby Mae Ra Ma Luang camp,
about 40 kilometers south of Mae Sariang in Thailand, with 200 more
planning to follow soon, Hla Henry of the CIDKP said.

Thailand already hosts more than 120,800 of all registered Burmese
refugees, the number having grown every year since 1999, UNHCR figures
show.

Meanwhile, the 800 Karen who recently arrived at the border will add to
the more than 540,000 internally displaced people currently living in
Burma, according to recent Norwegian Refugee Committee figures. Data
published in yesterday’s UN report shows the number of internally
displaced people globally has reached 25 million, meaning Burma now
accounts for more than 2 percent of all such people. Burma is one of 13
countries—including Sudan and Zimbabwe—in which “state forces or
government-backed militia have attacked displaced and other civilian
populations,” UNHCR added.

The Free Burma Rangers, a group which helps communities in eastern Burma
recover from attacks by the Burmese army, says there are currently 8,500
people fleeing fighting in and around Toungoo, Karen State, with “very
little food and clothing.”

One FBR team member recounted first seeing a group of fleeing villages
this month: “They had just crossed a Burma army controlled road and were
now at the end of their food supply. They had been walking for two weeks
as they tried to escape the Burma army. It was heart-rending to hear the
children cry.”

The UNHCR yesterday referred to the tenuous existence of many in Karen
State—along with other ethnic communities in Burma—and the necessity of
groups like FBR, pointing out that the junta still does not allow access
to internally displaced populations.

While Karen refugees flee fighting on Burma’s eastern frontier, Arakanese
Muslims remain trapped in both registered and unregistered UNHCR camps
just across the country’s western border in Bangladesh.

“Situations involving stateless refugees have not progressed as well [on a
global scale]. Muslims from northern Rakhine [Arakan] State in Myanmar
[Burma] who have returned home have not been able to gain citizenship and
remain stateless,” UNHCR said.

Again, while the UNHCR puts the number at around 20,000, the actual number
of displaced Burmese in Bangladesh is thought to be many times higher. The
Burmese government puts the number at only 10,000.

Refugees in one unregistered camp near Teknaf, in Chittagong Division near
the Burmese border, told The Irrawaddy this month their number stands at
more than 14,000 alone, with numerous sources confirming that there are
tens of thousands more Buddhist Arakanese living throughout Bangladesh,
both registered and unregistered by UNHCR.

“The situation has got to be improved for the refugees from an assistance
point of view,” said Jim Worrall, the UNHCR’s chief representative in
nearby Cox’s Bazaar. “The best durable solution in any refugee situation
is always return, but it has to be voluntary, in safety and in dignity,
but at the moment these conditions don’t appear to be there [in Burma].”

The Burmese government maintains its usual stance on the issue—that it is
not doing anything wrong inside the country, and making its best efforts
to repatriate refugees outside.

Responding to allegations of continuing human rights abuses in Arakan
State, the Burmese Ambassador to Bangladesh Thane Myint told The Irrawaddy
earlier this month: “This is rhetoric. There may be or there may not be
[human rights abuses in Arakan State]. To say this is a government policy,
this is b------t.”

“They [refugees] tend to talk about suppression to open the door to other
countries. I’m not blaming them, they are human beings,” he added.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 20, Mizzima News
Burmese deputy FM visits China - Mungpi

A Burmese delegation led by deputy foreign minister Kyaw Thu left for
Beijing yesterday to discuss timber and mining issues with Chinese
officials, according to Burma’s state press.

The New Light of Myanmar said today the delegation, comprising officials
from the Foreign Affairs, Defense, Forestry, Mining and Home ministries,
would discuss bilateral trade with their Chinese counterparts, but Aung
Kyaw Zaw, a military analyst based on the China-Burma border said
delegates would probably focus on security issues.

Illegal logging was also likely to feature heavily in discussions Aung
Kyaw Zaw said.

“There were about 200 Chinese workers arrested by Burmese authorities for
illegal logging, they are arrested at different timings,” he said.

Burma and China have a long history of trade relations and recently signed
agreements for the construction of a pipeline to carry natural gas from
Arakan State to Kunming.

Staff at the Chinese Foreign Ministry refused to comment on the trip today.

____________________________________

April 20, The Telegraph
Myanmar gas heat on Delhi

New Delhi, April 19: When he was 10, Wong Aung was forced to carry bamboo
and build roads for Myanmar’s military junta. At 20, studying electrical
engineering and drawn into the democracy movement, he was beaten by
soldiers with rifle butts.

This week, Aung took a break from self-imposed exile on the
Thailand-Myanmar border to condemn India’s moves to exploit one of the
world’s largest deposits of natural gas discovered in the 1990s in the
Arakan sea off Myanmar’s west coast.

“The dollars that the military regime earns from gas will go into bullets
to kill pro-democracy students,” said Aung, president of the All Arakan
Students’ Youth Congress. “Their blood will make the colour of the gas
red.”

Aung is among Myanmarese pro-democracy activists, student leaders from
India’s Northeast, and international human rights watchers who have
gathered here to protest against India’s involvement in a proposal to
transport the gas from Myanmar to India.

The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) and the Gas Authority of India
Limited (GAIL) had recently bought 30 per cent stake in a gas deposit from
Korea’s Daewoo that owns exploration and ownership rights for natural gas
in the Arakan region.

The Arakan gas deposits are huge — the block where ONGC and GAIL have a
stake alone contains over 20 trillion cubic feet of gas. But analysts say
it is uncertain how India will get the gas from Myanmar.

Negotiations with Dhaka to bring the gas via the Shwe gas pipeline passing
through Bangladesh have all but broken down, and a pipeline through
India’s Northeast, avoiding Bangladesh, is considered too expensive.

While analysts point out that Myanmar has agreed to commit its share of
the gas to China through a pipeline that runs into China’s Yunan province,
activists claim that India is still evaluating other options of
transporting the gas to India.

Analysts have predicted that the Shwe gas pipeline will help the Myanmar
military regime earn an annual revenue of $2.86 billion for the next 20
years, a figure higher than Myanmar’s total current export earnings of
$2.13 billion.

“The gas is Myanmar’s wealth. But this is a wrong time to buy gas from
Myanmar,” said Aung. “The pipeline will mean more military repression.”

He says the number of battalions in Arakan have gone up from 10 in 1990 to
45 in 2000 and 63 this year.

“Those who want Myanmar’s gas should wait until democracy is established,”
Aung said. “It will happen some day.”

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 20, Agence France Presse
ASEAN fails to find Myanmar strategy

Ubud, Indonesia: ASEAN foreign ministers failed to emerge with a strategy
for dealing with recalcitrant member Myanmar at an annual retreat Thursday
on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who visited the
military-ruled regime in March as ASEAN's envoy, also said Myanmar's
generals were in no hurry to hold democratic elections, which could still
be more than two years away.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been expressing
growing frustration with the regime, which has held democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi in detention for most of the last 16 years.

But as ASEAN has traditionally adhered to a policy of non-interference in
the affairs of member states, Syed Hamid said the bloc was only able to
"express our views in very clear terms" about the country's direction.

"Of course we don't want to interfere in domestic affairs but ... if it
impacts on ASEAN as a whole, we have an interest to express our view and
see what types of action Myanmar has taken," he said.

"I think when you're dealing with a country you can say so much, but you
can't force anything upon a country," he said.

The generals have announced a "road map" to democracy but there has been
little progress on beginning steps, such as a national convention to help
establish a constitution.

The latest rounds have been internationally condemned for failing to
include the opposition, which is boycotting the convention to demand the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

The constitutional talks were suspended in January and no date was given
for when its 1,000 handpicked delegates would resume their work. The
sputtering process began more than a decade ago and has achieved few
tangible results.

"I imagine it will take them another two years on the completion as
Myanmar's foreign minister informed us it will be when they have a
referendum to adopt the constitution," Syed Hamid said.

"After that referendum, they will be having an election."

The minister said that nine chapters of the constitution had been
completed with six more left.

Myanmar agreed at last year's ASEAN summit to invite Syed Hamid in the
face of growing international pressure for evidence of democratic
progress, as well as embarrassment among some members over its 1997
inclusion in the bloc.

"They don't want interference in their domestic process. We'll leave it at
that and see how we can assist them in whatever way we can," Syed Hamid
said.

"They don't like pressure but they like suggestions from us, so we give
suggestions to them. We hope they can convey our suggestions to their own
government."

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told the press briefing that
the bloc had only "agreed to continue to engage Myanmar".

Ministers as well as ASEAN's chief had earlier expressed frustration with
the slow pace of Yangon's reform efforts.

"There is a certain impatience because the people around the region as
well as around the world say, 'You keep talking, you keep going there --
and then what happened?'" secretary-general Ong Keng Yong said Wednesday.

"People want to see some concrete steps forward."

Ong and several ministers have also said that regional powerhouses China
and India should use their economic clout -- considerably mightier than
ASEAN's -- to nudge Myanmar towards reform.

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

____________________________________

April 20, The Nation
Asean meeting goes easy on Burma - Supalak Ganjanakhundee

Asean took a step back on Thursday from mounting pressure on Burma and
gave the ruling junta time to achieve national reconciliation and
democratisation.

Among Asean countries at an informal meeting in Bali's resort town of
Ubud, many suggested the group should soften pressure and gave Burma a
chance to continue its process toward political reform.

"The problem is when Asean is involved, Asean is politicised by domestic
politics," said Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo.

Many other members in the meeting said the Asean should continue to engage
Burma and help the junta move forward, he said.

"We reiterate our position on the importance of Myanmar (Burma) staying on
the roadmap toward democracy and we call for the release of Aung San Suu
Kyi," the Singaporean minister told reporters.

Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win vowed to report all concerns from Asean
ministers to the generals at home, Yeo said.

The Burma issue dominated the Asean meeting yesterday after Malaysia's
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar as an Asean special envoy to Rangoon
expressed his dissatisfaction over his factfinding mission, which brought
him to see only some "stakeholders" in Burmese politics.

He could not meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to express Asean's
views over political reform and cut short his visit.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Syed Hamid told his Asean colleagues
yesterday that he saw some positive developments in the juntaruled
country, according to Yeo.

"He hopes the Myanmar (Burma) government will do a better job of
presenting itself to the world," Yeo said.

However, the Asean ministers at the meeting did not recommend or suggest
what the junta should do to make progress but merely hoped Burma would
keep to former prime minister Khin Nyunt's sevenstep roadmap towards
national reconciliation and democracy and release Suu Kyi.

Asean members would also further engage Burma on a bilateral basis, such
as Indonesia whose visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was helping
the situation, Yeo said.

____________________________________

April 20, Mizzima News
Burma opposition welcomes Timor-Leste’s ASEAN bid - Jessicah Curtis

The National League for Democracy welcomed Timor-Leste’s moves to become a
member of ASEAN today, saying the country’s inclusion in the grouping
would help the democracy cause in Burma.

A spokesperson for the NLD told Mizzima today the addition of Timor-Leste
as the grouping’s eleventh member would be a good sign.

“We will be encouraged by their membership. It will be good for us and
good for our cause,” the spokesman said.

Many of Timor-Leste’s leaders, in particular president Xanana Gusmao, were
pro-democracy activists while the country was under Indonesian rule.

In an interview in June 1999, just months before the country fought off
Indonesian rule, Gusmao, then a political prisoner, vowed to support
detained NLD leader and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi
in her struggle for democratic change in Burma.

Having described Aung San Suu Kyi as an “inspiration”, Gusmao has written
to Aung San Suu Kyi several times. He sent her his personal condolences
when her husband, Dr Michael Aris, died in March 1999.

Aung San Suu Kyi has described Gusmao as a “fine leader” and has said she
considered him a personal friend.

But the NLD said the connection between Aung San Suu Kyi and Gusmao meant
the Burmese military was unlikely to want Timor-Leste to become an ASEAN
member.

“They may not like it . . . but the Burmese junta cannot veto this
decision. This is not only Burma’s affairs but all of ASEAN’s,” the NLD
said.

Despite press reports quoting Thai officials as saying Timor-Leste would
have to wait to become a member of the group, a spokesman for the
Timor-Leste foreign ministry told Mizzima today ASEAN officials had agreed
to welcome the four-year-old country into the fold.

Discussions on allowing the country as a member were on the agenda at the
ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bali, Indonesia today.

“I understand that the foreign affairs ministers of ASEAN agreed that
Timor-Leste should become a member . . . and we are happy to become a
member as a first step,” the spokesman said.

But Thai senator and member of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar
Caucus, Kraisak Choonhavan warned it was possible any support from
Timor-Leste for the NLD would take a back seat as the country tried to
gain ASEAN membership.

“It is not clear what Timor-Leste’s position is now,” Kraisak said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 20, The International Herald Tribune
China's silence boosts tyrants; Hu meets Bush - Kenneth Roth

New York: U.S.-China summit meetings traditionally include discussion of
Beijing's human rights practices. When President Hu Jintao of China visits
the White House on Thursday, the Bush administration's own problematic
record will make the conversation more awkward than usual, but the topic
undoubtedly will, and should, come up. This time, however, the focus
should not be limited to China's repression at home. President George W.
Bush should also raise China's troubling indifference to human rights
abroad.

When it comes to human rights, China's foreign policy is deliberately
agnostic. As Hu puts it, China operates "without any political strings."
Inspired by how it would like to be treated by others, Beijing adheres to
a policy of "noninterference in internal affairs," trading, investing and
providing aid without regard to whether its partner is a democratic
visionary or a tyrant.

Yet the effect is anything but neutral. When Western governments try to
use economic pressure to secure human rights improvements, China's
no-strings rule gives dictators the means to resist. Chinese investment
and aid can still sometimes help fight poverty, and it is not as if
Western governments always have human rights foremost in mind. But as
China's quest for new markets and natural resources spreads around the
world, its de facto support for repression has become increasingly common.

The people of Darfur have paid perhaps the steepest price for this policy
of indifference. China's massive investment in Sudanese oil fields has
helped Khartoum finance militia in Darfur that have murdered tens of
thousands of people and displaced more than two million. Some of these
funds were used to purchase Chinese arms for Darfur. Western oil
companies, like Canada's Talisman, have withdrawn from Sudan, but China,
the largest investor, remains.

To make matters worse, Beijing has prevented the United Nations Security
Council from imposing sanctions of any strength on Khartoum. Emboldened,
the Sudanese government is resisting pressure to accept a UN peacekeeping
force in Darfur.

In Angola, China's policy has hampered efforts to halt massive corruption.

>From 1997 to 2002, $4 billion disappeared from Angola's public coffers the

equivalent of the amount spent on social programs in that period. The
International Monetary Fund insisted on greater transparency as a
condition for lending, but China offered billions in loans without these
conditions.

As President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe uses mass evictions to attack
700,000 of his perceived political opponents, Western governments have
sought to isolate him. China, by contrast, remains a major source of
investment and military hardware.

China's human rights agnosticism is not limited to Africa. Last May, less
than two weeks after Uzbekistan's government massacred hundreds of
protesters in Andijon, China welcomed President Islam Karimov to Beijing
for a state visit, complete with a 21-gun salute. China then announced a
$600 million oil deal with Uzbekistan.

Similarly, China is the most generous supporter of the military junta in
Myanmar and the autocratic government of Hun Sen in Cambodia. As for
Nepal, most governments condemned the king's 2005 coup and cut military
assistance, but China maintained warm relations and kept military aid
flowing.

Troublesome as this record is, China is sometimes willing to accommodate
Western concerns if they are firmly expressed. China did not prevent the
UN Security Council from granting the International Criminal Court
jurisdiction over the crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. Beijing
also dropped its objections to a tribunal in Cambodia for its one-time
ally, the Khmer Rouge.

But convincing China to move beyond these rare exceptions requires making
it pay a price for its policy of indifference to repression. China's
ruling Communist Party claims an ideology of looking after the little guy.
But Beijing's uncritical support for tyrants has been a disaster for the
ordinary people of those countries. If China, in effect, is going to
quench its thirst for oil with the blood of Darfuris, if it is going to
invest in governments like Angola's that squander its people's funds for
education and health care, its disgraceful conduct should be highlighted.

So when Bush brings up human rights with Hu, the conversation should not
stop at China's borders. Bush should speak not only for the people of
China but also for the citizens of China's business partners. He should
encourage Hu to stand with the victims of official violence and
corruption, not with the governments that repress them.

Kenneth Roth is the executive director of Human Rights Watch.