BurmaNet News, June 3-5, 2006

[Editor]

June 3-5, 2006 Issue # 2976


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma offers ILO compromise
Xinhua: More publications granted in Myanmar
Irrawaddy: Paranoid junta strengthens air defenses
Irrawaddy: A Burmese spy comes in from the cold

ON THE BORDER
Network Media Group: Legal clinic for Burmese opened in Mae Sot
DPA via Bangkok Post: World Cup bookies move to Burma

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Myanmar, Bangladesh report new polio cases this year, first since 2000

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar steps up levying taxes from private sector

REGIONAL
AFP: New Delhi will not meddle with Myanmar: Indian defence minister
South China Morning Post: Humanitarian relief force proposed for region

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Japan's position on Myanmar irks US

OPINION / OTHER
International Herald Tribune via Boston Globe: Burma: The Unturned Page

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 5, Irrawaddy
Burma offers ILO compromise - Clive Parker

The Burmese government has offered a last minute compromise to the
International Labour Organization at its annual conference in Geneva as
both sides seek to end a dispute over the junta’s harassment and
prosecution of forced labor complainants.

The junta has told ILO representatives that it is prepared to institute a
six-month moratorium on prosecuting claimants for “spreading false
information.” At the same time, a special panel, including the
government’s director-general of labor, Chit Shein, and the ILO’s
representative in Burma, Richard Horsey, would assess claims of forced
labor.

Both sides are still cautious, however, over whether a lasting solution
can be found. The ILO is insisting that the Burmese government must go
further by releasing those imprisoned for lodging forced labor complaints,
preferably before June 13, when members will spend a full day discussing
what action to take against Burma.

The Burmese Ministry of Labor on Monday said that it was possible that a
further compromise offer might be made: “But we have no agreement with the
ILO, not yet,” said a senior official requesting anonymity.

In particular, the ILO is seeking the release of Suu Suu Nway and Aye
Myint, both of whom were imprisoned after lodging complaints of forced
labor. Aye Myint had been sentenced to death, before the authorities
relented and commuted the sentence to seven years imprisonment.

“We are not particularly impressed by the last-minute [Burmese government]
offer because we have seen many of these offers before and all of the
junta’s promises have systematically been broken,” said Janek Kuczkiewicz
of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, the largest
representative of the ILO workers’ group which accounts for 25 percent of
all members.

Burma’s case will not have been helped by the behavior of its
representative at the conference, Nyunt Maung Shein, who continually left
the room when a member of the workers’ group spoke during Saturday’s
discussion, a point that was noted in the official ILO record of the
meeting. “He behaved very rudely, very offensively,” Kuczkiewicz said.

In a speech to ILO members, Nyunt Maung Shein “stuck to the government’s
line that people are making false claims of forced labor with ulterior
political motives,” said Kuczkiewicz, suggesting that a breakthrough may
still be long way off. The Burmese permanent mission to the UN in Geneva
was unavailable for comment on Monday.

Should the Burmese side fail to reassure the ILO that it can rectify the
situation, members will consider three possible options to address the
problem, two of which include the referral of the case to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague. The third involves the
establishment of a tribunal to assess whether Burma is failing to abide by
its agreements under the 1930 Convention on Forced Labor.

“The authorities now need to immediately enter into discussions with the
ILO, with a view to establishing as soon as possible a credible mechanism
for dealing with complaints of forced labor,” says the ILO’s concluding
report on Saturday’s discussions.

The ILO remains concerned over reports of Karen villagers being forced to
work by the Burmese Army in its continuing offensive in Karen State, the
report added. Meanwhile, the Free Burma Rangers—a cross-border medical
relief team operating in Karen State—reports that up to 800 civilians and
1,000 prisoners were forced to work as porters for the army in Karen State
as recently as the end of May.

One picture taken by an FBR relief team member shows Burmese soldiers
supervising villagers as they prepare to carry baskets of supplies in
Toungoo District, northwest Karen State on May 25. Testimonies from two
porters said a number of civilians had been killed because they were
either too weak to continue carrying supplies or had tried to escape.

____________________________________

June 5, Xinhua General News Service
More publications granted in Myanmar

Yangon: Sixteen more magazines, journals and booklets have been granted by
the Myanmar authorities for publication and circulation in the country, a
local weekly reported Monday.

The latest granted publications include three magazines and five journals
published on weekly basis, the Voice quoted the Press Scrutiny and
Registration Board of the Ministry of Information as saying.

The introduction of the 16 new publications has brought the total number
of them granted since July last year to 42 magazines and 72 journals.

Myanmar has re-adjusted its press scrutiny and registration policy by
lifting some restrictions previously imposed upon news writing by journals
and magazines with the aim of enhancing the development of press society.

According to the ministry which has taken over the duties of the press
scrutiny and registration from the Ministry of Home Affairs since February
last year, the publication and distribution of journals and magazines will
be continued to be granted as long as it conforms to the prescribed
policy.

The ministry outlined seven-point press policy for writers to adhere to,
which include opening up to reporters of journals and magazines on writing
about government departments but be constructive; permitting of writing on
domestic and international news quoting foreign media but be in the
interest of the nation or be rejected if harming the nation.

The policy generally rejected writing news comments on foreign affairs
especially dealing with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and neighboring countries but if allowed when needed, such comments shall
not harm the respective nations.

The policy permits carrier of translated international news and comments
in local media but with assurance that it does not cause disturbances
among the nations.

The policy permits writing news on natural disaster but in a confirmed
manner.

The number of journals covering domestic news has grown over the past
eight years in Myanmar, thanks to market demand and the emergence of more
such journals also contributes to the development of journalism, readers
said.

Many readers have been interested in such domestic news journals as
Myanmar Times, 7-Day News, Flower News, Kumudra, Khit Myanmar, Weekly
Eleven News, Yangon Times and Voice which so far stands as leading news
journals in the country.

According to official figures, there has been so far about 216 journals
and 276 magazines in circulation in Myanmar since 1988 when the present
government assumed office.

The New Light of Myanmar, both Myanmar and English languages, as well as
the Mirror remain as the country's state-run daily acting as the
government's mouthpieces.

Meanwhile, according to other official statistics, there were a total of
over 5,000 printing houses and 759 publishers in Myanmar as of last year.
More than 9,700 titles of books on various topics were also published.

____________________________________

June 1, Irrawaddy
Paranoid junta strengthens air defenses

The US has no plan to attack or invade Burma. That's official. Burma
doesn't have enough oil, let alone weapons of mass destruction or an
Usamah Bin-Ladin for the US Pentagon even to consider drawing up a
military intervention plan.

Nevertheless, the regime is still paranoid about the possibility of an
invasion, and last month's Cobra Gold military exercise involving US and
Thai troops on Thai territory has served to fuel the junta's fears, even
though it's an annual event.

The Burmese generals have been growing nervous about Thailand's on-going
political crisis, in which they fear the Thai army may be invested with a
power that could extend to the country's volatile border with Burma. In
2001-2002, Thai troops shelled Burma's border with the help of rebel Shan
forces, and many Burmese soldiers died. Thai troops reportedly asked Shan
soldiers to point out for them suspected drug factories along the border,
but the Shan targeted Burmese army posts instead.

In order to ease the paranoia and promote "goodwill" (as the official
Burmese press put it) Thai Air Force Commander Air Chief Marshal Chalet
Pukbhasuk visited Burma on 2 May in what defence analysts interpreted as
an attempt to allay any fears the generals may have. Yet the generals'
distrust of Thailand and its armed forces is not likely to diminish. Two
years ago, Rangoon established an air defence department headed by Prime
Minister Gen Soe Win, and since then the military has expanded its air
force and navy along the coastal region. Rangoon has also bought
laser-guided missiles and SAM-7 missiles from China, and set up radar
stations along the coast. There were plans to establish missile launch
sites on some islands, which were earmarked to serve as "unsinkable
aircraft carriers" in the event of an invasion.

Apart from stiffening coastal defences, the regime is believed to be
setting up missile and sophisticated radar systems near its new
administrative centre, Naypyidaw, in central Burma. In efforts to bolster
its armoury, the regime has placed new orders with China and has
reportedly bought some military hardware from Israel, importing it through
China. There are also plans to buy more frigates and small submarines from
India. Artillery pieces and heavy arms, as well as Chinese-made HN-2 and
HN-5 surface-to-air missile launchers, have been delivered to artillery
bases in Mergui Township, Tanessarim Division, and to other bases along
the Thai-Burmese border.

____________________________________

June 1, Irrawaddy
A Burmese spy comes in from the cold

A young counter-intelligence agent who has just defected from Rangoon
talks to The Irrawaddy about his previous life and work

The moment he entered the room, the skinny, undernourished-looking young
man came quickly to the point. "I have seen your photo in our office," he
announced. This was not to be taken lightly, and I laughed uneasily as I
motioned him to take a seat, because it was not a casual remark about any
celebrity status I had acquired. The man was from Burma's feared military
intelligence agency.

He was a former counter-intelligence agent, and presumably knew I had once
been arrested and roughly interrogated in Rangoon's infamous Insein Prison
during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. But this time, I would be asking
the questions. There would be no unlocking of a cell door, no punches or
beatings but an amicable conversation with a former spy.

Kyaw Myint Myo, aka Myo Myint, had just defected, and I saw him at a
secret location. The 33-year-old described his deep-seated frustration
working at the newly-created Military Affairs Security, formerly Office of
the Chief of Military Intelligence under the control of then prime
minister Gen Khin Nyunt, which was dismantled after he was ousted in an
October 2004 purge.

The agent displayed a store of insider knowledge about the workings of the
current agency, gathered since he started work for the
counter-intelligence department's special unit 1 in 1993. He told The
Irrawaddy that he reported directly to a Lt-Col Ne Lin, his boss. His
previous commanders were Col Khin Aung and Col San Pwint, both now in
prison serving long sentences because of the 2004 purge.

The spy, who now suffers from gout and heart disease, told me how Burma's
intelligence service is having to struggle to reach the sinister standards
set by Khin Nyunt. I wasn't unhappy to hear that.

The MAS is led by Lt-Gen Myint Swe, a protege of junta supremo Snr-Gen
Than Shwe. Myint Swe has little background in intelligence work - Burma's
former heads of intelligence were trained by the CIA, KGB or Mossad, but
Myint Swe had no such training.

So far, Myint Swe's department has been unable to catch any culprits
involved in a series of bombings in Burma since mid-2005. Kyaw Myint Myo
said that a major failing of the new intelligence service has been its
recruitment of inexperienced officials with no idea how an intelligence
structure works.

I nodded my agreement. Recent information released by the regime shows
that the intelligence-gathering network is in disarray. For instance in
May, the regime announced that Shwe Sai, former vice-chairman of the Karen
National Union and ex-head of the KNU's 6th Brigade, held secret meetings
in Mae Sot, Thailand, with exiled dissidents and discussed the dispatch of
bombers to Burma. But Shwe Sai died three years ago.

Indeed, it's good news, perhaps, that Burma's intelligence agency now
faces a credibility problem and is relying on inexperienced informants and
spies. The long lists of terrorists and bombers published in state-run
papers are more like a joke, and descriptions of wanted "terrorists" are
bizarre. Most of them wear gold and diamond jewellery, according to the
wanted-list descriptions intended to lead to their capture.

One list of wanted men says Thet Tun, of the Mae Sot-based Democratic
Party for a New Society, "usually wears diamond earrings and a gold
watch." It's unclear whether he is thus adorned while planting bombs for
the students' army based along the Thai-Burmese border, which The New
Light of Myanmar claims is his specialty. One young woman suspect, Moe Moe
Aye, "usually wears a jade ring on her left middle finger." Indeed, there
are endless amusing descriptions of "terrorists."

The irony is that suspects were announced only hours after the first of
the Rangoon bombings. Obviously, the regime's MAS has lost clout and only
now may be trying to catch up.

New recruits, according to Kyaw Myint Myo, have received intensive
training. But it takes time to build and effectively run an intelligence
network like the OCMI. Burma's military leaders previously depended
heavily on the regime's secret police units to intimidate the civilian
population and monitor people's movements, as well as watching dissidents
at home and abroad, foreign missions, and its own government officials and
cabinet ministers.

In fact, power and authority now reside with special branch officers
working for the ministry of home affairs. This is the plan of Than Shwe
and his deputy, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, who thought Khin Nyunt's
intelligence agency was acting as "a state within a state".

Khin Nyunt sent his men to infiltrate each ministry to collect inside
information and data. His department kept files on ministers, senior
officials and his rivals. It is widely believed that information collected
on some cabinet ministers and other officials by Khin Nyunt's intelligence
service included their involvement in sex scandals and corruption.

Khin Nyunt's former rivals, Lt-Gen Tun Kyi, Lt-Gen Kyaw Ba and Lt-Gen
Myint Aung, all powerful ministers and battle-hardened generals, were
fired in 1997. His department released video footage of these ministers'
"extra activities" in their offices, where they apparently had day-beds
for flings with mistresses, including models and actresses. The footage
and sound bites gathered by the department were quite clear.

Kyaw Myint Myo told me that he was assigned to infiltrate the offices of
some powerful government ministers. This included the office of Myint
Aung, former minister for agriculture and irrigation. "I was just a
clerk," he said, and the assignment, which included installing a small
camera in Myint Aung's office, was given to him by Col San Pwint. "We have
files on ministers, officials and businessmen," he boasted.

The spy's disguise was so effective that a number of members of the
political opposition would be embarrassed to admit they had provided
assistance to him, allowing him to stay in their offices at times. On
learning that Kyaw Myint Myo had talked to The Irrawaddy, revealing that
he was a spy, one prominent opposition member said the man acted like an
"idiot."

Kyaw Myint Myo told The Irrawaddy he had once been assigned to Myawaddy,
on the Thai border, to monitor Karen and other dissidents and their
activities in Thailand. As usual, he did not attract attention. I thought
the spy really must have played the idiot to avoid detection. As he
explained, he and other agents were told to "lose our shadows," and to
treat those they had to track as "objects."

"My face is just regular, and I can be anyone and just disappear in the
crowd," he added. Now, after lengthy debriefing sessions carried out by
insurgents to whom he defected, he faces an uncertain future.

Kyaw Myint Myo told me that MAS's counter-intelligence department now had
a plan to launch a "data thief project," in which operatives would steal
data from opposition groups both in Burma and outside. The Irrawaddy was
on the project's list, he said.

I didn't need any more convincing that he had seen my photo before our
meeting.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 2, Network Media Group
Legal clinic for Burmese opened in Mae Sot

To be able to effectively help Burmese migrant workers on legal issues,
the Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC) today opened a legal office in Mae Sot,
on the Thai-Burma border.

The ‘Legal Clinic’ as it is called, was set up to help Burmese migrant
workers with legal aid -- mainly relating to problems with employers,
problems among workers and court cases between workers and Thai
authorities.

“We set up an office so that they [Burmese workers] can easily contact
us,” said U Myint Thein, an executive committee member of BLC. “We have a
scheduled time when they can come to see us. They can openly consult us on
their situation. We will do our best for them.”

There are often problems between workers and employers or Thai authorities
because only a few migrant workers know about Thailand’s laws relating to
migrant labourers.

“They have difficulty with the language and they have no understanding of
legal issues here regarding their work. We have projected to help solve
such problems,” said U Myint Thein.

BLC has hosted workshops, discussions and forums on migrant labour related
laws for Burmese workers in Mae Sot. It has also distributed booklets on
Thai migrant labour laws to workers in different factories.

There are over 400 factories and about 45,000 registered migrant workers
in Mae Sot—most of whom are Burmese workers. There are often protests and
other problems in the area because of workers’ rights abuses, oppression
and exploitation.

____________________________________

June 5, DPA via Bangkok Post
World Cup bookies move to Burma

Thai bookmakers taking bets on World Cup matches have migrated across the
border to neighbouring Burma to avoid arrested for illegal gambling, news
reports say.

The bookmakers have set up shop in five casinos in Burma's border town of
Tachilek, a gambling haven that caters to Thai clients, Chamnong Kaewsiri,
police chief of Thailand's northernmost Chiang Rai province told the
state-run Thai News Agency.

Most forms of gambling are illegal in Thailand, including bets on football
matches, a national pasttime. Horse racing and several lotteries are
legal, and government-supervised.

A recent survey conducted in Bangkok estimated that more than 850,000 of
the capital's residents will be betting an estimated 56 million dollars on
the upcoming World Cup football matches in Germany from June 9 to July 9.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

June 5, Associated Press
Myanmar, Bangladesh report new polio cases this year, first since 2000

Jakarta: Bangladesh and Myanmar have reported new polio cases this year,
the first since 2000, as worldwide eradication efforts continue to fight
the paralyzing disease, a World Health Organization official said Monday.

Bangladesh has logged three cases this year, while Myanmar has reported
one, all imported from endemic countries, said Sona Bari, a spokeswoman
for the WHO's polio eradication initiative in Geneva. Each country's last
reported case was in April.

Nepal has also had a case this year, in addition to four from last year.
Indonesia, which struggled with an outbreak last year that paralyzed 303
children, has seen two cases this year the last in February after
intensive national vaccination campaigns. Last year's cases were the first
in a decade.

"It's winding down," Bari said of the cases in Indonesia. "We're very
hopeful for all those campaigns."

The virus is carried into polio-free nations and travels silently in
sewage-contaminated water before latching onto unvaccinated children in
the form of a high fever sometimes leaving them paralyzed.

One of the scariest aspects of the disease is how widely it can spread
unnoticed. On average, only about one in 200 cases will result in
paralysis. And while the majority of infected people may not ever develop
classic polio symptoms of fever and diarrhea, they can still spread the
virus.

Endemic countries in Asia, including Afghanistan India and Pakistan, have
continued to see cases this year with eight, 33 and three, respectively.

"I think we're definitely making progress in India," Bari said. "It's down
to such a few number of districts. We're very, very hopeful."


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 5, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar steps up levying taxes from private sector

Yangon: Myanmar is stepping up levying of income taxes from employees in
the private sector and the move has begun this month, the local Myanmar
Times reported Monday.

For the past 18 years, the government had not taken a serious approach to
tax collection from private companies and individuals, sources with the
Internal Revenue Department was quoted as saying.

With the rate of tax collection remaining unchanged, income tax ranges
from 5 to 30 percent varying on income level for local currency earners,
while that for foreign currency earners a flat 10 percent, the sources
said.

A recent government amendment to the old income tax law, which was
introduced in 1974, also implied that all businesses are to be taxed.

Observers commented that tax evasion has reached a critical stage in
Myanmar with the majority of the people seeking for evading taxes.

As one of its measures, the government designated that people who are
found to be evading taxes, will be banned from traveling abroad until the
financial debts have been settled, according to the department.

The department statistics show that the country gained 400 billion Kyats
(about 363 million U.S. dollars) in revenue in the fiscal year of 2005-06
which ended in March, a significant increase over the previous years but
much lower than targeted.

Collected through five categories of tax, namely, income tax, profit tax,
commercial tax, the sale of stamps and the state lottery, the country's
revenue obtained ranged from 104 billion Kyats to 265 billion Kyats in the
previous three years.

The Department attributed the lower figures to tax evasion, blaming some
companies and individuals for presenting false data about their income for
taxation assessment as well as the government's ineffective measures in
collecting tax from companies, service providers, restaurants,
supermarkets or individuals for 18 years.

However, the finance authorities held that the recent amendments to income
and commercial tax laws would not affect the tax rate levied by the
government but would ensure that tax collection policy will be more
effective and widespread.

The authorities called for efficient collection of tax to raise enough
money for public infrastructure projects.

Income tax represents about 90 percent of total government revenue.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 3, Agence France Presse
New Delhi will not meddle with Myanmar: Indian defence minister

Singapore: India will not join other countries in pushing for democratic
reforms in military-ruled Myanmar, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said
here Saturday.

"Our basic principle is to live in peaceful co-existence and we do not
believe in exporting ideologies," Mukherjee said at a forum in Singapore
when asked why India was not pressing its neighbour to undertake reforms.

"It is for the people of the country to decide what type of government
they would like to have," said Mukherjee, who was attending a high-level
regional security conference.

Myanmar's ruling junta has been accused of serious human rights abuses,
including the detention of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other
opposition leaders, and India is seen as having leverage on the regime due
to strong bilateral ties.

Myanmar last week defied an international clamour for Aung San Suu Kyi's
release by extending her detention by another year. She has spent 10 of
the past 17 years in detention.

The United States said on Thursday that it had broad United Nations
support for its plans to introduce a UN resolution pushing the Myanmar
regime to change its repressive policies.

____________________________________

June 5, South China Morning Post
Humanitarian relief force proposed for region - Greg Torode

Malaysia is calling for the creation of a humanitarian relief force to
serve the Asian region - a possible first step towards a new regional
security grouping.

Malaysia's defence minister and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak told
delegates at the informal Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the
tsunami and recent earthquake in Indonesia had shown the need for better
organisation, despite swift international responses.

Countries would commit both civilian and military personnel headed by a
regional co-ordinating centre, he said.

"If we put our minds together and create this centre, the security village
would have a well-meaning, purposeful existence. I am confident we have
the political will to realise this."

His speech was one of the last of the weekend, and quickly received
support from Southeast Asian and South Asian delegates.

The weekend session saw security officials from 20 nations, ranging from
the US to Myanmar, informally thrash out ideas on how to ensure peace and
stability in the region.

Many delegates spoke of the need to forge a strong security body to ease
possible future tensions in a fast-evolving and integrating region.

Europe was touted as a model, because Nato had helped ensure that conflict
between European powers was now unthinkable.

But uncertainty over which major powers should be included was quick to
surface.

Mr Najib, backed by his Singaporean and Indonesian counterparts, warned
against shutting nations out. "We should leave nobody out, as those that
are excluded will invariably feel that they are targeted," he said.

An Indian military official said the concept of the Asia-Pacific region
had to include South Asia as well as East Asia and the US.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 4, Agence France Presse
Japan's position on Myanmar irks US - P. Parameswaran

Washington: The United States seems dismayed by key Asian ally Japan's
decision to gang up with Russia and China in opposing UN Security Council
action against military-ruled Myanmar.

Washington wants to introduce an unprecedented resolution at the council
calling on Myanmar's generals to change their repressive policies,
including pressuring them to free the country's democracy icon Aung San
Suu Kyi.

To set the stage for such an action, the United States wanted the Myanmar
issue to be formally discussed at the council for the first time.

While all the democratic nations in the 15-member council reportedly
backed the US move, Russia, China and, particularly, Japan objected.

At a rare council briefing last week on Myanmar's political crisis, Japan
said the situation in the Southeast Asian nation did not pose a threat to
international peace and security, a key prerequiste for council action.

"Japan has made a big mistake," Michael Green, who until recently was US
President George W. Bush's senior director for Asia policy, said, using
unusually strong language.

"With this decision on Burma (Myanmar), Japan has lost the moral high
ground," he said. "It is painful to see. On one side are China and Russia,
which have increasingly repressed civil liberties and democracy over the
past two years. On the other side stands every single democracy in the
Security Council.

"One must wonder whether this error in judgment will have implications for
Japans diplomatic standing in Washington and in Asia," Green said.

Unlike permanent veto-wielding members China and Russia, Japan is an
elected council member without veto power. Yet, Tokyo's move is
discomforting for Washington.

US diplomats have vowed to step up their campaign to press Japan and the
others in the council to back Washington's resolution

"We believe the situation there warrants action by the Security Council,
certainly an expression of concern and the desire to see the Burmese
Government do the right thing, release political prisoners and move
forward with a national reconciliation process and political process that
would ultimately make a move towards democracy," said Tom Casey, a State
Department spokesman.

"But we'll be discussing this with the Japanese, with other people as
well. But again, we believe this is the right thing to do," he said.

Washington expects the resolution to "be introduced or at least circulated
preliminarily sometime in the days ahead," Casey said.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN secretary generals special envoy who visited
Yangon recently, told members of the Security Council last week that
Myanmar's junta had rejected his proposal to give economic aid in exchange
for minimal steps toward a return to democracy, Green said.

Council members were also told details of the juntas alleged links with
international drugs and human trafficking syndicates, forced dislocation
of ethnic minorities, and destabilizing policies toward neighboring
countries.

Yet, Japan's UN envoy Ambassador Kenzo Oshima sided with the Chinese and
Russian delegations and argued that no further steps should be considered
by the Security Council, Green said.

Japan's refusal to support putting Myanmar on the formal agenda of the
Security Council also comes at a time when "even famously patient Beijing
is getting annoyed with the hardheaded generals" in Yangon, said Dana
Dillon, a senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Heritage
Foundation.

Myanmar watchers in Thailand say that China was dismayed by the 2004
arrest and sacking of Myanmar's Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and is now
looking for ways to restrain the junta's "worst excesses," Dillon said.

China, the junta's biggest patron, is affected by the flow of refugees,
disease, and drugs from Myanmar, he said.

Furthermore, Myanmars uncontrolled logging is damaging Chinas reputation
in the World Trade Organization, Dillon said.

Last month, China closed the China-Myanmar border to all timber trade. In
response, members of Myanmar's army reportedly attacked Chinese migrant
workers.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 5, International Herald Tribune via Boston Globe
Burma: The Unturned Page

The United Nations was created to foster a peaceful international order
built upon a foundation of collective security. It is because of the
grandeur of that ideal that the UN's habitual failure to protect the
victims of murderous regimes in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Sudan is so
disillusioning. And sad to say, those tragic failures of the past are
being reenacted today as senior UN officials and members of the UN
Security Council acquiesce in the despotic brutality of the illegitimate
military junta that rules Burma.

On a visit to Burma last month, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's top
deputy, Under-Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari, raised hopes for progress
there toward a restoration of democracy and national reconciliation.
Gambari was allowed to meet with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu
Kyi, imprisoned in her own house, and was granted an interview with the
leader of the junta, General Than Shwe. Gambari reported that the general
is ready ``to turn a new page in relations with the international
community."

If Than Shwe intended to turn a new page, he would start by releasing Suu
Kyi, who has been imprisoned for more than 10 of the past 17 years and
whose party won 80 percent of seats in Parliament in a 1990 election the
junta refused to honor. He would also release the 1,100 other political
prisoners. He would open a genuine political dialogue with Suu Kyi and her
party, proceeding to the democratization that the people of Burma
desperately needs and that the international community has called for.

But no new page was turned. After Gambari's visit, the junta announced
that Suu Kyi's confinement would continue for another year.

The lesson should be clear: Than Shwe will not change his ways without
sustained international pressure on a regime that has been condemned for
its use of forced labor, the flight of hundreds of thousands of refugees,
and the export into neighboring countries of methamphetamine, heroin, and
the accompanying spread of HIV/AIDS.

The State Department has rightly decided to pursue a UN Security Council
resolution expressing ``the international community's concerns about the
situation in Burma." But the most effective action would be to place Burma
on the council's formal agenda, as the United States and other democracies
are seeking to do. This would require constant UN attention to the plight
of Burma's people. Predictably, undemocratic permanent council members
China and Russia oppose this measure. Inexplicably, the UN ambassador from
Japan, one of the 10 current elected council members, said Wednesday, ``we
would not be happy" to have the council do anything more than hear
Gambari's briefings on his failed mission.

This is an attitude that betrays not only the people of Burma but also the
founding ideals of the United Nations.