BurmaNet News, June 17-19, 2006

[Editor]

June 17-19, 2006 Issue # 2986

“It is not normally polite to refer to a woman's age. However we would
like today to remind you that a year has passed since the leader of the
Burmese opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, celebrated her 60th birthday.”
- Former President of Czech Republic Václav Havel and 1984 Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu of South Africa


BUSINESS / TRADE
Indian Express: Saran to push for Kaladan project
AFX News: Daewoo International reports Myanmar gas find

ASEAN
Reuters: Southeast Asian lawmakers want Myanmar suspended
AP: Report: Malaysia says ASEAN must fight rising economic influence of
China, India

REGIONAL
VOA: Meeting of Nobel winners shows sharply different treatment for two
absent laureates
Irrawaddy: Chin protester barred from traveling to Rangoon
Irrawaddy: Indian legislators to mark Suu Kyi's birthday
AP: Philippine activists demand release of Myanmar's Suu Kyi on her 61st
birthday
Yonhap: South Korean lawmakers call for release of Burma's Aung Sang Suu Kyi
AFP: Malaysian, Myanmar activists call for UN sanctions against Myanmar
Daily Star (Bangladesh): 432 eminent citizens for Suu Kyi's freedom

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Freedom for Suu Kyi demanded at birthday events
Bernama: Myanmar may be referred to UN Security Council
AFP: Blair's disappointment as Aung San Suu Kyi turns 61 under house arrest
AFP: Amnesty demands Myanmar free Aung San Suu Kyi
AP: EU tells U.N. council to take inspiration from 'fearless' Aung San Suu
Kyi
Daily Times (Pakistan): Saudis don’t want Burmese as nationals

OPINION / OTHER
Wall Street Journal: Press for Change in Burma - Paula J. Dobriansky

PRESS RELEASE
Václav Havel & Archbishop Desmond Tutu: An Appeal Regarding the Situation
in Burma
UNCHR: On the occasion of the inaugural session of the Human Rights
Council, UN rights experts call to mind the birthday of detained Nobel
laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
AIPMC: Statement of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)
ALTSEAN: Campaign website launched to mark Nobel laureate’s birthday:
www.unscburma.org


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 16, The Indian Express
Saran to push for Kaladan project

New Delhi: Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran is heading to Yangon on Saturday
to kickstart an important trans-border infrastructure project that will
let the land-locked North-Eastern states gain easy access to the Bay of
Bengal through Myanmar.

The multi-modal transport corridor, under consideration for many years,
develops the Sittwe port on the northern coastline of Myanmar and links it
to southern Mizoram along the Kaladan river.
The project is also expected to include the building of a pipeline that
will bring natural gas from Myanmar into the North-East.

The economic, security and geopolitical stakes for India are so high in
Myanmar that it is prepared to overlook the growing Western criticism of
its engagement with Yangon.

These concerns are expected to mount next week, when detained leader of
the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi marks her sixty
first birthday on Monday.

India’s concerns for peace, security and development in the N-E coupled
with its worries over China’s growing economic presence in Myanmar,
however, have driven New Delhi’s expanding political and economic
engagement with Yangon.

Given the 1600-km land border with Myanmar, and the shared maritime space
in the Bay of Bengal, New Delhi believes it does not have the luxury of
elevating its commitment to democratic values above the immediate economic
and strategic interests there.

The West has for years applied economic pressure on the military rulers in
Yangon. The regime had overturned the results of 1988 general elections
that had given a stunning victory to the democratic forces and arrested
Suu Kyi.
Although India had supported the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar in the
late 1980s, it had reversed direction in the early 1990s to begin a
‘‘constructive engagement’’ with the regime.

Barely days after US President George W. Bush was in India last March
criticising the military regime in Yangon, President Abdul Kalam travelled
to Myanmar to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Kalam, in a small gesture
to the international and domestic concerns, did mention India’s hopes for
the restoration of democracy in Myanmar at the end of his visit.

Saran will now go to Yangon for the regular ‘‘foreign office
consultations”. Saran, who had earlier served as ambassador to Myanmar, is
familiar with the full range of India’s interests in this important
eastern neighbour.

His emphasis will be on the rapid implementation of many economic
proposals, including the Kaladan project, expansion of road connectivity
to South East Asia through Myanmar and cooperation in the energy sector.

____________________________________

June 16, AFX News
Daewoo International reports Myanmar gas find

Daewoo International Corp said it has found gas reserves in an appraisal
well at Block A-3 Mya field in Myanmar.

The reserve has been estimated at 57.6 million cubic feet of gas per day,
it said in a filing to the stock exchange.

It added that it has detected gas reserves in two out of three appraisal
wells in the Block A-1 Shwe Phyu field.

It said daily production capacity from one of those finds is estimated at
about 42.5 million cubic feet.

The company, however, said it has found no commercially viable reserves in
other wells in the A-1 block.

Daewoo International holds a 60 percent share in the exploration projects,
the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) of India has 20
percent, while Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) and the Gas Authority of
India Ltd (GAIL) each have 10 percent.

____________________________________
ASEAN

June 19, Reuters
Southeast Asian lawmakers want Myanmar suspended - Achmad Sukarsono

Jakarta: Myanmar must receive a stern reprimand such as suspension from
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for dragging its feet in
instituting democracy and freeing dissidents, regional lawmakers said on
Monday.

ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus members made that call as Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi -- whose party won a 1990 election in Myanmar
only to be denied power by the military junta -- marked her 61st birthday
under house arrest.

Caucus president Zaid Ibrahim from Malaysia called on ASEAN and the U.N.
Security Council to increase pressure on the Myanmar government.

"Burma's position in ASEAN must be reconsidered. I believe something must
be done so that the international community do not accuse us of backing an
unjust, military regime who do not want to consider human rights at all,"
he told a news conference, using Myanmar's former name.

An Indonesian member of the caucus said the junta had ignored polite calls
from its neighbours for too long.

"We are impatient. Myanmar's membership should be suspended, frozen
because it has embarrassed all of us in ASEAN," said Indonesian legislator
Djoko Susilo, although he conceding the group of 10 Southeast Asian
nations lacks an official procedure to do such a thing.

Key players in ASEAN, a group known for its emphasis on consensus and
non-interference in members' internal affairs, have shown rare public
displeasure in recent years with foot-dragging on reforms in Myanmar,
ruled by the military for more than 40 years.
But those members have still failed to do anything more substantive
against Myanmar than express their views at such forums as a ministerial
meeting in Indonesia last April.

Susilo said the Myanmar leadership needed to be "slapped" because it has
failed to respond to kind gestures from neighbours, which have been
rooting for Myanmar to follow up on its own democratisation scheme.

Myanmar has proposed a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" and the junta
says step one, drafting a new constitution, is underway. Its ASEAN
neighbours think the process has been too slow while the West views the
plan as more of a delaying tactic than a serious attempt at reform.

The caucus, which has members from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, also called on major Asian powers
and Myanmar trade partners China and India to join the critical chorus.

Besides the Southeast Asian nations represented in the caucus and Myanmar,
ASEAN also includes Brunei, Vietnam and Laos.

____________________________________

June 17, The Associated Press
Report: Malaysia says ASEAN must fight rising economic influence of China,
India

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's deputy prime minister said Southeast Asian
countries must transform themselves to combat the rising economic
influence of China and India in the region, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Najib Razak, Malaysia's deputy prime minister, said the 10-member
Association of Southeast Asian Nations must "work harder" at structural
reforms "to make the 21st century the ASEAN century," according to the New
Straits Times.

Najib didn't elaborate in his comments Friday to Malaysian journalists
following an economic forum on East Asia.

He said, however, said the grouping shouldn't feel threatened by China and
India, the fastest growing economies in Asia, because of ASEAN's enormous
market size and its growing influence.

ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam represent more than 548
million people.

"India, for instance, may be bigger than ASEAN put together in terms of
population," Najib was quoted as saying. "But our purchasing power is
still higher. The per capita income of the people of ASEAN is far greater
than that of India."

But Najib said also warned of the disparities between ASEAN member nations
and the need to help less developed countries catch up with the more
developed ones.

Malaysian officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 17, Voice of America
Meeting of Nobel winners shows sharply different treatment for two absent
laureates - Kurt Achin

Gwangju, South Korea: Nobel Peace Prize winners met this week in South
Korea to discuss prospects for global peace. Two high-profile laureates
were conspicuously absent - and their respective inability to attend was
treated very differently by those who did make it to the meeting.

As a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize winners took the stage for the final
event of a meeting here in Gwangju Saturday, two well-known laureates were
nowhere to be seen.

The first was pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, of Burma. She has
been placed under prolonged house arrest by Rangoon's authoritarian
military leaders, and was not allowed to travel to the meeting.

Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the host of the gathering,
personally acknowledged her absence in his closing remarks.

Mr. Kim called for Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom, and expressed the hope that
more global attention would be called to her plight.

The gathering went even further in acknowledging the Burmese activist, by
drafting a formal declaration of solidarity with her. It was read aloud by
Jonathan Granoff, of the Nobel-winning International Peace Bureau.

"The political and physical freedom of our colleague, Madame Aung San Suu
Kyi of Burma, must be guaranteed," he said. "We stand alongside Madame
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is struggling for the development of democracy in
her homeland."

The second of the two missing laureates was just ignored, even though he
was invited to the event and his name appeared in the program. He is the
Dalai Lama of Tibet, the spiritual leader of the Buddhist nation forcibly
annexed by China in the 1950s.

Countries, human rights groups and individuals have long criticized
Beijing's occupation of Tibet, accusing it of eradicating much the
region's traditional culture. China claims Tibet is a traditional part of
Chinese territory, and it regularly blasts the Dalai Lama as a separatist
troublemaker, even though he no longer calls for Tibetan independence, and
now only asks for greater autonomy.

Beijing complains whenever the Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, is
granted entry to other countries. South Korean authorities refused to
issue him a visa for the Nobel gathering in order to avoid offending
China.

At Saturday's events ending the four-day Gwangju summit, the Dalai Lama's
name was not mentioned once. The Nobel laureates, such as Northern Irish
peace activist Mairead Corrigan Maguire, were less than eager to share an
opinion on his absence.

"Well I think you should speak to some of the organizers, really. I would
prefer you would on that," said Maguire.

Kenyan Peace Laureate Wangari Mutha Maatai cited lack of information in
declining to discuss the issue.

"I should not really make any judgment on why he didn't come. Because when
I asked, I was told that he didn't come because he didn't have a visa. But
I wasn't told any other issue other than that," she said.

The Gwangju meeting was carefully choreographed to support host Kim
Dae-jung's vision of regional peace, which is shared by the South Korean
government. Its central tenet is engagement and cooperation with North
Korea - in which China, the North's neighbor and ally, plays a key role.
It is an indication of China's growing influence that a guest that Beijing
finds inconvenient was not only absent - but largely ignored.

____________________________________

June 19, Irrawaddy
Chin protester barred from traveling to Rangoon - Khun Sam

Thai authorities at Bangkok’s international airport prevented Chin
pro-democracy protester Salai Tun Than from boarding a flight to Rangoon
today, confirming that the Burmese government had cancelled his passport.

The 78-year-old professor, former rector of Yezin Agriculture Institute,
had planned to stage a solo pro-democracy demonstration in Rangoon on the
occasion of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s 61st birthday.

“The (Thai) authorities showed me the official [Burmese embassy] letter
canceling the validity of my travel,” said Salai Tun Than, who is a
Burmese citizen with a Burmese passport.

In 2001, Salai Tun Than held a solo demonstration in Rangoon, but was
arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. He was released after
serving 18 months. He has subsequently appealed for peaceful political
change in Burma and for the involvement of the UN.

When he announced his plan to stage a second demonstration to coincide
with Suu Kyi’s 61st birthday the Burmese government cancelled the validity
of his passport, effectively barring him from traveling to Burma.

An official of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Irrawaddy
Thai authorities had no option but to reject Salai Tun Than’s passport.

The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
on Monday released a statement accusing the Burmese government of denying
Salai Tun Than’s basic human rights by barring him from returning home.
The statement quoted Salai Tun Than as saying: “I am barred from returning
home, this is a human rights abuse.” He said the junta was afraid he would
win popular support with his demonstration.

____________________________________

June 19, Irrawaddy
Indian legislators to mark Suu Kyi's birthday - Aung Lwin Oo

New Delhi: Indian parliamentarians and pro-democracy activists planned to
mark the 61st birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi at a ceremony in New Delhi on
Monday.

Politicians from the ruling Congress Party, the opposition BJP and
left-wing parties were invited to attend the event, organized by Burmese
exiled activists based in New Delhi. Indian members of parliament Nirmala
Deshpande and Sharad Joshi were among those expected to attend, Ramgeet
Verma of the exiled National League for Democracy - Liberated Area told
The Irrawaddy.

More than 30 legislators have signed a petition calling on the UN to
intervene for Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest.

"We request the UN Security Council to take such action that she be
released on her 61st birthday on June 19," read the letter, addressing to
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Prominent lawmakers, including former defense minister George Fernandes,
Nirmala Deshpande and Sharad Joshi, were among those who signed the
letter.

About 50 Burmese activists staged an anti-regime protest near the Indian
parliament on Saturday, calling for the release of Suu Kyi. During a
three-day regional defense meeting in Singapore earlier this month, Indian
Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said his government will not be involved
in any attempt to install democracy in Burma.

Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue forum, attended by defense and
military chiefs from 23 mainly Asian nations, Mukherjee said: “Our basic
principle is to live in peaceful coexistence and we do not believe in
exporting ideologies... It is not only a question of Myanmar [Burma], but
in many other countries, there are different types of governments.”

____________________________________

June 19, Associated Press
Philippine activists demand release of Myanmar's Suu Kyi on her 61st birthday

Manila: Philippine activists wearing chains and a giant cake replica
trooped to the Myanmar Embassy on Monday to demand the release of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her birthday, as she turned 61
under house arrest.

More than a dozen members of the Free Burma Coalition carried placards
reading "Free Burma Now" and "Free all political prisoners in Burma."

"We think that calling for Suu Kyi's release would be the best gift that
we can offer on her birthday," Gus Miclat, a spokesman for the coalition,
said in a statement protesting the Myanmar government's recent decision to
extend Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year.

The protesters, two of them with chains around their ankles, were joined
by two South Korean activists.

The demonstrators brought a giant cardboard "cake" bearing a picture of
Suu Kyi and the number 61. They also attached buntings at the facade of
the building housing the embassy as a handful of policemen watched.

"The junta's decision extending her house arrest can never be acceptable
to the international community," Miclat said.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and one of the world's most
prominent political prisoners, has spent 10 of the last 17 years in
confinement.

Myanmar's ruling military junta took power in 1988 after crushing massive
pro-democracy demonstrations in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In 1990,
it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won a general election
by a landslide.

____________________________________

June 19, Yonhap
South Korean lawmakers call for release of Burma's Aung Sang Suu Kyi

Seoul: South Korean legislators on Monday [19 June] called for the
immediate release of Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi from
house arrest in Myanmar [Burma]. A bipartisan group of 68 South Korean
lawmakers, including ruling Uri Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik and main
opposition Grand National Party (GNP) Rep Ko Jin-hwa, signed a letter to
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, calling for her release. They
also called for the release of all political prisoners.

The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has been persecuted by Myanmar's
ruling military junta for the last 20 years for her pursuit of democracy,
has been under house arrest since 2003. "The current situation in Myanmar
must be officially put up for discussion at the UN Security Council," the
letter read. "And we urge that our resolution on Myanmar's democratic
movement be passed," it added. The letter was released to coincide with
Suu Kyi's 61st birthday on Monday. Nearly early 300 people in 32 nations
have participated in the movement for the activist's release.

____________________________________

June 18, Agence France Presse
Malaysian, Myanmar activists call for UN sanctions against Myanmar

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian and Myanmar activists on Sunday urged the
international community to refer Myanmar to the UN Security Council as
they celebrated the birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi.

Some 350 people from Malaysian non-governmental bodies and Myanmar ethnic
and political groups crammed into a function hall in the centre of Kuala
Lumpur to mark Aung San Suu Kyi's 61st birthday on Monday.

Myanmar groups, including her National League for Democracy (NLD), sang
political songs and called for the release of the leader, who has spent 10
of the last 17 years under house arrest.

"The time has come where the international community, especially the
United Nations, must act without favour or fear, and bring the sufferings
of the people of Burma to the attention of the UN Security Council," said
a statement from 25 Malaysian and Myanmar groups.

The groups said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of
which Myanmar is a member, had roundly failed in its diplomatic efforts to
persuade the military junta to move towards democracy.

"This shameful deadlock should compel ASEAN to be firm and substantiate
its words with action: expel Burma from ASEAN," they said.

The executive director of Malaysian rights group Suaram, Yap Swee Seng,
said Malaysia, as the engineer of Myanmar's entry into ASEAN in 1997, had
a particular responsibility to support UN action.

"Malaysia has a principal obligation on Burma because it was Malaysia that
supported the Burmese government entering ASEAN," he told AFP.

An NLD Malaysia leader, Hlaing Myint, said groups were also lobbying for
UN action against Myanmar on humanitarian grounds because of the minimal
"slave" pay Burmese workers were subjected to.

"We are going to demand that ASEAN send a delegation to Myanmar, not to
meet on political points, but to meet people in the grassroots, to see how
they are suffering, how they are coping with the income and expenses," he
said.

The United States put the international spotlight on Myanmar last December
when it pushed the UN Security Council to hold a briefing on human rights
and other problems there for the first time.

Washington is now lobbying for an unprecedented UN Security Council
resolution calling on the regime to change its repressive policies.
____________________________________

June 19, Daily Star (Bangladesh)
432 eminent citizens for Suu Kyi's freedom

Four hundred and thirty two eminent citizens of the country including
leaders of political parties and socio-cultural, professional, and rights
organisations, civil society leaders and editors of national dailies and
weeklies yesterday demanded an end to the incarceration of Aung San Suu
Kyi, the leader of Myanmar's democratic struggle.

The call came through a signature campaign on the occasion of the 61st
birth anniversary today of Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest
by a military junta in Myanmar for over a decade.

South Asian People's Union Against Fundamentalism and Communalism (SAPUFC)
collected the signatures.

Sixteen leaders of political parties, 116 members of professional,
socio-cultural and rights organisations, and 300 other eminent citizens
signed the call for restoring democracy in Myanmar by releasing Suu Kyi
immediately from house arrest and by allowing her to exercise her
democratic rights in her own country.

The signatories also expressed solidarity with the movement for
restoration of democracy there.

Copies of the statement will be sent to the UN secretary general, and
Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders.

Pointing out that Suu Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy
in Myanmar, were prevented from forming a democratic government there
despite winning 392 of the 485 parliamentary seats in the national
elections in 1990, the statement said, "This is a serious violation of
human rights and democratic values, as guaranteed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights."

"At a time when most of the countries in Asia and other parts of the world
are being run by democratically elected governments, the house arrest of
Suu Kyi continues to be a stigma on democratic values cherished by the
people of Burma," the statement said.

It went on saying that the norms and the practices of democracy dictate
that a country should be governed by democratically elected
representatives of political parties and not by any military junta. The
military rule in Myanmar must be brought to and end as early as possible,
it said.

"Not only the peace-loving people of Myanmar but also those in
neighbouring countries have been victims of the military junta's barbaric
mechanism of killings and torture over 44 years," read the SAPUFC
statement signed by its General Sectary Shahriar Kabir.

Over 10 lakh Burmese refugees have been living in Bangladesh, India and
Thailand. Over 2 lakh illegal Rohingya refugees have been living in
Bangladesh for about 30 years, a situation which has become a threat to
law and order in the southern region, according to the statement.

"We cannot remain unperturbed after witnessing absence of democracy and
strong human rights violations in our neighbouring country especially when
our country is not free from the curse of these," it said, expressing hope
that the UN and Asean will take more effective steps than merely issuing
statements.

The signatories include Sheikh Hasina, Monjurul Ahsan Khan, Rashed Khan
Menon, Hasanul Haq Inu, Nirmal Sen, Prof Kabir Chowdhury, Air Vice Marshal
(retd) AK Khandakar, Kamal Lohani, Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud, Hena Das,
Ayesha Khanam, Santu Larma, Sanjib Drong, Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad,
Prof Abul Barkat, Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Barrister Amir-Ul Islam, Altaf
Mahmud, Prof Muntassir Mamoon, Asaduzzaman Noor, Maj Gen (retd) KM
Shafiullah, Prof Anu Muhammad, Advocate Sultana Kamal, Motiur Rahman,
Rahat Khan, Atiqullah Khan Masud, Bazlur Rahman, Golam Sarwar, Abed Khan,
Nurul Kabir, Shyamal Dutta, Golam Mortoja, Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Obaidul
Huq, Sardar Fazlul Karim, Prof Khan Sarwar Murshid, Prof Mustafa Noor-ul
Islam, Justice KM Sobhan, Kalim Sarafi, Prof Anisuzzaman, Prof Zillur
Rahman Siddiqui, Maj (retd) Rafiqul Islam, Rafiqunnabi, Qayum Chowdhury,
Ramendu Majumder, Syed Shamsul Haque, Prof Harunur Rashid and Prof AAMS
Arefin Siddique.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 19, Irrawaddy
Freedom for Suu Kyi demanded at birthday events - Yeni

The 61st birthday of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was marked
on Monday with demonstrations of solidarity in Rangoon and in more than 25
countries around the world, while calls for her release from house arrest
came from many international figures, including former Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev.

Hundreds of her supporters gathered at the Rangoon headquarters of her
National League for Democracy, where Buddhist ceremonies were held and
doves and balloons were released into the sky as symbols of freedom. Many
chanted “Free Aung San Suu Kyi.” Police detained NLD member Tun Tun who,
wearing a tee shirt bearing Suu Kyi’s image, held a solo demonstration
near Rangoon City Hall.

People also gathered at pagodas and monasteries to show their solidarity
with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who has spent 10 of the past 17 years
in detention.

Police were out in force outside the NLD headquarters and Suu Kyi’s
lakeside residence on Rangoon’s University Avenue. About two dozen police,
some with video cameras, took up positions opposite NLD headquarters,
while barbed wire barricades were set up on the section of University
Avenue running past Suu Kyi’s home, closing it to traffic.

Ko Ko Gyi, a former student leader who attended the NLD events, told The
Irrawaddy that this year’s commemoration of Suu Kyi’s birthday was
“livelier” than usual.

In the US, members of the US Campaign for Burma staged solidarity
demonstrations in more than 270 towns and cities across the country. A
documentary film was screened featuring appearances by President George W
Bush, former president Bill Clinton, Bono of U2 and Anthony Kiedis of the
band Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Aung Din, US Campaign for Burma policy director said: “We are organizing
these events to honor Aung San Suu Kyi but also to press for a Security
Council resolution.”

Twelve Nobel Peace laureates—including former South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev—released a statement
on Saturday at their annual meeting in the South Korean city of Gwangju,
saying: “We, the Nobel Peace Laureates ... believe that the political and
physical freedom of our colleague Madame Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma must be
guaranteed.”

Suu Kyi has been in and out of detention since 1989, her current—third—
term resulting from an incident at Depayin in May 2003, when almost 100 of
her supporters were reportedly beaten to death by supporters of Burma’s
ruling military junta.

____________________________________

June 19, Bernama News
Myanmar may be referred to UN Security Council

Putrajaya: United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary- General Mark Malloch
Brown said that there is a possibility that  Myanmar would be referred to
the UN Security Council.

"I think there is a possibility... maybe," he said when asked whether
Yangon might be referred to the powerful UN Security Council for its
failure to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to restore
human rights.

He was speaking to a group of Malaysian journalists on the sidelines of
the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
and Development, a new initiative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to
promote the effective use of ICT for development.

Malloch Brown said several members of the Security Council, especially the
United States, were pressing for the issue of Myanmar to be taken up by
the council.

In past dealings with human rights and democracy issues, the council had
taken various steps on other countries such as imposing sanctions.

Sunday, about 350 people from Malaysian non-governmental organisations and
Myanmar activists urged the international community to refer Myanmar to
the UN Security Council.

Mark Malloch pointed out that the human rights record in the Asian region
was much better now compared to about 10 years ago.

However, in the case of Myanmar, it was one of the slowest in making the
necessary changes like releasing the Noble Peace laureate and other
political detainees, restoring human rights and moving towards democracy.

In this context, he said Asean was working very closely with the world
body to address the Myanmar issue.

"I think the view of Asean is that it is better to try to deal without
referring Myanmar's case to the Security Council," he said.

____________________________________

June 19, Agence France Presse
Blair's disappointment as Aung San Suu Kyi turns 61 under house arrest

London: British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Monday he was "bitterly
disappointed" that Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was spending
her 61st birthday alone and still under house arrest.

The military junta ruling Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has refused to
recognise her electoral success and has ignored calls to free one of the
world's best-known political prisoners.

A Nobel Peace Prize winner she has spent 10 of the last 17 years isolated
from the rest of the world.

"I'm bitterly disappointed that today Aung San Suu Kyi will spend her 61st
birthday under house arrest, cut off from her family and friends, having
had her house arrest extended yet again on May 27," Blair said in a
statement.

"This is utterly unacceptable and goes against everything the United
Nations Secretary General, most of Burma's neighbours, the European Union
and the wider international community have repeatedly called for."

Some 300 supporters were holding a day of ceremonies and protests near
Aung San Suu Kyi's crumbling Yangon house.

Members of her National League for Democracy party offered Buddhist
prayers and released doves and balloons at their headquarters as security
personnel kept a close eye on activities.

____________________________________

June 19, Agence France Presse
Amnesty demands Myanmar free Aung San Suu Kyi

Bangkok: Human rights watchdog Amnesty International demanded military-run
Myanmar free democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who celebrated her 61st
birthday on Monday under house arrest.

The leader of Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has
spent more than 10 of the past 17 years under house arrest at her lakeside
residence in central Yangon.

Despite an international clamor for her freedom, the military government
extended her house arrest for another year.

Amnesty International Thailand urged the junta to "keep the promises it
has made to the global community to release Suu Kyi and all other
political prisoners, with a view to restoring them their full rights as
Burmese citizens."

The United Nations has estimated there are some 1,100 political prisoners
in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The NLD has said it would hold a ceremony for the Nobel peace prize
laureate's birthday at its Yangon headquarters, releasing balloons and
doves, while supporters around the world were also planning events to mark
the day.

The NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but the regime ignored the
result and clung to power.

____________________________________

June 19, Associated Press
EU tells U.N. council to take inspiration from 'fearless' Aung San Suu Kyi

Geneva: The European Union told the new U.N. Human Rights Council on
Monday that it should take inspiration from Myanmar's pro-democracy
leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The EU is committed to support women human rights defenders who put their
freedom, safety and sometimes their lives on the line to advance the cause
of human rights," Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik told the
inaugural session of the council. "One of these fearless women is Aung San
Suu Kyi."

Plassnik, who was speaking for the 25-nation bloc because Austria holds
the EU presidency, noted that Suu Kyi remained under house arrest in
Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"Today on her birthday she would surely have hoped to join us here in
freedom," Plassnik said.

But she recalled that Suu Kyi has said that "even under the most crushing
state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the
natural state of civilized man."

Plassnik added, "Her vision and courage should be our inspiration in this
forum."

Two U.N. rights experts issued a statement honoring Suu Kyi, noting that
the Nobel Peace laureate had been held in detention for 10 of the past 16
years.

"If the international community is to give credence to its renewed
commitment, it should ensure that such defenders, who at great personal
cost spearhead the global drive towards a more equitable and peaceful
world, are to be celebrated and supported, not silenced," said Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, the specialist on rights in Myanmar, and Hina Jilani,
U.N. expert on human rights defenders.

In a comment apparently referring to the United States Plassnik
underscored that the EU "firmly believes" that the fight against terrorism
must be conducted in "full respect for human rights and the rule of law.
Nobody must be in a legal vacuum."

And, she added, "the prohibition of torture is and must remain absolute."

Plassnik did not directly identify the United States, which has been
criticized for its policy of detaining terrorism suspects for years
without filing any charges against them. Some critics have also said the
detention policies violate the global ban on torture. The United States
has rejected the criticism.

____________________________________

June 19, Daily Times (Pakistan)
Saudis don’t want Burmese as nationals - Maryam Hussain

Islamabad: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have developed serious differences
over the undetermined status of thousands of Burmese Muslims residing in
the kingdom on Pakistani passports, as Riyadh is not ready to accept them
as Saudi nationals in spite of an earlier commitment.

Minister of State for the Foreign Office Khusro Bakhtiar and Foreign
Office Special Secretary Sher Afgan had told the Senate Committee on Human
Rights in its last meeting that "a difference of opinion" between Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia existed over the status of the Burmese Muslims. They had
promised that the government would soon discuss the issue with Riyadh.
When the committee members had inquired about the exact number of the
Burmese Muslims who were given Pakistani passports, the special secretary
had replied that he had no exact figures but said that they were "in
thousands".

Official documents obtained from the Foreign Office said that the Muslim
World League, the 'Rabita Al Alam Al Islami', had obtained permission from
King Faysal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz in the early 70s to allow for Burmese Muslims
fleeing from religious persecution in their country to settle in Saudi
Arabia. The Saudi government had told them to procure passports of any
country to facilitate their stay in the kingdom. Burmese Muslims residing
in Saudi Arabia had approached the Pakistan government in June 1986, and
then president General Ziaul Haq had agreed to help.

Sources said that the Saudi government had assured the Pakistani
government and the Burmese immigrants at the time that they would be
granted Saudi nationality after 14 years of stay in the kingdom. The
Burmese were also provided with Pakistan national identity cards to
expedite the renewal of their Pakistani passports. Sources told Daily
Times that the differences had emerged after a "massive scam" in the
renewal of the Burmese Muslims' passports at the Pakistani embassy in
Jedda, and Saudi authorities were now unsure about the actual number of
Burmese who had been allowed to stay in the kingdom in the early 70s.

Foreign Office sources said that the Saudi government had told Pakistan to
continue renewing the Burmese immigrants' green passports, as it was not
prepared to grant them Saudi nationality.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 19, Wall Street Journal
Press for Change in Burma - Paula J. Dobriansky

Today marks the 61st birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, the elected leader of
Burma's National League for Democracy. It is the third consecutive
birthday that she has spent under detention -- and a stark reminder that
not only she, but 50 million fellow Burmese are living without basic
freedoms and human rights. Absent change, Burma is likely to continue a
dangerous decline that threatens the welfare of its people and its
neighbors alike.

Only by unconditionally releasing Ms. Suu Kyi and all other political
prisoners, restoring a democratic form of government, and observing
international standards of human rights can Burma's regime bring
stability, prosperity and peace to its country -- and international
respect to its leaders. Toward that end, we are seeking a United Nations
Security Council resolution that underscores the aforementioned goals,
which were communicated by U.N. Undersecretary General for Political
Affairs Ibrahim Gambari to senior Burmese officials during his visit to
the country last month. The U.S. is committed to working with the U.N.
Security Council, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, regional institutions
and governments to press for genuine national reconciliation in Burma.

The threat to the Burmese people from their own leaders is clear: In only
the last few months, attacks against ethnic minorities have displaced
thousands. Military units abuse their power regularly and commit egregious
human rights abuses with impunity, including rape, forced labor, murder
and torture. The regime's continued economic mismanagement and corruption
have led to a widespread failure of the banking system and rampant
inflation, which increases the daily hardships of the Burmese people.
Making matters worse, the military's restrictions on U.N. and
nongovernmental organizations have hampered the ability of relief
organizations to deliver assistance to Burma's most vulnerable
populations.

Infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and avian flu are best
controlled by responsible governments with transparent public health
systems that cooperate closely with international institutions. Yet even
as the Burmese regime spends considerable sums to finish relocating its
capital, malnutrition is rising and thousands are dying from treatable
diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. This tragic failure calls into
question the Burmese junta's willingness and ability to protect and
improve the well-being of its people.

Burma's people are not alone in facing the consequences of their
government's actions: the country's deterioration poses a real danger to
its neighbors and -- in today's interconnected world -- even to those far
away. The drug trade and trafficking in persons are rampant; both flow
across porous borders and spread corruption, political instability and
disease.

America will persist in its strategy to increase international pressure on
Burma by working with individual governments and regional organizations,
such as the European Union, to seek to return the country to its people
through a transparent, inclusive political process. The U.S.
administration will continue to impose economic sanctions on the Burmese
government, while insisting upon the unconditional release of Ms. Suu Kyi
and other political prisoners; an end to attacks on civilians and other
human rights violations; and a real dialogue leading to peace, democracy
and national reconciliation.

In Asia, the U.S. will continue to collaborate with Burma's neighbors,
including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who have
a particular interest in seeing Burma's decline reversed. Asean leaders
have already publicly called for the release of political prisoners and
for the resumption of a national dialogue with all political stakeholders.
On June 3, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda stated that "the
junta [can] not deflect criticism of the Nobel peace laureate's detention
by saying it was an internal matter. The truth is no country can claim
that human rights abuses are its own internal affairs."

Finally, the U.S. will work in the U.N. to press for change in Burma. We
are pleased that the U.N.'s Economic and Social Council will discuss
Burma's forced labor practices in its July session. The U.S. will continue
to pursue a U.N. Security Council resolution. As U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice has said, America stands with the people of Burma, and we
have not forgotten their dream of democracy.

The economic, political and public health situation in Burma has
deteriorated to the point where the regime's combination of repression and
its unwillingness -- or inability -- to meet its own citizens' needs pose
a threat to the peace, security and stability of the region. We must all
act together to help the Burmese people win the freedom and prosperity
they deserve.

Ms. Dobriansky is the U.S. Undersecretary of State for democracy and
global affairs. In this capacity, she is responsible for directing U.S.
foreign policy on a range of transnational issues, including human rights,
health, humanitarian matters and democracy promotion.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

June 19, Former President of Czech Republic Václav Havel and 1984 Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu of South Africa
An Appeal Regarding the Situation in Burma

It is not normally polite to refer to a woman's age. However we would like
today to remind you that a year has passed since the leader of the Burmese
opposition, Aung San Suu Kyi, celebrated her 60th birthday. It was another
year of house arrest and almost complete isolation, another year of
persecution for the Burmese opposition, another year of suppression of
human rights, another year of repeated lies. How manymore years of quiet
and resolute opposition must Ms. Suu Kyi and the followers of the National
League for Democracy endure?

The previous annulling of the results of the 1990 elections, of which the
opposition were clear winners, was - by breaching common international
rules - carried out without regard to cultural or spiritual resources or
historical experience. At the same time we are sorry to observe that
international institutions involved in practical politics continue not to
advance sufficiently those ideals from which - often with great pathos -
they derive their own existence. It is not possible, for instance, to
yield again and again to economic interests without regard to human rights
and freedoms, or to accept claims that interfering in internal affairs is
unacceptable. In a globalize world, such an approach holds up less than at
any time in the past.

We are aware that Burma is not today's only hot issue, and that there are
many and varied dangers in the world. But inconsistent international
positions lead to a growth in the ambition of other dictatorial or
semi-dictatorial regimes, and with it a sense of impunity. Therefore we
call on the international community led by the Security Council of the
United Nations to pay due attention to the situation in Burma and reach
agreement on the condemnation and isolation of military dictatorship, and
to adopt an accommodating approach to the victims of its persecution.

As we have done in the past, we call upon the UN Security Council to pass
a resolution, which offers the beleaguered people of Burma an opportunity
for a genuine and irreversible path to national reconciliation.

____________________________________

June 19, UN Commission on Human Rights
On the occasion of the inaugural session of the Human Rights Council, UN
rights experts call to mind the birthday of detained Nobel laureate, Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani, issued the
following statement today:

Today as the United Nations member states gather for the historic
inaugural meeting of the Human Rights Council, we call to mind that today
also marks the birthday of one of the world's most acclaimed human rights
defenders, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate continues
under house arrest, having been held in detention for over ten of the past
sixteen years for her peaceful advocacy of fundamental democratic
freedoms.

Her steadfast commitment to the principles which all member states have
pledged to promote and protect, strongly accentuates the responsibility of
us all to demonstrate the integrity of our words, employ our individual
and collective efforts to re-invigorate and lend our full support to the
international system of human rights protection.

If the international community is to give credence to its renewed
commitment, it should ensure that such defenders who at great personal
cost, spearhead the global drive towards a more equitable and peaceful
world, are to be celebrated and supported, not silenced.

____________________________________

June 19, AIPMC
Statement of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)

Jakarta: We are pleased to launch a booklet to mark the birthday of Aung
San Suu Kyi, who turns 61 today. The booklet titled “Asian Voices:
Myanmar’s Threat to Regional Security” strengthens our voice for ASEAN and
the UN Security Council to work officially for the peaceful resolution of
Myanmar’s problems which continue to threaten our regional security and
stability.

While Myanmar does not yet pose a military threat to the region, it is
obvious that Myanmar’s growing instability and misgovernance is affecting
our human and economic security. This is why we are calling for stronger
regional support for the UN Security Council to have a binding resolution
on Myanmar to ensure that the Myanmar authorities honour their promises
for reforms.

We wish to take this opportunity to condemn the recent extension of Aung
San Suu Kyi’s detention. We also condemn the continued detention of 14
elected MPs from Myanmar, including the Shan leader Khun Htun Oo who was
sentenced to 90 years in jail last November.

We are proud to have led the international initiative for a legislators’
letter to the UN Secretary General and UN Security Council members to
adopt a Security Council resolution on Myanmar. Already, 451 legislators
from 33 countries around the world have signed this letter which will be
sent today.

On the occasion of Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday, we renew our commitment
and resolve to support a peaceful political solution for the problems
plaguing the people of Myanmar and, therefore, our region. We believe that
political dialogue is the way forward and call on the Myanmar State Peace
and Development Council (SPDC) to immediately and unconditionally release
Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners as a prelude to such
dialogue. To this end, we will be implementing a broad range of
activities, including an international conference on “Myanmar and
Democracies in Transition” to be held a few days before the ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting and ASEAN Regional Forum next month in Kuala Lumpur.

We also welcome the efforts of ASEAN leaders to push forward genuine
reforms in Myanmar and urge them to devote more priority to pro-active and
coordinated measures. In this context, we urge ASEAN leaders to be more
vigorous in their engagement of India and China to secure genuine reforms
in Myanmar.

____________________________________

June 19, Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN)
Campaign website launched to mark Nobel laureate’s birthday

Bangkok:  A network of human rights activists have launched a campaign
website to broaden the campaign for a UN Security Council resolution on
Burma, in honour of detained Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace
Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi s birthday.

"A Security Council resolution on Burma to ensure peace and freedom for
the people of Burma would be the best gift possible for Aung San Suu Kyi
on her 61st birthday," said a spokeswoman for the Alternative Asean
Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), a regional network of activists.
"Through the website, people can do something for Aung San Suu Kyi and
Burma, no matter where they are."

The campaign website, www.unscburma.org, justifies UN Security Council
official involvement on Burma. Drawing on the "Threat to the Peace" report
published by Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech
President Vaclav Havel, the website shows how human rights violations in
Burma continue to threaten regional and international security. Mirror
sites in various languages will be established by activist groups around
the world in the weeks ahead.

"All we are asking for is a resolution calling for the Burmese military
regime to honour its promises for democratisation and national
reconciliation. The pressure of a Security Council resolution will
discourage the regime from intensifying human rights violations. If the
Security Council shirks its responsibility to prevent the escalation of
oppression in Burma, the consequences on Southeast Asia could be
catastrophic," said the spokeswoman. "ASEAN governments should also
support such a move. The region has the most to lose if the situation
worsens in Burma."

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