BurmaNet News, July 28, 2006

[Editor]

July 28, 2006 Issue # 3014

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Opposition skeptical of new convention plan
DVB: Lawyer still unable to appeal for youths imprisoned for writing poem

ON THE BORDER
AFP: Two killed, five injured in Myanmar rebel attack

BUSINESS / TRADE
Thai Press: Thailand conservationists oppose import of teak logs from Myanmar

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: Chocolate Yaba seized in Tak province
Mizzima: Burma, China launch joint drugs crackdown

ASEAN
New Straits Times: Myanmar's elusive Foreign Minister

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Opposition attempts to clarify aid position
AP: Asian and Western ministers criticize Myanmar over slow pace of
democratic reforms

OPINION / OTHER
SHAN: Proportional representation for women: Shan charter chief

ANNOUNCEMENT
Burma Campaign UK: Aid to Burma – position paper released

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 28, Irrawaddy
Opposition skeptical of new convention plan - Khun Sam

Burmese opposition groups say the junta’s announcement on Thursday of a
timetable for a final schedule for drafting a new constitution will not
bring a solution to the country’s political problems.

Foreign minister Nyan Win told the Asean regional security forum in Kuala
Lumpur that Burma would resume a constitution-drafting convention before
Asean’s summit in December. But he declined to say whether opposition
leader Aung  San Suu Kyi would be allowed to take part.
A spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy, Nyan Win,
(no relationship to foreign minister) was skeptical. “We believe the only
convention which will benefit the country is one that includes all
sections of the community,” he said.

The convention is part of the junta’s seven-step road map to democracy.
However, the convention has come under international criticism for holding
sessions without the participation of the NLD, which has boycotted the
meetings while Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

During the last session of the assembly debating the constitution,
adjourned last January, the government claimed that 1,074 out of 1,080
invited delegates from all walks of life participated in the event.

“Under the present circumstances the national convention has not fulfilled
the desire of ethnic groups,” Dr Manam Tu Ja, leader a convention
delegation from the Kachin Independence Organization, an ethnic ceasefire
group told The Irrawaddy on Friday. “I think this would not be a genuine
union of Burma and we cannot reach a genuine democracy.”

Fu Cin Sian Thang, chairman of the Zomi National Congress in Rangoon, said
completion of the national convention was entirely dependent on the
regime. He did not see a useful outcome from resuming the convention.
“Looking at the road map, we do not see it would be beneficial to the
country or really head toward democracy, but would maintain the military’s
power in  future government,” said Fu Cin Sian Thang.

The constitutional draft has already finalized most sections, including a
chapter on levels of autonomy among states and divisions.

Manam Tu Ja, also a vice chairman of the KIO, he said he did not believe
the convention result would be as his group wished. “To build a genuine
union of Burma or to restore a long-term peace there must be full
democratic rights, equality and fairness, and states must enjoy
self-determination,” he said.

UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari said in
May that progress on the constitutional convention should include the
opposition NLD.

____________________________________

July 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lawyer still unable to appeal for youths imprisoned for writing poem

Lawyer for two youths from Pegu in Lower Burma, Aung Than and Zeya Aung
who were imprisoned for writing and distributing a political poem, is
still unable to lodge appeals on their behalf because the authorities are
still refusing to transfer ‘power’ letter to him.

Pegu Division National League for Democracy (NLD) lawyer Mya Hla told DVB
that 60 days were given for the appeals to be lodged from the time the
sentences were passed but he now had only until 7 August to lodge the
appeals due to the delaying tactic of prison authorities at Insein Jail.

Four youths from Pegu including Aung Than and Zeya Aung were arrested for
writing and distributing a poem titled Daung Man (the might of the
fighting peacock) and given prison terms up to 19 years on 9 June.

Aung Than was given 19 years, Zeya Aung of King Star teashop received 19
years, Aung Aung Oo of A20 Computing Business got 14 years and a textile
printer named Sein Hlaing received 19 years. Only Sein Hlaing has been
detained at Pegu Prison and the rest were taken to Rangoon Insein Jail.

Aung Than and Zeya Aung were indicted under the infamous 1950 Emergency
Provision Act – 5J and the Printing Act, and for having contacts with
‘illegal’ organisations, and crossing the border illegally, and Aung Aung
Oo, under the Printing Act and Sein Hlaing, for printing symbols of a
raised clenched fist on shirts.

All the youths except Sein Hlaing were arrested on 29 March and Sein
Hlaing was arrested in late May when Aung Than told his interrogators that
the T-shirt images were printed at Sein Hlaing’s shop.

All of them were tried behind closed doors inside the local prison,
without having access to legal representatives.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 28, Agence France Presse
Two killed, five injured in Myanmar rebel attack: report

Two civil servants were killed and five locals injured in an attack by
suspected insurgents in eastern Myanmar, state media reported Friday.

The attack happened Wednesday as a group of local government workers was
visiting a village in Bago division, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) north
of Yangon, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

The group hit a landmine and came under fire from the insurgents, the
paper said. Two of the civil servants were killed and five villagers were
injured, it added.

"The local battalion are in hot pursuit of the enemy," the New Light of
Myanmar said, adding that the injured were being treated at Taungoo
People's Hospital.

The paper did not say who was behind the attack.

The incident took place near a region that has seen heavy fighting since
February, when Myanmar's military government launched an offensive against
ethnic Karen rebels.

The military has been battling the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) in an
area around Taungoo in a campaign that rights groups say has displaced
thousands of people.

UN rights experts have condemned the government's offensive, accusing the
military of targetting civilians in its attacks.

The KNU has fought the government for more than 50 years in one of the
world's longest-running insurgencies, seeking autonomy for its region near
the Thai border.

The military has reached ceasefires with 17 other ethnic armed groups, but
talks with the KNU fell apart two years ago and have yet to resume.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 28, Thai Press
Thailand conservationists oppose import of teak logs from Myanmar

The decision to allow the import of teak logs from Myanmar (Burma) through
Chiang Rai has brought cries of alarm from conservationists, the Bangkok
Post reports.

They warn that allowing the resumption of Burmese teak imports will only
lead to an increase in illegal logging in Thai forests.

The Mae Sai customs office in Chiang Rai has allowed the import of 270
teak logs worth about 40 million baht via the second Thai-Burmese
friendship bridge.

The 270 cubic metres of high-grade timber belongs to Siva Co, a firm run
by Thai businessmen.

It is the first time the import of Burmese teak has been allowed through
Chiang Rai province.

The Mae Sai customs office said the Bangkok-bound logs, 60-100cm wide, are
being temporarily kept at a warehouse in tambon Mae Sai.

Sasin Chalermlab, secretary-general of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation,
expressed concern that Thai teak trees in the northern provinces would be
felled as well and illegally included in the convoy of imported timber.

''This has happened before whenever the government has approved the import
of Burmese timber.

''What the poachers do is fell the trees in Thai forests along the border
and then smuggle them into Burma in order to import them back as Burmese
logs,'' said Mr Sasin.

He called on the government to impose a permanent ban on Burmese timber
imports because ''deforestation in the neighbouring country was bound to
cause negative environmental impacts in Thailand, whose forest cover is
interconnected with Burma's''.

Timber imports from Burma were halted after the 1997 Salween logging
scandal when it was found that the trees felled in the Salween National
Park were smuggled into Burma before being imported back into Thailand.

Mae Sai customs chief Chuchai Udompote revealed that another shipment of
20,000 teak logs, amounting to about 20,000 cubic metres, was waiting
across the Burmese border and would be imported into Chiang Rai via the
second friendship bridge soon.

The bridge, crossing the Mae Sai river, was opened in January. It links
the Mae Sai district with the Burmese town of Tachilek.

Mr Chuchai said his agency had taxed Siva Co 3.2 million baht for the log
imports.

The firm had sought permission to import 620 Burmese teak logs, worth
about 100 million baht, from the Thai-Burma Township Border Committee
(TBC) in Mae Sai district in December last year.

Anond Makmasil, of Siva Co, told the committee that teak imports from
Burma were needed to ease a teak shortage in Thailand.

Burma exported about 500,000 cubic metres of timber to 167 countries last
year, he said.

____________________________________
DRUGS

July 28, Irrawaddy
Chocolate Yaba seized in Tak province - Sai Silp

Police in Thailand’s Tak province have discovered a new form of
amphetamine pills being smuggled across the Burmese border from Karen
State, according to local police officials.

The pills, known as yaba, were covered in chocolate and seized following
the arrest of a Burmese man. Police Maj Songwut Jitprasongpanit, who was
involved in the discovery and arrest, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that
the chocolate covering threw police dogs off the normally strong scent of
the pills.

According to report by the Thai language news website Manager, Police
Maj-Gen Prasarn Bunyaparn, Tak provincial police commander, said in a
meeting of police officials that the new form of amphetamine pill could
pose a growing threat because of the difficulty posed by the chocolate to
drug-sniffing dogs.

As a result, Prasarn advised stepping up surveillance along the
Thailand-Burma border, where the bulk of cross-border drug trafficking
takes place.

The new chocolate amphetamine pills have yet to appear in Chiang Mai,
according to Police Col Attakit Kornthong of the Chiang Mai Provincial
Police, though he added that a previously unknown type of pill—stamped
with an “R” and originating from Chiang Rai—has been seized.

New variations have also turned up in Mae Sai. Police Lt-Col Sunthorn
Chantharangkul of the Mae Sai police said that the traditional orange
pills have been replaced in recent months with purple pills. “The form of
the drugs depends on each producer and the market demand,” said Sunthorn.
“We have seized more than ten cases [of pills] each month since the
beginning of the year.”

Sunthorn added that most drug producers along Thailand’s border with Shan
State are ethnic Wa, Akha and Shan, while traffickers generally tended to
be Thai citizens.

Chiang Rai police and officials from the Office of Narcotics Control Board
last week seized 330,000 orange amphetamine pills and arrested six Thai
traffickers, according to the ONCB website. The pills were intended for
delivery to central Thailand.

Some 719 drug traffickers—mostly Thai citizens—have been arrested in Tak
province in the first six months of 2006, and more than 150,000
amphetamine pills have been seized, according to Witoon Sairatsami of the
Tak province police.

____________________________________

July 27, Mizzima News
Burma, China launch joint drugs crackdown - Myo Gyi

Burma and China have launched a new joint operation to crackdown on drug
production and trafficking across the border between China and Kachin
State.

Burma’s Army Security Affairs joined a Chinese drug enforcement team led
by police commissioner of Long Chuan district in Yunnan province to launch
the initiative.

A source in Army Security Affairs said that while Burmese businessmen
arrested during the crackdown will be arrested and detained in the Loije
police station, Chinese nationals will be handed over to Chinese
authorities.

The operation runs along the Zhang Peng-Loije-Bhamo trade route, which
also falls under the control of the Kachin Independence Army’s 3rd
brigade—an armed ethnic group that has a ceasefire agreement with the
Burmese government.

According to local residents, Burma and China have along history of
conducting annual joint operations along their mutual border, particularly
in the townships of Mansi and Moe Mauk in Kachin State and in Zhang Peng
in China.

But residents say drug dealers are still operating in the area.

“These days the drugs smuggled in to China are not in the form of powder
but in solid plates. It is about half an inch think and about six inches
in length and four inches in width. It weights about 1 hong (A Chinese
measurement equivalent to a pound),” a resident told Mizzima.

A small medicine bottle of heroin is reported to cost about 12,000 kyat
(about US $10) in Burma while amphetamine tablets cost between 800 and
1000 kyat.

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 28, New Straits Times
Myanmar's elusive Foreign Minister

Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win is one of the most sought after VIPs
at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

However, he is also the most elusive and has remained tight-lipped since
Monday, refusing to accede to requests for comments.

Always surrounded by his officials, aides and bodyguards, Nyan Win's
demeanour as he walked past the media waiting for him is a reflection of
the army major-general he once was.

Criticised by Asean countries at the 39th Asean Ministerial Meeting,
Myanmar has had to endure its neighbours' strong messages over the slow
pace of its democratisation process.

It had also been accused of not being serious about restoring democracy or
freeing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

When the New Straits Times approached him for reactions to the statements
made by his Asean counterparts at the conference and the reference to
Myanmar in the joint communique released yesterday, Nyan Win was reluctant
to respond.

He merely shrugged, put his hands up in the air and replied: "What can I
say?"

The communique reiterated calls for Myanmar to take steps for the early
release of those placed under detention and for effective dialogue with
all parties concerned.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 28, Irrawaddy
Opposition attempts to clarify aid position - Clive Parker

The Burmese opposition movement in exile on Friday attempted to counter
what it called “misunderstandings” of its position on aid to Burma by
issuing a policy paper stating that sanctions and humanitarian work
can—and should—be used together.

The document, titled “Pro-Aid, Pro-Sanctions, Pro-Engagement,” comes at a
time when the aid debate has become increasingly polarized following the
withdrawal of Geneva-based Global Fund last year.

The author of the report, Yvette Mahon of Burma Campaign UK, says it was
necessary for the 18 groups who back the paper—including US Campaign for
Burma, the Ethnic Nationalities Council and the National Coalition
Government of the Union of Burma—to clarify their position. “For whatever
reason, there has been this presumption that if you support sanctions you
must be anti-aid,” she said.

It has been alleged that the exile movement and lobby groups, particularly
those in the US, pressured Washington to push for Global Fund to pull out
nearly US $100 million in funding for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Numerous campaign groups, including Burma Campaign UK, have denied the
allegation, while those claimed to be responsible—Republican Senator Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky, for one—have not responded despite requests to do
so. Global Fund at the time said increasing government restrictions
prompted its withdrawal.

The new report says that all humanitarian agencies operating in Burma must
consider not only humanitarian factors, but also the political
implications of their actions. It insists that those organizations
attempting to deliver aid in Burma should—among other things—acknowledge
that poor governance is the root cause of the current situation and that
their programs be transparent and accountable.

The report also calls for agencies to consult with all stakeholders,
including the National League for Democracy, while maintaining
independence.

“We’re not looking to micro-manage the work of agencies inside, what we’re
saying is we want mutual respect for the strategy of political pressure
and humanitarian assistance,” Mahon said. “We want to support agencies in
redoubling their efforts to meet the challenges that the situation in the
environment poses for them.”

Former student leader and political prisoner Min Ko Naing responded to the
paper on Friday by contending that it was impossible to essentially mix
ideologies by calling for aid and sanctions, whether targeted or not.

“First of all, the government and democratic leaders—including the
NLD—have to reach a certain agreement and then they together would invite
donors,” he said. “Only after that can we talk about things like
transparency and accountability.”

Min Ko Naing highlighted another aspect of the growing discord between the
various stakeholders on Burma regarding humanitarian aid, saying that many
agencies had recently met parties inside the country so that they could
say they had consulted them before beginning operations. He made
particular reference to the EU, which is currently preparing to launch its
“3D Fund” to tackle HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB in Burma.

The exiled opposition in its new paper says it echoes the EU Common
Position, which supports selective aid while also imposing a freeze on
junta assets and a visa ban on top officials. The new report emphasizes
though that both EU—and to an extent US—sanctions only have a limited
impact on Burma.

One international aid official who wished to remain anonymous acknowledged
that the report did accurately identify many of the obstacles in place in
Burma—namely lack of freedom of movement, corruption and interference by
the authorities—but it is “more lacking” in solutions, the official added.

“We maintain that Burma’s people are every bit deserving of humanitarian
aid and development assistance as people anywhere else in the world.
Sadly, the actions of the international community, responding to pressure
from various opposition groups, have not reflected this inherent
equality,” the official said. “We do not see anything in the new position
paper that will dramatically improve this current state of affairs.”

Mahon admits that the paper is a reiteration of a longstanding position,
adding that the exiled opposition is simply calling for “greater
vigilance” from aid agencies, some of which “leave a lot to be desired,”
she said.

The call for efforts to address the underlying causes of the humanitarian
crisis in Burma were backed up by the author of a recent report on Burma’s
health situation by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
based in the US, who wished to remain anonymous.

The source stressed that John Hopkins does not oppose aid that is
carefully considered and that addresses what it says are the root causes
of the current crisis. “Are you just going to pass out pills for a few
years, show a reduction in malaria and declare a successful partnership
and program, or are you also going to take the junta to task for burning
down villages and forcing people into hiding in malarial jungles?” the
public health researcher said. “Which option is more sustainable?”

Kyaw Zwa Moe also contributed to this article.

____________________________________

July 28, Associated Press
Asian and Western ministers criticize Myanmar over slow pace of democratic
reforms

Asian and Western foreign ministers censured Myanmar Friday over its
failure to fulfill promised democratic reforms, delivering a final
reproach in a week that saw the military regime pummeled by criticism from
fellow Southeast Asian nations.

The ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum, including U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, chastised Myanmar in their statement, urging the
military junta to show "tangible progress that would lead to peaceful
transition to democracy in the near future."

They also reiterated their call for the release of political detainees,
referring to but not naming detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,
whose freedom has been demanded by the international community.

Rice said Washington was seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution to
highlight the world's condemnation of the Myanmar junta's activities,
particularly its continued detention of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi.

She praised the conservative 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations for issuing a critical statement against member Myanmar earlier
this week.

The group had made "an important evolution" in dealing with Myanmar's
junta, Rice said, repeating calls for the immediate release of Suu Kyi.

"The statement like the one ASEAN has made on Burma is an important
evolution of the ASEAN position," Rice said, referring to Myanmar by its
old name.

"Members of ASEAN have spoken quite clearly about the need for the junta
to make political reform and that Aung San Suu Kyi should be released, and
released unconditionally," she said.

While most ASEAN members back the censure of Myanmar, a few allies of the
military regime like Laos and Vietnam favor a friendlier approach.

The ministers' statement dropped a criticism of Myanmar for its cool
reception to a recent visit by Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar.

Syed Hamid went to Myanmar as an ASEAN envoy in March but was not allowed
to meet with Suu Kyi. Myanmar junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe also did
not meet Syed Hamid.

Held annually, the ARF has brought together the 10 countries in ASEAN and
15 other Asian and Western countries plus a European Union representative.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were ushered in as new members Friday.

Myanmar rejected U.S. officials' statement that the issue of democratic
reforms in the country "was getting out of hand" and should be included on
the agenda of the U.N. Security Council.

"We do not pose a threat to anybody. There are many other dangerous
situations in the world," said Thaung Tun, a member of the Myanmar
delegation in Kuala Lumpur meetings.

While ASEAN countries call for democratic reforms in Myanmar, they do not
think that the country is a threat to international community, Syed Hamid
said.

"There is no consensus within ASEAN to say that Myanmar is a threat to
international peace and security," he said.

Myanmar's foreign minister indicated Thursday that his military government
will announce by the end of the year its likely schedule for drafting a
Constitution touted as the first step in its road map to democracy.

But minister Nyan Win sidestepped questions on when the junta will hold
elections to restore multiparty democracy.

Critics have dismissed the National Convention as a sham because Suu Kyi's
party is not attending.

Myanmar's military junta took power in 1988 after crushing a pro-democracy
movement. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's political
party won a landslide victory in general elections.

Suu Kyi has spent about 11 of the last 17 years in detention.

Associated Press Writers Jocelyn Gecker and Eileen Ng contributed to this
report.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 28, Shan Herald Agency for News
Proportional representation for women: Shan charter chief

Women activists would do well to focus their efforts on the inclusion of
proportional representation (PR) rather than fighting for a 30 percent
quota system in the federal constitution being drafted by the Opposition,
said Sao Sengsuk, who heads the Shan State Constitution Drafting
Commission (SSCDC) yesterday.

“A constitution is designed to achieve justice in a society and 30 percent
is not justice,” said the 71-year old Shan who has been in the struggle
against military rule in Burma since 1959.

Sao Sengsuk was commenting on ‘Position on Gender Equality’, the latest
booklet produced by the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) an alliance of 12
women’s groups formed in 1999.

It has proposed a quota system that will guarantee women’s representation
in every government agency at every level. “All public life and political
affairs are controlled by the military. As women are not allowed to serve
in the armed forces in Burma, they are automatically being denied
participation in the affairs of state,” it maintains.

Sao Sengsuk recommends that the electoral law to be enacted by the
legislature specify that each party’s candidates from each gender are
listed on a population basis. “Right from the beginning, women will be
assured of their rightful quota,” he told the visiting WLB
representatives.

The SSCDC was formed at a constitutional conference in 2000 by 50
delegates representing 18 Shan State-based groups.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

July 28, The Burma Campaign UK
Aid to Burma – position paper released

Organisations campaigning for democracy in Burma, today released a
position paper: Pro-Aid, Pro-Sanctions, Pro-Engagement, detailing their
policy on humanitarian assistance to the country. The position paper has
been published, in part, to rebut attempts by anti-sanctions advocates to
portray those supporting targeted economic sanctions as being opposed to
humanitarian assistance. The paper also provides a clear outline of the
broader policy platform shared by Burma’s international democracy
movement.

The 18 organisations that have endorsed the report include the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, and the Ethnic Nationalities
Council – Union of Burma. Campaign organisations from across Asia, Europe,
the United States, and Africa have also endorsed the report.

The paper outlines the dual strategy proposed by pro-democracy
organisations – one that effectively tackles Burma’s serious humanitarian
problems whilst at the same time ensures that the root cause of these
problems - namely the lack of an accountable government in Burma - is
properly addressed. It is imperative that humanitarian assistance to Burma
compliments and does not replace or undermine political pressure for
democratic change. Mutual respect and support for both elements of the
strategy is essential.

Burma faces a growing humanitarian crisis and increased international aid
is urgently needed, but the paper stresses that aid agencies must ensure
there is transparency, accountability and monitoring of all aspects of the
provision of this assistance in order that it reaches intended recipients
and does not benefit the military authorities.

Click here for a copy of the report:
www.burmacampaign.org.uk/reports/Aid_Paper.pdf

For more informationL Yvette Mahon, Director of the Burma Campaign UK, on
020 7324 4714