BurmaNet News, January 23, 2007

[Editor]

January 23, 2007 Issue # 3126

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Fake Daw Aung San Suu Kyi statement spread in Magwe
DVB: Prayer campaigners file complaint over Shwedagon brawl
DVB: NLD member’s court appeal rejected
Xinhua: Myanmar top leader meets Chinese NPC Vice-Chairman

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: BDR urged to stop smuggling of expired Burmese drugs

DRUGS
AFP:Myanmar claims jump in drug seizures

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Kyat forgeries spark hike in Chinese yuan’s value

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: ICG Burma briefing distorts and misleads, says OSI President
Star (South Africa): ANC supports Myanmar decision
Australian: India to snub US on Burma arms embargo
AP: EU says Myanmar slowing down ASEAN, welcomes bloc's efforts to impose
sanctions

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Burma’s Fallen Star: Tin Moe (1933 – 2007)
Business Day (South Africa): Wrong call

PRESS RELEASE
Christian Solidarity Worldwide: Launch of “Carrying the Cross”

ANNOUNCEMENT
SEAPA: SEAPA now accepting applications to 2007 Journalism Fellowship Program

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
Fake Daw Aung San Suu Kyi statement spread in Magwe

Copies of a forged statement by detained National League for Democracy
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are being circulated in Magwe township,
according to local sources.

Magwe NLD member U Myint Oo said the written statement was clearly not
from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as it claimed the NLD was no better than the
Burmese military.

According to U Myint Oo, the statement said, “We have officially stated
that we will put the dictatorship to the point of no return in Burma's
future. In term of democracy, there needs to be multiplied number of
parties. If there's just one party, then it's not democracy.”

“So, the NLD doesn't need to follow democratic policies. In fact
[everyone] has to take what the seniors said as veto. Although we are
using dictatorship within our party, we can swear and accuse each other
with our rival parties under the name of democracy. Everyone's the same,”
the false statement said according to U Myint Oo.

It is unclear who wrote the fake statement but locals have that speculated
that since it was widely distributed and was printed on expensive paper,
Magwe officials could be involved.

“We can't exactly name who was behind this. But this work is similar to
accusations against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the newspapers in order to
disgrace the democracy forces,” U Myint Oo said.

Last week the state-run New Light of Myanmar accused Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
of tax evasion over her decision to keep the prize money from her various
international awards out of the country.

Another Magwe divison member, U Thein Zaw, said the fake statement had not
achieved its purpose.

“The outcome is that no damage was done to the NLD. Disgraceful people
cannot disgrace others,” he said.

____________________________________

January 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
Prayer campaigners file complaint over Shwedagon brawl

Activists involved in the regular Tuesday prayer campaign at Shwedagon
pagoda have filed letters of complaint with Burmese religious leaders over
the bashing of campaigners last week.

When politicians and activists arrived at Shwedagon pagoda last Tuesday to
pray for the release of political prisoners in Burma, they were heckled
and assaulted by special police and Union Solidarity and Development
Association members.

Ten activists, including the high-profile former NLD member Naw Ohn Hla,
reportedly filed a complaint over the incident with the National
Department for the Promotion and Propogation of the Sasana yesterday.

“We wanted to request that the monks take action on the matter. We
prepared eight letters. Normally the office there accepts letters. But
someone who was in-charge there . . . told us off rudely,” Naw Ohn Hla
said.

“We sent the letters to the [Rangoon] division of the department as well.
The head monk there accepted our letter. He said he knew about the case
and had actually seen it,” she said.

It was unclear today whether or not government officials would again
attempt to disrupt the prayer campaign, with Bahan towship police telling
DVB yesterday they had not yet received orders on the issue.

____________________________________

January 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD member’s court appeal rejected

The appeal of National League for Democracy member U Myint Tun, who was
sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter, has been dismissed by
the Insein northern-district court.

U Myint Tun’s lawyer U Myint Thaung told DVB the court rejected the appeal
yesterday without giving a reason.

“Now that the district court has turned the appeal down, we have to go to
the Yangon division court,” U Myint Thaung said.

U Myint Tun was charged with manslaughter in July 2006 after a Rangoon man
stepped on a live electrical cable that had been illegally attached to
mains supplies near U Myint Tun’s apartment.

When the man died of his injuries, U Myint Tun was charged. But U Myint
Thaung said the electrical cable did not belong to the NLD member and that
he had, in fact, been arrested for his ties to the opposition.

In December last year, U Myint Thaung filed an appeal with the Shwepyithar
township court to have a second man indicted over the crime. That appeal
was also rejected.

U Myint Tun’s wife Daw Shan Ma told DVB yesterday the Insein court did not
allow the defendant’s testimony to be re-heard.

“They just turned it down right on the spot. But the judge said as they
can’t do anything about the case, we should go up to the divisional
court,” Daw Shan Ma said.

____________________________________

January 23, Xinhua General New Service
Myanmar top leader meets Chinese NPC Vice-Chairman

Myanmar top leader Senior-General Than Shwe met with Li Tieying, visiting
Vice- Chairman of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) Standing
Committee, in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday.

The two sides expressed wishes to further develop the neighborly, friendly
and cooperative ties between the two countries.

Than Shwe, Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), said China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors since ancient time
and the "paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship has already been established
between the two countries.

He said Myanmar wishes to enhance the friendly cooperation in the sectors
of politics, trade and economy, and learn and refer from the successful
experience gained by the Chinese National People's Congress in all the
aspects of legislature.

He expressed heartfelt thanks to the Chinese government and people for the
precious support and assistance extended to the Myanmar government and
people, particularly China's vetoing of a draft resolution regarding
Myanmar issue, submitted by the United States to the United Nations
Security Council.

He reiterated Myanmar's support for China's principle of "One country, Two
systems", saying that Myanmar will as always uphold the "One China"
policy, opposing "Taiwan independence."

At the meeting, Vice-Chairman Li also spoke highly of the Sino- Myanmar
friendly ties, saying that China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors with
the two peoples being bound together by ties of fraternal friendship.

China and Myanmar are not only the initiators of the Five Principles of
Peaceful Coexistence but also the pattern of observing the five principles
and developing ties between nations, he noted.

He added that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the
two countries, the Sino-Myanmar fraternal friendship, jointly nurtured by
leaders of older generations of the two countries, have deepened
continuously with the two sides having mutual trust politically, mutual
cooperation economically, mutual sympathy and support over important issue
that is related to the benefit of the other side.

He expressed that the Chinese government and people value much the
Sino-Myanmar traditional friendship, saying that China will as always
still carry on the friendly policy towards Myanmar.

Li also expressed that as a friendly neighbor, China sincerely hopes that
Myanmar will be politically stable, nationally reconciled and economically
developed.

China consistently considers that matters happening domestically in
Myanmar belong to Myanmar's internal affairs which should be settled by
the Myanmar government and its people themselves through consultations, he
maintained, adding that the international community should, on the basis
of respecting Myanmar 's sovereignty and dignity, render Myanmar
constructive help and should not interfere in.

On Monday, Vice-Chairman Li also held discussions with Lieutenant-General
Thein Sein, Myanmar SPDC First Secretary and Chairman of the National
Convention Convening Commission, to exchange their views on some issues of
mutual concern including the bilateral ties.

The two sides agreed to maintain close exchange and cooperation and make
positive contribution to the deepened development of the two countries'
neighborly and friendly ties in order to consolidate the friendly
relations between the peoples of the two countries.

Li arrived in Yangon and then Nay Pyi Taw on Monday for a four- day
official goodwill visit to Myanmar as the final leg of his
three-Asian-nation tour which had taken him to Nepal and Cambodia.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 23, Mizzima News
BDR urged to stop smuggling of expired Burmese drugs - Nyein Chan

Over a 100 Bangladeshis have urged the authorities to stop the entry of
expired drugs smuggled to Bangladesh from neighbouring Burma .

Local residents in Takna signed a letter addressed to the Takna based
No.23 Bangladesh Rifles to seize the expired medicinal drugs following
reports that some people had fallen seriously ill and had to be admitted
to hospital.

"The expired drugs come from Burma 's border security forces and are
smuggled into our country. We urged the authorities to take action," said
Mohshin Mola, who led the group which lodged the complaint.

Takna hospital admitted some patients who became seriously ill after
taking the expired drugs, according to Sahdat, a doctor from the hospital.

The group sent the letter to the commander of the No.23 BR and the
commander reportedly agreed to seize the illegal drugs.

Drugs smuggled from Burma are widely available in Bangladesh border towns.

____________________________________
DRUGS

January 23, Agence France Presse
Myanmar claims jump in drug seizures

Military-ruled Myanmar said Tuesday that it had seized 19 million
amphetamine tablets last year, a five-fold increase over 2005, in its
effort to crack down on rampant drug trafficking.

Myanmar touted its progress in official media, claiming to also have
seized more than 3,900 kilos of opium and heroin while arresting 4,360
drug traffickers, according to the Mirror newspaper.

About 12 million of the tablets were confiscated during raids last
January, when China publicly urged its neighbour to crack down on drug
trafficking.

Myanmar claimed the progress in its anti-drug campaign amid widespread
denunciations in state media of the United States and Britain for pressing
the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution against the ruling junta.

Among the concerns cited in the draft resolution was the enormous flow of
drugs across Myanmar's borders, which Washington has described as one of
the most serious problems facing Southeast Asia.

China and Russia vetoed the resolution on January 12, although China has
also voiced concern about Myanmar's drug trade, which Beijing blames for
rising rates of addiction and HIV infection in its southwestern Yunnan
province.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says Myanmar has succeeded in
slashing opium poppy cultivation -- which can be used to produce heroin,
morphine and opium -- by more than half since 2002, although it remains
the world's second-largest producer after Afghanistan.

But over the same period, production of amphetamines has skyrocketed,
especially in rebel-held border regions where drug gangs roam freely.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 23, Irrawaddy
Kyat forgeries spark hike in Chinese yuan’s value - Khun Sam

The discovery of large sums of counterfeit Burmese kyat in police raids
near the China border has reportedly led to a sharp rise in the value of
the Chinese yuan in the area.

Two Burmese men and a woman were arrested near Burma’s border with China’s
Yunnan province in a combined operation by Burmese and Chinese border
police. The three were found to be in possession of counterfeit Burmese
currency with a face value of 800,000 kyat (US $630). The three are being
held in custody in Muse, northern Shan State, while police inquiries
continue, a Muse police station official told The Irrawaddy.

The arrests follow the reported detention in early January of two women in
Monywa, Sagaing Division, said to have been in possession of large amounts
of 1,000 kyat bills.

Business sources said the two cases were linked to each other.

One source told The Irrawaddy it was believed three gangs in the Chinese
border town of Ruili , Yunnan Province, were counterfeiting Burmese kyat
for use in casinos, currency exchanges and drugs deals.

Following news of the arrests, the exchange rate in the area for 100,000
kyat dropped from 610 Chinese yuan to 570 yuan.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 23, Irrawaddy
ICG Burma briefing distorts and misleads, says OSI President - Yeni and
Edward Blair

The release of an “Update Briefing” by the International Crisis Group in
early December last year ruffled some feathers throughout the humanitarian
and international aid communities by suggesting that increased pressure by
international advocacy groups, in conjunction with greater restrictions
imposed by the Burmese military, had led to the withdrawal of Global Fund
and put thousands of lives at risk.

One such advocacy group cited by the report was the New York-based Open
Society Institute, whose president, Aryeh Neier, last week responded to
the briefing with a critique disseminated to numerous media and aid
organization recipients.

The briefing, titled “Myanmar: New Threats to Humanitarian Aid,” was
written by a foreign consultant who conducted interviews in and outside
Burma. These interviews, and the report’s extensive footnotes, are among
Neier’s chief objections to a document that he says “distorts the
positions of the groups to which views are attributed.”

At stake for Neier is the contention that Global Fund withdrew its US $98
million to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Burma “after
intense pressure from US-based groups undermined sensitive negotiations
with the government over operational conditions,” as the ICG briefing
states.

While the briefing isolates the US Congress—particularly Senator Mitch
McConnell (R) of Kentucky—and OSI as the principal players in forcing
Global Fund to withdraw, Neier writes that the briefing’s documentation
for these claims is misleading and in some cases factually incorrect.

“There are no footnotes in the Briefing to interviews with either
identified or unidentified sources at the Global Fund itself or with any
individuals or groups in the United States,” Neier writes in his critique.

Rather, the briefing cites unnamed sources in Rangoon, who claimed that
direct threats from Sen McConnell led to the withdrawal, though such
claims could not be confirmed. “On what basis does it say that the
suggestions, or gossip, of unnamed aid officials in Yangon ‘cannot be
confirmed’?” writes Neier. “A more accurate statement would have been that
ICG made no attempt to confirm the speculations of aid officials in
Yangon.”

Neier also objects to the ICG report’s characterization of OSI’s
involvement in lobbying for restrictive conditions on Global Fund activity
that contributed to its decision to withdraw.

“OSI support for such funding was not just endorsement in principle;
rather it was endorsement of a practical alternative in circumstances in
which we strongly supported funding but thought that support for
government programs would be inappropriate or counterproductive,” writes
Neier.

While considerable space is given in the ICG briefing to criticisms of
Global Fund’s decision to pull its funding from Burma, Neier notes that
ICG levels no such criticisms over the withdrawal of Médecins Sans
Frontière France and the closure of field offices of the International
Committee for the Red Cross, both of which followed the Global Fund
withdrawal—and citing similar reasons to those of Global Fund.

The issues surrounding humanitarian aid in Burma are open to considerable
speculation and debate. But ICG, according to Neier, has chosen to muddy
the waters. “There is a useful debate to be had about how far it is
appropriate to depart from basic humanitarian principles in order to
provide humanitarian assistance in addressing a man-made, or
government-made, disaster such as that in Burma,” writes Neier.

He continues: “Rather than contribute to such a debate, ICG’s Briefing
mis-states and distorts the views and actions of those whose positions do
not comport with those of the author(s) of its Briefing.”

In fact, one of the stated purposes of the ICG Briefing—to transcend an
exchange of views on aid in Burma—appears in its introductory overview:
“There is a need to get beyond debates over the country’s highly
repressive political system; failure to halt the slide towards a
humanitarian crisis could shatter social stability and put solutions
beyond the reach of whatever government is in power.”

Such a statement seems at best disingenuous. Burma’s political system and
its impact on humanitarian aid cannot be overlooked. Burma’s military
government might have increased its restrictions on aid delivery and site
inspections, in response to, or independent of, intense pressure from
advocacy groups. “But there is not a word in the Briefing criticizing the
Burmese regime
for helping to create the humanitarian crisis,” writes
Neier.

Instead of meeting the humanitarian needs of its own people, the SPDC has
chosen to use its considerable resources (gas, timber, gems) to support
military offensives in Karen State and other areas, to line the pockets of
a handful of high-ranking officials and to fuel the political repression
that ICG seems to prefer not talking about.

____________________________________

January 22, The Star (South Africa)
ANC supports Myanmar decision - Angela Quintal

The ANC has parroted Pretoria's stance on Myanmar, a day after Desmond
Tutu blasted South Africa over its controversial UN Security Council vote
refusing to condemn human rights abuses in the South-East Asian country.

However, in an apparent sop to its critics, the ANC said on Monday it was
deeply concerned about the situation in Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma.
This included the "widespread repression" and the continued house arrest
of popular leader and Nobellaureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

It urged that these matters be taken up through the appropriate organs of
the UN system.

ANC spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama said the cabinet lekgotla had endorsed the
SA government's position that a resolution condemning human rights abuses
in Myanmar fell outside the Security Council's mandate and properly
belonged within the ambit of the UN Human Rights Council.

Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad also said last week that the government
was deeply concerned about the situation in Myanmar. He too said the UN
Human Rights Council was the proper forum.

However, Tutu reportedly said on Sunday: "If others had used the arguments
we are using today when we asked them for their support against apartheid,
we might still have been unfree."

Tutu described SA's Security Council vote against the resolution as "a
betrayal of our noble past".

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday that when SA went to the
African Union summit in Addis Ababa at the end of the month, it must
ensure that Sudan did not assume the chairmanship of the AU.

"If South Africa fails to make a stand on this issue, this would not only
be a repeat of last year's embarrassing dereliction of duty, but also the
second time that SA has failed to use its influence to stand up for human
rights," it said.

____________________________________

January 23, The Australian
India to snub US on Burma arms embargo - Bruce Loudon

A US-led arms embargo against Burma's military rulers is to be breached by
India, with New Delhi indicating yesterday that it will supply a range of
military equipment to the regime in return for help in dealing with
terrorism in the region.

After talks in Burma's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw, Indian Foreign Minister
Pranab Mukherjee said he had promised to give a ''favourable response'' to
the military junta's request for equipment. He conveyed the decision
during a 45-minute meeting with the regime's No2 in the ruling State Peace
and Development Council, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye.

The junta's request was made to India in December.  No specifics about
what will be delivered to the regime have been disclosed, but reports have
indicated that its wish list includes field guns, helicopters, mortars,
submarines, submarine-detecting sonar equipment, Islander aircraft and
spares for MiG fighters.

India's actions in supplying arms need to be seen in the context of its
strategic rivalry with China for influence in Burma, with Beijing the main
military partner to the junta.

After his meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Mr Mukherjee said the request for arms
had been examined ''and (we) decided to give a favourable response''.

While this will doubtless raise eyebrows in the US and Europe, which are
seeking to isolate the military junta through an arms embargo and wider
sanctions, the Indian response is clearly in the context of attempts to
get Burma's rulers to crack down on terrorist groups that are causing
serious problems in northeast India, especially in oil- and tea-rich
Assam.

 Many of these insurgent groups are based in Burma, and their increased
attacks are causing concern, to the point where making a deal with the
military rulers, unpalatable though that might be to many in New Delhi,
has become inevitable.

The US and EU have been attempting to isolate the military rulers in an
attempt to force them to agree to democratic changes.

But Indian officials point out that Washington and the European capitals
are far from the reality of the terrorist fray in South Asia and are not
confronted by the sort of problems India has with the growing insurgency
in its northeast.

Canberra is not part of the arms embargo and sells no weapons to Burma,
but Australian government agencies have been involved in providing
counter-terrorist training for the Burmese as part of broader programs for
ASEAN member nation officials.

Last year, The Australian revealed that Burma had attempted to buy nuclear
weapons technology from North Korea's rogue regime in an alliance that
would present a frightening new threat to regional security.

During his visit to Burma, Mr Mukherjee is reported to have repeatedly
referred to the country's membership of ASEAN. This is seen as an attempt
to head off criticism that India is dealing with a rogue state.

The deal agreed by Mr Mukherjee appears to be that the two countries have
agreed to a major enhancement in their co-operation over terrorism, with
arrangements for the exchange of information between military commanders
on both sides of their border, as well as the fencing of the frontier.

Details on implementing the arrangement had yet to be worked out, Mr
Mukherjee said. During their meeting, General Maung Aye said he would pass
on instructions to Burmese commanders to work out with their Indian
counterparts how to put the agreement into effect.

Mr Mukherjee said India was prepared to offer whatever help was required
-- including the development of infrastructure and arms supplies -- in
dealing with Burma-based insurgents. ''Of course, we didn't mention joint
operations because that is not possible,'' he said.

General Maung Aye did not dispute Mr Mukherjee's contention that the
insurgents fighting Indian forces in the northeast were using sanctuaries
in Burma. This is unlike officials in Bangladesh, the other major country
in which the insurgents have bases.

Bangladesh consistently denies Indian claims that rebels are based in its
territory. Mr Mukherjee, pleased with the result he achieved in Nay Pyi
Taw, said he had found the authorities there ''very receptive and
responsive''.

He shrugged off questions about the ''denial of democracy'' in Burma,
saying: ''It is their internal matter.'' In his meetings, Mr Mukherjee
also raised the issue of natural gas supplies to India from Burma,
including the building of a pipeline. Such supplies are crucial for the
booming Indian economy.

A number of insurgent groups fighting in India's northeast are believed to
have bases in Burma. They include the United Liberation from for Assam,
the Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and
secessionist movements from Manipur.

____________________________________

January 23, Associated Press
EU says Myanmar slowing down ASEAN, welcomes bloc's efforts to impose
sanctions - Teresa Cerojano

European Union officials criticized Myanmar's slow progress toward
democracy and welcomed on Tuesday efforts by Southeast Asia's main bloc to
create rules that would allow sanctions against errant members.

The officials also deplored a spate of unsolved killings of activists and
journalists in the Philippines."

As far as Burma, or Myanmar, is concerned, we all see clearly that it's
not very helpful what the government there is doing as far as ASEAN is
concerned," said Ambassador Axel Raimund Weishaupt of Germany, which
currently holds the EU presidency.

Myanmar has been internationally criticized because of its failure to
democratize and release political prisoners.

Weishsaupt said the attitude of Myanmar's junta was slowing down the
process of integrating the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.

He described Yangon's recent release of some political prisoners as "a
small gesture," and urged Myanmar's fellow members in ASEAN to be firmer
with the junta.

"I can only hope that internally the discussions go on and the attitude of
all the other nine states (in ASEAN) will be firmer," he told a news
conference.

Ambassador Alistair MacDonald, the head of the European Commission
delegation in the Philippines, welcomed a decision by ASEAN leaders at a
summit in the Philippines earlier this month to start the process of
drafting the bloc's charter that would adhere to the principles of
democracy and human rights.

Government-appointed advisers have said that members that breach ASEAN's
principles should have their rights and privileges suspended or even be
expelled in extreme cases.

"For ASEAN to follow on that path would give ASEAN a stronger capability
in addressing the issues of democracy, governance and integration,"
MacDonald said.

Weishaupt expressed hope ASEAN could establish in the future a body
similar to the EU's Court of Human Rights, where citizens can seek
redress.

Weishaupt also called for an end to a string of killings of left-wing
activists and journalists in the Philippines, the current chairman of
ASEAN. He said EU officials have relayed their concern to Philippine
officials.

"All EU member states ... and the European Union itself deplores what we
read in the newspapers," he said. "We really hope that measures are taken
to bring it to an end.

"Military and police officials have denied activists' allegations the
killings were done by security forces, challenging accusers to produce
evidence and file charges in court.

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been in prison or under house
arrest for 11 of the last 17 years.

 Myanmar's military junta regularly calls her a threat to national unity
and says she and her party are trying to undermine the government by
collaborating with foreign powers.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 23, Irrawaddy
Burma’s Fallen Star: Tin Moe (1933 – 2007) - Kyaw Zwa Moe

“Saya Tin Moe passed away,” read a text message on my phone this morning.
The news made me tremble, and I knew that the day would bring grief to
Burmese communities across the world and throughout Burma. The death of
such a man moves beyond grief. Burma has lost one of its brightest sons,
both literally and politically.

Burma’s beloved poet laureate died in exile in California on Monday at the
age of 74. The actual cause of his death remains unclear, but it came
suddenly at approximately 5 pm local time.

To call Tin Moe a poet does not capture the full stature of the man or
what he has accomplished for his people. His literary career began in his
teenage years, and through the decades fueled Burma’s many freedom
movements.

Tin Moe was born Maung Ba Gyan in a remote village of Taungtha Township,
Upper Burma. He began his education at a local monastery and later
impressed U E Maung, a professor at Rangoon University, with an essay he
wrote. Tin Moe passed his matriculation exam with distinction in Burmese.

For the next half century, Tin Moe devoted his life to literature,
publishing more than 30 respected books and essays and winning numerous
literary prizes, including the National Literary Prize in 1965 for his
first book The Lantern, and the Prince Claus Award in 2004 from the
Netherlands for “outstanding literary achievement and his role in
sustaining culture as a source of strength, inspiration and identity.”

When Tin Moe publicly supported the pro-democracy movement in 1988, the
government responded by prohibiting his books from being republished. He
left Burma in 1999.

I still remember the evenings I spent with Saya Tin Moe between 1988 and
1991. He would often join our conversations at a local teashop and talk to
us about his thoughts on literature and politics. His conversation, like
the words of his poems, always expressed his passion for literature and
his love of freedom.

But like many in Burma at that time, Tin Moe was arrested at about the
same time as I was in 1991 for being active in politics. He was sentenced
to four years in Burma’s infamous Insein Jail. Though we were separately
detained, I heard that he never despaired while in prison and cherished
his conversations with other political prisoners.

His crime had been the support and involvement in the nationwide 1988
pro-democracy uprising and his unswerving support for Aung San Suu Kyi,
the leader of the main opposition party National League for Democracy. He
and a group of other Burmese intellectuals served as advisors to the party
from its foundation in 1988.

Friends and colleagues described his political involvement as particularly
selfless. The well-known author Maung Wun Tha put it this way: “Saya Tin
Moe is beyond honesty. I would say he is pure.” According to Thar Noe,
another famous writer, “He never made a profit from his personal interest
during his life. He possessed the rarest integrity.”

Apart from his role as political advisor to the NLD and Suu Kyi, he also
advised the future democracy icon in her study of Burmese literature prior
to 1988.

In his life outside Burma, Tin Moe devoted most of his time to writing
poetry and giving literary speeches to Burmese communities in the US and
Thailand. When I visited him at his home in California last year, I found
that he spent all of his time writing poetry and puffing on his favorite
Burmese cheroots.

Tin Moe was a poet to the very end of his life. He was hailed by many as a
“revolutionary poet” for his unshakeable devotion to the Burmese people
and their struggle for democracy. He contributed poems to numerous
journals and magazines, including The Irrawaddy’s Burmese-language Web
site. Two days before his death, he wrote a poem for the prominent former
student leader Min Ko Naing and his 88 Generation Students group. He
called the poem “The Benevolence of the New Generation.”

When asked to comment on the death of Tin Moe, Min Ko Naing responded with
a short poem he conceived while he spoke to The Irrawaddy by phone from
Rangoon, and one that conveys the thoughts of Tin Moe’s many grieving
admirers.

Min Ko Naing said:
“It is said a star fell last night; but it will shine for thousands of
light years.”

____________________________________

January 23, Business Day (South Africa)
Wrong call

In its maiden vote on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, SA came
out against a resolution calling on the Burmese military junta to ease
repression. Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has called this a “betrayal of our
own noble past”, and justifiably so.
Many human rights activists who supported the struggle against apartheid
are mystified and outraged by SA’s siding with veto wielders Russia and
China on the resolution. SA was the only country on the council to side
with Russia and China on the matter. Even Indonesia, a fellow member of
the Association of South East Asian Nations, decided it wanted to deliver
a message and abstained.

In attempting to explain SA’s decision, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad
insists that SA is deeply concerned about human rights in Burma, but that
this is not a matter for the security council. Burma, he says, is not a
threat to international peace and security. The resolution would have
compromised the UN’s efforts to bring about reform and the matter should
be left to the UN Human Rights Council, he says.

It is difficult to justify these arguments and neither Pahad, nor our UN
ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, have gone to sufficient lengths to
substantiate their statements. By any measure, the situation in Burma is a
threat to international peace and is thus a matter for security council
action. While there is no precise definition of what constitutes “a threat
to the peace”, a case-by-case evaluation of security council action
provides a list of factors that clearly amounts to a threat to peace. Such
an analysis was conducted for a report, titled Threat to the Peace: A Call
for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma, which was commissioned by
Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

The report outlines various criteria applied to situations that have in
the past been deemed a threat to the peace. These include: the overthrow
of a democratically elected government; long-running and violent conflict
with ethnic groups; widespread internal humanitarian and human rights
violations; a substantial outflow of refugees; and other cross-border
problems such as drug trafficking.

One or more of these factors was present for the passage of resolutions on
Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Rwanda, Liberia, and Cambodia.

The report convincingly argues that all five factors are substantially
present in the case of Burma. A military regime overthrew a democratically
elected government in 1962 and in 1990 they disregarded the result of
elections. National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has for
the most part been under house arrest since 1990, and the regime has been
trying to suppress ethnic groups seeking autonomy. Burma’s human rights
violations can be compared in scale and brutality to those committed in
other countries that have been condemned by the council. Not only does the
country have more than a thousand political prisoners but, due to
appalling conditions in Burma, more than a million refugees have fled.
Finally, Burma presents a substantial problem as one of the world’s
largest producers of heroin and other illicit drugs.

SA’s two other arguments also fall flat. Contrary to SA’s view that the
resolution would undermine the UN’s work to bring about change, the
resolution would have shown new resolve after years of effort. And while
Burma should be reviewed by the UN Human Rights Council as SA suggests, it
is debatable how useful this would ultimately be.

Considering the hollowness of SA’s arguments, the question is whether
there was a political element to the decision, such as a deal with Russia
and China. Or was it just an attempt to stymie the US? Whatever the case,
the vote was a poor start to what many had hoped would be a worthwhile,
even inspiring, tenure by SA on the council.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 23, Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Launch of “Carrying the Cross: The Military Regime’s Campaign of
Restriction, Discrimination and Persecution against Christians in Burma”

 6-8pm, Tuesday 23 January, 2007

Wilson Room, Portcullis House, House of Commons, London

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) will be launching a major new report
on the persecution of Christians in Burma.

The report identifies a range of tactics used by the military regime to
suppress Christianity and cites a document, allegedly from the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, which has been widely circulated in Rangoon with the
headline “Programme to destroy the Christian religion in Burma”. It
begins: “There shall be no home where the Christian religion is
practised.”

The meeting will be chaired by John Bercow MP. The report will be
presented by CSW’s Advocacy Officer for South Asia and author of the
report, Benedict Rogers, and a delegation of Chin and Kachin activists
from Burma will present evidence of human rights violations.

The report’s author, CSW’s Advocacy Officer for South Asia Benedict
Rogers, says: “It is time that the United Nations Security Council pass a
resolution on Burma calling for an end to the grotesque human rights
violations perpetrated by the regime. We urge the United Nations to
investigate the violations of religious freedom in Burma and to put
pressure on the regime to change. Burma’s people, of all religions and
ethnicities, have suffered in silence for too long.”

For more information and a copy of the report, or to arrange interviews
with the author or with a Chin or Kachin spokesman, please contact Penny
Hollings, Campaigns and Media Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on
020 8329 0045, email pennyhollings at csw.org.uk  or visit www.csw.org.uk.

CSW is a human rights organisation which specializes in religious freedom,
works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and
promotes religious liberty for all.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

January 19, The Southeast Asian Press Alliance
SEAPA now accepting applications to 2007 Journalism Fellowship Program

For questions, please email:

Mr. Roby Alampay or Ms. Rosario Liquicia

seapa at seapabkk.org or call the SEAPA Secretariat in Bangkok at +662-2435579

SEAPA now accepting applications to 2007 Journalism Fellowship Program

BANGKOK – The Southeast Asian Press Alliance announces the opening of
applications for the 2007 SEAPA Journalism Fellowship Program. The
Fellowship theme for 2007 is, “Human Rights Versus a Culture of Impunity
in Southeast Asia.”

Journalist nationals of all Southeast Asian countries (Philippines,
Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Burma,
Brunei Darussalam, and East Timor) may compete for 15 Fellowships
available for the summer of 2007. To be eligible for the Fellowship,
applicants must have at least five years’ experience as journalists in any
medium (print, TV, radio or online), either as staff of media
organizations or as freelancers. They should have some background or
experience in writing on social, political, and/or economic issues in
their countries and interest in writing in-depth human interest stories or
investigative pieces.

Based on professional credentials and story proposals, the Fellowship
Program will afford Fellows limited travel to a second Southeast Asian
country where they can spend up to three weeks researching and
writing/producing a story of their choice.

Fellows are allowed to produce stories in their own native language for
publication/broadcast in their home countries, but familiarity with spoken
English will be a consideration for acceptance into the program, given the
cross-border coverages and in light of pre- and post-coverage workshops
that Fellows will be taking part in.

Theme for 2007

Every summer since 2002, the SEAPA Journalism Fellowship Program has
invited and challenged the region’s journalists to tackle the common
issues affecting the different nations of Southeast Asia.

For the 2007 Fellowship Program -- scheduled to run for five weeks from
the first week of May to the first week June -- SEAPA has chosen the
timely theme of, “Human Rights Versus a Culture of Impunity in Southeast
Asia.”

In 2007, Cambodia will underscore the importance of the need for justice,
of the imperative to confront human rights violations, when the Khmer
Rouge Tribunal (KRT) is finally convened and allowed to play its part in
(hopefully) bringing closure and healing to a nation. All throughout the
rest of Southeast Asia, meanwhile, each nation finds that confronting
rights abuses with justice, and fighting a culture of impunity itself, is
vital to true human and national development. Whether its theme reminds
about the massacre of East Timorese under Indonesian rule, the
disappearance of human rights workers in Thailand, the arrest and killing
of student activists in Burma, or the unabated killing of journalists in
the Philippines, the 2007 Journalism Fellowship Program will as always be
a rich venue for reflective journalism and discussions. It will highlight
the virtues of journalism’s freedom to shed light, support justice, and
establish truth as a fundamental foundation for any society seeking
stability and progress.

To apply, interested individuals must submit:

    *A story proposal—in English—based on the theme, “Human Rights Versus
a Culture of Impunity”, by March 7, 2007. The essay should be no
longer than 500 words, and must altogether introduce the applicant and
explain his/her story proposal.

    *Brief resume, with emphasis on current job
    *Two samples of their published/broadcast work.
    *Two letters of reference, including one from their supervising editor
(in the case of media staff members) stating that they have permission
to compete for and take part in the Fellowship Program, which will run
from the first week of May to the first week of June 2007.

Applications may be emailed to seapa at seapabkk.org.

Applicants may also submit their applications and material via post to the
following address:

SEAPA
2nd Floor, TJA Building, 538/1 Samsen Road
Dusit, Bangkok 10300 Thailand

The deadline for applications is March 7, 2007

Fellows will be announced in the last week of March 2007.

For more details about the SEAPA Journalism Fellowship Program and its
requirements and mechanics, visit the SEAPA website at www.seapa.org, or
the SEAPA blog at www.seapa.wordpress.com. For questions or concerns,
please email seapa at seapabkk.org, with the subject heading of “SEAPA
Journalism Fellowship 2007”.