BurmaNet News, February 1, 2007

[Editor]

February 1, 2007 Issue # 3133


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Corruption rises in Burma’s prisons, rights group says
Irrawaddy: Burma’s Communist Party warns against “super power” confrontation
Mizzima: Junta allows demonstrations against US, UK in Rangoon
Mizzima: "Karen Unity Seminar" amid palpable tension

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: Ten thousand new Burmese migrants to be allowed into Thailand

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima: Burma seeks to pay in Indian currency
Xinhua: Vietnam to invest in Myanmar's special economic zone
Xinhua: Renovated Myanmar airport to be put into service early this year

REGIONAL
AFP: Press freedom improving in Asia despite censors, attacks: report

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima: Tutu seeks India's help for Suu Kyi's release

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation: Burma's top dictator nearing the end

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INSIDE BURMA

February 1, Irrawaddy
Corruption rises in Burma’s prisons, rights group says - Shah Paung

The Burmese government continues to allow torture and corruption in its
prison system, and a plan to put prisons on a self-funding basis will
encourage even more abuses, according to a human rights report released on
Wednesday.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners [Burma] report titled
"The Situation of Prisons in Burma as of 2006" claims the military regime
plans to make prisons self-funded by 2009. Large portions of the report
are based on interviews with prisoners, prison authorities and other
knowledgeable sources.

“As a consequence, there is much more corruption, maltreatment, unjust
fundraising events and more forced labor,” by prison authorities and
staff, the report said.

It is common practice for prisoners who want relief from beatings and
forced labor to pay bribes to prison authorities, according to groups that
monitor Burmese prisons.

“We have released this report to let the people know the real situation in
prisons,” said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of AAPP.

The report gives examples of representative bribes that prisoners or their
family members must pay. The time period covered by a bribe was not given.

According to the report, prisoners being transferred from a labor camp to
Insein Prison must pay their own bus fare of 1,000 to 5,000 kyat (up to US
$3).

Bribes to prevent beatings cost up to 30,000 kyat ($22).

To sleep on a wooden platform, prisoners pay about 15,000 kyat ($11).
Those who cannot pay sleep on cement floors without a bed sheet. Those who
want to use a private bathroom and toilet pay about 1,500 kyat ($1) to
authorities.

According to family members of former political prisoners, to visit a
relative they sometimes paid up to10,000 kyat ($7) or more.

Prisoners who do not want to transfer to another prison pay about 150,000
kyat ($114) to the superintendent of the prison. If they want to transfer
to a more comfortable labor camp, they pay about 100,000 kyat ($76).

Every prisoner must work in the prison compound. Those who want to get
easier work, pay about 20,000 kyat ($15).

Prisoners who get ill pay about 30,000 kyat ($22) to visit a prison doctor
as a first installment.

There are 91 prison labor camps and 42 prisons in Burma, according to the
Burmese government. The regime has recently claimed that prison conditions
have been improved and fresh water, medicines and other assistance is
provided.

“The real situation is totally different from what they [the junta]
describe in newspapers and show on the television,” Bo Kyi said.

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February 1, Irrawaddy
Burma’s Communist Party warns against “super power” confrontation - Yeni

Burma’s banned Communist Party, the CPB, has issued a New Year statement
saying it supported any initiative within the UN Security Council that
would contribute to national reconciliation in Burma.

The statement made no comment on the recent failure of a US-drafted
resolution on Burma, which foundered on vetoes by China and Russia, but
warned of the dangers of confronting “super powers”—taken to mean, in this
context, the US.

In a separate statement, containing greetings to Burma’s armed forces, the
Tatmadaw, veteran CPB leader Brig-Gen Kyaw Zaw, who lives in Kunming,
capital of China’s Yunnan province, said confrontation with an “irrelevant
enemy” could bring about the Tatmadaw’s destruction. He gave as examples
of national armies that had “disappeared” the armed forces of Iraq,
Tsarist Russia and Nationalist China.

Instead of confrontation, Burma’s present leaders should seek national
reconciliation through negotiation and compromise, said the 88-year-old
general, a Burmese independence hero and the only surviving member of Aung
San’s “thirty comrades” who fought for an end to colonial rule in Burma.
He was a founder of the armed forces of post-colonial Burma, and fought
against British, Japanese, Chinese Nationalist and Karen forces before
joining the outlawed CPB in 1976 and then fleeing to China.

The present strength of the CPB is a well-guarded secret, but it
controlled part of the Shan State bordering China before being pushed into
Yunnan province. An underground CPB presence is still suspected to exist
inside Burma.

In his warning to avoid confrontation, Kyaw Zaw said the Tatmadaw was
still an embryonic force. The morality of the army and of civil servants
had suffered because of recent arrests of Customs Department officials on
corruption charges, he claimed.

In its New Year statement, the CPB also rejected the current efforts by
the National Convention to draw up a new constitution. It said the
country’s previous constitution, enacted in 1947 by the Burmese Socialist
Programme Party, had resulted in Burma becoming a “least-developed”
country, while the constitution now being drawn up would make Burma a
“failed state.” It contained no checks and balances and put the army above
government and the legal system, the CPB declared.

At the moment, the ruling government had a clear enemy—the National League
for Democracy. But in the future the power struggle would increase within
the army, the CPB statement said.

Burma has been without a constitution since 1988, when the existing 1974
charter drawn up by the Burmese Socialist Programme Party was suspended
following the nationwide student uprising. A National Convention is now
working out a new constitution as part of a seven-step political roadmap
to democracy announced by the military government in 2003. The road map
envisages a referendum on the draft constitution, followed by a general
election, the convening of a parliament and formation of a democratic
government.

Critics consider the proceedings a sham, however, because the National
Convention delegates were hand-picked by the military, and detained
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy
party are not taking part.

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February 1, Mizzima News
Junta allows demonstrations against US, UK in Rangoon

The Burmese military junta has turned a blind eye to demonstrations
against the US and the UK in Rangoon for three consecutive days. Such
agitations are illegal in Burma, where the law bans assembly of more than
five people. The law, however, is usually applied only during
demonstrations targeted at the military regime.

About 30 people held aloft banners and shouted "Don't interfere in Burma's
affairs" while filing past the U.S embassy in the former capital at around
1 p.m. on Thursday.

Two groups of people about the same in number demonstrated outside the US
and U.K embassies yesterday. The government's mouth-piece, Myanmar Ahlin
highlighted and praised the demonstrations but did not mention who were
behind the agitation.

Aye Lwin, a former student leader, who many suspect to be behind the
agitations denied his group's involvement in an exclusive interview to
Mizzima but admitted that the stand of the demonstrators and his were the
same.

Local residents said the military junta is using the Union Solidarity and
Development Association members to generate such protest. The military
junta is normally intolerant of people demonstrating and uses force to
coerce and crack down on agitators. However, security forces have been
silently watching the three days of demonstrations in Rangoon.

"It is a vivid and ugliest show of the US & UK putting up on UNSC agenda.
Is this small and quiet country a nuclear threat, terrorist threat,
military threat, narcotic threat or any other...threat within the region?
So then, is there any solid reason to discuss importantly about our nation
at the UNSC? Pity," said the leaflet distributed by the demonstrators.

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician in Rangoon warned the junta that
using unfair practices will create more complications in Burmese politics
and endanger national reconciliation.

"The military government should act thoughtfully. I would request it not
to be biased, and not recruit and groom henchmen. If people demonstrate
outside the Chinese and Russian embassies, will they allow it?" Thakin
Chan Tun asked.

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February 1, Mizzima News
"Karen Unity Seminar" amid palpable tension - Mungpi

Amid palpable tension among the Karen National Union leadership, delegates
from various Karen organisations today gathered at a location on the
Thai-Burma border for the 5th "Karen Unity Seminar".

The four-day seminar, from February 1 to 4, seeks to strengthen unity and
foster more cooperation among the Karen people, said Thamein Tun, a KNU
central organising committee member.

"This seminar touches all parts of the Karen movement including the armed
revolutionary activities of the KNU," Thamein Tun told Mizzima over
telephone from the venue of the seminar.

While invitations were extended to all Brigades of the Karen National
Liberation Army, the armed wing of the KNU, former Brigade 7 commander
Brigadier General Htin Maung and his allies were conspicuous by their
absence at the seminar, Thamein Tun added.

"We have invited all the brigades and we also invited Brigade 7 [including
Brig Gen Htin Maung and his allies]. Other brigades, even from Meik [in
Tanessarim Division] regions have sent their delegates to the seminar,"
Thamein Tun said.

The KNU central committee on Tuesday dismissed Brigadier General Htin
Maung, commander of the 7th Brigade of the KNLA from his post for flouting
the central committee's orders and trying to negotiate peace with the
Burmese military junta without consulting the KNU.

The KNU's central committee handed over charge of Brigade 7 to Pado Saw
Arrtoe, Colonel Jawni and Lieutenant Colonel Htun Kyaing.

However, citing that they were busy, the new incumbents of Brigade 7 were
also absent at the four-day seminar, which started today.

"Our only defaulter is the commander [Htin Maung] and not the whole of
Brigade 7 and we have full cooperation from the others. I believe the
leaders from Brigade 7 and Pa-an district are occupied with their
activities," said Thamein Tun.

Reports said Brig Gen Htin Maung and his associates after receiving the
green signal for a ceasefire from the military junta have moved back to
areas inside Karen state which are under the control of the Burmese Army.

Officials of Brigade 7 including Brig Gen Htin Maung and Lt Col Nerdah
Mya, son of the late Gen Saw Bo Mya, could not be contacted for comment.

The seminar, held annually since 2003, has provided a forum for the Karen
people to meet and exchange views and has fostered a common platform for
the Karen movement, including armed revolutionary activities, Thamein Tun
said.

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ON THE BORDER

January 31, Independent Mon News Agency
Ten thousand new Burmese migrants to be allowed into Thailand

Thailand, which has a sizeable migrant population from neighbouring
countries like Laos, Burma, and Cambodia will offer 10,000 new jobs to
migrant Burmese workers.

The Thai Labour Minister Apai Chanthanajulaka told Bangkok Post, the
English language newspaper that the move was the start of a nationality
identification process for illegal Lao and Cambodian migrants, and the
identification of about 500,000 illegal Burmese immigrants already
surveyed.

The process would lead to their gaining legal worker status later.

Yesterday's decision also covers a new agreement between the Thai and
Burmese governments to allow 10,000 more Burmese workers into Thailand,
and the registration of foreign labourers in five southernmost provinces
of Narathiwat, Yala, Pattani, Songkhla and Satun.

The Young Chi Oo Burmese Workers Assistance Association, spokesperson Ko
Moe Swe said it is good for workers to get a job but the area they are
focusing on is in the war zone so workers who are going to be there should
be careful.

Mr Apai told the Press that legal foreign workers could solve Thailand's
labour shortage.

Since insurgency threatens southern Thailand, most workers move to other
areas so they may have to focus on the southern region first, said the
Young Chi Oo Association.

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BUSINESS / TRADE

February 1, Mizzima News
Burma seeks to pay in Indian currency - Syed Ali Mujtaba

India is yet to decide on Burma's proposal for rupee payment terms for
petroleum products the Southeast Asian country imports.

The Burmese junta has conveyed to Indian authorities that it would like to
import petroleum products in rupees, the Indian currency, said S Ramesh,
General Manager, Retail Strategy, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
(BPCL).

The move has forced the state-run BPCL to shelve its decision to seek
export-trading status for its subsidiary Numligarh Refinery Ltd. that has
been created in the northeastern region of the country for the purpose,
Ramesh said.

Recently, Burma shocked India when it said that it would export gas only
after finding out that it has sufficient reserves. The move to pay in
Indian currency has not gone down well in New Delhi.

India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee recently visited Burma,
apparently to thrash out many bottlenecks that have emerged in India-Burma
relationship, especially after China bailed out the military regime at the
UN Security Council.

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February 1, Xinhua General News Service
Vietnam to invest in Myanmar's special economic zone

Vietnam will invest in Myanmar's new emerging special economic zone with
high-tech industries, the Pyi Myanmar news journal reported Thursday.

The two countries will also strive to raise their bilateral trade volume
to 100 million U.S. dollars in the next fiscal year of 2007-08 beginning
April, according to a decision made by the Myanmar-Vietnam Joint Trade
Committee, which has met recently in  the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw, the
report said.

And trade fairs will be held alternately and extensively in the two
countries' major cities to boost bilateral trade.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, Vietnam will hold trade exhibition
in Myanmar this year for the fourth time, while Myanmar will take part in
the international trade fair in Hanoi.

Myanmar and Vietnam had an annual bilateral trade volume of about 60
million dollars in the last few years.

Vietnam mainly exports to Myanmar pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, chemicals,
electrical equipment, plastics, garment materials and construction
materials, while importing mainly timber from the country.

Meanwhile, Myanmar is planning six free trade zones under a new special
economic zone law to be enacted in the near future. The new special
economic zone law has reportedly been completely drafted for enactment,
aiming to absorb inflow of more foreign investments into the country to
promote its economic development.

According to the latest official statistics, contracted foreign investment
in Myanmar has reached 13.917 billion dollars in 402 projects so far since
the country opened to such investment in late 1988.

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February 1, Xinhua General News Service
Renovated Myanmar airport to be put into service early this year

The renovated Yangon International Airport of Myanmar will be put into
service early this year as most of its extension construction work has
been completed, a local weekly reported Thursday without disclosing the
date of the inauguration.

The new airport, designed by Singapore's CPG Airport Consultant Co Ltd and
built by the private Asia World Co Ltd since 2003, would have the capacity
of accommodating larger aircraft such as Boeing-747 and handling 900
outgoing and 900 incoming passengers simultaneously totaling about 2.7
million a year, the Yangon Times reported.

The two-story terminal building of the airport was extended to 240 meters
from 102 meters in length and to 60 meters from 42 meters in width, while
the runway to 3.6 kilometers from 2.43 kilometers, according to the civil
aviation authorities, which have said earlier that the extended airport
will deal with international flights, while the existing one be
re-arranged to  handle domestic flights.

To boost its air transport, Myanmar has added seven new airports since
1988, bringing the total number of airports in the country to 28 so far,
official statistics show.

Meanwhile, upgrade of other aircraft to raise its domestic transporting
capacity is also being made by gradual substitution of the existing
Netherland-made Fokker-28 or 27 with France-made ATR aircraft.

There have been about a dozen foreign airlines that fly Yangon  including
Air China, Thai Airways international, Silk Air ( Singapore), Malaysian
Airline System, Biman (Bangladesh), Indian  Airlines, Lauda Air (Austria),
Phuket Airlines (Thailand), Bangkok Airways and Qatar Airways.

Myanmar's domestic airlines are represented by one state-run Myanma
Airways and three joint ventures which are Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways
and Air Bagan.

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REGIONAL

February 1, Agence France Presse
Press freedom improving in Asia despite censors, attacks: report

Despite the high number of journalists killed or attacked in Asia in 2006
and persistent censorship, Asians are slowly gaining access to more
independent, better quality news, media rights group Reporters Without
Borders (RSF) said on Thursday.

In its annual report on press freedom in Asia, RSF said abuse was still at
"alarming levels". Sixteen jour-nalists were killed in 2006, at least 328
arrested and 517 assaulted or threatened. At least 478 media were
censored.

But these disturbing figures were "paradoxically signs of greater
freedom", or at least the desire for it, the report said.

"For example, journalists in Bangladesh suffer constant assaults and death
threats because they tirelessly expose nepotism and corruption among local
politicians. In China, the propaganda department regularly removes
editorial chiefs in an attempt to curb their desire for independence."

RSF pointed to Asia's two heavyweights, India and China, as opposite
extremes in their approach to the media's role in politics.

"In the first, the media make themselves felt more every day as an
effective counter-balance to government, capable of exposing even the most
powerful," it said.

"In the second, the press, although subject to competition, is still under
the control of the party-state, which is sure of its authority and which
has no intention of dropping its capacity to censor."
Across Asia, censorship remained extremely widespread in 2006, the report
said.

Yet there were signs of hope in the form of private television stations
free of government control, in the repeal of laws allowing states to throw
journalists into jail and in the falling number of reporters behind bars.

On the negative front, RSF said "a score of military or communist
dictatorships view the media simply as channels for relaying propaganda".

RSF singled out North Korea and Myanmar as extremes of state censorship.
It also criticised the communist regimes in Laos, Vietnam and China, and
the military junta in Thailand.

North Korea imposed "total control on news content", the report said. In
Myanmar, "at times more than a third of the articles and illustrations in
privately-owned publications are banned", as is any reference to
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Elsewhere, governments used financial control, religion and moral values
to quash free speech, RSF said.

Singapore and Malaysia only award licences to press groups of whose
loyalty they are assured. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, journalists who
criticise religious authorities risk prosecution for blasphemy, while in
Indonesia and Sri Lanka talking sex or sexuality can land you in court.

On a more positive note, privately owned television channels brought "news
free from government control into hundreds of millions of homes in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India" in 2006, RSF said.

The number of journalists in jail fell, even in Myanmar and China, while
Cambodia and Indonesia re-pealed laws allowing them to incarcerate
reporters for defamation or "insulting the head of state".

Finally, RSF said, moves towards reliance on advertising revenue rather
than state subsidies meant some publications in Laos, Vietnam and China
were now daring to handle previously taboo subjects and some had "breached
state control entirely".

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INTERNATIONAL

February 1, Mizzima News
Tutu seeks India's help for Suu Kyi's release - Syed Ali Mujtaba

South Africa's Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu has urged India to help
secure the release of Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He
dedicated the Gandhi Peace Prize conferred on him on Wednesday to the
'Light of Asia.'

Accepting the peace prize from President APJ Abdul Kalam in New Delhi the
Archbishop dedicated it to the people of South Africa, the victims of
Darfur and Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We thank you for giving refuge to one of the greatest human beings, the
Dalai Lama, and pray that you will help bring about freedom of his Tibet,
and the release of our sister Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma." Tutu said.

Tutu is the second South African to receive the Gandhi Peace Prize, the
first being Nelson Mandela. He was the first non-white Archbishop of the
Anglican Church in South Africa during the apartheid regime.

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OPINION / OTHER

February 1, The Nation (Thailand)
Burma's top dictator nearing the end - Jessicah Curtis

Burma's state-run propaganda machine has been working overtime since junta
leader General Than Shwe returned from a two-week hospital stay in
Singapore earlier this month - to counter mounting evidence that the
ageing military chief is no longer fit for office.

In the past two weeks, photos of Than Shwe chairing meetings and mingling
with foreign dignitaries have made the front page of the New Light of
Myanmar newspaper almost every day, while footage of him chairing the
quarterly State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) meeting has been
aired on state television.

In both the footage and photos Than Shwe looks fairly robust. But the
carefully managed media appearances have done little to quell reports from
among Burma's political elite that the senior general is far from fit.

One source close to the top military leader told The Nation that Than Shwe
had been flown to Singapore for extensive tests on December 31 last year
after his personal physicians became concerned that he was suffering from
intestinal cancer. Despite being cleared of the disease, Than Shwe
remained in hospital until January 12 - the leader's longest stretch
outside Burma for several years.

"It came out that the illness was not as serious [as cancer] but still he
was away for some time. This is quite significant," said the source close
to Than Shwe, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Burma's top general is
a diabetic and suffers from hypertension and minor heart problems, which
have long caused him complications.

Than Shwe's sudden hospitalisation resulted in him missing the January 4
Independence Day celebrations in Burma for the first time in his 15-year
stint as head of the SPDC. Analysts and pundits pounced and speculation
quickly spread that he was dying.

Still more evidence of Than Shwe's declining health came to light when
reports emerged that he made only brief appearances at the quarterly
commanders' and SPDC meetings held last week in Naypyidaw. While deceptive
photos of him chairing the event have been splashed all over the official
press, seasoned Burma-watchers have not been fooled. Senior Thailand-based
Burma analyst Win Min said Than Shwe had also been absent from his daily
duties for some time.

"We know that for about four or five months already he has been staying
home and only attending meetings once a week or once a month. His health
has really deteriorated," Win Min said.

This news has caused intense debate among analysts over who he entrusted
control of his office to in his absence. According to sources close to the
military among Rangoon's high-society circles, Than Shwe's long-time
protege and potential successor General Thura Shwe Mann has almost
certainly taken his place at the helm. Shwe Mann the only member of the
SPDC's top cabinet without a clearly defined portfolio, and he is also
Than Shwe's most important ally in the fight to stop second-in-command
Deputy Senior General Maung Aye from seizing power.

"Shwe Mann is now doing most of Than Shwe's job but he is still required
to defer to Maung Aye and [prime minister] Soe Win on important issues and
some decisions," Win Min said.

Earlier predictions of Than Shwe and Maung Aye stepping down - but not
entirely out - in favour of Shwe Mann appear, at least on initial
inspection, to be correct. And the stage seems set for the two top
generals to hand over the military's reins in favour of civilian roles at
the head of a heavily renovated SPDC.

Plans to rename the ruling body the State Democracy and Development
Council are still being floated and the ongoing National Convention to
draft a new Burmese constitution - first set up in 1993 - is expected to
finally come to an end in the next 12 months.

Sources close to the military elite say Maung Aye has also been spending
little time tending to his official duties. "This is at the orders of Than
Shwe. He wants Maung Aye to stay away from power too," Win Min said.

It would seem that everything is going according to plan. Except, of
course, for Than Shwe's continued inability to control his two
subordinates and put the threat of a coup from Maung Aye to rest, The
Nation's source close to the general said.

"He cannot manage these two guys. Actually, he has no control over this
situation," the source said adding that Than Shwe did not trust either
Maung Aye or Shwe Mann to adhere to his wishes after he steps down.

While Than Shwe has worked hard to secure a safe passage from power for
himself and his family in a country where military coups are almost
common, the general is reported to be unsure his plans will work. "Maung
Aye is supposed to step down but there is no way [Than Shwe] can be sure
that this will happen," the source close to the general said.

Political pundits in Burma agree that Than Shwe's recent hospitalisation
has put him at greater risk of a power challenge from Maung Aye and that
his decision to spend little time at work had left him out of the military
loop and highly vulnerable.

Than Shwe has reportedly put plans to hand over command of the military on
hold until the fallout from his time in hospital is contained. "He is not
going to give up power now," the source said, adding that there was no
sign Than Shwe's family planned to give up any part of their luxurious
lifestyles.

Than Shwe's equally despotic wife, Daw Kyaing Kyaing, is said to oppose
the idea of her husband bowing out gracefully. Daw Kyaing Kyaing, who
orders subordinates to address her as the "queen of Burma", is known to be
more intent on Than Shwe staying "president for life" than the senior
general himself. "She won't like it at all [if Than Shwe relinquishes his
position]. She is very uneducated and only sees the need to stay in
power," the source close to the general said.

For now, Than Shwe's carefully managed media appearances are likely to
continue as the infamous dictator struggles to maintain his health and
grip on power. Burma watchers can expect to see regular footage on state
TV of the general inspecting dams, holding high-level meetings and
generally maintaining the air of menace that has kept him in power for so
long.

But his position hinges on his physical strength, which finally appears to
be failing him. "If Than Shwe were to become seriously sick very quickly,
Maung Aye will almost certainly try to take over," Win Min said.

Jessicah Curtis is a freelance journalist based in Chiang Mai.

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