BurmaNet News, February 7, 2007

[Editor]

February 7, 2007 Issue # 3137

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: Burmese junta denies suppression of Christians
Irrawaddy: Burma invites malpractice complaints by judicial personnel
Mizzima News: Rights activists vow to expose suspected custody killing
DVB: Shwedagon prayer campaigners soaked by officials
AP: Days numbered for Myanmar's main opposition party, state media says

ON THE BORDER
Kaladan News: Army kills cattle for ration
BBC Burmese Service: 60th anniversary of Shan Revolution Day

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Epic film drives Thais to Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma a leading jailer of journalists, report says
Irrawaddy: Burmese Reporter Wins Human Rights Award

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 7, Mizzima News
Burmese junta denies suppression of Christians - Mungpi

The Burmese military junta today rejected accusations that it is
suppressing Christians maintaining all citizens enjoy freedom of religion.
It said the recent report by a British group accusing the junta of
planning to obliterate Christianity from the country is designed to taint
Burma's image internationally.

The UK based Christian Solidarity Worldwide, in January, released a report
titled "Carrying the Cross: The Military Regime's Campaign of Restriction,
Discrimination and Persecution against Christians in Burma," exposing the
junta's plan to systematically wipe-out Christians from the country.

The CSW report quoted a document, allegedly emanating from the Burmese
Ministry of Religious Affairs, which contains point by point plans to
drive away Christians. Its opening sentence says, "There shall be no home
where the Christian religion is practiced."

The junta's mouth piece, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, on Wednesday
countered allegations that Christians face severe oppression restrictions,
discrimination and persecution, saying such allegations are a "conspiracy
to tarnish the image of Myanmar [ Burma] internationally."

The newspaper also carries a joint statement made by the Myanmar Council
of Churches and Catholic Bishop's Conference of Myanmar saying they have
no connection with the CSW and its report.

The newspaper also published a statement by the Rangoon Young Men's
Christian Association (YMCA) saying all citizens in Burma enjoy "freedom
of worship and the right to express their faith."

The YMCA further said the CSW's report is an attempt to disrupt religious
harmony that the citizens of Burma are enjoying and urges the CSW to
"cease its attempts to create misunderstanding and mistrust among our
people of different faiths."

The Burmese junta has been widely criticized by human rights groups and
the international community, especially western nations, for its appalling
human rights records. And the U. S. State Department in its 2006 report on
International Religious Freedom designated Burma as a "country of
particular concern."

Burma currently ranks 18th on the UK based Open Door World Watch, a
semi-annual release, ranking countries according to the level of
persecution Christians face for their beliefs.

____________________________________

February 7, Irrawaddy
Burma invites malpractice complaints by judicial personnel

Burma has invited complaints for bribery and malpractice by judicial
personnel, according to the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar on
Wednesday, in a bid “to shape a fair judicial system that can win trust
and reliance of the people.” The development follows a meeting of Prime
Minister General Soe Win with judges and law officers on Monday. He
warned, at the same time, that the government is also taking action
against staff for misconduct and is inviting public criticism and
complaints. He also noted a need for the judicial sector to adapt itself
to reform which is being made in conformity with the forthcoming new state
constitution.

But critics pointed out that Burma has a lack of any independent,
competent or credible judiciary. On September last year, Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar [Burma],
told a meeting of the new UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that
“continued misuse of the legal system” there represented “a major
obstacle” to the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms by the country's
citizens.

However, Burmese authorities have taken actions aimed at “eliminating
malpractice within the government mechanism” since late last year. Four
government ministries—Home Ministry, Finance Ministry, Energy Ministry and
Forestry Ministry as well as the Yangon [Rangoon] City Development
Committee, have similarly invited complaints from the public against any
misconduct by the bodies' staff members.

____________________________________

February 7, Mizzima News
Rights activists vow to expose suspected custody killing - Ngun te

Human rights activists have vowed to fight and expose the truth behind the
suspected death of Myint Thein (20) in police custody in Maaupin,
Irrawaddy division.

Myint Theina, a resident of Maaupin was picked up by the police at 12:30
p.m. on February 10 for interrogation from his father's home in Pantanaw
while he was visiting. The police told family members the next day that he
had died of malaria.

" We are going to fight to expose the truth," Myint Aye from the Human
Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) told Mizzima.

He said that the body shown to family members had clear signs of torture
and Myint Thein's wife had told him that her husband was not suffering
from malaria.

The Pantanaw police station filed a case of homicide in the township court
on February 22.

____________________________________

February 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Shwedagon prayer campaigners soaked by officials

A group of politicians and activists who attended a regular Tuesday prayer
meeting for political prisoners at Shwedagon pagoda yesterday were again
doused with water by pagoda officials.

Every Tuesday about 40 people travel to the famous pagoda to pray for the
release of all political prisoners in Burma, including detained National
League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

For the past three weeks the activists have been harassed by pagoda
security guards and officials and have been soaked with soapy water.

“They are soaking the place with soapy water, sweeping it with brooms . .
. they are making it impossible to sit down and pray. The place is also
being blasted with a loudspeaker,” one member of the group told DVB
yesterday.

Another activist, Ma Yin Yin Myint, said the group was also doused with
water while they were trying to eat their lunch.

“While we were having our meals, six uniformed security staff from the
gazebo asked the cleaning girls to give them water buckets. Then they
poured water onto us and ruined our meals. We said nothing in response,”
Ma Yin Yin Myint said.

Pagoda officials refused to comment yesterday.

____________________________________

February 7, Associated Press
Days numbered for Myanmar's main opposition party, state media says

Myanmar's state-run media issued a veiled threat Wednesday to the
opposition party of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
suggesting its contacts with Western governments could lead to its demise.

The New Light of Myanmar said the National League of Democracy relied too
much on Western powers and had too close a connection with the U.S. and
British embassies in the country.

"People believe that the days of NLD, which relies too much on big Western
nations, are numbered," the newspaper said, reiterating similar threats of
recent months.

The ruling junta has put pressure on the NLD since seizing power in 1988
after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations. It has jailed a number of its
senior party members, severely restricted party activities and keeps Suu
Kyi under house arrest.

The report said the "public," which is watching the NLD, has noticed that
the staff of British and American embassies in Yangon visited the NLD
headquarters 34 times during the month of July and the party had accepted
parcels sent by the embassies.

The paper suggested that the NLD was taking its cues from these embassies
and many NLD members who had lost confidence in the party have resigned.

"The NLD is like a puppet that dances to the tune of alien countries," the
newspaper said.

Although state-run newspapers say recent resignations were voluntary, the
NLD insisted its members were coerced into quitting its ranks.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been under military control since 1962
and the current junta is widely accused of human rights violations and
suppression of any political activity critical to its rule.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 7, Kaladan News
Army kills cattle for ration

The Burmese Army has taken to killing cattle belonging to the people for
the army's rations in northern Arakan , Burma .

On January 23, a cow was killed by soldiers for meat when it was on its
way back after sun set from a grazing ground near a hill side. After
killing it, the troops carried it to the nearby army camp, said a relative
of the cow's owner on condition of anonymity.

The cow's owner Boshir Ahmed (26) is the son of Mohammed Karim, hailing
from "Hoya Sori village" in Buthidaung Township , Arakan State .

The following day, after receiving information, the cow's owner went to
the army camp and complained to the officer in charge. But, the commander
told him that he would investigate the matter and then call the owner to
the camp to solve the problem. But he is yet to be summoned.

"The Army and the Nasaka --- Burma ’s border security force have been
confiscating our farms for a long time, and now they are killing our
cattle for meat," said villagers.

Another relative of the cow's owner said, "The owner is a poor man and
only had a pair of cows that helped him support his family. Now, he is
helpless and does not know how he will look after his family.

____________________________________

February 7, BBC Burmese Service
60th anniversary of Shan Revolution Day

The Shans celebrated their 60th anniversary of Shan Revolution Day at SSA
Shan States Army headquarters in Thai Burma border.

The Shans took part in signing the Pinlon agreement under the leadership
of General Aung San together with the other ethnic national groups in
striving for Burma's independence.

But their hopes and dreams were shattered when the military government
came into power and the Shan leaders, including Khun Htun Oo and General
Hso Ten were detained since 2005.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 7, Irrawaddy
Epic film drives Thais to Burma - Sai Silp

Local travel agents in Thailand say that the highly successful epic film
“The Legend of King Naresuan,” released last month, has not only packed
cinemas around the country but has also filled airliners and buses bound
for Burma.

According to Pitipong Wongking, a marketing staffer at Sunpark Holidays
Company, the number of Thais making travel arrangements for Burma has
increased about 80 percent, and travel tours are now being booked three
months in advance.

“Normally, our company books an average of one travel group per month, but
now we do two per month,” Pitipong said.

The preferred destinations for the swelling number of Thai Burma-goers are
Buddhist monasteries and historical sites such as Kambowzathadi Palace in
Pegu, formerly known as Hanthawaddy. This was the ancient capital where
King Bayintnaung ruled during the reign of the Ayutthaya kingdom in
Thailand, a historical era covered in detail by “The Legend of King
Naresuan.”

The film, produced by renowned Thai director MC Chatrichalerm Yukol,
depicts the life of King Naresuan the Great, who ruled Siam from 1590
until his death in 1605. He is a national hero credited with liberating
ancient Thailand from Burmese rule.

“The Legend of King Naresuan” is the first in a planned trilogy of films
and covers the king’s early years when he was taken captive by the Burmese
monarch Bayinnaung to keep the vassal kingdom of Ayutthaya subservient.

Pattarawut Samransapsin, the tour manager for Trekking Thai Ecotour, a
travel agency and Thai language internet travel information source, said
that he has also seen a rise in the number of Thais interested in visiting
Burma.

“We have received many questions through our website about the places
depicted in the film, and during this coming summer break, in March and
April, we plan to increase our trips to Burma.”

Kanchana Liewpaiboon from Irrawaddy Travel International said that the
number of Thai tourists to Burma in the last few years has been on the
rise. The principal selling points of Burma tourism are monasteries,
cultural sites and an interest in the lifestyle of local people.

“This year, Thai tourists to Burma have increased,” Kanchana said in a
report on Wednesday in the Thai language daily newspaper Manager. “The
customers book with our company as much as five months in advance, as
opposed to the normal two or three months.”

According to Charoen Wang-ananon, of the Committee of Thai Travel
Associations, while Burma is a popular destination for Thai tourists, it
still does not compare with other destinations because of the limited
availability of flights.

Among foreign visitors to Burma’s interior, Thais ranked No. 1 in 2005 and
2006. In 2005, some 16,647 Thais visited; in 2006, that number reached
19,747, according to the Burmese Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. The total
number of foreign visitors in 2006 was expected to be more than 600,000,
including cross-border day trips.

____________________________________

February 7, NetIndia123.com
Home Secretary V K Duggal to visit Myanmar from Feb 13

A high-level Indian delegation would visit Myanmar from February 13 to
discuss bilateral issues of security, border management and drug
trafficking with the neighbouring state.

The team would be headed by Home Secretary V K Duggal. A high level
meeting was held at the Home Ministry today to discuss the agenda for the
visit. The meeting was attended by senior officials of Home Ministry and
External Affairs Ministry.

The issue of India aiding the development of Myanmar's Sittwe port at a
cost of 103 million dollars to give the land-locked northeastern states
access to the sea for trade and commerce may also figure in the bilateral
talks.

The government has already agreed in principle to develop the port and the
Cabinet approval in this regard is likely soon. The will be done after
developing Kaladan river, which connects the northeastern state of Mizoram
with the Bay of Bengal, as a waterway.

India wants to give the northeast access to the sea and international trade.

India-Myanmar bilateral cooperation has increased in the recent time with
senior functionaries of both the countries visiting each other. The
strategic importance of Myanmar for India has increased, as it was the
only neighbour who is member of ASEAN, so under its Look East policy India
is seeking to upgrade ties. The possibility of Myanmar-India gas pipeline
may also be discussed during the visit.

During the four-day visit, the issue of ULFA leaders taking shelter in
Myanmar may also come for discussion. The Myanmar government has assured
full cooperation to India in dealing with insurgency.

Earlier, a series of high-level bilateral political and military exchanges
between the two sides beginning with the October 2004 visit to India by
Senior General Than Shwe, head of Myanmar's military-run Government, and
the March 2006 visit to Yangon of President A P J Abdul Kalam. Foreign
Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister Shivraj Patil had also gone
there.

These were followed by the visit of General Thura Shwe Mann, third in the
official hierarchy of the State Peace and Development Council to India and
also that of the Myanmar Home Minister Maung Oo.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 7, Irrawaddy
Burma a leading jailer of journalists, report says - Khun Sam

Burma was ranked No. 5 on the world's leading jailer of journalists list
in 2006 and again named one of the "10 most censored countries" in a
report issued by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The report entitled “Attacks on the Press in 2006,” issued by CPJ on
Monday, said Burma trailed only North Korea, the world’s No. 1 most
censored country, where all domestic media are controlled by the
government.

The report said the Burmese military junta “exerted Orwellian control over
all media, harassing or jailing journalists who strayed from the official
line in their reporting or who helped foreign correspondents with critical
reporting.”

According to the report, at least seven journalists across the country
were in prison as of December 1 last year. Burma earned the rank of the
world’s fifth leading jailer of journalists.

The seven jailed journalists are journalists Win Tin and Maung Maung Lay
Ngwe; writer and activist Aung Htun; editor, filmmaker and poet Thaung
Tun; lawyer and former BBC stringer Ne Min; photojournalist Thaung Sein;
and columnist Kyaw Thwin.

Thaung Sein and Kyaw Thwin were jailed in March last year and given
three-year sentences for videotaping on the outskirts of the country’s new
capital, Pyinmana, after the junta decided without warning to move most
government offices from Rangoon.

The report said, “Reporting on detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi
and her National League for Democracy political party, debates about
government policies, news that unfavorably reflected upon the junta—all
were strictly prohibited.”

The government also stepped up its campaign to counter critical news about
its leadership and human rights record by harassing journalists who
provided information to foreign and exile-run media in countries such as
neighboring India and Thailand.

Since February last year the junta’s intelligence agency has used new
surveillance technology to track people who spoke with international
journalists, the report said.

According to the report, 55 journalists were killed and 134 journalists
were jailed around the world in 2006.

“We look at most countries in Asia, and we see a real step backward,” said
Robert Dietz, Asia coordinator for the CPJ. “Things don’t look good. We
don’t see any positive trends.”

____________________________________

February 7, Irrawaddy
Burmese Reporter Wins Human Rights Award

An exiled Burmese reporter is among 10 Southeast Asians chosen as
recipients of the Hellman/Hammett human rights award, the New York-based
Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

According to the HRW, Maung Maung Kyaw Win—now living in Cambodia—assisted
foreign journalists and researchers in gathering information when he
served as a senior reporter and editor at the Burmese-language Myanma Dana
business magazine in Burma.

Another New York-based advocacy group, the Committee to Protect
Journalists, said that military intelligence officials had threatened him
with death in December 2005, accusing him of helping a US journalist meet
a recently released political prisoner. Fearing for his safety, Maung
Maung Kyw Win, along with his family, fled Burma for Thailand in early
2006.

He was later granted refugee status in Cambodia by the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees. In the early 1990s, Maung Maung Kyaw Win also
helped to translate into Burmese the popular book Outrage: Burma’s
Struggle for Democracy, by Bertil Lintner, which chronicles the crackdown
on the popular pro-democracy uprising in 1988.