BurmaNet News, February 10-12, 2007

[Editor]

February 10-12, 2007 Issue # 3140

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burma’s “Union Day” marked at NLD headquarters - Khun Sam
AP: Myanmar junta chief accuses foreigners of trying to stir up racial
conflict
AFP: Myanmar condemns 'evil' sanctions
DPA: Myanmar activist highlights mounting corruption on Union Day
AP: Rebel splinter group agrees peace deal in Burma

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Karen women victimized by rights abuses, says new report

DRUGS
Bangkok Post via BBC: Shan rebel leader warns Thailand to prepare for
influx of illicit drugs

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: South Africa president says UN acted illegally on Myanmar
AP: Canada to welcome an additional 2,000 refugees from Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
Sunday Times: India's China, Burma policy and the spurned Gandhian values
- Kuldip Nayar

PRESS RELEASE
88 Generation Students: Message from the 88 Generation Students to the
Sixtieth Anniversary Celebration of the Union Day
KWO: Women directly targeted in Burmese regime's terror campaign in Karen
State

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

February 12, Irrawaddy
Burma’s “Union Day” marked at NLD headquarters - Khun Sam

The Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), an umbrella
organization for opposition groups inside Burma, on Monday marked Union
Day with an appeal to the regime to solve the country’s problems. A Union
Day celebration planned by another group, the United Nationalities
Alliance (UNA), was banned by the regime.

Observances of the anniversary, the 60th, were held at the headquarters in
Rangoon of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for
Democracy. About 800 people attended, including members of the CRPP, the
NLD, the 88 Generation Student Groups and ethnic political leaders,
according to CRPP Secretary Aye Tha Aung

A Union Day statement called on the military regime to honor the spirit of
the Panglong Agreement of 1947, which laid the foundation for modern
Burma. The Panglong Agreement was signed by General Aung San, Aung San Suu
Kyi’s father, along with several ethnic leaders. Monday’s statement also
called for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, NLD Vice-Chairman
Tin Oo, Shan Nationalities League for Democracy Chairman Hkun Tun Oo and
ethnic leaders.

Foreign diplomats, members of the NLD and 88 Generation Student Groups,
veteran politicians and ethnic leaders had been expected to attend a
dinner on Monday night but the regime’s municipal department wrote to the
UNA ordering it to call off the event, according to UNA spokesman Fu Cin
Sian Thang, who is also chairman of the Zomi National Congress. The UNA
comprises eight ethnic-based political parties that ran in the 1990
election

In a phone interview with The Irrawaddy, Aye Tha Aung said: “Although we
say Burma is a union, there is still no physical and ethical form of
union. We need to build a genuine union.

“We need a constitution that respects and protects the rights of every
ethnic people. Only then can we have a genuine democratic union.”

Fu Cin Sian Thang told The Irrawaddy: “It is far from building a genuine
union when we can not even hold a gathering for dinner. These are
obstacles to political resolution.”

____________________________________


February 12, Associated Press
Myanmar junta chief accuses foreigners of trying to stir up racial conflict

Myanmar's military ruler accused "powerful countries" Monday of trying to
divide the Southeast Asian country by stirring up racial conflicts.

The comment by Sen. Gen. Than Shwe has become his annual message to the
nation to mark the anniversary of Union Day, a historic agreement among
the country's ethnic groups that led to independence.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the agreement.

"Certain powerful countries desirous of gaining dominance over the Union
of Myanmar are stirring up racial conflicts to break up national unity and
cause the recurrence of armed conflicts," Than Shwe said in a message
carried in all three state-run newspapers.

He did not name countries specifically, but frequently lashes out at the
United States and other Western nations for imposing political and
economic sanctions on the government. Many countries shun the junta
because of its poor human rights record and its refusal to hand over power
to a democratically elected government.

Union Day commemorates the signing of a 1947 agreement between Gen. Aung
San father of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic
minority leaders throughout the country. The agreement demanded
independence from Britain's colonial rulers. Myanmar, then known as Burma,
won independence in 1948.

However, the agreement failed to end differences between the majority
Myanmar people and the ethnic minorities, and the country has been plagued
for decades by insurgencies.

The current junta emerged in 1988 after violently suppressing mass
pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to
recognize the results after a landslide victory by Suu Kyi's party, the
National League for Democracy.

The NLD held its own ceremony to mark Union Day, marked by a one-man rally
staged by a former political prisoner outside the party's headquarters.

The protester, 60-year-old Ohn Than, called for the 1990 election to be
honored and called for the convening of a parliament with elected
lawmakers.

Ohn Than was released from prison last year after serving two years behind
bars for staging a protest in front of a U.N. office in 2004. Political
rallies are banned in Myanmar.

____________________________________

February 12, Agence France Presse
Myanmar condemns 'evil' sanctions

Military-ruled Myanmar on Monday condemned western countries for imposing
sanctions on the regime, as it marked the 60th anniversary of a key step
toward independence from Britain.

The junta held its celebrations for Union Day for the first time in its
new administrative capital of Naypyidaw, a compound in the mountains of
central Myanmar where most government and military offices moved a year
ago.

The junta leader, Senior General Than Shwe, said in a message read out by
another official that "powerful countries" were interfering in Myanmar's
domestic affairs to weaken the country.

"They are imposing economic sanctions against the nation and interfering
in domestic political affairs to slow down the nation's economic growth,"
the statement said.

"Myanmar still must tackle such evil legacies," it said.

The United States and European nations have imposed a patchwork of
sanctions on Myanmar to press the country to make good on promises of
reform and to release democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But Myanmar escaped action at the UN Security Council last month, when
China, Russia and South Africa vetoed a resolution brought by the United
States.

In his statement, Than Shwe insisted the country would follow its own
seven-step "road map" to democracy to build "a modern and developed nation
with flourishing discipline."

More than three years after announcing the scheme, Myanmar has yet to
complete the first step on its road map -- drafting a new constitution --
prompting western countries to dismiss the process as a farce.

Some 9,000 people, mainly civil servants, gathered for the ceremony in the
grounds of Naypyidaw's new city hall early Monday. The general public is
never invited to such events.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party held its own
ceremony in Yangon to mark the day when Myanmar's main ethnic groups
agreed to pursue independence together, clearing the way for an end to a
century of colonial rule.

About 800 people, including activists and diplomats, attended the ceremony
at the party's rundown headquarters, where they again called for the
release of the detained Nobel peace prize winner.

The military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, has kept Aung San Suu
Kyi under house arrest for most of the last 17 years.

Her NLD party won elections in 1990, but has never been allowed to govern.

____________________________________

February 12, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar activist highlights mounting corruption on Union Day

A prominent Myanmar pro-democracy activist called Monday on the ruling
military regime to consult more with politicians to combat the corruption,
mismanagement, nepotism and opportunism that is crippling the economy.

"I would like to point out four main factors as the causes of the economic
problems in this country: mismanagement, corruption and graft takings,
nepotism and opportunist business persons," said Win Naing, a follower of
former prime minister U Nu, who was toppled by the military in 1962.

Win Naing, 70, is deemed a neutral figure in Myanmar's political scene, in
which the ruling military junta has refused to consult with the
pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Although he has no power base at present, there is speculation that Win
Naing is hoping to build up his popular support for a neutralist stance
between the military and NLD.

His speech Monday marking the 60th celebration of Union Day in Myanmar,
which commemorates the agreement under which Myanmar's ethnic groups were
united for a short time, was attended by more than 200 people. Among them
were NLD members, members of the 88 Generation movement of students who
took part in 1988 pro-democracy protests and representatives from the
French and German embassies.

Win Naing pointed to the "deep-water paddy cultivation project" of four
years ago as a good example of government mismanagement and corruption.

"Billions of kyats were loaned out to many bogus companies who failed to
cultivate anything and never repay their loans," he said. "Nobody dared to
warn the generals that those projects were not feasible."

He pointed out that nepotism and cronyism was inevitable under a
dictatorship. Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. The current
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has ruled the country since
1988 and is likely to continue its rule for several years while a new
constitution is drafted and a promised general election in prepared for
the distant future.

"I now propose to the SPDC government to work on a new directive of 'Work
in consultation with the politicians,'" Win Naing said. "We need that
initiative most urgently to solve poverty problems in our country."

Diplomats attending the speech expressed scepticism that it would prompt
the SPDC to be more consultative with politicians in the future over
economic management.

The SPDC's past record speaks against it. Although the NLD won the general
election of 1990, the military has essentially blocked the party from
power for the past 17 years and refused to seriously discuss power sharing
with its leader Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest in Yangon
since May 2003.

____________________________________

February 12, Associated Press
Rebel splinter group agrees peace deal in Burma - Aye Aye Win

Myanmar announced a peace deal with a splinter group of ethnic Karen
rebels yesterday, though the pact is unlikely to end the fighting that
rights groups say has forced thousands of people to flee their villages.

"The (KNU brigade) led by Brig. Gen. Htein Maung held a peace ceremony at
Htokawhto village in Kawkareik Kawkareik township," an official from the
information ministry said.

The ceremony was attended by Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, a senior member of the
ruling State Peace and Development Council and the head of the country's
southeastern military command Maj. Gen. Thet Naing Win, the official said,
adding that some 7,500 local residents welcomed the rebel group with songs
and dance.

More than 300 rebels dressed in their military uniforms attended the
ceremony, according to state television and radio which broadcast it on
Sunday night.

Speaking at the ceremony, Maung said the peace deal reflects the dreams of
Karen leaders like Saw Ba Oo Gyi and Bo Mya and he blamed external
organizations for the fact that more KNU members had not agreed to accept
the peace deal. He also urged other KNU members to give up their arms.

"Peace can be appreciated by only those who had fought bitter battles,"
said Maung, who has fought government forces since he was 17. "I have
decided to work for peace after realizing that there can be no development
without peace."

According to Irrawaddy magazine, which covers Myanmar, Maung was dismissed
as head of the Karen National Union's 7th Brigade on Jan. 30 for starting
negotiations with the government.

A day later, he formed his splinter group, the Karen National Union/Karen
National Liberation Army Peace Council, and returned with his family and
followers to Htokawhto village in Karen state, where the peace ceremony
took place, the magazine said.

Maung's group is believed to include a few hundred soldiers. The Karen
National Union claims to have 10,000 soldiers.

David Thaw, a spokesman for the Karen National Union in Thailand, said
they still needed to see the details of the agreement. He offered no
information about the ties between the KNU and Maung's splinter group. But
Thaw insisted the peace deal did not include the majority of the KNU and
would not impact fighting on the ground.

"It is not clear what kind of agreement they reached," Thaw said. "But it
will not effect us."

The KNU has been fighting for half a century for greater autonomy from
Myanmar's central government. It is the largest ethnic rebel group and the
only major one which has yet to sign a cease-fire with the junta.
Altogether 17 ethnic armed groups have reached peace agreements with the
junta since 1989.

Cease-fire talks broke down between the KNU and the government 2004, and
the Myanmar army launched a major offensive in Karen State of eastern
Myanmar in 2005. During that time, it has repeatedly tried to entice
elements of the KNU to the bargaining table as part of a campaign to split
up the group.

The Thailand Burma Border Consortium, the main aid agency caring for tens
of thousands of refugees along the Thai-Myanmar frontier, estimates that
in 2006 alone the violence forced 82,000 people to leave their homes.

Since 1996, more than 3,000 villages have been destroyed or abandoned in
eastern Myanmar and more than a million people displaced, according to its
most recent report.

The military has uprooted and abused residents in other ethnic minority
areas such as Shan State as well.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 12, Irrawaddy
Karen women victimized by rights abuses, says new report - Shah Paung

The Burmese military government continues a violent campaign of abuse
against women in Karen State, including rape, torture and forced labor,
according to a report by an ethnic grassroots organization.

Karen women are also used as "human minesweepers and pregnant women have
suffered miscarriages while carrying heavy loads for the army," according
to the report, "State of Terror," released by The Karen Women’s
Organization on Monday.

The organization said it documented more than 4,000 cases of abuse,
including rape, murder, torture and forced labor over the past few years
in more than 190 villages by troops from more than 40 Burmese Army
battalions. Many of the human rights violation were from late 2005 through
2006.

Researcher Blooming Night Zan, who collected information for the report,
said, “It was heart breaking to hear the personal tragedies from the
hundreds of people I interviewed.

"It is unbearable to know this hell is still going on right now, even as
people are doing their best to survive.”

The KWO called for more international pressure to bring about an immediate
nationwide ceasefire and the withdrawal of Burmese troops from ethnic
states.

It also condemned China, Russia and South Africa for their veto of the UN
Security Council Resolution on Burma in early January.

KWO Secretary Zipporah Sein said, “It is equivalent to endorsing the
regime’s terror campaign in Karen State. They [China, Russia and South
Africa] are giving us a death sentence.”

Many of the abuses took place during the ongoing military offensives in
eastern Burma since early 2006, which have displaced more than 25,000
civilians and have forced thousands of refugees to seek safety along the
Thai-Burma border.

____________________________________
DRUGS

February 10, Bangkok Post via BBC Monitoring
Shan rebel leader warns Thailand to prepare for influx of illicit drugs

Thai authorities have been warned to prepare for an influx of illicit
drugs as traffickers in Burma are anxious to rush top-grade heroin to
international markets offering record-high prices, a Shan rebel leader
said. Lt-Col Kornchuen, leader of the Shan State Army's Kengtung Front,
said heroin produced from last year's quality opium crop was fetching the
highest prices in 10 years. A measure of 1.6 kilogrammes was selling at
230,000-250,000 baht, he said.

"I believe as much, or more, heroin than usual will be shipped through
Thailand on the way to international markets. And the heroin will be of
good quality, with a high purity percentage," he said.

Lt-Col Kornchuen gave the warning at the recent celebration of Shan
National Day at Loi Kaw Wan in Burma, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fa Luang
district.

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and the Third Army said
they were bracing for trouble.

Janya Saramatcha, the ONCB's Region 5 director, said China had given
advance notice of its decision to launch a major crackdown on narcotics,
especially in areas bordering Burma and Laos.

China's move - sparked by growing rates of HIV/Aids and drug addiction
there - is expected to drive drug traffickers to concentrate on
international smuggling routes through Thailand instead.

Lt-Col Kornchuen said clandestine drug factories along the Thai-Burmese
border normally begin producing opium derivatives this month, after
farmers harvest their crops in December and January.

Most factories that produce heroin also produce methamphetamine and "ice",
a crystal form of methamphetamine.

Traffickers now insist buyers take heroin as well as yaa baa, as
methamphetamine is locally known, he said.

About 10 kilogrammes of raw opium is needed to produce one kilogramme of
refined heroin.

The ONCB estimates that some 50 tonnes of raw opium was made available for
heroin production last year. The high yield was due to the favourable
weather conditions although the cultivated area was smaller than in the
previous year, sources noted.

The ONCB said it had been working closely with the Thai army to prevent an
influx of narcotics into the country. Authorities launched intensive drug
suppression operations along the Burmese and Lao borders, while keeping a
close eye on foreigners from Taiwan and Japan. The rising demand for "ice"
in both Taiwan and Japan is not being met at the moment, said Mr Janya.

Third Army commander Lt-Gen Chiradet Kacharat said his units, together
with the ONCB and police, had set up checkpoints in 17 northern provinces
to curb drug trafficking across the border.

The interim government has instructed both the ONCB and the Third Army not
to lower their guard. For this reason, both agencies will also employ
full-scale anti-narcotics measures against drug traffickers, Lt-Gen
Chiradet said.

Lt-Col Kornchuen of the Shan State Army (SSA) added that his troops would
always support the drug suppression operations of the Thai authorities.

The SSA earlier arrested several suspected drug traffickers and handed
them over to the Thai army, he said.

Meanwhile, an ONCB source said the war on drugs during the Thaksin
government had left a legacy of legal dilemmas.

Authorities were unable to seize assets of suspects who were arrested
during the crackdowns because many were acquitted for lack of evidence,
the source said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

February 11, Agence France Presse
South Africa president says UN acted illegally on Myanmar

The UN Security Council breached international law by putting a resolution
urging democratic reform in Myanmar on its agenda, South Africa's
President Thabo Mbeki said Sunday.

"The security council has got a specific mandate in terms of the UN
charter," Mbeki said in an interview with the public broadcaster SABC,
defending South Africa's decision to vote with China and Russia against
the US-initiated resolution.

"You can't just wilfully put on the agenda of the Security Council any
matter that you choose and at the same time say we ... demand that
everybody must respect international law and the first body that breaks
international law is the security council. It is wrong."

As a new non-permanent member of the council, South Africa's decision to
vote against the resolution was "very correct", said Mbeki.

"I am sure we will continue to insist ... that the Security Council
functions in a manner within a framework that is defined by international
law. It can't be the first one to break the law and put any matter on the
agenda that it wishes."

China and Russia vetoed last month against a draft Security Council
resolution urging Myanmar's rulers to free all political detainees and end
sexual violence by the military.

South Africa also opposed the text, maintaining the council's mandate was
limited to matters that threaten world peace.

Had the resolution gone ahead, Mbeki said it would have blocked
intervention by the correct forum to deal with such matters: the UN's
Human Rights Council.

"You might be satisfied that you passed some resolution, quite illegally
... but you actually block the possibility of this institution of the UN
to intervene."

Mbeki described South Africa's role on the council as a difficult and
challenging one considering the conflicts in the Middle-East and on the
African continent.

"The principal task of Security Council is international peace and
security. The challenges that we have to respond to as a member are really
quite considerable."

He also called for a specific process or system to be put in place to
discuss the council's restructuring.

The United Nations has estimated there are 1,100 political prisoners in
Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military since 1962 and was formerly
known as Burma.

____________________________________

February 10, Associated Press
Canada to welcome an additional 2,000 refugees from Myanmar

Canada said Friday it welcome an additional 2,000 refugees from Myanmar,
formerly known as Burma, over the next two years.

The refugees are members of a minority ethnic group called Karen, who fled
their country in 1995 after a major offensive by the Burmese army against
the Karen National Union.

They are part of the 140,000 Burmese refugees who have been living in Thai
refugee camps for up to 20 years. In 2006, Canada accepted a first group
of the refugees "have been living under terrible conditions for many
years."

The United Nations has identified Karen refugees in Thailand as a distinct
group with particular vulnerabilities and has called upon the
international community to help in resettling them.

Of 810 Karen refugees that Canada agreed to accept last year, 712 have
already arrived and are settling in cities across the country. Ninety have
settled in London, Ontario, where Finley made the announcement.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 11, Sunday Times (India)
India's China, Burma policy and the spurned Gandhian values - Kuldip Nayar

I was at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan where Nobel laureate
Desmond Tutu was given the Gandhi Peace Prize.

In his acceptance speech he praised Mahatma Gandhi and India for all that
they did for South Africa to win independence. Towards the end of his
speech he said he wanted India to help Tibet get freedom and Aung San Suu
Kyi in Burma (Myanmar) her liberty. He was careful not to mention China in
the first case and the military junta in Burma in the second.

Apparently, Tutu's reference to Tibet, more of wishful thinking,
frightened New Delhi. I saw Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon scurrying
about at the reception which followed the prize function. My hunch is that
he rushed from the nearby foreign office to arrange for an immediate
disclaimer with the concurrence of Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee who
was at the reception.

A short statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said: "It (India)
recognises one China and treats Desmond Tutu's remarks as personal."

Of course, they were personal because he does not officially represent his
country, South Africa. But his remarks reflect certain values with which
India is associated. These are the values which guided Jawaharlal Nehru to
give the Dalai Lama shelter in India, knowing well that it would one day
cost the country dearly.

China's annoyance with India began from that time and the 1962 hostilities
were the fallout. I do not know what was the hurry to issue the
clarification within minutes of Tutu's remarks?

All know India's position. It has stated many a time before, particularly
the pronouncement that it has accepted the suzerainty of China over Tibet.
Beijing knows that New Delhi has never helped Tibet in its struggle which
still continues. Then where was the need for a clarification? It indicates
fear, not an apprehension of misunderstanding. If after striking the
rapprochement, India had to hurry with the disclaimer it means that the
relationship is still one-sided. The release of old papers by China at
this time to allege that India fired the first shot in the 1962 war shows
that Beijing wants masters, not friends.

The Manmohan Singh government should know that Dalai Lama has himself
changed his stand from independence to autonomy. What he wants is autonomy
within China.

The January issue of News from China, an official publication of Beijing,
has described Lhasa as the capital of Tibet, "an autonomous region."

There seems to be some common ground. The talks which the Dalai Lama's
representative is presently holding with China are reportedly on the
question of autonomy, not freedom. Why should India feel nervous if
someone, not even the government's representative, wishes New Delhi to
help Tibet in its struggle for an identity?

In fact, I was impressed by the Dalai Lama's address to the Tibetans at
the Buddhist conference in Delhi the other day. He exhorted them to learn
Chinese, the language which he said they would be using in Tibet.

The Dalai Lama's was a Gandhian approach which China does not appreciate
today but will do so tomorrow.

I am worried about the extent to which New Delhi is going to placate
Beijing on the border question.

National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan said the other day that they were
discussing Arunachal. Where does Arunachal come into the picture? That is
our territory. The Dalai Lama who should know has also testified so in a
recent statement. By all means, we should be flexible in measuring claims
and counter-claims. But we should not entertain claims on the territory
which is ours and beyond question.

In contrast to the clarification on Tibet, New Delhi was mum about the
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Is it because Myanmar is nowhere near
China in power? In fact, Myanmar is wanted more than China to defeat the
hostile Nagas, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and such other
elements operating from Myanmar or near its territory.

Delhi has tried to befriend Myanmar even at the expense of its image.

At one time India was in the forefront of struggle for Aung Kyi's freedom.
She represented democracy and her detention was a challenge to the world's
conscience, so said New Delhi. But now it has changed its tune because the
security forces feel that Myanmar has to be won to quell the insurgency in
the northeast.

Aung Kyi has been dropped like a hot potato and New Delhi's new love is
the military junta in that country. Its top leaders have been invited to
India and given a red carpet reception.

Top Indian officials have gone to Myanmar. Pranab Mukherjee was there
recently and reportedly promised to supply arms to the junta.

It is sad that New Delhi should be doing so in the year when it is
celebrating the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha, an
enunciation of truth and values. Aung Kyi has been suffering all by
herself for years. If there is any country which should have stayed by her
all through, it is India. It is a pity that it has jettisoned her. But
then, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted at the function, "Few of us
have had the courage to practise what Gandhiji preached."

How New Delhi lives in fear is clearer from the observation by America's
envoy to India, David Mulford. He has said that the US will be following
Mukherjee's visit to Iran "with interest" for any violation of its
legislation -- the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act 1996. "They should be
aware of it," Mulford says.

Under the act, the US government is required to penalise any foreign firm
that invests more than $40 million in the energy sector of either country.
Whether or not America does invoke the closure is not pertinent as its
ambassador's statement from the Indian soil itself. We had the British
viceroys when we were ruled by London. Now we have the American
ambassadors who behave like the viceroys when we are our own masters.
Let's watch what the US does now that Mukherjee has visited Tehran.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

February 12, 88 Generation Students
Message from the 88 Generation Students to the Sixtieth Anniversary
Celebration of the Union Day

Today, it is the Sixtieth Anniversary that the Panglong agreement was
signed. The Panglong agreement is the major milestone of Myanmar’s
independence struggle. It signifies a landmark that commemorates the
success that had been achieved among the ethnic nationalities through
dialog. This was not achieved easily. Leaders like Bogyoke Aung San and
the leaders of the ethnic nationalities had to reach an agreement through
compromise regardless of the differences. It was the outcome of
conscientious effort in building trust and among the leaders for the sake
of a wider long term vision. It took many years of struggle by the people
of Myanmar and because of the Panglong agreement that was reached through
dialog that we gained our independence.

The nationalities of Myanmar could reach a common goal, which was
“Independence” through dialog. Only then did we gain our independence and
free ourselves from the yoke of Colonialism. Taking natural course of
dialog the independence leaders had agreed to defer matters for further
discussion on which agreement could not be reached immediately. It was
only through concentrating and working together on the issues that
consensus had been reached that made it possible to work closer on the
more difficult issues that needed time to be resolved. Political problems
were not solved politically but through a one-sided use of force that our
country is backward among the international nations.

History has clearly proven that the use of force in solving political
problems is no remedy for a stable and developed nation. It was this use
of force that made the agreements reached for equality among the
nationalities and the victory of independence achieved through the
Panglong agreement become deplete and null. We strongly urge you today, at
this point of history, when we need to build a “Democratic Union” anew to
nurture the Panglong spirit and Panglong tradition while we focus our
efforts on those points that we have agreed upon and to continue our
efforts to allow room for discussion on matters that will need more time
to resolve.

88 Generation Students
88generation at gmail.com

____________________________________

February 12, Karen Women's Organization
Women directly targeted in Burmese regime's terror campaign in Karen State

State of Terror, a report launched today by the Karen Women's
Organisation, provides graphic evidence of the widespread terror tactics
being employed by the military regime's troops against women across
Burma's Karen State.

As the atrocities continue, the KWO appeals for concerted international
pressure on the regime to bring about an immediate nationwide ceasefire
and withdrawal of Burmese Army troops from the ethnic states.

"We deeply regret the veto by China and Russia and South Africa’s vote
against the UN Security Council Resolution on Burma last month," said KWO
Secretary Naw Zipporah Sein. "It is equivalent to endorsing the regime’s
terror campaign in Karen State. They are giving us a death sentence."

The report documents over 4,000 cases of abuse, including rape, murder,
torture and forced labour, mainly over the past few years, in over 190
villages by troops from over 40 Burmese Army battalions.

Repeated incidents of gang-rape in 2006 reveal that the patterns of
systematic sexual violence exposed by the KWO in their 2004 report
Shattering Silences are still continuing. Harrowing testimony in the
report describes women seeing their children killed before their eyes,
women used as human minesweepers, and pregnant women suffering
miscarriages while carrying heavy loads for the army.

Many of the abuses took place during the ongoing military offensives by
the regime in eastern Burma, which have displaced over 25,000 villagers
during 2006. Blooming Night Zan, who collected information for the report
emphasized that the military offensive was still going on. “It was
heart-breaking to hear the personal tragedies from the hundreds of people
I interviewed. It is unbearable to know this hell still going on right
now, even as people are doing their best to survive. The situation is past
critical. The international community must act now to stop it.”

The full text of the report can be viewed at www.karenwomen.org
For further details, please contact:

Naw Zipporah Sein, tel no +66 81 952 7145
Blooming Night Zan, tel no + 66 81 973 6471
Khiang Mar Kyaw Zaw, tel no +66 85-734-8825

Karen Women's Organization (KWO)
P.O Box 19, Mae Sariang 58110, Thailand
T: 66-53-682752, F: 66-53-621410
Email: kwocentral at tttmaxnet.com, Website: www.karenwomen.org