BurmaNet News, February 21, 2007

[Editor]

February 21, 2007 Issue # 3146

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: SPDC-CNF ceasefire talks to commence in March
Khonumthung News: Oppression in Chin state force people to abandon homeland
Irrawaddy: KIO seeking timber export rights from China
Mizzima: KIO keeps eye on government troop movement

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Opposition holds strategic meeting
Irrawaddy: Karen peace broker to open a clinic in Myawaddy

REGIONAL
Nation: The search goes on for Burmese tsunami victims
AP: Amid uproar, Malaysia backs away from proposal to confine foreign workers

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INSIDE BURMA

February 21, Mizzima News
SPDC-CNF ceasefire talks to commence in March - Nem Davies

Preliminary talks for a ceasefire between the Chin National Front (CNF)
and the Burmese military junta are likely to kick start in March,
according to sources close to CNF.

An officer of the rank of a military commander would be involved in the
first round of meetings with delegates from the CNF in Harkhar or Kalaymyo
in Chin State .

The CNF has been active in the trijunction of the Burma India and
Bangladesh border and is fighting for self-determination. It offered to
hold talks, to be mediated by Reverend Chawn Kio, the former general
secretary of the Harkhar-based Zomi Baptist Convention. However, it is not
clear yet whether the military junta will accept the offer to hold talks
in March despite the CNF gearing up for it.

Burma watchers speculate that unofficial talks are possible soon.

Win Min, a Thailand-based military analyst said, "The talks are possible.
The SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) wants to show the
international community that they are doing everything to negotiate with
the armed ethnic groups."

The outcome of the March talks would pave the way for the CNF towards a
cease-fire with the junta.

The CNF was formed by students of the Chin ethnic nationalities after the
military brutally cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators nationwide
in 1988.

____________________________________

February 21, Khonumthung News
Oppression in Chin state force people to abandon homeland

About 50,000 Chin people have abandoned their homeland and taken refuge in
foreign countries in the past year to escape unabated oppression by a
brutal military regime in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

The army is still forcing people from Chin state to work on road and army
camp construction, carrying army rations without paying them and
confiscating land in Chin state. As a result, people started to flee their
homeland, said a source from the government department in Chin state.

Besides, the economic crisis a result of mismanagement by the military
rulers have made people struggle for their livelihood. This has also
contributed to their leaving Chin state.

A survey in 2006 showed the population of Chin state to be around 538,000.
But the figure in Chin state has come down to 479,000, according to
records in January 2007.

A government employees from Hakha Township, capital of Chin state said
that the percentage of people who have died is marginal in the record. The
figures show that most have migrated to foreign countries and other states
in Burma.

"There are no other options for a career except farming in Chin state.
Now, forced labour and recruitment of child soldiers is the main
occupation of Chin people. In a condition like this nobody wants to stay
in Chin state," he added.

Sources from Chin state stressed that educated persons are not able to get
a good job while relatives of military personnel get privileges and well
paid jobs.

"There is no development at all in Chin state," he added.

Chin people, on a daily basis, are facing not only forced labour but also
extortion and have to pay high taxes for house construction and
agricultural production.

Chin people who left their homeland due to oppression by the junta are
taking shelter in neighboring countries such as India, Thailand, Malaysia
and have been resettled to third countries like USA, Canada, Australia,
Sweden, and Denmark among others under UNHCR's resettlement programme.

After the military regime grabbed power in 1988, the junta began a crack
down on Chin pro-democracy activists and expanded military presence in
Chin state resulting in forced labour and human rights abuses.

____________________________________

February 21, Irrawaddy
KIO seeking timber export rights from China - Khun Sam

The Kachin Independence Organization, Burma’s northern-based ethnic
ceasefire group, is seeking timber export rights to China, according to a
KIO senior official.

China closed its border to timber imports at the request of the Burmese
government in May 2006, leading to a drop in KIO timber export revenue,
said Lt-Col Nuk Gan, deputy in charge of the KIO’s economic department.

“We are seeking ways to have some kind of agreement for border timber
trade,” he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. Nuk Gan is now in Jiegong, a
border town of China’s Yunnan Province, to discuss the timber issue with
Chinese border authorities.

The Burmese government's initiative to block the sale of illegal logging
to China appears to have had its desired effect on the KIO, which relies
on logging in areas under its control as a source of revenue to fund its
operations.

“After China closed, we have lost a lot," Nuk Gan said. "Not just us, but
also businessmen who have cooperated with us. They have lost the logs that
they had already cut down, because the Chinese side stopped accepting our
logs.”

“They (the junta) want to block this business for us because they know we
gain revenue. Now they want this business (logging) to go their way,” he
said. “The main aim is to cut off our revenue sources so that we become
weak.”

Last week, about 40 logging trucks and 42 Chinese were arrested in an
operation by the Burmese Army in the N’Ba Pa area in southern Kachin
State, reportedly as they were enroute to an illegal crossing point into
Yunnan Province. Nuk Gan confirmed the arrested loggers held a KIO
concession to export timber.

For more than a decade, Chinese companies have engaged in widespread
logging in Burma’s northern forests. In 2005, more than 1.5 million cubic
meters of Burmese timber was imported by China, a dominant player in the
global timber market—worth an estimated US $350 million. Much of the
logging was illegal, done either by the Burmese military or ethnic groups,
according to a report by London-based Global Witness.

The environmental watchdog last year said the government's crackdown on
the illegal timber trade may be aimed less at preserving Burmese forests
than undermining ethnic groups that derive income from timber taxes.

____________________________________

February 21, Mizzima News
KIO keeps eye on government troop movement - Ko Dee

The Kachin Independence Organisation has been keeping a beady eye on more
and more government troop deployment in Kachin state to launch operations
against illegal loggers.

Ten battalions under the northern military command and the north east
military command have been deployed since February 16 near the cease-fire
Kachin ethnic armed group controlled area.

"We have been talking unofficially on this till now. If there is an
unusual situation reported by our troops close to them, we will talk
officially. We don't have any thing to say if they are only going to fight
illegal loggers," said Guan Maw, the KIO spokesperson.

The government troops arrested 19 Chinese citizens, seized 45 mules, 40
trucks and more than 100 tons of timber in its operations since February
16.

However, military observers and Burma watchers speculate that the junta is
pressurising the KIO.

Mya Maung, a military observer residing on the China-Burma border said
that the military is not only pressing the KIO but the northern military
commander Major General Ohn Myint is creating an opportunity for his
brother-in-law's firm, the Aung Paing timber trading company.

The Aung Paing Company has permission to buy the lots of confiscated
timber from the government.

The editor of the Kachin News Group, Naw Ding said "the SPDC (State Peace
and Development Council) is pressing the KIO in military terms. You know
the National Convention is on and the SPDC is pressuring KIO to agree to
what they want at the NC."

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

February 21, Shan Herald Agency for News
Opposition holds strategic meeting

As opposition politicians and activists gather on the Thai-Burma border to
revise their strategy in a three-day meeting that begins today, a number
of Burma-watchers in Thailand have expressed their desire to see a unified
opposition with a "realistic" program.

All veteran security officials agree that the opposition "doesn't have a
Chinaman's chance" of presenting itself as a better alternative to the
ruling military dictatorship, unless they resolve their differences and
come up with a practical agenda for the regional community including
China. "Nobody likes the (Burmese) junta much," said one. "But the
opposition leaves us with no choice."

The main contention among the opposition appears to be between two
groupings: National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) and Ethnic
Nationalities Council (ENC), led by Gen Tamalabaw and Padoh Ba Thin
respectively. Both are from the Karen National Union (KNU).

The problem, according to one observer, is that while both are against the
ruling military council and are for a democratic federated Burma, the NCUB
is following a hard line: regime change or none, with the ENC pursuing a
softer line: tripartite dialogue between the military, National League for
Democracy (NLD) and the ethnic nationalities.

Other differences, they say, include:

The NCUB is calling for increased sanctions against military Burma and
campaigning against China, Russia and all nations that befriend the
military rulers. The ENC meanwhile has welcomed international humanitarian
assistance and adopting a 'constructive engagement policy' towards the
said countries.

"The longer the struggle is against each other," one elder official warns,
"the longer the people of Burma suffer. I hope they won't forget that."

The NUCB, whose members include NLD members, was formed in 1996, while the
ENC, claiming to speak for all seven ethnic states, came into being in
2001. The former is backed by Maung Maung of Federation of Trade Unions of
Burma (FTUB) and the latter by Harn Yawnghwe of Euro Burma Office (EBO).

____________________________________

February 21, Irrawaddy
Karen peace broker to open a clinic in Myawaddy - Shah Paung

A Karen peace broker and famous neurosurgeon, Dr Simon Tha, is to build a
clinic in the Burmese border town of Myawaddy, opposite Mae Sot in
Thailand’s Tak province.

The Japanese government is to finance the project with a grant of US
$78,106, made available through Japan’s Grassroots Grant Assistance
Scheme.

Simon Tha has been involved in ceasefire talks between the Karen National
Union and the Burmese government since late 2003 and has taken part in
sessions of the National Convention. He is chairman of the Karen
Development Committee.

A respected doctor, he treated the late Karen leader Gen Bo Mya, who
achieved a “gentleman’s” truce agreement with the government in January,
2004. He last treated Gen Myo in July, 2006.

The contract to build the clinic was signed by Simon Tha and the deputy
chief of mission of Japan’s Rangoon embassy, Tetsuro Amano. Simon Tha
signed in his capacity as chairman of the Myawaddy Clinic Construction
Committee.

The clinic will have 40 beds, an outpatient department, and X-ray and
laboratory facilities. “Initially, the clinic will be able to address the
needs relating to general medical and surgical, obstetric and gynecology
and pediatric,” said a Japanese embassy statement.

Simon Tha operated a mobile clinic serving needy patients in rural areas,
including Myawaddy. He has two clinics in Rangoon, and works part time at
several private clinics in the former Burmese capital, including the
Sunshine Clinic, owned by Karen businessmen.

____________________________________

February 21, The Asian Age
Burma, India joint ops on rebel flushout - Manoj Anand

Guwahati: The Burmese government has agreed to launch a joint offensive
with the Indian Army to flush out the camps of Indian insurgent groups
from their territory.

Disclosing this to this newspaper, highly-placed sources in the home
ministry said that the Indian delega-tion, led by Union home secretary
V.K. Duggal, has succeeded in impressing upon the Burmese government to
launch a Bhutan-like military offensives to drive out the Indian insurgent
groups operating from the terrain of Burma. "The Indian delegation had a
detailed discussion with the minister for home affairs, Major General
Maung Oo," sources said.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

February 21, The Nation
The search goes on for Burmese tsunami victims - Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

When the tsunami pounded the Andaman coast two years ago, thousands of
Burmese migrant workers lived along the coast in Thailand's southern
provinces.

The giant waves wiped out thousands and forced families left behind to
consider another fate.

Two years on, Ma Hla Tin is still searching for her younger sister's body.

Ma Hla Tin's sister, 23yearold Ma Ye Ye Hla had arrived in Baan Nam Khem
just one day before the tsunami. She was working in a snooker club near
the village market when the tsunami came and carried her away.

Ma Hla Tin is awaiting the result of a DNA test to find out if it matches
with a corpse kept at the morgue with unidentified bodies of tsunami
victims.

Like thousands of Burmese workers who lost their registration cards along
with their jobs in the tsunami, Ma Hla Tin has now become an
"undocumented" migrant worker in Thailand.

"I lost my registration card during the tsunami. I don't even have a
photocopy of my card. Even if I get a chance to renew my card, I do not
have enough money at the moment to pay the fee for it," she said.

Ma Hla Tin's story - and that of other Burmese migrant workers - were
revealed to the public at a recent seminar on "The fate of Burmese migrant
workers two years after the tsunami", held at Chulalongkorn University.

No one knows exactly how many people died when the huge waves swept
through, but only 193 bodies were identified as Burmese. And only 12
families of Burmese victims have received compensation - Bt20,000 each -
from the Labour and Social Welfare Ministry for the loss of their loved
ones.

"There were another 40 families waiting for corpses because they needed
more documents to prove that the bodies were their relatives," said Nassir
Achwarin, coordinator of the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma
(TACDB), which helped the Thailand Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI)
centre set up a database for DNA tests.

There are still 399 unidentified bodies at Bang Maruan morgue in
PhangNga's Takua Pa district, said Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri,
superintendent of the TTVI's Thai Disaster Victim Identification Unit.

The Interior Ministry said there were 73,284 Burmese workers registered to
work in Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun - before the
tsunami hit.

The TACDB also released its report, titled "Helpless Before and After the
Waves: The Plight of Burmese Migrant Workers in the Andaman Tsunami" at
the seminar.

The report exposes stories of the forgotten victims, such as Ma Su Su Moe
who returned to work at Koh Karan in Phangnga province and is still
searching for her husband's body.

Ma Su Su Moe, 25, worked at a seafood restaurant, and her husband worked
at a construction site when the waves took him away. After losing her
husband and registration card, Ma Su Su Moe returned to Burma but decided
later to risk returning to Thailand as an undocumented migrant worker.

"Our son is now six years old and he lives with my mother in Burma. Before
my husband died, we were able to send money back home. But now I don't
have enough savings to send anything back," the young widow said.

Thousands of Burmese migrant workers have returned to areas where they
worked before that fateful day, and their plight continues.

"But even with all the problems we have here in Thailand, it's still
better living in Burma," said Ma Hla Tin, who was deported back to Burma
along with other 300 migrant workers after the tsunami.

She is now earning a living in Baan Nam Khem - the small fishing that was
swampy by the tsunami. She gets Bt5 for each artificial flower she makes.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Ma Poe Poe decided not to return to Burma even
though she lost her mother and elder sister in the tsunami.

"I think that all Burmese workers really want to go back but the problem
is there are no jobs in Burma. One person working in Thailand makes enough
money to feed four of five people in Burma," she said.

With help from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Ma Poe
Poe found and cremated her sister's body. She is still waits with hope
that she will find her mother.

Note: The report "Helpless Before and After the Wave: The Plight of
Burmese Migrant Workers in the Andaman Tsunami" is available at TACDB.
Call 022164463 or email <tacdb at ksc.th.com> for a copy.

_____________________________________

February 21, Associated Press
Amid uproar, Malaysia backs away from proposal to confine foreign workers
- En-Lai Yeoh,

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's government backed away Wednesday from a proposal
to confine foreign workers to their liv-ing quarters, acknowledging that
such a drastic move would have "implications."

"The government hasn't taken a position on it yet," Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Razak told reporters.

Foreign laborers in Malaysia and human rights groups were up in arms
following news reports over the weekend that Home Minister Radzi Sheikh
Ahamad intended to propose a bill next month calling for confinement of
some 2.5 million foreign workers.

"We will have to study the implications. If we have to do something
drastic then we will consider all implications," Najib said.

Malaysia's police Chief Musa Hassan said last week that the proposal was
meant to curb crime by monitoring the activities of foreign workers and
restricting their movements. He said 5,000 crimes were committed by
foreigners last year from a total of about 230,000.

Musa said that under the proposed legislation, foreign laborers would not
be allowed to leave their homes unless they register, and their employers
will be responsible for their movements.
Najib played down the implications of Musa's comments, saying this was
just "a suggestion by the chief of police. He must be very concerned about
some of the crimes committed by foreign workers in this country."

Malaysia has long attracted migrants, many fleeing poverty, from Southeast
and South Asian countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and
China. Many of them end up doing menial work spurned by locals on
plantations and in the construction industry.

But foreign workers, mostly Indonesians, are also blamed for crime and
social problems. The government has said about 1.8 million foreigners work
legally in Malaysia, while another 700,000 do not have proper papers.

There has been no reaction from the governments of the countries that send
foreign laborers. Indian officials, speaking privately, said they can't
react to news reports and would have to wait to see the proposed
legislation.

In a statement, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the proposed new
legislation would violate the workers' right to freedom of movement and
put them at risk for other abuses.

"Instead of improving the situation, Malaysia's proposed foreign worker
bill will make it dramatically worse," said Nisha Varia, senior researcher
on women's rights in Asia for Human Rights Watch. "Its shocking that
Malaysia is even considering a proposal that would give employers freedom
to lock up workers."

Amnesty International noted that since only 2 percent of crimes committed
last year were by foreign workers, "this proposal to link the escalation
of crime with foreign workers seems to amount to racial profiling."

"It will instill fear and distrust within the migrant community, making
them less likely to cooperate with criminal investigations or to seek
police protection when victimized."