BurmaNet News, March 1, 2007

[Editor]

March 1, 2007 Issue # 3152


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: ICRC to close down two field offices in Burma
DVB: Politicians praise military for positive steps
Irrawaddy: Burmese 'Academy Awards' ceremony forced to move to Naypidaw

HEALTH / AIDS
AP: UN assists Myanmar in dealing with latest bird flu outbreak

DRUGS
Xinhua: Poppy cultivation in Myanmar continues to drop in 2006: INCB

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN foreign ministers to hold first charter meeting
Japan Economic Newswire: ASEAN to hold commemorative summits with U.S., EU

REGIONAL
Narinjara News: Burma attends copyright roundtable in Bhutan
AP via Irrawaddy: Arrests of refugees from Burma in Malaysia condemned
Mizzima: India doubles development aid to Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Financial Times: South Africa shrugs off criticism over Burma stance
Bangkok Post: ILO efforts to combat forced labour in Burma 'unrealistic'

OPINION / OTHER
South China Morning Post: Now, Asia must tackle Myanmar - Ian Holliday and
Diana Tsui

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 1, Mizzima News
ICRC to close down two field offices in Burma – Mungpi

The International Committee of the Red Cross has announced it will close
down two of its field offices in Burma as part of its reduction in the
organization's set-up in the country. This is in response to strict
restrictions imposed by the ruling junta.

Thierry Ribaux, deputy head delegation in Rangoon, said the ICRC
considered closing down two field offices in Kengtung and Moulmein
following the junta's indication that the ICRC abide by the new
regulations, during a discussion on February 9.

"We have no other choice but to reduce our set-up by withdrawing two of
the five field offices," Ribaux said.

In February 2006, the junta issued a new regulation for UN agencies and
international humanitarian aid organisations. The new guideline imposed
severe restrictions to independent functioning of the groups resulting in
the withdrawal of some.

In October 2006, the Burmese government ordered the ICRC to close down
five of its field offices in Mandalay, Moulmein of Mon State, Pa-an of
Karen State, Taunggyi and Kengtung of Shan State but later in December
allowed it to re-open.

But Ribaux said work in the field offices has been restricted and the
field offices operate only to support physical rehabilitation programmes,
support to Myanma Red Cross Society and support to families of detainees.

"All activities are put on hold and the field offices are idle but these
two offices in Keng Tung and Moulmein are even idler than the other
offices since they don't bring support to the remaining activities."

The Burmese junta in December 2005 restricted the ICRC from continuing its
prison visits, which the organisation has been making since 1999, when the
ICRC refuse to allow a junta-backed civil organisation to join their
prison visits.

The ICRC said as a consequence of the government's restrictions that put
all activities on hold, the organisation is forced to cut down its support
staff.

"Indeed we will have to cut-off our staff. For expatriate staff members,
they will probably be re-assigned somewhere else and we have Myanmar staff
who will be cut-off," said Ribaux, declining to mention the number of
staff to be cut-off.

The ICRC, however, said it is still hoping to continue the dialogue with
the junta and welcomes negotiation to enable the organisation to resume
work independently.

____________________________________

March 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Politicians praise military for positive steps

Two veteran politicians in Rangoon praised the Burmese military yesterday
over their handling of several political situations in the past month.

Thakin Chan Tun and Amyotharyay U Win Naing told DVB that the Burmese
government’s decision to release nine detained protestors, sign a new
agreement with the International Labour Organization and allow peaceful
political prayer campaigns should be welcomed.

Amyotharyay U Win Naing said the three steps made by the military were
extremely positive.

“Some people say that you must regard these as laughable actions. The
actions coincide with the visit of a national council member from China
and some people claim that they were done with the instructions of the
Chinese,” Amyotharyay U Win Naing said.

“Whether they did it on the instruction from somewhere or with their own
conscience, I accept [these steps] as positive as they are good progress,”
he said.

Thakin Chan Tun said the government’s apparent decision to leave the group
of regular Tuesday prayer campaigners alone after months of intimidation
was a small sign of progress.

He also said that while the nine protestors arrested after a demonstration
in Rangoon last week should never have been detained in the first place,
the government’s decision to release them should be praised.

“By looking at these points, can’t we say that there are some prospects
for progress?”

But both Thakin Chan Tun and Amyotharyay U Win Naing said the Burmese
military had a long way to go to prove that they were willing to allow
political freedom in Burma. The government continues to refuse to release
political prisoners in the country and denies the opposition the right to
campaign.

“I am not saying that all the problems are cleared and we will have
nothing else to do. In fact, although the release is good, we will not be
able to solve the root of the problems,”
Amyotharyay U Win Naing said.

“If there are no further positive actions from the authorities, then there
will be little benefit to these actions.”

____________________________________

March 1, Irrawaddy
Burmese 'Academy Awards' ceremony forced to move to Naypidaw - Khun Sam

Burma's equivalent of  the Academy Awards will be held in Naypidaw, the
new Burmese capital, and stars and movie industry workers will be required
to attend the event on March 5, following an official government request.

Burmese authorities have told the Myanmar Motion Picture Association to
bring at least 600 movie industry people to Naypidaw to attend the award
ceremony.

“They (authorities) say we must all attend the ceremony," an industry
source told The Irrawaddy "on Thursday.  "If you can not, you must provide
a sensible reason.”

Since 1952, the Burmese version of the Oscars has traditionally been held
in Rangoon, the former capital, usually during the last week of December.
This year, authorities first said the awards would be held in Naypidaw on
January 6, but that date was postponed to March 5, reportedly due to
unfinished construction work and worries that fewer people would
participate.

Myanma Ahlin, a state-run newspaper, on Thursday said fans and stars are
eager to know who has won awards, but many people in the movie industry
who live in Rangoon are unhappy about the long journey (about 400
kilometers), and they say facilities there are not as good as in Rangoon.

“Authorities will arrange transportation for stars and actors," the source
said. "They will have to leave Rangoon around 2 a.m. on March 5 and will
have to return to Rangoon as soon as the ceremony is finished that
evening.”

A Rangoon-based movie director, who requested anonymity, said he had no
option but to go, because he feared authorities would retaliate and harm
his career.

“I don’t want to go, but for me as a director I have to show my face," he
said. "Otherwise, I could be in trouble with my job in the future. It's
always been like that.”

 According to sources, besides film industry people, the junta reportedly
plans to bring about 400 members of the government-back social
organization, the Union Solidarity Development Association, to Naypidaw
to attend the ceremony.

Burma had 16 feature films released in 2005. Rumors circulate that
corruption and bribery are factors in the awards, involving nominees and
government authorities.

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 1, Xinhua General News Service
Poppy cultivation in Myanmar continues to drop in 2006: INCB

Yangon: Illicit opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar continued to drop in
2006 despite increase of such cultivation in southern and eastern parts of
Shan state of the country, said a report of the International Narcotics
Control Board (INCB) released here Thursday.

The total area under illicit opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar fell to
21,500 hectares in 2006, the INCB said in its report for the year.

The drop corresponds to a reduction of 34 percent from 32,800 hectares in
2005 as reported earlier by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The INCB report also said seizure of ephedrine in Myanmar increased
significantly to 1,283 kilograms (kg) in 2006.

The report underlined that in January 2006, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force
of Myanmar seized a large amount of methamphetamine tablets, worth of a
street value of 10 million U.S. dollars, in Tachilek, a border town of
Myanmar with Thailand near the Mekong.

With regard to combating money laundering, the report said the  Financial
Action Task Force on Money Laundering welcomed the progress made by the
Myanmar government in reforming its program  for countering money
laundering and urged the Myanmar government  to continue its efforts in
that direction.

The INCB urged the Myanmar government to continue its efforts to achieve
the goal of complete eradication of illicit drug production as set out in
its own 15-year national plan running from 1999 to 2014.

According to Myanmar disclosure, during 2006, the authorities exposed a
total of 2,848 drug-related cases, punishing a total of 4,360 people,
including 801 women. The year's seizure included 192. 33 kg of heroin,
2,311.34 kg of opium and 1,370.83 kg of brown  opium, 1,287.45 kg of
ephedrine and 72.73 kg of marijuana as well  as more than 19 million
stimulant tablets

As part of its drug control efforts during 2006, the Myanmar authorities
burned up seized narcotic drugs for three times -- two in Kyaingtong of
Shan state and one in Yangon.

Statistics show that 4,151.18 hectares of poppy cultivation were destroyed
during 2005-06 poppy growing season, 165.86 hectares more than in 2004-05.
The latest figures also revealed that 775.37 hectares of poppy plantations
in the country have so far been destroyed in the 2006-07 poppy growing
season.

Myanmar declared three regions of Mongla, Kokang and Wa as poppy-free
zones in 1997, 2003 and 2005 respectively.

____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

March 1, Associated Press
UN assists Myanmar in dealing with latest bird flu outbreak

Yangon: The United Nations is helping Myanmar cope with a new outbreak of
bird flu that was discovered on a poultry farm on the outskirts of its
largest city, Yangon, officials said Thursday.
Myanmar's livestock ministry informed the U.N. Food and Agriculture
Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health on Wednesday
that the department had detected the H5N1 virus in a western suburb of
Yangon.

Tang Zang Ping, the FAO representative in Myanmar, said the U.N. agency is
assisting in isolating poultry farms, disinfecting them and slaughtering
birds.

Myanmar authorities, meanwhile, placed a temporary three-week ban on the
sale and movement of poultry in three townships in the area of the
outbreak, said Than Hla, a senior official in Myanmar's livestock
ministry.

Authorities also slaughtered more than 1,500 chickens and ducks near the
outbreak, he said.
Myanmar officials say the latest outbreak has affected chickens, ducks and
pullets, killing 68 birds.

Myanmar's last reported an H5N1 outbreak among poultry in March last year.
The disease has killed at least 167 people worldwide since it began
ravaging Asian poultry farms in late 2003, according to the World Health
Organization.

Myanmar has reported no human H5N1 cases. Neighboring Thailand has
reported 25 human infections, including 17 deaths. Laos, another neighbor,
on Tuesday reported its first confirmed human case.

The victim, a 15-year-old girl from the capital, Vientiane, is being
treated in a hospital in northeastern Thailand.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 1, Agence France Presse
ASEAN foreign ministers to hold first charter meeting

Cambodia: ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to hold their first talks
at the weekend on an unprecedented charter seen as crucial for shoring up
the bloc's credibility, Cambodian officials said Thursday.

A task force charged with putting together a final charter that would
transform the group into a rules-based organisation along the lines of the
European Union will wrap up discussions later in the day, said Kao Kim
Hourn, a secretary of state with Cambodia's foreign ministry.
The working group will then brief foreign ministers ahead of the start of
their two-day meeting Friday, he told AFP.

"This is a significant document for ASEAN," he said, without elaborating
on the task force's progress.

"It is very important because it will take ASEAN into the future -- it
will provide a legal identity, and empower and strengthen ASEAN even
more," he added.

Kao Kim Hourn said the task force was expected to have a draft charter
completed by October, to be discussed by ASEAN leaders the following
month.

According to the blueprint adopted at last month's ASEAN summit,
traditional decision-making by consensus would be retained wherever
possible, but members would vote on issues if agreement could not be
reached.

Serious breaches of the charter would empower leaders to impose sanctions
including suspension or expulsion in extreme cases, but it is unclear
whether the eventual agreement will go that far.

Some analysts question whether the plan is too ambitious to become a
reality, especially given the group's history of operating by consensus
and staying out of each other's affairs.

The bloc has come in for strong criticism for its "softly, softly"
approach to military-ruled Myanmar, the most troublesome member of the
10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

While nations bristled at a US bid for UN Security Council pressure on
Myanmar -- an attempt blocked by China and Russia -- ASEAN has at the same
time been unable to get the regime to move forward on democ-racy and human
rights.

Kao Kim Hourn said Myanmar was not on the agenda of the foreign minister's
meeting, which is being held in the Angkor temple town of Siem Reap.

"It is not time to deliberate on that issue -- (Myanmar) is not on the
agenda," he said.

ASEAN, which was founded in 1967, groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________

March 1, Japan Economic Newswire
ASEAN to hold commemorative summits with U.S., EU

Cambodia: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold its
first-ever summits with the United States and the European Union
separately later this year, ASEAN officials said Thursday.

Both summits are to commemorate the 30th year of dialogue relations
between ASEAN and the United States and between ASEAN and the European
Union, the officials said on condition of anonymity.

The United States and the European Union have agreed in principle to have
the commemorative summits. Detailed schedules will be worked out later,
they said.

The ASEAN-U.S. commemorative summit is likely to be held in September in
Singapore after U.S. President George W. Bush attends an Asia-Pacific
summit in Sydney, while the ASEAN-EU commemorative summit may be held
either in October or November, the officials said.

However, Myanmar will not be represented by its head of government at
either summit, they said. The United States and the European Union have
accused the military government of its human rights violation and
undemocratic rule.

The foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN member states began a two-day
informal meeting Thursday in Siem Reap, Cambodia's northern city known for
the Angkor Wat. They are expected to discuss the two summits as well as a
possible similar commemorative summit with Canada.

They are also expected to discuss the drafting of the ASEAN constitution.
The ASEAN charter will serve as a firm foundation to achieve a Southeast
Asian community by providing "an enhanced institutional frame-work as well
as conferring a legal personality" to the regional grouping.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
REGIONAL
February 28, Narinjara News
Burma attends copyright roundtable in Bhutan

Representatives of the Burmese military regime attended a two-day a
sub-regional roundtable on copyright and related issues in Bhutan on
February 27and 28, according to a Burmese official.

Participants from Afghanistan, Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Pakistan, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Sri Lanka and Bhutan
attended the meeting in Paro, Bhutan.

Organized by the Intellectual Property Division of the Trade Ministry in
cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Rights, the roundtable
participants discussed challenges faced by developing countries such as
Bhutan in the establishment of collective management societies for more
effective enforcement of copyright and related rights, the official said.

The meeting looked at international copyright and related rights regime in
the light of new developments and general trends, issues, and prospects
for collective management in Asia and the Pacific.

Participants also presented country reports on their current status and
future needs in establishing collective management  societies. Bhutan
presented a paper on its national experiences with copyright issues.

____________________________________

March 1, Associated Press via Irrawaddy
Arrests of refugees from Burma in Malaysia condemned

A rights group condemned on Thursday what it called the indiscriminate
arrests of refugees and asylum seekers as Malaysia's immigration
department intensifies crackdowns on illegal immigrants.

In the latest raid Wednesday, immigration officers and members of the
civilian volunteer force RELA detained 50 ethnic Chins from Burma, in a
suburb outside Kuala Lumpur, Suaram said in a statement.

The detained included children and 13 people certified as refugees by the
UN refugee agency. The raid was the fifth so far this year in which
UN-certified refugees and asylum seekers have been detained.

Home Affairs Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad maintains the government doesn't
accept the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Refugee's powers and that
the agency was making it difficult for officials to crackdown on illegal
immigrants.

A total of 319 illegal immigrants, mostly Chins, were rounded up in the
previous four raids including 73 UN-certified refugees and 34 asylum
seekers, Suaram said. "Suaram condemns the continuing acts of arrest and
detention of refugees and asylum seekers, which have been more frequent
since the beginning of 2007," it said.

It also slammed the use of untrained RELA personnel in the raids. "We call
on the Immigration Department to stop this form of indiscriminate arrest
and detention of asylum seekers and refugees immediately before it puts
Malaysia in further disrepute with the international community," it added.

_____________________________________

March 1, Mizzima News
India doubles development aid to Burma - Syed Ali Mujtaba

India has nearly doubled its development aid to Burma, from Rs. 44.57
crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 80.41 crore in 2007-08. The Union Finance Minister
P. Chidambaram announced this in Parliament on Wednesday.

"The development aid to Myanmar has been increased from Rs. 44.57 crore to
Rs. 80.41 crore in the current fiscal year," Mr Chidambaram, read out from
his report in the section, India's assistance to different countries.

India recently provided Burma a soft loan of US $ 10 million at an annual
interest of 2.5 percent to cover the expenses of its share of the Kaladan
multi-modal transport project connecting Burma's Sittwe and Kaletwa ports
with Mizoram. The estimated cost of the project is pegged at Rs 545.85
crore.

Earlier, India and Burma had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)
under which New Delhi had made available a line of credit of US $ 56
million to Burma to facilitate building a modern railway utility along the
north-western and central flanks of the country.

India has also provided Burma with soft loan for the construction of a
road from its border to connect it to National Highway 54. The estimated
cost of the project stands at Rs 315.1 crore.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 1, Financial Times
South Africa shrugs off criticism over Burma stance - Alec Russell

When South Africa proudly took up a seat on the United Nations Security
Council in January for the first timein its history, it lost little time
in marking itself outas a serious, self-confident and assertive player on
the world stage.

It also lost little time in irking some of its western allies. In its
first significant vote, it joined China and Russia in opposing a
US-sponsored resolution to censure Burma over its repressive record.

As the junta in Rangoon gloated, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel peace
laureate, led condemnation of the vote. "It is a betrayal of our own noble
past," he said. "It is inexplicable."

Stung by criticism from across the political spectrum, South African
officials say they failed to explain their position. They insist they were
not condoning the junta's abuses. Rather they argue that they were making
a technical point aimed at reining in the powers of the Security Council.

For diplomats, however, the Burma vote crystallised the impression that
South Africa is increasingly keen to distance itself from the US and to a
lesser extent, the west, on a series of issues, and to promote the idea of
a multi-polar world.

"South Africa is being very vocal about positioning itself as leader of
the developing world rather than the patsy of the developed world," said
one European diplomat. "It is hard to see why they voted that way [on
Burma] but part of what was happening was a reluctance to be aligning
themselves with the US."

South African officials argue the vote was linked to their long-held
desire to rein in the Security Council, and stop it both encroaching on
the territory of other UN bodies, and also becoming the plaything of the
permanent five powers, in particular America, France and Britain.

In their view, Burma should have been an issue for the UN Human Rights
Council to consider rather than the Security Council.

"We did not, as a government, educate the people of South Africa enough
about how the UN functions. That is why we got the [hostile] reaction,"
George Nene, the deputy director-general of multilateral affairs, told the
Financial Times. "People should not mistake our vote for support [of the
junta]. Our vote was a vote of principle, nothing further than that. And
if an issue comes up like that again, we will vote accordingly."

South Africa, which aspires to a permanent seat on the world body and
assumes the rotating chairmanship today, is shrugging off the criticism.

Mr Nene indicated that Pretoria believes the western powers, in particular
the US, use the Council to impose policies on the rest of the world and
that South Africa will in its remaining 22 months in the Council endeavour
to speak out for the developing world.

"Solutions brought from outside and imposed on a country most often do not
have a long-lasting effect," he said in an implicit reference to Iraq, and
also to attempts by the US and its European allies to lead the Security
Council to impose UN sanctions on Iran.

Elizabeth Sideropoulos, the director of South Africa's Institute of
International Affairs, said Pretoria felt a need to prove its credentials
to the other countries in Africa. South Africa is keen to be seen as the
leader of sub-Saharan Africa but faces scepticism from some of the more
influential African states.

One of the reasons for resisting western calls for a more outspoken stance
towards Zimbabwe is that it does not want to be seen to be working with
the west against an African state.

South Africa has made clear it does not want to be seen to have formally
joined an anti-US camp. Officials stress that they will not be
representing any particular bloc or region on the Security Council.

But unquestionably US/ South African relations are poor. The recent
designation of two South African Muslims on a US terrorist watch list has
fuelled anti-American sentiment in the country.

"There is a sense in South Africa that when things suit the P3 [the US,
Britain and France] they end up in the Security Council," said Ms
Sideropoulos. "The Burma vote partly reflected that sentiment, although we
played our cards poorly and we have lost brownie points.

"South Africa sees the Security Council as a trial run [for possible
permanent membership]. It may create coalitions but it doesn't wish to
paint itself as in any corner. It wants to show that it is independent and
will think for itself."

_____________________________________

March 1, Bangkok Post
ILO efforts to combat forced labour in Burma 'unrealistic' - Penchan
Charoensuthipan

Thai labour experts and non-governmental organisations are sceptical that
a recent memorandum of understanding struck between the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Burmese junta enabling victims of forced
labour to seek redress will deliver results.

The ILO announced on Tuesday that it had reached an understanding with the
Burmese government in which victims of forced labour could now file
complaints with its officer in Rangoon. The ILO officer will then
investigate any alleged abuses and push for concrete action with the
Burmese government, including punishment for perpetrators and redress for
the injured party.

According to the ILO, the understanding also guarantees that no
retaliatory action will be taken against complainants.

However, Kritiya Achavanichkul, director of the Institute for Population
and Social Research of Mahidol University, who monitors the labour
situation in Burma, said that the MoU was impractical. She said forced
labourers would not have the channels or the capability to lodge any
complaints, even if they wanted to.

And despite the ILO's claims that complainants would not face any
repercussions, she said there was no real way of giving assurances that
they and their families would be safe.

Ms Kritiya said she had no idea what the Rangoon government's intentions
were in entering into the agreement.

Pranom Somwong, of the MAP Foundation for the Health and Knowledge of
Ethnic Labour, said non-governmental organisations viewed the MoU as a
joke. The Burmese junta could not guarantee justice and its leadership was
the very cause of forced labour, she said.

The MoU provides that alleged victims of forced labour will have the
freedom to submit complaints to the ILO Liaison Officer in Rangoon. The
officer will then make a confidential assessment as to whether a case
involves forced labour to facilitate an investigation by the Burmese
authorities. The system will be implemented on a 12-month trial basis and
may be extended by mutual agreement.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 1, South China Morning Post
Now, Asia must tackle Myanmar - Ian Holliday and Diana Tsui

In Myanmar, tomorrow will be quietly remembered as the 45th anniversary of
a 1962 coup that abruptly halted the country's 14-year experiment with
democracy and set in place a system of military-backed government. While
that system was rocked by nationwide pro-democracy protests in 1988, it
did not fall. Rather, the ruling generals reinforced their iron grip on
the country by forming a formal military junta and subjecting Aung San Suu
Kyi and other opposition leaders to lengthy periods of detention that
continue to this day.

This year, the anniversary of the coup falls at a particularly bleak time.
In January, a draft resolution jointly sponsored in the UN Security
Council by the US and Britain was defeated when China and Russia exercised
a double veto. The draft called for Myanmar's generals to make greater
progress towards democracy and national reconciliation, to stop attacking
ethnic minorities inside the country, and for the unconditional release of
Ms Suu Kyi and some 1,100 other political prisoners.

With this defeat, the focal point of political engagement with Myanmar
moved away from the Security Council, away from the US, and indeed away
from the west. While the UN itself, and agencies such as the International
Labour Organisation, will continue to monitor the situation inside the
country, it is now up to Asians to take the lead in brokering real change.

This means the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to which Myanmar
was admitted as a full member nearly 10 years ago. It means India, with
which Myanmar has increasingly close ties. Above all, it means China,
which is the ruling generals' key external backer.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to look for creative initiatives beyond the
realm of elite politics and diplomacy. Inside Myanmar in recent months,
stirrings of civil action have been visible in signature campaigns, silent
vigils, street demonstrations and other forms of peaceful protest. Most
are led by the generation of students that animated the country's
pro-democracy movement in 1988. By building on this action and enhancing
the capacity of civil agents, outsiders can boost the chances of lasting
reform inside the country.

Asia has much valuable experience to offer. A central strand of regional
development is attributable to corporate investment and leadership, which
is partially denied to Myanmar by economic sanctions applied formally by
the US and informally by western consumers. Participants in a wide range
of social organisations have also played important parts. Moreover, the
contexts in which such groups operate have often been difficult, just as
they are in Myanmar today.

In China, grass-roots non-governmental organisations blossomed under Deng
Xiaoping's open-door policy. Today, some 300,000 are legally registered.
However, both local and international NGOs work in a difficult setting
fuelled by official concern about the rise of movements like Falun Gong.
In these circumstances, an effective way forward is for international NGOs
to build strategic partnerships with both international agencies to
enhance resources and impact, and local organisations to strengthen
indigenous leadership and institutional capacity. The ultimate aim is to
place programmes under the direction of local agencies.

In many transitional environments across Asia, social capital is often
depleted and an immediate priority is community renewal, particularly the
restoration of economic health. Here, microfinance programmes to ease
poverty and create jobs through local business growth offer key ways
forward. They can improve both economic and civic health.

Nearly half a century on from Myanmar's last experience of democracy, a
rebirth of civic engagement at the local level provides a window of
opportunity for outsiders. The country may or may not be on the verge of
the breakthrough its people have long craved. But change will only be
sustainable if outsiders draw on their experience in other parts of Asia
to help rebuild the country from the bottom up.

Ian Holliday is dean of social sciences at the University of Hong Kong,
and Diana Tsui is managing director of East Asia Pacific Mercy Corps