BurmaNet News, March 2, 2007

[Editor]

March 2, 2007 Issue # 3153


INSIDE BURMA
DPA: Karen National Union 7th Brigade denies surrender to Myanmar junta
SHAN: Junta forces more crosses on Christians to carry

ON THE BORDER
Network Media Group: ‘Walk for peace’ campaign stopped by Thai authorities
- Pianporn Deetes
The Economist: The mayhem in Manipur; India's wild north-east
Irrawaddy: Group works to rescue victims of human trafficking

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Wild birds blamed for Myanmar flu outbreak

DRUGS
Irrawaddy: Poppy cultivation declines, 'meth' production increases

ASEAN
Japan Economic Newswire: ASEAN reaffirms setting up of regional human
rights mechanism

OPINION / OTHER
Nation: The invisible costs of the Salween dam project – Pianporn Deetes
Irrawaddy: India: Burma’s dishonest neighbor
Wall Street Journal: Another U.N. Classic

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 2, Deutsche Presse Agentur
Karen National Union 7th Brigade denies surrender to Myanmar junta

Yangon: A Karen National Union (KNU) faction that entered into peace
negotations with Myanmar's junta last month denies that it has
surrendered, diplomats and academic who visited the rebel faction said on
Friday.

"It was not surrender," KNU spokesman Saw Htay Maung, 77, told a gathering
of journalists, diplomats and European academics who on Thursday attended
a press conference at Htotkawkoe village, Kawkareik township in the Karen
State.

"We still defend the Karen. The Karen decide their own political destiny.
And the Karen State must be recognized within the country as well as
internationally," Saw Htay Maung told the gathering.

On February 11 the KNU 7th Brigade led by Brigadier General Htein Maung
entered into peace negotiations with Myanmar's military regime, prompting
some to accuse the faction of surrendering.

Saw Htay Maung said the faction had decided to enter into peace talks with
the government because their people were tired of war. "People are the
most vulnerable from the lack peace, establishment of which is the
responsibility of the whole world," said Saw, who joined the KNU at the
age of 17.

Since signing the peace agreement some 450 7th Brigade troops have moved
to Htotkawkoe where the government has provided their families with farm
land, livestock and assistance in the construction of churches and health
clinics, observers said.

"They seem totally content with the peace agreement they have signed and
at the same time they are maintaining their independence," said Paul
Pasch, the Myanmar representative for the Freidrich-Ebert Foundation. The
foundation organized a visit to the camp by 10 European academics to the
Karen camp, including Robert Taylor, an expert on Myanmar's recent
history.

"These are the first seeds for sustainable development and hopefully for a
lasting peace agreement," said Pasch.

The 7th Brigade is only one faction within the KNU, which has been waging
a guerrilla struggle against the central government for the independence
of the Karen State since 1949.

There are an estimated 4,000 KNU troops still in the field against the junta.

Brigadier General Htein Maung was a close associate of former KNU leader
Bo Mya, who died in January.

The KNU is one of the last ethnic minority insurgencies to enter into a
peace agreements with the ruling junta, which has monopolized politcal
power since it crushed a pro-democracy movement in 1988 leaving an
estimated 3,000 people dead.

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as the junta styles
itself, allowed a general election in 1990 but then denied power to the
National League of Democracy when it won the polls by a landslide.

Instead, the junta has launched a National Convention process to draft a
new constitution and prepare for a new election.

"They have not decided yet whether they will send representatives to the
next session of the National Convention," said Pasch, of the KNU 7th
Brigade.

____________________________________

March 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta forces more crosses on Christians to carry

The report released on January 23, by Christian Solidarity Worldwide
(CSW): Carrying the Cross: 'The Military Regime's Campaign against
Christians in Burma,' like many other damning stories about the Burma
Army's excesses, does not appear to have succeeded in keeping the generals
in check, according to sources in eastern Shan State.

Three months ago, a new chief of Mongyu sub-township, Mongyawng Township,
183 km from Maesai, arrived from Buthidaung, Arakan State . One of the
first directives he issued to the local Christian community was not to
celebrate Christmas.

Later during the first week of February, he ordered villagers in Mongyu to
pull out concrete posts put up by them to build a new church in place of
the old one. "He was said to have done the same thing to Muslim mosques in
Buthidaung (where sizable Muslim communities are located) before coming
here," said a source in Kengtung.

There are nine Roman Catholic and Baptist churches in Mongyu alone. "The
deacon in Mongyawng, Paulu, could do nothing to intervene on our behalf,"
he added, "as his chapel had also been demolished by the authorities in
January."

An unconfirmed report says another church in Monghpyak, between Kengtung
and Tachilek, was also knocked down last Friday, February 23.

Some of the clerics are also facing charges of setting up illegal
organizations.

Maj Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Commander of the Kengtung-based Triangle Region
Command, has reportedly appointed an inquiry committee, "more like the
Inquisition," according to one source, to question the accused.

According to a secret document believed to have been leaked from a
government ministry, entitled "Programme to destroy the Christian religion
in Burma," the military regime is out to wipe out Christianity in the
country, reported Sunday Telegraph, on January 21. The regime has denied
authorship of the document.

Asoka (BC 269 - 229), considered the greatest among Buddhist kings, had
adopted a policy of tolerance towards non-Buddhist faiths, yet Buddhism
continued to flourish in its land of birth India until the 13th century.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 1, Network Media Group
‘Walk for peace’ campaign stopped by Thai authorities

Burmese Buddhist monks including Ashin Sopaka, were detained by Thai
authorities after several requests to stop the ‘walk for peace’ campaign.

A Thai woman, Khemitsara Ekkanasing, one of the peace walkers who arrived
in Mae Sot said Ashin Sopaka was taken away this morning and has been
detained.

“A group of immigration officers came to us at 9 a.m. They stopped him
[Ashin Sopaka] from speaking and talking on the telephone. I was also not
allowed to talk. The monk just sat down and meditated. He was then taken
in a military truck somewhere. We don’t know where,” said Khemitsara
Ekkanasing.

Ashin Sopaka was whisked away by the Thai authorities when he was 10
kilometers from Mae Sot.

The Thai authorities told Khemitsara that they had to stop the campaign
for reasons of security on orders from superiors.

Ashin Sopaka will continue the campaign by meditating in front of the
Burmese embassy if he is to be sent back to Bangkok, the source said.

Regarding the intervention by Thai authorities, the source said, “The Thai
government should take into consideration human rights issues. It should
support human rights just as it supports peace. It should consider this
not only for the benefit of its own country but for the benefit of its
neighbours.”

Other peace walkers including Ashin Khaymananda, Shin Tiloka and Khaing
Gyi were arrested yesterday night and sent to Noe Po and Umpiem refugee
camps.

On February 27, a Thai Army officer spoke fluently in Burmese to the group
of peace walkers to get into a car. But the group refused and continued
walking.

Eleven Burmese who staged a hunger strike in Mae Sot in support of the
‘walk for peace’ campaign were arrested on February 27 by Thai
authorities. And those who hold refugee cards were sent back to the Umpiem
refugee camp.

The group led by Ashin Sopaka left Bangkok on January 30 to begin the
campaign named “Walking for the peace of the world and Burma”. The 'walk
for peace' campaign covered an estimated 360 kms or 600 miles.

____________________________________

March 3, The Economist
The mayhem in Manipur; India's wild north-east

Violence, extortion and a yearning for independence

Rattling around the hairpins, the six-lorry army convoy had almost
descended to the safety of Bishnupur, a town in Manipur's main valley, on
February 24th, when the insurgents attacked. A thunderous volley of
grenades and automatic gunfire sent the lead truck skidding into the
forested verge. Sixteen of its uniformed passengers were killed. The
attack sullied an election in Manipur. Voting had ended the previous day,
and returned the Congress party, which leads coalition governments in
Delhi and in Imphal, the state capital.

The attack was a blow to India's efforts to tame the wildest of its seven
remote and insurgency-riven north-eastern states. Manipur, a green and
hilly region nestling along the border with Myanmar, has multiple militant
groups--23 at the latest count, fighting a 26-year insurgency. The biggest
mostly belong to the Meitei majority, which resides in Imphal and the
valleys. With an estimated 5,000 fighters, they want independence for
Manipur, which was an independent Meitei kingdom for centuries before
India absorbed it in 1949.

Other bands represent Manipur's 30-odd hill-tribes, including several
living also in neighbouring states and countries. Their demands are
various and shifting. The main faction of one, the National Socialist
Council of Nagaland (itself split), has observed a ceasefire with the
government since 1997, but is a prime suspect in the latest ambush.

The other hill-based groups agreed on a ceasefire with the security forces
in 2004, and now fight alongside them against the Meitei outfits. With
50,000 troops in Manipur, the government says it has retaken much
territory from these militants. And it has got slightly better at killing
them, as opposed to unarmed civilians: of 290 insurgency-related deaths
last year, including militants, security forces and civilians, half were
militants. India has also encouraged Myanmar to sweep its western border
region, where the militants hide, and has armed it for the task.

For decades India neglected the north-east, partly, allege locals, out of
a racist disdain for their Mongoloid ancestry. Things have got better.
Last year Delhi allotted Manipur a development budget of 11,600m rupees
($260m), a big sum for a state of 2.5m people. Its two national highways
are being widened. Construction of a railway from Assam through Imphal to
the Myanmar border began last year.

The main impulse behind such schemes is the government's wish to increase
trade with Myanmar. This would be an economic boost for Manipur.
Campaigning in the state, India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh,
envisaged it as a "mini Switzerland", enriched by orchards of lemons and
pears and hordes of tourists. The state governor, Shivinder Singh Sidhu,
speaks shiningly of its "tremendous human capital". Manipuris are, at the
very least, good sportspeople: at India's national games in Assam last
month, Manipur won 51 gold medals, more than any other state.
But nothing will unfetter Manipur's potential so long as the conflict
continues. Its central grievance, the desire of many Manipuris to be free
of corrupt, bullying India, has hardened, while other hostilities have
fermented. Long-repressed caste rivalries, for example, between Meitei
Brahmins and "untouchable" highlanders, have resurfaced. This is one
reason for the multiplicity of militant groups. Another is India's
divide-and-rule tactics.

The conflict has created a nightmare of extortion. Kelvin Hatlang,
spokesman for one hill-based group, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation,
says that to maintain an army of 500 militants it taxes working Manipuri
Zomis, a group split between India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, 4% of their
salaries. If they refuse to pay? "We may insist, we may use violence, to
be honest, or, very occasionally, some kidnapping."

The militants also skim money off government contracts, especially
road-building. To enforce their demands, they call strikes and impose
blockades. The two highways were closed 40% of last year. From April to
July, 82 out of 122 days saw general strikes. Manipuri politicians
survive, and thrive, through corrupt ties to militants, who have the power
to deliver voters. This helps explain why one day of the recent election
saw a 90% turnout in a rainstorm. Asked whether his group's chosen
candidate always wins, Mr Hatlang says: "Roughly, yes."

India's government has said it is willing to negotiate with these
hoodlums, but probably is not. It considers them too many, chaotic and
criminal. It is also wary of giving encouragement to other militants,
especially those waging a much bigger Maoist insurgency in central and
eastern India. But so long as Manipur's political concerns, tarnished as
they are, are not heard, the insurgency will probably continue. So
development funds will be looted. And sometimes a lorryload of people may
be slaughtered.

____________________________________

March 2, Irrawaddy
Group works to rescue victims of human trafficking - Khun Sam

An ethnic Kachin women’s group says it is seeking to rescue numerous women
it believes are victims of human trafficking who left to work in China and
whose whereabouts are now unknown.

Ja Awng, a member of the Kachin Women’s Association based on the
China-Burma border, said the KWA will attempt to find and rescue the
alleged victims through the assistance of the Kachin Independence
Organization, a border-based ethnic ceasefire group, and Chinese
authorities.

“Currently, we are trying to rescue three women who disappeared after
being lured to jobs in China,” Ja Awng told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

According to Ja Awng, 26-year-old Maran Hkawn, a mother of three children,
and 37-year-old Ma Lum, a mother of four children, who both lived in the
village of Mung Baw, Namdu Township, northern Shan State, were lured by a
job offer from a Chinese national to work in a restaurant somewhere near
the border and left for China in June 2006. Since then the two have
disappeared and neither of their families know their whereabouts.

Another 23-year-old Kachin woman, Mun Ja of Kutkhai Township, who worked
at a Chinese restaurant in a village near Rulli in Yunnan Province,
disappeared in early January this year along with the owners of the
restaurant. Vendors reportedly said the owner had taken the woman to
another location in China.

Ja Awng said many human trafficking cases take place on the China-Burma
border. She said the KWA rescued two victims last year. The KWA and the
KIO gave 8,000 yuan (US $1,032) to Chinese police to rescue a 3-year-old
Burmese girl from a Chinese house in a village near Rulli, she said.

The New Light of Myanmar, a Burmese state-run newspaper, reported on
February 20 a Burmese court sentenced a 33-year-old man to life
imprisonment for human trafficking. The newspaper said a joint China-Burma
investigation had uncovered a 64-member human trafficking ring that had
allegedly enticed 49 women with offers of jobs in China and then forced
them to marry Chinese men.

In early 2005, the Chiang Mai-based Kachin Women’s Association of
Thailand, released a report that listed 63 cases of trafficking from 2000
to 2004 involving 85 victims from Kachin State and Shan State.

The report said women as young as fourteen were taken to border towns,
into Yunnan Province and as far as Eastern China, where they were forced
to marry Chinese men or work in the sex industry.

Ja Awng said the investigations and laws involving human trafficking in
both Burma and China need to be more effective.

“Working on this issue, sometimes we had to give money to Chinese police
to rescue victims," she said. "Sometimes to report a case is a sensitive
issue. We found some (Chinese) police involvement in the trafficking. Both
governments should know that."

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 2, Irrawaddy
Poppy cultivation declines, 'meth' production increases - Lalit K Jha

New York: A US report on Thursday credited Burma with a 50 percent decline
in poppy cultivation last year, but production of illegal synthetic drugs
remains high.

The report said Burma's sharp decline in poppy cultivation was accompanied
by an increase in production and export of illegal synthetic drugs, which
is threatening to turn the infamous Golden Triangle into an "Ice
Triangle."  "Ice" is the name of a potent form of methamphetamine.

The Golden Triangle, a region comprising Burma, Thailand and Laos, is no
longer the world’s largest opium cultivation area, according to the 2007
International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released by the US State
Department in Washington. Afghanistan ranked No 1 in poppy cultivation and
Burma ranked No 2.

"Burma's opium cultivation has declined dramatically,” the report said in
its chapter on Burma. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimates a massive
decrease of 83 percent over an 8-year period—from 130,000 hectares in 1998
to 21,000 hectares in 2006. Cultivation during the past year dropped from
40,000 hectares to 21,000 hectares.

There are now indications that many groups in Burma increased production
and trafficking of crystal methamphetamine, the report said

“Burma plays a leading role in regional traffic of amphetamine-type
stimulants (ATS),” it said. Drug gangs, based in Burma-China and
Burma-Thailand border areas, produce several hundred million
methamphetamine tablets annually for markets in Thailand, China and India
as well as for onward distribution.

During the 2006 drug certification process, Burma was one of only two
countries in the world, after Venezuela, which "failed demonstrably" to
meet international counter-narcotics obligations, the report said.

Referring to the military junta’s goal of complete eradication of poppy
cultivation by 2014, the report said the steady decline has been due to
enforcement; some alternative livelihood measures, such as crop
substitution; discovery and closure of clandestine refineries,
interdiction   and annual poppy eradication programs.

The UNODC estimated that Burma eradicated 3,970 hectares of opium poppy in
2006.

____________________________________
HEALTH/AIDS

March 2, Agence France Presse
Wild birds blamed for Myanmar flu outbreak

Yangon: Military-ruled Myanmar broke its silence Friday about an outbreak
of bird flu in its biggest city Yangon, saying wild crows and sparrows may
have carried the H5N1 virus to a poultry farm.

The government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar carried the first official
news of the outbreak, which authorities had reported Wednesday to the
World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris.

"Officials found that the virus might spread to chickens from native crows
and sparrows that frequented the farm buildings, whose partly damaged
walls have hollows for the wild birds to enter," the newspaper said.

"Chickens on the firm were culled and buried, and the whole farm was
sprayed with pesticide," it said.

Myanmar's livestock department told AFP on Wednesday that the virus had
killed 68 birds, while 1,500 others were slaughtered to prevent the
disease's spread.

The outbreak was detected on a small farm in a residential neighbourhood
in Yangon's western suburbs. The paper said that authorities had
restricted movements within a one-kilometre radius of the farm.

Poultry trading has been banned within 10 kilometers (six miles) of the
farm for three weeks, it said.

State media made no mention of another suspected outbreak that authorities
were monitoring in Insein Township, north of Yangon.

Myanmar had declared itself bird-flu free in September after months
without any new cases of the disease following an outbreak around the
central city of Mandalay in March 2006.
No human cases have been announced in the country.

Although Myanmar has one of the world's worst health care systems, the
United Nations has praised its vigilance in monitoring for bird flu.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 2, Japan Economic Newswire
ASEAN reaffirms setting up of regional human rights mechanism

Siem Reap: Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations have reaffirmed the grouping will set up a regional
mechanism to address human rights problems.

The ministers discussed the matter over an informal dinner late Thursday
evening prior to a meeting Friday here in Siem Reap, Cambodia's northern
city known for the Angkor Wat temple complex.

The matter was raised as part of key components of the ASEAN Charter
currently being drafted by officials, according to Thai Foreign Minister
Nitya Pibulsonggram.

The charter is to serve as a firm foundation for a Southeast Asian
community by providing "an enhanced institutional framework as well as
conferring a legal personality" to the regional grouping.

"We all have agreed in principle that an establishment of the regional
human rights mechanism will be reflected in the charter," Nitya said.

He added that he agreed with one of his ASEAN colleagues who stated that
failing to address human rights concerns would impact ASEAN's credibility.

Myanmar, one of the ASEAN members, has been widely criticized mostly by
Western countries for its poor human rights record.

ASEAN has pledged in various political declarations to constitute a
regional human rights arrangement but it is yet to materialize.

The ministers also discussed at length decision-making rules of the group
but did not reach a conclusion.

"Consensus or unanimity remains our fundamental decision-making rule on
general issues. We are not to abandon that principle just as we will never
give up the non-interference policy," Nitya said.

Nitya said the ministers also discussed sanctions on members that violate
the charter, adding they might include suspension or even expulsion.

The ministers will continue to discuss the charter on Friday, according to
Nitya.

The ministers also discussed and agreed that the group would hold the
grouping's first-ever summits with the United States and the European
Union separately later this year.

Both summits are to commemorate the 30th year of dialogue relations
between ASEAN and the United States and between ASEAN and the European
Union.

But Nitya declined to comment if Myanmar's military leader will attend the
summits. "There's a formula we can work out," he said.

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

Officials said earlier Thursday that the ASEAN-U.S. commemorative summit
is likely to be held in September in Singapore, while the ASEAN-EU
commemorative summit may be held either in October or November.

However, Myanmar will not be represented by its head of government at
either summit, according to ASEAN officials who spoke on condition of
anonymity. The United States and the European Union have accused the junta
of human rights violation and undemocratic rule.

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

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

February 28, The Nation
The invisible costs of the Salween dam project - Pianporn Deetes

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), has been touting
at least five dam projects on the Salween River inside Burma and along the
Thailand-Burma border as potentially enormous sources of "cheap" energy.
Still, there are unseen costs behind the electricity that have not been
fully taken into account by those promoting the dam projects.
Environmentally, the cost of the dams is far too great. The Salween is the
last longest free-flowing international river in Southeast Asia. Pristine
forests along the border are home to rare and endangered animals and
plants species. The denudation of forests following logging once the dams
are in place, infrastructure development and inundation from reservoirs
would destroy enormous tracts of invaluable natural resources.

More importantly, an extensive impact on human beings would be inevitable.
No one knows exactly how many people will be affected, however Salween
Watch says the conservative estimate is that at least 83,000 people will
be uprooted from their homeland in the Shan, Karenni, and Karen states in
Burma, and Mae Hong Son province in Thailand.

Over the past five decades, Burma's Salween River basin has been plagued
by successive civil wars. In recent years, an increase in militarisation
by the Burmese army in future reservoir areas in the three states has been
reported by various sources. This has brought about human rights
violations systematically waged by the Burmese army against the ethnic
minorities including forced labour, forced relocation, torture, rape and
massacre.

"The dam is death for us," said a Karen internally-displaced person (IDP)
sitting in the jungle under a makeshift bamboo shelter after the Burmese
army attacked her village. For vulnerable IDPs, the Salween forests are
the last hiding places available to them, serving as temporary refuge
while they anxiously wait to go back home once the Burmese army retreats.
However, there will be no place to hide if the jungle, their only safe
place, is submerged.

Do not be mistaken - this is not just an internal affair for Burma. Social
injustices are trans-boundary in nature and they would be exacerbated by
Thai investment in these mega-dam projects.

If the dams are built, Thailand will not be able to avoid the inevitable
influx of new ethnic Burmese refugees from the dam-affected areas. At
present, Thailand already hosts at least 140,000 refugees registered in
temporary shelters along the border, plus more than 1 million migrant
workers from Burma.

Many of these people will become permanent refugees when their homeland is
forever flooded by the reservoirs and is then guarded by army garrisons.

All planning and decision-making has been conducted discreetly. The deals
have been brokered with no public participation or transparency. Egat has
refused to disclose the agreements it has made with the Burmese junta
claiming it is under obligation to keep them confidential. This is not to
mention ordinary villagers who will be directly affected by the dams -
they have not been kept informed by the state.

Thai Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amranand's claim to the effect that the
dams are still far away contrasts with the reality on the ground.
Preparatory work at dam sites in Burma's Karen and Shan states has been
ongoing and has never once ceased. Chulalongkorn University's
Environmental Research Institute was commissioned by Egat to conduct an
environmental impact assessment in Burma in November of last year (the
very same month that Piyasavati claimed the dam plan would not be
reassessed by his government).

Dam builders do not want to accept that the dam sites are situated in a
war zone. This is despite the fact that an Egat staff member died last
year after stepping on a landmine near the Hut Gyi Dam site, the first in
a series of dams to be built in Karen state. Teams of experts are still
risking their lives conducting studies in the area accompanied by armed
Burmese military escorts.

Even though state authorities from the two countries have shown no concern
for marginalised ethnic villagers, those living along the Salween cannot
just sit back waiting for their final destiny. Today, representatives from
dam-affected villages both in Thailand and Burma, together with activists
in 14 major cities around the world, will concurrently demonstrate to
demand the cancellation of the controversial dam project.

If all of the social and environmental costs of the Salween dams were
fully considered, we would never think of making this absurd investment.
We have many other alternatives to cope with rising energy demands.
Demand-side management, renewable energy sources and a decentralised
system, are just a few of many options that should be pursued.

If Thais realise that our future "cheap electricity" will be generated at
the expense of sacred land, lives and the blood of our brothers and
sisters across the Salween River in Burma, I strongly believe most of us
would not support this dangerous plan.

Pianporn Deetes is a campaigner for the Living River Siam-Southeast Asia
Rivers Network.

_____________________________________

March 2, The Irrawaddy
India: Burma’s dishonest neighbor

Air traffic between India and Burma’s new capital, Naypyidaw, has been
increasing recently. It has nothing to do with tourism promotion—but
everything to do with the development of cozy, friendlier relations
between the two neighbors.

In January, India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited
Naypyidaw. Other high-ranking officials followed, notably Home Secretary V
K Duggal.

Burma’s military leaders also paid visits to New Delhi. In December, Gen
Shwe Mann, the regime’s senior ranking general, who is tipped to lead the
armed forces, went to the Indian capital and made specific requests to buy
military hardware, including spare parts and servicing for MiG-29 jet
fighters.

India had supplied Burma with military hardware, including field guns and
howitzers, Indian army vice-chief Lt-Gen S Pattabhiraman told the press in
October. The Indian navy reportedly gave Burma two BN-2 “Defender”
Islander maritime surveillance aircraft, deck-based air-defense guns and
surveillance equipment.

Mukherjee said New Delhi had decided to give a favorable response to
Burma’s request for military hardware because defense cooperation between
the two countries had been expanded.

In a quid pro quo, India sought Burma’s continued support in preventing
Indian insurgents from taking refuge across the Burma border. A number of
insurgent groups, including Naga rebels fighting in India’s Northeast, are
believed to have bases inside Burma.

Burma pledged to honor India’s request, and in December launched attacks
on rebels along the India-Burma border. India provided support with T-55
tanks, helicopters, mortars, radar technology and other materiel ahead of
the military operations. It is likely that more military cooperation and
the development of special ties are on the horizon.

Aside from combating rebels and insurgents, India is also interested in
trade, infrastructure projects and the energy sector. During his visit to
Naypyidaw, Mukherjee also discussed the purchase of natural gas from Burma
and the construction of a pipeline from Burma.

India’s state-run Gas Authority of India Ltd would like to obtain natural
gas from Burma’s offshore field off Burma’s Arakan Coast, feeding it by
pipeline through India’s northeast region. The Burmese regime will finally
decide whether to approve such a deal in May, according to officials.

A further reason for New Delhi’s quest for better relations with Naypyidaw
is its desire to counter China’s influence over Burma. China has been
selling arms, frigates and other naval vessels, jet fighters and military
trucks to Burma, and the Chinese have been involved in modernizing Burmese
naval facilities. The scope of Chinese involvement has definitely created
anxiety and concern among politicians in New Delhi.

At the same time, New Delhi’s recent gestures and the flurry of mutual
visits have rung alarm bells among Burmese activists and international
observers. Immediately following the military crackdown in 1988, New Delhi
openly and publicly supported Burma’s democracy movement, but nowadays
such commitment could not be expected.

In the new Asian scenario, India is competing with China to accommodate
the generals in Burma. Yet the generals are bound to win at this game. The
close relations with both China and India now enjoyed by Burma have
benefited the handful of military rulers who continue to commit crimes
against their own people.

It is easy to predict the direction in which communist China wants to
steer its policy with Burma, Tibet or any neighboring countries—and even
with African states. China’s support for the world’s repressive regimes is
regrettable but predictable and not unexpected. New Delhi’s support for
the military rulers in Burma, however, only provokes bewilderment and
embarrassment. To put it bluntly, New Delhi’s policy on Burma is morally
bankrupt and pitiable. Although ranking as the world’s largest democracy,
India is basing its foreign policy on self-interest and national concerns.

Mukherjee told reporters who accompanied him during his recent trip to
Naypyidaw that India has to deal with the governments as they exist.
Democracy is an internal affair, and India is not interested in exporting
its ideology to other countries, he said.
That’s fine. But Indian officials and the ruling government should know
that the Burmese people and the international community are dismayed about
New Delhi’s position on Burma. New Delhi’s self-centered Burma policy is
tarnished by seeking to prolong the dictatorship in Burma. India, the
world’s largest democracy, should not be seen to be exporting repression.

_____________________________________

March 2, The Wall Street Journal
Another U.N. Classic

Whenever the United Nations weighs in on human rights, our thoughts
invariably turn to Lewis Carroll. A recent contretemps between U.S.
diplomats and the U.N. bureaucracy takes us through the Turtle Bay looking
glass again.

On the occasion of the annual meeting of the U.N.'s Commission on the
Status of Women, the American delegation decided to organize a panel on
the subject of "State-Sanctioned Mass Rape in Burma and Sudan." After
years of reporting by human-rights organizations about atrocities
committed by government forces against women in both countries, that
sounds like a reasonable topic to discuss.

Enter U.N. bureaucrat Sylvie Cohen of the Division for the Advancement of
Women. Ms. Cohen refused to list the panel discussion on the U.N.'s Web
site because it "would be perceived as offensive to named member states."
Besides, "the name of one member state concerned is not mentioned in
accordance with its official country name." That name is "Myanmar," which
is what the military junta that seized power in Burma renamed the country
in 1988. The Burmese democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi continues to
call it by its rightful name, and we'll stick with her over the junta.

Even more amazing is that a U.N. organization that purports to look out
for the interests of women seems more concerned about defending the
sensibilities of the governments who harbor and support their rapists.
Come to think of it, this isn't a Lewis Carroll episode at all. At the
U.N., it's routine.