BurmaNet News, March 20, 2007

[Editor]

March 20, 2007 Issue # 3165


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Burmese activists arrested for distributing UN rights document

ON THE BORDER
Narinjara News: BDR recovers 26 live landmines on Burma border

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: 1,000 chickens killed in new Myanmar bird flu outbreak

REGIONAL
AFP: Myanmar PM in Singapore hospital
Irrawaddy: Malaysia malaise

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: Generals prepare to cling to power - Larry Jagan

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 20, Irrawaddy
Burmese activists arrested for distributing UN rights document - Khun Sam

Burmese authorities on Tuesday arrested two activists in Pegu Division for
allegedly distributing the text of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.

Kyaw Kyaw Oo of the  Prome, Pegu Division-based Human Rights Defenders and
Promoters was arrested early Tuesday by local police while distributing
Burmese-language pamphlets of the UDHR. Kyaw Swe, also a staffer of the
rights group, was taken by police from his home later in the day.

“Kyaw Kyaw Oo and Kyaw Swe are now being held at No.2 Police Station in
Prome,” Myint Aye, a member of the HRDP told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “We
went there this afternoon and urged officials to release our members, but
they declined and said interrogation was underway.”

Officials at the Prome police station were unavailable for comment on
Tuesday.

The HRDP’s principal activity is the distribution of the UN declaration,
and members operate in Rangoon, Mandalay, Pegu and Irrawaddy divisions, as
well as in Shan and Arakan states, according to Myint Aye.

“Arresting these two men is nonsense, and it’s harassment of human rights
activists,” Myint Aye said. “The junta is violating the UDHR, which says
that UN members must respect and promote human rights.”

In September last year, Myint Aye was detained by police for more than a
month. He was later warned by the Bogalay township chairman of the State
Peace and Development Council on December 10—International Human Rights
Day—that he could face a lengthy prison term for continuing his
activities.

Myint Aye accused the police of violating articles 1 and 30 of the UN
declaration. Article 30 reads: “Nothing in this Declaration may be
interpreted as implying for any state, group or person any right to engage
in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of
the rights and freedoms set forth herein.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 20, Narinjara News
BDR recovers 26 live landmines on Burma border

Officers of the Bangladesh Rifles recovered 26 live landmines from a deep
forest in the Bangladesh-Burma border area during a raid on a terrorist
den on Monday night.

BDR officials said that its personnel found the mines in a terrorist den
located in the Reju Delapara area in Nakhongsari Township, opposite
northern Maungdaw Township in Burma, at 8:30 on Monday evening.

The authorities believe the landmines had been stashed by the alleged
terrorist group for use in criminal activities. The BDR official did not
disclose the name of the terrorist group.

A fire fight occurred on March 16 between Bangladesh Rifles and a group of
Burmese insurgents in the deep forest in Bangladesh's border territory,
but there were no casualties or injuries reported in the gun fight,
according to a local source.

_____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

March 20, Agence France Presse
1,000 chickens killed in new Myanmar bird flu outbreak

Yangon: Myanmar has slaughtered more than 1,000 chickens after discovering
another outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in Yangon, a
livestock department official said Tuesday.

The discovery of avian influenza on a chicken farm in the north of
military-run Myanmar's biggest city is the fifth such outbreak this year,
leaving officials worried about the rapid spread of the virus.

"More than 1,000 chickens were killed from Saturday to Monday, and we
suspect the H5N1 virus is spreading," a senior official of the Livestock
Breeding and Veterinary Department said.

"The farm has about 20,000 chickens... it's a big farm," the official told
AFP on the condition of anonymity as he did not have official permission
to speak to the media.

The outbreak occurred in Hmawbi township, about 20 miles (35 kilometres)
north of the centre of Yangon. Myanmar previously confirmed four outbreaks
of the H5N1 virus this month in suburbs of the city.

Authorities have not revealed the total number of birds killed since this
year's first outbreak.

A total of 168 people worldwide have died of bird flu since 2003, mostly
in Asia, World Health Organisation figures show.

No human cases have been found in Myanmar, but health ministry officials
said they were monitoring those who may have been exposed.

"About 960 people who had contact with fowls, as well as their family
members around the outbreak areas, are still under surveillance," Kyaw
Nyit Sein, deputy director general of health ministry, told AFP on
Tuesday.
"There is no positive case yet among them."

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.

The UN's agricultural agency has praised Myanmar's normally secretive
government for being "quick and effective" in its response to new
outbreaks, and is providing 1.4 million dollars in assistance to help
fight the disease.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 20, Agence France Presse
Myanmar PM in Singapore hospital

Singapore: Myanmar's prime minister Soe Win, the suspected mastermind of a
deadly attack on opposition forces four years ago, is in a Singapore
hospital with an unspecified medical problem, an embassy official told AFP
Tuesday.

Soe Win arrived "quite some time ago" and is in the Singapore General
Hospital, said the official who asked not to be identified, and who
declined to provide details of his condition.

"He is here in a private capacity and it is true that he is here for
medical reasons," the official said. "He doesn't want any publicity
whatsoever with regard to his health problem."

Officials rarely speak on the record in military-ruled Myanmar, for fear
of repercussions by the junta, which runs the isolated Southeast Asian
nation with an iron fist.

Soe Win, a lieutenant general, is thought to be aged about 58, and
replaced the disgraced Khin Nyunt as prime minister in October 2004.

He had risen swiftly in the leadership after allegedly plotting an attack
on the motorcade of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2003.

After the attack she was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest,
where she remains.
The clash between supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) and a pro-junta group left up to 80 people dead, according
to dissidents. The government said four people were killed and 50 injured.

Soe Win, a tall and stern man, is considered to be among the leadership
hardliners.

The embassy official in Singapore would not detail when Soe Win had
arrived in the city-state, except to say it was prior to March. On
February 6, Myanmar state media said Soe Win had issued a warning to the
nation's judges against corruption.

In January, Myanmar's aging junta leader Senior General Than Shwe returned
home after medical tests at Singapore General Hospital. The checks showed
him to be "very much OK," the embassy official said at the time.

____________________________________

March Issue, Irrawaddy
Malaysia malaise - Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burmese migrants battle bureaucracy and exploitation in their search for a
new life

Kuala Lumpur: When he came to Malaysia 10 years ago, Tun Min Naing was
full of hope. The 21-year-old even broke off his further education as a
third-year student at a Rangoon university. His goal was to help his
family survive in crisis-ridden Burma.

But Tun Min Naing’s Malaysian journey ended behind bars at the Semenyih
detention camp outside Kuala Lumpur, where about 1,000 illegal immigrants
wait for deportation or, in rare cases, recognition as bona fide refugees.
Several hundred are Burmese, many of them registered with the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees.

“Living here is terrible. But I don’t want to go back to my country,” Tun
Min Naing said, sitting with other detainees behind iron bars in the
visitors’ room of the camp.

“I feel I lost the way, but there’s still hope here,” Tun Min Naing said
sorrowfully. His small spark of optimism was ignited shortly after our
interview—he was granted refugee status and allowed to leave the camp,
after two years’ internment. Now he hopes to qualify for resettlement in a
third country.

Tun Min Naing’s story is typical, representing the experiences of hundreds
of thousands of Burmese workers in Malaysia. In a recent example of the
risks facing migrants, Malaysian authorities in January rounded up 176
suspected illegal Burmese workers on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. They
are expected to be deported once their illegal status is confirmed.

Since Malaysia became an attractive destination in the early 1990s for
immigrants seeking work, more than half a million Burmese have arrived in
the hope of earning enough money to relieve the hardships suffered by
their families in Burma, one of the world’s poorest countries. About 1.8
million migrants from South and Southeast Asia—especially Indonesia,
Burma, India, the Philippines and Bangladesh—are employed legally in
Malaysia, while a further 700,000  are working without the necessary
papers.

The Malaysia branch of the exiled Federation of Trade Unions-Burma
estimates that about 300,000 Burmese have worked illegally here, while
200,000 Burmese workers obtained legal status. More Burmese have sought
work in Malaysia than anywhere else in Southeast Asia, with the exception
of Thailand, where more than 1 million Burmese have found employment,
legally or otherwise.

They come to Malaysia from all parts of Burma and include members of such
ethnic minorities as the Chin, Arakan and Mon.

Working in restaurants, on construction sites, rubber plantations and in
factories, Burmese migrants fill a vital gap in local labor markets. A
Burmese visitor to Kuala Lumpur comes across countrymen everywhere in a
stroll through the city center. All 36 staff members at the BB Park
restaurant in the Bukit Bintang district of Kuala Lumpur are Burmese, and
it’s the same story at another BB outlet, where all 24 workers are from
Burma.

Kyaw Min makes up to 800 ringgits per month (US $230), including overtime,
working at the BB restaurant—low by Malaysian standards but more than 20
times the 10,000 kyat ($7.70) he earned at home. He borrowed 2 million
kyat ($1,500) to pay brokers, and took six months to clear the debt. But
now he sends up to 600 ringgits ($170) a month home to his family—his
modest contribution to a hard currency inflow from migrant workers that is
of vital importance to Burma’s ailing economy.

It’s a hard life even in Malaysia, however. Kyaw Min works a 13-hour day,
from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. His food rations are meager; his accommodation
is basic.

Nevertheless, he counts himself lucky. Employers often renege on contracts
signed in Burma, paying workers less than half the agreed wages after they
arrive in Malaysia. The maximum a Burmese worker can earn is 1,500
ringgits ($430).

Although contributing to the Malaysian economy, Burmese migrant workers
enjoy no job security and live in constant fear of being repatriated to
Burma. Contracts provide them with no guarantees, and very few workers are
insured against illness and accident.

Nai Shu, from Chaung Zon Township, Mon State, lost his hand one year ago
while operating a saw in a timber factory in Kalang, Kuala Lumpur. He
received no compensation and even lost his job because he was now
disabled. About 60 Burmese workers had been victims of industrial
accidents in the past six months alone, according to Yan Naing Tun, who is
in charge of the Malaysia branch of the Federation of Trade Unions-Burma.

No help was to be expected from the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur, he
said. Immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines get better treatment
from their embassies, according to many Burmese.

Zay Yar Min had a three-year contract, but was sent back to Burma late
last year after only a few months in the job. He made the mistake of
complaining that the terms of his contract were not being fulfilled.

Illegal immigrants are deported at Malaysia’s border with Thailand, a
procedure that affords rich pickings to traffickers and crooked officials.
Yan Naing Tun claims that some immigration officials “sell” workers to
trafficking groups at the Thai-Malaysian border.

Yan Naing Tun himself was due to be deported at the Thai-Malaysian border
in March 2005, but paid 2,500 ringgits ($715) to traffickers who returned
him to Kuala Lumpur. He could have bought his way back to Burma for about
the same amount.

Some desperate deportees are trafficked to fishing boat owners—“sold like
a slave to Indonesian fishing boats,” Yan Naing Tan said. “It’s horrible
to know that a human being there is worth little more than 1,000 ringgits
($286).”

The best option for illegal immigrants is to apply through the UNHCR for
recognition as political refugees, said Yan Naing Tan. More than 20,000
Burmese migrants had now done so, and most had been successful.

Half of them were Rohingyas, Muslims from Burma’s western Arakan State,
bordering Bangladesh. About 6,000 refugees—most of them ethnic Chin—have
been resettled in third countries such as Denmark, Norway, Australia and
the US.

Tun Min Naing, his detention camp stay now behind him, hopes to get to
Australia. If he succeeds, it will have taken him 10 years and much
hardship to get there. “You just have to keep walking,” he says,
philosophically.

_____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER


March 19, Bangkok Post
Generals prepare to cling to power - Larry Jagan

Reforms stall as top generals position themselves for when an ailing Than
Shwe fades from the scene

Burma's political reform process is now completely stalled as the
country's military rulers remain deadlocked over how to move forward.
National reconciliation, as the junta calls its plans for political
change, has ground to a halt as the top generals are preoccupied with
reorganising the government administration and the military command
structure, in preparation for the future."The hardliners, who are
resisting any kind of change, have regained the ear of the senior general
[Than Shwe], while the pragmatists have gone to ground," said Burmese
analyst Win Min. Bolstered by their escape at the UN Security Council
earlier this year when the junta's main allies, China and Russia, blocked
a US-backed resolution, the top generals now feel there is no real
pressure on them to change.

The National Convention, which is drawing up the new constitution, has
been postponed until the end of the year, according to senior government
officials. It had been expected to resume its deliberations later this
month.

Top general Than Shwe's health is deteriorating dramatically, casting a
longer shadow over plans for political change. He is getting increasingly
reclusive, hiding away in his palatial mansion in Naypyidaw, some 400km
north of Rangoon. He sees few people and only comes out to attend major
meetings or functions.

One important ceremony he will attend, though, is for Armed Forces Day on
March 27. Massive preparations are already under way. More than 10,000
soldiers are working around the clock to get the parade ground ready for
the event in the new capital Naypyidaw.

"At night, they are working under floodlights," said a government official
in the capital.

It is going to be a big affair _ the largest and grandest ever because it
will be the senior general's last march past as commander-in-chief,
according to senior military sources. The senior general's health has been
failing for some time now. Than Shwe is known to suffer from hypertension
and diabetes.

"He's subject to frequent diabetic rages when his sugar levels get out of
control," said a Burmese army doctor. He also reportedly suffered a mild
stroke two years ago.

In January, the senior general visited Singapore for a medical check-up
after reportedly suffering chest pains. Singapore doctors feared he was
suffering from cancer of the pancreas. He is now scheduled to return to
Singapore for a major heart operation, reported to be a quadruple bypass,
next month during Buddhist lunar new year, Thingyan. The authorities have
declared an extended holiday then to help cover his absence.

When Than Shwe last flew to Singapore many thought he was on his last
legs, and this sparked euphoria among majors and colonels in the army,
said a Burmese government source. On his return, Than Shwe had to conduct
an intensive media campaign to try to convince the country he was fit and
in control.

More than 2,000 senior government officials and military officers are
being sent to Buddhist monasteries during the Thingyan break.

While there are signs of a power struggle among Burma's top generals, many
believe the main problem is between the top two generals who cannot agree
who will take the top post if Than Shwe's health further deteriorates.

"Maung Aye is ready to seize control of the country if Than Shwe has to
step down because of illness," said the Chiang Mai-based analyst Win Min.

"He will resist the immediate succession of Than Shwe's appointed man
[Thura Shwe Mann]."

Behind the scenes, there are major differences of opinion between the main
camps. The two contenders for the top post are divided over how to move
the country forward, and at what speed.

"Maung Aye heads the hardliners who will resist change at all costs,
preferring to maintain the status quo. Whereas the other camp, led by
Thura Shwe Mann, is interested in exploring new initiatives that could
help break the country's international isolation," said a senior Burmese
political analyst based in Rangoon with close ties to the military.

But it seems clear now that Maung Aye has positioned himself to take power
if Than Shwe stands down or is incapacitated in any way. Sources close to
Maung Aye say he has told his people that their time is near.

"The fruit is almost ripe, all we need to do is hold out our arms and it
will fall into our hands," said a close confidant of the general.

Maung Aye is now in control of all the day-to-day activities of the
government, according to Asian diplomats who are close to the regime.
While Thura Shwe Mann may be inclined to be more pragmatic, there is no
incentive for him to rock the boat. No one at the top is likely to benefit
from change or progress toward political reform now, said analysts in
Rangoon. The status quo is by far the best option for everyone, including
Than Shwe.

"Amid the current uncertainty there is no incentive to move forward,
everyone has more to lose than gain," a senior Western diplomat in Rangoon
said.

That is particularly true for Thura Shwe Mann.

"His best option is certainly to lie low and wait. If he tries to do too
much, he could easily find himself isolated and share the same fate as the
former prime minister, General Khin Nyunt," he said.

Khin Nyunt was arrested in October 2004, and is currently under house
arrest after being sentenced to more than 50 years in jail.

"Nothing is happening and everyone is running to the fortune tellers to
find out what will happen," the diplomat added.

Than Shwe's brain-child, the National Convention, which has been meeting
intermittently since January 1993 drawing up the guidelines for a new
constitution, was expected to resume its discussions in late March for
what many analysts expected to be the final session. But Than Shwe is no
longer pushing forward on the political road map.

Diplomats and visiting European academics were told recently that the
reopening of the National Convention has been postponed until later in the
year. Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told visiting German
academics it could be June or even November.

Foreign Minister Nyan Win told diplomats it would be later this year, but
that the authorities would not make a public announcement at this time
because hostile elements outside the country were trying to sabotage the
process.

Both Asian and Western diplomats in Rangoon believe the National
Convention is unlikely to reconvene before November. Many in Rangoon
believe this may be partly because of the senior general's failing health
and his fear that he cannot relinquish any of his power at present as this
may put his position and his family's fortunes at risk.

"While Than Shwe may not be pushing ahead with the road map, he is still
trying to execute the other part of his master plan," said a senior
military source. "His strategy is to separate the military from
government."

The process of civilianising the government administration is being pushed
ahead. The military commanders who controlled the local authorities at
provincial, district and township level are being replaced with former
soldiers. The new administrative chiefs are being drawn from the pool of
recently retired middle-ranking military officers. More than a thousand
were compulsorily retired earlier this year.

A major shake-up in the cabinet is also likely later this year after the
restructuring of the military command which is expected to emerge sometime
after Armed Forces Day.

At one stage the plan was for the country's top two military rulers, Gen
Than Shwe and his deputy Gen Maung Aye, to stand down from their military
commands, and pass power to the next generation of generals. This now
seems to be on hold indefinitely, but other major changes within the
military are expected to proceed in the coming months.

A new generation of regional commanders would also be appointed, many of
them in their early fifties. The military commanders would also withdraw
from the administration of the provinces and villages, being replaced by
civilians who have been handpicked by the junta. At the same time there
would be a massive shake-up of government, with most ministers being
replaced by younger men _ some possibly former regional commanders.

These planned changes are intended to prepare the army for the next phase
in the country's move toward political reform and the introduction of a
civilian administration. The changes are part of Than Shwe's plans to
ensure that the draft constitution is approved by the national referendum.
And to prepare for fresh elections which are expected to be held next
year.

"This is all part of Than Shwe's plans to streamline government
administration and strengthen the authorities' control over the general
population in preparation for a transition to so-called civilian rule and
to win the elections held under the new constitution," said Win Min.

The changes in government and the army will be the most dramatic since the
military seized power more than 18 years ago. But they may be too late to
stem the growing frustration in the country with the junta's failure to
introduce political reform and improve the economy.