BurmaNet News, April 5, 2007

[Editor]

April 5, 2007 Issue # 3177


INSIDE BURMA
SHAN: Massive AWOLs on Armed Forces Day
Irrawaddy: Burma township residents protest new tax rate
Irrawaddy: KNU conflict deepens
Kaladan: DKBA orders demolition of mosque in Karen State

ON THE BORDER
AFP: Myanmar, Thailand begin work on controversial dam

BUSINESS / TRADE
Financial Times: Burma sand to fill Singapore’s needs
Xinhua: Myanmar to host four-country commercial navigation meeting
Asia Pulse: Iran, Myanmar keen to expand cooperation in agriculture sector

ASEAN
Mizzima: ASEAN+3 approves fund for economic crisis members

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima: ITUC urges multinationals to withdraw from Burma

PRESS RELEASE
The 88 Generation Students: On oppression against economic and social
equalities of political activists

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 5, Shan Herald Agency for News
Massive AWOLs on Armed Forces Day

Hundreds of soldiers who participated in the Armed Forces Day parade at
Pyinmana Naypyidaw had deserted, according to an informed border source.

Of 300 men from Monghpyak-based Military Operations Command (MOC) #18 in
eastern Shan State, who went to the new capital, 650 miles away, for the
occasion, only some 140 were back at the command post, he said, quoting a
senior officer.

"Many of them came from lowland Burma and were homesick," he explained,
"So when the opportunity came, they just took it. It was the same with
many other commands."

15,000 men from all the three branches of the Tatmadaw had taken part in
the Armed Forces Day march. "From the army alone, all regional, divisional
and MOC commands were required to send 300 well drilled men each to join
in the event," said a veteran Burma-watcher in Chiangmai.

The army, according to Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), fields
555 infantry battalions distributed among its 13 regional commands, 10
divisions and 21 MOCs. An MOC is division size with 10 battalions each.
However, according to Jane's Defense Weekly, 4 April issue, each battalion
is way below strength barely averaging between 140-150.

It further reported that morale among the enlisted men is low,
contributing to high rates of desertion. At the tri-annual meeting of
senior officers, 11-15 September 2006, in Naypyidaw, Gen Shwe Mann
reported manpower losses of 9,497 during a 4-month period preceding
September 2006, much of this due to desertions.

____________________________________

April 5, Irrawaddy
Burma township residents protest new tax rate - Khun Sam

Residents in Chauk Township, Magwe Division, in central Burma, have
protested a new tax increase at the Chauk Township Development Committee
office, according to residents.

A number of shop owners at the Chauk Market, which has many shops and
vendors, submitted a petition to the municipal office on Thursday in
protest against the new tax rate which doubles the previous rate, they
say.

About 400 township residents demonstrated in front of the same office on
Wednesday, complaining about the increased tax rate.

“The tax rate has doubled," Soe Myint, a Chauk resident, told The
Irrawaddy on Thursday. "The tax we previously paid was 5,000 kyat (US $4)
and now it's 10,000 kyat ($8). We can not accept this decree and can not
pay that much.”

Soe Myint said authorities at the township office warned residents that
shop owners who refused to pay would be closed down, although the
authorities said they would report their complaints to higher authorities.

According to residents, a decree for a new tax rate was issued on March 12
by Soe Than, the deputy-director of the Chauk TDC. It doubled the
municipal sales tax on most items for the 2007- 2008 tax year. The
announcement reportedly said that anyone contesting the increase could
notify the Chauk TDC’s office within 30 days from the date the decree was
issued.

However, residents said they only learned of the new rate when the
announcement was posted on March 26 at the Chauk Market.

A signature campaign against the new tax rate was launched by activists,
who say it will cause inflation of commodity prices.

“About 500 people have signed the petition against the new rate," said Soe
Myint.

Another resident said, "As the authorities said, we have a right to say
what we want. We are demanding the amendment of the new law to remain at
the previous rate.”

In August 2006, the Burmese government passed a new income tax rate for
civil servants and military personnel at 12 percent for employees with
salaries of more than 30,000 kyat ($23) per month and 10 percent for those
who earn less.

____________________________________

April 5, Irrawaddy
KNU conflict deepens - Shah Paung

The disunity within Karen opposition forces near the border with Thailand
deepened this week as a splinter group accused the Karen National Union of
attacking its members and stealing its gold.

Pastor Timothy, a former KNU Central Committee member involved in the
breakaway group KNU/KNLA Peace Council, claims in a report prepared by the
group that KNU forces fired on a boat carrying Col Ler Moo of the Peace
Council group and several children accompanying him near the village of
Mae La in Thailand’s Tak province.

According to the report of the incident, the attack was ordered by KNU
General Secretary Mahn Sha and 7th Brigade commander Col Johnny, who
replaced Htain Maung after his split with the KNU.

Officials with the Karen rebel group deny any involvement in the attack.
“The event happened in an area far from [Col] Johnny’s camp,” a top leader
from the KNU told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. “If we had made the attack,
nobody would have survived it.”

Ler Moo is said to be in hospital in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

Sources near the border, including members of the splinter group
Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which split from the KNU in 1995, say that
many believe the story to have been fabricated by soldiers of Burma’s
ruling State Peace and Development Council in order to create further
conflicts with the opposition group.

The current conflicts between the KNU and its splinter groups began in
late February after Battalion 201 of the Karen National Liberation
Army—the military wing of the KNU—attacked a contingent of the DKBA.

Pastor Timothy and a fellow member of the Peace Council, known simply as
Tennyson, are said to maintain close relations with the DKBA, with whom
they brokered the peace deal between the Peace Council and the Burmese
regime.

In his report, Pastor Timothy describes the circumstances of the Battalion
201 attack. He claims that two Karen civilian trucks were fired on near
the village of Htee Tha Le by KNLA troops from Battalion 201.

One of the drivers, Law Plah—a soldier with the DKBA—was killed at the
scene, while the second, Pastor Po Aye Pyin from Htee Tha Le village, was
seriously injured and later died in a Mae Sot hospital. The trucks, which
carried bars of gold, were stolen.

According to the report, Hnoke Khan Hmwe, the commander of DKBA Battalion
907, “demanded the return of the two vehicles, 2.5 million kyat (US
$3,000) and the 12 bars of gold stolen from the dead driver.” He gave the
KNU two weeks to satisfy the demands, but no actions have yet been taken.

Others dispute his version of events. Thaw Ka Rambo, a monk and former
chairman of the KNU Sangha Committee with close ties to the DKBA, told The
Irrawaddy on Thursday that three trucks owned by the DKBA were involved.
One was destroyed in the attack and two others have since been returned.

The DKBA claims that Battalion 201 ambushed the trucks after arranging for
the transport of some 30 Karen who reportedly wished to join the Peace
Council splinter group.

According to Pastor Timothy’s report, the attack is alleged to have been
planned by Mahn Sha.

Meanwhile, the fate of the money and gold taken from the trucks remains
unknown. Pastor Timothy is said to have traveled to the site of the attack
to document events and take photographs.

Hnoke Khan Hmwe and the wife of Law Plah said that Pastor Timothy offered
to take responsibility for compensating for the loss of the money and gold
in the attack on the DKBA trucks.

He is believed to be in possession of the compensation funds, but why he
has offered to take responsibility for the theft remains unknown and has
led some to suggest that his actions indicate that he knows more about the
theft of cash and gold than he has admitted.

____________________________________

April 5, Kaladan News
DKBA orders demolition of mosque in Karen State

Chittagong, Bangladesh: The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which
has a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military junta and is pro-SPDC,
on March 28 ordered the demolition of a mosque, which has been in
existence for a long time in Karen State, Burma, according to the Myanmar
Muslim news.

The mosque is in "Kawpraw village" in Karen State in southern Burma. It is
a small fishing village. Sayadaw (in English monk) of Myain Gyi Ngu, the
leader of the DKBA had a dream that there is a pagoda buried under the
mosque. So, he ordered the mosque to be destroyed.

Besides, the Muslim villagers near the mosque have been threatened with
evacuation, who have been living there for a long time.

Similarly, some years ago, there was a mosque in Karen state, which was
destroyed in an explosion by the DKBA on the orders of Sayadaw of Myain
Gyi Ngu.

Sayadaw is no ordinary man and is a member of the Military Intelligence of
the SPDC, who pretends to be a Buddhist monk. Sayadaw was sent with a
secret plan to the Karen National Union (KNU) by the military government
to play a divide and rule policy between Buddhist Karens and Christian
Karens and to split it into two groups, Muslim news further added.

Sayadaw succeeded in dividing the KNU.  He led one group called DKBA
(Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) and left the KNU. Since then they have
been complying with the orders of the SPDC and have become a rebel group
with vested interests. It has been selling natural resources of the
country.

Later, this group was equipped by the SPDC and it moves in Karen State
like marauders, killing, robbing, and committing arson across the
Burma-Thai border. People in Burma call them the Buddhist Karen terrorist
group.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 5, Agence France Presse
Myanmar, Thailand begin work on controversial dam

Myanmar and Thailand have begun building a controversial hydro-power dam
on the Salween River, the as yet longest undammed waterway in Southeast
Asia, official media reported Thursday.

Thailand's MDX Group Co Ltd has invested about six billion dollars in the
Tasang project in eastern Shan State, which is the biggest of four planned
dams on the Salween.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said construction began on
March 30 -- a move likely to dismay environmentalists who had called for a
delay to allow a public consultation on the project.

Activists say the dams could prove disastrous to Salween's delicate
ecosystem and accuse Myanmar's military junta of using the dams as an
excuse to evict thousands of ethnic minority villagers from their land.

The New Light of Myanmar said the dam located about 45 miles (75
kilometres) from the Thai border in Myanmar's Shan state would be 2,848
feet (868 metres) long and 746 feet (227 meters) high.

"On completion, generators to be equipped at the power station will have a
total capacity of 7,110 megawatts and the project is expected to produce
35,446 million (kilo-watts per hour) yearly," the newspaper said.

Senior officials from Myanmar's state-run energy firms and MDX Group
attended an official opening ceremony.

Three more dams on the Salween near the Thai-Myanmar border are in the
pipeline, mostly backed by Chinese state-owned energy companies.

The United States and Europe have economic sanctions against military-run
Myanmar to punish them for the ongoing detention of democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and other human rights abuses.

But energy-hungry neighbours like Thailand, China and India are keen to
exploit the country's abundant natural resources including energy, natural
gas and timber, throwing an economic lifeline to the military junta.

_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 4, Financial Times
Burma sand to fill Singapore’s needs - John Aglionby

Burma has offered to help Singapore meet a shortage of badly needed
construction materials after Indonesia banned sand exports and seized
granite shipments headed to the city-state.

According to George Yeo, Singapore’s foreign minister, Lieutenant General
Thein Sein, the third-ranking member of Burma’s ruling junta, told him
during a recent visit that the regime could “be a long-term supplier of
sand, cement, granite and other construction materials to Singapore”.

Construction costs have risen noticeably in Singapore since Indonesia
banned sand exports in January. Last month, Jakarta seized some two dozen
barges and tugboats preparing to transport granite to its tiny
resource-poor neighbour.

Singaporean contractors, desperate to ensure the nation’s recent building
boom does not stall through a lack of supplies and skyrocketing prices,
have in recent weeks increased imports from as far afield as China.

Jakarta has enjoyed roller-coaster relations with Singapore for decades.
Officials said sand exports were banned for environmental reasons and that
the granite vessels were impounded because they were being used to smuggle
sand. They have also expressed concern over a lack of agreement over the
border between the two countries.

Analysts believe, however, that Jakarta’s action is driven more by
resentment over perceived Singaporean arrogance towards its neighbour,
most notably Singapore’s refusal to sign a long-debated extradition
treaty.

Indonesia has long accused Singapore of sheltering wealthy Indonesians
escaping corruption charges at home.

Singapore allegedly fears there would be massive capital flight if an
extradition treaty with Indonesia was enacted. Merrill Lynch said last
year that Singapore had 55,000 people with assets of more than a $1m, a
third of them Indonesians with total assets of $87bn.

“The crux of the problem is the willingness of Singapore to prosecute
corrupt Indonesians and help Indonesia do the same,” said Todung Mulya
Lubis, the head of Transparency International in Indonesia. “Singapore is
a centre for commerce and business transactions. They probably just don’t
give a damn where the money comes from.”

Singapore says it is not being obstructive over the extradition treaty but
is waiting for the conclusion of a defence cooperation agreement, which
officials say is still months away. Both governments agreed two years ago
that the two deals would be signed in tandem.

Indonesian legislators have also demanded investigations into investments
by Temasek, the Singapore government’s investment arm, in Indonesia.

They claim, for example, that the purchase by Temasek subsidiaries of
stakes of more than 30 per cent in Indonesia’s two largest mobile phone
operators could be an attempt to create a monopoly.

Additional reporting by John Burton in Singapore.

_____________________________________

April 5, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar to host four-country commercial navigation meeting

Myanmar will host the Sixth Meeting of the Joint Committee on Coordination
of Commercial Navigation ( JCCCN) of four countries in the upper reaches
of the Mekong River later this month, the local Yangon Times reported
Thursday.

The meeting to be held in Tachilek, Myanmar's eastern Shan state, involves
China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, the four upper Greater Mekong Subregion
(GMS) countries, and will address issues of transportation of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) and petroleum products (PP), the report said, adding
that matters related to port tax will also be covered by the discussions.

Through such oil transportation, Myanmar will be benefited for the role of
its border port of Wan Pon in Tachilek, a JCCCN member was quoted as
saying.

The Wan Pon port checkpoint from the Myanmar side was upgraded on Jan. 29
this year along with Ban Muang Mom checkpoint from the Lao side to meet
international standard to boost arrivals of world tourists and those from
the third countries visiting the two border areas.

Myanmar, a member of the six-country GMS-Economic Cooperation, has worked
for closer economic ties together with other members of the grouping by
taking part in the implementation of the GMS program.

Initiated by the Asian Development Bank, the GMS-Economic Cooperation was
founded in 1992 to bring together China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Vietnam along the Mekong river.

Since then, Myanmar has joined in signing several GMS agreements, under
which the six participating countries have prioritized some 100 projects
in eight sectors including investment, trade, transport, tourism,
telecommunications, energy, environment and human resources development.

Covered by the Mekong project in the transport sector, Myanmar has
implemented projects of Lashio-Muse road, Lashio-Hsipaw-Loilem- Kengtung
road and Tachilek-Kengtung-Mongla road.

Aimed at developing the international passenger and cargo transportation,
trade and tourism on the Lancang-Mekong river, Myanmar joined three other
countries located in the upper reaches of the Mekong river -- China, Laos
and Thailand, in signing a commercial navigation agreement in April 2000
in Myanmar's Tachilek.

Under the agreement, which provides for vessels of any signatory country
to sail freely between Simao in China and Luangprabang in Laos, Myanmar
opened two ports along with three other signatories for the move. The
Lancang-Mekong international waterway was officially opened to commercial
navigation in June 2001.

Myanmar also joined five other GMS nations in signing an agreement and a
protocol in April 2004 in Phnom Penh with regard to cross-border
transportation.

The 4,500-km Mekong river originates from China's Qinghai and runs through
Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam down to South China Sea near
Ho Chi Minh city.

The GMS has a combined land area of nearly 2.3 million square- km and home
to more than 250 million people.

____________________________________

April 5, Asia Pulse
Iran, Myanmar keen to expand cooperation in agriculture sector

Tehran: Deputy Minister of Agriculture Jihad for international affairs and
development of cooperation with Africa, Farid Ejlali, and Myanmar's deputy
foreign minister in a meeting on Wednesday urged the need to broaden
cooperation in the agriculture sector.

At the meeting, Ejlali referred to production of 100 million tons of
agricultural products and put the relevant self-sufficiency coefficient at
95 per cent.

"Despite the potentials of both sides in the field of agriculture, the
level of bilateral ties in the sector is low. Iran is interested in
expanding its cooperation with Myanmar in production of rice, cane and
caoutchouc as well as natural resources and fish culture.

On his part, U Kyaw Thu expressed satisfaction with his visit to Iran and
said, "The level of cooperation between the two countries is currently
favorable and Myanmar is willing to bolster its economic exchanges with
Iran, in particular in the agriculture sector." He added that Myanmar's
economy is based on agriculture, so 54.6 per cent of the country's growth
national product (GNP) belongs to this sector.

Myanmar's deputy foreign minister said that 70 per cent of the country's
manpower is involved in agricultural activities.

"With an annual production of 27.5 million tons of rice, Myanmar ranks
ninth in the world in this regard," he added.

The Iranian official called for exchange of agricultural delegations
between the two sides and revival of the memorandum of understanding,
which was earlier signed by the two countries.

This proposal was welcomed by U Kyaw Thu.

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 5, Mizzima News
ASEAN+3 approves fund for economic crisis members - Christopher Smith

Senior officials from ASEAN plus 3 countries have today agreed to adopt
the formation of a fund to assist member countries experiencing economic
crisis.

Senior finance and central bank officials from the ten members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with delegations from
China, Japan and South Korea approved the agreement at a formal meeting in
Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Pact also calls on member countries to pool surplus reserves. The
primary impetus for this initiative is the establishment of a mechanism
whereby regional currencies are protected from fluctuation that may result
from the inflow of large sums of money into the region.

However it remains unclear what parameters are in place to regulate the
flow of funds, and whether or not Burma, as a member, could gain valuable
economic assistance through this channel.

Delegates in attendance at the meeting in Chiang Mai, and contacted by
Mizzima, would not comment on any specific ramifications that may arise as
a result of approving the Pact.

The goal of the meeting in Chiang Mai was stated as seeking to further
economic and financial cooperation, thereby fostering a more secure and
sustainable economic environment in the region.

The meeting follows on the heels of last month’s ASEAN-EU Foreign
Ministers Meeting in Nuremberg. At this meeting, focused on enhanced
economic integration, it was agreed to push forward with plans to enact an
ASEAN Economic Community and to explore means whereby struggling economies
of member countries may be brought up to speed.

_____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 5, Mizzima News
ITUC urges multinationals to withdraw from Burma - Mungpi

The International Trade Union Confederation has appealed to multi-national
companies investing in Burma to withdraw, as its investments are affecting
the lives of Burmese people, whom the ruling military junta has suppressed
for decades.

At a two-day meeting, on April 3 and 4, in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, the
ITUC reviewed ways and means to renew its campaign against companies
investing in Burma, as these investments strengthen the Burmese generals,
said Janek Kuczkiewicz, Director of Human and Trade Union Rights of the
ITUC.

Kuczkiewicz said, investments by multinational companies' emboldens the
junta to continue its appalling human rights violations, and use forced
labour.

"We are extremely concerned that forced labour and massive human rights
violations are continuing on a large scale all over the country [Burma],"
said Kuczkiewicz.

The Kathmandu conference, attended by over 70 delegates from over 20
countries across Asia, North America, Australia and Europe, welcomed the
Burmese junta's latest move in signing an agreement with the ILO on
setting up a mechanism that will enable victims of forced labour to seek
redressal.

But Kuczkiewicz said the ITUC will closely monitor the implementation of
the agreement by the Burmese junta.

"We are determined that if the junta does not respect its commitment to
stop prosecuting people that use the courts or legal mechanism to complain
about forced labour, then we will renew pressure to send the junta to the
International Court of Justice," Kuczkiewicz.

According to the agreement reached between the Burmese junta and the ILO
in February, victims of forced labour will have the freedom to approach
and submit complaints to the ILO Liaison Officer in Rangoon. And upon the
Liaison Officer's assessment, the authorities will investigate and take
appropriate action against the perpetrators.

In March, following the agreement, the ILO deferred taking Burma to the
ICJ because the junta signed the agreement.

"We are encouraged by the increased role played by the ILO, but we believe
that pressure has to be put on the junta on multiple fronts, the ILO is
one of them but there are many others," said Kuczkiewicz.

The third ITUC conference, which mainly focused on Burma's forced labour
and deteriorating political situation, concluded on Wednesday. It also
condemned the Burmese junta's ongoing national convention, calling it a
sham.

Kuczkiewicz said, "We are concerned but we are more than determined to
continue to strengthen our fight in order to establish democracy and the
rule of law in Burma."

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 5, The 88 Generation Students
On oppression against economic and social equalities of political activists

The Tatmadaw government has taken power since 1988 promising to practice
market-oriented economy and multi-party democracy. It swore to build in
democracy step by step.

Every citizen should, therefore, have the right to participate in the
development of freemarket economy and democracy.

In reality, however, those who are trying to achieve democracy are
marginalized from others as political activists, and have consequently
become victims of oppression against the free practice of their economic
and social rights.

Those who belong to political parties which have been founded in
accordance with the principle of multi-party democracy, those who are
democracy and human rights activists, and those who belong to NGOs are
deprived of freely exercising their businesses, and professional
licensing. Or even worse, business registration of some activists is
terminated in excuse of their involvement in politics. This means only
those who have no involvement in politics can take advantage of those
business opportunities. This shows the Tatmadaw government is breaking its
own promises.
This is the violation of the rights of a citizen, and the violation of the
international human rights charter that the Union of Myanmar has agreed to
exercise.

We believe the Tatmadaw government should help and support all the
citizens with equal rights and opportunities in their business and social
functions with no regard to their political beliefs. Hence, we the 88
Generation Students, urge to terminate any form of oppression against the
right to participate in the political and economic development of our
nation in the future.

The 88 Generation Students