BurmaNet News, April 13, 2007

[Editor]

April 13, 2007 Issue # 3183


INSIDE BURMA
SHAN: Detained Shan leader to give alms
Xinhua: Myanmar punishes more than 20 civil servants for malpractices
BBC Burmese Service: KNU blames SPDC for the recent fighting

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Supporters call for the release of HIV protestor

BUSINESS / TRADE
Thomson Financial: Norway 300 bln usd state pension fund to up equity
allocation to 60 pct vs 40

REGIONAL
The Statesman (India): Plight of Burmese prisoners lamented

INTERNATIONAL
DPA: Zimbabwe activist wins children's rights prize

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INSIDE BURMA

April 13, Shan Herald Agency for News
Detained Shan leader to give alms

Detained Shan leader Khun Tun Oo will be giving alms on Saturday, 15
April, according to a source close to his family in Rangoon.

The day coincides with wannao (Akyat Nay in Burmese), which is according
to tradition the day of transition from the old year to the New Year.

Khun Tun Oo, 64, who is being held in Kachin State's Putao, will be
offering vermicelli to the local monks. "We invite all those how love him
and freedom to rejoice in his merit-making and pray for the speedy freedom
of all the political prisoners", he said.

Khun Tun Oo, leader of Burma's second biggest winning party Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), and 8 others were arrested on
8-9 February 2005 and sentenced to unprecedented long term imprisonment,
from 75-106 years. One of them, Math Myint Than, died on 2 May 2006 at
Sandoway prison, Arakan State.

____________________________________

April 13, Xinhua General News Service
Myanmar punishes more than 20 civil servants for malpractices

Yangon: The Myanmar authorities have punished more than 20 civil servants
with the Ministry of Rail Transportation for various malpractices
committed taking the  advantage and facilities of their work posts, the
state-run  newspaper Mirror reported Friday.

The actions were recently taken after a number of government ministries
announced successively invitation of true complaints from the public in a
drive to ensure a clean administrative machinery.

The service personnel of the ministry were punished for  misconducts
including sale of black market train tickets,  overcharge of luggage
consignment, asking for more money than  designated for train tickets,
abuse of power, causing loss of  passengers' personal identification
documents and dealing rudely  with the passengers, the report said.

The report added that the offenders were given such punishments as
imprisonment, transfer of job to other states and divisions, cutting down
yearly increment of salaries and lowering the work status.

Ministries, which have invited such public complaints since last year,
include those of home affairs, energy, finance and revenue, and forestry
as well as the Yangon City Development Committee.

In February this year, the Myanmar authorities have also invited
complaints for similar practices by judicial personnel in a bid to shape a
fair judicial system that can win trust and  reliance of the people,
saying that any complaint against such  cases on personnel of the Supreme
Court or courts at various  levels, Attorney-General's Office and Myanmar
Advocates Council  can be made directly to their respective heads and
deputy heads of the bodies set up in Nay Pyi Taw by the same channels.

Earlier official reports said the Myanmar government has suspended the
posts of more than 100 officials and staff from the Customs Department in
a crack down on corruption and bribery since last November. Of them, over
three dozens have been sentenced to long-year prison terms, according to
legal sources.

Official statistics also show that the government punished 1, 247 service
personnel for malpractice in 2005 and 2006.

____________________________________

April 13, BBC Burmese Service
KNU blames SPDC for the recent fighting

KNU has said ongoing arm conflict is not between the different Karen
factions but it is only the attack by the SPDC, the ruling government of
Burma.

Secretary-General of the KNU, Pado Mahn Shalaphan, rejected media reports
on recent fighting as inaccurate, and he asserted that the main forces
behind the attack are those of Burmese government.

The breakaway group DKBA, he said, was only a small part of the combined
troops attacking the KNU.

KNU lost at least three camps since Sunday when the troops of the DKBA and
the Burmese government started a series of attacks.

However, KNU’s military chief, Gen. Mutu Saypho, said the camps they have
abandoned were only mobile ones and said that they have now moved to new
locations.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

April 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Supporters call for the release of HIV protestor

A group of people living with HIV plan to write a letter to the State
Peace and Development Council calling for the release of Ko Tin Ko, who
staged a solo protest in Rangoon last week.

Ko Tin Ko, who is also living with HIV, protested outside the Dagon Centre
on April 4, demanding easier access to antiretroviral treatment for people
living outside Rangoon. He was later arrested by police and is being held
at the Weibagi contagious diseases hospital, according to a police officer
who declined to be named.

“He was given a general examination and an ultrasound check. We have sent
all the details to Kyatpyay (Naypyidaw). We have not been given orders to
release or detain him. But at the moment he is being guarded by someone in
civilian clothing during the day and by two people during the night,” the
police officer said.

Ko Tin Ko is allowed visits from his family, according to hospital staff.
One of the 20 people who are planning to write to the government to demand
Ko Tin Ko’s release, Ko Yeh Kyaw from Kyaukpandaung, told DVB the group
would also demand greater access to treatment for people living with HIV.


_____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 13, Thomson Financial
Norway 300 bln usd state pension fund to up equity allocation to 60 pct vs 40

Oslo: Norway's 300 bln usd offshore state pension fund will raise its
equity allocation to 60 pct from 40 pct and plans to diversify into more
companies, including small caps, and to exclude the bonds of some
sovereign states on ethical grounds, the Finance Ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that its new policy on government bonds
would target Burmese (Myanmar) sovereign bonds in particular.

The Norwegian Government Pension Fund, set up by Norway to invest its huge
oil revenues from the North Sea, currently allocates up to 40 pct of its
resources in equities.

This year has seen its value rise to 300 bln usd as oil prices surge,
making it one of the biggest funds of its kind in the world.

Norwegian Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said that a 60 pct allocation
target for equities would achieve the right balance.

'We... believe this represents an appropriate trade-off between expected
risk and return,' said Halvorsen.
The ministry said the allocation changes would be spread out over several
years to minimise the transaction costs.

Additionally, the government white paper to parliament, which is proposing
changes to the fund, has raised the possibility of establishing new asset
classes for the fund in the future, including real estate and
infrastructure.

The ministry statement said that in future, more emphasis would be placed
on ethnical investments - and that the bonds of sovereign states could be
excluded in future if they failed to meet ethical standards.

'There will be established a mechanism where the Ministry of Finance can
exclude from the investment universe of the Pension Fund - Global
government bonds issued by certain countries,' the ministry said.

'This will primarily concern countries subject to UN sanctions or where
there are other international initiatives Norway is supporting,' the
ministry added.

'On the basis of the measures taken against Burma by the EU and other
countries, the Ministry will issue guidelines to the effect that the
Fund's capital cannot be invested in any government bonds issued by
Burma,' it added.

Prior to the reinforced emphasis on moral investments, the fund has
selectively been barred from investing in certain companies which have
violated human rights and environmental standards. Earlier this week,
South African miner miner DRD Gold Ltd was excluded from its investment
universe.

Other companies to be barred have included North American majors.

In June last year, it was announced that Wal-Mart Stores Inc and
Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc would be excluded after
recommendations from the fund's Council on Ethics.

Wal-Mart was excluded by the Norwegians because of alleged
serious/systematic violations of human rights and labour rights, while the
exclusion of Freeport-McMoRan was based on serious environmental damage.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 13, The Statesman (India)
Plight of Burmese prisoners lamented

Its about time that the authorities at the Presidency Correctional Home 
took some responsibilities for the plight of 34 Burmese prisoners. Dr
(Col.) Lakshmi Sahgal heading Solidarity Committee  for Burmas Freedom
Fighters had alleged that the Burmese prisoners of Presidency Correctional
Home, who were recently  transferred from Port Blair to Presidency
Correctional Home, were denied basic amenities.

Responding to this complaint the West Bengal Human Rights Commission
ordered the superintendent of police of the investigating wing to conduct
an inquiry. The report submitted today to the commission reveals that the
allegations filed against the jail authorities are in fact correct. The
prisoners remain in a deplorable condition with necessities like soap,
tooth paste and toothbrushes being denied. They have been put in separate
cells with many in solitary isolation. These prisoners are unable to
communicate as they only speak Burmese and jail authorities have not even
provided them with an interpreter.

The letter written to the commission alleges: ...they are being looked
upon as terrorist and have become objects of hatred, instead of sympathy.
Jail authorities had even beaten them up when they had protested some time
back. Recently   police filed a case against one Mr Thein Oung Gyaw (CR
2658/06). We will decide on a plan of action soon. We may even ask jail
authorities for an explanation, said Mr Justice Shyamal Sen, chairman,
state human rights commission.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 13, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Zimbabwe activist wins children's rights prize

Stockholm: Betty Makoni of Zimbabwe who has campaigned to empower girls in
the Southern African nation was Friday named winner of the World's
Children's Prize.

Queen Silvia of Sweden, one of the patrons of the prize, was to present
the award, worth 1 million kronor (140,000 dollars), at a ceremony on
Monday (April 16).

A 15-member jury of former child soldiers, street children, bonded workers
and refugees from 15 countries selected Makoni, who herself was sexually
assaulted as a very young girl.

Makoni has set up three villages that offer shelter to young girls and
offers them protection from assault, forced marriage, trafficking and
sexual abuse.

Other activities include 500 girls' clubs with 30,000 members, mostly in
rural areas and in poor townships.

Cynthia Maung of Myanmar and Inderjit Khurana of India received honorary
awards for their efforts to strengthen the rights of children and
education.

Maung has focused on offering health care and education to thousands of
refugee children in Myanmar and refugee camps in Thailand while Khurana
has set up schools and hotlines for vulnerable children who live and work
on train station platforms.

Makoni was also winner of the Global Friends' Award, garnering some 5.2
million of the 6 million votes cast by a worldwide panel of children.

Patrons of the World's Children's Prize include Queen Silvia, former South
African President Nelson Mandela, East Timor President Xanana Gusmao,
Carol Bellamy the former head of UNICEF, and Nobel economics prize
laureate Joseph Stiglitz.

The award was established in 2000 by the Swedish non-governmental
organization, Children's World.

In 2006, a Rwanda-based orphans group won the Global Friends' Award while
Craig Kielburger of Canada was selected for the World's Children's Prize
for the Rights of the Child.