BurmaNet News, October 5, 2007

[Editor]

October 5, 2007 Issue # 3312

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Suu Kyi considers offer to meet Myanmar top general
Irrawaddy: Than Shwe’s offer of talks met with skepticism
AP: Suu Kyi’s place in the pantheon of democracy icons
DVB: Monasteries again targeted in raids
Khonumthung News: Hakha people being forced to attend rally to support NC

ON THE BORDER
DPA: Exiled Myanmar leaders say protest movement strong despite crackdown

BUSINESS / TRADE
The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand): NZ Super Fund aids Myanmar

ASEAN
The Straits Times (Singapore): Asean will continue to engage Myanmar, says
PM Lee

REGIONAL
DVB: Asian artists write open letter for Burma
Mizzima News: India wants Burma to release Suu Kyi
Irrawaddy: Thailand should put pressure on Burmese junta, says Thai
politician

INTERNATIONAL
Oslo Center: Global leaders call for dialogue on Burma
Reuters: Myanmar finally attracts the world's attention
The Star (South Africa): SA makes U-turn on Myanmar debacle; Many now
regret SA's earlier Security Council decision
New York Sun: Security Council action against Burma Unlikely

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: UN Security Council must act now on Burma [Editorial]
Boston Globe: A new strategy for Burma - Jared Genser
Asia Times: Myanmar and the loss of legitimacy - David Steinberg
Wall Street Journal Online: Up in Alms: Burma's dictators exploit Buddhism
and the monks fight back - Philip Delves Broughton

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 5, Agence France Presse
Suu Kyi considers offer to meet Myanmar top general

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will consider positively a
heavily conditioned offer to meet the head of the junta, her party said
Friday, as a US envoy headed to meet the isolated regime's leaders.

The ruling generals made the offers of dialogue as the United Nations
prepared to discuss the violent crackdown on the largest pro-democracy
demonstrations in almost 20 years in the country formerly called Burma.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the past 18
years under house arrest, is a living symbol of the pro-democracy movement
that last week brought up to 100,000 people onto the streets of Yangon.

While the top general, Than Shwe, is known to despise her, Myanmar's state
media late Thursday said he was willing to see the Nobel peace prize
winner if she ends her support for sanctions against the regime.

Aung San Suu Kyi would consider the offer "in a positive light," said Nyan
Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD). "It's up to
Daw (Ms) Aung San Suu Kyi to decide," he said.

The regime extended the rare offer of talks as UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari
prepared to brief the UN Security Council on his four-day trip this week
to Myanmar, during which he met both the top general and the opposition
leader.

The US chief of mission in Myanmar, Shari Villarosa, was Friday due to
pass on a "very clear message" in her talks with the generals to start
"meaningful" dialogue with the opposition, said State Department spokesman
Sean McCormack.

Villarosa -- whose government has spearheaded global protests against
Myanmar -- was invited by the regime to its remote capital Naypyidaw but
had received no word on whom she would meet, US officials said.

Aung San Suu Kyi, whose NLD won 1990 elections by a landslide but was
never allowed to rule, continues to symbolise the nation's democratic
aspirations.

Last week, she was briefly allowed to greet some of the country's revered
Buddhist monks before the junta came down hard on the protesters, killing
at least 13 people and detaining more than 2,000.

The rallies began with small-scale protests after a massive mid-August
hike in fuel prices, but swelled into the biggest threat to the hardline
regime since student-led demonstrations in 1988, which were put down in a
massacre.

Although the security presence on Yangon's streets has eased, soldiers
continue to enforce a curfew and raid activists' homes overnight,
residents say.

Many Yangon monasteries are empty, leaving neighbours to wonder whether
the monks have been arrested, injured or worse.

Amid a flurry of international diplomacy, Gambari was due to brief the UN
Security Council later Friday on his four-day mission to Myanmar, but
China signalled early that it would block efforts to punish Myanmar.

China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, whose country, along with India, has
close ties to Myanmar, said Thursday that Beijing still regarded the
crisis there as an internal matter and rejected the idea of punitive
measures.

"No internationally imposed solution can help the situation," Wang said.

India, which has been under fire for its low-key reaction, called for Aung
San Suu Kyi's release, saying she can "contribute to the emergence of
Myanmar as a democratic country."

Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Singapore's Premier Lee
Hsien Loong agreed to send some foreign ministers from the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to Myanmar next month.

Singapore also said Friday it will represent ASEAN at a UN Security
Council meeting on developments in Myanmar.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon telephoned Lee to invite Singapore to
make a statement at the meeting in its capacity as current chair of ASEAN,
of which Myanmar is a member.

Singapore also said Lee had written to the leaders of China, India and
Japan "to encourage them to work together with ASEAN and the UN to help
the parties in Myanmar find a way forward for national reconciliation."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he would soon travel to
Myanmar to press for change, while Brazil unveiled plans to send a team of
observers.

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, called on
Myanmar to allow rights monitors to enter the country, pointing to "pretty
alarming" signs of abuses.

____________________________________

October 5, Irrawaddy
Than Shwe’s offer of talks met with skepticism - Wai Moe

Dissidents and ordinary Burmese have expressed doubts about an offer of
dialogue with the democratic opposition from Snr-Gen Than Shwe following
reports in the state-run media that the junta leader is prepared to meet
with the country’s democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, if she agrees to
certain conditions.


According to MRTV, Burma’s state-run television channel, “Snr-Gen Than
Shwe said during his meeting with [UN special envoy on Burma] Mr. Gambari
that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been promoting four things – confrontation,
utter devastation, economic sanctions on Myanmar, and other sanctions.” 
The report added that Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League
for Democracy, would have to abandon these objectives before the ruling
junta would agree to a dialogue.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the NLD, insisted that the party has never
advocated any of the things that it stands accused of, and pointed out
that since Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, “she can only
respond when she is free.”

A leading monk during the recent mass protests also expressed deep
skepticism about the junta’s sincerity.

“If Snr-Gen Than Shwe wants a real dialogue, it should be unconditional,”
said the monk. “Now they are facing increasing pressure from the
international community. These pressures are the greatest they have faced
since 1988, so now, for the first time, they are calling for dialogue. But
they still take the attitude that they are calling the shots.”

The monk also said that the junta was trying to turn attention away from
its own brutality by blaming the opposition for the recent unrest: “The
junta killed, arrested and disrobed monks. These things were done by the
junta, not Suu Kyi.”

Despite his mistrust of the junta’s motives, however, the monk added that
any meeting between the top generals and Aung San Suu Kyi was better than
nothing at all.

A veteran journalist in Rangoon, Sein Hla Oo, told The Irrawaddy that Than
Shwe should be trying to demonstrate his good will, rather than engaging
in a pointless blame game. “The junta has to stop its brutal acts and
arrests. Then all Burmese will know that the dialogue between the regime
and Aung San Suu Kyi is a step toward resolving Burma’s crisis.”

“If we see real dialogue, all Burmese will be very happy,” said Sein Hla
Oo. “People took part in the mass protests because they could no longer
stand the current disastrous situation. They need real change just to
survive. So they came out in the streets and faced brutal repression. The
generals must realize how serious the situation has become, instead of
blaming the opposition” for people’s frustration.
Ordinary Burmese are similarly dissatisfied with the junta’s latest
efforts to deflect criticism. A woman in Rangoon remarked that the
regime’s conditions for dialogue revealed that they were probably up to
their old tricks. “According to my experience, I cannot believe the
generals unless they show real good will.”

Tun Myint Aung, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group, was blunter
in his assessment of the junta’s latest political maneuver: “Nonsense
blaming and conditions mean the generals do not want real talks.”

“Real dialogue would mean that we could address the country’s problems
without further bloodshed,” said Tun Myint Aung. But without openness,
fairness and equality, there is no chance of a genuine dialogue taking
place, he added.

Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Aung San Suu Kyi have had two face-to-face meetings
in the past, the first in 1994 and the second in 2000.  Both meetings took
place while Aung San Suu Kyi was being held under house arrest.

____________________________________

October 5, Associated Press
Suu Kyi’s place in the pantheon of democracy icons - Michael Casey

Locked inside her walled home and not seen in public for four years,
democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi has been like a ghost to the people of
Burma. But she can cause a sensation just peeking out from behind her iron
gate.

A blurry photograph of Suu Kyi behind stone-faced riot police during the
recent protests against Burma's military junta was splashed on front pages
around the world and gave a surge of hope to a democracy movement
demanding an end to 45 years of rule by generals.

By praying with monks who marched despite the threat of bullets, by
silently acknowledging demonstrators shouting her name, by blessing with
her steely gaze the biggest anti-junta protests in two decades, the tiny
woman nicknamed "the Lady" has become more of a democratic icon than ever.

Suu Kyi has been compared to Nelson Mandela, Mohandas K Gandhi and Martin
Luther King Jr. Supporters mark her birthday with candlelight vigils, U2
penned the song "Walk on" in her honor, and everyone from first lady Laura
Bush to comedian Jim Carrey has championed her cause.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is not only the inspiration for the Burmese to bear
their ongoing suffering ... She alone continues to command the moral and
political legitimacy of the nation," said Monique Skidmore, a Burma expert
at Australian National University.
Still, being under house arrest for almost 12 of the past 18 years has
taken a toll. The long years of isolation, the lack of contact with
family, friends and colleagues, the crushing of the latest protests
clearly are weighing on her.

In photos taken after her two meetings with UN special envoy Ibrahim
Gambari this week, the 62-year-old Suu Kyi appeared exhausted and
discouraged, unable even to fake a smile for being allowed the rare
privilege of talking to an outside guest.

But even though she is locked away, the very mention of her name is said
to throw the head of the junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, into fits of rage.

"She is not just the opposition ... She is a symbol," said David
Steinberg, a Burma expert at Georgetown University in Washington. "She is
the biggest threat."

Hundreds of riot police are now stationed around the clock outside her
sparsely furnished, lakeside home in Rangoon. The road in front is closed
to traffic. Two navy boats patrol the lake.

Access to the compound is mostly limited to her two aides and her doctor,
who makes monthly stops. Groceries are dropped off with security guards.

Suu Kyi has no phone or Internet access. Her two grown sons, Alexander and
Kim, live abroad and are denied entry into the country. It is not known
whether she has ever seen her young grandchildren, Kim's children Jasmine
and Jamie.

Her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died from cancer in 1999 after
being blocked from seeing her for three years. Suu Kyi could have left
Burma to see her family, but she feared she would not be allowed to
return.

Her days, according to UN staffers who have been allowed to meet with her,
follow a simple routine. She rises early to meditate and spends much of
her time reading books—mostly politics, philosophy and Buddhism—and
listening to the BBC and Voice of America on the radio.

She likes music, occasionally playing classical music on her piano and
listening to everything from the Grateful Dead to Bob Marley.

Her two-story house, once a grand mansion where her mother lived, has
fallen into disrepair. She largely lives hand-to-mouth, depending on book
royalties to buy her meager rations. Money from her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize
went into a foundation to educate Burma's children.

"She is completely devoted to the cause of democracy and human rights,"
said Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, a UN official who met with Suu Kyi seven times
from 2000 to 2003. "I think she survives all the duress because she has a
great spiritual quality ... She doesn't worry about herself."

Her critics, including some former members of her National League for
Democracy Party, call her uncompromising and principled to a fault. They
point to 1993, when the junta organized a gathering to draw up a new
constitution. She barred the party from participating, which some members
said denied them a chance to influence the document.

Despite being the daughter of Burma's founder, Gen Aung San, Suu Kyi fell
into politics almost by accident.

In 1988, she rushed home from England to care for her dying mother, then
was swept up in mass demonstrations. She turned into a rallying figure
against the junta amid clashes that killed at least 3,000 protesters.

"I could not, as my father's daughter, remain indifferent to all that is
going on," she told some 500,000 people at the Shwedagon Pagoda that year,
a moment that cemented her inspiring presence as a leader. "This national
crisis could in fact be called the second struggle for national
independence."

The aftermath was swift and furious. The junta detained Suu Kyi, then
barred her from entering a 1990 election. Her party still won in a
landslide, but the generals refused to honor the results.

Despite the years of harsh treatment, Suu Kyi says she would be open to
compromise with the generals and insists her quest is not about becoming
the next leader of Myanmar.

"I don't want to see a new personality cult develop," she has said. "I
have a vision of a country where we can sort out our problems by talking
with one another."

____________________________________

October 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monasteries again targeted in raids

Several monasteries in Rangoon were left empty following raids by
government security forces on Wednesday night.

Maggin monastery in Thingangyun township, which provides care for people
with HIV and AIDS, was emptied and locked up by the authorities.

Nearly all the monks from the monastery had been arrested in a previous
raid, and only nine novices and a small number of HIV/AIDS patients
remained there.

The novices were sent to another monastery, while the HIV/AIDS patients
were handed over to medical officers at Thingangyun general hospital who
then transferred them to Waibargi hospital in Nyaukokkalapa, according to
a Thingangyun resident.

The Five-Storey monastery in the same township was also raided on
Wednesday night, but the five monks who were left there following an
earlier raid managed to avoid arrest.

In South Okkalapa township, Shwe Taung Maw monastery was targeted by
soldiers from battalion 66. Thirty monks remaining in the near-empty
monastery were arrested.

“[The soldiers] looked as if they were raiding a terrorist camp,” said a
source close to the monastery.

“They approached the monastery from Nga Moe Yeik creek in darkness, like a
covert operation. And they carried out the raid on the monastery so
discreetly that people didn’t even realise,” he said.

Lay people in the monastery were also arrested, including those who had
taken refuge there.

“All the monks were arrested during the raid and the monastery has been
left empty. They also arrested all the lay people who were staying at the
monastery, including women with toddlers,” said the source.

Soldiers also seized computers, two mobile telephones and other property
from the monastery.

Local people said they expected the empty monasteries to be refilled with
monks who support the government.

____________________________________

October 5, Khonumthung News
Hakha people being forced to attend rally to support NC

Having violently suppressed the protests led by monks and the people,
killing and arresting them, the ruthless military junta is forcing the
people to attend rallies in support of the National Convention across the
country.

In Chin State the local authorities have summoned the people in Hakha
Township, in northwestern Burma to attend a rally in support of the NC to
be held in 'Vumtu Maung' play ground in Hakha.

"The authorities have readied the play ground  for the junta–organized
rally to be held on October 8 or 9", a source in political circles in
Hakha said.

It is learnt that the local authorities have informed the people through
Quarter and Village Council leaders that two members from each household
in Hakha Township must attend the rally.

"Most of people don't feel like getting involved in any kind of
referendum. However, they have to attend the rally because they are being
forced," said a Hakha local.

 Dr. Hmuthang, a delegate to the NC, from Thangtlang Township in Chin
state is also said to have launched a campaign to support the NC across
Thangtlang.

The National Convention which began in 1993 as a part of the regime's
seven-point road map to disciplined democracy was wrapped up on September
3, 2007.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 5, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Exiled Myanmar leaders say protest movement strong despite crackdown

Exiled Myanmar leaders say protest movement strong despite crackdown Bangkok
Last week's brutal crackdown on protests in Myanmar will not stop the
growing movement for reform in the pariah state, pro-democracy leaders in
exile said Friday.

The unprecedented Buddhist monk-led protests ignited a fire among
long-suffering Burmese that will not be easily extinguished, but the
international community must pressure the military regime to avoid further
bloodshed, the activists told a Bangkok press conference.

"Many people are saying the Burmese revolt is over, but that is not true,"
said Naing Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma. "A movement that
brought out 1 million people willing to defy bullets cannot easily
disappear."

Leaders of several groups said the images thousands of monks marching
peacefully, and finally being beaten, had brought together both Myanmar
citizens and people around the world to stand up to the regime.

"Those two contradictory images of peace and brutality were powerful for
the world to see, but this has been going on in Burma for the last 50
years, especially in the ethnic areas," said Salai Lian Sahkong of the
Ethnic Nationalities Council.

"We have been suffering and dying and crying without the world knowing
about it, but now the people of Burma are uniting, and we're saying: 'no
more killing, no more beating.'"

The exiled pro-democracy leaders agreed that the moral authority of the
country's monks has lent powerful impetus to the movement, and said the
military regime is fearful because it has not been able to control the
monkhood.

"People in the communities always give food to the monks, but now the
people have started to go to the monks to ask them for food," said Naing
Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma. "The monks see how the people
are suffering, and as the moral authority of the communities, they are now
demanding to change the system."

Khin Ohmas, an advocate for political prisoners and veteran of the mass
1988 democracy uprising that ended with a bloody crackdown, said the
resurgent movement is stronger for past experiences and for the new
leadership of the monks.

"When we were out in the streets, many people might've just seen us as
rebellious kids - and, in a way, we were," she said. "But now people see
that the monks are leading the way, and they represent the highest level
of respect in our society."

Sulak Sivaraksa, a Thai author, teacher and devout Buddhist, said monks
have a duty to be involved in politics when injustice is being committed.

"Buddhist monks must strive for peace on the inside, and peace on the
outside - it is about looking for balance all through life – and politics
is part of that whole," he said. "It is only in the West that Buddhism has
become some kind of escape."

U Maung Maung, of the National Council of the Union of Burma, rejected the
commonly held idea that the military junta is deaf to international
criticism.

"If you don't read Burmese, you may think that," he said. "But the Burmese
media, which are run by the regime, they are reacting all the time to what
the US says, the EU, the UN. They do care about international opinion, and
it is important to pressure them."

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 5, The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand)
NZ Super Fund aids Myanmar

The Government's $13.1 billion New Zealand Super Fund has admitted that
companies it invests in with operations in military-ruled Myanmar have
"mixed" records on human rights.

Investigations by The Press show the fund has pumped tens of millions of
dollars into seven international energy companies accused by critics of
helping prop up Myanmar's brutal regime.

The fund told The Press yesterday it was committed to working with
companies in countries with a high risk of human rights violations to
improve their policies and practices.

It said responsible investment standards were constantly evolving and it
had holdings in about 3000 companies.

"The fund holds stocks of multinational companies that undertake some of
their business activities in Myanmar," a spokeswoman for the fund said.

"Information we have suggests that the human rights practices and policies
of these companies is mixed, with some companies responding positively to
shareholder engagement to act consistent with United Nations standards.

"We continue to work with other investors to assess the most effective
course of action to engage with these companies to meet UN Global Compact
standards."

The spokeswoman said that if international or New Zealand sanctions were
taken against Myanmar, the fund would review its investments in the
relevant companies.

New Zealand has a visa ban on members of the junta, but the Government has
said it will impose sanctions only if the UN does so first, which is
unlikely to happen with China holding a veto on the UN Security Council.

The fund's investments in United States, French, Chinese, Malaysian, Thai
and Japanese firms have been thrown into the spotlight by the toughest
crackdown on dissent in Myanmar, formerly Burma, in two decades.

Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is travelling in Europe, is understood to
have demanded a briefing on the issue.

An official told The Press the briefing, which has also been provided to
the office of the minister responsible for the fund, Finance Minister
Michael Cullen, stressed the guardians of the fund, a separate Crown
entity, were responsible for investment decisions.

A spokesman for Cullen, who was last night due to arrive in New Zealand
after a two- week visit to China, said the fund operated at "arm's length"
from the Government.

The briefing note provided to Clark said there were three firms with
operations in Myanmar in which the fund had invested. They were France's
Total SA, China Petroleum and Chemical, or Sinopec, and Malaysia's
Petroliam Nasional Berhad, also known as Petronas.

But the 2006 list of investments on the fund's website showed it had also
sunk millions of dollars into another Chinese firm identified in media
reports as operating in Myanmar, as well as companies from the United
States, Thailand and Japan.

The fund yesterday announced its 2007 annual result, showing impressive
returns on its investments of close to 15 per cent. During the year, its
holdings grew from $10.1b to $13.1b. Its 2007 list of investments has yet
to be posted on its website.

The 2006 list showed just over $18m invested in Total SA and nearly $13m
in American giant Chevron.

California-based Unocal, owned by Chevron, is part of a consortium led by
Total that taps the Yadana gas field, one of the Myanmar regime's main
sources of income.

The fund has nearly $8m in Sinopec and its offshoots, and nearly $4m in
Petrochina.

Other investments included $2.7m in a Japan's Nippon Oil Corp and $1.2m in
Thailand's PTT.

There was no record of Petronas on the 2006 investments list, indicating
it may be a new investment.

The fund came under fire from Clark this year after the Green Party
revealed it was putting money into nuclear weapons manufacturers and
tobacco companies.

____________________________________
ASEAN

October 5, The Straits Times (Singapore)
Asean will continue to engage Myanmar, says PM Lee

In an e-mail interview, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave his assessment
on the way forward for Myanmar, following his meeting with UN envoy
Ibrahim Gambari on Wednesday.

Q: What is your assessment of the United Nations Secretary General's
Special Adviser Mr Ibrahim Gambari's recent mission to Myanmar?

PM Lee: I had a useful exchange of views with Mr Gambari. He had had a
useful visit to Myanmar, and had met both Senior General Than Shwe and
Aung San Suu Kyi.

I assured him of Asean's full support. I told him that we hoped his
mission and the UN's efforts would end the violence and begin a process of
national reconciliation, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

I encouraged Mr Gambari to press on with the UN's efforts because I
believe that this offers the best hope for Myanmar and its people. There
is a limit to what Singapore or Asean alone can do.

Finding a way forward for Myanmar will require the coordinated engagement
and combined efforts of all the major interested powers. To bring this
about, the UN must play a leading role.

Q: What are the next steps to be taken after this mission?

PM Lee: A fresh approach must be found to restore stability and normalcy
to Myanmar and to give hope to the Myanmar people.

It will have to be based on reconciliation among all parties, and a
peaceful, progressive transition to a government enjoying greater
legitimacy at home and recognition abroad. But it will take time.

Q: How does Asean view the situation in Myanmar?

PM Lee: Instability in Myanmar can affect the whole region, especially as
it is a member of Asean.

It is better for Myanmar to be inside the family than outside. Therefore
Myanmar's difficulties are also Asean's difficulties.

So Asean will continue to engage Myanmar, as we encourage and help it to
move forward.

I wrote to Senior General Than Shwe last week to convey the concerns of
the Asean countries. I think that he appreciates our concerns. He had told
me, when I visited Myanmar in March 2005, that Myanmar would always be a
responsible member of Asean.

Q: What role can the major powers play in resolving this situation?

PM Lee: China and India are critical to any international approach to
Myanmar. Both share borders with Myanmar. They are therefore in a unique
position to encourage Myanmar to work towards a political solution and
national reconciliation.

China has been helpful, quietly exerting its positive influence to make Mr
Gambari's visit a success.

Japan too plays an important role, because it is a major aid donor to
Myanmar.

I believe that all of these countries share Asean's desire to see Mr
Gambari and the UN succeed, and bring long term stability to Myanmar.

Q: Some have called for Asean to take an even tougher line on Myanmar.
Your views?

PM Lee: We have to be mindful of the realities of the situation. First,
sanctions against a regime that is ready to isolate itself are more likely
to be counter-productive than effective.

Second, the military, as a key institution in Myanmar, has to be a part of
the process of national reconciliation, and of any lasting solution.

As Thant Myint-U, a historian who is a grandson of the former UN
Secretary-General U Thant, has said, the 'sanctions argument is deeply
flawed', and the world must be careful that the change it wants to see in
Myanmar does not lead to the anarchy seen in Iraq.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Asian artists write open letter for Burma

Thirty-two people in the arts have signed an open letter to show support
for peaceful protestors in Burma and condemn the violence against them by
the military regime.

The signatories come from a range of Asian ethnic backgrounds and include
artists, performers, filmmakers and writers. Among those who signed are
Amitav Ghosh, who wrote The Glass Palace and Michael Ondaatje, author of
The English Patient.

“As citizens of the world, as artists valuing free expression, as people
of Asian heritage, we write in support of the courageous Buddhist monks
and nuns, and other people from all religions and walks of life in Burma,
as they continue to seek peaceful change and national reconciliation” the
letter reads.

“We support the ongoing struggle of the people of Burma for basic human
rights, and we admire their expressions of compassion for all humanity. As
fellow humans, we stand with them.”

As well as condemning the “military reign of terror” since security forces
began crackdowns on protesters, the letter also calls for the release of
detained National League for Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
comedian Zarganar, and poet Bamaw Nyo New.

____________________________________

October 5, Mizzima News
India wants Burma to release Suu Kyi - Syed Ali Mujtaba

New Delhi: India has asked the military regime in Burma to release
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. New Delhi made this demand at a
special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Myanmar in
New York on Tuesday, a MEA release on Thursday said.

India's envoy to the UNHRC Swashpawan Singh stated; "The government of
India believes that the release of Aung San Suu Kyi would be helpful in
terms of the process of democratization and that she can contribute to the
emergence of Myanmar as a democratic country," the MEA release added.

Describing Burma as a "close and friendly neighbour" with whom India
shares "links of geography, culture, history and religion", Singh noted
that recent developments in that country were a matter of concern for New
Delhi.

"We are closely monitoring the situation there," Singh said, the MEA
release said.

Singh who is India's permanent representative at the UN pointed out that
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had met his Burmese
counterpart, U Nyan Win at New York on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly session on October 1 and conveyed India's concern.

It is the first time since the early 1990s that India has publicly sought
the release of the 62-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The pro-democracy leader has been under house arrest since 2000.

____________________________________

October 5, Irrawaddy
Thailand should put pressure on Burmese junta, says Thai politician - Sai
Silp

Thailand should use bilateral trade and gas deals as leverage to pressure
the Burmese junta to stop its violent attacks on the Burmese people, says
a member of the Thai National Legislative Assembly.

Dr Gothom Arya, a member of the NLA and chairman of the National Economic
and Social Advisory Council, told The Irrawaddy on Friday he questions the
Thai government's policy of non-intervention in the affairs of Burma, as
described by Defense Minister Gen Bunrod Somtad on Thursday.

“Thailand's action in this situation is not clear and concrete enough,"
said Gothom Arya. "However, Thailand is a major business partner with
Burma and that should be used for negotiations, such as the gas deal which
provides a benefit for the Burmese government.”

Gothom said Thailand should consider the actions of other countries such
as the US, Australia and the EU that have clear policies against Burma’s
military government. Japan also said this week it is considering sanctions
against Burma.

“Asean has also considered a stronger policy such as denying member status
to Burma until it can solve the problem appropriately,” he said.

Gothom's comments came following a discussion of the issue in the Thai
cabinet and the NLA on Thursday.

Gen Bunrod said the Thai government has done its best in the Burma
situation both in the UN General Assembly and as an Asean member,
according to a report by the Thai National News Bureau.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Tharit Charungwat said on Friday the
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to Burma has urged the junta to start a
reconciliation process.

“The Thai ambassador in Rangoon reports that the situation has returned to
normal and no Thai citizens in Burma have requested to return to
Thailand,” Tharit said.

Meanwhile, according to Thai security authorities, there has been no
influx of Burmese refugees seeking safety on the northern Thai border with
Burma.

Amnesty International announced on Friday that a global day of action in
support of the Burmese people will be held on Saturday.

In Bangkok, Amnesty International, Thailand, will hold a peace march and
demonstration in front of Burmese Embassy.

In Chiang Mai, activists and Buddhist groups plan to demonstrate in front
of the Indian consulate and hold a Buddhist ceremony and demonstration
near the centre of town.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 5, Oslo Center
Global leaders call for dialogue on Burma

Former Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Foreign Ministers Urge China To
Press Burma’s Military Regime to Engage in Peaceful Dialogue With Its
Political Opposition.

Over twenty foreign dignitaries, including the former heads of state of
France, Ireland, the Philippines, Norway, Brazil and Finland today issued
a joint letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging support for a
“peaceful and inclusive dialogue for national reconciliation in Burma.”

Organized by the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, the letter
encourages China to stand in solidarity with the international community’s
support for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners in
Burma.

It also encourages China to press Burma to engage in a peaceful
tri-partite dialogue, as called for by the UN General Assembly, and to
support Security Council agreement on a peaceful binding resolution to
strengthen political efforts and to impose an immediate arms embargo on
Burma.

 “We believe China can play an increasing constructive role in convincing
Burma’s military regime to participate in peaceful dialogue with Aung San
Suu Kyi and the National League for democracy, as well as the country’s
ethnic groups,” said former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne
Bondevik, President of The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights. “The
international community has spoken loudly,” added Bondevik, and “China
needs to listen and play a pivotal and constructive role in a peaceful
transition to democracy in Burma.”

The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights is an independent,
not-for-profit organization established in 2006.

Contact: Hilde Salvesen  +47-9593-5539

The letter:

October 05, 2007
The Honorable Hu Jintao
President
People’s Republic of China
Beijing, China

Dear President Hu:

We are writing to ask you to support a peaceful and inclusive dialogue for
national reconciliation in Burma, in light of nationwide demonstrations
and shooting on the streets of Burma’s major cities. We believe China
could play an increasing constructive role in convincing Burma's military
regime to participate in peaceful dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and the
National League for Democracy, as well as the country's ethnic groups.

These "tripartite" national reconciliation talks are called for by the UN
General Assembly and strongly supported by the Secretary-General.
Importantly, China can galvanize the international community’s collective
ability to work with Burma in a forward-looking and modern spirit of
cooperation, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions China is in a
uniquely powerful position to encourage Burma's military regime to engage
in such a tripartite dialogue.  With China's support, the UN can
facilitate these talks between all parties in Burma. Without China's
support, UN efforts are likely to fail and Burma could continue to spiral
into the status of a failed state, with unfortunate regional implications
in the short and long term. The recent nationwide demonstrations underline
the permanent instability caused by a military regime with limited and
decreasing popular support.   The United Nations Secretary-General, the UN
General Assembly, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan,
Australia, the European Union, and 59 former Presidents and Prime
Ministers throughout the world are all urging the release of Aung San Suu
Kyi and all political prisoners in Burma.

We invite China to stand in solidarity with the international community to
join in this effort. Mr. President, We encourage China's policy on Burma
to be carefully reviewed taking into account the following proposed areas
of action:

(1) Support the international calls for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi
and all political prisoners in Burma;

2) Utilize fully China’s unique position to facilitate/support a peaceful
tri-partite dialogue, as referred to above and as called for by the UN
General Assembly; and 3) Support Security Council agreement on a peaceful
binding resolution designed to strengthen the multilateral political
efforts and impose an immediate arms embargo for Burma. We believe such
forward-looking steps would serve to strengthen Burma at this critical
juncture in the country’s history, on the basis of a firm and collective
position by the international community, to which China is in a pivotal
leading position of influence.

Thank you for your careful consideration. Sincerely,

1.         The Honorable Corazon C. Aquino
Former President of the Philippines (1986-1992)

2.         The Honorable Valdis Birkavs
Former Prime Minister of Latvia (1993-1994)

3.         The Honorable Kjell Magne Bondevik
Former Prime Minister of Norway (1997-2000, 2001-2005)

4.         The Honorable Gro Harlem Brundtland
Former Prime Minister of Norway (1986-1996)

5.         The Honorable Vlado Bučkovski
Former Prime Minister of Macedonia (2004-2006)

6.         The Honorable Armando Calderón Sol
            Former President of El Salvador (1994-1999)

7.         The Honorable Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Former President of Brazil (1995-2003)

8.         The Honorable Philip Dimitrov
Former Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1991-1992)

9.         The Honorable Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Former President of Iceland (1980-1996)

10.       The Honorable Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin
Former Prime Minister of Mongolia (1998, 2004-2006)

11.       The Honorable Václav Havel
Former President of the Czech Republic (1990-2003)

12.       The Honorable Paavo Lipponen
Former Prime Minister of Finland (1995-2003)

13.       The Honorable Lionel Jospin
Former Prime Minister of France (1997-2002)

14.       The Honorable Zlatko Lagumdžija
Former Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001-2003)

15.       The Honorable Davíð Oddsson
Former Prime Minister of Iceland (1991-2004)

16.       The Honorable Viktor Orbán
Former Prime Minister of Hungary (1998-2002)

17.       The Honorable Andrés Pastrana Arango
Former President of Colombia (1998-2002)

18.       The Honorable Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland (1990-1997)

19.       The Honorable Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé
Former President of the Republic of Bolivia (2005-2006)

20.       The Honorable Casam Uteem
Former President of the Republic of Mauritius (1992-2002)

____________________________________

October 5, Reuters
Myanmar finally attracts the world's attention - Darren Schuettler

For years, Western campaigners against Myanmar's ruling generals have
struggled to rise above the B-list of world causes.

They looked on as Darfur, climate change and HIV/AIDS grabbed more
headlines, more cash, lured marquee celebrity activists and caught the ear
of world leaders.

That all changed last week.

As images of the bloody crackdown against anti-junta protesters fuelled
global outrage, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a London-based
activist group to offer his help.

"So far this year, the British Foreign Office hadn't even bothered to
reply to our letters; now the Prime Minister is on the phone to us," said
Mark Farmaner, spokesman for the Burma Campaign U.K.

"The impact for us has been incredible."

In the first days of the crackdown, in which diplomats believe many more
than junta's admitted 10 people were killed, Farmaner's group received up
to 600 phone calls a day from journalists, crashing its voice mail system.

"Our printer broke. Laptop died. Even the camp bed I had in the office
fell apart," he said.

Their Web site, www.burmacampaign.org.uk, has had more hits in the past
week than over an entire year. An on-line appeal for donations netted
$20,000 in the first week, equal to six months' normal donations.

"Up until now we had been having a difficult year financially, with
donations lower than usual," Farmaner said.

International sympathy for the Myanmar protesters -- the junta admits more
than 1,400 are still detained -- has energized a street campaign that
never gained traction despite the iconic image of detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, often described as Asia's Nelson Mandela.

"DAY OF ACTION"

In some Western and Asian capitals, thousands have marched to the
embassies of Myanmar and China, seen as a key backer of the regime and its
defender in the U.N. Security Council, where only handfuls of diehard
demonstrators had gone before.

"People are really angry at China and unless they change their stance now,
I believe there may be a real Olympic boycott," said Jeremy Woodrum of the
U.S. Campaign for Burma, which organized protests at China's embassy in
Washington last week.

Activists hope to crank up the pressure on Saturday with a "Global Day of
Action" involving marches and rallies in 41 cities across Asia, Europe and
North America.

The Internet is playing an even bigger role in rallying opposition. Some
300,000 people have joined the "Support the monks protest in Burma"
campaign on the social networking Facebook site since it was launched on
September 19.

"It is essential that once the world's media turns its attention
elsewhere, Gordon Brown and other world leaders remain actively engaged in
driving forward international action," said Farmaner.

Activists have struggled to lure Hollywood celebrities to the cause as
they try to copy a campaign against rights abuses in the Darfur region of
Sudan, which has drawn such well-known names as George Clooney and Matt
Damon.

But last month, more than 25 celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Owen
Wilson, Anjelica Huston and Dustin Hoffman petitioned U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to push for stronger action against the
generals.

Action star Sylvester Stallone's latest "Rambo" movie, which pits Vietnam
veteran John Rambo against the might of the Myanmar army, is bound to help
activists keep up the momentum when it is released in January.

Some analysts doubt the street marches, Internet campaigns and celebrity
appeals will have much of an impact.

"They are good people I'm sure, and we all want the same thing out of that
society, but that doesn't mean they can get it the way they are going,"
said David Steinberg, a Myanmar expert at Georgetown University.

However, some activists have drawn inspiration from past human rights
campaigns, including the struggle against apartheid in South Africa which
ended with democratic elections in 1994.

At the height of the Myanmar monks' protests last month, Archbishop and
Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said it reminded him of "the rolling
mass action that eventually toppled apartheid".

The 1976 Soweto uprising, in which hundreds of students were shot by
security forces, is often viewed as the beginning of the end of apartheid,
even though it would take nearly 30 years.

"These things ebb and flow, but for the next few years we have a huge
surge of support that we have to keep mobilizing," said Debbie Stothard of
the Myanmar rights group ALTSEAN.

"The struggle is not yet over. This is one milestone."

____________________________________

October 5, The Star (South Africa)
SA makes U-turn on Myanmar debacle; Many now regret SA's earlier Security
Council decision

Many diplomats in Pretoria are delighted - or perhaps that should be
relieved - that Deputy Foreign Minister Sue van der Merwe summoned the
ambassador of Myanmar (Burma) U Ohn Thwin to the Union Buildings last
Saturday to condemn his government's violent repression of peaceful
protests.

Van der Merwe told him to respect the peoples's right to peaceful protest
and negotiate a long-term solution with the opposition. She noted that SA
had been party to the United Nations Security Council's decision last week
to dispatch UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to Myanmar to address the
crisis.

The department also expressed the hope that the UN Human Rights Council in
Geneva would "vigorously deal with the situation in Myanmar".

And the council, of which SA is a member, did do that.

At a special session this week, it adopted a consensus resolution in which
it "strongly deplored the continued violent repression of peaceful
demonstrations in Myanmar, including through beatings, killings and
enforced disappearances..."

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Human Rights Council's special rapporteur on
human rights in Myanmar, said the international community was deeply
concerned about the fate of thousands of peaceful demonstrators who had
been arrested since the beginning of the protests, and demanded the
release of them and all political prisoners.

Pretoria diplomats and others were pleased by SA's strong position now
because they saw it as correcting its weak position in January this year,
when it voted against a resolution in the UN Security Council condemning
Myanmar's military junta for its human rights abuses.

SA's ambassador to the UN, Dumisani Kumalo, explained then that the crisis
in Myanmar was a subject fit for the UN Human Rights Council and not the
Security Council, because it was not a threat to international peace and
security - addressing which is the Security Council's mandate.

This position was widely condemned as excessively legalistic and sparked
considerable debate and criticism about SA's stance on the Security
Council, which it had just joined for a two-year stint.

Publicly, the government has stuck to its guns about its Security Council
decision, insisting that it would vote the same today.

The government would also no doubt argue that the summoning of Thwin and
the strong condemnation of Myanmar last Saturday were consistent with its
position at the Security Council in January, especially since it had
reiterated its belief that the Human Rights Council should take up the
issue.

And, indeed, that the Human Rights Council had taken up the issue, strongly.

But one can sense a subterranean shift.

Many officials within the Department of Foreign Affairs have expressed
private regret for this decision, which did considerable damage to SA's
reputation as a champion of human rights.

The department is apparently holding an internal workshop at about this
time to discuss how to deal with human rights issues on the Security
Council - another sign of a rethink.

Against that backdrop, one senses that Van der Merwe's intervention was an
opportunity the government welcomed to put the record straight about its
feelings about Myanmar's human rights abuses.

It was an implicit shift in position. By supporting the Security Council
decision to dispatch Gambari to Myanmar, it has implicitly acknowledged
that the crisis is a proper subject for the Security Council as well as
the Human Rights Council.

This is a lesson that when policemen are killing Buddhist monks on the
streets, the UN should use whatever instruments it has to try to help.

What is happening now in Myanmar happened before in 1988 on an even larger
scale.

When it was making its fine legal points in January, the SA government
should have been able to anticipate that these events could recur - and to
help the UN use all its powers to try to prevent that.

____________________________________

October 5, The New York Sun
Security Council action against Burma Unlikely - Benny Avni

Despite a decision to conduct an unprecedented open U.N. Security Council
debate on Friday on the recent atrocities in Burma, diplomats here say it
is doubtful that the divided world organization will take any action.

The council is expected to hold a public hearing on the Burmese military
leaders' recent crackdown on unarmed demonstrators, including their murder
by the hundreds, and the arrest and torture of thousands of other Burmese
citizens, including U.N. employees. Nevertheless, the council is under
increased pressure to act. In Congress, Senator Feinstein, a Democrat of
California, and Minority Leader McConnell, a Republican of Kentucky, are
leading a campaign to bring democracy to Burma, on the heels of President
Bush's speech at the U.N. General Assembly last week. On Friday, actor Jim
Carrey is expected to participate in a press conference across from the
United Nations and call on the council to take action.

Secretary-General Ban and his envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who returned
yesterday from a four-day mission to Burma, will lead the council
briefing. In Burma, Mr. Gambari met with the junta leader, General Than
Shwe, as well as with the jailed democracy advocate and elected leader of
Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi. Since Mr. Gambari's departure, however, the
regime has made further arrests and there have been fresh reports of
military atrocities.

Burmese state-run television announced yesterday that the generals were
ready to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi, as long as she promised to abandon any
"obstructive measures" and to denounce any support for the imposition of
outside sanctions against the regime.

Last week, Washington announced a new set of travel and economic
restrictions against Burma, and the European Union also is expected to add
to its existing sanctions. China and its allies, however, say they will
oppose any punitive measures sanctioned by the Security Council.

"Let China publicly oppose an arms embargo against this regime," the
director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, Jeremy Woodrum, said.

The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Guangya, told The New
York Sun yesterday that this is exactly what he intends to do. "The
situation down there is a problem, it's a crisis," he said. But a
"solution has to be found by the Myanmars themselves. No internationally
imposed solution can help the situation."

Mr. Wang dismissed a recent statement by a regional group of countries,
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, that the situation in Burma is
destabilizing for the region. The statement was intended merely to
maintain ASEAN's "credibility," he said, adding events in Burma present no
threat to international peace and security, a condition for council
action.

"This is a big step for the Security Council to have, for the first time,
a public briefing of this kind," a spokesman for the American mission to
the United Nations, Benjamin Chang, said. Washington, he added, believes
that the unrest in Burma does represent a threat to the region and beyond.
In Washington, a State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, said the
acting American representative in Burma will join other foreign diplomats
for a meeting called by the junta leaders in their newly created capital,
Naypyidaw, on Friday.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 5, Irrawaddy
UN Security Council must act now on Burma [Editorial]

On Thursday evening, Burma's state-run media announced that junta chief
Snr-Gen Than Shwe was prepared to meet with detained democratic opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi. State television and radio also said the junta
leader had sent this message during his meeting this week with UN special
envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

It’s no surprise that the announcement came as the UN Security Council
prepared to discuss what to do about human rights abuses in Burma, calling
the situation there an issue of international concern.

The entire world is now aware of the massive abuses committed by the
regime in its crackdown on recent peaceful demonstrations and its
incarceration of so many devotees of democracy and human rights, including
Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

The mass protests were preceded by equally peaceful demonstrations calling
for an improvement of the people’s living standards and relief from their
everyday suffering, for the release of political prisoners and the start
of a process of national reconciliation.

The military government chose to meet this challenge not at the
negotiating table but with gunfire. Monks and nuns have been viciously
beaten and arrested by regime authorities and hired thugs. Students and
journalists were shot in the streets. Burma is now under a military reign
of terror.

As events took their bloody course, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's
envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, flew to Burma and met separately with the
junta’s top generals in the remote capital of Naypyidaw, and twice with
Suu Kyi in Rangoon.

Gambari urged the junta's leaders to stop repressing peaceful protesters,
release detainees, move towards real democratic reform, respect human
rights and reconcile with their political opponents, according to a UN
spokesman.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters that Gambari
had delivered "the strongest possible message" to Burma's military
leaders, but the UN chief admitted that the trip had not been successful.

This means that the conditions set by Than Shwe for a meeting with Suu
Kyi—including giving up her calls for confronting the military government
and for imposing sanctions against it—are not acceptable as a starting
point for compromise or negotiations between the junta and her opposition
National League for Democracy.

"They are asking her to confess to offences that she has not committed,"
said NLD spokesman Nyan Win, whose party’s landslide election victory in
1990 was ignored by the generals.

If Snr-Gen Than Shwe has a will to consider compromise, the political
preconditions must be created by allowing the public to peacefully
participate in the process, by lifting the curfew, withdrawing troops from
the cities and releasing all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi. Such
steps would definitely help build trust between the junta and the NLD.
Compromise with the generals should not be a monologue with the senior
generals doing all the talking.

Despite disagreements among Security Council members on how to handle the
Burmese regime, all have agreed that Burma needs to move towards a
political reconciliation process.

Far from making such a move, the regime has oppressed its own people and
locked opposition groups out of the political process for decades. The
situation for ethnic minorities in the country is even worse. About 3,000
villages have been burned down or otherwise destroyed in eastern Burma
alone, some repeatedly, to force ethnic minorities to move to
military-controlled areas.

The hope for freedom and justice for Burmese citizens is still strong,
although the Burmese generals show no evidence of democratic feeling,
while trying to hijack the country's fate.

The UN Security Council must not let the Burmese people down this time.
They have endured brutal repression over the past 19 years and have shown
their resolve and demonstrated—in 1988, 1990 and now again— that they want
to see a chance for political, economic and social change.

Members of the Security Council should step forward and publicly lead the
pressure on Burma to start democratic reforms as soon as possible. If they
refuse to act, many more people will die again in reaching out to achieve
their hopes.

____________________________________

October 5, Boston Globe
A new strategy for Burma - Jared Genser

UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari left Myanmar Wednesday much as he
arrived: with the military junta firmly in control, monks in jail, and the
Burmese people fearful of more violence. In the words of Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon commenting on the visit: "You cannot call it a success."
Indeed, junta leader Than Shwe's offer of "dialogue" with pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi is transparently disingenuous because it is the
same one he has put forward for years - that she abandon her support for
sanctions and her confrontational approach as a precondition of meeting.

As a result, the burden shifts back to the Security Council to see if it
will take action. This is no surprise. For decades Myanmar has posed a
challenge to the international community torn between a sanction-based
approach and constructive engagement. In reality, this is a false
dichotomy, and what is likely required now is both more sanctions and more
engagement.

The sanction-based approach has been confined to Western democracies. The
United States imposed a ban on new investment in 1997 and a ban on the
import of many goods in 2003. The European Union, by contrast, imposes
limited sanctions on the junta. Rather than concluding economic sanctions
have failed, it is more accurate to say they haven't really been tried,
except by the United States.

In Asia, "constructive engagement" policies have prevailed. China, India,
and Singapore, among others, have invested billions of dollars in the
country. Most trade is centered around energy, timber, and gems. But this
approach has demanded nothing in return from the Burmese junta. While
Myanmar has been the subject of strongly worded and inconsequential UN
resolutions condemning its human rights practices, the country is far from
isolated.

A recent study by EarthRights International found that in the past decade
more than 26 Chinese multinational companies have invested in 62
hydropower, oil and gas, and mining projects in Myanmar. In 2005, almost
$425 million in goods were imported from Myanmar into the EU.

Yet little of this trade has yielded commensurate benefits for most
Burmese. The military junta has built a new jungle capital, Naypidaw, and
enjoyed a living standard far removed from the ordinary Burmese, who are
among Asia's poorest citizens. The junta's mismanagement, ironically, led
to the current impasse: Desperate for hard currency, the generals raised
gas prices 500 percent overnight in August, triggering a self-inflicted
crisis, and subsequent crackdown.

Real political engagement and harder-hitting sanctions are now required
from all actors - but starting especially at the United Nations. Gambari's
visit to Myanmar came too slowly, and his prior visits - followed by such
self-congratulatory predictions as the claim that the junta has "turned a
new page" in its foreign relations - now look naive. The question now is
if the Security Council will take any steps to express a clear message to
the junta of its need to act.

This will be an uphill struggle, given China's seat at the table.
Beijing's backing gives the junta little reason to change its behavior. So
far, Beijing has refused to publicly condemn the military-led government.
But pressure on China has worked before. A campaign to end China's
military sales to Darfur has yielded important results. If Beijing remains
intransigent, countries such as the United States and EU members could
call for an Olympic boycott. Beijing only needs to signal to the Burmese
junta that the price for continuing to defend its actions is too high.

On the sanctions front, the EU and other like-minded countries could
target economic sanctions at foreign investment in Myanmar's larger-scale,
formal economic industries such as energy, timber, and gems. The formal
economy is owned substantially by the military establishment, their
families, and their associates. As three-quarters of Myanmar's people rely
on the land to survive, these sanctions would have limited impact on
average people in the country but could reduce its access to hard
currency. And, as a start, the Security Council should adopt an arms
embargo on the Burmese junta given its propensity to turn those arms on
defenseless civilians.

Further targeted sanctions combined with a UN negotiator backed by the
Security Council may be more persuasive to Burmese junta leader Than Shwe
than today's current mishmash of policies. There is no easy solution. But
the Burmese people have, yet again, signaled to the world that they yearn
to be free. The question is whether the international community will heed
their cry for help.

Jared Genser is an attorney in Washington and a term member of the Council
on Foreign Relations.
____________________________________

October 5, Asia Times
Myanmar and the loss of legitimacy - David Steinberg

The tragic recent events in Myanmar, whose true magnitude remains unknown,
are one more indication to the international community of the illegitimacy
of the military junta. This position, however, is far more complex when
internally viewed. To the Western world, popular elections and the
delivery of goods, services and security are those elements that comprise
legitimacy. Thus, to the external world Myanmar has miserably failed.

Although there is a dispute about what the May 1990 elections were for,
there is no question that the National League for Democracy (NLD) swept
the field with about 80% of the seats and 59% of the votes, but were
denied recognition. Even though the macro-economic position of the country
since 1988 has vastly improved, from foreign exchange holdings of perhaps
US$30 million then to some $770 million last year and increases are likely
due to newly explored offshore gas reserves, the living standards of
ordinary citizens has declined, and at last half are either below or at
the poverty line.

The standards of education and health are abysmal and Myanmar has the
lowest per capita income in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. So
by all Western measurements, the military regime has no legitimacy. Even
the name of the country is a surrogate indicator of legitimacy: the United
States and some international news outlets such as England's BBC still
choose to use "Burma" while the United Nations and much of the rest of the
world use "Myanmar".

Yet internal measurements of legitimacy are more complicated. Although
Western measurements may be accepted by some of the urbanized elite and
those exposed to the outside world, many in Myanmar may believe the
traditional view of the sorry state of their lives: that this is due to
the Buddhist concept of reincarnation where deficiencies in past lives
have affected, even caused, their present problems.

Although there are traditional Buddhist views of the proper attributes of
kingship or administration, which the present regime has lacked, belief in
the personal responsibility for one's sorry state may still carry weight.
So the failure to deliver goods and services may be somewhat mitigated by
a traditional view of the cycle of life.

The essential element of legitimacy in Myanmar has been Buddhism. As
someone once wrote, "To be Burman is to be Buddhist," and virtually all of
the Myanmar population (some two-thirds of the national population) are
Buddhist. Buddhism looms large in the political equation. Buddhism is a
matter of profound belief and an administrative necessity for virtually
all higher levels of government, for under the military (but not the
previous civilian government) one must be Buddhist and Burman to rule.
There are virtually no Christians or Muslims in the higher ranks of the
military or civil service.

The military leaders, as well as U Nu (first prime minister of independent
Burma and prime minister overthrown by Ne Win in 1962) and his entourage
and opposition, have been devout Buddhists, but they have also used
Buddhism as a political tool as well as an individual credo. U Nu built a
pagoda to establish legitimacy for the state and for his administration. U
Nu won the 1960 elections by promising to make Buddhism the state
religion. Ne Win and every military leader have built pagodas, and
hundreds have been repaired in Pagan and other areas, much to the horror
of archeologists and art historians because of inappropriate
methodologies.

Practically every day in the New Light of Myanmar, the official
publication (and previously known as the Working People's Daily), there
are stories and pictures of the military paying obeisance to the monks,
making offerings, or performing some other appropriate act. There has been
a calculated policy of associating the military leadership and rule with
Buddhism.

In addition, the Buddhist hierarchy is administratively controlled by the
military. What is taught in Buddhist institutions, the number of Buddhist
sects, and other administrative aspects are under military control. All
monks are registered with the government. What is not subject to their
immediate command are individual monasteries and the younger monks. The
past two weeks have seen these younger monks in the streets.

We do not know how many have been killed, and the military in its usual
manner will doctor statistics, either to report fewer deaths and detainees
or in another case to inflate school enrollment. But this "saffron
revolution", as some have called it, changes the equation. There was a
revolt of monks in Mandalay in 1992 that was quickly squelched by the
military. But today's is different, not only because it was broadcast to
the world, but perhaps more importantly because the BBC and CNN images
that we saw were evident through the ubiquitous Burmese urban phenomenon
of satellite dishes reporting those networks.

The military profoundly believe in its role in society, however badly they
may have carried out their responsibilities. They think of themselves as
the only force holding the country together, having in effect destroyed
any other significant institution in the country. Yet now, because of this
crackdown on the Sangha (Buddhist monkhood), they may have lost the
modicum of support they once had among the population. Their role may be
as strong as before, but their rule may be less secure.

It would be remarkable if these actions by the junta do not cause disquiet
among members of the military itself. Many may be profoundly disturbed by
the actions of their colleagues. This may be an important factor in
military discontent because the suppression since 1988 has resulted in
political, economic and social malaise, and this particularly egregious
suppression may feed festering internal military concerns about their own
leadership.

We know that there have been policy and personality differences among the
top commanders, with rivalries among their children for economic spoils,
but the recent protests may bring on the military's worst fears - division
among the ranks, which the military, aware of the propensity in Myanmar
society for personalization of power and factionalism, has abhorred. It
may not be the monks that directly effect change in Myanmar, but they may
have contributed to its strengthening. The legacy of this revolt will not
be stilled by the enforced quiet that pervades the cities.

The frustration of the monks is not only a result of the apparent
disrespect for Buddhism by the top of the military hierarchy, but also
because these younger monks are also affected by the general social
miasma, as many customarily move in and out of the Sangha. The military
controls all effective avenues of social mobility - it determines who goes
to university and what positions are available in the private sector
beyond petty trading in the bazaars.

It controls the quasi-political organizations, the media, and influence
strongly the non-governmental organizations. The military is the primary
source of social mobility, and all this must frustrate the young, who see
no future outside of a military-controlled society. They have little to
lose. This feeds discontent. Although the present military seems powerful,
and has more than doubled in size since 1988 and is far better equipped,
its hold on society and on its own members will become more tenuous as
this frustration mounts and finds expression in some other incident, not
necessarily mandated from the top of the hierarchy, but more likely from
the lower echelons where unthinking attempts are made to please their
superiors at any cost.

One cannot predict when this might happen, but the likelihood exists, and
this could help trigger discontent within some of the military, who feel
the reputation of the tatmadaw (armed forces) itself has been besmirched,
and must be restored to the historical glory that the military has
rewritten to justify its claim to power.

David I Steinberg (yonsan1 at gmail.com) is distinguished professor, School
of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, and is on sabbatical during the
autumn semester 2007 as senior visiting research scholar at the Institute
of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore.

____________________________________

October 5, Wall Street Journal Online
Up in Alms: Burma's dictators exploit Buddhism and the monks fight back -
Philip Delves Broughton

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's Nobel Peace Prize laureate, described the
lessons she had learned from her country's Hsayadaws, its Buddhist holy
teachers, in an article for a Japanese newspaper in 1996. One of them told
her what it would be like to fight for democracy in Burma: "You will be
attacked and reviled for engaging in honest politics, but you must
persevere. Lay down an investment in dukkha [suffering] and you will gain
sukha [bliss]."

Last week saw hundreds of Burma's monks investing in dukkha as they
confronted the nation's military regime. At one point, a large crowd of
them gathered outside Aung San Suu Kyi's house in Yangon, where she has
spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest. She came to the gate in
the pouring rain and was allowed to greet them. This single, poignant
moment summed up all that was most extraordinary about the demonstrations,
as well as what was most frightening to Burma's military junta.

Within a few days, scores of monks were in jail, many had been beaten, and
the trickle of reports emanating from the country indicated that
monasteries had been ransacked as the military hunted down the last
rebellious elements.

Reports in the New Light of Myanmar, the official newspaper, blamed a few
bad seeds who had infiltrated the monastic orders for inciting the
protests. Pro-democracy activists have admitted to taking cover in the
monasteries to avoid being jailed. But these are footnotes in a much
larger tussle in Burma over the use and practice of Buddhism, which became
visible to the world during the past week.

This boils down to the issue of which political ideology is a more fitting
reflection of Burma's Theravada Buddhism, military dictatorship or
democracy. While the answer should be obvious, the military has done all
it can to tilt the balance its way.

Burma is a patchwork of ethnicities, languages and religious practices.
The struggle to keep it together has been the key narrative for the
successive military governments, dominated by majority ethnic Burmans,
that have run the country since 1962. The military has used this struggle
to justify economic and democratic deprivation. Furthermore, despite the
junta's flagrant disregard for the five principles of Buddhism --
abstention from killing, stealing, engaging in sexual misconduct, lying
and using intoxicants -- its members seize every chance to depict
themselves as Buddhism's true guardians.

Not a week goes by without the state media reporting a general's
contribution or visit to a temple. Even as Burma has slid into poverty,
the government has funded lavish new temples and the regilding of the
famous golden pagodas. The military has also built pagodas as a means of
asserting ethnic Burman sovereignty in areas where other groups live and
Islam or Christianity is the prevailing religion. This practice dates back
to the Burmese kings who built pagodas in neighboring kingdoms as a way of
establishing a lasting claim to rule.

For most of the past century, there have always been a few politically
active monks. Under British rule, monks were jailed for urging the Burmese
not to adopt British forms of dress and religious practice. Under military
rule, monks have been at the forefront of the opposition.

The extent of the monks' role as the national conscience can be seen in
the measures taken by the military to organize and co-opt the monastic
orders. During the democracy protests of 1988, 600 monks were among the
10,000 people killed. In 1990, on the second anniversary of those
killings, more than 7,000 monks and novices walked through Mandalay.
Soldiers confronted them and opened fire, killing two. Across the country,
monks responded by refusing to accept alms from members of the military or
their families. By denying the military the ability to give alms, the
monks were denying them the opportunity to make "merit" for their present
and future lives. Monasteries were raided, hundreds of monks were
arrested, and a new law was introduced placing the "sangha" -- the
monastic orders -- under government regulation. Anyone setting up new
orders or protesting or agitating within this new sangha framework could
now be jailed for up to three years.

The military could have risked closing down the monasteries altogether,
but not only are the generals frightened and superstitious, but they also
use certain elements of Buddhist philosophy to justify and strengthen
their position. One is "samsara," a complex idea involving the interplay
of the mind and physical matter and the cycles of existence; it has come
to mean a view of life as fleeting and thus not worth complaining about.
Everything is impermanent and life is hard, so feeling powerless is not a
consequence of a political situation, which can be changed, but an
existential fact.

Another element abused by the military is "dana," the act of giving
without expecting a reward. When accused of using forced labor to build
infrastructure and pagodas, the generals have said the unpaid workers are
simply practicing dana.

Since she returned to Burma in 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi has become a far
more devout Buddhist than she was before. Many of her imprisoned
supporters practice Buddhist meditation as a means of surviving Burma's
jails. The monks, of course, know this just as well as they know the true
natures of the generals who offer them tributes. Choosing between the two
has put them in the center of the fight for Burma's future.

Mr. Delves Broughton is a writer who lives in New York.