BurmaNet News, October 11, 2007

[Editor]

October 11, 2007 Issue # 3317

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Monks in hell
Mizzima News: Indian envoy meets detained Burmese democracy icon
DVB: Detainees transferred due to prison overcrowding
Irrawaddy: Lack of unity kept ethnic groups out of the showdown
DVB: NLD member dies during interrogation
AP: Myanmar rulers lash out at West, foreign media for stoking recent
protests
Irrawaddy: Burmese film actor and his wife arrested
DVB: Man given two-year sentence for shouting religious slogan

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Lives of detained Burmese at risk, if deported by India: AI
Sangai Express: Junta crackdown in Myanmar strict vigil at border area
Hindustan Times: Manipuris protest against military junta in Myanmar

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Myanmar Airways International ceases operation
AFP: Myanmar to hold new gems sale despite boycott call

HEALTH / AIDS
Mizzima News: Burmese actor Kyaw Thu's HIV awareness video blocked

DRUGS
Reuters: Opium production surges in Myanmar, U.N. says

REGIONAL
AP: China says Burma situation changing better

INTERNATIONAL
AP: UN envoy to Myanmar returning to region
AFP: Human Rights Watch slams arms sales to Myanmar
AP: Top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar hopes spotlight will spur change
VOA: Jimmy Carter calls for more international pressure on Burma

OPINION / OTHER
New York Times: Monks and China Rising - Roger Cohen

STATEMENT
UNSC: Security Council: Burma statement

PRESS RELEASE
USCB: Campaigners praise "the first step" by UN Security Council, call for
arms embargo
BCUK: Security Council Burma statement is progress, but not enough
BCUK: Will the EU keep its word on Burma sanctions?

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 11, Irrawaddy
Monks in hell - Kyi Wai/ Rangoon

“Due to the lack of food and the extreme highs and lows of temperature,
some monks and laypeople felt like they were suffocating. Others simply
died.

“The conditions were terrible. We each had no more than a small patch of
cell to sit on,” lamented Burmese monk U Sandar Vaya, looking pale and
weak and somewhat older than his 33 years.

U Sandar Vaya was arrested along with hundreds of other Buddhist monks at
midnight on September 26. The Burmese military authorities had started
arresting demonstrators that day, detained them in five locations around
Rangoon—the Government Technology Institute (GTI) in Insein, the police
quarters in Kyaikkasan, and police detention centers in Hmawbi, Thanlyin
and Aung Thapyay, according to those people who were later released. One
police official estimates that there would have been at least 1,000 monks
and laypeople per detention center.

U Sandar Waya said he was incarcerated with 500 other monks and 200
civilians in one room of the GTI. The authorities gave them each only one
bowl of drinking water in the first two days, later increasing the ration
to three bowls. The guards didn't allow the detainees to wash and there
was no toilet, only plastic bags for sanitation.

“The room was filthy and it stank,” says U Sandar Waya.

Another Buddhist monk who was recently released confirmed that about 700
monks and laypeople were detained in a hall some 9m by 21m (30 ft x70 ft).

“Even though the room could be considered a rather wide area, we were so
jam-packed that it was hard to breathe,” he said.

The monk, who asked not to be identified, said the guards took each monk
in turn from the room and forced him to take off his robe. They were made
to put on laymen’s clothes.

The authorities provided only one meal per day – a lunch at 2 p.m., which
monks can't eat as their Buddhist vow allows them only to eat in the
morning. On the concrete floor of the room the guards poured wet sand and,
as a result, some detainees became weak and sick very quickly.

While in detention, some monks continued to protest against the regime,
but many others became too weak to do so.

“More than a dozen monks and other people died,” claimed a layman who was
released on October 5. “And almost all the detainees got sick.

"It really was hell," he said. “I could do nothing for a young novice who
was dying beside me. We asked for help from the security guards, but they
didn't do anything until they came to take away his dead body.”

A 30-year-old man who was released from Kyaikkasan detention center
recounted his experience: “At midnight on September 28, the authorities
cut off the electricity in the 20 ft by 40 ft (6m x 12m) room where about
200 people, including me, were detained.

“Suddenly, they started pumping water into the room while we were
sleeping. We panicked. Then the police came running into the room and
started beating us.

“Wearing wet clothes, we are all taken from the room one by one and
interrogated three times—by the police, the Special Branch and the
Military Intelligence."

The authorities started to release detainees on October 4 on the condition
that they would never participate, encourage or even watch any future
protest. The conditions for release had to be signed by their parents or
guardians.

The authorities released those monks who signed the conditions or who
weren't suspected of being involved in the protests, but not those monks
who refused to sign. As a result, many Buddhist monks are still
imprisoned.

After release, the monks are not allowed to leave their monasteries. Monks
who got injured during the protests still haven’t been afforded medical
treatment. It is estimated that more than 3,000 monks and civilians were
detained during the demonstrations, and at least 130 people were killed.

U Sandar Vaya was released from detention on October 5, but he remains
defiant: “They took off my robe, but in my mind I resisted. I am always a
monk, whatever they do to me.”

____________________________________

October 11, Mizzima News
Indian envoy meets detained Burmese democracy icon - Syed Ali Mujtaba

The Indian ambassador to Burma met pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a
couple of weeks ago and there are indications that talks could take place
between the military junta and pro democracy groups soon.

India's Ambassador met Suu Kyi once and the Foreign Secretary met her
twice. The generals and the Nobel Laureate have made some reconciliatory
gestures and indications are that dialogue will soon begin between the
junta and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, India's External Affairs
spokesman said here on Tuesday.

"India has been both privately and publicly seeking release of Suu Kyi and
pressing the junta to hold talks with her to make her inclusive in all
processes," he said.

New Delhi notes that the present military regime in the neighbouring
country has reached agreements with 17 ethnic groups. "Myanmar's [Burma's]
process of national reconciliation initiated by the authorities should be
expedited," sources said.

New Delhi was hopeful that the UN Special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari's
endeavour would bear fruit. "We are ready to work with like-minded
countries on Burma and have been extending support to Special UN Envoy
Ibrahim Gambari," the official said.

India has also asked the military regime to hold an inquiry into the
recent bloodshed. It is of the opinion that military crackdown this time
was not as severe as in 1988-89 and feels that there should be a 'credible
inquiry' in the recent incidents and report should be published, a
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said.

"We are concerned at the situation in Burma and are monitoring it closely.
It is our hope that all sides will resolve their issues peacefully through
dialogue." he said.

"As a close and friendly neighbour, India hopes to see a peaceful, stable
and prosperous Burma, where all sections of people will be included in a
broad-based process of national reconciliation and political reform," he
added.

____________________________________

October 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Detainees transferred due to prison overcrowding

Two military trucks loaded with students and men with shaved heads were
seen driving in the direction of Thayet prison 5 October.

The military trucks were travelling in convoy surrounded by other
vehicles, according to local residents.

According to prison administration officials in Rangoon, the number of
detainees held in interrogation centres has exceeded capacity. Following
the recent demonstrations in Rangoon and elsewhere in Burma, more than
2,000 people have been arrested, many of whom are being held in detention
centres in Rangoon.

In response to the overcrowding, the government has decided to transfer a
number of prisoners to other locations, including the more remote Thayet
prison in central Burma.

____________________________________

October 11, Irrawaddy
Lack of unity kept ethnic groups out of the showdown - Shah Paung

Burma has many ethnic armed groups, some of which have already reached
ceasefire agreement with the military government—but all of them sharing
the same aim of fighting against military rule.

Karen soldiers paraded in a celebration at their Thai-Burmese border-based
camp
Ethnic armed groups failed to participate in the recent countrywide
protests, however, leading many observers to ask why. Did they lack
military might? Or was a lack of unity the reason?

According to ethnic leaders, they did not want to get involved for fear
their involvement would harm monks and peaceful demonstrators. They also
did not want to block the way of Burmese soldiers fleeing to liberation
areas during the crisis.

Mahn Sha, general secretary of the Karen National Union, said forces of
its military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, had supported the
demonstrators by launching at least five attacks daily on regime forces.

“It was anyway not a good time for us to move our forces into cities as
the military government would take the opportunity of saying ethnic armed
groups were killing people,” he said.

The fighting between the KNLA and Burmese troops didn’t help much in
pressuring the military government into decreasing its crackdown on
peaceful demonstrators.

Sai Lao Hseng, Shan State Army spokesman, said it would not have been easy
to use ethnic forces to support the peaceful demonstration in the cities.

“We were worried and did not want the demonstrators to be hurt by
employing military means,” he said.

Many ethnic residents of the cities were involved in the demonstrations,
said Khun Manko Ban, leader of the Democratic Organization for Kayan
National Unity and an elected representative in the 1990 election.

Some ethnic leaders, including Cin Sian Thang, a member of the Committee
Representing People’s Parliament and chairman of the Zomi National
Congress, and Thawng Kho Thang, also a member of the CRPP and the United
Nationalities League for Democracy, were arrested during the crackdown on
peaceful demonstrations on September 28.

Nai ong Ma-Nge, a New Mon State Party spokesman, said it was very
difficult for the ethnic ceasefire groups to co-operate while under
government control. It could not be said that they did not support the
demonstrations, since their political standpoints were not clear.

Some ceasefire groups didn’t dare speak out because of business deals with
the military government, he said.

According to dissident groups, about 200 protesters were killed and around
6,000 were arrested during the demonstrations. The state-run media
reported that only 10 protesters died and over 2,000 people were arrested.

In the 1988 uprising, the Burmese military some 3,000 demonstrators across
the country died and thousands more were imprisoned.

During that time, in the Karen State and Mon State liberation areas there
was also fighting between the KNLA and the NMSP.

The NMSP reached a ceasefire with the Rangoon government in 1995, the year
that the Karen Democratic Buddhist Army broke away from the KNU and agreed
on a ceasefire with the military government. The Kachin Independence
Organization also reached a ceasefire agreement with the military
government in 1993.

Burma’s history shows that ethnic armed groups lack the unity to fight for
the overthrow of the Burmese military rulers. Some ethnic leaders agree
that unity within the various ethnic groups is weak and needs to be
stronger.

“We are trying to build up the unity among our ethnic groups, but we still
have our weak points and need to do more about it,” said Mahn Sha.

Sai Lao Hseng agreed with Mahn Sha. Some ethnic policies are false and
there were many disagreements within the ethnic groups, creating lack of
unity, he said.

“What we need is for all ethnic groups and the Burman people to unite to
reach our goal,” Sai Lao Hseng said, “That is why we are still far away
from our goal of democracy. We can never reach our goal without unity.”

____________________________________

October 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD member dies during interrogation

National League for Democracy member Ko Win Shwe has died during
interrogation, according to a statement released yesterday by the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Ko Win Shwe’s family was informed of his death on 9 October by authorities
from Kyaukpandawn township.

“The authorities informed his family that he died during interrogation,
but they refused to give the cause of death and wouldn’t let them see the
body,” AAPP’s Ko Tate Naing told DVB.

According to the AAPP statement, Ko Win Shwe’s family was told that his
body had already been cremated.

Ko Win Shwe was arrested along with four other people on 26 September at
the start of the government's brutal crackdown on the monk-led
demonstrations.

____________________________________

October 11, Associated Press
Myanmar rulers lash out at West, foreign media for stoking recent protests

Myanmar's ruling military angrily accused Western powers and foreign media
Thursday of inciting recent protests that were crushed by soldiers, and
China urged the world to back U.N. mediation efforts to reconcile the
junta and the pro-democracy movement.

The state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper dismissed the protesters,
who are still being hunted down in raids across the impoverished country,
as "stooges of foreign countries putting on a play written by their
foreign masters."

The paper signaled out "big powers" and radio stations the British
Broadcasting Corp., Voice of America and Radio Free Asia as behind the
demonstrations, which were violently put down Sept. 26-27 in clashes
condemned by nations around the world.

The United States and other countries have pressed for wide international
sanctions against Myanmar, formerly Burma, to pressure the junta to allow
democratic reforms, but China on Thursday said only a more conciliatory
approach would work.

"We believe that the situation there is relaxing and turning in a positive
direction," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "The
international community should help in a constructive way to help Myanmar
to realize stability, reconciliation, democracy and development."

The ruling council's top leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, has offered to
meet detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on condition she reject
calls for sanctions, and her party the National League for Democracy also
has called for dialogue.

The official press has made no mention of such talks, however, stressing
instead that the regime was bent on following its own timetable to a
so-called "roadmap to democracy," which includes a draft constitution and
referendum to be followed by elections at an unspecified date. Critics
describe such a scenario as a sham to hoodwink world opinion and silence
domestic opposition.

A series of groups have come out in recent days calling for moves against
the regime.

Human Rights Watch, for instance, urged the U.N. Security Council to
impose and enforce an arms embargo on the country. India, China, Russia,
and other nations are supplying Myanmar with weapons that the military
uses to commit human rights abuses and to bolster its power, the group
said.

"It's time for the Security Council to end all sales and transfers of arms
to a government that uses repression and fear to hang onto power," Brad
Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement issued
Wednesday in New York.

The Jewelers of America, meanwhile, sent letters to the U.S. Congress to
expand a ban on imports from Myanmar to include gemstones mined in that
country, the group said Wednesday. Myanmar exports at least US$60 million
(euro42.41 million) a year worth of gems including rubies, sapphires,
pearls, and jade.

The top U.S. diplomat in Yangon said the international attention being
showered on Myanmar will pressure its rulers to open the country.

"That the international community is paying more attention is hopeful,"
Shari Villarosa told reporters in Honolulu on Wednesday. "Hopefully this
will help mobilize pressure not only from the United States but from all
the countries in the region."

The streets in Yangon were peaceful Thursday, a religious holiday, but the
crackdown on dissidents continued behind the scenes.

A Thailand-based exile group said a Myanmar opposition party member died
during interrogation and seven activists were arrested in recent days. NLD
spokesman Nyan Win said as of Wednesday, a total of 225 party members had
been detained.

At the United Nations, Security Council members met for hours behind
closed doors late Wednesday to discuss changes to a draft statement on the
situation in Myanmar. The statement could be approved as early as
Thursday.

Western nations are trying to find a consensus position acceptable to
China and Russia, which have blocked previous resolutions on the grounds
that Myanmar's political unrest is an internal matter and not a threat to
security in its region.

Troops crushed the protests by shooting at demonstrators on Sept. 26-27.
The regime said 10 people were killed, but dissidents put the toll at up
to 200 and say 6,000 people were detained, including thousands of monks
who led the rallies.

____________________________________

October 11, Irrawaddy
Burmese film actor and his wife arrested - Yeni

The popular Burmese film actor Kyaw Thu and his wife Myint Myint Khin Pe
were arrested on Tuesday night after the authorities discovered their
Rangoon hiding place.

Win Naing, Zarganar and Kyaw Thu offered alms to the monks during last
month demonstrations [Photo: The Irrawaddy]

The couple had been in hiding after eluding security forces who cracked
down on celebrities who supported monks in their protest demonstrations
last month. Earlier reports—not, however, carried by The Irrawaddy—had
suggested that Kyaw Thu had managed to escape to Thailand

He and several other well known Burmese personalities sparked government
anger by taking food and water to protesting monks at Shwedagon pagoda.
The popular comedian Zarganar was arrested, but Kyaw Thu and his wife
managed to escape.

"We are Buddhist. All Buddhists have to support this movement," Kyaw Thu
said during the peaceful demonstrations.

Kyaw Thu is a respected human rights activist as well as a very popular
actor. He is vice-president of the Free Funeral Services Society, a social
welfare organization founded in Rangoon in 2001with the aim of helping
people who cannot afford funerals for their family members. It now has
chapters throughout the country.

"When I became involved with the funerals, I discovered that some
actresses didn’t want to act with me and some movie producers didn’t want
me to act for them," Kyaw Thu once said in an interview with The
Irrawaddy.

In August 2006, a military-backed civilian group, the Union Solidarity and
Development Association, threatened to take over the organization after
Kyaw Thu and its Secretary-1, Than Myint Aung, attended commemorations of
the 18th anniversary of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

The society managed to retain its independence, but the military crackdown
and now the arrest of Kyaw Thu have totally disrupted its work and its
existence is in question.

A non-profit, non-governmental and apolitical group, the society relied on
donations from individuals inside and outside Burma for its operation
costs. Most donations come from Burmese people living in Japan, Taiwan,
the US and the UK.

____________________________________

October 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Man given two-year sentence for shouting religious slogan

A man arrested for shouting a pro-Buddhist slogan in a video house in Aung
Lan township, Magwe division, has been sentenced to two years’
imprisonment.

Ko Kyauk Khe was arrested on 30 September for shouting “Long live the
Buddhist religion” after watching footage of the government’s violent
crackdown on protestors.

He was forced to defend himself in court because all the local defence
lawyers were persuaded not to take the case.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Ko Kyauk Khe had also shouted
“Down with Than Shwe” and other anti-government chants, and accused him of
supporting the monk-led protests in the township.

In his defence, Ko Kyauk Khe said that he shouted in support of Buddhism,
because he felt that the government’s actions were undermining the
religion. He further claimed that the peaceful demonstrators had been
acting within the law and so he could not have committed a crime by
supporting them.

Aung Lan township judge U Myint Swe and township legal officer U Aye Shwe
found that Ko Kyauk Khe had violated section 505 (b) of the Burmese penal
code, which deals with causing public alarm or incitement to commit an
offence against the state or public tranquility. He was sentenced to two
years’ imprisonment, the maximum term for this offence.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 11, Mizzima News
Lives of detained Burmese at risk, if deported by India: AI - Mungpi

The three Burmese nationals, arrested on the Indo-Burma border state of
Manipur earlier this month, are likely to be tortured by the Burmese junta
if they are deported by India, Amnesty International said today.

Given the Burmese military junta's appalling human rights record and the
lack of international standards in conducting fair trial, the lives of the
Burmese nationals will be at risk if deported by the Indian government, AI
said on Thursday in a statement.
The three Burmese – Habibulde, Haroon and Rashid – were arrested on
October 2, by troops of the 24 Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force, during
a security check of vehicles in Khudenthabi near the border town of Moreh
in Manipur.

They were handed over to the police in Imphal capital of Manipur. The
Imphal police then charged the three with illegal entry into the country
and later transferred them to the Moreh police station.

On October 9, the three men were produced in court and were remanded to
judicial custody for 15 days.

While a few media reports have suggested that the three fled Burma in
order to escape the Burmese junta's relentless crackdown on protesters,
who joined the Buddhist monk-led protests in September, the reason for
their entry into India is still unclear.

Crackdown Continues Following the brutal suppression of last month's
protests, that posed a direct challenge to military rule, the Burmese
junta has continued arresting activists and protesters.

The junta continues searches, surveillance and harassment of individuals,
who took part in the protests, and threatening family members and
neighbours of those who it believes had joined the protests.

Sporadic protests began in mid-August, when the junta increased fuel
prices. With the Buddhist monks taking the lead on September 18, the
modest protests snowballed. But the junta, which initially exercised
restraint, began its brutal crackdown by opening fire into the protesting
crowds on September 26.

Several demonstrators were killed and arrested and the junta followed it
up with midnight raids in monasteries and residence of activists. At least
6,000 including 2,000 monks have been arrested and more than 200 have been
killed during the crackdown, activists said.

Amid widespread fear of arrest, many people including a few key activists
are in hiding. Reportedly, several protesters, in order to escape the
rampant arrest and torture, have fled to neighbouring countries including
India and Thailand.

Border closed While many Burmese protesters, who are fleeing from the
crackdown, are likely to view India as a safe haven, Indian authorities
have intensified security arrangements along the Indo-Burma border to
prevent a possible influx of refugees from Burma.

With the Indo-Burma border gates remaining closed, security has been
stepped up with ground patrolling and aerial surveillance with unmanned
small aircraft along the border, sources on the border said.

Besides tightening the security apparatus along the 398-kilometer
Manipur-Burma border, Indian intelligence agencies are also on the look
out for information regarding a possible influx of Burmese people to
India.

An intelligence officer in New Delhi on Wednesday requested Mizzima to
keep them informed of the possibility of Burmese people fleeing to India.
However, the officer in contrary to the ground situation on the Indo-Burma
border, said, "We have to arrange accommodation for them [Burmese
refugees]."

Amnesty International said it fears that other Burmese may have been
detained in the increased Indian security response on the Indo-Burma
border, and more people are likely to be detained, and at risk of being
deported if they cross the border in the coming weeks.

____________________________________

October 11, Sangai Express
Junta crackdown in Myanmar strict vigil at border area

To prevent possible influx of Myanmar Nationals seeking asylum in Manipur
in view of the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protestors by the ruling
Military Junta in neighbouring Myanmar, India Government has taken up
plans to more deploy security forces along the border areas even as
Un-manned Air-borne Vehicles (UAVs) have been pressed into service for
constant aerial survey.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, sources from the Defence
Establishment said Government of India has decided to step up deployment
of security forces along the border areas not only in Manipur but also in
other North Eastern States sharing border with Myanmar to prevent possible
influx of Myanmarese pro-democracy protestors.
Inspite of being a democratic country, the Government of India has taken
up this measure keeping in mind the bilateral relationship with the
Military Junta, the source added.

It may be recalled here that of late, India has been supplying weapons and
other logistic supports to Myanmar.

The recent visit of the 3 Corps Commander to the State was also
significant from this point of view, the source said, adding that the
locations where the additional forces would be deployed in the border
areas have already been finalised.

Even if the situation in the border area, as of now, is not so alarming,
there is the need for security preparedness and consequently, security
forces deployed in the border area have been alerted.

Apart from keeping a close watch on the movement of the people along the
350 km long porous border being shared by Manipur with Myanmar, there is
also the need to be alerted and sensitive on the part of the people living
in the border area.
As to the aerial survey being carried by Un-manned Airborn Vehicles
(UAVs), the Defence source, said the aerial survey would be intensified if
there is the possibility of more violence incidents in the neighbouring
country in the days to come.

Night goggles and other sophisticated equipments are being used by the
security forces deployed in the border area, the source added.

____________________________________

October 11, Hindustan Times
Manipuris protest against military junta in Myanmar

Activists demanding early restoration of democracy in Myanmar staged
demonstration in Manipur on Thursday.

Myanmar has seen hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks protesting in the
country for the last few weeks, calling for democracy and an end to the
military government.

Activists of Burma Solidarity, an organisation campaigning against the
military junta in Myanmar, along with people belonging to Zomi tribe
organised a demonstration to show solidarity with the people of Myanmar.

"More than ten thousand people and Buddhist monks have been arrested in
Myanmar. So we need the sympathies, we need the support of the world. So
that's why we are organising demonstrations in various states of India,"
said Thura, who is the president of the Burmese Solidarity Organisation.

The activists said they look forward to concrete steps from the Indian
government for an early restoration of democracy in Myanmar.

"They (Burmese) are fighting for democracy and we are enjoying democracy
in India and so we want our brothers and sisters in Burma to enjoy
democracy with us," said James Sumkhanzam, Assistant General Secretary of
Zomi Students' Federation.

Published by HT Media Ltd. with permission from Asian News International.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Myanmar Airways International ceases operation

Myanmar Airways International has ceased operating and is making
arrangements to hand over its passengers to other airlines, according to
an MAI staff member.

The employee, who did not wish to be named, said that the airline no
longer has any aircraft to fly. The MAI previously flew one Boeing 707-800
and two McDonnell Douglas MD-82s on routes between Rangoon and Bangkok,
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

The staff member put the decision to stop operating down to low ticket
demand due to boycotts of tourism and Burmese businesses. Tourists have
been reportedly been cancelling visits to Burma since the military regime
began its violent suppression of monks and other people involved in recent
demonstrations.

However, another MAI employee said that the aircraft had been withdrawn by
the companies which lease them, leaving MAI unable to operate.

Forty percent of MAI currently belongs to the state-owned Myanmar Airways,
while Hong Kong-based Region Air Myanmar owns 49 per cent, and a Burmese
entrepreneur owns the remaining 11 per cent.

____________________________________

October 11, Agence France Presse
Myanmar to hold new gems sale despite boycott call

Military-ruled Myanmar said Thursday it would auction off its
world-renowned gems and jade next month, despite growing calls for a
boycott on its precious stones -- a major money-spinner for the junta.

The November 7-19 auction will be the fifth such sale this year, the
official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Each auction attracts buyers from around the world who spend as much as
100 million dollars, making the gem sales a key source of revenue for the
cash-strapped regime.

The announcement comes in the wake of the biggest anti-government rallies
in nearly 20 years and a subsequent crackdown by security forces that left
at least 13 dead, sparking international condemnation.

One of the poorest countries in the world, Myanmar supplies up to 90
percent of the world's rubies and has rich jade deposits that are highly
prized in neighbouring China.

Despite sanctions on the regime, many stones from Myanmar are smuggled
through neighbouring Thailand, where they are often cut and polished for
eventual sale in the United States or Europe.

Iconic New York jeweler Tiffany's is among the few that refuses to sell
stones from Myanmar, but the industry group Jewelers of America this week
asked the US Congress to specifically ban all gemstones mined in Myanmar.

"Jewelers of America members believe it is their responsibility to support
and respect the protection of international human rights within their
sphere of influence and to make sure the sourcing of gemstones is not
complicit in human rights abuses," said the group's president Matthew
Runci.

Cartier also said this week that it had stopped buying gems which might
have been mined in Myanmar until further notice.

For the past 700 years, the so-called "Valley of Rubies" in the Mogok
region of northeast Myanmar has been mined for "pigeon blood" rubies --
considered the finest in the world -- as well as for sapphires and other
rare gems.

A top-notch ruby can cost more per carat than a diamond, making it a
must-have accessory for the newly rich in Asia, Russia and the Middle
East.

Last year, an 8.62-carat Burmese ruby fetched a record price of 3.7
million dollars -- or 425,000 dollars per carat -- at a Christie's
auction.

Imperial jade -- emerald-green in colour -- is another Myanmar treasure
highly sought by the Chinese, the main customers for the country's gems.

The stones are mined at a huge human cost, with reports of horrific
working conditions in Myanmar's ruby mines, which outsiders are forbidden
to see.

Groups of Myanmar exiles want a boycott of the junta's gems auctions,
claiming that mine owners rely on forced labour.

There are also reports of soaring AIDS infection rates among mine workers
due to needle-sharing by heroin addicts and widespread prostitution, with
drugs shipped in by local traffickers, according to the US group Campaign
for Burma.

"Burma's gem industry is dominated by the military regime and its
cronies," said Jeremy Woodrum, the group's director.

"No one with a conscience should buy a ruby because it is almost assuredly
from Burma."

But Myanmar's auctions usually attract hundreds of buyers, especially from
China and Thailand, although obtaining a visa has become more difficult
since the crackdown.

Myanmar holds the auctions to try to stifle the thriving black market
trade in gems, but many precious stones are still smuggled over to
Thailand.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

October 11, Mizzima News
Burmese actor Kyaw Thu's HIV awareness video blocked - Than Htike Oo

The Burmese video censorship board is using dilatory tactics to permit
release and screening of an HIV awareness video film, in which prominent
Burmese actor Kyaw Thu plays the lead role, sources said.

The board on October 8, denied permission when the PSI Myanmar, a
non--governmental organisation, applied for permission to distribute the
45-minute awareness film, titled "Ahkyuanmeh Hlonegyoneyar" (Total
Security).

"We sought permission from the censorship board to allow us to distribute
and screen it. We wanted to know whether we can start screening it. But
they refused and told us not to screen the film. We don't know the
reason," Shwe Zin Htike from the PSI Myanmar told Mizzima.

However, the video censorship board told Mizzima that the film has been
'temporarily suspended' from being released.

The video "Ahkyuanmeh Hlonegyoneyar" depicts how actor Kyaw Thu, a married
man, working as a boatman is infected with the HIV virus after visiting a
Karaoke club. He in turn passes the virus to his wife.

The film, shot in 2002 by the PSI Myanmar, a humanitarian assistance
group, aims to create HIV awareness among boat people working on the
Irrawaddy River.

Prominent Burmese actor Kyaw Thu had joined veteran politician U Win
Naing's 'Swan' offering to monks on September 24, along with several other
Burmese celebrities. Following the Swan offering, on September 25, U Win
Naing and actor and critic Zarganar was arrested by the authorities, but
Kyaw Thu remained at large.

While rumors did the rounds in Rangoon that Kyaw Thu, who heads the free
funeral service association, and his wife Shwe Zikyuat, were arrested on
Thursday, no independent verification could be made so far.

____________________________________
DRUGS

October 11, Reuters
Opium production surges in Myanmar, U.N. says

Opium production has surged in Myanmar with official collusion,
threatening to unravel major progress in eradicating the drug in Southeast
Asia, a U.N. report said on Wednesday.

The finding by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime adds to international
pressure on Myanmar caused by the military junta's violent suppression
last month of large pro-democracy rallies.

The "Golden Triangle", a notoriously lawless region spanning parts of
Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, has ceased to be a big supplier of opium, from
which heroin is made, thanks to a concerted campaign over the past
decades.

"The significant downward trend in Southeast Asia risks being undercut by
an alarming upsurge in opium cultivation in Myanmar," said the office.

Laos has cut output by 94 percent in a decade, Thailand has had no
significant production for almost 20 years, and Myanmar's share of the
world market shriveled from 63 percent to 6 percent between 1998 and 2006,
the UNODC study said.

But opium cultivation in Myanmar, formerly Burma, increased by 29 percent
to 27,700 hectares (66,480 acres) in 2007, while output rose by 46 percent
due to improved yields, it added.

Output is still nowhere near that of Afghanistan, which provides about 95
percent of the world's opium, but nevertheless reinforced Myanmar's
position in second place, with 460 tons.

Myanmar's illicit production was concentrated in the states of Kachin,
Shan and Kayah, the report said.

"There seem to be factors in this part of Myanmar that are conducive to
the drug trade, including corruption, high-level collusion and weak border
security," UNODC Director Antonio Maria Costa said in the report.

"As a result, plenty of powerful people are profiting."

He called for international pressure on Myanmar's leaders to crack down on
drug trafficking, to curb demand for drugs and to control the supply of
"precursor chemicals" needed to make heroin.

Costa said last week that Afghanistan produced a record 8,000 tons of
opium this year, with the proceeds feeding the Taliban insurgency,
official corruption and global terrorism.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

October 11, Associated Press
China says Burma situation changing better

China said Thursday tensions in Burma had taken a turn for the better and
called on the international community to aid UN efforts at mediation
between the junta and its opponents.

"We believe that the situation there is relaxing and turning in a positive
direction," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters at a
regularly scheduled news conference.

"The international community should help in a constructive way to help
Myanmar [Burma] to realize stability, reconciliation democracy and
development," Liu said.

Beijing offered only mild criticism of the Burmese junta's suppression of
pro-democracy protests last month that drew vehement condemnation from
nations around the world.

Beijing is a major source of economic support for the regime, and has
joined India and Russia—which also have much to gain from trading with
Burma—in opposing calls for sanctions or other efforts to isolate the
regime.

The junta says 10 people were killed when troops crushed the protests by
shooting at demonstrators on September 26-27. Dissidents put the toll at
up to 200 and say 6,000 people were detained, including thousands of monks
who led the rallies.

Snr-Gen Than Shwe has offered to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi following a visit early this month by UN special envoy Ibrahim
Gambari. Both Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and the military
have also taken other conciliatory steps.

"I hope that the international community's efforts will be helpful for the
mediation efforts of the secretary general of the United Nations and we
hope matters can continue to develop in a position direction," Liu said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 11, Associated Press
UN envoy to Myanmar returning to region

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is sending the U.N. envoy to Myanmar back to
the region next week for consultations with key governments on efforts to
promote talks between the junta and the opposition, the U.N. said
Thursday.

Ibrahim Gambari will begin his consultations in Thailand on Monday and
then travel to Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China and Japan, "with a view
to returning to Myanmar shortly thereafter," U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie
Okabe said.

Ban sent Gambari to Myanmar after troops crushed pro-democracy
demonstrations last month. Gambari returned last week and told the U.N.
Security Council he was concerned at reports of a continuing crackdown on
protesters.

He urged Myanmar's leadership "to make the bold choices" to demonstrate
its commitment to democracy and national reconciliation and said he said
he was "cautiously encouraged" that the country's military ruler, Senior
Gen. Than Shwe, would meet detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
"although with certain conditions."

Gambari stressed that he and Ban have called for talks without any
preconditions to overcome "the high level of mistrust" between Than Shwe
and Suu Kyi. They include giving up her calls for confronting the
government and for imposing sanctions against it, Myanmar state media
said.

Gambari, who met twice with Suu Kyi and once with Than Shwe during his
visit, said the government had invited him to return to Myanmar in
November, but indicated he might try to go sooner.

____________________________________

October 11, Agence France Presse
Human Rights Watch slams arms sales to Myanmar

Nations such as China, Russia and India are helping prop up Myanmar's
military junta by supplying them with weapons, Human Rights Watch said
Thursday as it appealed for an arms embargo.

The New York-based watchdog called on the UN Security Council -- currently
meeting in New York -- to impose and enforce a ban on the sale of arms to
Myanmar, which it said used the weapons to commit abuses against its
people.

"It's time for the Security Council to end all sales and transfers of arms
to a government that uses repression and fear to hang onto power," said
Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"Instead of continuing to protect Burma's abusive generals, China and
Russia should join other Security Council members to cut off the
instruments of repression," he said. Myanmar was previously known as
Burma.

At least 13 people were killed and about 2,100 arrested in a violent
crackdown on rallies across Myanmar last month, which had posed the
biggest threat to the junta's rule in nearly two decades.

The Security Council on Wednesday reached a broad consensus on a statement
which "strongly deplores" the recent bloody crackdown, after pressure from
Myanmar's allies China and Russia to water down a stronger draft.

"The nations of the world are arming and training the Burmese military at
the same time that they condemn Burma's human rights violations," Adams
said.

"These countries should back up their rhetoric with actions to avoid
complicity in attacks on the Burmese people."

Human Rights Watch singled out India as one of the main suppliers, saying
it had sold Myanmar maritime surveillance aircraft, tanks and artillery.

China, meanwhile, has supplied Myanmar with advanced helicopter gunships,
fighter planes, naval vessels, tanks and small arms including mortars,
landmines, and assault rifles, the group said.

Russia signed a deal to supply Myanmar with MiG-29 fighter planes in 2002,
it added.

The statement said Myanmar had received technical assistance from South
Korean company Daewoo, rocket systems from North Korea, and cited reports
of Israel selling tanks to the regime.

The military used the arms bought from overseas to put down numerous
ethnic insurgencies, but in the process destroyed villages and terrorised
civilians, Human Rights Watch said.

____________________________________

October 11, Associated Press
Top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar hopes spotlight will spur change

The top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said she hopes the international
attention being showered on the Southeast Asian nation will pressure its
military rulers to open the country and reconcile with pro-democracy
advocates.

Shari Villarosa spoke to reporters and scholars Wednesday during visit to
Hawaii for a conference of U.S. diplomats. Her remarks came just weeks
after the Myanmar's military junta brutally cracked down on demonstrators,
firing shots into crowds and rounding up government critics.

The regime said 10 people were killed, but dissident groups put the toll
at up to 200 and say thousands of students, Buddhist monks and others were
arrested.

Villarosa said many believe the junta leaders have been able to stay in
power so long because few people on the outside have heard much about the
country.

But that's changed after coverage of the pro-democracy protests hit global
airwaves and images of soldiers beating demonstrators were beamed around
the world.

"What has become clear in the last couple of weeks is everything's not OK.
These people are very unhappy," Villarosa said. "They need the support of
the international community."

The diplomat said the United States can rally nations together to pressure
the regime. But she noted the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
which often refrains from criticizing its own members, has already taken
the "unprecedented" step of sharply criticizing the violent crackdown.

Singapore's prime minister, the current chairman of the bloc, this month
sent a letter to the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, saying video and
photographs from Myanmar have "evoked the revulsion" of Southeast Asia and
the world.

"That the international community is paying more attention is hopeful,"
Villarosa said. "Hopefully this will help mobilize pressure not only from
the United States but from all the countries in the region."

She said nations needed to "push it and push it and push it some more."

Washington has threatened to impose more sanctions on Myanmar, also known
as Burma, if the government doesn't loosen its grip on the country. But
the U.S. trades little with the country and any penalties it imposes
aren't expected to have much effect.

China, India and Russia, which have much to gain from trading with
Myanmar, have meanwhile opposed slapping U.N. sanctions on the country.

Dr. Eddie Lim, an overseas Burmese who listened to Villarosa speak at the
East-West Center in Honolulu, said he supported the diplomat's calls for
increasing international pressure on Myanmar.

"People in Burma are helpless, voiceless and in fear and in shock and in
anger," Lim said. "And they also are afraid the international community
will soon forget them."

____________________________________

October 10, Voice of America
Jimmy Carter calls for more international pressure on Burma - Kane Farabaugh

As world attention continues to focus on the recent protests and crackdown
in Burma, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says he is closely watching
events in the region.  In an interview with VOA's Kane Farabaugh,
President Carter criticized the international community for not putting
more pressure on Burma's military government in the past, and he called
for more action now to bring about democratic change.

Burma has been at the forefront of President Jimmy Carter's worldwide
human rights agenda since he left the White House in 1981. "When we first
organized the Carter Center, we raised hell about what the military junta
were doing in Myanmar, which we called Burma," he said.

President Carter is a vocal critic of the military government's detention
of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.  In the past, the regime was so
concerned with his condemnation that it sent a five-person delegation to
meet with him.

"They promised me that she would just be put in house arrest, and that if
she would cooperate they would release her," he recalled.  "That all
proved to be idle promises."

In May, President Carter joined 59 other world leaders in signing a letter
demanding an end to Aung San Suu Kyi's confinement.  She has spent 12 of
the last 18 years in detention. The military government has appointed a
liaison to meet with the Nobel laureate on the condition she end her
support for international sanctions on Burma. But Burma's main opposition
party, the National League for Democracy, says the government must drop
any pre-conditions.

Mr. Carter says Burma's neighbors with economic ties to the country need
to do more to secure Aung San Suu Kyi's  release, and to pave the way for
democratic change.

"If the world pressure can be brought on India and China to condemn what's
going on in a very forceful but maybe subterranean and quiet way, that's
the only avenue I see in the near future to bring about a change," he
said.

The United States says it will introduce a U.N. resolution calling for
sanctions if Burma does not move toward a democratic transition.

China says that pressure and sanctions by the international community will
not help the situation. Yet that is exactly what Burma's critics are
demanding in order to force change on the tightly controlled country.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 11, New York Times
Monks and China Rising - Roger Cohen

Seldom has a country's rise been as smooth as China's in recent years.
Bush-bashing has left the world with scant surplus indignation to devote
to Beijing's backing for many of the planet's ugliest regimes, including
those in Sudan, Zimbabwe, Iran and Cuba.

Talk of "harmony" - the buzzword favored by President Hu Jintao - and "no
strings attached" assistance has been the camouflage for China's readiness
to get in bed with thugs from central casting who can provide the oil, gas
and raw materials that fuel the furious growth critical to preserving
one-party rule.

Hu's harmony is mostly hogwash. But who cares? The global thirst for
China's business, and for alternative power centers to Washington, has
given the slogan a free ride.

China is not in the business of exporting war, development models or moral
and political blueprints. It wants stability for its upward glide.
Democracy comes in a distant second to growth, if at all. The tarnishing
of the "D-word" in Iraq has suited China fine.

What suits China less is saffron-robed Buddhist monks in neighboring
Myanmar - the former Burma - confronting the guns of a military junta that
began its rule in 1988 with the massacre of 3,000 protesters and has not
wavered in its corrupt brutality since.

The Burmese troubles are troubling to China for several reasons. They are
on its doorstep. They come in a country transformed in recent years into a
virtual client state, where the Chinese are building roads, burning
forests, backing gas projects and dreaming of long-coveted access to the
Indian Ocean.

Worst of all for Beijing, the unrest presents about as clear a picture of
good versus evil as exists outside fairy tales. There's little to debate
in young monks being gunned down and everything to deplore. For a
Buddhist, killing monks is like killing kin. Nine months from the Beijing
Olympics, that's bad.

So the Chinese have been writhing. Not to the point of supporting United
Nations Security Council action against Burmese barbarity - the official
view is that "pressure would not serve any purpose" - but to the point of
gestures suggestive of some discomfort.

These have included facilitating the work of the U.N. special envoy,
Ibrahim Gambari. He's been instrumental in opening new avenues between the
military and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning
opposition leader who has long been under house arrest.

China has also offered guarded statements about supporting "stability,
reconciliation, democracy and development of Myanmar."

Democracy? Well, up to a point. View all this as the minimum China thinks
it can get away with on the last pre-Olympic lap. Stability, as ever, is
the key word; "democracy" is a sop. Still, the Chinese may be ready to
hedge their Burmese bets.

The junta's leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, is 74; nobody's immortal. The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is part, is
reviewing a new charter that obliges member countries to "strengthen
democracy."

The Burmese military is increasingly isolated in a region where the
Indonesian transition from military rule has given the lie to generals who
say their rule is indivisible from national survival.

That said, Myanmar is a weak state where the danger of fragmentation is
real. Insurgencies and drug warlord militias could easily fill a vacuum.
"The country presents a democracy challenge, but also a failed state
challenge," says Thant Myint-U, a historian.

In North Korea, another Asian country that reeks of failure, China and the
United States have united to push Pyongyang out the nuclear business. But
it was precisely the nukes that concentrated Chinese minds: nobody in
Beijing wanted the militarist wing in Japan emboldened by Kim Jong-il's
folly.

Burmese folly lacks such a galvanizing threat. It does, however, present a
unique opportunity for a great power, the United States, and two emergent
great powers, India and China, to press for a rapid end to the junta's
rule.

Myanmar is a buffer state between India and China; both have major
economic interests there and fear turmoil. India has already called for
"political reform."

I don't think Olympic boycotts work; nor do I think a breakdown in
Chinese-American relations serves anyone. But fierce criticism by Mia
Farrow of Chinese complicity in Darfur atrocities through support for
Sudan produced modest movement. The nine months to the Olympics present a
unique opportunity to shame China into shepherding Burmese reform,
beginning with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

It's time to call "harmony" to task. Monk-murder in a client state is no
advertisement for China rising. India and China need political ideas to
frame the economic rise of Asia: the sanctity of monk power is not a bad
place to start.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

October 11, United Nations Security Council
Security Council: Burma statement

The Security Council welcomes the recent mission by the
Secretary-General’s Special Adviser to Myanmar Mr. Ibrahim Gambari,
reaffirms its strong and unwavering support for the Secretary-General’s
good offices mission as mandated by General Assembly Resolution 61/232,
and expresses its appreciation for the personal engagement of the
Secretary-General.

The Security Council strongly deplores the use of violence against
peaceful demonstrations in Myanmar and welcomes Human Rights Council
Resolution S-5/1 of 2 October 2007.  The Security Council emphasizes the
importance of the early release of all political prisoners and remaining
detainees.  It also calls on the Government of Myanmar and all other
parties concerned to work together towards a de-escalation of the
situation and a peaceful solution.

The Security Council stresses the need for the Government of Myanmar to
create the necessary conditions, for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to achieve
an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of the United
Nations.  The Security Council encourages the Government of Myanmar to
consider seriously Mr. Gambari’s recommendations and proposals.  The
Security Council also calls on the Government of Myanmar to take all
necessary measures to address the political, economic, humanitarian, and
human rights issues that are the concern of its people and emphasizes that
the future of Myanmar lies in the hands of all of its people.

The Security Council welcomes the Government of Myanmar’s public
commitment to work with the United Nations and the appointment of a
liaison officer with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  The Security Council stresses
the importance that such commitments are followed by action.  It
acknowledges that the Government of Myanmar had invited Mr. Gambari to
Myanmar.  It underscores its support for his return as early as possible,
in order to facilitate concrete actions and tangible results.  The
Security Council urges the Government of Myanmar and all parties concerned
to cooperate fully with Mr. Gambari.

The Security Council welcomes the important role played by the ASEAN
countries in urging restraint, calling for a peaceful transition to
democracy, and supporting the good offices mission.  It notes that the
good offices mission is a process, and encourages the sustained support
and engagement of the international community in helping Myanmar.

The Security Council remains seized of the matter.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 11, U.S. Campaign for Burma
Campaigners praise "the first step" by UN Security Council, call for arms
embargo

The U.S. Campaign for Burma (USCB), a Washington, DC-based advocacy and
activist group promoting human rights, freedom and democracy in Burma,
today welcomed the first-ever Presidential Statement on Burma issued by
the UN Security Council.  USCB recognizes that although this statement
falls short because it does not have the binding power of a resolution, it
is the first ever action by the Security Council and was given with
unanimous endorsement of all 15 members, including China and Russia.

"This is a first step when what Burma needs is a concrete measure," said
Aung Din, a former political prisoner and Executive Director of the U.S.
Campaign for Burma.  "We hope the Council follows this move by
implementing an arms embargo that stops countries from shipping weapons to
this regime."

In the Statement, the Security Council unanimously and strongly deplores
the use of violence against peaceful demonstrations in Burma and welcomes
Human Rights Council Resolution $-5/1 of October 2, 2007. The
demonstrations, which were led by non-violent Buddhist Monks, rocked the
country over the past two weeks. As the result of the brutal crackdown by
the regime, more than two hundred peaceful demonstrators, including monks,
students and civilians, were killed, several hundred were injured and more
than three thousand were arrested.

The Security Council emphasizes the importance of the early release of all
political prisoners and remaining detainees. It also calls on the military
regime to create the necessary conditions, for a genuine dialogue with Daw
Aung san Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups, in order to
achieve an inclusive national reconciliation with the direct support of
the United Nations. The Council also calls on the military regime to take
all necessary measures to address the political, economic, humanitarian,
and human rights issues.

"I believe that this statement is the first step of UN Security Council
involvement in Burma. This should be followed by an arms embargo.  I hope
that this will lead to further decisive and effective action soon if the
Burmese regime fails to implement the concerns expressed by all members of
the Security Council within a reasonable period," says Aung Din. "I
encourage Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit Burma, together with his
Special Adviser Mr. Gambari, as soon as possible to deliver the Statement
of the Security Council and to facilitate a meaningful political dialogue
between the military junta, the National League for Democracy party led by
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the ethnic representatives," continues Aung Din.

Since August, Burma has captured the attention of the world when democracy
activists staged peaceful protests by marching in the streets. After most
of the leaders of the 88 Generation Students were arrested by the regime,
Buddhist monks, who are highly respected by the people of Burma, continued
the peaceful protests. Hundreds of thousands of students and civilians
joined with tens of thousands of monks, marched peacefully in the streets
in every major city, calling for the military junta to reduce the price of
basic commodities and fuel, to release all political prisoners including
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to engage in a meaningful political dialogue
with the democratic opposition. The military junta deployed tens of
thousands of soldiers, armed with automatic rifles and batons; threw tear
gas canisters and shot at the crowd. During the two day rampage on
September 26 and 27 alone, more than two hundred protesters were killed
and more than three thousand were arrested. A curfew order was imposed in
two major cities, Rangoon and Mandalay since September 25 and more arrests
were made by soldiers raiding major Buddhist monasteries at night.

"I urge the members of the Security Council to be ready to discuss a
resolution that includes an arms embargo very soon, as the regime will not
listen to the voice of the Security Council if there is no concrete action
beyond statements.  An international arms embargo and a ban on investment
are necessary measures to make the voice of the Security Council
stronger," says Aung Din.

Burma is a country in Southeast Asia, ruled by a military junta since
1962. A 1988 popular democracy uprising ended with bloodshed, with the
ruling military regime killing at least three thousand peaceful
demonstrators. The Burmese military regime is notorious for its use of
forced labor and forced relocation, forced recruitment of up to seventy
thousand child soldiers, the use of rape as weapon of war against ethnic
minority women, and military offensives against civilians to control the
ethnic minority areas. The regime has destroyed over 3,000 villages,
driven out more than one million refugees to neighboring countries and
forced more than a half million citizens to become internally displaced.

Despite countless recommendations from the UN system with 35 resolutions
in 19 years, the military regime continues its human rights violations,
war crimes and crimes against humanity to this day, with the support of
China. Burma was placed on the permanent agenda of the UN Security Council
in 2006, despite the objection of China. However China and Russia
exercised their veto powers to kill a resolution on Burma, which was
non-binding and intended to strengthen the good offices mandate of the
Secretary-General. The initiative was proposed by the United States and
United Kingdom in January 2007.


Contact: Jeremy Woodrum at (202) 234-8022

____________________________________

October 11, Burma Campaign UK
Security Council Burma statement is progress, but not enough

The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the first formal statement on Burma
by the United Nations Security Council as a significant step, but warned
that a binding resolution is likely to be one of the few things that will
force the regime into genuine talks about reform.

“The United Nations has taken another step on its painstakingly slow
efforts to address the situation in Burma,” said Mark Farmaner, Acting
Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “But the regime have been snubbing UN
requests for almost 20 years. A binding resolution is needed to push the
regime into genuine talks about reform.”

China, Russia and South Africa are understood to have continued their
opposition to the Security Council becoming involved in Burma, despite a
legal study – A Threat To The Peace - commissioned by Archbishop Desmond
Tutu and former Czech President Vaclav Havel – which demonstrated that
Burma does fit the criteria for Security Council action. However, China’s
acceptance of the statement demonstrates that they are feeling strong
pressure over their defence of Burma’s brutal generals.

The statement has been watered down from the original statement proposed
by the UK, USA and France, but still sends a message to the regime in
Burma that it must take concrete action including the release of political
prisoners, end the use of violence against civilians, and begin genuine
dialogue.

“We really appreciate the efforts made by the British, American and French
governments to secure this statement, which is a real breakthrough, and
call on them to continue lobbying China at the highest level,” said Mark
Farmaner. “We would like to see moves to secure a UN arms embargo against
Burma. It is extraordinary that no such embargo exists.”

For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 020 7324 4713

____________________________________

October 11, Burma Campaign UK
Will the EU keep its word on Burma sanctions?

EU dithering gives the regime a green light to continue abuses.

The Burma Campaign UK today called on the European Union to move swiftly
to impose targeted economic sanctions against the regime in Burma.
Negotiations have been taking place for weeks but no new sanctions have
been announced.

The Burma Campaign UK has launched a new email action on its website where
people can email EU governments urging them to take action.
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/eu_sanctions.html

“The European Union warned the regime that it would strengthen sanctions
if the regime resorted to violence, but we have yet to see them deliver,”
said Mark Farmaner, Acting Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “We can only
assume that some EU governments are going back on their word, and blocking
EU action. If the EU once again fails to keep its word on Burma, its
credibility will be severely damaged.”

Burma’s democracy movement is calling for targeted economic sanctions,
including a complete ban on all new investment in Burma, a ban on imports
of key commodities such as timber, gems, and metals, and a ban on
financial transactions.

“While the EU dithers, the regime gets the message it can literally get
away with murder,” said Mark Farmaner. “Those countries protecting the
generals in Burma from stronger sanctions should have the courage to come
out publicly and say so.”

EU members are committed to a common foreign policy on Burma. In theory,
this could be highly effective, with all 27 EU members working together to
help bring democratic reform in Burma. In fact, we are left with the
lowest common denominator, and a weak and ineffective response that has
had no impact on the regime. As all 27 EU members have to agree on
sanctions or any issue, it only takes one country to say no, and then
nothing happens.

The EU is divided on how to deal with Burma. This division has meant that
it is left without a strategy. A previous policy of gradually increasing
pressure on the regime if there was no change, and relaxing pressure if
there was positive change, is no longer being applied. A handful of
countries, UK, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, have
favoured increasing pressure to various degrees. A handful of countries
have opposed increasing pressure, and some even favour reducing existing
measures taken by the EU. These are France, Germany, Austria, Spain and
Poland. It is not known which policy positions all EU members are taking
in the negotiations currently taking place. In a welcome move, British
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to work for stronger EU sanctions.

For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 0207 324 4713

STATEMENT BY THE EU 25TH SEPTEMBER 2007
The European Union is very concerned by the latest reports from inside
Burma/Myanmar which suggest that the authorities are moving military
forces to city centres.??We reiterate our call on the authorities in
Burma/Myanmar not to use violence against people who are committed to
non-violence, and to pursue genuine reconciliation and negotiation.??We
also call on all those with influence over the military government to
bring that influence to bear to ensure that the authorities respond in a
non-violent manner.??The EU further underlines to the authorities in
Naypyidaw that it will not hesitate to reinforce and strengthen the
existing sanctions regime, should they resort to using violence against
the unarmed and peaceful demonstrators.?