BurmaNet News, November 24-26, 2007

[Editor]

November 24-26, 2007 Issue # 3350

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Junta arrests another Human Rights activist
Irrawaddy: Women activists stage demonstration in Rangoon
Newsweek: Where are the monks?
BBC Burmese Service: State Sangha council urged to investigate the crackdown
Mizzima News: University invigilators target students in black dresses
Narinjara News: Monk arrested in police raid
Narinjara News: Burma's Home Minister criticizes UN Envoy
Irrawaddy: Prominent ethnic leader released
Irrawaddy: Tension mounts between KIO and regime
Mizzima News: Rangoon reels under prolonged power cuts

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Pregnant migrant workers fear repatriation from Thailand
Daily Times: 7 Myanmar migrants killed

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Foreign investment in Myanmar dominated by oil and gas, power sectors
AP: Gem dealers push to ban Myanmar rubies

HEALTH / AIDS
AP: Myanmar reports bird flu outbreak at chicken farm in northeast

GUNS
Hindustan Times: India stops arms sales to junta

ASEAN
Jakarta Post: Asean's megaphone diplomacy strong words, yet no action

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Monks hold sit-in protest at Bodhgaya
Vietnam News: VN supports reconciliation in Myanmar, says Deputy PM

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: U.N. envoy on Myanmar wants to return by year end
Irrawaddy: Sarkozy urges Chinese President to put pressure on Burma
AP: UN: Myanmar must free all child soldiers - Alexandra Olson

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation: Thai diplomacy an utter failure over past year - Kavi
Chongkittavorn

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 26, Mizzima News
Junta arrests another Human Rights activist - Maung Dee

In its unabated and relentless crackdown on dissidents, the Burmese
military junta today arrested Aung Zaw Oo, a member of the Human Rights
Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) from a teashop in downtown Rangoon , a
colleague said.

Aung Zaw Oo, who actively documented human rights violations by the junta
and was involved in imparting awareness trainings, was taken in by two men
in plainclothes, believed to be policemen, while he was sitting at a
teashop in downtown Rangoon, Myint Aye, leader of the HRDP said.

"He [Aung Zaw Oo] was arrested today at about 1 p.m. (local time), when he
was sitting at the 'Pan Myodaw' teashop on 29th street. The two men got
off the table opposite them and held him by his shoulders and they took
him away. One of the men was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt and the other
was in a longyi and white shirt," Myint Aye said.

Aung Zaw Oo, a native of Bokalay town, is currently residing in Rangoon
and was taking an active role in planning for the December 10 th
International Human Rights Day, which the HRDP is planning to organize in
Rangoon.

Members of HRDP have been among the main targets of the junta because of
their active role in promoting human rights awareness among the people,
Myint Aye said. He added that the latest arrest of Aung Zaw Oo could be an
attempt by the junta to weaken preparations for the upcoming Human Rights
Day event.

Led by Myint Aye, a team of the HRDP came under attack by a junta-backed
mob in Oatpho village of Hinzada Township in Irrawaddy division while
returning from a training session on April 18, 2007 . The HRDP members
Myint Naing and Maung Maung Lay sustained severe injuries and were
hospitalized.

In its ruthless response to the human rights campaign, the Burmese junta
has arrested and detained at least 10 members of the HRDP including Min
Min, a private tutor in Prome Town for allowing his tuition room to be
used as a place for discussion on human rights.

However, Min Min was arrested and sentenced to three years in prison and
fined 30,000 kyat on charges of giving private tuitions without a license.

"We are being targeted and members of our group have been arrested on
various charges. I am really worried about the human rights situation in
our country as those promoting human rights are subject to abuses," Myint
Aye said.

Myint Aye, who was recently released after 70 days in detention for being
vocal about the junta's human rights violations, said he could feel the
presence the junta's spies around his residence. They are keeping a close
watch on his movement.

"I am quite used to the arrest made by the junta and I have never spent
much time outside the prison. And once they arrest me it takes about a
year to be released. In 1998, I was arrested and was release after a year.
I have been arrested seven times now. We are like chicks in the farm, we
can be arrested anytime," Myint Aye added.

____________________________________

November 26, Irrawaddy
Women activists stage demonstration in Rangoon

A group of more than 25 women activist paraded through downtown Rangoon on
Sunday in the first public display of opposition to the military regime
since the September crackdown.

The demonstration coincided with Sunday’s commemoration of the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The
group, which included housewives and students, marched from the Sule
Pagoda to the Botataung pagoda, where they prayed for the monks and other
protesters who died in the September demonstrations and for the release of
detainees.

The women were shadowed by members of the government-backed Union
Solidarity and Development Association and the paramilitary Swan Ah Shin
group, but they did not intervene, according to activist Kyaw Ko Ko.

Radio Free Asia quoted one demonstrator saying: “We are not afraid of
arrest. We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the people and our
country.”

Exile-based women’s rights groups say that 106 women, including six nuns,
are being held in custody in Rangoon after being arrested in connection
with September’s demonstrations. The groups are calling for their release,
along with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Thailand-based Women’s League for Burma released a statement on Friday
accusing the regime of conducting a smear campaign against women
activists, forcing some to admit on camera that they had had sexual
relations with monks.

Although security has been tightened in Rangoon, small displays of
opposition are still occurring. Anti-regime leaflets are being distributed
and slogans spray-painted on walls.

____________________________________

November 26, Newsweek
Where are the monks?

The junta has jailed some of Burma's Buddhist clergy, derobed others and
driven many into exile.

The 26-year-old monk was one of thousands who took to Burma's streets in
late September. Like so many of them he had never imagined himself an
activist—"I'm a normal monk, I'm not a political monk," he says—but he was
carried away by the democratic fervor then sweeping Rangoon. On Sept. 25
he returned to his monastery late at night, climbing over the back wall
since the front entrance was locked. The next night the soldiers came and
took him away.

He was not the only monk to vanish, either from his monastery or dozens of
others. The few foreigners who have managed to enter Burma since the
junta's crackdown have all noted how empty the country's temples and
monasteries seem to be. Thought to number around 400,000, Buddhist monks
had been ubiquitous in Rangoon, Mandalay and other Burmese cities for
centuries. "Something has happened," says Shari Villarosa, chargé
d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon. "It's frightening to think of.
It's not like they all willingly left town."

In interviews, diplomats, monks and Burmese activists say that the junta
has jailed those monks it sees as ringleaders and has persuaded
abbots—some of them already collaborating with the regime—to get rid of
dissidents. Many monks have been placed under "monastery arrest,"
forbidden to leave their campuses, except to collect their daily alms.
Others have been forcibly derobed. And some terrified monks have fled to
the countryside or to neighboring Thailand and China. "The monasteries in
my neighborhood seem empty," says the 26-year-old monk, who was jailed for
19 days. "In my monastery, we used to have 100. Now we're down to about
31. I can feel the silence."

Those few monks visible at the Shwedagon temple in Rangoon, a magnificent,
sprawling complex of pagodas anchored by a glittering 2,500-year-old
stupa, move around cautiously, mostly alone. In Amarapura, near Mandalay,
the number of monks who queue up for lunch each day at the Mahagandayon
monastery—a daily ritual once mobbed by tourists—has also declined
dramatically. A 27-year-old cleric there says almost 1,000 of the
monastery's 1,800 inhabitants fled to their home provinces in September,
although he says many have since slipped back.

The 26-year-old Rangoon monk—a tall man with an elegant shaved head and an
easy smile—says soldiers treated him roughly in detention but did not beat
him, although they did slap around several other monks. For the first 15
days no latrines or bathing facilities were provided. Interrogations were
basic: "We were mainly asked, 'Did you participate in the protests? Why?
Who is the leading monk in these protests?' " Soldiers then brought in
Sangha nayakas—Buddhist officials authorized to convert monks to
laypeople. The nayakas refused to recite the appropriate scripture, so the
soldiers simply forced the monks to don civilian dress and pronounced them
laymen. "I took my vows a long time ago," says the defiant monk, still
wearing his prison-issue flip-flops. "I felt angry to be forced to change
my clothes, but I was still a monk."

The government concedes that a few monks remain in detention, although it
claims to have released all but about 90 of the 3,000 monks and civilians
initially jailed. Outside the major cities monks are far more evident. In
Sagaing, west of Mandalay, groups of them roam the lush hillside, taking
tea and chatting amiably with locals. The mood at the gorgeous Kaunghmudaw
pagoda is calm. "Not a surprise," says a tour guide. "Here, they're far
from the action, and remember, some abbots work with the government." He
mentions the pro-government Kya Khat Waing monastery in Bago, about 50
miles northeast of Rangoon, most of whose monks did not march and whose
abbot urged the government to punish those who did.

That some senior monks came out against the protests isn't surprising
given the fact that Buddhism eschews politics and violence. Several abbots
were uncomfortable with the spectacle of monks shouting political slogans,
including calls to free jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But like
most Burmese, they're equally uncomfortable with the regime's actions. The
junta pressured abbots not to allow monks who had marched back into their
monasteries. "Of course the abbots refused. Many monks are back here
again," says one monk in Amarapura.

The regime may yet pay for its actions if they radicalize a group known
for its pacifism. "Yes, they're cowed, yes, they're more terrified than
they were before. But they're angry," says Villarosa. Asked what help he'd
like from outside powers, a young monk in Mandalay forms a trigger with
his finger and makes the sound of a gun being fired. "People have
nothing," he says. "They ask the government for help and get nothing. What
else can we do?"

http://www.newsweek.com/id/72026/

____________________________________

November 26, BBC Burmese Service
State Sangha council urged to investigate the crackdown

The Monks Alliance has urged Burma's State Sangha Council to investigate
about the situation of the monks who were killed or detained after
September protests in Burma.

The Alliance, who are believed to be an underground religious body,
demands the State Sangha Council to be a responsible body.

A spokesperson of the Alliance said the official Council is formed with
elected monks and it should speak out the truth.

Burmese government said no monk was killed during the crackdown and faked
monks were responsible for the unrest.

_____________________________________

November 26, Mizzima News
University invigilators target students in black dresses - Maung Dee

In a bid to put a leash on any kind of students' movement in universities,
invigilators in Rangoon University east campus are collecting the names
and roll numbers of students who are coming for their examination in black
dresses as a mark of mourning for those killed during the protests, a
student source said.

The invigilator's move at the behest of the military junta came in the
wake of a rumour that students in condemnation of the ruling junta's
brutal crackdown on protesters in September would wear black as a sign of
mourning, the source said.

"Invigilators are secretly noting down the names of students and their
roll numbers and the dates in which he/she came in black. If a student
comes in a black dress today they will observe the next day whether the
student again puts on black. We heard that those coming in black on all
six days of the examinations will be failed and would eventually be
expelled from the university," a student told Mizzima.

Since November 21, the university has been conducting examinations for
students' correspondence course. The students believe that the
invigilators were ordered by the special branch of the police to note down
the names and roll numbers of the students.

"It would be much easier if they [authorities] made the students sign
pledges, but I heard that authorities would fail the students in their
examination and also expel them," said another student, who is also
appearing for the examination.

In a separate incident, students of Rangoon university east campus last
week were prohibited by the authorities from making offerings at Than Lyin
Township on 'Tasaungdine' full moon day. Students have a tradition of
offering swan and food to the people in the locality during the full moon
day of Tasaungdine.

Meanwhile, an unconfirmed report said the university authorities promoted
a man who came with a recommendation letter from the Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA), the junta-backed civilian organization, to
a tutor in the Botany Department of the university.

Following the monk-led 'Saffron Revolution' in September, authorities
postponed university examinations and also delayed the re-opening of
universities.

"The authorities had postponed the examinations of all university after
the monk-led protests broke out in September. I think the authorities are
likely to close the university on the 10 th of December as it is
'International Human rights Day' to prevent any activity by the students.
But so far there is no announcement," a student said.

_____________________________________

November 26, Narinjara News
Monk arrested in police raid

A police force in Sittwe raided a monastery and arrested a monk on 15
November, but no information is available regarding the whereabouts of the
monk after his arrest.

U Thu Min Ghala from Sittwe told Narinjara over the phone that police
arrested U Than Rama during the raid, but that he did not know where
authorities are detaining the monk.

U Than Rama, aged 30, was wanted by the authority for his involvement in
the recent monk-led demonstrations in Sittwe.

A student from Rupa Ward said that a force of about 30 armed police raided
Tayzar Rama Kaman Htan monastery on the outskirts of Sittwe at 4:30 pm on
15 November.

During the arrest, police severely beat and kicked U Than Rama and took
him away to an undisclosed location.

In Sittwe, the security is still tight and government authorities are
closely watching most of the monasteries.  The authorities are also
prohibiting monks from traveling around Arakan without official
permission.

_____________________________________

November 26, Narinjara News
Burma's Home Minister criticizes UN Envoy

Burmese Home Minister General Maung Oo strongly criticized UN envoy
Ibrahim Gambari and his recent visit to Burma during a meeting that was
held Saturday in the western Burmese border town of Maungdaw, said a
government official who attended the meeting.

The official said, "During the meeting General Maung Oo told us that
Gambari brought a list of 20 political prisoners and demanded their
immediate release.  Additionally, he [Gambari] asked for permission from
the government to meet with ten political prisoners, but we did not allow
him to. However, we arranged a meeting for him with five high-ranking
government officials, but Gambari was unsatisfied."

General Maung Oo told attendees at the meeting that when Gambari arrived
in Thailand from Burma he held a press conference at which he blamed the
Burmese government of negative pacts.  "We do not accept international
intervention  for our internal problem.  All our people need to stand up
with us and did not need to take care of the international pressure for
our affairs," the official added.

At the meeting, General Maung Oo called on the organized government
officials to not become involved in any anti-government protests and not
to believe the reports of the BBC, VOA, RFA, or DVB, which are "following
the US government policy to destroy Burma".

The official said that in the meeting, General Maung Oo made a one-hour
speech distributing to government officials, but most speeches were
attacking Gambari and the US government.

The meeting started at 3 pm and ended at 5:30 pm, with about 150
government officials from several government departments in Maungdaw
Township in attendance.

General Maung Oo held the meeting during his short visit to Maungdaw to
inspect the Maungdaw district building, police regiment, and a prison in
Buthidaung.

____________________________________

November 26, Irrawaddy
Prominent ethnic leader released - Wai Moe

A prominent Zomi ethnic leader, Cin Sian Thang. was released on Monday
morning after nearly one week in custody, according to the opposition
National League for Democracy spokesman, Nyan Win.

Cin Sian Thang, chairman of the Zomi National Congress and a member of the
Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, was arrested on November
20. along with other CRPP members, the ethnic leaders Naing Ngwe Thein,
Aye Tha Aung, Ohn Tin, Khun Htoo and Soe Win.

They were questioned about their views on the statement issued by Burma’s
pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, after the visit by UN Special
Envoy Ibrahim Gambri in early November. All of them with the exception of
Cin Sian Thang were released the same day.

Aye Tha Aung, CRPP Secretary, confirmed Cin Sian Thang’s release.

“I was told by one of his family member that he was released from Aung
Thapyay, [a Special Police’s detention center in Rangoon] around 10 a.m.,”
said Aye Thar Aung. “I heard he is in good heath. I am glad for him”

Aye Tha Aung, who is also his close colleague, said that Cin Sian Thang
was actively involved in the ethnic and democracy struggle. He
participated in the September demonstrations in Rangoon.

____________________________________

November 26, Irrawaddy
Tension mounts between KIO and regime - Saw Yan Naing

Tension is growing between the Burmese army and the regime’s main
ceasefire group, the Kachin Independence Organization, following the
arrest of six KIO soldiers and two officials.

The arrests were made when the Burmese army’s Infantry Battalion 146 under
Northern Command raided a KIO frontline position near Laiza, in Kachin
state, where the KIO has its headquarters.

James Lum Dau, the KIO’s deputy chief of foreign affairs, told The
Irrawaddy on Monday that the six soldiers had been released but the two
KIO officials were still being held. KIO leaders, including Tu Ja, a KIO
vice-secretary, are now negotiating with a government official in
Myitkyina for their release, he said.

A source close to the KIO said it had been reported that the chairman of
the Kachin State Peace and Development Council and commander of Northern
Command, Maj-Gen Ohn Myint, had ordered an attack on the KIO position.

The KIO has reinforced defences around its Laiza headquarters since last
week’s raid. Fresh troops were being recruited and about 4,000 soldiers
were now stationed in the Laiza area, the source said.

Military operations by Burmese army forces were also reported from Kachin
State’s Mansi, Momauk and Bamaw Townships, disturbing KIO trade in the
region.

The Burmese army forces had destroyed a bridge over the Mayhka and Malihka
rivers, a route for transporting timber, after the KIO had ordered them
not to cross it.

The KIO had already earned the displeasure of the regime by refusing a
request to issue a statement opposing the one released by UN special envoy
Ibrahim Gambari on behalf of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

____________________________________

November 24, Mizzima News
Rangoon reels under prolonged power cuts

Residents of Burma's former capital, Rangoon barely recovering from the
trauma of the ruthless suppression of the people's uprising, having
witnessed brutal beatings, shootings and killings, have to contend now
with another depressing reality – prolonged power cuts.

The erratic supply of electricity has further worsened. Except very
important areas such as the Bogyoke market, Tarmwe market, and a few other
localities, residents in Rangoon said power black outs are the order of
the day in most townships.

"When the electricity comes we are glad. Rice cookers are turned on but
the supply is cut off abruptly leaving the rice half cooked. If we are
burning a CD, the disc gets corrupted as power goes off suddenly," a
resident at the Lanmadaw Street in Rangoon lamented to Mizzima.

Earlier, authorities supplied electricity and effected power cuts on a
rotational basis in different townships, but recently the supply of power
has become much more erratic, residents said.

"Once it goes off, it takes at least an hour or two to restore supply. It
comes on and goes off all the time," said a resident in North Okklapa .

A resident at the Lanmadaw Street said, he had called up the township
electricity department to complain about the irregular supply of
electricity. But the officials did not bother to give him a proper
explanation for the regular black outs.

"Terrible power black-outs have started. The supply of electricity in
Rangoon now is on a rotational basis," a local resident said.

One possible reason for the recent power shortage in Rangoon could be that
the authorities have stopped supplying electricity to Rangoon from Lawpita
hydro-project, the largest hydro-project in Burma located in Kayan State ,
a source in Rangoon said.

"No more electricity from Lawpita. It is reserved only for Naypyidaw," the
source added.

The Rangoon Divisional Electricity Department identified important areas
where they have to provide uninterrupted electricity and several areas,
which used to be regarded as VIP areas, including Bahan Township have been
deleted from the list of VIP areas, the source said.

"We have made requests over telephone to provide us uninterrupted
electricity. And officials at the electricity department have told us that
they would forward our request but so far there is no response," said the
local from Lanmadaw Street .

Though most townships in Rangoon have been facing regular power black-outs
since October, the industrial township of Hlaing Tharyar has been
receiving regular power supply. However, workers at the industrial zone in
Hlaing Tharyar Township said they received a notice yesterday stating that
electricity would be cut-off in the township from 5 p.m . to 11 p.m.

"We received a notice from the electricity department saying that
electricity will be cut-off from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Since we are in the
administrative office, we have to inform all the 500 industries in the
township. But most industries use their own generators for power supply,"
a manager in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone told Mizzima.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 26, Irrawaddy
Pregnant migrant workers fear repatriation from Thailand - Shah Paung

Recent reports that Thai authorities will repatriate pregnant migrant
workers have created an atmosphere of fear and worry among the large
community of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand.

The reports follow an interview in Samut Sakhorn earlier in November by
the deputy prime minister of Thailand, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, when he
stated that tighter security measures would need to be put in place
following media reports that up to 2,000 babies were being born to migrant
workers every month.

According to Thai newspaper Komchadluek on November 16, Sonthi said that
from now on pregnant migrant workers would have to return to their home
countries to give birth. He was quoted as saying that migrant workers
would not be permitted to give birth and settle in Thailand.

Maung Aye, a Burmese migrant who has been working as a mason in Thailand
for about 18 years, said that when he went to Phuket Hospital in southern
Thailand recently to receive treatment for his two year-old child a nurse
told him that pregnant migrant workers and their children would now have
to return home.

Maung Aye said, “When I heard this news I felt so sad; however, if they
order us to go back we cannot refuse.”

As well as a two year-old, Maung Aye has another child who is ten.

He says he is worried for their future: “When we listen to the Burmese
news we hear that the Burmese military government is now arresting
children and forcing them to become soldiers. We are worried about
bringing up our children in Burma.”

Another Burmese migrant worker, Khin Myint, who lives in Samut Sakhorn and
has a young infant, said that if the Thai government takes tough action
their problems will double.

“We came here [to Thailand] so our family could survive,” she said. “If we
have to go back to give birth then we will face many problems along the
way. The transportation cost in itself is too much.”

To travel from Mae Sot, a town on the Thai-Burmese border, to the Thai
capital, Bangkok, can cost migrant workers as much as 15,000 baht (more
than US $440) in bribes and costs, according to a Burmese migrant workers’
rights group.

Ko Ko Aung, an official from the Seafarers’ Union of Burma, based in
Thailand, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that pregnant Burmese women would
be risking arrest by Thai authorities if they are forced to travel home,
as their work permit does not allow them to travel out of certain
permitted areas, he said.

“Therefore, they will be sent to jail—not home,” said Ko Ko Aung.

Currently, very few migrant workers are aware of this report.

According to Ko Ko Aung, an estimated 2,000 babies are born to Burmese
migrant workers every year in Samut Sakhorn Province alone. In the
province, there are fewer than 100,000 legal Burmese migrant workers in
comparison to an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 migrants from Burma who are
working illegally. The largest community of Burmese migrant workers in
Samut Sakhorn is ethnic Mon people, he said.

Sompong Sakaew, from the Labour Rights Promotion Network, based in
Mahachai District in Samut Sakhorn, told The Irrawaddy that the problem
stems from the Thai media not reporting the issue correctly.

“Actually, the number of newborn babies cannot be as high as the media
reported—some 2,000 babies per month,” he said. “The maximum is just 300
to 350 per month.”

Sompong added that pregnant women might be inclined to seek abortions if
they feared deportation from Thailand.

A field coordinator at the Migrant Assistance Program in southern Thailand
said that if the Thai authorities take tough action as they said they
would, many problems would arise and it could develop into a big issue for
labor rights groups.

However, according to a labor rights group worker, last week the Thai
authorities held a meeting with migrant workers’ rights groups and
discussed Gen Sonthi’s reported speech.

During the meeting the labor rights groups called for the Thai authorities
to make an official announcement declaring that pregnant migrant workers
would not, in fact, be repatriated.

____________________________________

November 26, Daily Times
7 Myanmar migrants killed

Seven migrants from Myanmar and a Thai driver were killed Sunday after
their pick-up truck plunged into a canal in central Thailand as the
vehicle tried to evade police, local authorities said.

The Myanmar victims - two men, two women and three children aged three,
six and seven - were part of a group of 21 migrants travelling from the
southern Thai border with Myanmar, police said. Police Lieutenant Colonel
Taweechai Iam-laor told AFP that the group had been smuggled into Thailand
to work illegally, and highway police attempted to stop the vehicle in
Petchaburi province, south of Bangkok.

“But the driver didn’t stop. He instead sped up and tried to escape, but
the truck plunged into the irrigation canal,” he said. Six migrants were
treated in hospital after the accident, he said, while two were detained
by police. Humanitarian organisations estimate that there are up to two
million illegal Myanmar migrants working in Thailand, with many vulnerable
to exploitation and denied basic rights such as medical care.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C11%5C26%5Cstory_26-11-2007_pg4_22

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 26, Associated Press
Foreign investment in Myanmar dominated by oil and gas, power sectors

Foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector reached a record high
of more than US$470 million (almost euro320 million) in fiscal year
2006-07, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total, according to
newly-released government statistics.

Oil and gas, together with the power sector, accounted for more than 98
percent of all foreign investment, said the Ministry of National Planning
and Development in its latest statistical survey report, seen Monday. The
remainder was in the fisheries sector.

The report said there was no new investment in mining, real estate,
hotels, transport or manufacturing, which have attracted foreign investors
in the past. Myanmar's financial year begins on April 1, and ends March
31.

Since Myanmar liberalized its investment code in late 1988, it has
attracted its largest investments in the oil and gas and electric power
sectors.

Many Western countries either ban or discourage investment in Myanmar as a
way of pressuring its ruling junta, which is shunned for its poor human
rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected
government.

Of the total US$471.48 million (euro318.47 million) investment in the oil
and gas sector, the largest share US$240.68 million (euro162.2 million)
came from the United Kingdom, followed by Singapore with more than US$160
million (euro107.8 million), according to the report.

Russia and South Korea also had large investments in the sector, it said.
Though the report did not give details of the investments, companies
registered in the listed countries signed production sharing contracts
with the Myanmar government during the period covered.

The 36.8 percent share of foreign investment represented by the power
sector was all accounted for by US$281.220 million (euro190 million) from
China, the report said.

Fisheries accounted for US$12 million (euro8.1 million), or just under 1.6
percent, of the foreign investment total, it said.

____________________________________

November 26, Associated Press
Gem dealers push to ban Myanmar rubies - Mick Elmore

The rich red hue of Myanmar’s prized rubies is a reminder to many gem
dealers of the military government’s bloody crackdown on democracy
advocates, and talk of a boycott is increasing.

“There is a growing awareness that it is a fascist regime,” said Brian
Leber, a third generation American gem dealer.

“Considering what this regime has done to its own people, we’re troubled
to see that a precious stone is offering such a great source of cash for
them,” he said in a telephone interview from the Chicago suburb of Western
Springs, Ill.

“Trade in these stones supports human rights abuses,” New York-based Human
Rights Watch said in a statement this week. “The sale of these gems gives
Burma’s military rulers quick cash to stay in power.” Myanmar is also
called Burma.

But a successful boycott of what activists call “blood rubies“ will prove
difficult. More than 1,500 people from more than 20 countries registered
for a gems auction that opened Wednesday, despite the boycott calls. While
some rubies are exported legally, many also are smuggled out of Myanmar.

The ruby trade puts money in the junta’s pocket, since it controls mining
concessions, but the scale of the profit is hard to assess. Secrecy
shrouds both the gem trade and the country as a whole.

In 1964, Myanmar introduced an annual gem auction, and starting in 1992
the sale was held twice a year. In more recent times, a special third
auction has been held each year.

First lady Laura Bush issued a statement Friday calling for a boycott of
the event by the gem industry and urging consumers to reject any stone
from Myanmar.

“These funds prop up the regime, allowing it to continue to harass, arrest
and sentence peaceful activists who seek freedom of speech, worship and
assembly,” she said. “Every Burmese stone bought, cut, polished and sold
sustains an illegitimate, repressive regime.”

The government has taken other steps to increase earnings, including an
effort to cut smuggling. The country’s New Gemstone Law, enacted in 1995,
allows people in Myanmar to mine, produce, transport and sell finished
gems and jewelry at home and abroad — as long as they pay tax, which
smugglers don’t.

Most rubies are trafficked as rough stones. They are dug out of
mountainsides in the Mogok and Mong Hsu areas of northeast Myanmar. From
there, they are carried on a long, perilous journey over mountains,
through jungles and insurgent-prone areas, changing hands several times on
their way to Thailand.

There, the rough stones are heat-treated with chemicals at high
temperature for long periods to bring out the brilliant color and clear
away small cracks.

Once cooked, cut and polished, the gems are sold to foreign wholesalers,
who distribute them to jewelers around the world.

The biggest determiner of the final price is the success of the heat
enhancement. If done improperly, the process can split a stone and make it
almost worthless; done right, a ruby can become more expensive per carat
than a diamond.

The best large stones fetch millions of dollars. The Christie’s auction
house, on its Web site, lists a ring set with an 8.62 carat ruby which
sold for $3.6 million — a record per carat price of $425,000 — in February
2006.

The vast majority, however, are stones of up to 2 carats which miners in
Myanmar sell for just a few dollars. They end up in jewelry shops with
price tags ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

The smuggling bypasses the state-owned Myanmar Gem Enterprise that
oversees the industry and runs the gem auctions in the city of Yangon.

The Myanmar Gem Enterprise said it generated sales of nearly $300 million
in fiscal year 2006-2007, according to Human Rights Watch.

The agency did not respond to questions from The Associated Press sent by
e-mail.

Dealers in Bangkok estimate the generals earn at least $60 million
annually from gems, but some say the amount could be as high as 10 times
that.

Whatever the figure, a growing number of dealers want to deny the junta
any windfall from rubies.

But imposing sanctions will be fraught with problems, particularly since
as many as 90 percent of the world’s rubies come from Myanmar. Most go to
the United States, Europe and Japan. Myanmar also exports jade, sapphires
and pearls.

The industry would almost have to ban the trade in rubies altogether for
the embargo to work, said P.J. Joseph, a teacher at the Asia Institute of
Gemological Sciences, a school and lab in Bangkok.

“Things are stacked against the embargo working. The generals are pretty
used to divide and rule, and it will be difficult to get all countries
involved. China, India and Southeast Asia are the key,” he said, adding
that these would probably not join.

Arnold Silverberg, who owns AJS Gems in Bangkok, said an embargo hurts all
the mom and pop businesses in the industry.

“The amount of money the generals get from gems is minuscule compared to
the money they get elsewhere. The generals don’t give a damn, they have
all the money in the world,” he said.

Silverberg said those pushing the boycott “are just trying to make
themselves feel good. But we’re starving the people, not the generals. I
feel bad for the Burmese people.”

Jewelers of America supports the ban of Myanmar rubies, advising its more
than 11,000 members to “to source their gemstones in a manner that
respects human rights,” the group’s president, Matthew A. Runci, said in a
statement released last month.

Sanctions didn’t work well before.

American companies stopped buying rubies in 2003, when the United States
banned imports of all Myanmar products under a law enacted in reaction to
the ruling generals’ human rights abuses.

The following year the U.S. Customs Department created a loophole,
exempting gems cut or polished in other countries from the ban. More than
90 percent of Myanmar’s gems are exported in rough form.

Most colored stones from Myanmar are cut and polished in Chanthaburi,
Thailand, a global gem center. Often those that arrive cut and polished
are done over because the skill level in Myanmar is inferior to Thai
workmanship, dealers in the southeast Thai town say.

But even during the total ban on Myanmar gems, many passed under the radar
by being sold as coming from Vietnam or Sri Lanka. When the loophole was
introduced they started being Myanmar rubies again.

Despite such problems, Leber, the Illinois dealer, disagrees with the
boycott opponents. “It’s not a question if it’s going to be effective. It
just feels wrong to sell rubies from Burma.”

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

November 24, Associated Press
Myanmar reports bird flu outbreak at chicken farm in northeast

Myanmar has reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus at a
chicken farm in the northeast, state media and an international livestock
health agency said Saturday.

Unusual deaths of chickens at a farm in a village in Shan State's Keng
Tung township were reported on Nov. 18, and laboratory tests confirmed
that H5N1 was detected in some of them, the state-run New Light of Myanmar
newspaper reported.

According to the Myanmar government's report to the Paris-based World
Organization for Animal Health, 2,058 of the farm's 2,591 susceptible
birds had died in the outbreak, and the other 533 were slaughtered to
prevent the virus from spreading.

Authorities imposed other control measures including a quarantine on the
farm, limits on movement of poultry in the area, and disinfection of
affected premises, it said.

H5N1 began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003, leading to the
death or slaughter of millions of birds. The virus has also killed at
least 206 people worldwide.

Myanmar has reported no human H5N1 cases. Experts believe most human
victims of the virus were infected through direct contact with sick birds.
Although bird flu is difficult for humans to catch, experts fear it could
mutate into a form that spreads easily among people and spark a flu
pandemic.

Myanmar last reported an H5N1 outbreak in October in poultry farms in
eastern Bago, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the nation's largest
city, Yangon. H5N1 was also found in some farms in Yangon in February and
March, and in Mon State and western Bago in July, the New Light Of Myanmar
reported.

____________________________________
GUNS

November 26, Hindustan Times
India stops arms sales to junta

India has put all sale and transfer of arms to Myanmar on hold. The
decision follows the suppression of pro-democracy protests in that
country, South Block officials told HT.

India believes contact with the junta is in its strategic interest, but
also wants to send out a message that it’s not quite business as usual any
longer.

India gave Myanmar three British-made Islander aircraft last year. In
Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw in January, External Affairs Minister Pranab
Mukherjee said India was willing to expand military ties. “We have decided
to give a favourable response (to the request for military equipment),” he
said. That deal — for some Dorniers — is now frozen.

On Wednesday, PM Manmohan Singh told Myanmarese counterpart Thein Sein in
Singapore the reform process must not exclude pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi.

____________________________________
ASEAN

November 26, Jakarta Post
Asean's megaphone diplomacy strong words, yet no action

Twenty years ago in a wood paneled conference room in Indonesia's Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, then foreign minister Mochtar Kusumaatmadja threw out
an odd idea in front of a group of foreign journalists. What if, he mused,
we were to throw a cocktail party and invited all the warring Cambodian
factions? At the time the issue of Kampuchea, as the United Nations
referred to Cambodia, was the most vexing on ASEAN's agenda. No one could
persuade the different political factions to reconcile and throw off the
yoke of Vietnamese occupation. For ASEAN, then only six members, it was an
awkward reminder of the Indochina wars and an obstacle to achieving the
vision of regional integration and prosperity

The cocktail party idea, which was conceived by Mochtar and his former
diplomat ministerial colleague Fuad Hassan, seized on the notion of a
gathering in which people came and mingled informally with no fixed agenda

As a diplomatic device it was ingenious because it not only cut through
the petty differences between the factions, royalists, republicans, Khmer
Rouge, and pro-Vietnamese communists, but also neutralized the larger
powers that backed them

The original plan was to hold the cocktail party in a Bali resort

Eventually, the term "Cocktail Party" was replaced by the less frivolous
"Jakarta Informal Meeting" and the stately old palace of Bogor in West
Java was chosen as the venue

The meeting was a significant moment in modern Asian diplomacy, for it
underscored the value of flexibility and accommodation over the use of
firm ultimatums and brinkmanship. As a result of the JIM formula, deftly
steered by Mochtar's successor Ali Alatas, Vietnam softened its stance on
dialogue with the Cambodian opposition and agreed to pull out its troops.
The process wasn't smooth, yet by the early 1990s, a full- fledged peace
process was in place and a UN mission oversaw peaceful democratic
elections. Most important of all, Cambodian sovereignty was rescued and
preserved

If only ASEAN's modern leaders had longer memories. The disastrous debacle
over Myanmar at this year's 40th anniversary ASEAN summit in Singapore
could have been avoided if the style of personal, low key diplomacy
pioneered during the JIM process was still in play. For it wasn't just
Indonesian diplomats who steered the Cambodian engagement; they received
help from colleagues in other ASEAN countries -- many of them in senior
positions today. It was the first and sadly the last time that ASEAN
proved its worth as an effective regional security body

Of course, the world has changed since the late 1980s. The simple old Cold
War calculus has been replaced by a Rubik cube of interlocking interests
in the region; China and India are the new regional powers, whilst Russia,
Europe and the United States have lost influence. ASEAN is a larger
grouping of ten disparate nations, no longer the cozy golf playing club of
six

Cambodia was a weakened state occupied by foreign forces, whilst Myanmar
is in the grip of a strong military junta that strongly resists the merest
hint of foreign interference

But comparing apples and oranges isn't the point here; the poor quality of
regional diplomacy is the critical issue

In the late 1980s, diplomacy was conducted in smoke filled hotel function
rooms observed only by a small band of reporters. Since then, politics has
intruded. Diplomats answer to publicity-seeking politicians. Quiet
diplomacy has been replaced by megaphone diplomacy. Look how eager ASEAN
leaders were to publicly denounce the Myanmar military junta after the
crackdown on the protesting Monks in October. There were plenty of strong
words, yet no one had a plan; no one within ASEAN could pull together a
working consensus

The world watched and waited for the ASEAN summit in Singapore, where it
was expected that Myanmar would be publicly reprimanded or punished.
American diplomats said there can be no business as usual. But in the end,
when hosts Singapore arranged for UN Special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to
brief the summit, Myanmar's Prime Minister dug in his heels. The frail
consensus fell apart and one senior ASEAN diplomat remarked: "The notion
of a regional approach to resolving Myanmar is dead"

Observing how easily Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein was able to beat
his ASEAN peers into surrender in Singapore, Ali Alatas, now chief advisor
to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, shook his head in amazement. Alatas
not only steered the JIM process twenty years ago, but has served as
Indonesia's special envoy and represented the United Nations in the
pursuit of political reconciliation in Myanmar. He knows that the hardline
generals in their remote new capital Nay Pyi Daw won't respond to threats
and ultimatums, and they have survived high stakes brinkmanship played out
in the UN Security Council

Would quiet diplomacy work? One view is that a regional effort to address
the concerns of Myanmar's military rulers regarding the country's economic
and social cohesion might promote a constructive exchange of views. A
discussion about broader issues of economic development and the position
of the country's ethnic minorities would serve to address fears expressed
in Myanmar military circles that without their role, the country will fall
apart

However, it seems unlikely that the loud chorus of calls for democracy in
Myanmar will fade. Fearing an agenda of regime change and the instability
that might ensue, China will work with others in the region, including
India, to undermine efforts at effective engagement

Perhaps the officials who now conduct regional diplomacy should go back to
their notes and records from twenty years ago and recall what first
bloomed under a clear sky towards the end of July at the Bogor palace in
1988. Times may change, but the basic principals of successful diplomacy,
building trust and forging consensus through dialogue, are immutable

Michael Vatikiotis, Singapore The writer works for the Centre for
Humanitarian Dialogue in Southeast Asia

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 26, Mizzima News
Monks hold sit-in protest at Bodhgaya - Htein Linn

Over 100 monks from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka yesterday began a
sit-in protest at Bodhgaya, a historical place of Buddhist worship, to
create awareness among pilgrims of the Burmese military junta's ongoing
campaign against the Buddhist religion inside the country.

Joined by the Indian-based All Burma Students League (ABSL), over 100
monks from the three countries will continue the sit-in protest for five
days until November 29, a protestor said.

"We are doing it [the sit-in protest] to highlight what is going on in
Burma. Than Shwe [Burma's military head of state] on one hand is acting as
if he is sponsoring the Buddhist religion by appeasing the monks and
abbots, but on the other hand he is also killing them," Kyaw Than,
Chairman of the ABSL, who is joining the monks in the protest, told
Mizzima.

As a response to the mass protest led by Buddhist monks last September,
widely known as the Saffron Revolution, the Burmese military junta opened
fire and killed several monks. Reportedly the junta also arrested several
hundred monks and other activists and kept them at interrogation camps in
Rangoon and other cities across the country.

Beside the sit-in protests, monks and student activists have also pasted
posters and paintings of Burmese monks being beaten and killed during
September's Saffron Revolution in Burma. The slogans include, 'Than Shwe
Evil Blasphemer of SPDC', referring to the State Peace and Development
Council, the name under which the Burmese junta rules the country.

According to Kyaw Than, the protest has displeased the Burmese junta as
the Burmese Consulate in Kolkata has come to check on the activities and
has lodged at a monastery in Bodhgaya.

"As he [the Burmese Consulate] heard of our activity, he came to Bodhgaya
and lodged himself in a monastery. He also threatened Burmese monks
joining in the protest and pulled down posters. But we repasted the
posters," added Kyaw Than.

He added that at the end of the protest on November 29, protestors have
planned to hold a protest march from the Japanese Shrine to the Mahabodhi
Shrine, and the Indian minister for Bodhgaya has pledged to join the
rally.

Located in India's Bihar State, Bodhgaya is held to be the site where
Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, achieved enlightenment.

____________________________________

November 26, Vietnam News
VN supports reconciliation in Myanmar, says Deputy PM

Vietnam supports the national reconciliation process in Myanmar, Deputy
Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem affirmed while receiving the United Nations
Secretary General’s special envoy to Myanmar in Ha Noi on Saturday.

Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has been in Viet Nam since Friday for a
five-day visit as part of the UN’s plan to exchange views with ASEAN
member countries in dealing with the Myanmar issue. Gambari has already
visited several other ASEAN member countries.

Deputy PM Khiem also stated that Viet Nam had backed a dialogue between
concerned parties in Myanmar to find a solution that was acceptable to all
sides and wished Myanmar would quickly achieve stabilisation so as it
could concentrate on building the country.

The Vietnamese senior official welcomed positive developments in Myanmar,
saying he appreciated recent co-operation between the UN and Myanmar and
expressed his hope that the co-operation would continue to be fostered on
the basis of respect for the UN Charter to bring in more positive outcomes
in the near future.

As a former victim of embargoes and blockade policies, Viet Nam would not
support any on Myanmar and respected the Myanmar people’s right to
self-determination, the Deputy PM stressed.

He told his guest that the UN Security Council non-permanent membership
for the 2008-09 term was an honour for Viet Nam but it also placed a heavy
responsibility on the country. Viet Nam was willing to take part in
solving issues of mutual concern, and continue to co-ordinate in dealing
with the Myanmar issue, Deputy PM Khiem said.

He praised the UN for its activities in Viet Nam and reiterated that the
country always treasured its co-operation with the world body and would
always be an active and responsible member.

The UN envoy highlighted Viet Nam’s role and position in Southeast Asia
and the country’s non-permanent membership on the UN Security Council
which will take effect as of January 1, 2008.

He briefed the Deputy PM, who is also Foreign Minister, of positive
developments in Myanmar and several problems that needed to be solved.

The envoy also said that the UN wanted to co-operate with Viet Nam as well
as with other Southeast Asian countries to make sure the Myanmar issue can
be handled smoothly.

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=04POL261107

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 26, Reuters
U.N. envoy on Myanmar wants to return by year end

U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari said on Monday he wanted to return to
Myanmar by the end of the year as part of efforts to secure the release of
political prisoners and prod the country toward democracy.

"I sincerely hope I will be able to go before the end of the year because
there are a number of issues left on the table that I want to follow up,"
Gambari told a news conference during a visit to Vietnam.

Gambari, who arrived in Hanoi on Friday and is also going to Cambodia and
Laos, said that when he returned to Myanmar he wanted to meet opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and newly appointed members of a committee
drafting a new constitution.

Reports of further arrests in Myanmar "were unfortunate" and ran counter
to the military government's announcement of releases of prisoners
following its violent suppression of protesters in September, he said.

"I would hope that it will stop," he added.

Gambari said he was delivering a written message from the U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
"on the important role of ASEAN countries, neighboring countries and this
country in particular."

Gambari said he believed Vietnam was "listened to by Myanmar as among the
closest ASEAN members and it has its own history of transition dealing
with the international community."

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a charter last
week that calls for promotion of democracy and human rights, but it has
come under fire over Myanmar after the crackdown on pro-democracy
protests.

"What happens in Myanmar positively will affect neighboring countries,
ASEAN and the international community," Gambari said. "That is why it is
important to work for a prosperous, peaceful, democratic Myanmar with full
respect for human rights.."

In January, Vietnam will take a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security
Council and potentially have to vote on sensitive diplomatic issues
regarding allies such as Myanmar and North Korea.

____________________________________

November 26, Irrawaddy
Sarkozy urges Chinese President to put pressure on Burma - Wai Moe

French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the Burma issue in China during a
meeting on Monday with his counterpart, President Hu Jintao.

His gesture was welcomed by Burmese observers as a positive change in
French foreign policy on Burma.

Sarkozy said after the meeting that he had urged Hu to “engage vigorously”
in finding a solution to the crisis in neighboring Burma, where the ruling
junta violently suppressed pro-democracy protests in September.

“If there is a country that can change” things on the ground in Myanmar
[Burma], “it’s obviously China,” said Sarkozy, according to The Associated
Press.

Nyo Ohn Myint, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
League for Democracy [Liberated Area], told The Irrawaddy on Monday that
Sarkozy is very different from recent French presidents. After he became
president, French foreign policy has shifted, moving closer to the US and
other Western nations.

“It also seems the French administration has signaled French companies,
particularly Total Oil, that Burma needs a governmental change to solve
the ongoing crisis in the Southeast Asian nation,” said Nyo Ohn Myint. “I
hope France can take part in a diplomacy effort on behalf of Burma’s
democracy process.”

A Burmese researcher on EU-Asean relations, who asked to remain anonymous,
said Sarkozy’s interest in Burmese politics is also significant for the
EU.  Of the three most powerful countries in the EU (the United Kingdom,
Germany and France), the only country to show its concern over Burma was
the UK.

“But now two countries, the UK and France, talk a lot about the Burma
issue,” said the researcher, who is based in Bangkok. “France's raising
the Burma issue in Beijing is also good because France is China's
important economic partner and technology provider.”

In October, France’s foreign minister, visiting in Bangkok, said the
Burmese people would suffer if French oil group Total, under fire for its
investments in military-ruled Burma, withdrew from the country.

“Imagine that we turn the tap off Total. Who will suffer? The people of
Burma, and the people in Thailand. Who will replace the French? Some other
people,” said minister Bernard Kouchner.

Sarkozy has also taken a strong stand on Iran’s nuclear policy. In late
August, he said Iran could be attacked militarily if it did not live up to
its international obligations to curb its nuclear program. He said a
nuclear-armed Iran was "unacceptable" to France.

Burma has made plans to build a nuclear research reactor with the help of
Russia, which may have been another factor in France's strong stand on the
Burma issue.

____________________________________

November 26, Associated Press
UN: Myanmar must free all child soldiers - Alexandra Olson

Myanmar should release all its child soldiers and allow U.N. officials to
verify government claims that officers have been punished for recruiting
minors into the army, the U.N. chief said in a report released Friday.

There are credible reports that Myanmar's army continues to recruit
children under 18 despite an official prohibition of the practice,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his report to the U.N. Security
Council.

Recruiters often lure poor children with promises of shelter and food,
while others are picked up for not having identification cards and
threatened with arrest unless they join the army, Ban said. Army
commanders sometimes pay "brokers" $30 and a bag of rice for each recruit.

The army is under "enormous pressure" to increase recruitment rates, and
reportedly makes soldiers who want to leave the army recruit as many as
four replacements.

The U.N. has also received credible reports that a number of children have
been arrested and sentenced to prison for up to five years for desertion,
Ban said.

The report covered the period between July 2005 and September 2007 — just
before Mynamar's government drew international condemnation for brutally
crushing pro-democracy protests. The U.N. has since intensified efforts to
nudge the ruling junta and the opposition into a reconciliation process.

Both Myanmar's government and ethnic guerrilla groups have long been
accused of using child soldiers, and both sides have acknowledged the
allegations in recent years amid UN efforts to highlight the issue.

Responding to a report last month by New York-based Human Rights Watch,
Myanmar's government said it had strengthened regulations forbidding the
recruitment of minors since establishing a committee to oversee the
problem in 2004.

Some 141 minors were dismissed from the military and returned to their
parents between 2004 and August 2007, said Ye Htut, deputy director
general of Myanmar's Information Ministry. Disciplinary action was taken
against nearly 30 military personnel for violating recruitment rules, he
said.

Ban acknowledged that "the government has shown increasing interest in
addressing underage recruitment and has engaged the United Nations on the
issue." He said the U.N. has received periodic updates since 2005 from
Mynamar's Committee for the Prevention of Recruiting Underaged Children
from Military Recruitment.

But he said the U.N. has been largely unable to verify government claims
that those responsible for underage recruitment have been disciplined or
that any children have been released. The U.N. team has not been given
access to any minors the government claims to have freed, he said.

Ban also criticized the government for denying U.N. official access to
areas where guerrilla groups operate, leaving investigators unable to
verify the most recent reports of children in their ranks.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 26, The Nation
Thai diplomacy an utter failure over past year - Kavi Chongkittavorn

If the Burmese apologists at the Foreign Affairs Ministry had their way,
new Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein would have enjoyed the full moon in
Bangkok at the weekend.

This would have been Thailand's most obvious show of support for the
generals who butchered their own monks and civilians, and it would have
gone against the outcry from the international community.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed at the last minute. The visit was
cancelled, or rather postponed to next year, after Prime Minister Surayud
Chulanont declined the proposal. The ministry officials who proposed the
visit did so because they thought Thein Sein's visit would complement the
ongoing policy of engagement with the Burmese regime at all costs, no
matter what happens. Surprisingly, they continue to argue that Thailand's
best option is to leave the door open to further dialogue because of the
common border it shares with its western neighbour.

It is not difficult to understand why Thailand's foreign policy under
Surayud has been an utter failure, especially in relation to Burma. He
should have paid more attention to the situation in Burma, which he
closely monitored and was engaged with while Army chief. Instead, he has
been cowed and speechless on the crisis there.

His performance in Singapore was two digits below par. Singapore, the host
of the Asean Summit, handled the proceedings well.

Every word and deed from Singaporean officials was measured, whether it
was about the role of Asean or Burma. Singapore spoke with authority, as
if it had been affected the most by the violence in Burma.

Thai leaders were quite often seen speechless and lacking in confidence,
as well as failing to appreciate the democratic aspirations inside Burma.
Filipino President Gloria Arroyo saved the day. She was bold enough to
call for a democratic Burma before she returned home from the summit.

Arroyo even said that her country's Congress might not ratify the Asean
Charter if Burma's current status continues. Domestic pressure from
politicians and civil society organisations pushed her to go the extra
mile.

It will be interesting to see what the next government's attitude will be
toward the developments in Burma. Judging from existing polls, which are
still very preliminary, the next government could be a coalition headed by
the Democrat Party. If that is the case, there could be some hope for a
surge in Thai diplomatic activities. Bangkok would definitely adopt a
firmer position on Burma and provide tangible support for the UN, as well
as the international community at large. As a front-line state, Thailand
would be more assertive in shaping Asean's position.

Former Democrat prime minister Chuan Leekpai is the only Asean leader who
refused to visit Burma while in power. He could not accept the regime's
oppression of its people. The Democrats' current leadership supports this
approach. Furthermore, the party would ensure that vested and personal
interests no longer dictate Thai policy on Burma, which has been the case
for the past seven years. The incredible disclosure by former foreign
minister Surakiart Sathirathai on the networks of interests regarding
loans to the Burmese regime is just one example of this past policy.


>From 1997 to 2001, Thailand's foreign policy was not only the most liberal

among developing countries, it also had the broadest appeal
internationally. Obviously, a few months into the Asian economic crisis,
Thailand could not set forth a conservative and inward-looking foreign
policy as the current government has been inclined to do.

The country was bankrupt back then and needed all the help it could get,
from near and far. In a similar vein, Thailand's best foreign-policy
option after the September 2006 coup would have been similar to the policy
the country adopted in 1997. The seven-point foreign policy of the
previous Democrat-led government put emphasis on the universal value of
human rights and democracy, as well as good governance. This time around,
however, the major difference would be an intensified focus on both
political and economic endeavours.

As the host of the Asean Summit next year, Thailand faces the daunting
task of propelling Asean under the new Charter. It will be a litmus test
of Thai foreign policy right away. Singapore planned for the current
summit two years in advance and it has provided the country with a unique
opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to Asean.

The Foreign Ministry has yet to come out with a plan of action regarding
the next year's summit and time is running out. Former foreign minister
Surin Pitsuwan, who was officially appointed Asean's new secretary-general
last week, will be able to carry out his duties under the new Charter only
after it is ratified by all members. Although he is Thai, he must work and
speak for all Asean interests.

Unfortunately, the Surayud government has been unable to inspire
much-needed diplomatic credibility for Thailand in the past year.
Thailand's hopes now rest on the incoming government and its diplomatic
vision.