BurmaNet News, December 1-3, 2007

[Editor]

December 1-3, 2007 Issue # 3355

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Myanmar rejects calls to include Suu Kyi in reforms
Mizzima News: UN Burma chief to leave country
Irrawaddy: Burmese Buddhist Monks outcasts in their own country
DVB: Military presence at monk food offering
DVB: Farmers suffer losses after forced crop growing
Mizzima News: Junta to confiscate houses at eastern gate of Shwedagon

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup
DVB: Tourism in Burma down after protests
AP: China's CNPC and Yunnan sign Burma-related pipeline agreement

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: 3-D Fund offers Myanmar 5 mln USD for fighting diseases next year
Mizzima News: Ailing NLD spokesperson to undergo surgery

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Petition seeks halt to Chinese dam projects in Burma

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma on UN Secretary-General's agenda during Thailand, Bali visit

OPINION / OTHER
IHT: Time for serious dialogue - Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy
Asia Times: Myanmar back on a roadmap to nowhere - Bertil Lintner
The Nation: Asean and UN: Common ground for action on Burma - Kavi
Chongkittavorn
Mizzima: Junta - puppet dictatorship - Ethan Bourne

STATEMENT
Statement of Global Alliance of Burmese Students condemning the crackdown
of Maggin monastery by Burmese regime

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 3, Agence France Presse
Myanmar rejects calls to include Suu Kyi in reforms

Military-ruled Myanmar on Monday brushed off mass pro-democracy protests
as "trivial" and refused to include detained opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi in its own plodding reform plans.

Top officials spoke to reporters at the first press conference since the
military staged a deadly crackdown on protests in September, leaving at
least 15 dead and 3,000 jailed, according to a UN envoy.

Buddhist monks and former student leaders led the protests in the main
city of Yangon and in provincial towns around the country, in the biggest
challenge to military rule in nearly two decades.

But Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, the information minister, brushed off the
protests as the work of "bogus" monks organised by exiled dissidents and
the United States.

"Actually, the August-September protests were trivial for the whole
country," Kyaw Hsan said.

"It is found with sound evidence that ex-convicted bogus monks got joined
with anti-government groups inside and outside the country," he said.

"Those unrests and violence, not participated by the majority of the
people and the majority of monks, have been put under control," he said.

Myanmar's national police chief Khin Yi said that the protesters had hoped
to overthrow the government.

"The demonstrations and protests were planned and conspired months ahead
to topple the government," Khin Yi told reporters.

He accused a non-government organisation called the Forum for Democracy in
Burma of working with exiled dissidents to orchestrate the protests, and
said the US embassy had also helped train the activists.

"The American Centre held a three-day training course on infiltrating and
organising the public," he said.

"The uprisings dissolved within a very short time frame simply because the
general public did not take part and our security forces were able to make
pre-emptive strikes," he added.

The crackdown drew international condemnation and demands for Myanmar to
make democratic reforms and to free Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of
the last 18 years under house arrest.

But Kyaw Hsan rejected those calls, saying the junta would stick to its
own self-styled "road map" to democracy.

A 54-member panel appointed by the junta began work Monday on drafting a
new constitution, which the regime says will eventually lead to elections.

A National Convention of delegates also chosen by the military wrapped up
14 years of talks in September, laying out principles to be enshrined in
the new charter.

There is no timeline for completing the charter, and Kyaw Hsan ruled out
any role for Aung San Suu Kyi or her National League for Democracy (NLD)
party, which won elections in a landslide victory in 1990.

"No assistance or advice from other persons is required," he said, adding
that no changes to the National Convention's work would be considered.

"It is not reasonable or fair to amend those principles adopted by the
delegates," he said.

Since the crackdown, the United States and the European Union have
toughened sanctions on Myanmar to push the regime to open a dialogue on
democracy.

In hopes of defusing the global pressure, the junta appointed a liaison
officer to coordinate contacts with Aung San Suu Kyi.

The person chosen, Aung Kyi, told the press conference that his three
meetings with the Nobel peace prize winner had yielded "positive
developments," but he declined to elaborate.

The top US diplomat in Yangon, Shari Villarosa, warned on Friday that the
new constitution would have no international credibility unless the
military brought the NLD and other political groups into the process.

"If they can somehow open it up so that there is more debate and it looks
more representative, then it will gain more international acceptability,"
she told reporters in Bangkok.

"If they continue on the track that they are on, without any changes
whatsoever, it will have no credibility," she said.

____________________________________

December 3, Mizzima News
UN Burma chief to leave country

Charles Petrie, the United Nations in-country coordinator in Burma, will
leave the Southeast Asian nation on Tuesday after the ruling junta refused
to renew his accreditation last month, a UN official in Rangoon said.

The Burmese military junta, on November 2, summoned Petrie to its new
capital, Naypyidaw, and handed him a statement stating their displeasure
with the UN coordinator's actions, stating they did not want him to
continue serving in Burma.

The Burmese junta particularly protested over Petrie's statement on UN Day
in October, a statement that urged the Burmese ruling junta to pay
attention to protestors on the street and warned of a deteriorating
humanitarian crisis in the country.

"The government of the Union of Myanmar does not want Petrie to continue
to serve in Myanmar, especially at this time when cooperation between
Myanmar and the United Nations is crucial," the junta said in its
statement handed to Petrie.

The UN official, who declined to be named, said "Petrie will leave
tomorrow," adding that an acting resident coordinator has been appointed
on Petrie's behalf.

While the official declined to give further details, a report by the AFP
said Dan Baker has been appointed as the acting resident coordinator of
the UN in Burma.

The Burmese government, in early November, said it had reached an
agreement with UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, to appoint a
temporary resident representative in Rangoon.

Gambari, visiting the country to facilitate talks between the ruling
generals and opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Ky for the second time
since the government's violent crackdown on protestors, reportedly
conveyed a message from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to the ruling
generals on the expulsion of Petrie.

The Secretary General condemned the move by the Burmese junta and
expressed his support for the statement issued by Petrie.

Petrie has led the UN country team in Burma since 2003.

____________________________________

December 3, Irrawaddy
Burmese Buddhist Monks outcasts in their own country - Shah Paung

Burma is a Buddhist country. But, under this military government, it no
longer offers a place or security for Buddhist monks.

This was confirmed again by the latest cruel action by the regime in
closing Rangoon’s Maggin monastery and evicting its monks, lay people and
the HIV/AIDS patients in its treatment center and hospice.

Among the nine evicted monks was 80-year-old U Nandiya, father of the
monastery’s abbot, U Indaka, a former political prisoner detained once
more in an unknown location.

U Nandiya is also being detained by the Burmese authorities, and it’s
reported that he will be sent back to his home town, Myothit, in
Taungdwingyi Township, Magwe Division. Three novices will also reportedly
be sent home. A member of the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee, the
official council of monks, will accompany them.

The monastery’s six HIV/AIDS patients are being cared for in a “safe
house” staffed by volunteers of a group led by Phyu Phyu Thin until she
was forced to flee and go into hiding from the authorities.

According to the 88 Generation Students group, U Nandiya is been held
under guard at Maha Theik Pan Kyaung in Rangoon’s Yankin Township of
Rangoon.

The group said that on Sunday the authorities also arrest a lay person,
Aung Zaw Win, when he inquired about the fate of the evicted monks.

The crackdown on Buddhist monks, in which more than 3,000 were arrested
during and after the September demonstrations, is clearly continuing.
Several monks reportedly died in the crackdown and many are still in
prison.

The authorities are now reported to be hunting down monks who are
following a call by the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks for a
boycott of the annual state-run examinations. The boycott is intended to
show solidarity with the monks who participated in the September
demonstrations.

Soe Tun, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, said from his
hiding place:  “Our religion and our entire nation have been insulted [by
the regime actions].”

He also accused the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee of failing in its
duty to tackle problems arising in relations between the monasteries and
the state.

“From village to national level, the Sangha Mahanayaka has a duty here,
but now it only follows government orders,” Soe Tun said.

____________________________________

December 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Military presence at monk food offering

Authorities in Moegok township, Mandalay division, tightened security
around a local monastery and pagoda out of concern that a gathering of
monks for a food offering could turn into another protest.

Around 400 monks attended the breakfast offering at Thati Phatan monastery
on 30 November, according to a local resident.

Local authorities were worried about the large number of monks assembling
at Thati Phatan and feared they would move on to Chanthar Gyi pagoda, a
well-known pagoda near the monastery.

The local resident said the authorities had called in security forces
because they did not want the gathering to lead to renewed demonstrations.

“They were worried that the monks would go out into the town and protest
again,” he said.

“So they sent in military trucks and soldiers in body armour to the areas
surrounding the monastery and set up roadblocks on the way to the
monastery and were checking everyone.”

Local officials had also visited the monastery several times on 29
November to try to pressure the head monk, 75-year-old U Thu Nanda, not to
hold the offering.

Thati Phatan monastery is located on the east side of Moegok township, and
has about 18 monks and novices.

____________________________________

December 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Farmers suffer losses after forced crop growing

Farmers in Mandalay and Magwe divisions have been faced with rising debts
and failed harvests after local authorities forced them to grow particular
crops.

In Ma Hlaing township in Mandalay division, township chairman U Myo Thand
ordered farmers in his territory to grow rice paddy on fields that are
only suitable for growing cotton, corn and beans.

He said those who disobeyed the orders would be arrested and imprisoned.

The farmers did grow paddy rice as he ordered, but the crop failed because
the land was unsuitable.

This has left the farmers with no income from their crop this yearm
forcing some to sell up farmland and cattle to repay their debts.

The chairman has continued tell farmers to clear other land to make paddy
fields and those who have refused or failed to clear their lands within
the deadline he gave them have been arrested.

One farmer from Habyebin village, U Chit Yan, was among those detained for
not complying with the chairman’s orders.

“On 29 July, the township chairman ordered me to clear the banana
plantations my family has owned for generations, and he gave me five days
to clear it,” the farmer said.

“But I couldn’t do it on time as there was some heavy rain, and then he
held me in detention for 24 hours.”

A few days later Chit Yan was arrested again for not growing what the
township chairman had asked, and that time he spent seven days in
detention.

The township chairman was repeatedly unavailable for comment.

Farmers in villages around Taung Twin Gyi township, Magwe division, were
forced by authorities to grow sugar cane to sell to the government.

Local officials told them that those who did not grow the crop would face
punishment.

But now that the time has come to harvest the crops, the authorities have
said that they will no longer be buying the sugar cane due to the shortage
of fuel at the number 9 sugar factory at Aung Lan township in Magwe
division.

After hearing that they would not be able to sell their sugar cane to the
government, the villagers requested permission to set up home factories to
make Burmese traditional sweets instead, but permission was denied by the
authorities.

Township farmers have also suffered under a government scheme to buy
fertilizer.

The farmers were offered the fertilizer at the start of the season at
6,000 kyat, which they could use then but would not have to pay for until
after the harvest.

But now officials have said they must pay 15,000 kyat for the fertilizer,
despite the lack of income the farmers have received from their sugar cane
crops.

Authorities have blamed the increase in price on the cost of transporting
the fertilizer.

____________________________________

December 3, Mizzima News
Junta to confiscate houses at eastern gate of Shwedagon

The Burmese military junta will soon confiscate houses near the eastern
gate of Burma's most famous Buddhist shrine, Shwedagon Pagoda, and
relocate residents, a monk in Rangoon said.

The Monk, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the junta has
decided to empty the area, east of Shwedagon, and clear all residents, as
many of the residences reportedly supported the monk-led protests in
September.

Several residents have also reportedly been arrested for taking part
during protests in August and September.

"On September 26, authorities fired tear gas in the vicinity of the
eastern gate of Shwedagon. The people living in the ward were enraged and
responded with violence, throwing stones at the soldiers," a 33-year-old
monk said, explaining why the local people supported the monk-led protests

Despite reconnecting several telephone lines, which authorities had
cut-off in September, the phone lines of monasteries located near
Shwedagon, including Ma Har Wi Thote Dar Yone and Nyaung Tone, remain
disconnected.

"They [the junta] even sealed-off the Maggin monastery, so they have
proven that they dare to confiscate the people's residences," the monk
said.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

December 3, Irrawaddy
Weekly business roundup - William Boot

Japan Arrests Burmese ‘Bankers;’ Remittance Scheme Exposed

The arrest of five Burmese in Japan for allegedly operating an illegal
bank has shed some light on the level of underground remittances back to
Burma by workers abroad.

Fewer than 10,000 Burmese are believed to live in Japan, many staying on
illegally after visas and passports expire, but police arrested the five
money movers on suspicion of having processed about 1.5 billion yen (US
$13.5 million) over several years.

The “bankers” operated from a shop in the Shinjuku District of Tokyo,
police told the Daily Yomiuri newspaper.

The remittance system is believed to have involved about 5,000 money
transfers.

Underground banking systems operate in most of the countries where Burmese
migrants or refugees live, including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

The systems seek to avoid draconian rules that aim to tax money which is
officially remitted to Burma.

Burmese Navy Aids Total’s Work in Yadana Gas Field

The French oil and gas company Total has enlisted the help of the Burmese
military to guard its drilling installations in the Gulf of Martaban while
it carries out improvement work.

Total is the main stakeholder in the Yadana gas field, which has operated
since the mid-1990s and has an estimated reserve of 5.3 trillion cubic
feet (150 billion cubic meters) of natural gas.

The field has delivered more than 17 million cubic meters a day, most of
which goes to Thailand.

Total has been criticized for continuing to do business with the Burmese
regime.

Now the company is about to install new equipment in Yadana to enhance
production and has secured the help of the regime in establishing an
exclusion zone around the field as a “precautionary measure and a
temporary decision,” a Total spokesperson told the French news agency AFP.
The work is said to involve installation of a compression platform.

Industry insiders suggest the company may have sought the exclusion
zone—barring other ships from entering the area of the platform site—out
of concern those anti-regime activists may try to disrupt the work.

Total and other Western oil companies operating in Burma’s oil fields
argue that they provide work and income for Burma, and if they didn’t work
there someone else would take their place.

The International Trade Union Confederation has announced that it plans
putting worldwide union pressure on Total to persuade it to stop dealing
with the Burmese junta.

The confederation says it wants to organize a boycott against Total
similar to that used in the anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa.

Total’s partners in Yadan are Chevron of the US, Thailand’s PTT and the
Burmese state Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.

Most Foreign Direct Investment in Burma Goes to Oil, Gas

More than 60 percent of officially declared foreign direct investment in
Burma for the financial year ended March 2007 was directed into oil and
gas developments.

Five countries—China, South Korea, Russia, Singapore and Britain—are
identified as investing about US $750 million in that period.

Of that figure, $471 million went into oil and gas, according to figures
presented by Burma’s Ministry of National Planning and Development.

Surprisingly, for some analysts, the largest individual investment in the
petroleum sector came from Britain, with $240 million, the ministry
reported.

Singapore was the next largest investor at $160 million.
The figures cannot be independently verified and no details of individual
companies or projects were reported.

China Deal to Help ‘Enhance Science’ in Burma

China and Burma have signed an agreement to cooperate on scientific
developments.

The deal is between the China Association for Science and Technology and
the Burmese science ministry, said Xinhua, the official Chinese news
agency.

The agreement will be “beneficial to the enhancement of the exchange and
cooperation between the two countries in science and technology,” Xinhua
reported.

____________________________________

December 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Tourism in Burma down after protests

Tourism industry workers in Burma have noted a significant drop in the
number of tourists visiting the country this year following the
government’s crackdown on protests in September.

A hotel manager in Bagan, Mandalay, said that there had been a marked
decrease in the number of tourists travelling to Burma compared with last
year.

"Normally, this hotel would already be full by this time in previous
years, but now, only 20 out of our 80 hotel rooms are occupied," the
manager said.

Another hotel manager in Mandalay said that there was a 50 percent drop in
the number of tourists compared with other years, but said that he could
not talk about the reasons for the decline.

"You know why that is. But it's not okay for me to tell you," he said.

In Nyaung Shwe, Shan State, a guest house owner at Inlay Lake, blamed the
drop on the recent unrest in the country.

"There are still tourists. But the number of customers we receive this
year is too low compared with last year – it has dropped to 25 percent of
what it was,” said the owner.

“This is really bad for us. I think this is because of the problems our
country had recently.”

Tourism in Burma has been a topic of intense debate between those who
believe tourism can benefit the ordinary people in the country and those
who link the tourist industry to human rights abuses by the military
regime.

____________________________________

December 3, Associated Press
China's CNPC and Yunnan sign Burma-related pipeline agreement - Elaine
Kurtenbach

China National Petroleum Corp, the country's biggest oil and gas producer,
has signed an agreement with the southwestern province of Yunnan to
cooperate in oil refining, a step toward building a pipeline to
neighboring Burma.

The agreement, signed on Sunday in Beijing, calls for CNPC and Yunnan to
cooperate in building an oil refining base in Yunnan, a landlocked
province that has suffered from fuel shortage partly because of its lack
of refining facilities, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

If approved by the central government, the refining base would have an
annual capacity of 10 million tons a year. State-owned CNPC is also
planning to build a 1 million ton-a-year ethylene refining facility, the
report said.

The agreement will play a significant role in coordinating plans for
design and construction of an oil pipeline to neighboring Burma, Dow Jones
Newswires reported, citing an unnamed executive with PetroChina, CNPC's
publicly traded unit.

Initial plans call for the oil pipeline to run from Burma's western port
of Sittwe to Kunming city in Yunnan. Its initial capacity will be 20
million metric tons a year, equivalent to around 400,000 barrels a day,
the report said. The crude oil pipeline is still in the design phase, and
no timetable for construction has been fixed, Dow Jones cited the
PetroChina official as saying.

The refinery project presumably would require approvals from China's
economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission,
and from the State Environmental Protection Agency. The reports made no
mention of endorsements for the plan from the State Council, China's
Cabinet, or from those two agencies.

China, eager to reduce its growing dependence on oil shipped via the
Strait of Malacca from the politically volatile Middle East, has been
cultivating alternative supply routes.

According to state media reports, China intends the pipeline from Burma to
eventually reach Chongqing, a huge industrial hub to the northeast of
Yunnan.

The refinery plan calls for construction of several oil products pipelines
linking cities in Yunnan, which is a subtropical, largely agricultural
province.

"This is a great event for the Yunnan people and for Yunnan's economic
development," the Kunming local newspaper Chuncheng Evening News cited top
provincial officials as saying.

CNPC also agreed to develop bio-diesel production in Yunnan, the reports
said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

December 3, Xinhua General News Service
3-D Fund offers Myanmar 5 mln USD for fighting diseases next year

The Three-Disease (3-D) Fund will provide Myanmar with 5.7 million U.S.
dollars to fight three diseases of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria
in the 2008-09 fiscal year beginning next March, a local news journal
reported Monday.

The 3-D fund will be extended through the World Health Organization (WHO)
which will administer the program under a memorandum of understanding
signed late last month between the 3-D fund and the WHO at the request of
a work coordination body comprising the Myanmar relevant ministries,
United Nations agencies and social organizations, said the Flower News.

The 3-D fund had provided the country with 4 million dollars for use in
2007-08, the initial year of its five-year project to fight the three
diseases.

The entire 3-D fund project, worth about 100 million dollars, was set to
be funded by a group of six donors -- the European Commission, Sweden's
Sida, the Netherlands, United Kingdom's Department for International
Development, Norway and Australia's Aus AID.

The project is being implemented under the guidance of the Work
Coordination Committee led by Myanmar Health Minister Dr. Kyaw Myint.

The 3-D fund was developed in 2006 to compensate for grants which were
suspended in August 2005 by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

According to the latest official figures based on the findings from a
HIV/AIDS projection and impact analysis workshop organization by the
Myanmar government and the World Health Organization in September this
year, the infection rate of HIV in Myanmar declined to 0.67 percent in
2007 from 0.94 percent in 2000.

In the wake of the danger being posed by the three diseases on the public
health, Myanmar has taken steps to control the three disease as a national
duty .

As part of the project for control of AIDS and syphilis, efforts are being
made for giving educative talks on AIDS, for 100- percent use of condoms
in targeted groups in 170 townships in the country and for effective
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, said the report.

Work is also underway for preventing spread of HIV among those who use
drugs through injection and from mother to foetus at 37 hospitals and 106
townships, while preventing such spread through blood transfusion and
introducing safe blood transfusion.

Besides, 13 strategies on preventive measures and rehabilitation are now
being implemented under five-year national strategic plan (2006-2010)
adopted collectively by the relevant ministries, local non-governmental
organizations, UN agencies and community-based organizations.

In cooperation with foreign organizations in the fight, Myanmar is
actively taking part in implementing the ASEAN HIV/AIDS Control Plan, the
HIV Prevention Plan in Mekong Region countries, and regional and central
level plans of UN agencies.

Moreover, Myanmar is also cooperating with neighboring countries to combat
and control TB and HIV/AIDS under a special plan.

HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria are the three major communicable diseases of
national concern designated by Myanmar.

____________________________________

December 3, Mizzima News
Ailing NLD spokesperson to undergo surgery - Htein Linn

An ailing opposition party spokesperson, U Myint Thein, will soon undergo
surgery to address a case of acute gastritis, family members said.

U Myint Thein, who had been hospitalized for a problem in his gall bladder
at Thigankyun Township's San Pya Hospital in Rangoon, was found to also be
suffering from acute gastritis, leading doctors to advise him to undergo a
surgical operation, his daughter-in-law told Mizzima.

"He was first admitted to hospital for complaining about his gall bladder,
but doctors, after clearing the stone, found that he is also suffering
from acute gastritis, which requires surgery to get rid of the problem. He
is still in the hospital and will remain there as he will undergo the
operation," added the daughter-in-law.

U Myint Thein, who took a vocal stand against the ruling junta during the
September protests, was arrested on September 27 along with several other
politicians and activists. He was kept in a cell at Burma's notorious
Insein prison and was denied medical treatment that family members said
led to a worsening of his condition. He was also barred from meeting with
family members.

Those released from Insein prison told family members that U Myint Thein's
health while inside the prison deteriorated remarkably. They also said U
Myint Thein lost a significant amount of weight as he could not eat proper
food and drank only rice soup.

His wife said U Myint Thein has been suffering from acute stomach problems
for some time and that he had not been able to eat anything except rice
soup for two months prior to his arrest.

U Myint Thein was released on November 30, after being detained for more
than two months.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 3, Irrawaddy
Petition seeks halt to Chinese dam projects in Burma - Saw Yan Naing

A petition signed by more than 50,000 people and 24 international
organizations has been sent to the Chinese government calling for a halt
to the construction of dam projects in Burma to allow full inquiries to
first of all take place.

Burma Rivers Network said the petition was being sent by fax to Chinese
embassies. Signatories included villagers from Burma’s Kachin, Karenni,
Shan and Karen states who would be directly affected by the projects.

Burma Rivers Network Secretary Aung Ngyeh told The Irrawaddy on Monday:
“Before building the dams, we are demanding that the Chinese government do
environmental assessment, showing the results to the local people, then
let them be involved in the decision making.”

The Network called on the Chinese government to follow its environmental
laws when constructing the planned dams in Burma. Aung Ngyeh said it was
feared the projects would lead to human rights abuses, such as land
confiscation, forced labor, and troop deployment, as well as deforestation
and the destruction of livelihoods.
Local people would not benefit from the projects, which would produce
power for China and Thailand, said Aung Ngyeh.

He said some 20 dams are to be built in Burma’s Kachin, Shan and Karen
states. Most of the companies involved in the projects were from China.

Meanwhile, a report titled “Under the Boot,” detailing the implementation
of the Shweli dam, China’s first “build-operate-transfer” hydropower
project with Burma’s junta, was released on Monday by the Palaung Youth
Network Group [Ta’ang]. The report said Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power
had formed a joint venture with Yunnan Joint Power Development Company, a
consortium of Chinese companies, to build and operate the project.

Electricity generated by the dam would be sent to China and several
military-run mining operations in Burma. As the project nears completion,
plans are underway for two more dams on the Shweli River, a tributary of
the Irrawaddy, the statement said.

Mai Aung Ko of the Palaung Youth Network Group (Ta’ang) said: “This
Chinese project has been like a sudden military invasion. The villagers
had no idea the dam would be built until the soldiers arrived.”

Local villagers are now suffering land confiscation, forced labor, and
restrictions on their movement, the report said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 3, Irrawaddy
Burma on UN Secretary-General's agenda during Thailand, Bali visit - Lalit
K Jha

Burma and the efforts initiated by the special UN envoy for the country,
Ibrahim Gambari, will be one of the major items on the agenda of UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon when he meets with Southeast Asia leaders
during the Bali meeting on climate change.
Ban is expected to use the opportunity to discuss Burma with regional
leaders and the recent efforts to establish democracy, ensure human rights
and speed the release of political prisoners including the democracy icon,
Aung San Suu Kyi.

“Throughout the region, in his bilateral meetings with most heads of state
and governments, the secretary-general will not talk only about climate
change.  Myanmar will be an issue discussed,” said a spokesperson.

During the Bali conference from December 12 to 14, Ban Ki-moon is expected
to meet with a number of leaders jointly and also on one-to-one basis.
Besides his trip to Indonesia, Ban will visit Thailand and Timor-Leste as
part of his trip to the region.

Thailand will be Ban's stopover in Southeast Asia. During his visit to
Thailand from December 9 to 11, he is scheduled to meet with Prime
Minister Surayud Chulanont and to have an audience with King Bhumibol
Adulyadej.

Ban's spokesperson's statement is in contrast to one made by the Thail
Prime Minister, Surayud Chaulanont, who was quoted in The Nation newspaper
last week that Burma was not likely to be discussed during Ban's visit to
Thailand.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 1, International Herald Tribune
Time for serious dialogue - Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy

Just two months ago, the world was shocked and outraged by the violent
repression of peaceful demonstrations that took place in Burma. The images
may have vanished from our screens, but we cannot and will not forget the
plight of the Burmese people.

A country that has the natural resources to be an economic powerhouse is
instead the sick man of Southeast Asia. As the rest of the region advances
into the digital age, Burma is in danger of retreating to the dark ages.

Cut off from the outside world and denied access not only to democracy and
respect for human rights, but also to proper education and basic economic
rights, its society is in a state of disarray.

The huge demonstrations and protests over recent months have shown that
the Burmese people have been pushed beyond breaking point by the regime.

Last week a new generation of leaders gathered in Singapore to mark an
important milestone: 40 years of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, or Asean. We welcomed that celebration: Asean today represents a
proud and prosperous region standing at the heart of the global economy,
its voice heard and respected across the world.

Asean’s leaders faced the twin challenges of enshrining a charter that
commits them to respect democratic and human rights and dealing with the
ongoing crisis in Burma. The Burmese government was sent a clear message:
There is no going back. We agree.

It is obvious now that the country is in a downward spiral of poverty and
unrest. Like the European Union, Asean has always understood that economic
growth and open markets cannot be pursued in isolation: Good economics are
founded on good politics. But the politics of Burma are poisoned and now
need urgently to be transformed for the wider health of the region.

We welcome the positive and conciliatory statement issued on Nov. 9 by
Aung San Suu Kyi, holder of the Nobel Peace Prize and figurehead of the
Burmese opposition. She signaled her desire to begin soon a meaningful and
time-bound dialogue with the Burmese regime. She also emphasized the need
for a growing role of the UN in Burma and underlined the need to engage
with other political forces including Burma’s ethnic nationalities. Those
are welcome steps.

It’s time the regime engages in a genuine dialogue. In this respect, the
regime must remove restraints on Aung San Suu Kyi, give unfettered access
to Ibrahim Gambari, the UN secretary general’s special envoy, and heed the
recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Paul Sergio
Pinheiro. And they must enter wholeheartedly into dialogue with Aung San
Suu Kyi as well as with other opposition groups and ethnic leaders.

The goal must be genuine reconciliation and political transition. Nobody
imagines that this process will be quick or simple. Burma is a complex
mixture of ethnicity, religion and culture. The process will need to be
broadly-based and inclusive, taking careful account of the need to build a
lasting stability that includes Burma’s key political and ethnic groups.

The neighboring countries are well placed to support and encourage such a
process. And, although the military dictatorship must end, the military
itself must continue to play an important role in any future government,
as Aung San Suu Kyi herself has acknowledged.

Faced by the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Burma, the
international community, and in particular the EU, has already extended
its aid to address the needs of the most vulnerable people. The EU has
also decided to reinforce existing sanctions against Burma in order to
send a strong political message and has consequently established a new
series of targeted sanctions against the military regime.

The EU also made clear that it stands fully ready to review, amend or
reinforce existing restrictive measures in the light of developments on
the ground and the results of the good-offices mission of Ibrahim Gambari.

We believe that positive change will be best encouraged by following a
carrot and stick approach: a combination of restrictive, targeted measures
on the one hand and the alleviation of these measures as well as the
prospect of a comprehensive economic initiative on the other.

However, this move will become possible if, and only if, there is a clear
signal that a genuine transformation leading to a new, democratic
government of Burma is under way.

The prize for Burma’s long-suffering people, and for neighbors who have
suffered too long from the problems of refugees, narcotics and instability
that spill across Burma’s borders, is great indeed: a prosperous, stable
Burma living up to its economic potential and adding to the region’s
economic dynamism.

But achieving that prize will require sustained engagement and real
mobilization by the international community. We will continue to stand by
the Burmese people as they prepare to mark 60 years of independence.

We hope that 2008 will finally bring peace and reconciliation to Burma.

Gordon Brown is prime minister of Britain, and Nicolas Sarkozy is
president of France.

____________________________________

December 3, Asia Times
Myanmar back on a roadmap to nowhere - Bertil Lintner

With the opposition subdued and the authorities vigorously hunting down
the organizers of the September demonstrations - and the international
community held at bay with promises of more ineffectual talks mediated by
United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari - Myanmar's ruling junta has
put back on track its so-called "Seven-point Road Map" which it says will
lead the country towards "national reconsolidation".

A newly formed 54-member State Constitution Drafting Commission was set to
meet on Monday for the first time to "coordinate matters relating to the
drafting of a new state constitution", according to a recent article in
the state mouthpiece newspaper The New Light on Myanmar. That is supposed
to represent the third step on the Road Map - but a closer look at the
proceedings shows clearly that they are not a blueprint for democratic
reform, but rather a plan to make military rule constitutional.

After general elections were held in May 1990, the junta suddenly - and to
the dismay of many - announced that it would not convene the
democratically elected 485-member Pyithu Hluttaw, or National Assembly,
but rather planned to launch a "National Convention" entrusted with
drafting a new constitution. For three years nothing happened, but in 1993
the convention was eventually in session. It was suspended in 1996, after
the National League for Democracy (NLD) - which had won a landslide
victory in the 1990 election - walked out, branding the process a sham and
a farce.

In August 2003, intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt was appointed prime
minister, and shortly afterwards he launched his seven point Road Map
plan, which survived his ouster on corruption charges a year later.
According to official documents from Yangon, the first step of the plan
was "reconvening the National Convention", which had been adjourned since
1996. When that was done, however, of the 1,080 delegates only about a
dozen were actually elected by the people in 1990.

About 200 represented former rebel groups that had entered into ceasefire
agreements with the government, and the rest, or more than 800, were
handpicked by the military to represent "workers", "peasants" and other
social groups. Despite the breadth of the convention, no serious
discussions were allowed. The delegates were required to sit in their
national costumes and listen to endless speeches by military officers. One
of the few who dared to raise any important issues, and suggest some new
clauses to the draft that the military had prepared, was Hkun Htun Oo,
leader of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, SNLD.

The party had emerged as the second biggest in the country after the
National League for Democracy, capturing 23 seats in the
never-to-be-convened National Assembly. The NLD got 392 seats, while the
military-sponsored National Unity Party had won in only 10 constituencies.
On February 9, 2005, Hkun Htun Oo was arrested along with 30 other Shan
leaders, charged with "defamation of the state" - and sentenced to 93
years' imprisonment. Sai Noot, the SNLD general secretary, was sentenced
to 85 years on a similar charge, while the rest received 75-year
sentences.

The National Convention wound up in September, ending step two on the Road
Map: "After the successful holding of the National Convention, step by
step implementation of the process necessary for the emergence of a
genuine and discipline-flourishing democratic system." The third step now
underway will be the "drafting of a new constitution in accordance with
the basic principles laid down by the National Convention."

Little is known of those basic principles, as to date they have never been
made public. But gleaning from occasional announcements in the
government-controlled media, the following appear to be some of the
parameters:

# The president of the country must have at least 10 years of military
service.
# Establishment of a bicameral system with an indirectly elected Upper
House and a Lower House, which in theory will be elected by universal
suffrage. However, 25% of seats in both houses will be filled by
non-elected military officials.
# The minister of defense and the minister of border areas development
will be appointed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, not by
the parliament or the prime minister.
# In case of emergency the military will have the constitutional right to
seize power and that seizure should be considered legitimate.

Legal experts familiar with certain provisions of the draft have said it
is not based on basic democratic principles. However it is clearly
designed to bar NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding any office in a
future Myanmar. The draft constitution stipulates that a member of the
assemblies should have no connection with any foreign government, or
children who are not Myanmar citizens. Suu Kyi is a Myanmar citizen who
was married to a recently deceased British citizen and her two sons
Alexander and Kim Aris, who were stripped of their Myanmar citizenship in
1989 and have since become British nationals.

Democratic missteps
It is still uncertain how long the Road Map's step three will take, but
given that the first two steps took 14 years to complete, it seems evident
that the junta is in no hurry to implement even its own version of what it
has referred to as "disciplined democracy", which to most others is
synonymous with a continuation of military rule dressed up as democracy.
When the draft constitution is finally finalized, step four states that
the charter will be "adopted" through a "national referendum".

There seems little chance that regardless of what the charter says that it
won't be adopted. In an interview with the British Broadcasting
Corporation on October 18, 2006, Tun Aung Chain, an alternate chairman of
the National Convention, was asked what kind of referendum it will be, he
said: "In my opinion, it may be like the one in 1973, a referendum by
voting."

That was a telling reply: In December 1973 - when Myanmar was still ruled
by General Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) - a
referendum on a new constitution was held, but the voting hardly met any
acceptable democratic standards. Due to various polling irregularities,
including a lack of privacy for voters which allowed supervising
authorities to easily see whether they case a "yes" or "no" vote, it was
hardly surprising that 90.19% approved that constitution. It was
promulgated on January 3, 1974, and abolished when the military stepped in
to assume direct state power after crushing a nationwide uprising for
democracy in September 1988.

Assuming as some analysts do that the referendum on a new constitution
will be held some time next year, step five would follow: "Holding of free
and fair elections for the legislative elections according to the new
constitution." This would in theory lead to step six: "Convening of
hluttaws [legislative assemblies]," and then the final step seven:
"Building of a modern, developed and democratic nation by the state
leaders elected by the hluttaw, and the government and other central
organs formed by the hluttaw."

The roadmap has so far and could still take ages to travel as long as the
military continues to control all organs of the state while the so-called
nation-building exercise is in process. And, if anyone - Buddhist monks
marching down the streets, students demonstrating for democracy, or ethnic
leaders demanding their rights - challenge the new order in the making,
the military will have the constitutional right to resume direct power.

This is definitely not what Myanmar's people expected when they went to
the polls in May 1990. And it is highly unlikely that the international
community - other than Myanmar's allies in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, China, and perhaps India - would accept the final goal of
the Road Map as something even vaguely resembling a truly democratic
system.

On the other hand, it is still possible that there will be another popular
uprising similar to this year's protests before the military junta even
gets to step five on it Road Map. Discontent is simmering all over the
country as protestors are harassed and arrested - and many Myanmar
citizens say they feel that it is now or never to push for political
change. They realize that once the junta's new constitution is in place -
and the international community and media lose interest in the story - it
will be that much harder to put an end to military rule because which the
new charter is specifically designed to perpetuate.

Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic
Review. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.

____________________________________

December 3, The Nation
Asean and UN: Common ground for action on Burma - Kavi Chongkittavorn

In Singapore last week, incoming Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan
made his first comments on Burma following the endorsement of the Asean
Charter at the Singapore Summit.

He said that Asean would strongly back the good offices of the United
Nations through special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in solving the crisis in
Burma. Surin paraphrased the views expressed by Singapore Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong at the summit he hosted, saying that even though Burma has
chosen to deal with the UN, the grouping stands ready to help with the
process.

The questions to ask now are: what is the present state of the UN process
in Burma now, and when would it be most suitable for Asean to re-engage
with its pariah member?

Gambari is touring the region to sound out Asean members on their views
and positions. Last week he visited Cambodia, a country that has benefited
tremendously from UN humanitarian and electoral assistance. Using lessons
from his country's experience, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said that the
international community should provide humanitarian aid to Burma to solve
the crisis. After the violent crackdowns at the end of September,
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was the only Asean leader to call for a
more active role for the grouping in ending the nightmare.

While in Phnom Penh, the UN special envoy condemned the Burmese junta's
shutting down of a monastery used as a hospice for HIV/Aids patients. "Any
action that runs counter to the spirit of national reconciliation in an
all-inclusive manner, any action that will inflame passions, any action
that will undermine the dialogue between the government and those who
disagree with the policies of the government should be avoided," he
emphasized. He stressed that the UN has called repeatedly for the release
of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Obviously, these sentiments, which have been expressed repeatedly, have
yet to sink into the minds of the junta. Gambari's flurry of diplomatic
activity has not resulted in progress. Somehow, all major players,
especially those in the region—China, India, and Asean—are enjoying a
diplomatic time out and putting the burden on the UN's shoulders.
Everybody realises that the UN-led process will be time-consuming and will
inevitably have to follow Rangoon's agenda. The junta is again testing
whether international resolve can last for any significant length of time.
It is incumbent on the international community to ensure that there is no
backsliding on Burma.

Maybe it is about time that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon makes an
effort to influence the UN's role by visiting Burma himself. Ban is
scheduled to visit Thailand for three days this weekend after short trips
to Bali, for a UN conference on climate change, and East Timor. While in
Bangkok, he should hop on a plane for the short flight across the Tanaosri
Mountain range to see the Burmese reality with his own eyes. He should use
the prestige of his office and not tiptoe around. The Thai government has
already said that the Burmese issue will not be discussed during his
visit. As such, it is imperative that he visits Burma.

Indeed, Ban's trip to the front-line Asean state comes at the worst time,
because the Surayud government has developed a diplomatic phobia
concerning Burma. However, credit must be given to Surayud for delaying
the planned visit of Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein. Right after the
summit, the junta wanted Asean and Bangkok to reaffirm their support of
its seven-point road map towards democracy.

Asean leaders endorsed the road map when it was presented by former prime
minister Khin Nyunt at the Bali Summit in 2003. But Thein Sein wants a
rubber stamp of his own from Asean. Before the Singapore Summit, Asean
leaders were discreet on the outcome of their discussions on Burma. In the
past they would never wash their dirty linen in public, but at the latest
summit and at the ministerial meeting in New York they broke with this
long-held Asean tradition. By publicly expressing revulsion against a
fellow member, they thought their fellow citizens would become more aware
of Burma's response or lack of one.

Unfortunately, this approach is still very passive and depends on Burma
cooperating on national reconciliation and releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, as
well as other political prisoners. In the near future, the situation will
reach a point at which Asean will no longer be able sit on the fence,
which it has done for a decade after admitting Burma. The junta has
excelled in coping with outside pressure, both from within and outside
Asean.


>From 1975 up until recently, the Burmese junat has milked Asean's goodwill

to the hilt in order to prop up its regime and remain intransigent,
avoiding the UN altogether.

Asean has served as a strong bulwark against the onslaught from the United
States and European Union. At the UN in the past, Asean delegates spoke on
behalf of Burma, defending its human-rights record. Now, Rangoon is
playing a different card following Asean's public condemnation of its
violent crackdowns.

The junta now prefers the UN, knowing full well that the chances it will
drag its feet on the current process are far greater. This explains why
Rangoon was furious at Singapore's suggestion that Gambari brief members
of the East Asian Summit. The host eventually had to cancel the briefing.

Despite tougher sanctions imposed by the West, coupled with Asean's
growing disdain, Burma has continued oppressing its citizens, especially
now as it focuses on journalists who bring news to the outside world.
Asean's challenge concerning Burma is clear. Will Asean stand up against
Burma if the UN-led process requires further engagement and commitment
from the grouping? What would happen if the UN process failed on the
political front? If that were to happen, what would be the most practical
and appropriate response from Asean?

Listening to Surin, he seemed to beg for a clearer stand and direction
from Asean leaders. After all, he is just a secretary-general with 10
unyielding bosses.

____________________________________

December 2, Mizzima
Junta - puppet dictatorship - Ethan Bourne

The Burmese generals have accused Aung San Suu Kyi of being a puppet of
the CIA and of MI-6. She was called names like "kalar mayar", which means
wife of a white. The ruling generals used to say a government formed by
her party members would be a puppet regime wanted by the U.S. Government.
These accusations have now become cynical jokes which nobody believes and
what goes around has now come around. The international community and
analysts are now saying Burma 's military regime has eventually become a
colony of China and Russia. The Burmese generals are now acceding to
demands by the Chinese and Russian counterparts. As long as the Burmese
generals let China and Russia have access to its natural resources, they
will veto any resolution proposed at the UN Security Council by the United
States and the EU nations.

The Burmese generals have lifted restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi due to
UN's diplomacy and the international community's pressure despite the fact
that the generals rejected a U.N. proposal for three-way talks including
Aung San Suu Kyi, and plan to expel the main U.N. representative in the
country for criticizing the government. The international community has
been watching the Burmese situation with caution. The United States has
criticized the junta for not accepting democratic reforms yet. Skepticism
is ubiquitous about the intentions of the military brass hats in Burma
especially that of General Than Shwe. The question is "Is General Than
Shwe who headed the Department of Psychological Warfare sincere and
straightforward this time?"

General Than Shwe has been consulting a colonel from the Chinese Embassy
in Rangoon on how to rebut international pressure and cheat the
international community including the United Nations. The Chinese colonel,
according to a western source, is an expert on psychological warfare. At
the same time the Military Affairs Security Forces under the order of the
Military Affairs Security Agency, headed by Major General Ye Myint, have
been tasked to hunt down and arrest the student activists and monks
involved in the September Uprising. MASA has ordered the Burmese embassies
abroad to continue collecting intelligence about the future plans and
operations of dissident groups in foreign countries.

As far as arms and ammunitions are concerned, despite the arms embargo
imposed on the military regime, the generals have been able to buy arms
and ammunitions from different exporters in Europe . The biggest suppliers
are China , Russia, Serbia and Ukraine. While China has been the biggest
supplier of advanced helicopter gun ships, fighter planes, naval vessels,
tanks and small arms including mortars, landmines and assault rifles,
Russia comes in second at $396 million, then Serbia and Ukraine. The
Burmese generals have sought to purchase submarines from North Korea and
so far it has not succeeded. However scud missiles may have been provided
to Burma. Yet, the Burmese generals prefer Russian technology to low
quality North Korean weapons. It is also obvious that Moscow aggressively
pursues to arm the military regime with new military technology
considering the fact that Moscow sold 15 Mig-29 Fulcrum Fighters to Burma
for $150 million in 2001. According to sources in Moscow , Russia's
state-controlled arms exporter, is in the final stages of negotiating the
sale of its technologically advanced Tor-M1 and Buk-M1-2 missile defence
systems to Burma . The United States Government has been closely
monitoring the arms sales and transfers to Burma by Russia.

Now that the Burmese generals have to rely on China and Russia for arms
and ammunitions, intelligence and political support to make sure they are
in power. Who knows when the Chinese will send its army to occupy Burma
like they did in Tibet? Who is the puppet now? Aung San Suu Kyi or Than
Shwe?

____________________________________
STATEMENT

December 2, Global Alliance of Burmese Students
Statement of Global Alliance of Burmese Students condemning the crackdown
of Maggin monastery by Burmese regime

We, Global Alliance of Burmese Students, condemned Burmese junta's
atrocious action to crack down to Maggin Monastry, in Thin Gan Gyun
Township, Yangon, which is actively helping the people living with
HIV/AIDS by providing food, shelter, and care with great compassion . This
action is very different from the regime's propaganda and restricting the
development of Buddhism in Burma. Besides, while the global community and
international organizations like UN and UNAIDS are celebrating the 20th
World AIDS Day on December 1st  to raise the awareness of the pandemic
disease in solidarity, such an act of abominable savagery can be construed
as utmost insult on the global community's noble commitment to fight
against HIV/AIDS and on the civilize humanity.

So, we, students, who are studying abroad call for stopping these brutal
action and returned all properties owned by the monastery to the abbot. If
the SPDC ignores our demand, it will face more pressure and protests
against the regime externally as well as internally. We, Global Alliance
of Burmese Students (GABS), will lead regular protests in front of Burmese
embassy in Bangkok, started from December 2, coming Sunday.

Global Alliance of Burmese Students (Thailand)
global.alliance.burma at gmail.com

Contact
Kyaw Lin Oo
Mobile Phone +66 84 107 9352

Suluck Lamubol (Fai)
Students Federation of Thailand
Mobile Phone +66 83 991 9876