BurmaNet News, January 4, 2008

[Editor]

January 4, 2008 Issue # 3373

INSIDE BURMA
BBC News: Burma marks Independence Day
Reuters: Myanmar deploys riot police for Independence Day
Irrawaddy: No freedom, no independence
Irrawaddy: New Mass Movement issues open letter to junta
Irrawaddy: Junta refuses to reregister three ethnic cultural groups
Mizzima News: Burmese opposition reiterates call for dialogue on
Independence Day
Financial Times: Observer: Sky high
Narinjara News: TV satellites taken down in Maungdaw

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Thai authorities arrest 72 Rohingyas for illegal entry

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima News: Burma: New Year ushers in rise in fuel, commodity prices
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup

INTERNATIONAL
Kyodo News: EU wants Myanmar at top of int'l agenda
AFP: Laura Bush urges pressure on Myanmar junta
AFP: Britain urges reconciliation in Myanmar
AFP: Czech call on Myanmar to take democratic path

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: 60 Years On: Where did it all go wrong? -Min Zin

STATEMENT
WLB: Statement on the 60th anniversary of Burma’s Independence Day

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 4, BBC News
Burma marks Independence Day

Burma has held a series of low-key events to mark the 60th anniversary of
independence from British rule.

Military ruler Gen Than Shwe used the occasion to reiterate the
government's determination to continue with its seven-stage roadmap to
democracy.

But critics say the plan is just a way to perpetuate the military's
control. They used the anniversary to call for the release of political
prisoners.

The British ruled Burma for 63 years, until shortly after World War II.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, reporting from neighbouring Thailand, said there
was little sign of any celebration in Burma, 60 years on from
independence.

The national flag was raised in Rangoon and in the new capital, Naypyidaw,
at the exact moment that the British flag was lowered in 1948.

Than Shwe did not attend either event, but a statement was read out in
which he called for national unity and discipline.

He said the people of Burma were working towards "the emergence of a
peaceful, modern and developed discipline-flourishing democratic state".

He stressed his commitment to the democracy roadmap - a process which
critics say is entirely controlled by the military and excludes the
high-profile opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD).

'Pretence'

The statement suggests the military leadership does not appear to have
softened its stance since September's violent crackdown on pro-democracy
campaigners, which resulted in the deaths of at least 31 people.

No mention was made of the protests, nor to Aung San, Ms Suu Kyi's father
and the leader of Burma's independence struggle.

Sean Turnell, an expert on Burma at Australia's Macquarie University, said
this was because "if he glorified the role of Aung San, in a sense, he was
also glorifying Aung San Suu Kyi".

"It's like America celebrating the Fourth of July without mentioning
Washington," he told the French news agency AFP, referring to the first US
president.

Following September's protests, the military junta appointed an official,
Aung Kyi, to liaise with Ms Suu Kyi and her NLD party, prompting hope that
there could be a genuine dialogue between the two sides.

But NLD spokesman Nyman Win said the talks were a "pretence" and had made
little progress since Aung Kyi and Ms Suu Kyi met in November, their only
meeting so far.

"We don't know when they are going to meet again," he told AFP.

____________________________________

January 4, Reuters
Myanmar deploys riot police for Independence Day - Aung Hla Tun

Myanmar's junta deployed riot police and fire trucks at potential
flashpoints in Yangon on Friday to prevent pro-democracy protests on the
60th anniversary of independence from Britain.

Riot police took up positions outside the former capital's City Hall and
the Shwedagon and Sule pagodas -- all key locations in mass anti-junta
protests that erupted in September.

One government official, who did not want to be named, said local
authorities had also been ordered to prepare gangs of "Swan-Arr-Shin", or
"Masters of Force", thugs in case pro-democracy activists tried to
demonstrate.

The junta, the latest face of 45 years of army rule in the former Burma,
limited its celebrations to a military ceremony in the remote new capital,
Naypyidaw, and a broadcast message from junta supremo Than Shwe.

Repeating an oft-touted slogan, the 75-year-old Senior General urged
Myanmar's 53 million people to "make a firm resolve to build a new,
peaceful, modern and developed discipline flourishing nation".

He made no mention of any dialogue with detained opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, whose party won an election landslide in 1990 only to be
denied power by the army. The Nobel laureate has been in prison or under
house arrest for most the interim.

Her father General Aung San is generally acknowledged as the father of
independence.

At the headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD), about 350
people ranging from party faithful to Western diplomats held their own
separate ceremony under the watchful gaze of secret police.

After killing at least 31 people in its suppression of the September
protests, the junta is under unprecedented international pressure to talk
to Suu Kyi about political reform and move towards restoring a modicum of
civilian rule.

"We have not given up on the chance of dialogue," party spokesman Nyan Win
said. "We do hope dialogue takes place and national reconciliation emerges
in 2008. We want 2008 to be the year of reconciliation."

The junta appointed Labour Minister Aung Kyi to hold talks with Suu Kyi
after September's violence. They held three meetings, details of which
have not been disclosed.

Washington called on the junta to release Suu Kyi and conduct a meaningful
dialogue with the opposition.

"President Bush and I ask all nations to join in condemning the military
junta for its shameful abuses of basic human rights," said first lady
Laura Bush in a statement issued by her office.

"We urge the regime to fulfil its promises to the United Nations Security
Council, and to take more than token steps toward meaningful dialogue with
Burma's opposition. General Than Shwe must release Aung San Suu Kyi and
other democratic leaders, so they can begin the process of national
reconciliation," the statement said.

Myanmar was one of Asia's brightest prospects when it won independence
from Britain in 1948. However, its economy has stagnated under four
decades of military rule and a disastrous attempt at home-grown socialism.

____________________________________

January 4, Irrawaddy
No freedom, no independence - Saw Yan Naing

Today, Burma celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence. But very
few people in the country are in a celebratory mood.

Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the main opposition party, the National
League for Democracy, said, “From my 20s until now—my 60s—I feel there is
no independence in Burma, because people feel they are not free.”

Independence hero Gen Aung San’s statue in Rangoon
At the party headquarters, the NLD held a solemn ceremony with 600 people
in attendance.

It seems many Burmese feel they are now slaves or prisoners of the
military leaders who have ruled the country since 1962.

On Friday, about 12 NLD members held a brief vigil in front of the party’s
headquarters wearing convicts’ white uniforms and calling for the release
of all political prisoners. Burma currently detains more than 1,000
political prisoners.

Nyan Win recalled when the father of the Burmese independence struggle,
Gen Aung San, lamented that “under Japanese occupation, there was no
freedom of expression and the Burmese lived in fear.” He compared that
sentiment to the current situation under the military dictatorship.

However, the NLD spokesman remained optimistic: “We believe that democracy
and human rights will prevail in the country one day.”

Speaking to The Irrawaddy by phone, a government worker in Rangoon said,
“As a government employee, Independence Day is an official holiday.
However, there is nothing to celebrate. My daily survival is more
important than Independence Day.”

A computer shop owner in Rangoon lashed out at the military rulers: “I’m
not interested in Independence Day! If possible, I want to kill the
generals. What I see and what I hear is such a contrast—injustice is
everywhere in Burma!”

Meanwhile, the regime’s top brass celebrated Burma’s Independence Day in a
Rangoon park near the famous Shwedagon Pagoda. The ceremony was simple:
officials held a flag-raising ceremony in the early morning and then a
message from the junta chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, was read out.

The Burmese leader reiterated that his military government will implement
democratic reforms according to its own road map. He also urged citizens
of Burma to cooperate in the building of a modern, disciplined and
flourishing democratic nation.

However, his message was unlikely to win any applause from the Burmese
public. The regime has been facing growing international and domestic
pressure since the bloody crackdown in September. Several activists and
monks are now leaving the country as there has been an on-going crackdown
in Burma. Activists inside the country confirmed that the military and
secret police have been searching for former activists and monks who are
suspected of taking part in the anti-junta uprising.

A former activist who was involved in the 1988 uprising confirmed to The
Irrawaddy that several of his colleagues who did not take participate in
the demonstrations were also apprehended and some had run away and were in
hiding.

Reliable sources from the Thai border town of Mae Sot also confirmed that
several activists from the 1988 uprising have fled to the Thailand in fear
of imprisonment even though they were not involved in the uprising.

Pyinya Zawta, a member of the underground monks’ group, the Alliance of
All Burmese Buddhist Monks, said: “On this our Independence Day, I want
people to enjoy real freedom and independence. As long as we are not free,
we must demand freedom.”

Burmese living overseas also joined in the calls for change in their
homeland.

Thura Aung, a 40-year-old Burmese migrant worker currently working in
Malaysia, said that he left his hometown five years ago because of a lack
of justice, prosperity and freedom.

Malaysia—like Burma, a former British colony in Southeast Asia—is now a
haven for many Burmese seeking refuge and work.

Thura Aung said that in spite of the harassment and human rights abuses a
migrant suffers in a foreign country, the situation is generally better
than in Burma.

He said, “Here in Malaysia one person can feed the rest of his family; but
that’s not possible in Burma.”

Another Burmese migrant, Aung Naing Thu, who has been working in Malaysia
for the last three years, said: “It may be correct that our country
regained independence, but there is no freedom.” He added that at least
under British rule, the economy and the political situation were stable,
and a good education system existed in Burma.

Burma lost its independence in 1885 after Great Britain annexed Upper
Burma. It regained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948. However,
the country has been under the military rule since 1962.

____________________________________

January 4, Irrawaddy
New Mass Movement issues open letter to junta - Wai Moe

A newly formed dissident group in Burma, the Steering Committee of Mass
Movement, or SCMM, called Friday for the military government to “speed up
political reform in the country” and take a step toward sustainable
progress in the interests of the Union of Burma.

The umbrella group also urged the junta to release Burma’s democracy icon,
Aung San Suu Kyi, and all other political prisoners, including monks and
protesters who were arrested for demonstrating in August and September.

The SCMM issued an open letter to Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other member of
the ruling State Peace and Development Council on January 4, the day of
the 60th anniversary of Burma’s independence from British rule. The
statement called for the release of prisoners by February 12, the
country’s union day.

“If we start genuine dialogue one day earlier, the country will benefit by
one day; but the country will fail if the talks are delayed,” said the
umbrella group in the open letter. “So we are willing to work together
with a constructive attitude and approach to meaningful and inclusive
dialogue as soon as possible.”

The group is comprised of 12 pro-democracy and professional groups,
including the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks, the 88 Generation
Students group, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, the Burma
Muslim League for Peace, the Burma Lawyers’ Union, the New Generation
Journalists Union (Burma), the Organizing Committee of Mass Movement
(Mandalay), the Committee of Mass Movement (Rangoon Division), and The
Association of Writers and Artists.

Tun Myint Aung, a spokesperson for the 88 Generation Students group, said
that the umbrella group issued the open letter because they wanted to end
the nightmare that began last September and in times past. For the sake of
Burma’s happiness, all Burmese need to be liberated from the long-term
crisis in the country, he said from his place in hiding.

“The way to liberation is through meaningful dialogue between the junta
and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the ethnic leaders,” he added.

Meanwhile, a further crackdown against pro-democracy activists was under
way in Burma. Nine people, including physician Aung Moe Nyo and former
student activist Ko Ko Maung were arrested this week. On Thursday, the
security forces also arrested a monk and two laymen in Rangoon while a
house in Rangoon was raided by soldiers hunting for a young student
activist, Kyaw Ko Ko.

Rumors of potential mass protests spread through the streets of Rangoon as
the security forces prepared by training pro-junta militias in anti-riot
methods. On December 25, authorities in Rangoon mobilized members of the
pro-government Union Solitary and Development Association and Swan Ah Shin
groups, according to reports from inside Burma.

“We heard protests would start in January. It’s a neighborhood rumor,”
said a housewife in Rangoon, who spoke to The Irrawaddy by phone on
Thursday on condition of anonymity, out of fear for her safety.

“But I don’t know if it will develop into something like last September,”
she added. “At that time, people died and nothing came out of it.”

____________________________________

January 4, Irrawaddy
Junta refuses to reregister three ethnic cultural groups - Shah Paung

The Burmese military government has refused to renew the registration of
three ethnic cultural groups, effectively closing them down.

Ethnic cultural groups have to renew their registration annually with the
Ministry of Home Affairs, but three organizations representing Mon, Karen
and Shan communities say the authorities have refused to accept their
applications, giving no reason for the action.

Nai ong Ma-Nge, a spokesman of the New Mon State Party, told The Irrawaddy
on Friday: “They [the military regime] didn’t announce officially the
closure of our cultural organizations, but they stopped the renewal of
registrations. So it means they closed the organizations down.”

Kyaw Win, a committee member of the Karen Literature and Culture
Committee, told The Irrawaddy the authorities had also refused to
reregister his organization. The Shan Literature and Culture Committee
reported that it, too, had had its application blocked.

“We will not allow this action, and we will try to get pour registration
back,” Kyaw Win said, “Our culture will live as long as there are Karen
people.”

Nai ong Ma-Nge said the authorities had recently changed the name of the
Mon Culture Museum in Moulmein, capital of Mon State, to the Archaeology
and Culture Museum, dropping the word “Mon.”

The so-called Brahminy Duck, a traditional Mon symbol, had also been
removed from a large symbolic alms bowl that stands at an entrance to
Moulmein, Nai ong Ma-Nge said.

The Mon people felt injured by the authorities’ action, he said. “They
should not restrain and destroy our culture while restoring national
reconciliation and building ethnic unity.”

____________________________________

January 4, Mizzima News
Burmese opposition reiterates call for dialogue on Independence day

Burma's main opposition political party – the National League for
Democracy – today for the umpteenth time reiterated its call for the
release of all political prisoners including detained party leader Aung
San Suu Kyi and kick-start the national reconciliation process even as the
party marks the 60th anniversary of Burma's Independence day.

The NLD, which has long demanded that the junta begin genuine dialogue
that will facilitate reforms in the country, in their Independence day
statement optimistically said '2008 is the year of political reform
through dialogue.'

With over 600 participants, including veteran politicians, diplomats,
activists and party members, the NLD held the 60th Independence
anniversary ceremony at its headquarters in west Shwegonedine in Rangoon.

Nyan Win, the NLD spokesperson, said they are optimistic about a political
breakthrough in 2008 and hoped that the ruling junta would lend their ears
to the calls of the people.

Following the junta's brutal crackdown on protesters in September,
detained Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed a
rare meeting with party leaders.

As a concession to the brutal crackdown, the junta also appointed a
Liaison Minister as a go between with the junta head Snr. Gen Than Shwe
and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The minister, Aung Kyi, was also allowed to meet
opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi thrice as the initial step to
prepare for a process of dialogue.

However, with the junta making no visible efforts to convene another
meeting with detained Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the talks
seem to have petered off.

The junta, as much as the opposition groups, marks the 60th anniversary of
Independence day at its new jungle head quarters in Nay Pyi Taw.

In what seems to be a preparation for the Independence Day, the junta, in
its mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper, has carried articles that
exhort the people of Burma to maintain the spirit of the union and to be
aware of 'external and internal destructionists', apparently pointing at
opposition groups.

Meanwhile, Burmese activists in Malaysia were showered with teachings by
the Penang abbot Ashin U Pyinnyawuntha during a ceremony marking Burma 's
Independence day.

Similarly, Burmese activists in New Delhi held a function in commemoration
of the 60th anniversary of Burma's Independence day.

Burma, after nearly a century of colonial rule, gained independence from
the British colonial rulers in 1948. Though Burma enjoyed a brief period
of democracy following independence, it plunged into military dictatorship
in 1962 when General Newin grabbed power in a military coup.

Burma, at independence, was known as the 'rice bowl' of Southeast Asian
and was predicted to be the most prospective economy in the region.
However, after decades of civil war and economic mismanagement by the
ruling junta, Burma today is listed by the United Nations among the Least
Developed Countries (LDC).

____________________________________

January 3, Financial Times
Observer: Sky high

Burma's military rulers work hard to control every source of information
that the country's citizens can possibly access.

But they have been powerless to stop most people from listening to the
Burmese language broadcasts of the BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia
and Democratic Voice of Burma. This leaves them with no real option but to
fulminate against what they insist is a "skyful of lies".

Adding to the generals' chagrin, a growing number of more affluent Burmese
have also acquired satellite dishes, allowing them to watch international
news, as well as a new satellite channel run by DVB. This has allowed many
Burmese who didn't take to the streets to see footage of the recent mass
anti-government demonstrations, and the brutal crackdown that ensued.

But the fuming generals now appear to be striking back by imposing a
dramatic rise on the levy imposed on satellite dishes.

Dish owners who went to pay what used to be a 6,000 kyat ($5) licence fee
were stunned to be informed that the fee for dishes had been abruptly
raised to 1m kyat, about three times the country's average per capita
income.

Still, the tactic may backfire. Plenty of Burmese appear to have been
using satellite dishes without paying any licence fee at all. Now others,
who had been dutifully paying the fee, may join them.

____________________________________

January 4, Narinjara News
TV satellites taken down in Maungdaw

Maungdaw: Many television satellite dishes were taken off from the roofs
in Maungdaw Township by owners after satellite licensing fees were
increased by the government to one million kyat, said one satellite dish
owner.

"The TV satellite dish was taken off my house yesterday because we are
unable to pay one million kyat for the annual licensing fee," the man
said.

Many owners in Maungdaw took down their satellite dishes from their houses
after they heard the news that the government has increased the annual fee
for using the satellite dishes to one million kyat.

The fee for a satellite TV license in 2007 was only 6,000 kyat, and the
government has not announced why the licensing fee has been increased so
much this year.

"The license fee is very expensive so ordinary people cannot set it up in
their homes. So it would be better if we take down our satellite dish from
the roof of the house, the satellite dish owner said.

Even though the military government has not announced the reason for the
increase in the fee, many people believe that the authority wants to
prevent the people watching of foreign based TV news programs like the
BBC, CNN, and DVB.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 4, Mizzima News
Thai authorities arrest 72 Rohingyas for illegal entry - Than Htike Oo

The Thai Navy arrested 72 Rohingya, Muslim ethnic minorities from Burma
for illegally entering the country. They were transferred to the
Thai-Burmese border town of Ranong, a police source said.

The Rohingyas, mainly residents of Burma's western coastal state of
Arakan, were caught by a Thai navy patrol vessel on January 2, in a boat
drifting near Kura Buri district.

An official at the Kura Buri police station told Mizzima that the
Rohingyas, in the age group of 10 to 30 years, have been transferred to
the Ranong immigration department.

"They were taken away by the Phannga immigration and handed over to the
Ranong immigration," the official said.

A Burmese Rights activist, from the Grassroot Human Rights Education
Committee, told Mizzima that the group had visited the Rohingyas and
provided food after they were informed by Thai officials.

An official at the Ranong police station, however, said it is still
unclear what would be done to the arrested Rohingyas.

According to a report in the Bangkok Post, Thai officials suspect a
section of the Rohingyas of working with insurgents in Thailand's southern
districts and are likely to be charged with illegal entry.

Rohingyas, who mainly reside in Burma's western coastal state of Arakan,
like many other Burmese, have occasionally been reported crossing the sea
into Malaysia to find jobs.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 4, Mizzima News
Burma: New Year ushers in rise in fuel, commodity prices - Nem Davies

The Burmese military regime's promise notwithstanding that fuel prices
will remain pegged at the last rise, vendors in various parts of Burma
said fuel price in the black market has been on the increase.

While the authorities officially set the price of petrol per gallon at
2500 kyat, and diesel per gallon at 3000 kyat, in the black market the
actual prices are double the government's rates, vendors said.

"In our shop, currently we sell petrol at 5000 kyat (US$ 4) per gallon. It
has risen to this rate just last week," a petrol vendor at Sagaing town
told Mizzima.

Similarly, a vendor in Zigone town of Pegu division said the price of
petrol has recently risen to 5200 Kyat from 4500 Kyat per gallon and
diesel to 5800 Kyat from 4000 Kyat per gallon.

"The fuel prices have rising steadily since the end of last year and it
jumped to this rate after the New Year," added the local vendor.

A bus conductor, who plies on the Magwe-Rangoon highway, said, with the
rise of fuel prices, they were forced to raise the fares.

"As the fuel prices are rising, we have to raise our fares to 7500 kyat
from 5000 kyat," the bus conductor said.

"For each trip we get 45 gallon from the government but it is not enough,
we have to buy an extra 20 gallons. So, if we don't get at least 50
passengers, we operate at a loss. Last month we had a lot of passengers,
but we usually face difficulties during the monsoon, as people stop
travelling," added the conductor.

The government, in a bid to counter rumors of the fuel price hike, through
its state-own media, announced that the prices of fuel would remain
constant. However, local residents in Rangoon said, the government has
slashed down the daily quota of fuel from two gallons to only one gallon
per day.

Following the steady fuel price rise, the prices of essential commodities
including oil, and beans, are on the rise.

A local resident of Pegu town told Mizzima, "The price of soya bean oil
has soared to 4000 kyat from 3200 kyat. It rose just recently after the
New Year."

____________________________________

January 4, Irrawaddy
Weekly business roundup - William Boot

Gems, Jade Sale Planned for Rangoon

The Burmese government is to stage another gems sale—just a few weeks
after a major auction in Rangoon netted tens of millions of US dollars.

The new sale is being managed by state-controlled Myanmar [Burma] Economic
Holdings and will take place over five days in Rangoon, starting January
15.

It comes barely six weeks after a precious stones auction held by the
regime-run Myanmar Gem Enterprise, which attracted large foreign interest,
mainly from within Asia, despite Western calls for a boycott in the wake
of the 2007 pro-democracy crackdown.

Government organizers said that auction brought in US $41 million,
although that cannot be independently verified.

Observers note the junta has been increasing the number of gems auctions
in what is seen as a bid to raise more foreign capital. Outside the oil
and gas sector, international investment has slumped in recent years.

The MGE says it sold more than 3,600 lots in a two-week auction of jade,
gems and pearls, which ended November 26.

Burma’s Internet Service World’s Worst for Business, Ideas

Burma is the world’s worst region for access to commerce and ideas on the
Internet, where media outlets more than anywhere else were censored in
2007, a new report says.

Burma ranks alongside China as the two worst countries for restrictions,
said Reporters Without Borders. The Paris-based watchdog said the Burmese
regime in particular was “trying to turn the Internet into an Intranet – a
network limited to traffic inside the country between people authorized to
participate.”

Analysts said this totally undermined the logic of the Internet as a
conduit for commerce and information.

The Burma regime’s severe tax this week on satellite TV licenses, putting
the cost beyond most people, was yet another form of commercial
censorship, RWB’s Vincent Brossel told The Irrawaddy.

It comes as Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma TV was about to start
beaming an expanded daily program service into Burma, said Khin Maung Win,
the DVB’s deputy director.

“Even if 90 percent of dish owners do not have licences, this decision may
be the first step in a crackdown,” he said.

RWB quotes some sources as saying there are up to 1 million satellite
dishes in use in Burma, although only 60,000 are licensed.

Asia also had the highest number of journalists arrested in 2007—430 out
of an estimated global total of 887.

Junta Urges Oil Operators to Increase Inland Production

The search for domestic oil sources in Burma is being intensified as the
international price for one barrel hovers around US $100.

As the junta this week sought to quell rumors of another big fuel price
rise by saying prices would remain unchanged, the state Myanmar Oil and
Gas Enterprise urged onshore oil well operators to increase production.

Burma is rich in offshore gas resources but has failed so far to strike it
rich with oil, either under the sea or on land.

“There are reports of pressure being brought to try to squeeze more oil
out of domestic rigs,” said industry analyst Sar Watana in Bangkok.

“This is the only short-term hope, because several exploratory drillings
across the country are still at an early stage, and even if they struck
oil it would take time to get it flowing.”

Oil explorers from India, China, Russia and Australia are currently
probing for more onshore oil. India’s Essar is reportedly seeking
hard-to-find drilling rig equipment to increase explorations.

Malaysia to Manufacture Palm Oil in Burma

Malaysian palm oil producer Astral Asia says it will establish an oil mill
as part of its planned long-term US $200 million investment in developing
a huge swathe of 60,000 hectares of virgin forest in southern Burma.

Planting is expected to begin in the middle of the year after a formal
agreement between the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange-listed company formally
teams up with Burma’s junta-linked Myanmar Combiz Services Company and
Green Future Company.

Astral said it is investing in Burma because land and labor costs are
cheaper than in Malaysia.

The Malaysian company has yet to disclose how much palm oil it plans to
eventually produce in Burma or whether the product will be converted to
cooking oil and other food-related uses, or become part of the region’s
mushrooming biofuel stocks.

Meanwhile, despite fuel oil shortages across Burma, little is heard of the
junta’s plan in 2006 to produce biodiesel ingredient ethanol from jatropha
plants.

Thousands of farmers and backyard gardeners have been coerced to grow the
plants, supposedly for their high oil content, in a bid to reduce the
country’s estimated 50,000 barrels a day diesel importation.

Analysts say Burma does not have the technology to develop biodiesel—a mix
of pure diesel and plant-derived ethanol—and even if it did, most of the
country’s older vehicle engines would have difficulty running on it.

Plantation Resources Limited, owned by Burmese property developer Serge
Pun, announced last March it had acquired 40,000 hectares near the
Irrawaddy River valley to grow jatropha plants for biodiesel.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 4, Kyodo News
EU wants Myanmar at top of int'l agenda

The European Union's special envoy on Myanmar said Thursday the world
should maintain its focus on Myanmar despite recent events that are
capturing headlines and he also believes China could play an even greater
role in solving the situation in the country.

"There is a risk of attention to Burma, to Myanmar, being lowered in
international public opinion," Piero Fassino, told Kyodo News, explaining
that recent events such as the assassination of former Pakistani Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto and other brewing crises threaten to divert
attention from the country. "I think that the first goal is to keep
Myanmar as a top item on the international agenda."

____________________________________

January 4, Agence France Presse
Laura Bush urges pressure on Myanmar junta

US First Lady Laura Bush on Friday urged the world to condemn Myanmar's
"shameful abuses" of human rights and urged the country's military rulers
to free democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

"(US) President (George W.) Bush and I ask all nations to join in
condemning the military junta for its shameful abuses of basic human
rights," she said in a statement marking Myanmar's 60th anniversary of
independence from Britain.

Laura Bush has taken an unusual lead role in efforts to push for change in
Myanmar, which Washington calls Burma.

"We urge the regime to fulfill its promises to the United Nations Security
Council, and to take more than token steps toward meaningful dialogue with
Burma's opposition," she said.

The junta led by General Than Shwe "must release Aung San Suu Kyi and
other democratic leaders, so they can begin the process of national
reconciliation," she said.

"Meanwhile, the United States stands with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all
those working to make sure that by the next January 4, the people of Burma
will celebrate real independence," she said.

In December, the US president threatened to spearhead a global campaign to
step up sanctions against Myanmar if it continues to ignore calls for a
democratic transition.

At least 31 people were killed and 74 went missing in the suppression in
September of peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks, according to a UN
report.

Bush recently announced new sanctions against Myanmar's military,
including an asset freeze on key junta figures and blacklisting of seven
companies and five individuals allegedly linked to those companies and the
regime.

The United States has long maintained a trade and investment ban on Myanmar.

"Today, January 4, is the 60th anniversary of Burma's independence.
Instead of celebrating their freedom, the Burmese people live in fear,
poverty, and oppression under General Than Shwe and his military regime,"
said Laura Bush.

She accused the junta of having "plundered" Burma's natural resources
wealth and charged that "hundreds of innocent people remain in jail" and
more are being arrested for speaking out against the regime.

"Reports suggest that the Burmese army is now massing in eastern Burma,
preparing for a renewed military onslaught against Burma's ethnic
minorities. Past offensives have resulted in killings and rapes of
civilians, forced labor, crop burnings, and mass relocations," she said.

____________________________________

January 4, Agence France Presse
Britain urges reconciliation in Myanmar

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for national
reconciliation in Myanmar in a statement Friday marking the country's 60th
anniversary of independence from Britain.

He urged Myanmar's military rulers to engage in "constructive dialogue"
following the junta's bloody clampdown on dissent in September, and
stressed that Britain remained keen on "international action".

"Today marks the 60th anniversary of Burma's independence. We congratulate
the people of Burma on this historic landmark," Miliband said.

"But for 45 of the last 60 years Burma has been under military rule. The
brutal suppression of peaceful demonstrations last autumn was a sad
reminder of the extent to which the Burmese people's aspirations for
democracy, stability and prosperity have been frustrated. They deserve far
better.

"We call once more upon the Burmese regime to embrace the path of
constructive dialogue that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has called for. Only
through a process of genuine national reconciliation can a better future
for the people of Burma be realised.

"The UK remains committed to international action on Burma. We support the
efforts of the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim
Gambari and we are working closely with our EU partners to bring pressure
for change to bear on the regime."

____________________________________

January 3, Agence France Presse
Czech call on Myanmar to take democratic path

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg called Thursday on Myanmar's
ruling junta to take the country towards democracy on the eve of the 60th
anniversary of the country's independence.

In a letter sent to the junta's leaders, Schwarzenberg said he "hoped that
Myanmar's population would in the near future have the possibility to
celebrate real freedom in their country on the state holiday."

He challenged the junta to release all political prisoners, including
democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, and to start talks with the leaders of
democratic forces in the country.

The junta violently cracked down on peaceful protests led by Buddhist
monks in September with at least 31 people killed and 74 missing,
according to a UN report.

Myanmar, formerly named Burma, won independence from former colonial power
Britain on January 4, 1948.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 4, Irrawaddy
60 Years On: Where did it all go wrong? -Min Zin

During the struggle against British colonial rule, a young nationalist,
Thakin Nu, once told his colleague, Than Tun: "You will be the Lenin of
Burma and I'll be your Maxim Gorky."

When Burma achieved independence in January 1948, Thakin Nu (later known
as “U Nu”) became prime minister while Than Tun was general secretary of
the Communist Party of Burma. Unfortunately, Burma's Lenin and Gorky fell
out and became arch-enemies. Then, civil war broke out. The irony of
Burma's independence politics is that it started with a failed dream.

"We were all young and passionate then," said Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran
politician who knew both U Nu and Than Tun. "As result, many of our key
leaders took extreme stances in post-independence politics and, at the
same time, weapons were easily available in the wake of WWII."

The CPB leadership declared independence to be a sham and “under cover of
this sham, British imperialism would work a stranglehold on the defense
and economic life of the country." Consequently, the CPB decided to launch
an armed rebellion in March 1948 to achieve "genuine" independence.

"Dichotomous perspectives, such as genuine-versus-sham and
right-versus-wrong is a dominant paradigm among the political oppositions
of Burma throughout history," said Tin Maung Than, a famous Burmese writer
and political analyst. "When they waged arm struggle, the CPB looked at
politics not from a power dimension, but from an ideological perspective.
They decided to disengage from the political mainstream."

It wasn’t only the communists—some of the ethnic elite also neglected
power politics. They overlooked the reality of basic maturity in politics
that you cannot always get your own way, especially in fragile and
uncertain post-independence Burma.

A series of negotiations took place between Burman leaders and ethnic
representatives some time before independence. The general consensus was
to create four ethnic states: Shan, Karenni, Karen and Kachin. In the
drafted constitution for the new union, a provision was also included for
the possible formation of new states in the future. The Shan and Karenni
were granted the right to secede after ten years if they were not happy
with their status. The hardest nut to crack was the Karen issue. The
designation and status of the Karen state boundary remained unresolved as
Karen nationalists demanded Tenasserim, Irrawaddy and parts of Pegu
Division.

In October 1947, U Nu's cabinet offered the Karen a state that would have
included the Karenni State, the substate of Mongpai, Salween District and
some of the Thaton, Toungoo and Pyinmana hill tracts. However, the Karen
National Union demanded much of the delta as well, including the whole of
the Irrawaddy Division and Insein and Hanthawaddy districts. From the
perspective of U Nu's government, the controversial demands made further
negotiations impossible.

"U Nu failed to carry out Aung San's promises for the Karen people," said
David Tharkapaw, a senior Karen leader and chief of the Information
Department in the KNU. "U Nu was a Burman chauvinist. While trust between
the KNU and U Nu's government was then weakened due to the mutual
propagandas and vilifications, Gen Ne Win's private militias started
attacking Karen villages. Then the Karen's revolution became inevitable."

As a result, the KNU launched an insurrection in January 1949. The Karen
nationalist movement gradually receded from the center stage of Burmese
mainstream politics, and the power of the KNU also dwindled over time.
Some observers believe that the KNU should have pursued a more careful
strategy than opting to compel the Karen people to an armed struggle for
greater autonomy.

"The government's offer could then have been considered very generous by
today's standards, but the KNU was not willing to compromise, and [became]
increasingly militant," said Thakin Chan Tun. "It was a tragic story of
missed opportunity."

In fact, idealism compounded with militancy—whether violent or
non-violent—has been a major trait of Burmese politics. The concept of
legal opposition, in terms of making compromises and enjoying inclusive
participation, has never rooted itself in the country. Post-colonial
conflicts in Burma proved that when the opposition tended to resort to
violent means to achieve their absolute goals, the government moved to
eliminate them.

U Nu's government was also unable to resolve the country's multiple crises
and was even disparagingly called the "Six-Mile Rangoon Government"
because various rebel groups controlled the suburbs of the capital,
Rangoon.

U Nu, modeling himself after Burmese kings of the past, attempted to
establish himself as a patron of Buddhism, but he never managed to make
his ideal compatible with the daily realities of politics. His
authoritarian and capricious leadership failed to lay the foundation for
sustainable democracy.

"The appreciation and practice of parliamentary democracy in U Nu's era
was superficial," said Dr Aung Kin, a Burmese historian and well-known
radio pundit. "U Nu's willingness to give up the parliamentary government
to Ne Win's caretaker regime in 1958 paved the way for the military to
usurp political power forever."

When the military staged a coup in 1962, it nullified parliamentary
democracy and vowed "to transform the society to socialism." However, Ne
Win's Burma Socialist Programme Party simply fueled an already faltering
situation. His idea of mixing Marxist, Buddhist and nationalist principles
was an idiosyncratic mess, forcing the country to retreat into
international isolation. The abject poverty and political repression of
the BSPP eventually broke the tolerance of the Burmese public and a
popular uprising calling for democracy broke out in 1988. The army
responded with a massive slaughter of protesters and staged another coup
d’etat. Gross violations of human rights have continued unabated ever
since.

However, democracy as a renewed ideal was born. The opposition National
League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory in
1990’s multi-party elections. The opposition elite aimed for the absolute
maximum—the full transfer of power to the elected party. However, perhaps
similar to the CPB and KNU before them, they walked away with the absolute
minimum of gains—and the continuation of military rule in a failing state.

Instead of treating elections in a post-conflict society as a guide to
power-sharing, the opposition leaders, who held lofty confidence in their
public support and democratic ideals in the immediate aftermath of the
election victory, viewed it as a means of determining winners and losers.

"Political immaturity within the Burmese opposition derives from a lack of
appreciation for power asymmetry," said Tin Maung Than. "We could not
strike a balance between power and principle."

All these crises—starting with independence and the ethnic autonomy
issue—remain unresolved. The socio-economic condition of the country is at
its lowest ebb in its post-1948 history. A humanitarian crisis is looming
and public discontent is at an all-time high. The prospect of national
reconciliation or even a breakthrough in the political deadlock remains
unlikely.

Following the 1988 military coup, U Nu—once the hero of independence and
first prime minister of the union—cynically voiced his regrets over
fighting for Burmese independence. Those bitter words he might have
uttered out of frustration and despair, but it in many ways they reflect
the 60-year history of post-independence Burma.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

January 4, Women's League of Burma
Statement on the 60th anniversary of Burma’s Independence Day

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Independence Day for Burma. However,
the people of Burma have not had a chance to enjoy the fruits of
independence. Instead, until today, most people in Burma have been
suffering from the military dictatorship’s oppression, unlawful acts,
brutality and militarized slavery.

Because of abuse of power by the military regime, currently called the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which has prioritized military
expansion above all else, Burma has become one of the poorest countries in
the world. Public health and education services have declined dramatically
and social, economic and political aspects of life in Burma have been
deteriorating.

The events in August-September last year provided clear evidence of the
atrocities that the military regime has been inflicting on the people of
Burma for decades. The world witnessed again brutal and violent crackdowns
on the peaceful monk-led demonstrations. To date, at least 100 women human
rights defenders who were at the forefront of the uprising are still in
detention and have reportedly been tortured by the regime. Other women
activists who played a leading role in organizing the peaceful protests
have been on the run, away from their families, because the regime has
branded them as agitators and terrorists and has been hunting them down.

In order to achieve long-lasting peace in Burma, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has
repeatedly invited SPDC for dialogue, as well as the UN and the
international community. However, the SPDC has continued to refuse to
engage in meaningful dialogue, which is vital for a
political settlement. SPDC has merely let UN Special Envoy Mr. Gambari and
UN Special
Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma Mr. Pinheiro visit the country. And
now the SPDC is boldly challenging not only the people of Burma but also
the UN and international community with their usual cosmetic gestures.

Therefore we, the WLB, reiterate our calls to the international community
and the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki Moon to maintain their increased
pressure on SPDC to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all
political prisoners, including women human rights defenders so that the
process of tripartite dialogue can begin, and facilitate a mission of
inquiry by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women to Burma,
so that women activists will be able to reunite speedily with their
children and other family members, with guarantees of safety. Moreover, we
would like to call on ASEAN members to pressure the Burmese regime, which
has been tarnishing the image of ASEAN, and follow the lead of the
Philippines, which stated that it would not sign the ASEAN Charter until
the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The WLB will continue to work for the realization of genuine independence
so that all people in Burma can be free from half a century of militarized
slavery. WLB will also intensify efforts to work strategically with other
political forces, and the people of Burma, for the realization of
independence and freedom in Burma.

Media contact: Nang Yain + 66 89 851 4660
Mary + 66 87 184 0627
Thin Thin Aung +91 98 912 52316