BurmaNet News, January 31, 2008

[Editor]

January 31, 2008 Issue # 3392

INSIDE BURMA
IPS: Junta has no plans for political change - Suu Kyi
AP: Media group: Myanmar junta steps up policing of Internet, arrests blogger
Irrawaddy: Unimportant topics take up all the time, says Suu Kyi
DVB: NLD member beaten during interrogation
DVB: Detained poet denied visits and parcels
Xinhua: FAO to aid Myanmar farming project

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: KNU breakaway group’s son-in-law assassinated

BUSINESS / TRADE
Kaladan News: Nasaka area commander becomes a millionaire

HEALTH / AIDS
DVB: Skin disease causes school closures in Mae Sai

INTERNATIONAL
UN: Some 250,000 children worldwide recruited to fight in wars – UN official
AsiaNews: From Burma, harsh criticism of the EU policy on Myanmar
AFP: Myanmar's crackdown deadlier than junta admits: HRW
Irrawaddy: US demands “time-bound dialogue” in Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Prepare for the worst, not the best [Editorial]
Mizzima News: Of hope and moral politics - Christopher Smith

PRESS RELEASE
AAPP: Number of political prisoners increases in 2007; Crackdown in Burma
continues
International Crisis Group: Burma/Myanmar: After the crackdown

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 31, Inter Press Service
Junta has no plans for political change - Suu Kyi - Marwaan Macan-Markar

Burma’s pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, turned a rare moment of
freedom in the military-ruled country, this week, to urge Asian
governments not to be lulled into believing the junta’s promises of
political change.

Aung San Suu Kyi is ‘’not satisfied’’ with the meetings she has had with
the junta’s liaison officer, labour minister Aung Kyi, to resolve the
country’s current political crisis, the spokesman of her political party,
the National League for Democracy (NLD), was quoted as having told
reporters in Rangoon on Wednesday.

Most worrying to Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi is ‘’the lack of any time
frame’’ in the mediation talks, said Nyan Win, the NLD’s spokesman. ‘’We
should hope for the best and prepare for the worst,’’ he quoted her as
having said when Suu Kyi met leaders of the NLD at a military guest house
in the country’s former capital.

Suu Kyi’s meeting with her party’s executives was a rare moment of freedom
afforded to her by the junta, which has kept her under house arrest for
more than 12 of the past 18 years. This meeting followed the one she had
with NLD leaders last November, which was the first encounter she had had
with them in over three years.

Suu Kyi’s meetings with Aung Kyi was the result of international pressure
on the junta following its brutal crackdown of peaceful demonstrations
last September in the country where, according to the United Nations, at
least 31 people were killed. The two have met on five occasions, the last
of which was this month.

This week’s tone of the pro-democracy leader, whose party triumphed at a
1990 general elections that the junta has refused to recognise, was a
departure from the message she had conveyed to the public about her
encounters with the military regime’s minister in November. Then she had
welcomed the talks as a constructive development.

‘’No one can misinterpret what she has said, least of all countries like
China, India, Japan and Burma’s neighbours in South-east Asia,’’ says
Debbie Stothard of ALTSEAN, a regional human rights lobby campaigning for
change in Burma. ‘’These Asian countries were prepared to give the junta a
chance for change after the crackdown and were willing to be more
conciliatory than Western governments.’’

But now, Suu Kyi has exposed the game the junta is trying to play by
‘’offering very little substance in the talks, yet trying to drag it on to
give the appearance that they are serious about the negotiations,’’ she
explained in an interview. ‘’It is a very courageous move by Aung San Suu
Kyi to speak her mind this week, for she risks more years of solitary
confinement and being cut off from meetings with her party.’’

‘’If the military is serious about having meaningful talks, it could have
started it in November. It is up to the junta to initiate the negotiations
with a timeline in mind,’’ Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National
Coalition Government for the Union of Burma (NCGUB), the Burmese
government in exile, told IPS. ‘’Aung San Suu Kyi knows that the people
are suffering and she did not want to give false hopes that the talks with
the junta were going well.’’

China, India and Burma’s neighbours in the Association of South-east Asian
Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member regional bloc, were more restrained in
cracking the whip at the junta unlike the governments in Europe, the
United States and Britain. The latter introduced harsher sanctions on the
junta, in addition to tough rhetoric calling for change, after the
suppression of last September’s pro-democracy protests, led by Buddhist
monks.

Where all countries reached common ground, however, was to pressure the
junta to permit U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to visit the country to
meet Suu Kyi and Burma’s strongman, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. Gambari has
visited the South-east Asian nation twice since the crackdown, but he has
been denied an entry visa for a third visit.

The junta’s commitment to engage with the United Nations has been
undermined on another front, too. The military leaders have gone against
their word made last year to stop arresting political activists in the
country for their roles -- however minor -- in the September protests. The
global rights lobby Amnesty International revealed this month that the
Burmese government has arrested 96 political activists since the beginning
of November 2007.

‘’U.N. Special Representative Ibrahim Gambari was told in early November
by (Burmese) Prime Minister Thein Sein that arrests had stopped and that
no more would take place,’’ said Amnesty. ‘’The new arrests in December
and January target people who have attempted to send evidence of the
crackdown to the international community, clearly showing that the
government’s chief priority is to silence its citizens.’’

Last September’s protests arose after the junta, notorious for its
suppression, raised the price of oil by 500 percent overnight in
mid-August. The demonstrations on the streets of Rangoon and elsewhere
were the largest against the junta in nearly two decades. Such outpouring
of rage occurred just as the military was trying to win international
support over its commitment towards political reform by advancing a
seven-step ‘’roadmap to democracy’’.

This blueprint for political change -- including free elections -- has not
spelled out a time-frame, leading analysts to say that it is another
attempt by the junta to lull the international community in believing that
it is for reform when, in reality, the reverse is true. It is a view
fuelled by the military hardliners who have had a grip on power since
1962, when the army grabbed power in a coup.

‘’As long as Than Shwe is in charge, I cannot see any reconciliation
between the military and Aung San Suu Kyi,’’ says Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese
political analyst, living in exile in Thailand. ‘’He has been trying to
sideline her, and the latest strategy is to use the roadmap to democracy
and the new constitution to achieve that objective.’’

It is a move, however, that has backfired, as have the talks the junta
agreed to hold with Suu Kyi, he added in an interview. ‘’Than Shwe now has
very little options to manouvre, since he doesn’t want to give up power
and he has no interest in talking to Aung San Suu Kyi.’’

____________________________________

January 31, Associated Press
Media group: Myanmar junta steps up policing of Internet, arrests blogger

Myanmar's junta has stepped up surveillance of the Internet, arresting one
blogger who wrote about the stifling of free expression in the
military-ruled nation, a media advocacy group said.

The blogger, Nay Myo Latt, was taken into custody in Yangon on Wednesday
after writing about the suppression of freedoms following last fall's
crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations, Reporters Without Borders said.

Despite international condemnation and pressure following the
demonstrations, there is little evidence that the junta is easing its
repressive rule or moving closer to reconciliation with pro-democracy
forces led by Suu Kyi.

The arrested blogger, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, owns three Internet cafes, Paris-based Reporters Without
Borders said in a release seen Thursday.

Myanmar authorities have stepped up their surveillance of the Internet
since the beginning of the month, pressuring Internet cafe owners to
register personal details of all users and to program screen captures
every five minutes on each computer, the release said.

This data apparently is sent to the Ministry of Communications, it said.

The only blog platform that had been accessible within Myanmar, the
Google-owned Blogger, has been blocked by the regime since Jan. 23,
preventing bloggers from posting entries unless they use proxies or other
ways to get around censorship, the group said.

"This blockage is one of the ways used by the government to reduce Burmese
citizens to silence. Burma is in danger of being cut off from the rest of
the world again," the statement said.

Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, Wednesday warned the public to
"hope for the best and prepare for the worst" in her country.

The democracy icon was allowed to meet with executives of her National
League for Democracy party, who afterward voiced her unhappiness that
there is no deadline for talks to bring about democratic reform.

____________________________________

January 31, Irrawaddy
Unimportant topics take up all the time, Says Suu Kyi - Wai Moe

In the reconciliation talks between Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and the junta’s liaison officer, Aung Kyi, most of the time is taken
up on trivial subjects, according to sources in the National League of
Democracy.

Senior members of the NLD who asked for anonymity told The Irrawaddy on
Thursday that sometimes an hour- long meeting is filled up with
explanations and questions, such as “What is cooperation?” and “What is
collaboration?” by the junta liaison officer, Suu Kyi told a group of NLD
members whom she met with on Wednesday just prior to her fifth meeting
with Aung Kyi.

Suu Kyi said she has spoken to Aung Kyi about important issues, and he
replies that he will report her remarks to top officials and then a month
goes by with no discussions, NLD sources said.

Suu Kyi told her colleagues that Aung Kyi told her to endorse the regime’s
“seven-step road map” to democracy because it’s the foundation of the
junta’s plan for the country.

Instead, Suu Kyi suggested an inclusive reconciliation process that
includes participation by ethnic group leaders in any talks about the
country’s future.

“She [Suu Kyi] is not pleased with the talks,” said an NLD member. “She
does not mean the process is hopeless, but it is being drawn out and
prolonged.”

Suu Kyi’s request to meet with the head of the military junta, Snr-Gen
Than Shwe, has received no response from the junta, and the talks are
proceeding without a time frame.

Suu Kyi said she does not want to give false hope to the people of Burma,
but in such conditions something positive could happen.

On Wednesday, she said she recalled her father Aung San’s famous remark
before he held talks with the British government in London during the
pre-independence period, “Let’s hope for the best, but prepare for the
worst.”

A veteran journalist in Rangoon, Sein Hla Oo, commenting on the talks,
said, “She [Suu Kyi] is not satisfied with the process. She thinks
meaningful dialogue is very important for the country, but others think it
is not important.”

Suu Kyi reportedly told her NLD colleagues to move forward without her,
said the source. Sometimes she can lead the party; sometimes she will
follow others’ leadership within the party, he said.

She suggested that sometimes the party needs to push and sometime it needs
to pull, and if it is necessary, everyone needs to give up everything, he
said.

He said she asked authorities to allow NLD deputy leader Tin Oo to
participate in the meeting on Wednesday, but the authorities rejected the
proposal.

____________________________________

January 31, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD member beaten during interrogation

A Magwe division National League for Democracy member who was arrested on
11 January said that he suffered beatings and ill-treatment during his
four-day interrogation.

Ko Ow Wai said he was arrested on Rangoon’s 46th street on 11 January, and
was blindfolded and taken to Yay Kyi Ai interrogation centre in Insein
township where he was questioned for four days.

“They hit me with chairs and made me do press-ups on my fists, and they
hit me around the ears, on my buttocks, my arms and also on my head,” Ow
Wai said, adding that he had also been hit with tree branches.

“They yelled at me: ‘Tell the truth!’, and made me kneel down on pebbles
with my hands on the back of my head while someone ran at me and kneed me
in the chest,” he continued.

“I am still in pain now.”

After that, Ow Wai was sent to Insein prison for further interrogation
before being released on 21 January.

But on 29 January, military intelligence officials came to the house he
was renting near Yuzana plaza on 15th street and arrested Ow Wai again.

“[The military intelligence officials] took me to their office near Yauk
Kaw bus stop and asked me all the same questions I had been asked before,”
Ow Wai said.

“I told them I had only just been released by the other officials on 21
January, but they told me to leave Rangoon within 24 hours or they would
arrest me again.”

They also told him that if he remained in Rangoon they would make things
difficult for the owner of the house he was renting under the guest
registration laws.

Ow Wai said his interrogators asked him about a letter he had circulated
in November last year which said that the Burmese regime was planning to
poison detained NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

“During interrogation, they asked if I really believed what the letter
said,” Ow Wai said.

“I told them that I didn’t really care if it was true or not, but as Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi is such an important figure in our country’s politics I
don’t want her to come to any harm,” he said.

“That’s why I demanded that she have a medical examination [to see if the
accusations were true].”

Ow Wai was arrested along with labour rights activist Su Su Nway in August
last year during protests against fuel price hikes, and suffered a broken
leg during his arrest.

____________________________________

January 31, Democratic Voice of Burma
Detained poet denied visits and parcels

Prison authorities have received an order stating that a poet who was
arrested on 22 January for writing a controversial poem can no longer
receive visits or parcels from his family, the poet’s wife said.

Saw Wai was arrested after a poem he wrote with a hidden message that read
“megalomaniac Than Shwe” was published in a weekly journal.

His wife, Ma Nan San San Aye, said that she received a telephone call from
an official at Insein prison at around 4pm on 29 January telling her she
could not visit Saw Wai.

“The official said he had been banned from receiving family visits, but
that the family could still send him things.”

But when Ma Nan San San Aye went to the prison the next day to give him
some items, officials showed her an order letter which said Saw Wai would
not be allowed to receive family visits or packages after 29 January.

“I just wanted to give him some blankets and mosquito nets,” Ma Nan San
San Aye said.

Ma Nan San San Aye said that she had not had any contact with her husband
since speaking to him on the telephone on the day of his arrest, and she
has heard nothing about him from the authorities.

____________________________________

January 31, Xinhua General News Service
FAO to aid Myanmar farming project

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will aid
Myanmar's milch cow farming project under a new memorandum of
understanding (MoU) reached recently between the U.N. organization and the
Myanmar livestock authorities, official media reported Thursday.

The MoU on the implementation of the project was signed by FAO Resident
Representative Tang Zhengping and Director-General of the Livestock
Breeding and Veterinary Department U Maung Maung Nyunt in the new capital
of Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday, said the New Light of Myanmar daily.

The report did not disclose the location of the project and more details.

Other local sources said the project in Nay Pyi Taw, the biggest of its
kind, covers breeding of 20,000 milk cows, 100,000 ducks and one million
chickens.

The signing followed the discussions between Tang and Myannmar Minister of
Livestock and Breeding and Fisheries Brigadier-General Maung Maung Thein
on the development of livestock and fisheries sector in Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Myanmar and Malaysia are also planning to cooperate in the
sector of livestock breeding by setting up more prospective cattle
breeding zones in Myeik, the country's southern port city in Tanintharyi
division.

Related officials of the two sides have met on animal health and disease
control measures, breeding of dairy and beef cattle, sheep and goats, and
plan of cooperation in production of feedstuff, formalities for export of
sheep and goats to Malaysia, establishment of breeding farms and export of
mythum and flesh to the Southeast Asian nation, earlier official report
said.

Myanmar has projected to export annually one million of sheep and goat in
the next five years offering breeders across the country financial help to
encourage them to realize the set target, according to the department
which said granting of bank loan for breeding cattle represents one of the
measures taken by the ministry for the move.

Cattle are mainly bred in the country's three divisions and states of
Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway, and buyers are expected to mainly come from
Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Bangladesh.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 31, Irrawaddy
KNU breakaway group’s son-in-law assassinated - Shah Paung

The son-in-law of the head of an ethnic Karen breakaway group has been
assassinated in a bomb attack, according to sources on the Thai-Burmese
border.

The sources said that Colonel Ler Moo, son-in-law of Maj-Gen Htain Maung,
head of the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, which broke away from the Karen
National Union (KNU), was killed while sleeping at a communications office
near the group’s headquarters.

Ler Moo survived an assassination attempt in early April 2007, while
crossing by boat from Burma to Thailand’s Tak Province.  He was injured
and recovered after hospital treatment.

Sources believe Ler Moo was killed because of his timber business
dealings. He once controlled illegal logging in the KNU Brigade 7 areas,
in Pa-an Township of Karen State, with the influential support of his
father-in-law.

Htain Maung was formerly head of the KNU Brigade 7, with the rank of
Brig-Gen. He was dismissed in February 2007 after meeting with the
governing State Peace and Development Council in defiance of the KNU.

Htain Maung then formed a breakaway group, the KNU/KNLA Peace Council,
which—together with another splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist
Army (DKBA)—came under frequent attack by the KNU Brigade 7.

In August 2007, a commander of the 18th Battalion of the Karen National
Liberation Army, the armed wing of the KNU, was shot dead when returning
from a meeting with Burmese government officials.

DKBA sources said the commander, Lt-Col Kyi Linn, was shot while crossing
the Haungthayaw River in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, by boat, after
meeting government officials and other Karen ceasefire groups, including
the DKBA. There has been no official confirmation of the incident by the
KNU.

Like Col Ler Moo, Kyi Linn was also involved in the logging industry, in
the KNU Brigade 7 areas of Kawkareik Township, and sources said his death
was also probably connected with his business dealings.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 31, Kaladan News
Nasaka area commander becomes a millionaire

Maungdaw, Arakan State : A Nasaka commander Captain Aung Tun Myint of
Nasaka area No.7 has become a millionaire after collecting money from
villagers illegally, said a close aide of the Burma ’s border security
forces, or Nasaka.

The commander was transferred to Nasaka area No.7 from Nasaka area No.4 in
Maungdaw Township on April 2007. After his transfer the commander started
persecuting villagers. He arrested the villagers on allegations of
crossing the border, illegal marriage and holding illegal Bangladeshi
mobile phones among other charges.

The Nasaka area No. 7 comprises six village tracts the Pa Dinn, Du-Nyaung
Pin Gyi,  Du-Chee Yar Tan,  Gaw  Dhu Thar Ya, ,  Bag Gona, and Pan Daw
Pyin.

Frequently, the captain accompanied by other Nasaka personnel went to
villages, surrounded it at midnight and searched house.  They searched for
illegal marriages, guest lists, family members, who had gone out of the
out the house temporarily, checked the livestock list, mobile phones and
property list. If they found any mistakes, they arrested the villagers and
brought them to their camp and detained them. They released the persons
who paid money and sent to jail those who were unable to pay, said one of
the villagers who requested anonymity.

The commander charged Kyat 500,000 to 2 million from men who were
arrested. For instance, a man was arrested illegally on suspicion of
having a Bangladeshi mobile phone.  But he had no mobile phone. He was
compelled to bring a mobile phone from Bangladesh and was released after
paying kyat 500,000. In this way, the commander collected a huge amount of
money from villagers.

Besides, about 200 children were born in Nasaka area No. 7 from parents
who didn't have marriage permits from the authorities. The commander also
collected Kyat 50,000 to 200,000 from such couples.  Some couples unable
to pay were sent to jail for six years.

The commander collected Kyat 20 crore from his area. Last year, he visited
Rangoon three times and took his money there. He also sent money to
Rangoon through his agent. Mostly he bought gold from Bangladesh and
transferred it to Rangoon , said a close aide of the captain.

However, the commander was transferred to Nasaka area No.5 from Nasaka
area No. 7 a week ago.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 31, Democracy Voice of Burma
Skin disease causes school closures in Mae Sai

A skin disease affecting children in the Thai border town of Mae Sai,
across from Tachilek in Burma, has caused 15 schools to close temporarily,
parents said.

Children who contracted the disease developed high fever and a skin rash
on their faces and limbs.

One Burmese migrant worker whose child was affected said that the Thai
authorities had taken steps to contain the disease.

“My baby is suffering from a very high body temperature that never goes
down, and he has rashes on his arm and around his mouth,” she said.

“All the schools have been closed down and government officials have
sterilised the buildings, but they are still closed at the moment.”

There are around 1000 Burmese migrants’ children enrolled in the 15
nursery and primary schools in Mae Sai.

Another parent said the preventive measures meant that the children would
now have to eat their meals at home.

“The schools in Mae Sai usually provide meals and water for the pupils,
but now parents have been advised to prepare their own food for their
children, as all the equipment in the school is being sterilised,” she
said.

A doctor from Mae Sai hospital said the action taken by the Thai
authorities seemed to have contained the disease.

“It is true that there has been an outbreak of this skin disease in Mae
Sai, but we have taken all the necessary measures and prevented it from
spreading any further. There is no need to worry now,” the doctor said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 30, UN News Centre
Some 250,000 children worldwide recruited to fight in wars – UN official

While precise estimates are difficult to come by, some 250,000 children
globally are being recruited to fight in armed conflicts in violation of
international law, a United Nations official said today, reporting mixed
progress in efforts to tackle the problem.

Briefing reporters in New York on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest
report on children and armed conflict, his Special Representative on the
issue, Radhika Coomaraswamy, voiced hope that the Security Council would
take decisive action in response to its findings.

Children are being recruited by groups in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the
Central African Republic, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and
Uganda, according to the report.

But there have been no recent cases of child recruitment in Côte d’Ivoire,
where the parties are taking measures to identify and release affected
children for rehabilitation. Sierra Leone and Liberia, which used to have
a prevalence of child soldiers, are also no longer contained in the
report’s annexes, which Ms. Coomaraswamy said collectively amount to a
“list of shame.”

The report draws attention to disturbing trends exacerbating the problem
of child conscription, including a close link between camps for internally
displaced persons (IDPs) and the recruitment of children. “Research shows
recruitment goes down if the camps have good security,” the Special
Representative said.

She also voiced concern about cross-border movements with regard to child
recruitment in places such as Sudan and Chad, as well as the detention of
children in Burundi, Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, she called attacks
on schools, buildings and teachers a “serious new phenomenon” affecting
Afghanistan, Iraq and Thailand.

The Special Rapporteur welcomed legal precedents for ending impunity,
including the issue of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court
(ICC) for five senior members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)
operating in Uganda. The rebel group is notorious for recruiting and
otherwise exploiting children.

Ms. Coomaraswamy said she will push for action in the Security Council,
which is expected to discuss the report on children and armed conflict on
12 February. She said the Council should adopt “either a resolution or
presidential statement” on the issue. Among other measures, she called for
expanding the “list of shame” to include groups responsible for all manner
of violations against children, or at least sexual violence.

____________________________________

January 31, AsiaNews

>From Burma, harsh criticism of the EU policy on Myanmar


A long editorial from the news agency Mizzima accuses the official Fassino
of carrying out a "megaphone diplomacy" composed of nothing but press
conferences and rhetoric, and says the only result has been to make the
junta more unyielding. The EU and the UN are now the only organisations
that still believe they can have success with the generals. Aung San Suu
Kyi warns: talks with the junta can lead only to false hope.

The "megaphone diplomacy" conducted by the EU official for Myanmar, Piero
Fassino, conceals only "his need to create an image of genuine
engagement", aimed at "justifying his role as the EU representative". 
This is the harsh criticism contained in the long editorial published
yesterday by Mizzima News, an agency with ties to the Burmese opposition. 
The article expresses the frustration of the population and of local
experts, who are tired of hearing nothing but words and seeing nothing but
press conferences voicing good intentions at the end of the various
missions of the UN and the EU in the area. Both of these international
organisms have always viewed as a somewhat positive development the
junta's cooperation in opening talks following the repression of the
demonstrations by Buddhist monks last year.  But all of the initiatives
promised by the generals have been nothing but a facade, nothing but
window dressing.

Aung San Suu Kyi herself, the leader of the democratic opposition, has
expressed her distrust in this regard, and has urged people to "hope for
the best and prepare for the worst".  This was related by her fellow party
members, the National League for Democracy (NLD), after the generals
yesterday permitted her to speak with them.  The spokesman of the NLD,
Nyan Win, said that Suu Kyi is concerned that the 90 minutes of talks
conducted yesterday will give rise only to "false hope". Aung Kyi, the
labour minister and the junta's official for relations with the democratic
representatives, has met with Suu Kyi four times since last September. Suu
Kyi has highlighted the necessity of including in the talks the
representatives of the various ethnic groups that have been fighting for
autonomy for decades.  But she has said she has been frustrated by the
lack of discussion with the junta on the crucial question of political
reforms.

In recent days, Fassino has gone on a new Asian tour to obtain the
collaboration of the regional governments for a solution of the Burmese
crisis.  Last January 29, he met with the outgoing Thai foreign minister,
Nitya Pibulsonggram. And in the press conference following this, he
repeated that if the junta does  not cooperate, the European Union will
consider heavier sanctions.  It therefore seems that the European Union is
the only one still hoping that the policy of "carrots and sticks"
(sanctions and humanitarian aid) will work with the generals, Mizzima News
comments.  The agency charges that the EU "lacks a coherent strategy, and
the awareness that over the past 20 years all of the international
attempts to bring changes to Myanmar have failed".  The editorialist,
Larry Jagan, cites a former high official of the Burmese intelligence
service, major general  Kyaw Win, who used to say, "The international
community must understand that we hate megaphone diplomacy, and that this
will not persuade us to do anything".

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11400&size=A#
____________________________________

January 31, Agence France Presse
Myanmar's crackdown deadlier than junta admits: HRW

About 100 people were killed when Myanmar's military government quashed
anti-government protests in September, far higher than the 15 dead
reported by the junta, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Several hundred people are still believed to be jailed over the protests,
in addition to the 1,100 political prisoners already locked away in
Myanmar, the New York-based group said in its annual report.

The protests led by Buddhist monks were the biggest challenge to military
rule in nearly two decades.

Outrage over the crackdown prompted Myanmar to allow UN special envoy
Ibrahim Gambari to make two visits to the country, where he was allowed to
meet with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and senior
military leaders.

But the report said the junta "made no concessions to international
condemnation... condemning foreign interference in Burma, and blaming
unrest on foreign media reports and exile radio broadcasts inciting
protests."

Meanwhile, the military government has continued to commit gross rights
abuses across the country, the report said.

The military actively recruits child soldiers, sometimes as young as 10,
who make up 30 percent of new recruits in some camps, it said.

Rape, forced labour, summary executions and land grabs remain widespread
in ethnic minority regions were rebel armies have fought the junta for
decades in one of the world's longest-running civil wars, the group said.

The army continues to force villagers to act as human mine sweepers in
border areas, where 500,000 people have been displaced by fighting, it
added.

Despite international condemnation, the report noted the junta's revenues
are booming from natural gas exports, mainly to Asian countries. The
regime earned 2.16 billion dollars last year from two gas fields, it said.

____________________________________

January 31, Irrawaddy
US demands “time-bound dialogue” in Burma - Lalit K Jha

A US White House spokesman said on Wednesday the Bush administration was
disappointed to hear that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had
reported that no progress towards a “time-bound dialogue” had been
achieved in her meetings with a regime mediator.

Suu Kyi made the assessment in a rare meeting on Wednesday with other
leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD), whose spokesman, Nyan
Win, quoted her as saying: “Let's hope for the best and prepare for the
worst.”

Talking to reporters aboard the presidential aircraft carrying President
George W Bush to Los Angeles on Wednesday, White House Spokesman Tony
Fratto said the US administration was disappointed to hear there had been
no progress yet “on a meaningful time-bound dialogue.” He said the regime
had “refused to offer any time frame for commencement of a dialogue”—and
added: “We once again call on the regime, as called for in the October
11th [2007] UN Security Council Presidential Statement, to begin a
time-bound dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all relevant parties,
including ethnic minorities, immediately.”

In his brief remarks to reporters, Fratto appeared to indicate that the US
has had some communication with Suu Kyi, but this was denied later by
another top Bush administration official.

“We are pleased to have heard from Aung San Suu Kyi, herself,” Fratto
said. When asked by White House reporters if this meant that someone in
the US government had heard from her, Fratto said: “As I understand, the
US government has heard from her.  I don't know who; I'll try to find out
for you.”

Later, US National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe clarified
that by this Fratto meant the entire world.

"We all heard from her spokesman who met with her, and relayed a message
to the world from her," Johndroe said.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 31, Irrawaddy
Prepare for the worst, not the best [Editorial]

On Wednesday, we heard clearly the frustration felt by Burma's opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi about the way her talks with the regime’s mediator
are going.

Suu Kyi was allowed to meet with senior members of her party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), for about 90 minutes. After the meeting, the
party’s spokesman, Nyan Win, quoted her as saying: “Let’s hope for the
best and prepare for the worst."

The NLD spokesman said Suu Kyi was particularly frustrated at the
government's refusal to set a time frame for reforms and at the junta's
current position that political change should wait until the so-called
road map to democracy is completed.

It was easy to predict that junta-sponsored rounds of talks would end up
with this kind of result. Many observers believed the talks were
meaningless, and furthermore that this is what the military intended—a
pretence of goodwill to ease the political pressure from inside the
country and abroad.

In September last year, the junta brutally suppressed the biggest
pro-democracy protests in two decades.  Then, the junta appointed Labor
Minister Aung Kyi as a "relations minister" to represent the military
government in preliminary talks with the Nobel Peace Prize winner,
following repeated calls for a dialogue by the September protesters and
the international community.

Instead of heeding the frustration and anger of the pro-democracy
activists, the junta reacted by raiding homes, arresting opposition
members and hunting down those who fled. Latest reports say the
authorities have charged several political prisoners who took part in the
September uprising and that some were tortured and beaten while in police
custody.

Although UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari has toured extensively in the
region in an attempt to push Burma's neighbors to help achieve national
reconciliation in Burma, the process is going nowhere. Even a request by
Burma's closest ally, China, to allow Gambari to return to Burma was met
with prevarication by the hard-headed Burmese generals.

After years of disappointment and sacrifice, patience is running out with
the Burmese military government and its foot-dragging over moves toward
democratization. All involved in the Burma issue are aware that if the
Burmese regime continues with its present attitude and policy, havoc could
result.

Britain's ambassador to Burma has said the mood there is angry and he has
predicted more demonstrations. Some observers think they may erupt in
August, coinciding both with the 20th anniversary of the 1988 student-led
uprising and with the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

____________________________________

January 31, Mizzima News
Of hope and moral politics - Christopher Smith

Hope and morality have their place. And adherence to such principles is
without question a virtuous stand. But, much as it may be wished, politics
is a domain in which hope and morality do not necessarily translate into
policy.

Having witnessed what transpired on the streets of Rangoon in September,
having experienced the hospitality of impoverished village communities,
having come into contact with personal sagas of love and country lost –
change in Burma, so much needed and deserved, demands tough decisions be
made; decisions made with an aim to proactively address the situation on
the streets and in the fields of the country.

"Let's hope for the best and prepare for the worst", was reportedly the
message from Burma's long detained and inspirational leader, Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi, after a rare meeting with other leaders of her National League
for Democracy party yesterday. The Burmese people deserve more than hope,
they need ideas and actions to move Burma forward. They should be laying
the groundwork in preparation for a better day, not having to ready
themselves to undergo additional hardship. A broad spectrum of Burmese
society, if hearing these words, must be thinking to themselves: "Haven't
we been doing this for decades now already?"

The United States, after first expressing unbelievable surprise that talks
between Burma's military junta and opposition were not proceeding well,
reiterated the standard line: "We once again call on the regime
to begin a
time-bound dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all relevant parties,
including ethnic minorities, immediately," White House spokesperson Tony
Fratto told reporters yesterday.

This is essentially the same mantra that the European Envoy to Burma is
currently on tour pounding out ad infinitum to leaders of Asian countries.

The NLD, United States, European Union, a sea of rights and activists
groups are all justifiably "dissatisfied" with the current advances, or
lack thereof, in all party talks. But instead of hoping that the regime
will suddenly awake from a near 50 year slumber and embrace all that is
"right" and "good", initiatives must be undertaken to address the ground
reality. If the current approach in unsatisfactory, then change tactics.

Big, tough decisions may have to be made – by everyone; decisions that
fall short, possibly well short, of an ideal. Yet, if tomorrow is going to
be better and not worse than today, such decisions are not made in defeat.

The International Crisis Group released a detailed report last year on the
moribund political crisis in Zimbabwe – a crisis that the Burmese quagmire
considerably dwarves on the question of longevity. The report concluded
that in order to break the downward spiral and put the country on a road
forward, otherwise morally questioned options may have to be considered.
Such policies included assurance to the current government that their
personal wealth would not be affected as well as protection against
certain legal action.

This need not necessarily be part of the "stimulus package" to turn Burma
around. But it is imperative that new ideas are brought forth, by all
parties to the crisis; new ideas running the entire gamut of hope and
morality.

In the words of Isaac Asimov: "Never let your sense of morals get in the
way of doing what's right."

Are we content to let another round of protests end in bloodshed? Will
children of Burma be allowed to continue to die from curable diseases? Is
the appeal of Rambo that it offers hope, or that it delivers an
alternative storyline?

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 31, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Number of political prisoners increases in 2007; Crackdown in Burma continues

With the crackdown on nationwide demonstrations in September, the number
of political prisoners in Burma increased in the year 2007. There are
currently at least 1864 political prisoners in Burma, not including all
cases of detention since the crackdown. This is 706 more political
prisoners than there were in 2006. See www.aappb.org for full detail.

Those detained after the September 2007 demonstrations in Burma faced
torture and ill-treatment while held in detention centers. Some of the
detention centers used after the demonstrations were not actually
detention centers, but rather educational facilities and stadiums. The
AAPP has identified the following locations as detention centers holding a
large number of detainees:

- Government Technology College (GTC) in Insein Township,
- Police Centre No. 7 in Thanyin Township,
- Aung Tha Paye in Mayangone Township,
- Riot Police No. 5 in Hmawbe Township,
- Plate Myot Police Centre in Mandalay,
- Kyaik Ka San Interrogation Centre, Tamwe Township,
- Kabaraye Tharthana Yeiktha –Religious site in Bahan Township
- Yakyi Ai in Mingaladone

According to activists interviewed by the media after their release from
detention, detainees were not allowed enough drinking water or food while
in detention. Proper bedding and blankets were not provided and detainees
were kept in overcrowded and poorly ventilated facilities. During this
time, detainees were tortured by being forced to lie face down on the
ground while answering questions. In one case, two detainees were made to
slap each other’s face repeatedly both as a means of humiliation and
torture.

Those monks arrested after the September 2007 demonstrations were forcibly
disrobed and made to wear soiled civilian clothes. Several monks were
severely beaten, kicked and hit. No exception was made for the monks in
regards to the amount or severity of torture they endured in detention.

While in detention, many detainees were denied access to proper medical
care. As in the prisons, guards often accepted bribes in exchange for
permission to see a doctor. The lack of medical treatment is cause for
concern. In 2007, the AAPP documented the deaths of at least 30 prisoners
(non-political) in Taungoo prison alone. Many died as a result of
tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS acquired in the prison.

HIV/AIDS patients in prison are not provided with the proper medications,
nor are those who fall ill due to TB or malaria. All political detainees
and prisoners in Burma face health problems which arise directly as a
result of their detention. Many of the detainees and prisoners have skin
diseases and suffer malnutrition. The health condition of political
prisoners and detainees seriously deteriorated in 2007

In Burma, nearly all activists are arrested without warrant and held for
varying lengths of time in incommunicado detention. They are denied access
to legal counsel and in most cases are unfairly tried and sentenced. Many
activists have been charged with criminal acts and sent to labor camps.
Those detained in the September 2007 protests still await their sentences
from a corrupt and unjust legal system.

All activists arrested undergo brutal interrogation before being detained.
Interrogations are conducted by the SB (Police Special Branch), CID
(Police Criminal Investigation Department) and divisional police. Many
activists have been interrogated by the Military Security Affairs
Department (MSAD) which has replaced the defunct Military Intelligence
(MI). The torture methods used during interrogation are more severe than
during detention.

A disturbing trend emerged in 2007 in the regime’s efforts to halt all
political opposition. In several cases, relatives of political activists
in hiding were arrested in order to force those activists to turn
themselves in to the authorities. The AAPP has documented five separate
cases:

- Thet Thet Aung was detained on October 19, 2007. Prior to her arrest,
her mother and mother-in-law were detained to force her to come out of
hiding.

- Ko Nyein Thit, a poet and former political prisoner, is still in hiding.
His wife, Khin Mar Lar, has been arrested.

- Thein Aye was arrested when Di Nyein Lin, a leader of All Burma
Federation of Students’ Union (ABFSU), evaded arrest. He had been staying
in Thein Aye’s house.

- U Pita and Daw Nu Nu Swe are the parents of Si Thu Maung, a leader of
the ABFSU. They have been arrested and detained in Insein prison.

- U Gambira, the head of the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) and a leader
of the September protests, was arrested in November. Before he was
arrested, the authorities arrested his father, U Min Lwin, and his
brother, Aung Kyaw Kyaw. His father has since been released, but his
brother remains in detention at Insein prison.

Despite the continuing arrests and inhuman detention conditions in which
political prisoners are held, the international community has made little
progress in addressing the oppression and suffering of the Burmese people.
The visits of both the UN special envoy to Burma, Mr. Gambari, and the UN
Special Rapportuer on Human Rights in Burma, Mr. Pinheiro, failed to yield
any real results. Despite promises made by the regime to Mr. Gambari to
cease arrests, political activists continue to be hunted down, arrested,
detained and tortured. While the international community has turned its
attention to other matters, the crackdown in Burma continues.

The AAPP reiterates its call to release all political prisoners and to end
the torture and ill-treatment of those in detention.

For more information:

Ko Tate (+66) 81 2878 751
Bo Kyi (+66) 81 3248 935

____________________________________

January 31, International Crisis Group
Burma/Myanmar: After the crackdown

Yangon/Jakarta/Brussels: A three-level approach, drawing on the respective
strengths of the UN, the country’s neighbours and the wider international
community, is needed to promote change in Burma/Myanmar.

Burma/Myanmar: After the Crackdown,* the latest report from the
International Crisis Group, examines the implications of the mass protests
in September 2007 and their violent crushing, and proposes an approach to
resolve the crisis. While the military remains in firm charge, last year’s
events emphasised the depth of the political and economic problems. Even
regime allies recognise a new course is desperately needed.

“Myanmar’s neighbours, especially China and members of ASEAN, need to
seize the moment”, says John Virgoe, Crisis Group’s South East Asia
Project Director. “Regional multi-party talks – coordinated with the UN
Secretary-General’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, and backed by the
wider international community – hold out the best hope for launching a
meaningful process of national reconciliation and broader reform”.

“Indonesia could play a particularly important role, perhaps by hosting a
regional meeting along the lines of the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM)
which kick-started the Cambodia peace process in 1988 and 1989”, says
Crisis Group President Gareth Evans (who as then Australian Foreign
Minister was closely involved in that process).

While new opportunities for change exist, there are profound structural
obstacles. The balance of power is still heavily weighted in favour of the
army, whose top leaders insist that only a strongly centralised,
military-led state can hold the country together. Myanmar faces immense
challenges, too, in overcoming the debilitating legacy of decades of
conflict, poverty and institutional failure, which fuelled the recent
crisis and could well overwhelm any future government.

All international actors with some ability to influence the situation need
to become actively involved in working for change, including the emergence
of a broader, more inclusive, better organised political society. At the
core, Special Envoy Gambari plays a vital role promoting dialogue and
coordinating unprecedented international efforts. He deserves strong,
consistent international backing, including from Ban Ki-moon personally,
whose direct involvement in talks would be a powerful signal.

Others also have important roles. A working group of China and key ASEAN
members – possibly Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – should
draw on close ties to engage the government in talks about issues
affecting regional stability and development.
In parallel, a support group from the wider international community,
including the U.S., EU member states, Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway and
others, must keep human rights issues at the top of the agenda. More
effective sanctions targeting regime leaders are needed, coupled with
positive incentives for reform. So, too, is assistance for saving lives
and strengthening the future basis for successful transition to peace,
democracy and an effective economy.

Contacts: Andrew Stroehlein (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635
Kimberly Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1601
To contact Crisis Group media please click here
*Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org