BurmaNet News, March 5, 2008

[Editor]

March 5, 2008 Issue # 3415

INSIDE BURMA
The Straits Times: Suu Kyi's party fails in bid to sue Myanmar junta
Mizzima News: Ethnic leaders: No expectations for Gambari's visit
Irrawaddy: Junta increases pressure on media
Irrawaddy: Burmese women activists receive International Award
Mizzima News: Anti-referendum posters in Central Burma
DVB: NLD member loses sight due to lack of treatment

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy; Food transports for Karen IDPs halted
Bangkok Post: Security beef-up after cop shot

HEALTH / AIDS
MSF: In Myanmar, intimate HIV care is focus where isolation and rejection
is the norm

DRUGS
IMNA: Corrupt regime authorities aiding the spread of opium production in
Shan State
Inner City Press: On drugs, UN urges more government control, even in
Myanmar, dodges crack disparities

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Samak to visit Burma

INTERNATIONAL
IHT: UN Envoy returns Thursday to Myanmar on latest mission to coax
democratic reforms

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: USDA—The Regime’s Protégé - Wai Moe
Irrawaddy: How will you vote: Coke, or Pepsi? - Kyaw Zwa Moe
BBC News: India's Burma charm offensive - Jyoti Malhotra

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: Gambari visit last chance for UN Envoy to make progress in Burma

INTERVIEW
Mizzima News: The Price of Truth (Thet Wai – recently arrested activist
and NLD figure)
Reuters India: Myanmar's past key to changing its future

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 5, The Straits Times
Suu Kyi's party fails in bid to sue Myanmar junta

The pro-democracy party of Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi's said on Wednesday they had failed in a bid to sue the military
government for not recognising their 1990 election victory.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last polls held in Myanmar
by a landslide, but instead of letting them govern, the junta put Ms Aung
San Suu Kyi under house arrest and continued to rule with an iron fist.

'We went to the Supreme Court to sue the government, as they had failed in
their responsibility to summon the people's parliament,' NLD spokesman
Nyan Win said.

'But it was rejected, even through we went to the highest court.'

The party said in a statement that their chairman Aung Shwe went to the
Supreme Court on February 29 to make their case, but it was rejected the
same day without a hearing.

They had argued that the junta's own election laws enacted in 1989 stated
that an elected parliament should convene after the polls, and therefore
the military regime had failed to abide by its own laws.

'The authorities had a responsibility to organise the people's parliament,
with the representatives, in accordance with the law,' the statement said.

Myanmar's generals February 9 made a surprise announcement that they would
bring the recently-completed constitution before the public for approval
in May, setting the stage for elections in 2010 - the first in two
decades.

But the regime said Ms Aung San Suu Kyi - a Nobel peace laureate who has
been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years - could not run.

United Nations envoy Dr Ibrahim Gambari will fly to Myanmar on Thursday to
press the junta to make the process more inclusive, and Nyan Win said they
hoped to meet with the senior diplomat.

'We are expecting to meet Dr Gambari during his visit. We are ready to
meet him but we have not been informed of anything yet,' he said.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962, and the current junta
scrapped a 1974 charter when it seized power in 1988, crushing a
pro-democracy uprising.

Two years later, the regime organised elections that the NLD won. The NLD
has said that for Myanmar to truly achieve democracy, the military rulers
must first respect their victory in those elections.

____________________________________

March 5, Mizzima News
Ethnic leaders: No expectations for Gambari's visit - Nay Thwin and Than
Htike Oo

Ethnic leaders in Burma do not expect significant progress toward national
reconciliation from the forthcoming visit of the United Nations Special
Envoy to Burma.

Ibrahim Gambari, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy to
Burma, will arrive in Burma on March 6th in continuance of his efforts to
apply diplomatic pressure to restore democracy in Burma.

Aye Thar Aung, Secretary of the Committee Representing People's Parliament
(CRPP), said, "We don't expect much from his visit. I don't think the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) will listen and accept what Mr.
Gambari says and urges them to do at this moment."

"They have issued Announcements 1/2008 and 2/2008 which clearly show they
will unilaterally go ahead with their own road-map. Talks between Mr.
Gambari and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will just be a superficial show," he
added.

According to these Announcements, a constitutional referendum is to be
held in May of this year followed by new elections in 2010.

"I don't think Mr. Gambari will succeed in persuading the regime to stop
their unilateral actions and restart useful dialogue, especially with Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, or in building confidence for the national
reconciliation process by joining the hands of pro-democracy, regime and
ethnic forces," Aye Thar Aung further speculated.

Aye Thar Aung has been a leader of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD)
since 1990 and represents four political parties in CRPP.

CRPP was formed in September 1998 and consists of several 1990 election
winning parties, including: National League for Democracy (NLD), Arakan
League for Democracy (ALD), Mon National League for Democracy (MNLD), Shan
National League for Democracy (SNLD) and Zomi National Congress (ZNC). But
the regime has never recognized CRPP and views it as an illegal
organization.

"The U.N. is not in a position to do anything for Burma at the moment. The
international community can do nothing for Burma. There will be no regime
change in this situation. Our ethnic leaders are under the constant
surveillance of the regime. It's totally disappointing," U Thoung Ko
Thang, Minister of Parliament elect from the Tamu constituency in Sagaing
Division and leader of the United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), remarked.

Ethnic leaders have sent letters requesting a meeting with the U.N.
representative during his visits to Burma. However, to date, Gambari has
been unable to meet with ethnic leaders.

Gambari visited Burma after September's Saffron Revolution and met with
the junta's Senior General Than Shwe, opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and other NLD leaders.

In recent weeks he has toured the regional countries of China, Japan,
Singapore, India and Indonesia seeking support for his diplomatic efforts.

According to the U.N. the Special Envoy is prepared to stay in Burma as
long as required.

____________________________________

March 5, Irrawaddy
Junta increases pressure on media - Violet Cho

Only two weeks after the Burmese military government closed the offices of
the Myanmar Nation, the military authorities appear to be offering the
publishers of the Rangoon-based weekly news journal the opportunity to
start printing again, on condition that it toe the junta’s line and
counter the exiled Burmese media.

According to a source close the Myanmar Nation, the government’s press
scrutiny board director, Maj Tint Shwe, has been putting pressure on the
Myanmar Nation’s publisher to restart operations by acting as a mouthpiece
for the military regime and confronting exiled media groups which
continuously expose the junta’s wrongdoings.

 “The military government is pressuring Myat Soe, the Myanmar Nation
publisher, to print a journal that counters the exiled Burmese media,”
said the source. “Myat Soe would become editor in chief and his daughter
would be appointed a member of the editorial board if he would agree to
start publishing again under the government’s conditions.”

The authorities recently arrested former Myanmar Nation editor in chief
Thet Zin and the office manager after a police raid on the journal’s
office on February 15. During the raid, police seized footage of last
year’s monk-led demonstrations and a copy of UN Special Rapporteur for
Human Rights to Burma Paulo Sergio Pinheiro’s recent report. The
authorities then ordered the journal to cease publishing.

The case against the two arrested men is still unclear, according to
former employees of the Myanmar Nation, because the journal was only
published after the approval of the military government’s censorship
board. In the meantime, the journalists are being detained in Rangoon’s
notorious Insein Prison.

Media right groups, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, have
condemned the arrests and say that the government’s ongoing suppression of
journalists makes a mockery of its recent announcement to hold a
referendum and introduce seemingly democratic reforms in the country.

Burma was recently ranked as among the worst countries in the world for
press freedom by Washington-based pro-democracy organization Freedom
House.

According to journalists in Rangoon, the military authorities have banned
reporters from covering a number of governmental meetings which, in the
past, they were free to attend. The reporters, who were questioned
intensively, were recently prohibited from attending meetings of the
Myanmar Construction Entrepreneurs Association, the Myanmar Info-Tech
Meeting, and the Myanmar Forest Products & Timber Merchants Association.

Authorities later rescinded the order, but enforced a strict registration
of all reporters who wished to attend the meetings.

According to sources close to Burmese journalists working in Rangoon, a
staff member at weekly journal The Voice is being forced to apologize to
current Rangoon mayor Brig-Gen Aung Thein Lin for strongly challenging him
during a recent press conference.

The press conference was reportedly called by the mayor himself. During
the meeting, The Voice’s reporter contradicted statements the mayor had
made about the recent crackdown on street vendors, which it is a hot issue
in Rangoon at the movement. The question apparently infuriated the mayor
and he threatened the journalist with imprisonment.

____________________________________

March 5, Irrawaddy
Burmese women activists receive International Award - Aye Lae

Three Burmese women activists, either now in hiding or in prison, have
received the Homo Homini award from the People in Need organization for
their fight for democracy and human rights.

Labor activist Su Su Nway, HIV/AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin and social
activist Nilar Thein received the international award from the Czech-based
group for their promotion of democracy, human rights and nonviolent
solutions to political conflicts.

“When I head that we were given the award, I thought of all my colleagues
who are in prison and the monks and laypeople who sacrificed their lives
on the streets, and I felt sad,” Nilar Thein told The Irrawaddy from her
hiding place in Rangoon on Wednesday.
“I feel that all the people who struggle for freedom are being honored by
a foreign country.”

In past years, all three women have been imprisoned by the junta for their
work in human rights and democracy.

Nilar Thein, 35, has been in hiding from security forces since August when
she led pro-democracy demonstrations with her colleagues, including Phyu
Phyu Thin and Su Su Nway.

Nilar Thein, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, was one of the
prominent leaders of a demonstration against the rise in fuel prices in
Rangoon in 2007. She was imprisoned twice following the 1988 pro-democracy
uprising. Starting in 1996, she spent eight years in Insein Prison and
Tharrawaddy jails.

Nilar Thein entered the democracy movement as a high school student in
1988 as a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

Su Su Nway has been detained in Insein Prison since November 2007,
following a peaceful demonstration. A member of the main opposition
National League for Democracy, she received the 2006 Humphrey Freedom
Award from the Canada-based group Rights and Democracy for her human
rights activities. She was arrested in 2005 and 2007 for her activities.

Many Burmese people know of her work in behalf of people conscripted into
forced labor, and her support for farmers whose land has been confiscated
by local authorities.
Phyu Phyu Thin has been in hiding from military authorities since the 2007
uprising.   A well-known HIV/AIDS activist and member of the National
League for Democracy, she was unable to attend her father's funeral
because she has been in hiding since September 2007. She has worked
extensively with AIDS patients, providing them with medicines, places to
stay and psychological support.

On behalf of the three activists, a former political prisoner, Lae Lae
Nwe, accepted the award in Prague on Wednesday.

The secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma,
Tate Naing, noting the awards, said, “They are all leaders of the Burmese
women activists’ struggle for democracy and human rights and they all
supported the monks’ peaceful demonstrations, so the prize really honors
all the activists.”

In 2001, the Homo Homini award was given to Burmese student leader Min Ko
Naing, who is currently detained in Insein Prison.

People in Need has supported Burma’s pro-democracy movement on a long-term
basis, trying to raise awareness of the Burma issue among the Czech
public.

According to AAPP, there are more than 154 women political prisoners in
Burma, including an estimated 10 Buddhist nuns.

____________________________________

March 5, Mizzima News
Anti-referendum posters in Central Burma

In a fresh act of defiance against the Burmese military junta, several
anti-referendum and 'Free Burma' campaign posters were found in Amarapura
township of Mandalay in central Burma, local residents said.

'Free Burma', 'Free Aung San Suu Kyi' and 'Free Dr. Zaw Myint Maung', MP
from Amarapura constituency, who is serving a long prison term, were
written with spray guns in palm sized red coloured letters, locals said.

Anti-referendum posters were also seen pasted on the walls of the State
High School in Laysu Ward, opposite the Taungthaman Bridge and on the main
street, the local said.

The ruling junta has announced holding a constitution approval referendum
in May.

"The posters urged the people to boycott the forthcoming referendum and
oppose the constitution for the future generation to be free from 46-years
of military dictatorship," a local woman, who saw the posters, told
Mizzima.

"I saw these posters on March 3 in the morning and they were stuck in an
aluminum pot shop to Taungthaman Bridge. We heard that the posters were
found elsewhere in Amarapura," another local resident said.

On the same day, a policeman along with three members of Union Solidarity
and Development Association (USDA), the junta backed civil organization,
came by on two motorcycles and removed all the posters and white washed
the sprayed letters, the locals added.

"Despite white washing, the words 'Free Burma' can still be seen faintly.
The letters say 2-3-2008 written by a spray gun," the second local
resident said.

Calendar size portraits of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi wearing her party election
campaign logo - bamboo hat - were also seen pasted in front of the State
High School at the main gate and were also removed by the local
authorities later.

____________________________________

March 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
NLD member loses sight due to lack of treatment - Aye Nai

A detained Mandalay division National League for Democracy member has gone
blind in his left eye due to lack of treatment for problems arising after
an attack last year, his wife said.

U Than Lwin, an NLD member and elected member of parliament from Maddaya
township, was sent to Mandalay hospital from prison on 23 February to
undergo an operation on his left eye, which was severely damaged during a
knuckle-duster attack by an unknown assailant in mid-2007.

But doctors at the hospital said that it was already too late for them to
save his sight in that eye, and he was sent back to prison on 29 February.

Than Lwin's wife, Daw Khin Thi, said that an earlier intervention could
have saved Than Lwin's sight.

"The doctors said it was already about two months late to treat his eye
and there was nothing they could do to help him," Khin Thi said.

"Specialist eye doctors said all the nerves in his eye had been destroyed
due to the growth of cataracts," she said.

"It has been a long time since we found out he was suffering from
cataracts and needed immediate medical assistance. We requested permission
for treatment from the prison authorities and government leaders in
Naypyidaw, but they only approved it about two months later and it was
already too late by that time."

Than Lwin was attacked in June last year by a man with a knuckle-duster,
who fled into the Union Solidarity and Development Association office
after the attack.

He suffered harassment from USDA members while in hospital recovering from
the attack, and was arrested on 2 September, allegedly in connection with
commodity price protests.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 5, Irrawaddy
Food transports for Karen IDPs halted - Saw Yan Naing

The closure of a border crossing in the Thai province of Mae Hong Son has
left more than 3,900 internally displaced persons in Burma without access
to food or medicine, say sources in the area.

The border checkpoint at the village of Mae Sam Laep has been closed since
Karen rebels attacked Burmese soldiers on the Salween River on February
24.

Nearly four thousand ethnic Karen IDPs sheltering in the Ei Tu Hta camp,
located about two hours by boat from the border crossing, are facing an
uncertain future, as Thai authorities have given no indication when they
will allow border trade to resume.

“We are not allowed to send anything,” Maw Law, a relief coordinator for
the Karen Office of Relief and Development (KORD), told The Irrawaddy on
Wednesday.

“If they [Thai authorities] keep the border shut all month, people in the
camp will definitely face difficulties,” she added.

Although a partial shipment of rice has been sent to the Ei Tu Hta camp,
other food supplies, such as oil and salt, have not been allowed to cross
the border, according to Maw Law.

For more than two weeks, border trade in Mae Sam Laep has been almost at a
standstill, following an attack on Burmese soldiers being transported
across the Salween River in a boat owned by a local businessman.

Ten soldiers were wounded in the attack, which was carried out by members
of the Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Karen
National Union (KNU).

According to Maw Law, there are currently 3,998 IDPs sheltering in the Ei
Tu Hta camp, including 118 who fled Burmese Army offensives against Karen
rebels in February.

The camp was established in 2006, in response to attacks on Karen
villagers by the Burmese Army, which often targets civilians in its
ongoing conflict with ethnic rebels.

A number of relief groups, including the Committee for Internally
Displaced Karen People, the Karen Women’s Organization and the Karen
Teacher Working Group, are involved in efforts to provide food, healthcare
and education to inhabitants of the camp.

According to sources, KNU leaders are waiting to talk with local Thai
authorities to negotiate a reopening of the border.

Meanwhile, businessmen in the area have also expressed frustration with
the border closure, which is believed to be costing the local economy
about 100,000 baht a day in lost income.

____________________________________

March 5, Bangkok Post
Security beef-up after cop shot - Supamart Kasem

Security has been stepped up after a policeman was shot on Monday night on
the 10-rai of no-man's land on an island underneath the Thai-Burmese
Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot district. A gang of illegal Burmese occupying
the island are believed to be behind the attack on Pol Sgt Ake-kachai
Biewnoi. He was shot in the torso by a shotgun, who has not been found.

The gang also threatened to burn Rim Moei, a Thai border market along the
Moei river where the island is located, if authorities attempted to arrest
anyone staying on the island.

It was the third violent attack in less than 10 days on the island. Last
Tuesday a forestry officer was abducted, robbed and physically assaulted
by the Burmese gang. No one was hurt in a bomb attack on Friday night.

In response to the calls by market vendors, Tak governor Chumporn Polarak
yesterday met the provincial police chief, deputy commander of the
Naresuan Task Force, the tambon Tah Sailuad mayor and market vendors to
work out ways to ensure safety for tourists, vendors and locals.

''We agreed to deploy more police, soldiers and village security
volunteers to provide round-the-clock security on the island,'' said Mr
Chumporn.

A total of 250 security volunteers were recruited from border villages and
received training from the military based in Tak. Ten volunteers would be
deployed to provide security daily, he said.

Security cameras and spotlights would be installed to cover all areas
vulnerable to attack on the island and border areas. Security spotlights
are equipped with motion sensors which turn on when intruders try to slip
across the Thai border.

The tambon municipality would also reinforce fences along the border

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

March 5, Medecins Sans Frontieres
In Myanmar, intimate HIV care is focus where isolation and rejection is
the norm

"Unfortunately many of our patients are alone or rejected by their
families and society and this can be very depressing. Therefore it was
very nice to see how much love and support this girl was getting from her
mother through all the difficult times, and how this helped her to stay
positive." Isolated from the outside world, the people of Myanmar are
suffering from the consequences of repression and neglect. The crackdown
on monks marching for democracy in September brought international
attention to this long-suffering population, but it did not expose what
ordinary Burmese go through every day.

Faced with high malaria and HIV rates, the impoverished population is
provided with little healthcare from the government: only 1.4 percent of
the regime's budget supports healthcare services.

The 8,000 of HIV/AIDS patients who come for treatment at the five MSF
clinics in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, receive an extremely
high level of care. The MSF staff are split into small teams consisting of
a doctor, nurse and counsellor. Patients therefore get to know their
carers - which is very important for building trust and helping people to
stick to a lifetime's course of treatment.

HIV/AIDS in Myanmar

The slow response to Myanmar's HIV/AIDS pandemic has fuelled the spread of
the disease. While there is little independent information to shed light
on the number of Burmese in clinical need of life-prolonging
antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, of the UN-estimated 360,000 people who are
living with HIV/AIDS, only 10,000 are believed to be receiving ARVs. MSF
provides ARV therapy to 8,000 of them, in several regions of the country.

Here three of MSF's Burmese staff explain their involvement in one
patient's treatment:

Medical Doctor La La Aye*

"Khin May Tway* is 24. Her husband died of HIV/AIDS. After his death she
was confirmed as HIV positive in July 2007. She also tested positive for
tuberculosis (TB). Khin used to live in a village 40 miles outside Yangon,
but to be eligible for antiretroviral (ARV) treatment patients have to
stay in Yangon for proper monitoring. She had no other choice if she
wanted to survive so together with her mother she decided to move to
Yangon. Renting a house was a huge burden on the family. Her father was
not well and therefore not working, so Khin's sister paid to support her.

"Because of her weak state and low immune resistance she was very
vulnerable to opportunistic infections. In October she developed severe
symptoms of a rare blood disorder, and was sent to the government hospital
where she received blood transfusions.

"Two weeks later, however, the lesions reappeared and she also developed
symptoms of severe bowel obstruction with a very swollen belly. She only
weighed 32 kg, and was not able to walk on her own any more. We suspected
that her TB drugs were failing, and decided to change her TB treatment. In
the meantime the father at home in the village had become very ill and the
mother could not cope with two dying family members at the same time.

"They were very scared of another long stay in the hospital and did not
have money to pay for it. We decided to treat Khin as an outpatient at the
MSF clinic, where she needed to come every day for two months to receive
her injections, infusions, etc. After changing the TB drugs, she started
to improve. But in the meantime her father had died. Her mother did not
dare to tell her until much later because she was so sick.

"She has now been on ARV treatment for five months and on the new TB drugs
for four months. Her situation has improved dramatically. She weighs 53 kg
and is able to walk again and function normally. She expects eventually to
move back to her village and start to work again."

Counsellor Whin Maye*

"I started counselling sessions with Khin after she moved to Yangon.
Before being started on ARVs, patients receive five counselling sessions
to make sure that they know what they are getting into. Patients need to
understand how the drugs work, that they really have to take all of them
and not just half and sell or share the other half. They need to
understand that they will always have to continue taking the drugs even
when they start to feel much better.

"Initially adherence and social counselling sessions are once a week. When
the patient is stable and is taking the drugs properly, counselling is
reduced to one session a month and then to once every three months.

"I remember the period when Khin became so sick, we all feared for her
life. She could not walk by herself and had to be carried into the clinic,
she was very weak and could not remember things well. But even under these
circumstances she was very motivated and eager to get information and to
receive treatment.

"During this period she received daily treatment at our clinic and I had
counselling sessions with her on a daily basis. We became close, like
friends during this period. She was very open with me. I was afraid that
she would not survive and did not want her to give up hope. We are the
same age as well, and she has already been through so much.

"Luckily she is a very strong person. Even after all the difficult
hospital treatments and the pain and later when she heard that her father
had died, she still wanted to survive and get better. I was very happy and
relieved when the treatment worked and she improved so much. She is now so
stable that we decided to reduce the counselling visits from every week to
once every month."

Nurse Soe Soe Chan*

"I treated this patient from the first day she arrived. We had to send her
to the hospital twice for treatment but she did not get better. When she
had the abdominal obstruction and a very swollen belly she became very
wasted and was in a lot of pain. I was very upset at that time because I
thought the girl would die. We treated her in the MSF clinic and I
remember that she had to be carried into the treatment room every day,
where I gave her the injections.

"Her mother was very supportive. She wanted it to work. We don't see
patients with that much support very often. Unfortunately many of our
patients are alone or rejected by their families and society and this can
be very depressing. Therefore it was very nice to see how much love and
support this girl was getting from her mother through all the difficult
times, and how this helped her to stay positive."

Dr La La Aye

"I think this particular girl made a big impression on all of us who
treated and cared for her because of her positive outlook, her eagerness
to get better and the support and kindness she gave and received from her
surroundings. It is very rewarding to treat a patient like this and it
makes me happy that she now has a future in front of her."

*names changed

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 5, Inner City Press
On drugs, UN urges more government control, even in Myanmar, dodges crack
disparities – Matthew Russell Lee

While celebrity drug use is the hook to the UN's International Narcotics
Control Board's new annual report, INCB's analysis of disparities in
sentencing dodges issues that impact many more people, for example the
racial disparate sentences imposed on users of powder versus crack
cocaine. Inner City Press asked INCA board member, and former U.S.
Ambassador to Bulgaria Melvyn Levitsky about this, and he responded that
the UN's INCB "doesn't try to dictate" countries' sentencing schemes. But
the INCB report pointedly recommends that high-profile drug users not be
coddled. Why not recommend that racial minorities not be
disproportionately imprisoned for their use of one form of cocaine rather
than another?

Levitsky's responses at the report's launch at UN Headquarters were more
detailed than is usual the case. Asked by Inner City Press about the
INCB's missions to Bolivia and elsewhere, Levitsky criticized Bolivia for
not yet banning the use of coca for traditional purposes. Of the decline
to zero of opium production during the last year of Taliban control,
Levitsky said this was attributable to the Taliban trying to drive up the
price of heroin. The basis of this convenient theory wasn't disclosed -- a
stray page of laptop found in a cave at Tora Bora, perhaps. At the
University of Michigan, Levitsky teaches a class on Drugs, Crime and
Terrorism, which he made a point of saying, including online, is called
Drugs & Thugs.

Levitsky and report

Levitsky also seemed to parrot the Bush administration line when he
referred off-handedly to the "shady area of harm reduction" and needle
exchange. What' so shady? Particularly when the UN itself is on record as
prioritizing stopping the spread of HIV / AIDS?

Levitsky said that INCB recommends that central governments assert more
control over their territory, to control drugs. Inner City Press asked if
this is the UN's recommendation with respect to Myanmar, where those with
"close ties to the military regime" are subject to sanctions for
involvement in the heroin trade. While Levitsky cited back to Shan and Ha
warlords, he did not answer on current government involvement. He
acknowledged that anti-drug and human rights imperatives could sometimes
be at odds. That's a start.

__________________________________

March 5, Independent Mon News Agency
Corrupt regime authorities aiding the spread of opium production in Shan
State – Lawi Weng

The number of private producers of opium poppies has increased in Man Tong
Township, Northern Shan State, Palaung area, according to a local source.
The report is confirmed by The Palaung Women's Organization, based on
Thai-Burma border in Mae Sot, which recently reported that opium
production has become widespread since the Palaung Liberation Army gave up
arms to the Burmese Army in 2005.

Many wealthy businessmen in Palaung Area, Man Tong Township, Shan State,
are investing their money in the poppies, used to make lucrative drugs
like opium and heroin. Most opium crops are grown in the hills, where they
are not likely to be seen by local people, said the source, who recently
left Palaung area to the Thai-Burma border area.

According to the US State Department, Burma is the second largest producer
of opium poppies, second only to Afghanistan. While a United Nations
Development Project subsidizes other crops in an attempt to limit opium
production the program extends only into regions controlled by the Burmese
Army. As the area is not suited to rice farming, the main agricultural
product in the area is tea, or would be were opium farming not more
lucrative.

Most opium products are traded to Chinese merchants at a price of one
million one kyat per viss [Burmese measurement, equivalent to 1.6
kilograms]. The local merchants then trade to businessmen in China at
double the price.

Many local people are afraid to grow opium crops because they fear
government crack downs. While poorer or small-scale poppy farmers are
likely to be arrested, the source from Shan state said that bribery means
the larger projects of wealthy businessmen are rarely harassed. The local
authorities know the location of opium crops, he said, but they do
nothing.

Most people in the area can barely provide for their families, and work as
laborers on the poppy farms for 2,000 kyat a day.

As the local businessman get rich, the people suffer. "Our community is
broken. Young men and women are addicted opium. If a husband uses drugs,
the wife cannot refuse him and she has to use opium too," said the source.
"Finding opium in the area is easy.
Many people are addicted. There is much illegal gambling. Things are often
stolen. People are scared by their community, and many would like to
leave." But while people are afraid of the changes in their community
wrought by opium, they are also afraid to complain because of the economic
relationship between local authorities and opium producers.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 5, Irrawaddy
Samak to Visit Burma - Saw Yan Naing

Thailand’s premier, Samak Sundaravej, will visit Burma next week to
witness the signing of an investment protection pact between the two
countries, according to the Bangkok-based English-language daily, The
Nation.

The Thai prime minister will pay the official visit to Burma’s new
capital, Naypyidaw, on March 12, and will also encourage Thai businessmen
to pay more attention to Burma, according to a Thai commercial counselor
in Burma quoted by The Nation in its Wednesday edition.

Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej holds up his ballot during an
election for members of the Senate at a polling station in Bangkok on
March 2. (Photo: Reuters)
The commercial counselor, Matyawongse Amatyakul, said “the draft on
investment protection has been drawn up by both countries and is now
waiting for the ministers to sign.”

The agreement will also increase cooperation between the two countries
through trade and investment, said the report. Thai businessmen will be
encouraged to invest more and set up businesses in Burma, which will
benefit from higher employment and economic growth, added the report.

Burma is currently the target of US sanctions. The companies of Tay Za, a
crony of the leader of the ruling regime, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, and Tun Myint
Naing, one of the richest tycoons in Burma, are among those blacklisted by
the US government sanctions.

Despite international pressure on the Burmese regime following its brutal
crackdown on monk-led protests in September 2007, Thailand has shown
little inclination to join Western countries and the United Nations in
their condemnation. Instead, it has indicated that it will continue its
business deals with the Burmese generals and seek new opportunities to
invest in Burma.

After the September crackdown, Thailand’s former premier, Surayud
Chulanont, proposed four-party talks involving China, India, the United
Nations and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean),
including Thailand and Burma, to seek a resolution to the Burmese crisis.
However, the proposal, based on a similar multiparty approach that
successfully defused tensions over North Korea’s nuclear arms program,
never got off the ground.

Meanwhile, Apiradi Tantraporn, director general of Thailand’s Foreign
Trade Department, said the government has a clear policy to promote Thai
investment overseas, especially in other Asean countries, as the region
moves towards integration as a single economic community in 2015.

According to the Foreign Trade Department, Thailand ranked third among
foreign investors in Burma, with investment reaching US $1.34 billion in
2007, while the United Kingdom and Singapore were identified as the first
and second largest investors in Burma.

Thailand’s exports to Burma rose 14.6 percent to 33.06 billion baht in
2007, while imports increased 9.8 percent to 80.03 billion baht. Exports
from Thailand to Burma are expected to surge 20 percent in 2008, according
to The Nation.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 5, International Herald Tribune
UN Envoy returns Thursday to Myanmar on latest mission to coax democratic
reforms

The U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar will face a much-changed situation
when he returns to the military-ruled country Thursday, but the changes
are not those he was seeking in previous missions to promote political
reconciliation.

Ibrahim Gambari's visit is his third attempt to coax democratic reforms
from the junta since its deadly crackdown on protesting monks and students
last September.

"Sometimes, I myself am frustrated that the tangible results are not
faster or we have not achieved more, but we have to build on what we have
and continue to press for more results," Gambari said in an interview
while visiting Indonesia last month.

In early February, the junta announced it will hold a referendum in May on
a new constitution, to be followed by general elections in 2010.

Although it was the first time the junta has set dates for steps in its
previously announced "roadmap to democracy," the military paid no heed to
calls by the U.N. and others to allow opponents of military rule to be
part of the process.

Chief among those frozen out are the opposition National League for
Democracy party led by detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, and several large ethnic minority groups. The NLD won the last
general elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power. Myanmar has
been under military rule since 1962.

The junta's opponents complain that guidelines earlier adopted for writing
the new constitution are designed to perpetuate military control and
prevent Suu Kyi from running for office. The text of the proposed
constitution has not yet been released.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has long been under international pressure
to make democratic reforms, particularly since it crushed the peaceful
mass protests last September. The United Nations estimates at least 31
people were killed and thousands more were detained.

The U.N. Security Council strongly deplored the crackdown and called for a
"genuine dialogue" between the junta and the pro-democracy opposition,
with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sending Gambari on his
reconciliation mission.

"Much of the Burmese public is not so satisfied with him," Zin Linn,
director of the Thai office of the National Coalition Government of the
Union of Burma, said of Gambari. The NCGUB is a self-styled exile
government based in Washington, D.C.

"In our view he didn't try to understand the nature of the generals. They
are very stubborn, they will not give up power," he said.

Hopes were high when Gambari first visited after the September crackdown.
He persuaded the junta to let him talk with Suu Kyi and allow her to meet
with fellow executives of her party for the first time in more than three
years.

The junta also appointed a ministerial-level official to coordinate with
Suu Kyi and issued a statement saying junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe
would be willing to meet with her, subject to a variety of conditions.

However, progress toward reconciliation virtually halted after Gambari's
last visit in November.

"I think everybody hoped that there was genuine will on the part of Than
Shwe and his senior generals to begin a real dialogue, and what is
increasingly evident is that they have no intention whatsoever in engaging
in a genuine dialogue," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar,
told The Associated Press last month.

Gambari "hopes to stay as long as necessary" in Myanmar and meet with "all
the groups he was not able to see during his last visit," the U.N. said in
a statement this week. It added that his itinerary was still under
discussion with the junta, officially called the State Peace and
Development Council, or SPDC.

"It's unclear exactly what Gambari's visit can accomplish. If he can stay
longer, meet more people and organize meetings between different groups,
perhaps there will be some positive steps toward reform," said Lao Hseng,
a Shan ethnic rebel spokesman.

"But if the SPDC already has a clear idea what they will and won't let him
do while he is there, then not much can be done," said Lao Hseng, speaking
on behalf of the Restoration Council of Shan State and the Shan State
Army, which carries on armed resistance to the junta in remote jungle
areas of northeastern Myanmar.

Zin Linn said the NCGUB had little hope that Gambari would come out of his
visit with good results. But he said it would be a positive development if
he could persuade the junta to allow him to open an office in Yangon, the
country's biggest city, which would make his work easier.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 5, Irrawaddy
USDA—The Regime’s Protégé - Wai Moe

“A central secretary of the USDA, the minister of Industry 1, U Aung
Thaung, attended a ceremony at a monastery in Myothit Township in upper
Burma.” This report, which ran in the Burmese newspaper, Myanma Alin, on
Tuesday, is typical of a journalistic trend that has been appearing more
and more frequently in the state-run press.

The writing style is not unusual for a press dictated by a totalitarian
regime. But what is new in Burma—and something the Burmese public was not
exposed to before March 1—is the deferential reporting of activities
related to members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA).

Every word in Burmese newspapers and journals is written or edited by
officials from the Information Ministry. And, reading between the lines in
Burma’s state-run media of late, one gets the distinct impression that
members of the USDA are being held in higher esteem than most cabinet
members.

Analysts say that this kind of news reporting was prevalent in the state
media of communist regimes, especially after World War II in Eastern
Europe.
Burma’s junta seems to be following Stalin’s lead in paying homage to his
front line against the public, the thuggish USDA.

Since March 1, the state-run newspapers in Burma have led with articles
marking the activities of USDA members ahead of government ministers,
clearly placing their roles in pole position.

The Burmese generals already indicated their reliance on the USDA in
announcing that the one-million member organization would organize and
oversee the upcoming referendum in May and the national elections in 2010.

Sein Hla Oo, a veteran journalist in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy on
Wednesday that reporting in Burma’s state-run-newspapers is directed by
the authorities. “Everything in the newspapers is the regime’s
propaganda,” he said.

“Under the Burma Socialist Program Party era, newspapers had to report on
leading party members in order of their ministerial title,” he said. “Now
there is a similar situation—except that it’s the USDA that is the focus,
not the party. People are saying that the USDA will be transformed into
the junta’s political party in the future. But nobody knows exactly when.”

On Tuesday, Myanma Alin reported that “A member of the central executive
committee of the USDA and minister of national planning and economic
development, Soe Thar, visited a monastery in Rangoon Division on March
3.” Observers noted that his USDA position was put before his ministerial
role in the government.

Other examples followed in the state newspapers on Tuesday: “USDA
executive member and minister of forestry, Brig-Gen Thein Aung, inspected
the forest around Naypyidaw region”; “An executive member of the USDA and
minister of railways, Maj-Gen Aung Min, went to Rangoon to inspect train
engines which were imported from India.”

The USDA was formed in 1993 by the military junta. The Central Panel of
Patrons of the USDA are top generals: Snr-Gen Than Shwe, vice deputy
Snr-Gen Maung Aye, Gen Shwe Mann, Gen Thein Sein and Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint
Oo.

Dissidents and human rights groups accuse the USDA of involvement in the
crackdown on peaceful demonstrators last year, as well as the brutal
ambush on Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy in May 2003.

Htay Aung, a Burmese researcher in Thailand, said that the junta’s fresh
promotion of the USDA in the newspapers indicates the ruling generals want
to notify readers, including members of the armed forces, that the USDA is
the most important organization in the country.

“The junta may openly highlight the USDA as its political wing,” said Htay
Aung. “In late 2005, U Htay Oo, secretary general of the USDA, said at a
press conference that if it were necessary, the USDA would run as a
political party.

“More recently, U Khin Maung Kyi of the National Unity Party [which was
backed by the junta in the 1990 election] said the USDA would run as a
political party in the next election.”

____________________________________

March 5, Irrawaddy
How will you vote: Coke, or Pepsi? - Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burma’s military leaders are masters of psychological warfare. And you can
tell they’re pretty proud of their accomplishments in this area. How many
other countries do you know that boast a “Directorate of Public Relations
and Psychological Warfare”?

But there is something about the regime’s latest effort to manipulate
domestic and international public opinion which smacks more of slick
modern marketing than good old colonial-style “divide and rule.”

By announcing plans to hold a referendum on a draft constitution in May,
the regime has given Burma and the world a classic non-choice.

On the face of it, the choice is simple and clear: Do you support the
constitution, yes or no? But the real choice is not so straightforward.
Basically, the generals are asking a weary Burmese populace (and an
increasingly jaded community of concerned world citizens, who don’t know
whether to root for the monks or Rambo) which of the following two
scenarios they find easier to live with:

A situation whereby military rule is permanently enshrined, with a shaky
guarantee of some civic involvement from pliable non-military
organizations (in the event of a “yes” vote); or,

An indefinite period of military rule with only a remote hope that the
opposition will someday emerge strong enough to challenge the army’s
stranglehold on Burmese public life (in the even of a “no” vote).

Do these choices seem suspiciously similar? They should. Essentially, the
regime is offering an illusion of choice. Ask any expert in marketing, and
they’ll probably admit, somewhat cynically, that nothing gives the public
more satisfaction than a choice that is not really a choice at all.

Think Coke and Pepsi. The only thing that makes either option seem
palatable is the existence of the other. And one way or the other, you’re
getting something that isn’t very good for you.

Let’s look at what the regime has to offer, and consider the likely
outcome of each of the choices before us.

If the people vote “yes” to the referendum, this is what they can expect:

* A leading political role for the military. According to the draft
constitution, the commander in chief of the armed forces is entitled to
fill 110 seats in the 440-seat parliament with appointees from the ranks
of the armed forces. Moreover, the commander in chief will occupy a
position on the same level as that of the two vice presidents. And in the
event of a “state of emergency,” which the military can declare at any
time, the commander in chief will assume full legislative, executive and
judicial powers.

* A limited role for ethnic organizations. But if the 17 ethnic groups
which currently have ceasefire agreements with the regime want to
participate in the election planned for 2010, they will probably be
required to lay down their arms once and for all. Faced with this
prospect, many may end their ceasefires in the event that the constitution
is approved.

* An even more limited role for opposition groups. The constitution will
impose stringent restrictions on any activities deemed inimical to
national unity, which would include any of the normal functions of a
parliamentary opposition party. Civilians will be permitted to enter
parliament, but only if they show that they know their place.

* No role for Aung San Suu Kyi. The charismatic leader of the National
League for Democracy (NLD) has been explicitly denied any future
leadership role:

“The President of the Union shall be a person who has been residing
continuously in the country for at least 20 years up to the time of the
election and the President of the Union himself, parents, spouse, children
and their spouses shall not owe allegiance to a foreign power, shall not
be a subject of a foreign power or citizen of a foreign country. They
shall not be persons entitled to the rights and privileges of a subject or
citizen of a foreign country.”

As the widow of British scholar Michael Aris and mother of two sons who
are not Burmese citizens, Suu Kyi has no right to lead Burma, according to
the draft constitution. Incidentally, this same clause also rules out the
involvement of most political exiles, many of whom have lived and engaged
in political activities outside of Burma since 1988.

If she’s lucky—that is, if she learns to hold her tongue—Suu Kyi may be
released as part of a partial amnesty for political prisoners, once the
constitution gets the go-ahead. But all the talk about “talks” between Suu
Kyi and the regime will be moot. There will be no further need to respond
to demands from the international community for an inclusive political
dialogue.

* A constitution as immovable as the military itself. Just in case anybody
was thinking of making changes once the constitution is in place, Section
4 (a) of the chapter “Amendment of the Constitution” effectively rules out
that possibility. Even if a democratic opposition party, such as the NLD,
were to win every single seat not filled by military appointees, it would
be unable to make any amendments, which under this clause would require
the approval of more than 75 percent of all members of parliament.

And here’s what’s in store for Burma if the people vote “no”:

* A constitution that just won’t go away. If they fail this time, the
generals will just try and try again. Expect another referendum, and
another, and another, until they get their way. Each proposed constitution
will be modified slightly, but only to make it a more effective weapon in
the war of attrition that is Burmese politics.

* A regime that just won’t go away. After twenty years in power, the junta
sees no reason why it shouldn’t hang in there for another generation or
two.

* An international community that wishes all of this would just go away.
But the United Nations and several Western countries have already staked a
great deal of their diplomatic credibility on their ability to make things
happen in Burma. So expect more pressure on the regime, which has so far
withstood all the sanctions and tough words that have been lobbed at it.

* More protests and more political prisoners. Frustration will come to a
head again, and the regime will respond as it always does—by coming down
hard on protestors and putting “troublemakers” behind bars.

Whatever the outcome of the upcoming referendum, it is going to leave a
nasty aftertaste. What the Burmese people want—and what the regime doesn’t
want to give them—is freedom from the cycle of poverty and violence that
has marked the past 45 years of military misrule. What they need to quench
their thirst is the water of democracy; what they are getting is an empty
choice that is guaranteed not to satisfy.

____________________________________

March 5, BBC News
India's Burma charm offensive - Jyoti Malhotra

India is quietly preparing a new diplomatic offensive with the military
junta in Burma.
Recently India's Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon was in Nay Pyi Taw,
the new Burmese capital.

And Gen Maung Aye, the second-highest member of Burma's military
government, is expected to visit India in April.

Mr Menon's visit coincided with the announcement from the military junta
that it will hold a referendum on the constitution in May this year, as
well as elections in 2010.

Indian officials were silent about the timing of Mr Menon's visit, and
unwilling to confirm or deny whether he helped persuade the Burmese junta
to offer the referendum olive branch to Aung San Suu Kyi's National League
for Democracy party.

But what is clear is that India and Burma are engaging in new diplomatic
initiatives.

Recently, Burma awarded India the right to "build, operate and use" the
port of Sittwe, strategically located in the Bay of Bengal. It is a $120m
project.

Symbolism

The money is not the point, of course.

The reason Mr Menon, also a consummate Sinologist, has kept his joy under
control these last days is because he knows it's far too easy to express
happiness at the fact that India had put one over China.

In fact, the journey to Burma is all about reiterating the symbolism of
power and responsibility.

When the monks came out in the streets of Rangoon [Yangon] last September
to protest at the brutality of the military regime, they had their begging
bowls turned downwards.

That was such a powerful symbol of self-denial and abnegation, the likes
of which the world has rarely seen, on par with the fasts Mahatma Gandhi
often undertook.

Their gesture of protest sent a collective shudder through India. The
government came out with more than one statement of criticism of the
military action.

So what does one make of the diplomatic billing and cooing that has since
returned?

In the new year, Burmese Foreign minister Nyan Win turned up to meet
Indian leaders.

Days later, India's commerce ministry announced it had won the right to
develop the Sittwe port. By the end of January, UN secretary general's
special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was making a special trip to Delhi to meet
the Indian establishment.

In a conversation with this reporter, Mr Gambari said he hoped "India
would do more than what it had been doing so far. (India) should work on
Burma to make the diplomatic process more inclusive and dialogue with the
Opposition parties more dialogue-oriented".

Growing influence

Adding that he was impressed with India's "growing influence" on Burma, Mr
Gambari said India should use this leverage to become a trustworthy and
effective conduit to both source information as well as send messages to
the Burmese government.

And so, the penny dropped.

Like China, India would not support the imposition of sanctions against
Burma, just as the US and the European Union wanted.


Like the US and the EU, however, India would invoke its democratic
credentials to put out that political reconciliation between the military
and Aung San Suu Kyi's party was the only alternative to pressure-cooker
outbursts within a divided population.

Above all, India must maintain a fine balance on Burma.

China has already unveiled its "string of pearls" strategy across the
Indian Ocean.

This envisages a series of bases and ports in friendly countries like
Pakistan and Burma - Gwadar, off the Balochistan coast, and the Coco
Islands, Hianggyi, Khaukhphyu, respectively - to protect its energy flows.

When India begins using the Sittwe port, it would help make Burma's
Kaladan river navigable all the way up to neighbouring India's
north-eastern Mizoram state.

This would, in turn, lead to India upgrading highways connecting Mizoram
with the rest of the country to boost trade.

Last August, the Burmese junta withdrew the state-owned Gas Authority of
India's "preferential buyer" status on certain offshore gas field blocks
and declared it would instead sell gas to Chinese oil firm PetroChina.

But the Sittwe award indicates that Burma also wants to expand ties beyond
China.

And the world seems to be happy with India carving out a bigger role in
Burma, especially if it balances the other influential power, China.

Jyoti Malhotra is the Diplomatic Editor of NewsX

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 5, Burma Campaign UK
Gambari visit last chance for UN Envoy to make progress in Burma

Ban Ki-moon must lead UN efforts on Burma.

The Burma Campaign UK today warned that Ibrahim Gambari’s next visit to
Burma will be ‘make or break’ for the UN envoy’s efforts in Burma.

In February the regime announced it was defying UN Security Council and
General Assembly requests to engage with a UN reconciliation effort led by
Gambari. Instead it is going ahead with its own new constitution and
elections that will ban Aung San Suu Kyi from standing as a candidate and
continue military rule under a civilian guise. Burma’s 400,000 monks have
also been banned from voting.

“Gambari must make the regime understand that it cannot continue with the
sham referendum and elections it has proposed”, said Anna Roberts,
Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “If Gambari comes back with anything
less than a date for genuine talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic
groups, and a commitment for the release of all political prisoners, then
his mission has failed. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should then go to
Burma to deliver a message that the international community will no longer
accept the regime defying the UN and continuing with human rights abuses.”

Gambari’s next visit will be the 35th time a UN envoy has visited Burma.
Human rights abuses in Burma have escalated dramatically since the
democracy uprising began just over six months ago. There are now more than
1,800 political prisoners in Burma. Attacks on Burma’s ethnic groups in
Eastern Burma have also escalated.

Gambari has effectively been banned from Burma in recent months, with a
planned visit in December repeatedly delayed by the regime, despite a
statement of concern from the UN Security Council.

“Burma’s generals think they can carry on with business as usual, and
sadly the UN’s soft peddling has reinforced that impression,” said Anna
Roberts. “We need to see a much more robust approach from the UN. Ban
Ki-Moon must take the lead on Burma, and he should have the backing of a
binding UN Security Council resolution behind him.”

For more information contact Anna Roberts, Director, on 020 7324 4711

____________________________________
INTERVIEWS

March 5, Mizzima News
The Price of Truth (Thet Wai – recently arrested activist and NLD figure)
- Nem Davies

Burmese authorities on Tuesday released on bail Thet Wai, Chairman of
Sanchaung Township National League for Democracy (NLD), who was arrested
on January 9, for possessing a computer memory stick that has complaint
letters to be sent to the International Labor Organization (ILO).

He was subsequently charged under sections 353 and 189 of the Criminal
Code. They released him on bail on January 10. However, the bail order was
revoked on February 2, and he was then charged at Pabedan Township Court
under section 33 (a) and (b) of the 2004 Electronic Communication Act and
sent to Insein prison on February 26.

However, the Pabedan Court on Tuesday bailed him for the second time after
withdrawing the charges of Electronic Communication Act on February 27.
But he is still charged with the former charges made under sections 353
and 189 of the Criminal Code.

He was arrested for refusing to testify that the ILO complaint letters,
which are found in his memory stick, are false.

Q: Why did they release you from jail?

A: The charges under sections 353 and 189 are offences subject to bail, so
I was bailed out with two referees and five million kyat surety. The
referees had to produce proof of the surety to the court.

Q: How about the charge under section 33 (a) and (b) for finding a memory
stick in your possession?

A: The Pabedan trial court withdrew this case on February 27th. A prison
staff read out the order issued by Pabedan Magistrate Daw Cherry to me in
Insein prison. Now they have withdrawn that case.

Q: From which case are you released on bail?

A: The case charged under sections 353 and 189. They charged me under
section 353 for refusing to obey the order of a police officer when he
seized my memory stick and for receiving a letter from Ohn Than (political
activist and former political prisoner) at the court when I saw him there.
The charge under section 353 implies I assaulted or used criminal force to
deter a public servant from carrying out his duty. And the allegation
under section 189 is for the threat of injury to a public servant, related
to my protesting against the seizure of my memory stick and requesting the
daughter of Ohn Than to lodge a complaint with the ILO. They perceive it
as my threatening them with the ILO and thus charged me under this
section.

Q: How long did you stay in Insein prison and with whom?

A: I stayed in Insein prison for about six days starting the 26th of
February in Hall No. 3 with 88 generation student leaders Ko Ko Gyi, Ko
Mya Aye, Ko Win Maw, two abbots from Maggin monastery, Myanmar Nation
Chief Editor Ko Thet Zin, U Sein Win Maung, poet Ko Saw Wai, Ko Pye Phyo
Hlaing from Bogale and Ko Aung Kyaw Kyaw, brother of U Gambira. There are
two or three prisoners in each cell. We are not allowed to walk outside
the cell for security reasons. So our health deteriorates while in there.
Ko Win Maung is suffering from emphysema and bronchitis and was recently
discharged from the hospital. Ko Kyaw Soe injured his head and is
suffering from frequent severe headaches because of this injury.

Q: What did your memory stick contain? Are you acquitted from that case?

A: No, I was not acquitted from the case. They just withdrew the case
under section 33 (a) and (b). In fact, they took action against me for
handling complaint letters sent by people on forced labor and child
soldiers and forwarding these letters to the ILO. I can prove I was
wrongly charged and treated for this work. On the very first day of my
arrest on the 9th of January at Kyauktada police station a district police
officer came and negotiated with me. He said that I would be released if I
signed a paper saying all the complaint letters contained incorrect facts.
But I refused this deal. They cannot take action against these complaints
as these are lawful actions of the people.

Q: How do you feel after your release?

A: I have the lawful right to appear in court with bail. I will continue
my work directed at eradicating child soldiers and forced labor in Burma.

Q: When will be your next hearing?

A: They fixed the 12th of this month for the next hearing.

__________________________________

March 5, Reuters India
Myanmar's past key to changing its future – Gill Murdoch

A pariah state led by generals who have oppressed their people for more
than 40 years: Myanmar is a black and white story to most writers.

But understanding how history has shaped Southeast Asia's most stubborn
military junta not only adds accuracy to debate about the former Burma, it
is key to changing the country's future, argues historian Thant Myint-U.

In his latest book "The River of Lost Footsteps", the grandson of U.N.
Secretary-General U Thant draws on history and his personal experiences to
analyse the prospects for change.

He spoke to Reuters Life! while on a visit to Singapore.

Q: Many writers struggle to make sense of Myanmar. Some romanticise it as
a forgotten tragedy, others characterise it as on the cusp of revolution.
What do you make of these depictions?

A: An old but still current way of seeing Burma is as a sort of tyranny
that can be stripped away -- that underneath there's a timeless, peaceful,
Buddhist country. That was the paradigm through which the British saw it
in the 1880s before their invasion. That's why they thought that the
removal of the king would change everything very quickly for the better.
The results were a disaster.

A sort of contemporary version is to see Burma as a sort of a Eastern
European-style democratic revolution in the making. That if enough people
took to the streets then the regime would collapse, but everything else
would stay intact and you would have a very peaceful and stable transition
to democracy and a free-market economy.

The two kind of reinforce each other: this older sense that Burma is a
tyranny over an otherwise peaceful Buddhist society, and this more
contemporary sense of this Eastern European uprising in the making.

Q: Is either a good fit? What's a more accurate analogy?

A: If you look at Burma as a country that has been in civil war, armed
conflict, for 60 years, with more than two dozens different insurgencies
and only tentative ceasefires; (then) you might think of more parallels
with countries in sub-Saharan Africa; which are very poor, which have
experienced sustained conflict, and which have huge problems with
governance and need all kinds of outside help.

Q: How does taking this view inform strategies for change?

A: You wouldn't necessarily think that isolating (the country) as part of
a push towards democracy would be the answer. Very few people would think
that for the poorest [and most conflict-ridden countries in Africa a
sudden transition to democracy is the only answer, yet that is the kind of
sense that people have for Burma.

Q: Your book argues that understanding Myanmar's past is the key to
understanding its present. How does history explain the stalemate between
the military government and democracy movement?

A: (One example is) this myth about the way in which Burma became
independent and the way to think about it.

In 1946 there was a political crisis in Burma because the independence
movement was pushing for immediate independence, led by General Aung San,
and the (British) Labour government of the time was thinking of a much
more gradual transition.

In this nationalist narrative, the idea is that these independence heroes,
by standing firm, by uniting "the people", by stubborn and focused
determination, forced the British to leave. In fact by 1946 Britain was
exhausted by the war. It had many other things to think about. Even in
terms of Empire they were thinking much more about India and Palestine.
Burma was a sideshow. They came to their own conclusion that their future
in the East lay in Malaya and Singapore, and that Burma was expendable.

At most, the independence movement forced the timing a bit, and got the
British to leave a few years earlier. But there's this myth that by
standing firm Burma's nationalist heroes forced out the British empire.

Q: And that rhetoric is still in play today?

A: It feeds into all sides of the Burmese political debate, this looking
up to this model of stubborn-ness, determination, and not wavering from a
principled position. There's little celebration of any sort of compromise,
or pragmatism.

Even within the democracy movement, it resonates. Aung San Suu Kyi herself
has called the democracy movement the second struggle for independence. I
can see why she does it, but I think it's reading the wrong lessons from
1946. I'm sure there are times in Burmese history when people have had to
make painful compromises, but those examples are ignored.

Q: You supported sanctions in the early 90s, but have changed your
position to a more pragmatic policy of "opening up". What would ending
sanctions achieve?

A: Normal relations with the outside world, and especially to the West,
will do more to facilitate political change very quickly, than a situation
in which the government and the economy is increasingly dependent on
natural gas exports, and its only significant opening to the outside world
is China.

Q: You have said Myanmar's political story is often reduced to black and
white -- bad military government and good Aung San Suu Kyi. How would a
more nuanced vision of the country help it?

A: Burma is often seen as a country of 55 million victims whose lives are
awful. And the only thing they're waiting for is democracy. Or Rambo
coming. There's an element of truth in this, there are people who are
unhappy, people are unsatisfied with the government, people who do want
change. If you ask the average person if they want democracy or
dictatorship they'd say democracy.

But it's a cycle.


>From the outside world there's this constant stream of international

condemnation and calls for democratic change. It feeds a tendency to think
that the U.N. Security Council or Washington, if convinced of how bad
things are, can just push a button and the government would suddenly
collapse. It's not been a very helpful expectation to have fostered.

Q: So it stifles debate?

A: It prevents people from thinking more realistically about change and
about other ways that the outside world might engage with the country,
that is separate from the question of who's in charge at the top.
Everything shouldn't just be about politics.


>From the outside, there are a lot of opportunities for reducing poverty,

building up social services and strengthening civil society that are being
missed.

Q: What's your take on the latest debate, over the military's move to set
a 2010 election date?

A: It's good they set some sort of timetable. But I think it's wrong to
get too caught up in the constitutional reforms.

For the government it's more a way of moving towards some sort of civilian
government, even if those civilians are largely ex-military people. And
it's a vehicle to get many ceasefire groups to disarm and co-opt them into
that framework.

That's what you're going to get, some sort of civilian government, and
some sort of way in which some of these armed groups will come into the
political process.

For me it's not the main thing. For me what's more important are the
actual policy changes that will help improve people's lives. It's possible
some people are better off now than they were 20 years ago,[it's not all
gloom and doom, but there's a lot of acute poverty and kids growing up
desperately poor ill-educated, and dying needlessly from curable diseases.

Changing policy, bringing Burma back into the international mainstream,
and exposing the new generation to all kinds of new influences and ideas,
is key.