BurmaNet News, March 27, 2008

[Editor]

March 27, 2008 Issue # 3431


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Activists Stage Protest against Constitution
Guardian UK: Burmese leader appeals for unity
The Times UK: Burma, land where people wear the tattered shreds of the
Saffron Revolution
AP: Myanmar opposes move to link Tibetan unrest with Beijing Olympics
DVB: 88 Students leaders in poor health
Mizzima News: Junta reaffirms noble history of military
Mizzima News: Human rights abuses at heart of Burma's ills
Mizzima News: Junta steps up screening of visa applicants
Kaladan Press Network: Religious function ransacked by security force

BUSINESS / TRADE
The Hindu: Govt okays Rs. 535 cr Myanmar project to help North East

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: GMS summit to hear Burmese PM’s views on environment management
Irrawaddy: Are Burma’s generals really looking at Indonesia model?
Merinews: India wooing Myanmar junta despite being hoodwinked

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: US seeks India's help on Burma
The New Zealand Herald: Monks denounce referendum call

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Time’s up, Gambari!
Irrawaddy: Is Than Shwe’s pledge just a ploy?
The Guardian Weekly UK: Captive art in Burma

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: UK government backs UN arms embargo on Burma


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 27, Irrawaddy
Activists Stage Protest against Constitution – Min Lwin

A group of activists staged a rare protest in front of the Rangoon
headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday,
calling on Burmese citizens to vote against a proposed constitution which
will give sweeping powers to the country’s armed forces.

A member of the NLD said that more than 30 protesters wearing T shirts
emblazoned with the word “No” gathered at the party’s headquarters as
hundreds of others came to attend a ceremony marking Burma’s Armed Forces
Day.

Protesters in front of the National League for Democracy headquarters in
Rangoon.
According to the NLD member, some the protesters wore prison uniforms and
shackles, while others held the flags of the United Nations and the
Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, Burma’s main political party prior
to the military takeover in 1962.

“They shouted slogans against the junta’s constitution and called on
people to vote ‘no’ at the polling stations,” the NLD member told The
Irrawaddy on Thursday, adding that some members of the party joined in the
protest.

The rare show of defiance lasted just 30 minutes and attracted the
attention of security forces stationed around the NLD’s headquarters, who
photographed the protesters.

According to witnesses, the demonstrators also distributed pamphlets
calling on voters to go to the polls and vote against the constitution.
Under a new law enacted in February, it is illegal to publicly criticize
the referendum or the constitution. Violations are punishable by fines and
three-year prison sentences.

Meanwhile, sources said that a signboard with the words, “Never Deceive
the Nation,” appeared today in front of the home of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.

 “The signboard has the words and a portrait of [Burmese independence hero
and father of Aung San Suu Kyi] Aung San, painted by Suu Kyi,” said a
member of the NLD.

____________________________________

March 27, Guardian UK
Burmese leader appeals for unity – Ian MacKinnon

Burma's military leader today urged his countrymen to help the armed
forces crush "destructive elements" aiming to destabilise the isolated
nation.

During a rare public appearance, General Than Shwe, 75, insisted he would
not cling to power at any cost and would pass the reigns to the victor of
the general election slated to take place in 2010.

In a nationally televised 15-minute speech to mark the annual Armed Forces
Day holiday, the reclusive strongman made several references to May's
referendum on a draft constitution that will pave the way for the poll.

Critics have denounced the draft document, part of the junta's seven-step
"road map to democracy", as a ruse to consolidate the military's power.

Opponents of the regime, such as Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, were excluded from the drafting process, which took 14 years.
The exact date of the referendum has still to be revealed and the new
constitution has not yet been published in full.

Before an audience of diplomats and senior Burmese military officers in
the remote administrative capital of Naypyidaw, Than Shwe confounded
rumours of failing health by standing for an hour in the glaring tropical
heat to review 13,000 troops, police and fire brigades.

During his address, he made no mention of the suppression of the uprising
six months ago when at least 31 people died after soldiers opened fire on
monks and pro-democracy protesters.

In an oblique allusion that betrayed fears of future unrest, he pressed
the armed forces to "join hands with the people to crush internal and
external destructive elements sabotaging stability and progress of the
state".

He said the military leadership that has ruled Burma for 45 years now had
"a sincere aim for developing the country without any cravings for power",
and appealed to the security forces to ensure a smooth transition.

"The draft constitution has been completed and the constitutional
referendum will be held in May," Than Shwe said. "Handing over of state
power can be done after multi-party elections ... in 2010."

The secrecy surrounding May's constitutional referendum, threats of
imprisonment for anyone campaigning against it, and the rejection of a
United Nations offer of international monitors and technical help have
fuelled suspicions over the legitimacy of the process.

Some have been brave enough to launch an underground campaign against the
plebiscite, distributing leaflets and flyers. One slogan on T-shirts
passes itself off as a public health message, shouting "NO", with the word
"smoking" printed discreetly beneath.
The Burmese information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, briefing
local media ahead of the holiday pomp, insisted the new constitution -
which reserves a quarter of parliamentary seats for the military - was a
good starting point.

"Something is better than nothing," he said. "Having a constitution is
better than having no constitution. Once we have something, we can improve
it gradually, step by step."

____________________________________

March 27, The Times UK
Burma, land where people wear the tattered shreds of the Saffron
Revolution – Kenneth Denby

He wore the traditional Burmese man's skirt, spoke with an out-of-town
accent and, right up until the moment of horror, there was no suggestion
that the young man was anything out of the ordinary. It was Friday evening
and thousands of people were praying at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the golden
monument that towers above Rangoon. Before the plain-clothes police could
react, the young man whipped out a placard denouncing the junta and placed
it round his neck. Then he produced a bottle of petrol, shook it over his
clothes and set himself alight.

“He was still standing and he was trying to shout something but I couldn't
hear it,” a young Buddhist monk who witnessed the immolation said. “He was
trying to speak but the flames were round his face. And then the police
jumped on him.”

Six months ago tens of thousands of monks and students demonstrated in the
streets of Rangoon, demanding freedom from the brutal junta of General
Than Shwe after 45 years of military rule.

But the marchers were beaten and arrested, the monasteries were raided
and, six months later, the stirring spectacle of the “Saffron Revolution”
has been reduced to this — the agonising suffering of a nameless man. He
is reported to be in hospital but with 70 per cent burns his prospects for
survival are poor.

It was hard to imagine a Burma worse off than it was in September 2007 but
it has come about because all of the frustrations that drove the
demonstrators on to the streets last year have redoubled. Food and
transport prices are higher than ever, political oppression is greater and
the violent treatment of the country's revered monks has increased popular
contempt for the regime.

But, for all their bravery, opposition activists in Burma are in disarray.
Their figurehead and icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was awarded a Nobel Peace
Prize, has spent 12 years under house arrest and, after the crackdown in
September, the remaining senior leaders have nearly all been arrested.

Those who remain at large are in hiding, their networks broken or in the
hands of young and inexperienced activists. And having been physically
crushed they face the danger of being politically outflanked after a
remarkable move by Than Shwe's government — in February it announced a
national referendum will be held on a new constitution, to be followed by
a general election in 2010.

The constitution, which has not been published in full, is based on the
14-year-long deliberations of an assembly of handpicked members, which
contained no representatives of Ms Suu Kyi or members of her party, the
National League for Democracy (NLD).

It is expected that it will guarantee 25 per cent of parliamentary seats
to the military and to disbar Ms Suu Kyi from politics on the basis that
she was married to a foreigner — Michael Aris, the late, British academic.

Western diplomats and members of the opposition assume that the Government
will manipulate the result of the May referendum to ensure a yes vote. But
for the opposition the vote has shifted attention from the blatant
iniquities of the regime to the question of how to campaign.

A “vote no” campaign seems to be the emerging choice but some members of
the opposition argue that rejecting the constitution will remove the only
hope of a transition to some form of democracy in Burma, however
imperfect.

A boycott campaign would be risky — Burmese law makes an offence,
punishable by years in prison, of any criticism of the referendum.

The NLD has yet to announce its official position — either by necessity,
because it is divided internally, or deliberately, so that the eventual
call for a no vote will have all the more impact for being close to the
date of the referendum. Meanwhile the activists who remain at liberty do
what they can to prepare in a country where any criticism of the
government can lead to jail.

Anti-junta manifestos and vote no posters are circulated by e-mail and
occasionally posted in university campuses, before being torn down hastily
by the authorities. Activists distribute T-shirts bearing “NO!” in huge
letters, with the word “smoking” tucked unobtrusively at the bottom — thus
disguising a political slogan as a public health message.

Perhaps the most unexpected piece of political contraband is the latest
instalment in the Rambo series, a film of predictable brutality, in which
the eponymous hero righteously mows down his enemies. The difference is
that in this case the film has a South-East Asian setting and the enemies
of Rambo are the Burmese Army.

The film has become an underground hit and the authorities have responded
with a predictable lack of humour: three weeks ago Ko Thant Zin and Ko Tun
Tun, two young men, were arrested and locked up for a uniquely Burmese
offence — watching a Sylvester Stallone film.

A zoo has been opened in Naypyitaw, the remote, administrative capital of
Burma, by the junta who hope it will attract tourists. The attraction
includes animals taken from zoos in Rangoon and Mandalay. Civil servants,
who are required to live in Naypyitaw, had complained that there was
nothing to do in the city.

Diary of a protest

— As many as a hundred thousand ordinary Burmese people and Buddhist monks
took to the streets last year to demand democratic reform and protest
against the country's violent military regime

— The confrontation developed from a small-scale protest against a
doubling of state-controlled fuel prices announced on August 15, 2007

— Police attacked monks who joined the protesters

— Outraged by the violence, thousands more monks from monasteries across
the country marched to demand an apology

— As the protests grew, pro-democracy activists and ordinary citizens
joined them in their tens of thousands

— After a period of indecision, the regime cracked down with military
force on September 25. Troops entered the cities of Rangoon and Mandalay,
firing live ammunition and teargas

— One Japanese journalist and an unknown number of Burmese were killed

— Many witnesses reported seeing soldiers indiscriminately firing volleys
into crowds and bloodied bodies dragged from Buddhist temples

Sources: Federation of American Scientists; Free Burma Campaign

____________________________________

March 27, Associated Press
Myanmar opposes move to link Tibetan unrest with Beijing Olympics

Myanmar's military government said Thursday it opposed any move to link
recent unrest in Tibet with the Beijing Olympics, a state-owned newspaper
reported.

A statement from Myanmar's foreign ministry and carried in the New Light
of Myanmar newspaper said the Tibet unrest was "purely the internal
affairs" of China.

"The Chinese Government with all its wisdom and far-sightedness will
overcome the challenges successfully and will be able to maintain the
domestic peace and stability," the paper said, adding that it opposed any
move to link the incidents in Tibet with the Beijing Olympics in August.

China's crackdown in response to the most sustained uprising against
Chinese rule in almost two decades has put Beijing's human rights record
in the international spotlight, embarrassing and frustrating the communist
leadership, who had hoped for a smooth run-up to the Olympics.

The United States, Britain and Germany have condemned China for its
response to the protests in Tibet, but have stopped short of threatening
to boycott the games or the Aug. 8 opening ceremony. French President
Nicolas Sarkozy, however, has pointedly left the option open.

China has defended its use of force against protesters, describing
demonstrations that broke out in the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa on
March 14 as riots and violent crimes.

China is Myanmar's most important ally, providing economic, military and
other assistance while Western nations shun the military-ruled country
because of its poor human rights record and failure to restore democracy.

It objects to Western criticisms of Myanmar's military regime, saying
conditions in the southeast Asian country have improved dramatically since
a violent crackdown on peaceful protests in September last year.

____________________________________

March 27, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 Students leaders in poor health – Aye Nai

Ko Htun Myint Aung, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group, has said
the other group leaders detained in Insein prison are in poor health.

Htun Myint Aung said that Ko Mya Aye and Ko Marki in particular were
suffering health problems.

"Ko Marki, who has been in solitary confinement in Insein prison, is not
in very good health," he said.

"Ko Mya Aye is now suffering from lung-related problems and is coughing a
lot as he and other 88 generation leaders have been suspended from taking
a walk inside the prison."

Htun Myint Aung said the leaders had not been allowed to take exercise as
a punishment for making contact with people outside the prison.

____________________________________

March 27, Mizzima News
Junta reaffirms noble history of military

Six months to the day after Burmese security forces reached the apex of
their violent response to last September's monk-led protests, the country
honors the founding of the Burmese military.

Today marks the 63rd anniversary of Armed Forces Day, and the second
occasion which sees the ceremony take place in the junta's new
administrative capital of Naypyitaw.

The date, however, does not coincide with the founding of the national
army per se, widely regarded as taking place some four years previously,
but instead denotes the date in 1945 when Burmese armed forces, under Aung
San, turned on their heretofore Japanese cohorts and joined British and
allied forces in driving the remnants of the Japanese war machine from
Burma.

The intervening 63 years have proven turbulent times for Burma's armed
forces.

Failing to incorporate ethnic armies and militias upon its founding, the
armed forces, today, continue to wage a violent struggle against some
ethnic-based armies while maintaining a tenuous network of ceasefire
arrangements with others. And of course there was the violent suppressing
of mass protests against the shortcomings military rule in both 1988 and
2007.

Nevertheless, today's English language daily – The New Light of Myanmar –
affirmed, "The Tatmadaw with bravery, military skill and patriotism has
been safeguarding the interests of the people sacrificing a lot of lives
and blood."

However the occasion is not awarded front page headlines, those instead go
the likes of letting the country know that Senior General Than Shwe sent
his felicitations to the new Prime Minister of Belgium as well as a
feature article on the opening of a new Zoological Garden in Naypyitaw,
just down the road from today's festivities.

A cartoon in the paper, depicting a soldier uttering the words "In
interest of state and people", chronicles the military's justification for
intervention in the internal affairs of the state. In 1948/49 the military
is said to have responded to "a danger of multi-coloured internal
insurgency." In 1962, the year in which the present military dictatorship
assumed power, the armed forces are described as reacting to the danger of
secession by various ethnic states. And while recognition is given to the
dispelling of riots in 1988, there is no mention of the violence inflicted
on civilians and monks alike last year.

A further item in the daily gives notice to the reader of the army's
current position. A poem, entitled 'Armed Forces Day resolve' and
accredited to Dr. Shwe Pyi Soe, contains the stanzas: "With secure Road
Map, March we in unity" and "Skyful of lies and slanders, Low-breds
overseas, And foreign-relied traitors." Clearly, whatever the
international community has to say of the upcoming constitutional
referendum and the junta's road to "disciplined democracy", the military
intends to keep on pushing straight ahead.

In addition to senior members of Burma's armed forces, ceremonies today in
Naypyitaw are to be attended by various representatives of the foreign
community in Burma.

____________________________________

March 27, Mizzima News
Human rights abuses at heart of Burma's ills

The British government has concluded that the rabid abuse of human rights
by Burma's military government is the principle reason for the country's
myriad of problems.

In its annual report on the global human rights situation, the United
Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) states, "The Burmese
regime's persistent violations of human rights – not least the denial to
its citizens of the right to take part in the government of their own
country – is at the heart of Burma's political, economic and social
problems."

Calling for the Burmese government to respect the freedom of media, trade
unions and the judiciary, the FCO cautions that despite modest progress in
some areas, including a working arrangement with the International Labor
Organization, Burma remains a country in the grips of corruption,
patronage, impunity and a failing economy.

With more than 30 percent of the Burmese population believed to live on
less than one dollar a day, the FCO warns that "without serious progress
on political and economic reform, leading to a transparent, accountable
and inclusive government that respects human rights, the situation in
Burma will continue to deteriorate."

Speaking at the tome's official launching Tuesday in London, British
Foreign Secretary David Miliband remarked that the regime's heavy-handed
response to last years peaceful protests "frustrated the demands of
millions of decent people in Burma."

Though admitting that the military has an important role to play within
Burmese society, the FCO emphatically states that its role cannot be one
of military dictatorship.

The FCO asserts that the British Embassy in Rangoon played a crucial part
during last year's Saffron Revolution, "immediately" responding to the
crisis and playing "a leading role in bringing details of the human rights
abuses to the attention of the world."


>From its outpost in Rangoon, the British Embassy is said to actively

monitor the human rights situation in Burma and serve as a conduit for
European Union initiatives aimed at protecting human rights defenders.

Looking forward, the United Kingdom will continue to support the mission
of the UN Special Envoy to Burma and insist that Burma's generals work
with the United Nations and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The report also alleges that, "It is widely recognized, including by
countries in the region, that the regime's ongoing denial of the real
situation in Burma is both unacceptable and unsustainable." However Thai
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, following a visit this month to
Naypyitaw, Burma's capital, severely downplayed the dire condition of
human rights and democracy in Burma.

Having already approved through the Department for International
Development a doubling in aid assistance to Burma by 2010, to
approximately $36 million, the FCO maintains that the British government
stands ready to assist with even greater financial aid if there should
occur "genuine political change."

____________________________________

March 27, Mizzima News
Junta steps up screening of visa applicants

With May's constitutional referendum fast approaching, the Burmese
government is apparently tightening control over the issuance of tourist
visas to the country.

A vast majority of tourists to Burma enter via flight from Thailand,
having secured a Burmese tourist visa from one of Bangkok's multitude of
travel agencies. But the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok is now rejecting some
passports unless the owner of the passport appears in person at the
embassy.

Specifically targeted by Burmese authorities are reportedly citizens of
the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.

According to a Chiang Mai-based travel agent, Burmese Embassy staff are
now requesting to speak in person with those wishing to enter the country,
requiring additional verification as to the identity of some applicants as
well as further details of the applicant's profession.

Asked whether it was now mandatory for persons from the U.S., U.K. and
Japan to apply in person at the Embassy, a Bangkok travel agency confirmed
that it was increasingly becoming the case. "We can still try to obtain
the visa for them, but we cannot promise anything," stated an employee of
Olavi Tours.

Remarking that the new obstacles for hopeful travelers to Burma are a
relatively new phenomenon, the agents expressed their belief that the
restrictions will be lifted in some four to five months.

Though the exact impetus for the actions of the Consular Services section
of the Embassy are not known for sure, the steps are assumed to be related
to the junta's desire to keep foreign reporters and journalists out of the
country ahead of and during May's scheduled constitutional referendum.

The junta accused foreigners of entering the country under the guise of
tourism to report on and cover last year's Saffron Revolution, which
culminated in the deaths of dozens of protesters at the hands of security
forces.

Kenji Nagai, the Japanese journalist shot dead at point blank range on
September 27, had entered the country on a tourist visa.

The loosening of visa restrictions in five months time, if proven correct,
would coincide with the start of high season for tourism in the Southeast
Asian country, an industry that was devastated by events in the latter
months of last year and has yet to fully recover.

Burmese Embassy staff in Bangkok were unavailable for comment.

____________________________________

March 27, Kaladan Press Network
Religious function ransacked by security force

An ongoing religious function was ransacked and a religious leader Maulana
Sayedul Amin (60) of Maung Nama village was dragged away by Nasaka Burma's
border security force yesterday night while he was preaching, said a
schoolteacher in the locality.

Yesterday, at about 11 pm, a religious function was being held in Maung
Nama village in Maungdaw Township after permission from the concerned
authorities. The function was arranged by Abu Sofian (45), son of Md.
Siddique of Maung Nama village.

After the function began when Mohadas Sayedul Amin was preaching to the
people, suddenly, two groups of Nasaka in a fuddled state, numbering 12,
from Nasaka Headquarters surrounded the crowd and ransacked the place.
They arrested Maulana Sayedul Amin and dragged him to their camp.

Meanwhile, the crowd tried to snatch Maulana Sayedul Amin from the Nasaka
but, Nasaka personnel fired into the air to disperse them. The villagers
accompanied by Village Peace and Development Council Chairman went to the
Nasaka headquarters to apprise the commander.  But, the commander of
Nasaka Headquarters (Hqs) asked them to come again next morning, said a
local trader.

Today early in the morning, the villagers went to the Nasaka Headquartrers
again to meet the commander and at about 8:00 am the arrested Mohadas
Sayedul Amin was released without any conditions attached.

But one of the villagers Hasu Meah (55), son of Quellah Mea, hailing from
Maung Nama village in Maungdaw Township is still detained in the Nasaka
camp as he had quarrelled with Nasaka personnel while they were dragging
away Mohadas Sayedul Amin.

Again, today at about 10 am, Nasaka personnel involved in the incident and
Mohadas Sayedul Amin were summoned to the Nasaka Headquarters for further
investigations. But, what transpired was not known.


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 27, The Hindu
Govt okays Rs. 535 cr Myanmar project to help North East

The government on Thursday approved a Rs 535.91 crore multi-modal transit
transport project in Myanmar, which India will use for improving access to
the North-Eastern states.

The Union Cabinet sanctioned the funds under the 'Aid to Myanmar' project
for the upgradation of Sittwe Port and Kaladan Waterway. The money will
also be used for construction of a road from Setpyitpyin (Kaletwa) to the
India-Myanmar border.

"The project will provide an access to Mizoram and to other North-Eastern
states as well as an outlet to the sea," an official spokesperson told
reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The project, to be executed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India,
also involves construction and improvement of 117 km road on the Indian
side from India-Myanmar border.

The government approved signing of the Framework Agreement and Protocol on
Facilitation of Transit Transport and Protocol on Maintenance and
Administration to facilitate the project.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 27, Irrawaddy
GMS summit to hear Burmese PM’s views on environment management – William
Boot

Leaders of the six nations of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) gather
for an Asian Development Bank-backed summit in Vientiane on March 30.

The two-day meeting of senior government representatives from China,
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Burma is aimed at achieving an
“integrated, harmonious and prosperous subregion” of countries through
which the Mekong River flows, says the ADB.

However, critics argue that the 60 million people whose lives are linked
in some way by the Mekong have little or no say in what is happening to
their river and the surrounding areas.

Corruption, unchecked criminality and incomprehensible government in the
GMS are damaging the environment, often in the name of economic progress,
say non-government organizations (NGOs) campaigning for greater
transparency and public involvement in economic development issues.

Tropical timber is being illegally stripped from forests in Burma and Laos
and dams are being built or planned, either on the upper reaches of the
Mekong in China or on tributaries in Laos and Cambodia. The developments
are usually driven by Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and sometimes Singaporean
investment.

More than a dozen hydroelectric dams are planned by China along its
stretch of the 4,880 kilometer (3,030-mile) Mekong. Another four
hydroelectric systems are under construction or earmarked in Laos.

Most involve dislocation of local communities and sometimes destruction of
wildlife habitats, including several elephant herds in Laos.

“Unmet energy demand in the region is questionable, with power development
plans often overestimating the actual domestic energy demand,” said
environment campaigners Zao Noam and Piaporn Deetes in a report for the
Thailand-based NGO, Southeast Asia Rivers Network. “This is often a
reflection of unsound economic non-transparent decision-making.”

London-based NGO Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reported just
last week that “Vietnam’s booming economy and the West’s demand for cheap
furniture is driving rapid deforestation throughout the Mekong River
region.”

The EIA, assisted by Indonesian NGO Telapak, said the focus of this timber
trade is now Laos where criminal gangs operate in defiance of local laws
banning timber exports with “high-level corruption and bribery” involving
Thai and Singaporean buyers as well as Vietnamese.

The EIA report said it estimates that at least 500,000 cubic meters of
logs a year are being carted across the Laos-Vietnam border by trucks.

It is against this background that government ministers and senior
officials of the ADB will assemble in Vientiane for two days of meetings,
lunches and dinners.

A major feature of the two-day meetings will be a so-called youth forum,
led by the Lao Youth Union, which is a direct offshoot of the secretive
Communist Party of Laos.

The Mekong and the dams and the plundered forests are not on the agenda.

Among issues before the summit will be a “Road Map for Implementing the
GMS Cross-Border Power Trading.”

Burma will be represented by Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein.
The agenda lists him as addressing the “Role of Sustainable Environmental
Management in Promoting Competitiveness.” The environment is not one of
the general’s strong points, say Burma watchers.

Another environmentalist NGO—the Bangkok-based group Toward Ecological
Recovery—warned recently that planned hydroelectric dams in the GMS would
displace up to 75,000 people and threaten hundreds of fish species—notably
the giant catfish—with extinction.

Even the official Mekong River Commission, made up of the governments of
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, has expressed anxiety about the
consequences of China’s upper Mekong activities.

“Rapid economic development coupled with increasing population pressure is
degrading the environment and the [Mekong] basin’s resources at an
increasing rate,” the commission says. “It is imperative to do something
now.”

Environmentalists and human rights groups have been making similar
warnings about hydroelectric dam plans by China and Thailand on Burma’s
major Salween and Irrawaddy rivers.

The ADB, comprising 67 member countries including the US and Europeans,
endeavors to promote development in what it reports to be one of the
world’s fastest-growing subregions.

The ADB notes the GMS have an average annual economic expansion rate of
over 6 percent “in spite of a number of adverse internal and external
shocks.”

“The ADB no doubt means well, but half the members of the GMS club are
gangster economies in which ordinary people—those the ADB wants to
help—have absolutely no say in what goes on,” said an official with a
Western embassy in Bangkok monitoring regional developments who spoke on
condition of anonymity. “You could describe the GMS group as four
dictatorships, one UN dependency [referring to Cambodia] and one sort of
democracy [Thailand].”

____________________________________

March 27, Irrawaddy
Are Burma’s generals really looking at Indonesia model? – Wai Moe

The UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, recently told Singapore’s
Straits Times that the military rulers in Burma were looking to the
‘Indonesia model’ for the transition to democratic rule.

He said in an interview with the newspaper, “I can reveal to you that the
[Burmese] junta has been looking for a model closer to Indonesia where
there was a transition from military to civilian rule and ultimately to
democracy.”

However, according to an analyst, although the Burmese regime certainly
wants to learn former President Suharto’s tactic of prolonging his grip on
power, the top generals in Naypyidaw don’t want to put well-educated
military officers who have studied abroad in important positions within
the Tatmadaw (Burma’s armed forces).

“You know, during Suharto’s rule, well-educated military officers were in
significant positions,” said a Burmese researcher in Bangkok.
“Western-educated military officers became actors for reform in Indonesia.
But in the Tatmadaw, well-educated officers cannot attain top positions.

“Most of the generals in the ruling military council originated in the DSA
(the Defense Service Academy),” he added. “People like Col Thaung Htike, a
Western-educated military officer, never became top generals in the
Tatmadaw. They retired with ranks no higher than colonel or lieutenant
colonel.”

The military regime in Burma has previously imitated policies of the
Suharto regime—forming a military-backed organization, the Union
Solidarity and Development Organization (USDA) to legitimize military
rule. The USDA is modeled on Suharto’s Golongkan Karya (Golkar Party).

However, Burma observers say the junta draws the line at copying the
Indonesian commitment toward democratic reform in the late 1990s.

“The Burmese junta had planned to follow the Indonesian model under
Suharto for years to come,” said Htay Aung, a Burmese military analyst
with the Network for Democracy and Development. “But I don’t see the top
generals in Naypyidaw contributing toward democratization in Burma the
same way the Indonesian generals did 10 years ago.

“The Burmese generals might copy Indonesia, but they only think about
prolonging military rule,” he added.

The Indonesian military junta’s founder, Gen Suharto, came to power in the
wake of an abortive coup in 1965. He imposed authoritarian rule while
allowing technocrats to run the economy with considerable success.

“Gambari should be clear what kind of ‘Indonesia model’ he is talking
about. The model in the Burmese generals’ mind is Suharto’s one. But even
Suharto, he liberalized his country,” said Aung Moe Zaw, a secretarial
member of the National Council of Union of Burma. “As the UN special
envoy, Gambari should be principled. Advocating the Burmese junta is
unprincipled.”

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on
Thursday, “I don’t understand what Gambari’s talking about. I don’t see
the Burmese junta working toward a democratic transition as the Indonesian
generals did.”

Some also suggest Gambari should understand the “big picture” in Burma,
without looking to Indonesia for a model that leads “ultimately to
democracy.”

Burma analyst Aung Naing Oo said that, under Suharto’s rule, Indonesia’s
newspapers had more room than the current Burmese press.

“If the junta really imitated Suharto’s model in Indonesia, it would be
better than the current situation in Burma,” he added. “But I see no
evidence that the Burmese generals are following what Gambari’s saying.”

____________________________________

March 27, Merinews
India wooing Myanmar junta despite being hoodwinked – Shyamal Sarkar

India has been wooing the wily generals of the Myanmar military junta on
many fronts, from supply of armaments on territorial compulsions to making
investments for the sake of its economic and energy needs. But is the
junta reciprocating honestly?

INDIA AND Myanmar are playing footsie and on many counts the larger
neigbour is being taken for a ride. India, which has been cosying up to
military ruled Myanmar for a number of years, now has been supplying
military hardware to the junta. Among the armaments supplied is also an
Islander aircraft that India passed on to the regime despite strong
objections from the UK that supplied the aircrafts to India in the first
place.

India's idea behind arming the junta was to seek in return the flushing
out of Indian insurgents from the northeast hold up in Myanmar from where
they launch guerilla operations on the Indian armed forces. This is apart
from the bilateral trade ties that the two countries have.

Myanmar on its part seems to be playing a dubious game. Over a year ago it
went through the motions of attacking an Indian insurgent camp on its soil
but nothing much was heard about it afterwards. Myanmar shelters rebels
from Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and other splinter groups in the northeast.
There have been reports earlier that Indian insurgents based in Myanmar
stay comfortably and have business interests in the country. Both the
shelter and the business ventures have the patronage and the blessings of
the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) yet India continued to supply
armaments till the other day on the belief and conviction that these would
be used against the Indian rebels. No such thing is happening.

Recent accounts in the Myanmar media in exile suggests that an Indian
insurgent group from Manipur state in northeast India has set up an
elaborate establishment in Maungdaw Town near the Bangladesh border and is
into lucrative business ventures. The group was said to have set up an
office in Myoma Ka Nyin Tan (Sidar Para) village in Maungdaw Township last
year. It has been based in the neigbouring country since 2002.

The office is reported to be well equipped with computers cellular
telephones and the works. The Manipuri rebels use the Internet to keep in
touch with the outside world and are in constant touch with Myanmar
military officers. The Myanmar army was said to have gone to the extent of
building houses for them and Nasaka, Myanmar's border security force
provides security wherever they go.

Of the several business ventures that the group has one is operating
vehicles on hire through agents. The group has bought buses, cars and
jeeps and then hired it out to locals to ply between towns. The real
money, however, comes from poppy cultivation in the jungles away from the
town where locals are prohibited from going. Locals and shopkeepers were
quoted as testifying that the rebels were flush with money, as they deal
in heroin.

It is not that India's intelligence agencies are unaware of what is going
on. No major offensive against the Indian rebels, as was done in Bhutan
against the ULFA, has come to light in Myanmar. India seems to have
reasons not to push too hard in having the rebels flushed out because it
has larger and more immediate interests at stake. It is set to put the
seal on the Kaladan Multi-Model Project. The project envisages the
development of Sittwe port on the Bay of Bengal in Arakan state of
Myanmar. It will connect Mizoram state in landlocked Northeast India
through the Kaladan River. Built by the British the port is in disarray.
The Myanmar junta's number two man Maung Aye will arrive in New Delhi on
April 4 and finalise a host of business deals including the Kaladan
project.

The project envisages an Indian expenditure of about $ 100 million. The
Myanmar military regime has Promised Land but had been extremely reluctant
to invest funds. After much haggling India gave in to the junta's whims
and granted a soft loan of $ 10 million to Myanmar. The target for
completion for the Kaladan project is about four years. Rail India
Technical Economic Services (RITES) will execute the project.

As in the case of the Kaladan project where India has had to given into
the junta's demands the country has had to accept the junta's decision to
give precedence to China on access to gas reserves in Myanmar. Despite all
this India continues to woo the Myanmar Tatmadaw much to the chagrin of
the international community, which views the Southeast Asian nation as a
rouge state

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 27, Irrawaddy
US seeks India's help on Burma – Lalit K Jha

When the Indian Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, visited Washington
this week to discuss bilateral issues with his US counterparts, Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush Administration officials used the
opportunity to seek India’s help in resolving the Burma issue.

Mukherjee was in Washington for a two-day visit to the US—his first in the
capacity of India’s foreign minister—to discuss issues related to Indo-US
relations, in particular the ongoing deadlock over the civilian nuclear
cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The agreement, when signed into law, would give India access to US nuclear
technology for civilian purposes, but India is not able to finalize the
agreement because of opposition within its multi-party coalition
government led by Prime Minister Manhmohan Singh.

While little progress was made on this issue, Bush Administration
officials during their meetings with Mukherjee tried to impress upon him
the need for India to use its influence with the Burmese military
government to push it to respect the basic standards of the international
community.

“We have had an opportunity to talk about the deepening of our economic
ties, of our defense cooperation, and the deepening of our dialogue about
regional issues. We had, for instance, a discussion this morning
concerning Tibet and the troubling circumstances there, as well as on
Burma,” Rice told reporters soon after her meeting with Mukherjee at the
State Department on Monday.

The Indian foreign minister, on his part, explained India’s position and
the steps it has taken with respect to Burma. Besides Rice, Mukherjee also
met US President George W Bush and National Security Adviser Steve Hadley.

“During our course of discussion, the Myanmar [Burma] issue came up and so
far as Myanmar is concerned, we have explained our position, what we have
done to persuade the Myanmar authorities to extend cooperation to special
envoy Gambari and what steps they have initiated to carry on political
reforms and the national reconciliation process in that country,”
Mukherjee told reporters at the end of his US trip.

Referring to the steps taken by Burma, Mukherjee noted the junta has
appointed a special representative to carry on a dialogue with Aung San
Suu Kyi.

“It is our persistent suggestion to the Myanmar authorities to please
ensure that all important stakeholders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, are
fully involved in the process of political reforms and national
reconciliation,” he said.

“At the same time, we are suggesting them to maintain peace and
tranquility among the large number of ethnic entities who are in Myanmar,”
Mukherjee said.

“Therefore, this is one area where we are in touch with Myanmar
authorities and when the Myanmar foreign minister visited India, I had
detailed discussions with him. Gambari also discussed with us; we are in
touch with others, and we shared this information with the authorities
with whom we had discussions here,” he said.

When asked about India’s supplying military arms to the junta, which are
used by the authorities against its own people, Mukherjee said:  “So far
as our arms supplies to Myanmar are concerned, we do not supply any arms.
India is not a very major arms supplier to any other country.”

____________________________________

March 27, The New Zealand Herald
Monks denounce referendum call – Lincoln Tan

The head of the International Burmese Monks Organisation yesterday
denounced a junta-backed constitutional referendum in Myanmar as
"unlawful" and called on the New Zealand Government to reject it and join
other world leaders to help the country get back on track towards "true
democracy".

Venerable U Pannya Vamsa, a revered Burmese Buddhist leader who is in New
Zealand on a three-day visit, made this call in a declaration at the
Ratanadipa Buddhist Temple in New Lynn yesterday.

The 83-year-old abbot will also be meeting politicians, including Green MP
Keith Locke, community leaders and journalists this afternoon to help
garner local support to the Burmese cause.

Mr Vamsa is calling on the Government "to bring its target sanctions
policy into line with Australia, United States and European Union
policies" and "to use its embassy in Thailand to regularly meet with Aung
San Suu Kyi and her party".

He is also asking New Zealand to start a "Burma democracy fund" to help
finance pro-democracy movements outside Myanmar, similar to the Zimbabwe
Democracy Fund established by Australia.

There are about 2000 Burmese in Auckland and the temple has become a
meeting place for the community, where hundreds flock to during weekends.

Ma Maung, who entered New Zealand as a refugee last year, said life here
was "like living in heaven" compared with where he came from. An estimated
90 per cent of the population in Myanmar lives on about US$1 ($1.25) a
day.

"Some people complain here about how hard life is and how poor they are in
New Zealand, but I think no one knows what is being poor unless you have
lived in Burma," he said. "There is also no freedom, and you have to watch
every word and every movement, otherwise the Army will be ever ready to
get you."

Last month, Myanmar's military rulers announced they would hold a
referendum on a new constitution in May to set the stage for a multiparty
democratic election in 2010.

Although China, Russia and some South East Asian countries have said this
was a step in the right direction, the US and some Western countries saw
it as being aimed at entrenching the military's role there.

Mr Vamsa said the referendum was an attempt by the junta to "trick the
international community" into believing they were heading towards
democracy.

"How can they say it is democracy when they have laws that are like guns
pointing at our heads?" asked the abbot, who is living in exile in Penang,
Malaysia. "The junta has imposed laws to make speeches and leaflets about
the referendum illegal and even declared democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
could not participate because she was married to a foreigner who is now
dead."

He said the referendum was identical to the stalling tactic the regime
used when it refused to recognise the democratic elections in 1990 that
was won by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

"They are only trying to trick the community because they don't want the
world to remember what happened in September last year," Mr Vamsa said,
referring to the regime's crackdown on the pro-democracy uprising which
left at least 31 people dead.

____________________________________

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 27, Irrawaddy
Time’s up, Gambari! – Min Zin

The United Nation's mediation efforts in Burma have become snared in a
trap. The special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is now caught between
an unsuccessful mediation and his reluctance to admit failure.

Frustration abounds. Gambari appears to have become the target of mounting
disappointments. Most Burmese opposition groups would say he deserves it.

During his briefing on Burma with the United Nations Security Council
(UNSC) on March 18, Gambari seemed anxious to prove how important his role
as special envoy really was. Though he admitted his efforts had yielded
“no immediate tangible outcome,” he insisted the efforts of the UN good
offices were “relevant” to both sides—the opposition led by Aung San Suu
Kyi and the military regime.

Gambari even said in his briefing that he had reason to believe that the
Burmese government attaches importance to his mission and "continues to
value the Secretary-General's good offices as the best prospect for
further cooperation through mutual trust and confidence, and constructive
suggestions."

Unfortunately, the facts do not allow the special envoy grounds for such
optimism.

According to highly publicized state media reports, Burmese Information
Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan urged him to support the junta’s “Seven-step
Road map” and stop pursuing alternatives suggested by Western democracies.

The regime's information czar added that if Gambari tried to force the
country to meet Western calls for reform, “We would be concerned that your
task of offering impartial advice may be undermined.”

As a clear indication of the regime's lack of cooperation, military chief
Than Shwe, the only true decision-maker in Burma, shunned Gambari on his
last two visits.

In fact, the junta has already rejected the UN's key proposals. It turned
down suggestions that Burma should set up a broad-based constitutional
revising commission in order to ensure an inclusive political process, and
establish a poverty alleviation commission.

After the two proposals were rejected, Gambari, on his last trip to the
country, put forward one more suggestion to the junta—that Burma invite
international observers to the upcoming referendum. Reportedly, the
junta's information minister responded with a blunt “no.”

Additionally, senior Burmese military officials announced that the new
constitution would bar Aung San Suu Kyi from running in future elections
because she was previously married to a foreigner, a British scholar, who
died of cancer nine years ago.

Gambari's failure has become so severe that he could not even manage to
persuade the Security Council members to release a much-anticipated
Presidential Statement after his briefing. However, the Council may
release a Presidential Statement on Burma next week, thanks to the hard
work of US-led Western democracies. Council members are now negotiating
the language of the statement. However, no one should not expect a strong
statement from the UNSC, a diplomat warned. "It will be a statement with a
very mild tone," said a source close to the UN.

The faith of Burmese dissident groups in Gambari's mission is about to hit
rock bottom.
"We hoped he (Gambari) would ask the Council to strengthen the mandate of
the Secretary-General in pressuring the junta for an all party-inclusive,
transparent and democratic process of national reconciliation in our
country. However, to our surprise and sadness, he misled the Council,"
read a joint statement issued by the All Burma Monks Alliance and the 88
Generation Students group on March 26.

In fact, there may be a valid reason to consider broader factors for his
ineffectiveness and do justice to Gambari.

"Mr Gambari's efforts should be understood in a larger context, instead of
over-focusing on his diplomatic skill. The success of Gambari's mission
depends on the readiness of key international players to use their
leverage over the Burmese junta," said Dr Thaung Tun, UN representative of
the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma—effectively the
Burmese government in exile. "At the same time, we also need to review how
Gambari engages the junta; whether or not he adheres to the line of
principled engagement."

UN officials maintain that "the role of the good offices is still very
intact" and "very much a work in progress."

"I do understand there is the expression of frustration, but you can't
expect miracles to happen to a situation that has been going years and
years," said Choi Soung-ah, a UN spokeswoman. "Mr Gambari currently is the
world's only tie into the government of Myanmar [Burma]. From the UN
perspective, it is very important not to take drastic action immediately
because we don't want to shut down the only channel."

This channel, however, can prompt disservice to genuine international
mediation efforts on Burma.

According to senior diplomats in Europe, the argument prevailing among
Asian countries—including China and even some European nations—is that
they support the UN special envoy's mediation. So long as Gambari says his
mission is relevant and can yield positive results, they will not
undermine him. They will support him—and wait and see.

"In fact, they justify their handoff policy by hiding behind Gambari's
mission," a senior diplomat from the EU told The Irrawaddy on condition of
anonymity. "Unless Gambari admits that he can't do anything with the
present mandate, he is unwittingly dragging the mediation effort into the
swamp. No better alternative will be found."

Aung Din, the executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, agrees.

"Burma is now being hijacked by Gambari," said Aung Din. "His effort has
failed miserably again and again and again. Unless the mission is enhanced
and strengthened by the UN Security Council, nothing positive can be
expected. But instead of admitting that, he is still acting like he
remains relevant and can do magic. It is a high disservice to
international mediation efforts. For the people of Burma, we feel
betrayed."

In fact, Gambari has already exhausted his capacity for persuasion, the
principal source of leverage that a mediator wields. Instead of drowning
himself further in quagmire, he may want to use another source of
leverage—his own termination.

As a mediator, he can say "I withdraw now. I can't make any progress with
the current mandate. I need stronger Security Council support to deal with
the Burmese generals."

Of course, his withdrawal will not have a direct impact on the military
junta—the generals in Naypyidaw are not so sensitive to such threats. But
it will make China and Asean feel more pressured to cooperate with Western
democracies to resolve Burma's crisis.

At least, it will be easier for US-led Western democracies to compel China
and Asean (especially two current Council members: Indonesia and Vietnam)
to approve a stronger Council mandate for the UN special envoy.

All in all, if Gambari uses the threat of withdrawal skillfully it could
yield a greater opportunity to raise the Burma issue in the UN Security
Council.

____________________________________

March 27, Irrawaddy
Is Than Shwe’s pledge just a ploy?

Burma’s head of state, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, says he is not power hungry and
will hand the country over to a civilian rule after his government’s
planned elections in 2010.

The junta leader, now in his mid-70s, made the pledge in a 15-minute
speech to mark the 63rd anniversary of Armed Forces Day—previously known
as Resistance Day, commemorating the armed Burmese uprising against the
Japanese occupation in 1945.

Than Shwe’s predecessor, the late coup leader Snr-Gen Saw Maung, made the
same promise before the 1990 election, when the military leaders believed
that a party associated with them would win and at least be able to form a
coalition government with opposition parties.

But that didn’t happen, and the generals changed their tone. The outright
winner of the 1990 election, the National League for Democracy party of
detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, was prevented by the junta from
rightfully assuming power. Saw Maung had lied through his teeth.

So can Than Shwe now be believed? Perhaps—as long as the results of the
May referendum and the election planned for 2010 match the generals’
expectations.

Their aim is to place the army in a leading political role in order to
continue to rule the country under its new constitution, and they are
striving purposefully to achieve this end.

According to the junta’s constitutional principles of writing the
constitution, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces—currently Than
Shwe—is entitled to appoint military officials to 25 percent of the seats
in two parliaments, 110 seats in the 440-seat Peoples Parliament and 56
seats in the 224-seat National Parliament.

That’s tantamount to robbery, but it’s not all. When it comes to the
election of a presidential triumvirate—a president and two vice
presidents—the procedure remains in the hands of the commander-in-chief.

Firstly, three vice presidents will be elected by a presidential electoral
college comprised of representatives of three groups—one formed with
elected members of the People’s Parliament, another with elected members
of the National Parliament and a third with military officials appointed
by the commander-in-chief. Secondly, the president will be chosen from the
elected vice presidents.

Thus, it’s certain that one vice president will be a military official.
Besides, according to the draft constitution, the commander-in-chief will
politically occupy a position on the same level as that of the two vice
presidents.

Parliament will have no right, however, to discuss or interfere in all
military affairs concerning the armed forces, including finance and
justice.

Burma’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, will have the right to administer
independently all militarily-related matters, according to the draft
constitution.

Both parliaments will thus be just rubber stamp entities to endorse
whatever is proposed by the commander-in-chief, the most powerful person
under the new constitution. This move to place the military above the
constitution is just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, if everything goes to plan, Than Shwe will happily hand over
power to a civilian government controlled by the commander-in-chief. But
if the plan hits a snag and fails to match Than Shwe’s expectations, we
can expect a power handover to be postponed for a further 20 years.

The Tatmadaw, once respected by the Burmese people, has totally lost its
credibility and dignity during four decades of military rule. More than 60
years after its formation, Than Shwe’s Tatmadaw has become an enemy of the
state because of the ruling generals’ inhumane treatment of the people and
the country’s monks.

____________________________________

March 27, The Guardian Weekly UK
Captive art in Burma

Accused of planning opposition protests, in 1998 artist Htein Lin was
arrested and imprisoned by the Burmese/Myanmar military government. In
prison, he secretly continued to paint, improvising with soap blocks,
syringes, cigarette lighters and his own body. The resultant 230 works of
art add up to a depiction of life in prison and portray the memories,
hopes and fears of his fellow prisoners. Lin describes his challenging
journey

I became interested in art at age seven or eight. My parents were not rich
and Burma itself was very poor at that time (it still is), so we only had
one book for study. When I practised in school, I had to use a piece of
slate. I continued to paint in high school and would copy paintings for my
friends, but I eventually had to study law at university because there was
nowhere to study art.

In 1988 a student was killed by the police, and we demonstrated with other
students against this. There were a lot of changes in our country at this
time and all the students and many people tried to struggle for democracy.
I became the student leader in my town, near the delta area, and the
military had their eyes on me.

After 1998, the military took over and I ran away to the jungle, near the
Indian border. Most of the students believed that we must fight for
democracy and I was part of that movement.

I lived in a student camp in the jungle, and met a famous artist there who
taught me different styles of drawing, but we didn't have any materials.
We had only two sheets of A4 paper per day to use, so I had to practise on
the newspaper. This was fine because I couldn’t read anyway.

I spent four years in the jungle. We faced a big problem there because two
student groups had a power struggle. One group accused the other of being
spies and I ended up being tortured before escaping.

I went back to university and decided to choose an artist’s life, putting
on two solo exhibitions in Rangoon [now called Yangon]. At the time I was
interested in abstract art, but people thought it was strange and I found
it difficult to survive.

In 1998 a former comrade who lived in Mandalay wrote a letter to other
friends, mentioning the political movement and saying who might be
interested. In the letter, he mentioned my name.

At midnight on May 31 1998 the authorities came to arrest me in the small
house where I lived with my wife, who worked as a seamstress. My
18-month-old daughter was asleep. They asked lots of questions. I said:
"Yes, I know this guy, we met in the jungle, but I didn’t know their
plans. I can see my name here, yes, but I didn’t know about this." They
gave me seven years.

When criminal prisoners first enter the jail they are sent to the pon-san
cell. Here they are taught prison discipline and, in particular, the
squatting positions that prisoners must assume every morning and evening
for several hours while they are being counted, and whenever a senior
prison official comes to inspect them.

The cell is overseen by the chief trustee, a prisoner who has a lot of
authority in jail because he provides a regular income to the governor.
The amount of time prisoners spend there varies from an hour to a week,
depending on their wealth. The well-connected pay the trustee off early
and move to a normal cell, while the poor are also let off quickly; but
those whom the trustee thinks could be squeezed for money are kept there
and bullied and beaten until they find some. Political prisoners avoid
this, and are sent straight to their cells where another prisoner will
explain the situation to them.

At the prison in Mandalay, we complained about the local requirement to
bow our heads when a senior official inspected and not look him in the
eye. As a result of raising this, and various other grievances, around 15
of us were systematically beaten in May 2000 before being transferred to
distant jails. I was sent to Myaungmya in the delta. Although, like all
prisoners, I suffered multiple deprivations while in jail, this was the
only time I was physically abused.

It took me a year to start painting properly in prison. I had to befriend
a prison guard, who would bring me colour but no brushes. I had to find
other things to paint with. The first thing I found was the secret
lighter. They were not allowed but we were able to get hold of one. I
realised I could use the wheel to paint with, so I took the lighter apart
and used part of it as a ruler, and the wheel to paint with. I started
painting on plastic, then began to use bits of our white cotton uniform. I
did 20 paintings with the first lighter, and in my cell I put on an
exhibition for the 30 other political prisoners. I had to pay the guard to
let me do it and he gave me two hours.

In my paintings I wanted to describe life in jail, to show the reality of
the situation. It was hard to draw images from memory, but I didn’t worry
about this because I had so much inspiration from my prison life, and it
was so hard to find the time to paint because of the prison guards, and
sometimes I didn’t have any uniform to paint on.

I tried to get information from prisoners and my contacts about where the
other guards were, who was in the tower. I had to know where every guard
was. I would say, "If you bring me colour to paint with you can see my
paintings, and there will be no political problem here, it’s just
painting." I eventually smuggled lots outside.

I painted Waiting for Father almost two years after my arrest, imagining
my family waiting for me to return. Their standing in the neighbourhood
would be diminished by being a fatherless family, so I painted this
picture small. I used a stick, and oil paints. The cotton came from a thin
shirt and was hard to paint on.

The Return shows my family returning home from a jail visit. It was
painted using a syringe full of paint, and the end of the syringe needle
was used to speckle the clouds.

I was part of a demonstration in the Mandalay prison, for which I spent
seven months on death row as punishment, although not because I was
condemned to death. It was a different environment from the political
prisoners’ cells, where we talked of poetry and politics. On death row,
the prisoners compared murder stories and talked of miserable things.

Death Row, which I painted after being transferred back to the political
prisoners’ block, shows the faces of prisoners in two rows of five cells,
distorted with stress, and without hope of release. Six of them are
painted by printing from the back of a large plastic photo of Buddha I was
able to keep in my cell. Four of them were painted using a syringe. I had
quite easy access to syringes at the time because a medical orderly in the
jail was a former poet and we had a mutual friend from Myaungmya.

I obtained quite a lot of material from departing criminal prisoners who
often had two or three that they would sell for 10 cigarettes or for
50-100 kyats before they left. But they were very dirty because the
prisoners were usually doing filthy work and didn’t have time, soap or
water to wash properly. It would take me two or three washes to get these
clean enough, which was more tiring than actually painting.

In total I completed over 1,000 paintings in prison. Many were stored at
home but, unfortunately, my wife (who wanted a divorce) became very angry
at my situation and destroyed everything. So I only have around 230
paintings left. When I was released I carried on painting, but continued
with my prison technique. Before prison my style was abstract, but prison
allowed me to find my true art form.

• Htein Lin was speaking to Mark King.

________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 27, Burma Campaign UK
UK government backs UN arms embargo on Burma

The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed British government support for a
United Nations arms embargo against Burma.

Speaking on Tuesday in the British Parliament during a debate on foreign
policy, Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn stated: “We are concerned about
the lack of progress (in Burma) and, indeed, in some respects, matters
have gone backwards. We would certainly consider pushing for the issue to
be discussed further at the UN, and we would support a UN call for an arms
embargo.”

The European Union already has an arms embargo against Burma, but so far
no serious steps have been taken to persuade the United Nations to impose
an arms embargo, despite increasing demands for an embargo by Burmese
pro-democracy organisations.

“We welcome British government support for a UN arms embargo,” said Zoya
Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. “It is shocking that
despite the UN stating the regime is breaking the Geneva Convention by
deliberately targeting civilians in Eastern Burma, and guns being used
against peaceful protestors in Rangoon, there is no global ban on arms
sales to the regime. What we need to see now is the British government
actively working to get agreement on a UN arms embargo”

For more information contact Zoya Phan on 44(0)20 73244712