BurmaNet News, April 18, 2008

[Editor]

April 18, 2008 Issue # 3447


INSIDE BURMA
IMNA: Government staffs forced to sign pledge to cooperate on referendum
Mizzima News: Min Ko Naing needs urgent eye treatment: AAPP
Mizzima News: Over 500,000 IDPs at risk in Burma
Mizzima News: Burmese junta seeks constitutional amnesty
SHAN: Youth group doles out Vote No leaflets
Irrawaddy: Pro-junta thugs continue attacks on activists
Irrawaddy: Popular Burmese rap performer arrested

ON THE BORDER
Thai Press Report: Thai Foreign Affairs Minister says Myanmar survivors
should not be prosecuted
Asia Times Online: A boom at the border
Kaladan News: Six foreign countries’ high officials visit Burmese refugee
camps

BUSINESS / TRADE
Meri News: A red carpet for Myanmar!
Colombo Page: 'Rangoon Kakulu' rice to enter to Sri Lanka's local market
from May

ASEAN
The Nation (Thailand): Appointment of new US ambassador to Asean augers
well for future cooperation and action

REGIONAL
AFP: 'Atmosphere of intimidation' clouds Myanmar polls: British envoy
Mizzima News: Court grants bail to detained Burmese journalists
The New Strait Times: Rohingyas demonstrate outside Myanmar, Thai embassies

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Bush, Brown call for referendum observers
The Nation (Thailand): UK worried over Burma referendum

PRESS RELEASE
AAPP: Min Ko Naing – Leading Burmese democracy activist may face blindness



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 18, Independent Mons News Agency
Government staffs forced to sign pledge to cooperate on referendum

Departmental officers of the Burmese government have been made to sign a
pledge that they will work in coordination with the referendum commission
to campaign to the people to cast the ‘Yes' vote.

A school administrator in Mon State, "We had to sign that we are going to
cooperate and help them in the coming referendum". All staff members of
schools and other departments were forced to sign.

"We will help out the commission in the polling booths and the referendum
process in May", she said. Their signatures will be submitted to the top
authorities.

Departmental offices in Mon State were forced to sign by their relevant
ministry from the end of March.

To get the 'Yes' vote, the Burmese regime has not closed government
offices for civilian staff members during the water festival even though
it had declared closure during the festival.

After the Burmese regime ordered the closure for the duration of the water
festival, the Township department officers were reordered not to close the
office and stand by at the office by their concerned ministry.

According to some civilian department officers, the officers have to take
the responsibility of explaining to their staff members about the new
constitution.

"It was a mix up. We can't do our job well due to such contradictory
orders," the school administrator said.

____________________________________

April 18, Mizzima News
Min Ko Naing needs urgent eye treatment: AAPP – Maung Dee

Burma's prominent student leader Min Ko Naing under detention is said to
be suffering from a serious eye problem that requires immediate medical
attention, Thailand based Assistant Association for Political Prisoners –
Burma (AAPP) said.

The AAPP on Friday said it has urged the United Nations Human Rights
Council to pressure the junta to arrange for immediate medical treatment
for Min Ko Naing, who has been suffering from the eye problem since the
past three weeks.

Citing sources in Burma, the AAPP secretary Tate Naing said, "Though the
authorities earlier said that it would allow treatment outside the prison
in mid-April, they have again postponed it to next month."

"If the treatment is delayed until next month, his [Min Ko Naing]
situation will worsen. So we are urging the international community to
pressure the junta for timely treatment," Tate Naing said.

Tate Naing said despite Min Ko Naing's complaint regarding his eye
problem, prison authorities did not provide effective medical treatment.

Min Ko Naing, Burma's most prominent student leader, was arrested on
August 21, 2007 along with 12 other colleagues after he participated in a
peaceful march on August 19 over the sudden oil price hike, that triggered
wide-spread protests later.

Due to lack of adequate and effective medical treatment in Burma's
prisons, an 88 generation student Hla Myo Naung housed in Insein prison in
Rangoon has reportedly lost his sight in one eye. Similarly, Than Lwin, an
elected Member of Parliament in the 1990 election, also lost his sight in
one of his eyes while he was detained in Mandalay's Ohn Bo prison.

____________________________________

April 18, Mizzima News
Over 500,000 IDPs at risk in Burma

At least half a million people were residing in perilous conditions as
internally displaces persons (IDPs) in Burma at the close of 2007,
according to a new report released yesterday.

The Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
(IDMC) estimates that during a twelve month period from October 2006 to
October 2007, an additional 76,000 Burmese citizens were forced to flee
their homes, with northern Karen state and eastern Pegu Division being hit
hardest.

Burma's IDP population consists of approximately 300,000 people living in
camps at temporary ceasefire areas under the surveillance of various
ethnic groups, 100,000 subsisting in Burma's jungles and another 100,000
struggling to eke out a living in government controlled relocation sites.

IDMC fears that the burgeoning global food crisis, specifically the rising
cost of rice, will only serve to exacerbate the IDP crisis inside the
impoverished Southeast Asian country.

Burma is consistent with the broader plight of IDPs in Asia, in that a
vast majority of those forced from their homes are the result of long
standing conflict and protracted displacement.

The report accuses Burma's military government of being responsible for a
highly disproportionate number of the recorded human rights violations
against IDPs, including torture, beatings and forced conscription.

"Despite being responsible for the wellbeing of citizens within their
territory, many national governments in 2007 were still unwilling or
unable to prevent people being forced from their homes, or provide
adequate protection and assistance to those who had been displaced,"
averts Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General Elisabeth Rasmusson.

Yet, excluding the Middle East, even though Burma's IDP population
outpaces that of any other Asian country, IDMC does not list Burma as one
of the 13 "countries with worst displacement situations." However West
Papua, Indonesia, is included.

In all, IDMC documented 26 million people around the world as
conflict-related IDPs in 2007, a six percent increase from the previous
year. Sudan, Colombia and Iraq top the figures, combining for nearly half
of the global IDP population.

Drawing stark attention to the dearth of information regarding much of
Burma, IDMC acknowledged that their estimate is based predominantly on the
eastern regions of the country, an area of the country monitored by
several Thai-based human rights and watchdog organizations.

____________________________________

April 18, Mizzima News
Burmese junta seeks constitutional amnesty

A major flaw that the Burmese military junta's draft constitution has is a
clause that grants amnesty to all military officers for crimes they have
committed, a group of Burmese and international lawyers said.

The junta, in Chapter 14 of its draft constitution, provides immunity to
all military officials from being tried and prosecuted, which groups
including the Burma Lawyers Council, Global Justice Centre and Burma
Justice Committee said is totally against international law.

Article 445 of the junta's draft constitution states that, "No legal
action shall be taken against those (either individuals or groups who are
members of SLORC and SPDC) who officially carried out their duties
according to their responsibilities."

Aung Htoo, General Secretary of the BLC said, "This is an attempt to
constitutionally grant amnesty for all the crimes they have committed and
is totally against any international law."

The BLC, GJC and BJC in a statement said, the junta by seeking amnesty is
recognizing the serious crimes that it has and is committing.

"The regime cannot, however, simply give itself immunity as it is seeking
to do
 This immunity is invalid under international law and cannot be
accepted by the international community," the groups said.

"The rule of law must replace military might. This constitution and its
illegal amnesty provision cannot bring sustainable peace to Burma," said
the group.

The groups also called on the UN Security Council to create an Independent
Commission of Inquiry to investigate the crimes and see to criminal
accountability of those members of the military regime who have committed
international crimes.

Sappho Dias, Chairman of Burma Justice Committee said they have begun a
move to push the UN to impose criminal sanctions against Burma's ruling
generals.

"We are trying to get the UN to try to impose criminal sanctions against
the Burmese generals and international communities should support this
move," Dias said.

Besides the amnesty provision, the junta's draft constitution, which it
seeks to approve through a referendum on May 10, has also come under
attack by critics for providing immense power to the military, also known
as 'Tatmadaw.'

According to the draft charter, the Tatmadaw members, with the direct
appointment of the Military Chief, will automatically lay claim to 25 per
cent of parliamentary seats in both the houses.

Critics said this provision is the junta's effort to ensure that the
military will play a leading role in Burma's future politics.

In a bid to guarantee that any future government cannot easily amend the
junta's constitution, the junta has made the amending procedure extremely
rigid.

Under Chapter 12 of the draft constitution, the junta has made it clear
that any bill for amendment will need 20 per cent support by legislatures
before it can be accepted as a bill.

And it says that at least 75 per cent of the legislature must endorse the
bill before it can be introduced to the people in a referendum.

____________________________________

April 18, Shan Herald Agency for News
Youth group doles out Vote No leaflets – Hseng Khio Fah

At midnight, on 16 April, leaflets urging people to vote against the junta
draft constitution on 10 May referendum were seen along the streets in
Namkham, northern Shan State, according to sources.

"Some people agreed with the contents of the leaflets while some were
afraid to keep the leaflets so they tore them into pieces," said a
civilian who wishes to be anonymous.

The name Moe Pyar (Blue Sky) was written at the top of the leaflets. T hey
talked about the first president of Burma Prince Sao Shwe Thaike of
Yawnghwe, Gen Ne Win and Senior General Than Shwe. The paper urges people
not to support the 10 May referendum.

The paper comments," Oh, people of Shan State, don't allow yourself to be
conned for the second time". (Panglong where Shans, together with Kachins
and Chins, joined hands with Burma to struggle for joint-independence is
generally regarded as the first con.)

However, there is as yet no response from the authorities yet concerning
the leaflets, according to a source.

In March, officers from Township Peace and Development Council called on
the people to support the junta draft constitution. They were threatened
with 3 years imprisonment for failure to comply with the order.

"The leaflets signify that people are becoming intolerant," said a source.

An unconfirmed report says the group Moe Pyar is made up of youth and that
there are over 100 people in the group.

____________________________________

April 18, Irrawaddy
Pro-junta thugs continue attacks on activists – Wai Moe

Pro-democracy activists in Burma face continuing harassment ahead of next
month’s national referendum on a military-drafted constitution, according
to the country’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD).

Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the party, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that
unidentified thugs attacked NLD members in two different areas of Rangoon
in the past week. He said that harassment also continued in other parts of
the country.

“Ko Thi Han, an NLD youth leader from South Dagon Myothit Township was
attacked by unknown thugs with batons on April 16 because he was wearing a
‘No’ T-shirt,” said Nyan Win. “He was returning to his home by bicycle
when some people in a car started to follow him and then got out to attack
him.”

Another Rangoon-based NLD activist, Win Thein, and several members of his
family were similarly assaulted while they were walking home from a bus
stop in North Okkalapa Township, he added.

“Other harassment of NLD activities occurred in Taunggok Township in
Arakan State and Wakema and Dedaye Townships in Irrawaddy Division,” said
Nyan Win.

“Authorities in places all over the country seized copies of an NLD
statement titled ‘Request to the People,’ calling on people to vote
against the constitution because it is fundamentally undemocratic.”

He added that the ruling junta has begun a campaign to win support for the
constitution using pamphlets and the state-run media, “so dissident groups
have right to take part in a ‘vote no’ movement.”

An NLD member in South Dagon Myothit Township also said that a colleague,
Tin Win, was arrested on April 15 because authorities suspected him of
posting “No” signs on billboards during last week’s Thingyan water
festival. Tin Win’s family has not received any contact from him since his
arrest.

Meanwhile, around two dozen activists were arrested last Sunday in the
Arakan State town of Sittwe for wearing “No” T-shirts urging people to
vote against the constitution. They were released the next day after
interrogation, according to reports.

____________________________________

April 18, Irrawaddy
Popular Burmese rap performer arrested – Min Lwin

Burmese authorities have arrested popular rap and hip-hop performer Yan
Yan Chan in a continuing round-up of celebrities who support the
pro-democracy movement.

A resident of Monywa Township in Upper Burma who knows Yan Yan well said
he was arrested with a friend, Mie Mie, early Thursday. They were arrested
at the house of a mutual friend in Monywa Township, the resident said.

Yan Yan Chan and three musicians founded Burma’s first hip-hop band, ACID
in late 2000 and became very popular on the country’s music scene.

A singer who is a friend of Yan Yan Chan said the pop star had been under
observation by the authorities since the arrest of his friend Zayar Thaw,
another member of ACID, in late February. Zayar Thaw was sent to Rangoon’s
notorious Insein Prison.

Burmese authorities have become increasingly nervous about the activities
of the country’s pop music community and Internet bloggers since the
monk-led demonstrations of September 2007.

Musician Win Maw, leader of the Shwe Thansin group, was arrested last
November 27 in a Rangoon teashop. He had already been sentenced to seven
years imprisonment in 1997 for writing songs in support of Burma’s
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In January this year, the authorities arrested one of Burma’s best known
bloggers,
Nay Phone Latt, whose Internet sites were a major source of information
about the protests and the regime’s brutal crackdown.

Nay Phone Latt, a youth member of the opposition National League for
Democracy, owned the Explorer Internet café in Rangoon’s Papedan Township,
the Heaven Internet café in Thingangyun Township and a third in the same
suburb.

The authorities have also tried to break contacts between Burmese bloggers
and the outside world by blocking and slowing down Internet transmission
speeds.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 18, Thai Press Report
Thai Foreign Affairs Minister says Myanmar survivors should not be prosecuted

Thailand's Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has urged authorities not to
prosecute the Myanmar migrants who survived the recent suffocation death
tragedy in the southern province of Ranong.

Following the death of 54 Myanmar migrants in a truck transporting them to
Phuket, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama suggested the incident survivors
of the incident not be prosecuted under law.

Mr Noppadon reasoned the case should not only be seen as an illegal
immigration crime, but also one of human trafficking and smuggling. This
made it reasonable for Thai authorities to release the survivors without
fining them and put them in police custody.

The Minister's comment echoed that of Sunee Chaiyaros, from National Human
Rights Commissioner ( NHRC), who planned to travel to Ranong province to
investigate the incident and provide assistance to the survivors.

Ms Sunee said herself and the Lawyers Council wanted to interview the
survivors in an attempt to understand the event and gain useful
circumstantial information leading to the mastermind behind the smuggling
gang. The NHRC also wanted to evaluate whether the tragic incident fell
into the category of human trafficking.

Ms. Sunee said their presence and investigation in Ranong would lead to a
new 'territory' for human rights work, which involves taking care of
human-trafficking victims.

Saying that the migrant had already been exploited by a human trafficking
smuggling gang, she maintained it was neither moral nor constructive to
detain them, fine each 2,000-baht and deport them, only to have them
return to face arrest again.

"I first heard that the migrant job-seeker survivors of the tragedy would
be deported to Myanmar today (Thursday)," Ms. Sunee said, noting that she
quickly talked with the governor of Ranong and the top social development
and human security official to slow the process; the request had been very
well granted.

"The ministry will allow us to talk to the illegal migrants tomorrow
(Friday)," Ms. Sunee said.

In a related development, another suspected member of the
human-trafficking ring was arrested by police.

Weera Yingyuad was reportedly one of a number of job brokers who travelled
in the same truck in which the 54 migrants suffocated to death.

Like the other suspects arrested earlier -- Jirawat Sophapanworagul, owner
of Choke Charoen fishing pier where the workers entered the truck, and
truck owner Damrong Phussadee -- Mr. Suchon was denied bail and taken into
police custody.

At least seven suspects are involved in the case, but their names are
being with held to protect the investigation, police said.

The tragedy occurred Wednesday as the Myanmar job seekers were being
smuggled in a cold-storage truck to jobs in Phuket and Phang-nga resorts.
With 121 women and men packed inside the sealed truck for hours, 54 died
of suffocation due to an air-conditioning system failure.

The incident has drawn great attention, nationally and internationally, to
the plight of migrant workers who are willing to risk their lives escaping
the hardship in their country in search of what they think to be a better
life.

____________________________________

April 18, Asia Times Online
A boom at the border – William Sparrow

The struggles Myanmar has weathered in recent decades have led to a sharp
rise in the number of women opting to work in the sex industry to escape
poverty. Once confined to a small domestic market, the sex trade is now
opening to an emerging tourist market. This trend is particularly
noticeable in towns straddling the sometimes rough-and-tumble border
region with Thailand. What follows is an account of an encounter with
prostitution in one such town.

While famously common in many parts of Asia, in Myanmar dens of
prostitution were comparatively rare just a decade ago. But extreme
poverty and lack of work has led more young women to the sex trade - in
karaoke bars, massage parlors, nightclubs and restaurants.

The military junta has mismanaged the country for decades. Coupled with
botched governance, crippling sanctions imposed on Myanmar by the
international community have hit hard. The regime's constant promises of
democratic reform never materialize and the salient lack of progress has
drawn anger and further sanctions from the United Nations and other world
bodies.

In 1996, the military ditched socialism for a market economy. With
socialism banished, entrepreneurship, opportunism and individualism
naturally took hold. In one of the world's poorest nations, prostitution
boomed.

In Myanmar civil servants, police officers and average workers make some
20,000 kyats (about US$17) per month. Many struggle to survive; and
against this backdrop it's understandable that impoverished women would
turn to the sex trade. As in many Asian countries, a young woman can make
the equivalent of a month's wage working as a prostitute on a single lucky
night - especially if the clients are foreigners.

"The basic [monthly] salary is similar to what I earned at a factory, but
here we get tips from customers," a working girl told Agence France Presse
(AFP) in a recent report. "Sometimes we earn 30,000 kyats in one night
..."

While prostitution is technically illegal in Myanmar, enforcement is often
lax. There is, of course, the bribe factor in play with police. This
reporter could find no one willing to expound on the dynamics of this
arrangement. Education and opportunities limit the lure of the sex
industry in other regional countries, but grinding poverty and poor
schooling assure that it remains an attractive option in Myanmar.

"The girls working in our shop include schoolgirls, nurses who are
available to work at night and university graduates," an unnamed source
said to AFP. "Many friends of mine work in [karaoke bars] or music pubs
while also taking university correspondence courses," she said.

Many women exist on the hope of a wealthy foreigner arriving to "rescue"
them. This is obviously rare, and one could conclude that these ladies are
looking for a future in all the wrong places. Still, the goal is to
escape; to leave Myanmar behind and go somewhere where a young woman can
make something of herself. Once there, they can help the family left
behind.

Within that dream lies the sadness of the situation.

A run for the border
Live in Thailand a while and you're bound to meet many foreigners -
Westerners of all stripes - who keep their immigration status legal by
doing "visa runs". In the most basic terms, this requires an "exit" stamp
and the purchase of a new visa at any international border checkpoint.
Leave, turn around and re-enter, essentially.

A common "run", especially for Bangkok expatriates, is to travel to the
border crossing from Ranong, Thailand, into Kawthoung, Myanmar. It's not
so far - about 568 kilometers south of Bangkok - and the total cost can be
less than 3,000 baht ($90).

But, for some, the trip can have value added. After listening to
innumerable expats who had made the journey, I learned that many like to
combine the visa run with a day of debauchery, dabbling in the bordellos
of Kawthoung.

In Kawthoung, the venues for sex-for-hire include karaoke bars - referred
to as KTVs - or tumbledown brothels doubling as restaurants and bars.
Although they do have the private rooms used for karaoke bars, in
Kawthoung few are actually equipping with the audiovisual equipment needed
to make music.

"The setup of a Burmese karaoke in Kawthoung is that they don't call them
karaoke bars, but just restaurants. Once you come in, a girl will bring
you to one of the small rooms inside. You have to pay for 'one table',
which includes a round of drinks, the table itself and the girl's company.
Then you have to pay for the girl separately for any 'services' beyond
just her company. Altogether, it still comes cheaper than most other
Southeast Asia sex spots," said a crusty "sexpat".

In Kawthoung, the sex industry is still extremely Third World. During a
recent stopover in Kawthoung, I had the opportunity for a brief Myanmar
experience. I had no plan to explore the sex industry here, but, as it so
often does in my travels, an unlikely opportunity presented itself.

I wandered around Kawthoung, taking in the sights and fighting off touts
offering pornography VCDs, Viagra, prostitutes, gay prostitutes and
illicit drugs. They finally grew bored and left me on my own. Soon, I
happened on one of the "karaoke-restaurant" bars I had heard about. A half
dozen ladies sat outside, smiling and calling out greetings.

I went to a "mom and pop" store for cigarettes. A very young woman was
handling the transaction; thin, long hair, long legs, pretty face with no
makeup. I wondered if she was 18.

As she turned and descended into the dark shop, an elderly women,
presumably a relative, emerged from the shadows. She lunged from her seat,
sensing opportunity. "You want she?" the woman asked, meaning "her" - the
young woman.

I was shocked and caught off-guard and couldn't respond. In the silence,
the elder woman continued "You want daughter? You take," she said,
pointing. "Have hotel. Fifteen dollar."

I stood stunned. The shop girl had returned and now stood next to her
mother. Her body language said it all: shoulders slumped, downcast eyes.
She knew exactly what sort of negotiations were taking place. And by all
appearances she didn't enjoy the prospect of being sold to a man for sex.

"No," I said firmly. With that, the old woman scowled and slunk back to
her seat.

The shop girl never met my eyes as she handed over the cigarettes. Still,
I perceived a small smile.

A sex slave working as a shop girl; a young woman being sold by her own
mother. It was a sad situation that I won't soon forget. Sadly, scenes
like this will likely continue until the Myanmar government can improve
the lives of its 55 million people. I was overcome by this realization as
I settled the bill in that tiny shop on the Myanmar-Thai border.

As I turned to leave, I heard the shop girl whisper "thank you".

William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online
and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in
chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five
years. To contact him send question or comments to Letters at atimes.com.

____________________________________

April 18, Kaladan News
Six foreign countries’ high officials visit Burmese refugee camps

Six foreign counties’ ambassadors and high commissioners of --- Australia,
Canada, Norway, Japan, Switzerland and France--- along with country
representatives of Dhaka, heads of Cox’s Bazar UNHCR office, other
field-level staff of UNHCR and Upazilar Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Teknaf
and Ukiya visited the Burmese official and unofficial refugee camps
yesterday, said a Majee (shed leader) from Nayapara camp on condition of
anonymity.

They first went to the Kutupalong camp in the morning and then visited
Nayapara official camp, at about 11:00 am, and later also visited Dum Dum
Mea (Tal), unofficial camp to observe their living standard, condition of
sheds and education system. They also accompanied by Refugee relief and
repatriation committee officer (RRRC). After observing the situation of
the camps they went to Teknaf.

Strong security was maintained by joint forces such as--- Bangladesh
Rifles (BDR), armed police, Anser and police---, so that no one could
approach to them, said a Majee from the official camp.

According to other sources, this year, donation will increase for
different projects.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 18, Meri News
A red carpet for Myanmar!

India has accorded prime importance to its relations with Myanmar because
it has realised that the main beneficiary of their strained relations will
be China. Maung Aye’s recent visit to India has further strengthened the
trade between two nations.

IT HAS finally dawned that the continued strained relationship with
Myanmar is helping China and that at the end of the day, the success of
nations is not judged by the high moral grounds that it adopts, but by the
advantages that accrue to them. Thus, a new chapter has begun and one can
hope for better trade and strategic relations in future.

India has come to realise that the main beneficiary of strained
India-Myanmar relations will be China, whether for access to all-important
hydrocarbon energy sources, transport corridors or strategic control of
the maritime waters of the Indian Ocean.

India has thus accorded prime importance to the visit of the second-most
important person of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, general Maung Aye.
Apart from China and a few East Asian nations, it is unlikely that any
other country would extend the kind of red carpet welcome, laid out for
Aye by New Delhi.

Aye has had audiences with Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh; vice president,
Hamid Ansari; foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee and the top brass of the
defence forces. Bringing to fruition a series of meetings between Indian
and Myanmar officials, Aye and Ansari inked a major transport agreement
that will link a crucially located Myanmar port with a remote and
underdeveloped part of northeastern India.

The American $130 million project permits India to develop Myanmar’s
Sittwe port on the Kaladan River – a project that could turn into an
important international trade hub - and possible military logistical base
– for the land-locked northeast.

Prior to this, trade has only been possible via a longer and circuitous
route through West Bengal, by way of an already overcrowded Siliguri
corridor, also known as ‘the chicken’s neck’.
The new road and river link will bypass Bangladesh, which has denied
access to Indian trade, via Chittagong port, due to domestic political
opposition.

“India, which is one of the largest importers of pulses, will be able to
get them directly from Myanmar, instead of via Singapore,” said minister
of commerce, Jairam Ramesh.

The route will also provide India an access point to Sittwe, a city
located just off the Kaladan River that is being developed as an onshore
hub for Myanmar’s gas, once the vast reserves in the Shwe fields in the
Bay of Bengal are depleted.

India and China are competing over the massive Shwe natural gas
development project. Ironically, India’s state explorer, Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation (ONGC) and utility Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL),
are partners under the majority stakeholder, South Korea’s Daewoo.

According to a press statement, India has also signed a tax treaty with
Myanmar to check evasion and to boost trade and investments. The double
taxation avoidance agreement will cover taxes on individual incomes,
company profits, dividends, interest and capital gains.

It is apparent that India will not desist from dealing with Myanmar in all
matters despite western pressure.

The foreign ministry, though, issued a politically correct statement that
Manmohan underlined the need for Myanmar to expedite the process and make
it broad-based to include all sections of society, including (opposition
icon) Aung San Suu Kyi and the various ethnic groups in Myanmar.

But Ansari emphasised India’s position that international sanctions will
be ‘counterproductive’ to the economic progress of Myanmar and detrimental
to the interests of the people.

This is a reiteration of Mukherjee’s statements last year that the United
Nations should not impose sanctions on Myanmar and that New Delhi does not
have any problem dealing with the military regimes in its regional
neighborhood.

The Kaladan agreement is being viewed as the first serious step in
implementing New Delhi’s ‘Look East’ policy, of which Mukherjee is a big
proponent.

Aye’s visit follows an aggressive diplomatic initiative launched by India
in Myanmar. This year, India’s foreign secretary visited Myanmar to
coincide with the declaration by the military junta of a constitution
referendum in May and democratic elections in 2010.

For over a decade, India has been trying to engage Myanmar, with which it
shares a 1,600-kilometre border, despite international pressure to isolate
Yangon over its human rights record and the recent crackdown on
pro-democracy protesters.

Officials and experts have proffered various reasons for India’s approach.
India’s geographical proximity to Myanmar makes it important to engage
with it, and trade and economics are essential for both parties.
Additionally, Delhi has cited the need for joint operations to confront
separatist elements in India’s northeast, which find refuge in Myanmar.

India has also been very uncomfortable with the prospect of China’s
involvement in building ports in Pakistan (Gwadar), Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Recent reports suggest that China’s aid to Sri Lanka for infrastructure
projects has crossed $1 billion, more than double the amount being
invested by the traditional partners, India and Japan.

Such efforts by Beijing open the possibility of India being enveloped by a
Chinese naval presence from all fronts. However, it is still quite
unlikely that India would have resisted international pressure to the
extent it has, had it not been for Myanmar’s rich natural gas resources.
Myanmar’s proven gas reserves stood at 19 trillion cubic feet (TCF) at the
end of 2006, with vast areas yet unexplored.

Over the past five years, China has made massive investments in Myanmar to
build its case for the energy sources. Beijing has followed a similar
strategy in Asia, Africa and Latin America to win energy blocks and has
recently struck deals in Kazakhstan, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Angola
- in most cases beating out India as one of the main contenders.

Much to India’s chagrin, China has even offered to buy gas from Iran.
Should India opt out of the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline? India
has been dilly-dallying about the IPI due to America’s pressure to
forestall the project.

In response to Beijing’s efforts, Myanmar has already inked a memorandum
of understanding with PetroChina to supply 6.5 TCF of gas from Block A of
the Shwe gas fields in the Bay of Bengal, for over 30 years. This was seen
as a big blow to New Delhi’s efforts to bring gas from Myanmar.
It is increasingly apparent that it will be either China or India that
will be given the rights to oil and gas from Myanmar. Yangon recently
rejected a request to sell gas to Bangladesh to help the country meet its
growing energy crisis.

Bangladesh’s deputy energy minister, M Tamim, has been quoted as saying,
“They said they would sell their gas to India and China, but could export
gas to Bangladesh at the moment. Myanmar would consider selling gas to
Bangladesh, only after new discoveries are made.”

Outbid by Beijing for energy blocks across the world, an alarmed New Delhi
has thus softened its stand against Myanmar in the past year.

Last September, India’s petroleum minister, Murli Deora visited Myanmar to
sign exploration agreements, even as massive pro-democracy protests broke
out. Deora had rushed to Myanmar after being publicly reprimanded by the
prime minister’s office for failing to beat out China in Myanmar’s energy
stakes.

Recent reports suggest that China is mulling the prospects of building oil
and gas pipelines from Myanmar to its southwestern province of Yunnan.

Clearly, India has a formidable task ahead.

____________________________________

April 18, Colombo Page
'Rangoon Kakulu' rice to enter to Sri Lanka's local market from May

Sri Lanka Trade Ministry said that 10,000 metric tons of rice imported
from Myanmar will be issued to the local market from the first week of
May.

According to the sources the one-kilo of rice named 'Rangoon Kakulu' will
be sold at a price between 50 to 55 rupees.

Sri Lanka government decided to import 100,000 metric tons of rice from
Myanmar as the sky rocketing rice prices started to become a political
football. Government complained that the trade mafia engineered the high
prices while traders highlighted the adverse weather conditions as the
reason for the lack of rice supply. According to the Ministry 10,000 MT of
rice are to arrive in Colombo at the end of this month.

The imported rice stocks from Myanmar will be sold through cooperative
societies, the Ministry further added.

Meanwhile, wholesalers of rice in Pettah today said that they would agree
to the price ceiling imposed by the government on the rice prices.
However, many of the wholesale shops at rice trade centre at Maradagahmula
were observed closed yesterday and today.

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 18, The Nation (Thailand)
Appointment of new US ambassador to Asean augers well for future
cooperation and action

The US has named Scot Marciel, assistant secretary of state for Southeast
Asia, as its first ambassador to Asean. As the first country to do so, the
US has laid the groundwork for others to follow suit. Other Asean dialogue
partners such as China and Japan are planning to do the same. The move
augurs well for renewed US interest in Asean and the Southeast Asian
region in general. Credit should be given to Senator Richard Lugar, who
two years ago, when he headed the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee,
initiated this important move. Now, US-Asean relations will have a focal
point.

Marciel's main challenge is to assure Asean that Washington still has a
strong interest in the region. There has been no major visit from any top
US decision-maker for a while. The fact that President George W Bush
called off his visit to Singapore to commemorate the 30th anniversary of
dialogue between Asean and the US in September last year because of the
conflict in Iraq, did not bode well for US interests in the region. And
there are also questions whether the rise of China may also come at the
expense of US interest in Asean.

Cultural differences also make it difficult to convince the US leader to
join Asean meetings, at which the participants tend to keep to an informal
format. Washington wants measurable results from such meetings.

Marciel will face the challenge of how to bridge these differences and
show Asean that the US still views it as an important partner. After all,
there are many issues that both sides can further develop through future
cooperation. For instance, Asean and the US are working on preparations
for a potential free-trade agreement.

Marciel is an Asia expert who is passionate about Burma. He could work
closely with Asean on Burma to come up with appropriate policies. In the
past, both sides have been at odds over their firm positions on the
Burmese junta, even though they share the same objective: long-term peace
and stability there. Of late, the US and Asean have realised that they
must cooperate more in order to bring positive changes in Burma,
especially after the September crackdown on monks and pro-democracy
demonstrators. Their joint effort is pivotal in sustaining the interest of
the international community as well as the UN.

For the past seven months, the UN, through special envoy Ibrahim Gambari,
has tried hard to end the impasse in Burma. But to no avail. He was used
by the junta as part of its delaying tactic. Obviously a new strategy is
needed to counter Burma's moves in the future. The planned national
referendum on the new constitution next month certainly will be a farce.
Rangoon will declare that the people have approved the new charter. The
Burmese junta leaders think they can emulate the Thai practice on the
issue. They should realise that they do not enjoy the kind of
creditability Thailand has.

Next year, Asean will begin its representative system among member
countries. The Asean Secretariat will host all standing committee-related
issues. This will save Asean members both money and time. It could cut the
current Asean meetings by half, to 300 a year. Asean permanent
representatives would handle all matters between the Asean Secretariat and
their national counterparts.

With the US edging closer to Asean, confidence and trust will also
increase. And this could lead to more concrete action and programmes,
especially the planned trade and security negotiations. That is good for
Asean.


____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 18, Agence France Presse
'Atmosphere of intimidation' clouds Myanmar polls: British envoy

A top British envoy on Myanmar said Friday an "atmosphere of intimidation"
was clouding next month's referendum on a new constitution and urged the
military-ruled country to let opposition forces take part.

Michael Williams, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's envoy on Myanmar,
said Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party must be
allowed to participate in the May 10 poll.

Williams, who was in Bangkok for discussions with Thai officials, told
reporters that he hoped the vote "will have credibility and legitimacy and
will allow participation and inclusion of all Myanmar's social and
political forces."

"At the moment, for the UK, we are concerned there is an atmosphere of
intimidation prevailing about the country," he added.

"The process falls short of what the UK would like to see," Williams said
on the last leg of his four-country Asian tour.

The NLD is urging people to vote against the junta-backed charter, which
activists say will simply entrench the army's role in Myanmar, which has
been ruled by the military since 1962.

At least 23 anti-charter activists were arrested on Tuesday for wearing
T-Shirts emblazoned with the world 'No,' the NLD reported.

The party has also said that any attempts to campaign against the
constitution were being suppressed.

Official NLD documents were being confiscated by authorities, they said,
while local party organisers had been detained and interrogated,

The referendum will be the first balloting in military-run Myanmar since
1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory that was
never recognised by the junta. She remains under house arrest.

The regime says the referendum will pave the way for multi-party elections
in 2010, but activists say the constitution was drafted with no public
input.

The NLD and other pro-democracy groups are calling for a "No" vote, but
they have little ability to campaign effectively because the junta has
outlawed speeches and leaflets about the referendum.

____________________________________

April 18, Mizzima News
Court grants bail to detained Burmese journalists

The four detained Burmese journalists were freed on bail after they were
produced in court on Friday.

The four Burmese were arrested on Thursday for trespassing in restricted
areas while covering a demonstration by Tibetan activists against the
Beijing Olympics along with nearly 300 Tibetan activists during the torch
rally in New Delhi.

"We were released at about 4 p.m. today after we produced our refugee
cards. But we have been given another court date on May 1," said Kyaw
Thura, one of the detained Burmese journalists.

The four Burmese journalists are Khin Maung Latt a correspondent of Norway
based Democratic Voice of Burma, Myo Myint Aung editor of the Mizoram
based Khonumthung News Group, Kyaw Thura a freelancer of the BBC Burmese
service and Nay Lin a stringer of the Washington based Radio Free Asia.

While 47 Tibetan activists remained in custody at the Tuglak Road police
station, the Burmese journalists were released along with five other
Tibetans and a Nepali woman on bail.

____________________________________

April 18, The New Strait Times
Rohingyas demonstrate outside Myanmar, Thai embassies – Irdiani Mohd Salleh

About 30 Rohingyas demonstrated peacefully in front of the Myanmar and
Thailand Embassies under the watchful eyes of the police, today. The
demonstration started at 10am and ended at 11.30am, led by All Burma
Democratic Force vice chairman Mohammad Sadek.

The group first went to the Myanmar Embassy in Jalan Ampang Hilir and
handed over a memorandum to an embassy official. The memorandum is to
protest the anti-democratic and military rules in Myanmar.

They chanted messages calling for justice and human rights before they
headed to the Thailand Embassy in Jalan Ampang and handed a memorandum
condemning Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej decision to place illegal
Rohingyas at a deserted island.

Samak had said that to stop the influx, the Rohingyas need to be kept in a
tough place so that those who were about to follow, would know that life
in Thailand would be difficult.

Mohammad Sadek said the Rohingya community was shocked and grieved over
Samak’s decision.

“Most of them are there to seek temporary shelter. We feel helpless and we
don’t know how to get our voices to the international community,” he said.


____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 18, Irrawaddy
Bush, Brown call for referendum observers – Lalit K Jha

US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on
Thursday reiterated their commitment to restore democracy and human rights
in Burma and called on the military government to invite international
observers to the May 10 constitutional referendum.

The Burma issue was discussed during the meeting of the two leaders—among
the most steadfast supporters of Burma’s pro-democracy movement—at the
White House in Washington DC.

Emerging from the meeting with Bush, Brown told the media: “We reiterated
our common stand on Burma, where it is important to repeat the call for
reconciliation.” Details of the discussion were not released.

A US-sponsored draft of a presidential statement is pending for discussion
in the UN Security Council and is expected to be opposed by Russia and
China, permanent members of the Security Council, and supporters of the
Burmese regime.

Commenting on the May 10 referendum on the draft constitution, a US
National Security Council spokesman said: “They [Britain] are as concerned
as we are about the process leading to the referendum—the fact that groups
in Burma are not allowed to express their position on the referendum
freely; the fact that the referendum is a flawed referendum at this point
that bars certain people from even engaging and holding public office
because they were married to foreigners, or are married to foreigners; the
fact that the referendum and the constitution talk about 25 percent of the
seats in the legislature being reserved for the military. You know, all of
these things need a free and fair airing, and that's not happening right
now in Burma.”

He said the military junta should invite international monitors.

“The British have called for this, and we have called for this, and the UN
has called for this,” he said.

“How can you make sure, in a place like Burma, where freedom has been so
restricted, that the process of holding a referendum really is open,” he
asked.

____________________________________

April 18, The Nation (Thailand)
UK worried over Burma referendum – Supalak Ganjanakhundee

United Kingdom's special envoy on Burma Michael Williams on Friday
expressed concern over creditability of the junta-sponsored referendum on
constitution due next month.

"For the UK concern, we are worried that the atmosphere of intermediation
prevailing much in the country," the envoy told reporters after a meeting
with Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama.

He said the UK also wanted to see participation of the opposition National
League for Democracy in the constitution making process.

The military junta called a national referendum on May 10 to endorse the
constitution which substantively prohibited opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi from holding key political position as she was married to a foreigner.

Williams said the junta should allow international observer, notably
foreign journalists to access the country to see the referendum to make it
be more credible.

Thailand has an opportunity to play when Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein
and Foreign Minister Nyan Win would visit to Thailand at the end of this
month to convince the junta to make the referendum be more creditability.

Foreign Minister Noppadon said he would discuss the idea with Burma
leaders when they would be in Bangkok in coming weeks.

Williams also hoped that the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari
could return to Burma again before the referendum since he has failed to
convince the junta to have an inclusive process to make the constitution.

"Thailand has a great role to play as an immediate neighbor, you also
share the burden to put on that way as the chair of Asean in the coming
months, we are looking forward to working with you and the Asean on the
issue," he said.


____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 18, AAPP
Min Ko Naing – Leading Burmese democracy activist may face blindness

Min Ko Naing, a well known 88' generation student leader and Burmese
political prisoners who was imprisoned for more than 17 years for his
democratic believes has been suffering from a serious eye infections for
the past 3 weeks. Min Ko Naing requested a consultation with an eye
specialist but the prison authority refused this request claiming that an
eye doctor would not be available before May 2008.

Inside prison sources say that his eye condition is seriously
deteriorating to the point that he is unable to sleep or eat because of
the pain this infection has caused.

Min  Ko Naing has been one of the most prominent and outspoken opponents
of the Burmese Military regime. It is very clear that the military regime
and prison authorities intentionally refused to provide necessary
treatment in order to destroy Min Ko Naing's eye sight. The prison
authorities have a long history of using the refusal of medical treatment
to political prisoners as a tool for physical and psychological
submission.

AAPP really concern that Min Ko Naing may loose his eye sight if he does
not receive immediate treatment as our political prisoner case files from 
March 2008 show a similar behavior by the military regime for U Than Lwin,
70, who is in Mandalay prison lost one of his eye sight because he didn't
receive in time treatment. When he was sent to eye specialist, the doctors
said it was already about two months late to treat his eye and there was
nothing they could do to help him.

AAPP urgently appeals to the Human Rights Council to discuss with the
Burmese Than Shwe's regime the present situation of Min Ko Naing's case.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)

For more information:
Contact to: Ko Tate Naing at (66) 81-2878751
  : Ko Bo Kyi at (66) 81- 3248935