BurmaNet News, July 3, 2008

[Editor]

July 3, 2008 Issue #3504

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: ‘Vote No’ activists appear in court
DVB: 88 Generation Student’s health deteriorates
Narinjara News: Four NLD youths sentenced to year in prison
Irrawaddy: Foreign volunteer told to leave Burma
Irrawaddy: Motorcycle licenses introduced in most of Burma
IMNA: Junta pretends to help cyclone victims

ON THE BORDER
AP: Myanmar cyclone victims saved from traffickers
Bangkok Post: Villagers go back home
Irrawaddy: Railway plan for Tak to Mae Sot

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar needs more gas to generate electricity for Yangon

HEALTH/AIDS
Khonumthung News: CAD to combat malaria in Chin state

DRUGS
Mizzima News: Drug investigation, heavy punishment likely for Maung Weik

ASEAN
Xinhua: Tripartite core group aid helps 1.3 mln storm victims

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: UN to take up Burma issue again

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: An alternative road map is needed now – Aung Zaw
UPI: Let us not praise coups – Awzar Thi
Asian Tribune: Veteran Journalist U Win Tin- World’s longest serving
prisoner of conscience – Zin Linn

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

July 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
‘Vote No’ activists appear in court – Khin Hnin Htet

Two National League for Democracy members who were detained for allegedly
campaigning against the regime’s draft constitution in the run-up to the
10 May referendum have appeared in court.

The activists’ families had not been notified of the date of the hearing.

Thiha, a member of New Dagon NLD, said that his fellow party members U Tin
Win and deputy youth leader Nyi Nyi Min had attended a court hearing but
he had not known about it until he was told by a friend who saw them in
court.

Both activists were arrested for wearing T-shirts with a ‘No’ symbol on
them during the Thingyan water festival in April this year.

“U Tin Win didn’t wear a ‘No’ shirt during Thingyan though. He only wore a
shirt which said ‘National Reconciliation’. I am not sure why he was
arrested,” said Thiha.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than
80 activists were arrested across the country for participating in the
‘Vote No’ campaign. Most of those detained are still behind bars.

____________________________________

July 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 Generation Student’s health deteriorates – Khin Hnin Htet

The health of 88 Generation Students group member Myo Yan Naung Thein has
got progressively worse in Insein prison, a close friend of his family
told DVB on condition of anonymity.

Myo Yan Naung Thein has been charged with causing public alarm and
inciting offences against the public tranquility under section 505(b) of
the penal code.

The family friend said someone had to carry Myo Yan Naung Thein when he
appeared in court as he could no longer walk.

“He is partly paralyzed and urgently needs an operation,” said the family
friend.

“He is now in this situation because authorities refused his request for
proper medical access to treat injuries he sustained when he was under
interrogation, and he has to live in poor conditions.”

Myo Yan Naing Thein was arrested on 14 December 2007 because of his links
with activists who filmed the September protests and spoke to foreign
media outlets.

According to Amnesty International, Myo Yan Naung Thein was tortured after
his arrest by Special Branch police interrogators and members of the
junta-backed militia Swan Arr Shin. He was left paralysed on his left side
due to head injuries from severe beatings and cannot walk unaided.

Myo Yan Naung Thein spent two weeks in hospital in May, but his condition
did not improve.

When he asked to see a neurologist, he was placed in isolation in a cell
used for prisoners with psychiatric problems where he is still being held.

He continues to be denied access to a specialist and AI reports that
prison authorities have told him they “do not have the responsibility to
give medical treatment”.

____________________________________

July 3, Narinjara News
Four NLD youths sentenced to year in prison

Four youth members of the National League for Democracy in southern
Arakan's Taungup Township were sentenced to one year in prison by the
Burmese military authority for distributing statements issued by NLD
headquarters in Rangoon, reported a NLD member.

He said, "They were arrested by police in Taungup on Burma revolution day,
on 27 March, as they were distributing a statement from the NLD in town. 
Now the judge in the township court has sentenced them to one year in
prison."

The youths were identified as Ko Moe Kyaw, Ko Than Htay, Ko Zaw Naing, and
Ko Aung Naing Min from Taungup, all of whom are members of the NLD youth
wing.

"They were charged by police in the Taungup court under a section of Act
451, which relates to a person intruding on a place without permission of
the owner.  It was a false case and the charges had nothing to do with
them," the man said.

According to a local source, they have been moved to Sittwe prison from
Taungup to serve out their sentences.

In addition to the four youth, at least five senior NLD members from
Taungup Township are now serving long jail terms at several prisons in
Burma after being involved in leading protests during the Saffron
Revolution along with monks in the fall of 2007.

Taungup Township NLD joint-secretary, Ko Min Aung, is currently at the
notorious Insein prison in Rangoon, after being sentenced to seven and a
half years in prison for his role in the Saffron Revolution.

____________________________________

July 3, Irrawaddy
Foreign volunteer told to leave Burma – Wai Moe

A foreign volunteer working with a Burmese nongovernmental organization
(NGO) has left the country after receiving repeated warnings from the
authorities over a series of interviews she conducted with ethnic leaders
and senior politicians.

Sources from Rangoon’s NGO community told The Irrawaddy that personnel
from the Special Branch of Burma’s police force told Inga Gruss, a German
volunteer with local NGO Myanmar Egress, twice last month to leave the
country.

“The authorities told her she should leave after they followed her
activities and checked her passport,” said an NGO staffer who spoke on
condition of anonymity.

According to the source, Gruss was first approached by the police while
staying at a guesthouse in downtown Rangoon. She later moved to Thamada
Hotel, where the offices of Myanmar Egress are located.

“Her final warning came on June 15 at Thamada Hotel,” said the source. She
reportedly left the country sometime last week.

Gruss, who had been in Burma since April on a tourist visa, was working as
a volunteer with Myanmar Egress, an NGO that is registered as an
educational institution. She is also a social science researcher, focusing
on religion, state and Burma’s Kachin people.
“The authorities probably suspected her of being a journalist,” said a
Burmese researcher in Rangoon. “They became suspicious after she met
veteran politicians, including ethnic leaders, for her research.”

According to its Web site, Myanmar Egress was co-founded in 2005 by Nay
Win Maung, publisher of Living Color magazine and The Voice journal, and
Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a Burmese scholar based in Hong Kong.

In a report published on June 13, The Washington Post described Nay Win
Maung as “a son of a military officer [who] was brought up among Burma’s
military elites, giving him good connections to military insiders. His
magazines can access government-related news and exclusive information.”

These connections have also helped Myanmar Egress. “It got permission from
the authorities to do Cyclone Nargis relief work that other private relief
workers did not get,” said the Burmese researcher. “But [Gruss’] case
shows that there are limits to their tolerance.”

Kerstin Jung, webmaster for the Nargis Action Group Myanmar, a relief
group operating under Myanmar Egress, confirmed that Gruss was no longer
in the country, but was unable to provide any further details.

At least 10 foreign journalists have been forced out of Burma or banned
from entering since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, according to
Reporters Sans Frontières .

South Korean journalist Lee Yu Kyong was expelled by authorities on June
22 after visiting the Rangoon headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National
League for Democracy.

A Canadian woman working for the International Committee of the Red Cross
was also deported recently after she made a field trip to Shan State, in
eastern Burma.

Earlier this year, officials cautioned international NGOs against
conducting surveys and doing unauthorized research, calling it a “very
sensitive issue,” according to a report of a meeting between government
officials and representatives of foreign NGOs held on January 11.

____________________________________

July 3, Irrawaddy
Motorcycle licenses introduced in most of Burma – Violet Cho

In an apparent move to earn revenue from Burma’s motorcycle owners, the
authorities are selling licenses to the general public for a period of
four months, from July until the end of October. Residents of Rangoon and
Naypyidaw are excluded from the new provision, however.

In Rangoon and Naypyidaw, licenses were issued only to local and central
government officials, police and military intelligence personnel. Private
owners of motorcycles were, in effect, riding illegally.

A resident of the border town of  Myawaddy said he had paid 300,000 kyat
[US $255] for a licence, plus 20,000 Kyat [$17] requested by the
authorities for cyclone relief. “It’s a lot of money, but we’re happy to
pay it and own our motorcycles legally,” he said.

License fees vary throughout the country, however. Motorcycle owners in
Central Burma towns such as Taunggyi and Mandalay have to pay
400,000-500,000 kyat [$340-425] while residents of Tachilek on the border
with northern Thailand are charged about 200,000 kyat [$170].

The addition of a “contribution” to cyclone relief is being questioned by
some motorcycle owners. One Rangoon economist said it was suspected that
the money was ending up in government coffers.

The license fees were also a convenient way of increasing government
income, he argued.

Licenses are valid for two or three years, depending on the number of the
motorcycle’s license plate.

Burma has no motorcycle industry, and most machines are imported from
China, Japan and Thailand. More than 500,000 of the country’s motorcycles
are unlicensed, according to
Rangoon traffic police statistics.

Small dealers believe they will be handicapped by the new licensing
procedure, arguing that large companies will now be able to able to
increase their imports in response to orders from customers wanting to own
their motorcycles legally.

Nyan Lin, a dealer who imports motorcycles from Thailand, said: “It is a
very difficult time for small businessmen like me, who can afford to buy
only one or two machines at a time.

“Wealthy businessmen are contacting foreign manufacturers and dealers
directly, investing huge amounts of money.”

____________________________________

July 3, Independent Mon News Agency
Junta pretends to help cyclone victims

Burmese military junta authorities have only pretended to help victims in
some parts of cyclone ravaged areas, claimed villagers.

The Military South-West Commander visited the area and promised to build
houses for victims in Higyi Kyun Island Township.

But local people said, the authorities just built a few houses and they
staked houses on land 15-20 feet wide in Chaungwa village where more than
600 villagers were killed by the cyclone.

Villagers said, they doubted the government's promise because naval troops
were given the responsibility.

Naval troops visited the village, when MRTV was documenting that the Navy
was helping the villagers in building houses for the victims by carrying
woods, bamboo and other material.

"After the MRTV went back, all materials were carried away immediately," a
Chaungwa villager told IMNA.

According to villagers, they got enough aid from private donors, the UN
and INGOs. But recently military government reported on it The New Light
of Myanmar, that they will build 6000 houses for victims.

The government authorities and naval troops also used shipping routes from
Bassein (Pathein) to Chaungwa by force without paying, villagers said.

Because of this many aid workers also faced difficulties in sending aid to
rural areas.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

July 3, Associated Press
Myanmar cyclone victims saved from traffickers

More than 80 women and children who were victims of Myanmar's recent
cyclone have been rescued from human traffickers scheming to smuggle them
to neighboring countries, a media report said Thursday.

Border police caught the traffickers, who had taken victims of Cyclone
Nargis from the Irrawaddy delta to border areas, between June 11 and 14,
the well-regarded biweekly journal Eleven reported, citing police.

Police Lt. Col. Rahlyan Mone, from the force's human trafficking division,
told the Yangon-based journal that victims facing hardship are being
enticed with job offers abroad by traffickers disguised as aid workers.

Police and other authorities who deal with human trafficking could not
immediately be reached for comment.

Cross-border trafficking, especially to Thailand, has grown in recent
years as people in one of the world's poorest nations seek opportunities
elsewhere but are often tricked or coerced into prostitution or
sweatshops.

The ruling junta has warned against exploitation of cyclone victims and
urged the public to report any evidence of human trafficking.

Myanmar introduced an anti-human trafficking law in September 2005 that
imposes a maximum penalty of death.

Local and foreign aid officials fear that trafficking could increase in
the wake of the cyclone, which hit Myanmar May 2 to 3, killing more than
84,500 people and leaving nearly 54,000 missing, according to the
government.

____________________________________

July 3, Bangkok Post
Villagers go back home – Supamart Kasem

More than 100 Thais returned to their border village yesterday after Karen
fighters regained their base from Burmese troops.

A security source said the Thai villagers, who fled the fighting inside
Burma to a safe area in Phop Phra district on Monday, went back to Ban
Padi after their safety was guaranteed.

Their return came hours after more than 100 armed Karen National Union
(KNU) troops led by Col Nerda Mya took back its Valeki stronghold from the
Burmese army and its allies, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

The KNU began its retaliation on Monday after its base was raided, and
regained it yesterday.

The source said 12 porters helping the Burmese soldiers were arrested
after crossing the border into Thailand, and were sent back.

A KNU source claimed at least 10 Burmese and DKBA soldiers and porters
were killed, while one KNU member died and three were injured.

The Valeki base of the KNU is opposite Ban Padi.

____________________________________

July 3, Irrawaddy
Railway plan for Tak to Mae Sot – Sai Slip

Tak authorities are planning a rail link between the western Thai town of
Tak and Mae Sot, which borders Burma.

Amnart Nanthaharn, the chairman of Tak Province’s Federation of Industries
told The Irrawaddy that the project will benefit logistics and trade in
the border area, which links Thailand to Burma as part of the East-West
Economic Corridor agreement.

Supported primarily by the Asian Development Bank, the East-West Economic
Corridor agreement focuses on constructing transport links between
Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma, which has an Indian Ocean port on the
Andaman Sea.

Amnart said, “The project will benefit trade in the area to the tune of
about 15 billion baht (US $470 million) per year. In particular, it will
support industrial and economic zone projects in Mae Sot in the future.”

He added that the current mode of transport—by truck—to and from Mae Sot
by road has restricted weight limits, and the rising price of fuel has
made the costs higher.

Tak Province’s Governor Chumporn Polrak will submit the plan, which will
be open to private investment, to the Thai National Economic and Social
Advisory Council.

He said feasibility studies had been carried out and found that an
investment of 30 billion baht ($940 million) was needed.

The plan includes construction of a 29-kilometer (18-mile) tunnel through
mountains, which will shorten the distance from Tak to Mae Sot from the
current 88 kilometers (55 miles) by road to 70 kilometers (44 miles) by
rail.

“In addition, this will be a new route for tourism,” Chumporn said,
according to a report in Thai news Web site Manager on Thursday.

In addition, it would support transportation of ethanol and oil shale
which currently found in Mae Sot, he said.

He added that the Chinese government would be invited to invest.

According to the engineering plan, the railway line will start near Lum
Nam Ping College, near Tak, and cross the mountainous area of Taksin
National Park. The tracks will end at Tha Sai Luod Village in Mae Sot
District, close to the Moei River, which separates Thailand and Burma.

Mae Sot is expected to expand as a new industrial zone supported by border
trade and, at the same time, reduce the number of Burmese migrant workers
entering Thailand illegally.

Since 2006, the Burmese government has been promoting Myawaddy Township in
Karen State, opposite Mae Sot, as an industrial zone.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

July 3, Xinhua
Myanmar needs more gas to generate electricity for Yangon

Myanmar needs more natural gas in addition to hydropower to generate over
500 megawatts (mw) of electricity to be supplied to Yangon round the
clock, the leading local weekly Yangon Times reported Thursday.

The Yangon Times quoted the Ministry of Electric Power-2 as saying that it
requires 135 million cubic-feet (MCF) or 3.82 million cubic-meters of
offshore gas or 99 MCF of onshore gas daily to meet the Yangon electricity
demand.

According to the report, there are only 67 MCF of offshore gas and 27 MCF
of offshore gas available daily for the generation of electricity to be
supplied to Yangon.

Yangon, previously known as the former capital, now stands the commercial
center of the country with many economic enterprises including industrial
zones operating and also stands the biggest electricity consuming city in
the country.

Statistics showed that at present, Yangon gets only 250 mw of electricity
which has to be distributed alternately for townships in the city.

Earlier statistics of the state-run Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise,
which is the main electricity supplier, indicated that up to 360 mw of
electricity were once supplied to Yangon daily and860 mw to other parts of
the country.

The government's monthly indicators also revealed that Myanmar's electric
power installed generating capacity amounted to 1,690 mw as of January
this year and the power generated in the first 10months (April-January) of
2007-08 fiscal year stood 5.508 billion kilowatt-hours.

The indicators also showed that in the 10-month period, the country's
natural gas output remained at 391.88 billion cubic-feet or 11.09 billion
cubic-meters

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

July 3, Khonumthung News
CAD to combat malaria in Chin state

A Rangoon based Non-Government Organization; Country Agency for Rural
Development (CAD) has pledged to begin another project to combat malaria
in remote areas of Chin state, Burma in September this year.

With the help of Three Disease Fund (3DF), CAD will implement its project
in some areas of Thangtlang and Hakha Townships in Chin state in the next
two months.

"Initially, we will begin our project in remote areas in Thangtlang and
Hakha. And then we will expand our network to other areas," Joseph Kung Za
Hmung, director of CAD said.

The 3D fund has agreed to fund US $ 200,000 in combating malaria in Chin
state and will sign an agreement with CAD this month.

"Though the fund from 3DF will come in early 2009 we will start
implementing the project in September," Joseph Kung Za Hmung added.

In 2006, CAD had conducted a survey on malaria affected population in
Leikang, Sate, Hrangpi (A) and (B) villages in Matupi township, Hnaring,
Far then, Seng Tung, Tisen (A) and Tisen (B), Sur Ngen, Thang Aw and
Khuahrang villages in Thangtlang township and Leipi village in Hakha
township where around 10,322 people reside. Among the 10,322 about 5,852
(55 percent) were found to be afflicted by malaria.

According to a survey by the CAD conducted in the same areas in 2007, it
could reduce the number of malaria affected people from 5,852 (55 per
cent) to 2,496 (24 per cent).

CAD has four special nurses and 26 volunteer workers involved in combating
malaria in Chin state.

"Though we have no medical expert in the field we try our best with the
work force we have," Joseph said.

CAD has been working on rural development work like bridge construction,
women's empowerment, education, providing sanitation toilet bowls and
motor road construction in Chin state, one of the most backward states in
Burma , since 2004.

According to the director of the CAD, it has already submitted another
proposal to Brigadier Hung Ngai, Chairman of Chin State Peace and
Development Council on constructing a bridge which will connect Hnaring
village from Thangtlang to Sate in Matupi.

____________________________________
DRUGS

July 3, Mizzima News
Drug investigation, heavy punishment likely for Maung Weik

Chiang Mai: Following a secret largest investigation against drug users
since 1988, young tycoon Maung Weik stands to face severe punishment for
alleged drug trafficking.

Maung Weik, the 35-year old billionaire has been shifted to notorious
Insein prison since last Friday from a police investigation centre along
with six others from Latha, Dagon and Kyi Myint Dine township, said a
source close to the prison authorities and the Home Ministry.

"He (Maung Weik) may even be punished with a 20 year sentence or life
imprisonment," he said.

The accused drug kingpin was taken away from his residence in Than Lwin
Street, Bahan Township. The police seized a machine for making Yaba or
methamphetamine tablets and Kyat 1200 million in a crackdown against drug
users among Burma's elite. The police said the racket was run by the
Managing Director of Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint the son of retired Lt. Gen Ye Myint and the owner of
Yetagon construction company, who is also involved, has been sent to the
Wat Thee Kan treatment center due to drug addiction.

The former chief of Special Operation Bureau No.1 Lt. Gen Ye Myint was
asked to retire by the junta supremo Senior Gen. Than Shwe following his
son's suspected involvement in the controversial drug racket. However, the
resignation directive to Ye Myint followed a major reshuffle in the
military establishment.

Observers and friends suspect that a top-level conspiracy has been hatched
against Maung Weik.

Win Min, a Burmese observer based in Thailand who has contacts in the
military said "To my knowledge, Maung Weik is not involved in distributing
drugs."

"But Maung Weik and Aung Zaw Ye Myint used drugs at parties together and
gave drugs as presents to party-goers including some movie stars," he
added.

A businessman in Rangoon said "I honestly do not think Maung Weik will
manufacture Yaba. I heard the news but I doubt it."

International drug agencies said Burma is Asia's largest source of
methamphetamine pills and synthetic drugs are replacing opium and heroin.

The military junta ruling Burma now, came to power in 1988 after cracking
down on pro-democracy protesters. The cash-strapped Burmese junta has been
accused of dealing with drug lords and is known to have laundered money
for various drug lords including Khun Sa, once one of the world's most
wanted men. He was living in Rangoon till he died in October 2007.

Moreover, communists turned drug traffickers, the heavily armed United Wa
State Army (UWSA) signed a cease-fire agreement with the military junta in
1989 but they have been operating almost freely producing and trading
opium and methamphetamine pills at least in their controlled terrority.

The much-talked about crackdown on the drug racket which also netted
Burma's film stars, wealthy businessmen and relatives of men-in-power was
believed to be linked with family matters of the country's most powerful
man Senior General Than Shwe.

The movie industry suggested said that Nay Shwe Thway Aung (aka) Pho La
Pye, 17-years-old, a grandson of Than Shwe was at the centre of the case.
The student of Technology University (Western Rangoon) was caught with
some drug pills by his family a few months ago which sparked Than Shwe's
anger.

Mizzima's investigation reveals that Pho La Pye started using drugs since
the last water festival or Burmese traditional New Year celebrations in
April. He did not come back home for two days during the water festival
and he was said to have used drugs.

The first family blamed drug suppliers and friends who introduced Pho La
Pye to drugs.

Not surprisingly, some businessmen lured the beloved grandson with drugs
hoping to maintain a relationship with the family of the strongman of
Burma. Even though he is just 17, business tycoons including Tay Za take
him to massage parlours and other places of entertainment that finally
ended up in his using ATS drugs.

It is not clear who supplied drugs regularly to the grandson but later
police suspected Maung Weik and Aung Zaw Ye Myint.

Hotel Nikko staff told Mizzima that they used to see Pho La Pya with Tay
Za of Htoo Trading Company, one of the richest persons in Burma at the
Siam Spa in the hotel.

"All businessmen are trying to befriend Than Shwe's grand children for a
good business relationship," a businessman said.

Despite Than Shwe's anger with his grandson using drugs, the order for a
crackdown did not come from the Snr. Gen.

The whole affair came to light accidentally when an actress Nandar Hlaing
and her groom Zay Thiha invited Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, the number three man
in the military hierarchy, for their wedding reception in May this year. 
Zay Thiha is the son of the owner of May Yeik Nyo hotel and his
brother-in-law is the son of Shwe Mann.

A friend of the actress told Mizzima that Shwe Mann asked whether she knew
about the cause of the death of one of the most popular actors Dwe, who
died from an overdose of drugs. The actress bluntly but politely replied
she was not aware of it. Then, Shwe Mann talked about widespread use of
drugs among movie stars and talked about his idea to crackdown through the
Home Ministry.

On the account of the number three man, a personal assistant of Shwe Mann
told his friend, the personal assistant of Maung Oo, the Minister of Home
Affairs. Then, Maung Oo, who immediately started investigations.

Although investigations are still on, the military government is tight
lipped about it and has denied the investigation is taking place.

"We have not arrested any celebrities nor charged any businessmen in
connection with drug abuse," Police chief Khin Yi said during a press
conference held in Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw) on ' World Drugs Day'.

____________________________________
ASEAN

July 3, Xinhua
Tripartite core group aid helps 1.3 mln storm victims

A tripartite core group (TCG) involving the  Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), Myanmar and the United Nations  (U.N.) has claimed
that the group' said efforts for transit of relief items into  Myanmar and
down into the cyclone-hard-hit delta, have reached over 1.3 million 
victims.

A press release of the TCG said the group has authorized entry visas and 
extension of stay permits to 294 officials and individuals coming to
Myanmar for  extending assistance to cyclone Nargis over the period from
June 9 to 30.

With the support of the TCG, the humanitarian community has been able to 
expand assistance to the cyclone victims, it said.

The TCG expressed welcome over Singapore's recent donation of ground 
handling equipment to Myanmar for larger planes and speed up the unloading
and  delivery of international relief supplies from the donor community at
the Yangon  International Airport, quoting Singapore Ambassador to Myanmar
Robert H K Chua.

The release also disclosed that ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan and
 UN Under Secretary-General /UNESCAP Executive Secretary Noelleen Heyzer
visited  the Ayeyawaddy delta recently to witness the relief and early
recovery efforts.

"For the first time media community from ASEAN countries were invited to 
see for themselves the continuing relief work from the government, private
 individual and the international community," the release said.

The release quoted Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister and TCG Chairman U Kyaw
 Thu as saying that the Myanmar government is currently focusing on
quickly  providing low-cost housing and temporary school building for the 
cyclone-affected communities.

The release also quoted Myanmar Ministry of Health as saying that with the
 support of the U.N., ASEAN, the Red Cross and international and national 
non-governmental organizations, the country's swift action has prevented
mass  outbreak of disease that was feared after the cyclone.

On June 24, the TCG claimed that its post-Nargis joint assessment teams 
have successfully completed its mission to Myanmar's Ayeyawaddy delta and
Yangon  division, saying that the preliminary findings provides inputs to
the appeal  revision scheduled to be released both in the UN in New York
and Geneva on July  10 and the full report is to be released by the ASEAN
Foreign Ministers Meeting  in Singapore on July 20-21.

The tripartite core group worked for ten days from June 11 to 20 to make 
the joint assessment on the impact of cyclone Nargis that devastated
Myanmar.

The Yangon-based tripartite core group was established at an ASEAN-U.N. 
international pledging conference held in Yangon in late May as a working 
mechanism for coordination, facilitating and monitoring the flow of 
international assistance into Myanmar's cyclone-hit areas.

The core group, along with ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan and the 
ASEAN humanitarian task force, met on June 24 ASEAN roundtable on
post-Nargis  joint assessment for response, recovery and reconstruction
held in Yangon.

Cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions 
and states -- Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on last May 2 and 3,
of  which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and
massive  infrastructure damage.

The storm has killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 
injured according to Tuesday's official death toll.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

July 3, Irrawaddy
UN to take up Burma issue again – Lalit K Jha

The UN Security Council will take up the political impasse in Burma this
month, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on
Wednesday. No agreement on the date of the discussion could be reached.

Briefing UN correspondents after a closed meeting of the Security Council
on the agenda for July, Khalilzad, who serves as council president last
month, said the current crisis in Zimbabwe and a resolution on the Burmese
political crisis were two issues raised by member countries during the
meeting.

"There was a discussion that there should be a briefing with regard to
Burma this month,” said Khalilzad, noting the Burmese political issue has
been overshadowed by the humanitarian disaster that occurred in early May.

"We do not have a date yet agreed to with regards to the briefing on
Burma,” he said.

The Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN, Le Luong Ming, told reporters that
members could not reach a consensus on when to discuss the Burma issue. He
said there were proposals for the president to keep the members informed
on the humanitarian situation in both Burma and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the White House said Burma would be a top priority when US
President George W Bush meets with world leaders in Japan on the sidelines
of the G-8 Summit.

As announced earlier, Special UN Envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is
expected to visit Burma this month to continue his political dialogue with
the military government and pro-democracy leaders such as Aung San Suu
Kyi, who remains under house arrest. No date of the visit has been
announced.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took up the issue
of Burma and sought the support of Chinese leaders, including President Hu
Jintao, Premier Wen Jinbao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

July 3, Irrawaddy
An alternative road map is needed now – Aung Zaw

The road map introduced by the Burmese regime in Burma is in reality
nothing other than its own exit strategy. Burma’s paramount leader Snr-Gen
Than Shwe wants to ashin htwat—meaning “to come out alive.” And this
remains his transitional plan.

The seven-point road map is Than Shwe’s route to lead him out of the
country’s political mess unharmed and alive. He just needs to keep it on
the table until 2010, ensuring that members of his family and his cronies
survive the years safely.

The election he has announced for 2010, and the formation of a civilian
government backed by the military, will take place—that much is clear. A
determined Than Shwe will make sure nobody sabotages the road map.

The ageing leader made his commitment to the road map clear during his
speech he gave on armed forces day in March, in which he said he is not
power hungry and intends to hand over control of the government to the
winners of the 2010 elections. He is not going to change his mind.

At meeting in Naypyidaw with other leaders and military commanders, just
before Cyclone Nargis struck, Than Shwe issued an order to “eliminate”
anybody trying to disrupt the constitutional referendum or preparations
for the 2010 election.

 Regional commanders were given full authority to arrest, detain, and
“eliminate” elements found to be planning to sabotage the referendum and
election.

The cyclone catastrophe couldn’t deflect Than Shwe from proceeding with
the referendum, which was undoubtedly rigged and guarantees that the 2010
election will be similarly manipulated.

The question now is raised: is there any alternative to the “road map?”

The UN has called for an “inclusive” road map and dialogue, although Than
Shwe turns a deaf ear. The junta leader strides ahead despite domestic
opposition that manifested itself in a campaign to vote “No” in the
referendum.

The road ahead will be a stony one for Than Shwe. Dissidents inside and
outside the country will no doubt try to sabotage the election. The recent
explosion at the office of the Union Solidarity of Development Association
(USDA) provided strong evidence that more attacks could take place in the
near future.

The blast occurred at the USDA office in the northern Rangoon suburb of
Shwepyithar. No casualties were reported.

Formed in 1993, the junta-backed USDA claims to have more than 23 million
members out of a national population of 57 million. Its members often have
been accused of involvement in thuggish-style attacks against supporters
of the pro-democracy opposition.

Similar attacks on USDA members and junta supporters could occur between
now and the 2010 election, leading to spiraling violence.

Than Shwe is well placed to overcome all obstacles in his path, however,
particularly while the UN and many governments, within the region and
beyond, remain divided and indecisive in dealing with the regime.

Burma’s prominent and charismatic opposition leaders and activists who
could lead a mass movement or challenge the regime’s legitimacy are either
in hiding or in prison. Even if a mass movement takes shape, as it did in
the September uprising, troops will no doubt again restore “law and
order.”

Furthermore, opposition groups in exile and within Burma are fragmented
and have no united voice. Ethnic armies and cease-fire groups are too weak
to challenge the regime. Some ethnic groups will participate in the
election, at the regime’s behest.

It is time to draw up an alternative to Than Shwe’s road map and prepare
for transition. The current map probably ensures that Than Shwe will come
out alive but democracy will remain as lifeless as ever.

____________________________________

July 3, United Press International
Let us not praise coups – Awzar Thi

An Oxford economics professor said in a recent Washington Post article
that the best hope for either Burma or Zimbabwe is that military officers
might overthrow their respective dictators and leap through a window of
legitimacy held open by the free world (“Let us now praise coups,” June
22).

“Rather than trying to freeze coups out of the international system, we
should try to provide them with a guidance system,” Paul Collier has
written, adding that in countries like Zimbabwe and Burma coups “should be
encouraged because they are likely to lead to improved governance.”

There is nothing new here. Coup making worldwide has for decades been
premised on this fraud that if things can’t get worse, surely they can
only get better. In Asia, people from Pakistan to the Philippines have
been forced to pay for the fraud again and again, yet still it is
circulated as if an original proposal to the world’s intractable problems.

The people in Burma, for whom a coup is somehow being posited as a cure
rather than yet another curse, are already repeat victims of this fraud.
It was in 1958 that army officers originally cornered the country’s
struggling civilian prime minister and put it to him that he had better
hand over power or they just might not be able to control their boys.

The “caretaker” regime that followed built its legitimacy on precisely the
argument that it would do a better job of governing than the corrupt,
inept and violent political parties that had been mucking things up for a
decade since independence.

To this day it is credited with having restored order, yet when it handed
back power to the electorate in 1960 it was not military-backed candidates
but those of the former government who were overwhelmingly voted back into
office. The public was less impressed with army discipline than the
economists.

Still, General Ne Win at the time received credit for stepping down
peacefully and it was not until 1962 that the fraud was exposed, when he
stepped back up again, this time for good. Burma didn’t have another
election for a further three decades, and then, when the outcome was the
same as before, the soldiers didn’t bother with any pretense.

What the experts and intellectuals missed in the 1960s, and what some of
their peers seemingly continue to miss almost half a century on, is that
coup making is habitual. Once armies get the taste for taking over, they
don’t lose it easily. The same fraud is perpetrated time and time again;
the ailment and the cure become one.

Burma’s neighbors also have many informative lessons on habitual coup
making. To the east, despite its vastly different social and political
life, Thailand was in 2006 for the eighteenth time forced back under
military control thanks to what fawning media outlets improbably eulogized
as a “good coup.”

The takeover in Thailand was run to the same old tune that the army could
somehow do a better job of managing a by-now highly complicated
bureaucracy and modern economy than the corrupt and divisive civilian
regime that it booted out; in this case, through the appointment of savvy
officials rather than direct control of the sort preferred by its
counterparts in Burma.

But the army didn’t do any better and the general election that it
arranged also ended with many of the people it had pushed out getting back
in again – although not before it had made a mockery of the nascent
constitutionalism of the 1990s, left an array of public institutions in an
utter shambles, and stuffed the deep corners of its coffers with public
monies. Unsurprisingly, the country is still in turmoil, and few people
are prepared to rule out the likelihood of the military intervening again
in the next few years.

In Burma the stakes are even higher, given that many more lives are
directly threatened and the likelihood of tragedy ever present. The
scandalous mishandling of the Cyclone Nargis relief effort that has
provoked Collier and others to write well-meaning articles about a country
of which they know nothing is still being played out in the lives of
millions there daily. There are grave fears for food stocks if rainy
season crops are not soon planted across the damaged areas of the delta.

Whether or not any of this might give cause for a coup of the sort upon
which junta opponents have already hung their hopes for years is a matter
of conjecture. But that just about all of this is the consequence of a
coup, or two, is a matter of undeniable fact.

Let us not praise coups, and let us certainly not wish them upon people
who are already acutely suffering their iniquities. They are not a way out
of trouble but a way into more of it. No better advertisement of this
exists than Burma today.

(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights
Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights
and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be
read at http://ratchasima.net)

____________________________________

July 3, Asian Tribune
Veteran Journalist U Win Tin- World’s longest serving prisoner of
conscience – Zin Linn

U Win Tin is the world’s longest serving "prisoner of conscience" and  a
"veteran journalist of Burma".

Two press freedom associations, Reporters Without Borders and the Burma
Media Association issued a statement calling for the release of the
veteran journalist, who has spent 19 years in solitary confinement under
the inhumane detention camp of Burmese junta. His health has deteriorated
in the past few days.

"It will be exactly 19 years on 4 July since Burma’s military arrested Win
Tin," the groups’ statement highlighted. "The government, which has a
responsibility to protect the life of its citizens, should now release
him," the group statement urged.

The famous imprisoned journalist has constantly refused to sign a
confession promising to abandon his political career as a condition for
his release. The 79-year-old journalist admitted to the hospital for
second surgical treatment to hernia in January 2008. The first treatment
to his hernia was in March 1995.

Former editor-in-chief of The Hantharwaddy Daily of Mandalay was awarded
the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, the World Association
of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award and  award from the Reporters
without Border/Foundation de France Prize for his efforts to defend and
promote freedom of expression.

Burma has been called "the world's largest open prison for prisoners of
conscience" including political prisoners and journalists. Burma’s
distinguished prisoner of conscience, U Win Tin is one of Burma's most
popular journalists and executive member of the National League for
Democracy (NLD). He has spent 19 years or one fourth of his life time in
prison. U Win Tin suffers from a serious heart condition and is being
treated at the Rangoon General Hospital where he is confined to a tiny
box-cell designed for political prisoners.

U Win Tin has been imprisoned since 4th July 1989 in a special cell at the
infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon.  The former editor-in-chief of
Hantharwaddy Daily , was the  vice-president of the Burmese Writers and
Journalists Association. He was convicted and sentenced to three
consecutive prison-terms to a total of 21 years in prison. One of the
charges against him stems from his 1995 human rights abuses report in
prison to Mr. Yozo Yokota, the then United Nations Special Rapporteur on
the situation of human rights in Burma..

U Win Tin was also imprisoned because of his senior position as key
advisor of  Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy
(NLD). He was thrown into jail for additional years because of attempting
to inform the United Nations about human rights violations in prisons
under the military rule. Military rulers also accused him of writing
political commentaries and poems to be circulated among political
prisoners in Insein Prison, where the possession of writing materials was
forbidden.

The journalist told a friend who was allowed to visit him in 2007: "Two
prison officers asked me at a special meeting last week whether I would
resume political activities if I were released. I told them that I will
definitely do so since it is my duty as a citizen to strive for
democracy."

In 1996, in the notorious Insein Prison, the military intelligence
personnel regularly visited U Win Tin in order to examine his political
stand. They took him to their office in the prison and questioned him on
various topics. They frequently tried to persuade him to join the junta.
But U Win Tin always turned down their offers.

U Win Tin narrated to this the writer, who was in the same cell-block at
that time in notorious Insein Prison, about an incident with the
authorities. "It happened in 1991," he said. “They took me out of my cell
to an exhibition - The Real Story under the Big Waves and Strong Winds -
held at Envoy Hall in Rangoon. "The aim of the exhibition was to deplore
the 1988 uprising as a riot, created by destructive elements and
terrorists," said U Win Tin.

He recounted that there was a big poster placed at the main entrance of
the exhibition centre, saying, “Only when the Tatmadaw [military] is
strong, will the nation be strong.” There were many galleries in the show.
Each gallery highlighted the role of the army and emphasized that it was
the sole force that could defend the nation.

The show also described the junta's discrimination against the role of the
democratic institutions and societies. "The final conclusion was that no
one except the generals can control the unity of the nation including the
country’s sovereignty," said U Win Tin.

After witnessing the show, the authorities asked U Win Tin what he thought
about the exhibition and asked his opinion and attitude toward the
stratocracy. They gave him some paper and a pen and told him to write down
his opinion about the show. "I wrote down my criticism. I used 25 sheets
of paper. It was a blunt commentary. I made my explanation in a sense of
sincerity and openness. But it irritated them severely," he told me later.

First of all, he criticized the army’s motto, “Only when the army is
strong will the country be strong.”

"It's the logic of the generals to consolidate militarism in Burma," he
explained to me later that "Their logic tells us that they are more
important than the people and they used to say they are the savior of the
country that’s why they grab the sovereign power. That means they neglect
the people’s desire."

Thus he wrote: "The slogan tells us that Burma is going against a policy
of peace and prosperity." He went on to explain his understanding of the
role of the army as guardian of the nation but no obligation to involve in
the administrative affairs.

He said, "The real thing is that the military comes out of the womb of the
people. Thus, the slogan must be like this: 'The people are the only
parents of the military.' Anyone who does not care about his own parents
is a rogue," he pointed out to the generals.

He also emphasized that if the generals really loved peace and wanted
prosperity for the nation, they needed to truthfully reflect on their
limitations. The generals might want what’s best for the country, but they
did not know how to handle the entire state of affairs. They are
accustomed to mismanagement.

"Eventually, I came straight to the point: The army must go back to the
barracks. That will make everything better in Burma," he narrated to me
plainly.

The junta was very furious with his criticism and accused him of advising
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to launch civil disobedient campaign in 1989. Then,
they made another lawsuit against him and increased additional 11 more
year’s jail-term.

They confined him in his cell. The cell was 8.5 x 11.5 feet. There was
only a bamboo mat on the concrete floor. Sleeping, eating, walking and
cleaning the bowels were done in the very same place. He could not see the
sun, the moon or the stars. He was intentionally barred from breathing
fresh air, tasting nourishing food and drinking a drop of pure water. The
worst thing was throwing the old writer into solitary confinement in such
a cage for two decades.

In 1994, US Congressman Bill Richardson met U Win Tin in Insein Prison.
Since that time, he has continuously suffered from various health problems
such as spondylitis, hernia, heart disease, failing eyesight, arthritis
and hemorrhoids. It surprised everyone of how tough this gallant
journalist coped up with so many health problems.

For the junta, U Win Tin is really a man of steel. Although they wish to
defeat him, they could never do it.

U Win Tin’s case is  a good example for human rights violations under
inhumane regime. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) says: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment."

But, 79-year-old-man has been suffering a variety of inhumane tortures and
languishing unjust punishments for 19 years, now entering into two
decades. The United Nations must take responsibility to flex its muscles
on issue of breaking the principle of UDHR by such unmanageable regime in
Burma.

Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist in exile. He spent nine years
in a Burmese prison. He works as an information director at the NCGUB East
Office. He is vice-president of the Burma Media Association (BMA), which
is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF). or at
the NCGUB East Office.