BurmaNet News, August 1, 2008

[Editor]

August 1, 2008 Issue #3525


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Bomb blasts in two Myanmar states: state media
IMNA: KNU denies junta accusation of blasting pylon
IMNA: Iron Cross forced to delay show in support of cyclone victims by junta
Reuters: Myanmar charges comedian with public order offence
Irrawaddy: Junta may allow more daily newspapers
Telegraph (UK): Beijing Olympics: Myanmar to send six athletes to the Games
Xinhua: Myanmar warns against more bomb attacks
Xinhua: Myanmar plants 33,000 trees in Yangon to replace cyclone-downed ones

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Rice supplies stable, prices falling

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar cooperates with UN organization in avian influenza prevention

REGIONAL
AP: Exile says democracy in Myanmar needs new military

INTERNATIONAL
AP: Germany: Doctors concerned about Myanmar
Irrawaddy: Press for release of political prisoners, say activists

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Bush and Burma – Aung Zaw

OBITUARY
Mizzima News: Min Thein Kha passes away


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 1, Agence France-Presse
Bomb blasts in two Myanmar states: state media

Bombs exploded in two eastern Myanmar states leaving no casualties but
damaging government infrastructure, state media said on Friday.

The blasts, hitting an electricity pylon and telephone operator office,
were blamed on ethnic Karen anti-government insurgents by the New Light of
Myanmar newspaper.

An electricity pylon collapsed in one explosion in Lawpita-Toungoo, Hpa-an
district in Karen state at 10:40 pm local time last Sunday, the paper
reported.

A door and three windows were damaged at the government-run telephone
operator office in Mudon township in Mon state in another attack at 11:30
pm local time the same day, it said.

"There were no fatalities and no damage to the telephone connection," the
paper said.

"Myanma Electric Power Enterprise is supplying power through
Lawpita-Kalaw-Thazi power line in order not to disrupt the supply of
power," the paper said.

The New Light accused the Karen National Union (KNU) of planting the bombs.

"The insurgents are committing subversive acts such as bomb explosions,
planting mines with the aim of undermining the stability of the state,
peace and tranquility, rule of law, killing innocent people and causing
public panic," the paper said.

The KNU is the biggest ethnic rebel group in Myanmar and has been fighting
for autonomy from the military regime, who have run Myanmar since 1962,
for more than five decades.

Myanmar faces scores of organised resistance groups. Such small explosions
are usually blamed on ethnic rebels or exiled dissident groups.

___________________________________

August 1, Independent Mon News Agency
KNU denies junta accusation of blasting pylon

The Karen National Union (KNU) has rubbished Burmese military junta
accusations that it blasted a pylon to disrupt power supply from Lawpyita
to Taungoo, in Leiktho, Karen State.

According to the state run, the New Light of Myanmar, the No. 206 pylon in
Yado village collapsed following a mine explosion at about 10:40 last
night. The junta has blamed the KNU, the country's largest anti-junta
group.

"We will not do anything that will harm civilians. KNU believes in this
policy," KNU Join-Secretary David Tharc Kbaw said.

"The junta is trying to frame the KNU and it has done it before also," he
added.

The local military government authorities have warned against more bomb
attacks and also appealed to the public to come forward timely with
information about terrorists.

There was bombs explosion in an auto exchange Telecommunication Office in
Mudon Township, Mon State on July 30 night. Except for some damage to
office doors and widows, no one was injured.

Junta authorities accused insurgents for the blast, but local observers
said it was an internal affair because no one entered the office apart
from the staff.

But local officials said in a meeting yesterday, it had seized 14 bombs
tied in fourth standard textbook papers.

This is the second time a bomb exploded in Mon state in this year. It
occurred twice on May 10, near a polling station in Yindein village,
Khawzar Township.

In a scandalous exposure, the two bombs were planted by a local army
officer from Infantry Battalion No.31 in Khawzar town to frame activists
in the area.

According to a local police officer, to arrest activists in the area, the
army asked for help of the police and village headmen to plan the bombs in
Yindein, Yinye and Kabya.

But only the Yindein village headmen help the army officer in the plan and
just two bombs exploded in Yindein village polling station without causing
damage or injuries.

Following this the local army arrested a former New Mon State Party medic,
Nai Show and two villagers and tried to force them to confess by torturing
them. Later Nai Show (32) died of injures in Khawzar police station.

___________________________________

August 1, Independent Mon News Agency
Iron Cross forced to delay show in support of cyclone victims by junta

The Iron Cross (IC), the popular and famous music band in Rangoon has had
to postpone its live performance to raise funds for Cyclone Nargis victims
at the Thuwanha stadium because of the dilatory tactics of the ruling
Burmese junta.

The authorities told the music band earlier that they (authorities) had
shifted dates from July 16 to August 24 because the military sports had to
be held, according to source close to the IC.

According to the source, "The authorities have delayed the live show
thrice and if they delay it again the IC will not be able do the show to
collect funds". Lay Phyu, Ahnge, Myo Gyi, and Wai Wai were to perform in
the live show.

According to IC fans, the authorities do not have much love for the IC
because the band has not ever sung Burmese propaganda music.

The IC band also planned to perform in Mon State earlier but the Southeast
Command banned them after youths quarreled in the festival.

However IC plans to have a stage show after the end of the Buddhist Lent
in Kamawet village at the Kyaik Kamort Pagoda Festival in October 20,
2008.

___________________________________

August 1, Reuters
Myanmar charges comedian with public order offence

Myanmar's military junta has charged popular comedian and leading
dissident Zarganar with public order offences, which could see him jailed
for up to two years, a lawyer said on Friday.

Zarganar was arrested on June 3 after publicly criticising the ruling
generals for their sluggish response to Cyclone Nargis, which left 134,000
people dead or missing when it slammed into the Irrawaddy delta a month
earlier.

Opposition lawyer Aung Thein said Zarganar was charged with "inducing
public offence" at a secret hearing inside Yangon's notorious Insein
prison on Wednesday. Three other anti-government activists also appeared
at the hearing.

"It was the first time they appeared at the court and it's said that their
trial will start on Aug. 7. We don't know yet whether defence lawyers have
been arranged for them or not," he told Reuters.

As one of the former Burma's most recognised public faces, Zarganar had
been a focal point of the informal relief effort by private citizens into
the delta. Unsanctioned donors were frequently harassed and intimidated by
police and the military.

Secret police also seized Zarganar's computer and several banned films,
including the latest Rambo movie and the leaked video of the lavish
"champagne and diamonds" wedding in 2006 of junta supremo Than Shwe's
daughter.

Relatives of Zarganar and the other three dissidents said they had not
been informed of any court appearance or trial date, as is often the case
with detained activists.

"Family members are normally contacted but we have not been contacted by
anyone so far. We are really worried about them," one relative, who asked
not to be named, said.

Myanmar's junta, the latest face of 46 years of military rule, is keeping
a tighter-than-usual grip on public life as the 20th anniversary of
nationwide democracy protests approaches on Aug. 8.

The so-called 8-8-88 uprising was crushed by the army with the loss of an
estimated 3,000 lives. Dissidents who fled the crackdown are hoping the
20th anniversary will trigger a repeat, although analysts and diplomats
say that is very unlikely. (Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing by Ed
Cropley; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Alex Richardson)

____________________________________

August 1, Irrawaddy
Junta may allow more daily newspapers – Wai Aung

The Burmese military regime is reportedly ready to allow a privately owned
English language weekly newspaper to go daily.

The Myanmar Times in a report in the July 21 edition quoted CEO Ross
Dunkley, an Australian businessman: “Our senior management has been
informed that our ambition to turn The Myanmar Times into a daily
newspaper is taken seriously.”

“Potentially, that’s all good news and not just for us but for all leading
players in the media sector,” he said. “Just as the government is
evolving, so must we.”

Staffers at the weekly newspaper have been reshuffled, preparing for
changes to the political landscape as the Burmese regime moves towards
national elections in 2010, the newspaper said.

A journalist at The Myanmar Times who spoke on condition of anonymity said
the weekly plans to launch an English language daily edition by 2009.

An editor with a leading journal in Rangoon noted the junta still does not
allow privately owned daily Burmese language newspapers. The government
allows three Burmese language daily newspapers and one English language
daily newspaper, all state-run.

Journalist sources in Rangoon said information minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan
met with officials of Burma’s censorship board and leading weeklies,
including The Myanmar Times and Weekly Eleven News, several times.

Kyaw Hsan is known as Burma’s “Comical Ali” because of his whimsical
statements. He once said, “A nation may fall under colonial rule because
of the media.”

During the meetings, sources said Kyaw Hsan said the regime would likely
grant permission for the daily English edition ahead of the election, but
did not give a precise date.

The Myanmar Times and Weekly Eleven News declined to comment when
contacted by The Irrawaddy.

Ko Ko, the editor of the Yangon Times, said that under the current
political environment, the idea of printing a privately owned daily
newspaper in Burmese was impossible because Burmese weekly journals were
experiencing many difficulties under the regime’s censorship.

He said a private daily newspaper in the English language might be
possible, but he said, “It could not be a fully privately owned newspaper,
but jointly owned by private parties and the government."

Analysts say at least five Burmese weekly newspapers have the capacity to
turn into daily newspapers.

If the regime approves The Myanmar Times’ daily edition, it would be the
first daily newspaper partly owned by foreigners during military rule.

The Myanmar Times was formed in 2000 by Ross Dunkley and Sunny Swe, a son
of one of Burma’s then high ranking military intelligence officers,
Brig-Gen Thein Swe.

Sonny Swe was arrested following the downfall of former Prime Minister
Khin Nyunt in 2004 and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for corruption.

Burmese publications are strictly censored by the Press Scrutiny and
Registration Division, the formal name of the censorship board of the
Ministry of Information.

Editorial boards of Burmese newspapers and magazines traditionally
exercise self-censorship in order to publish.

Ohn Kyaing, a veteran journalist in Rangoon, said the media business in
Burma must be well-connected to authorities.

“Even if some journals become daily newspapers, the Burmese people still
will not experience press freedom if there is censorship of Burma’s
media,” he said. “If the junta allows an English language daily newspaper,
I am sure the ruling generals are preparing fresh propaganda for
foreigners.”

____________________________________

August 1, Telegraph (UK)
Beijing Olympics: Myanmar to send six athletes to the Games – Sarah Munday

Myanmar will send a team of just six athletes to the Olympics, but they
are ready to take on the competition in Beijing.

The reclusive nation has never previously won an Olympic medal, according
to a team official, but it will compete next month in track and field,
swimming, archery, rowing and canoeing he said.

"We will try our best to get the best achievement from the Olympics," said
Khin Maung Lwin from the Myanmar Olympic Committee after the team were
revealed.

The athletes said they were ready for the challenge in Beijing.

"I will try my best in the competition, I am ready for it," archer Nay Myo
Aung, 22, said.

Swimmer Kyaw Zin, 20, said he hoped to achieve a personal best.

"I'm hoping to get the best record for me. I'm really happy to be going to
the Olympic Games," Kyaw Zin said.

Khin Maung Lwin said Myanmar's only previous Olympic success was in 1972
in Germany when the national football team received a fair play award.

The athletes for the 2008 Games said they were just excited to be taking
part.

"I dare not hope for a prize as there will be many good players. Anyway,
I'm very happy and will try my best," said 23-year-old rower Shwe Zin
Latt.

"Although I'm also excited, I will try to get a prize for my country,"
runner Soe Min Thu, 20, said.

Lei Lei Win, 31, who will also take part in track and field, said: "I want
to go and get as much knowledge and experience as possible from the good
players at the Games."

Phone Myint Tayzar, 31, the most experienced athlete on the team with 38
gold medals in rowing and canoeing, said he wanted more time to prepare.

"I am really excited as I haven't participated in such a big event before.
I need more time to train," he said.

Myanmar has participated in the Olympics since 1948. Democracy activists,
the 88 Generation Student group, called in February for a boycott of the
Games in protest at China's support for the ruling military junta.

The Olympics are set to open on August 8, the 20th anniversary of a
pro-democracy uprising led by students in Myanmar.

The military, which has ruled the country formerly known as Burma since
1962, opened fire on the crowds, killing an estimated 3,000 people.

Leaders of the uprising were handed lengthy prison sentences, but when
released they formed the 88 Generation Student group.

____________________________________

August 1, Xinhua
Myanmar warns against more bomb attacks

The Myanmar authorities warned on Friday against more bomb attacks
following Wednesday's mine explosion in northeastern Kayin state and
urging people in the country to remain vigilant against more such
probability, official media reported.

The mine explosion in the state's Leiktho, Hpa-an at night caused collapse
of and damage to a pylon located between the areas of Lawpyita and
Toungoo, said the New Light of Myanmar.

The authorities blamed the country's largest anti-government ethnic armed
group, the Kayin National Union (KNU), responsible for the incident.

According to the report, Myanmar's state-run Electric Power Enterprise is
regularly supplying power through Lawpita-Kalaw-Thazi power line in order
not to disrupt the power supply.

The authorities also appealed to the public to come forward timely with
information about the terrorists.

On Dec. 18 last year, about seven members of the KNU detonated a mine and
fired small arms at a passenger bus which was on its way to Myawaddy from
Kawkareik in the border area with Thailand in the same state, killing
eight people and wounding six others, according to earlier official
report.

The authorities charged the KNU with constantly committing all destructive
acts such as undermining stability of the state, community peace and
tranquility and prevalence of law and order.

Since the government adopted a policy of national reconciliation in 1989,
17 main anti-government armed groups have made peace with the government
under respective cease-fire agreements and leaving the largest of them,
the KNU, out of the legal fold.

____________________________________

August 1, Xinhua
Myanmar plants 33,000 trees in Yangon to replace cyclone-downed ones

The Myanmar authorities have re-planted 32,925 shade-providing trees in
the Yangon municipal area to replace those which collapsed during a severe
cyclone storm in early last May, the local Biweekly Eleven News reported
Friday.

The May storm brought down over 13,000 old-aged trees and thousands of
other shade-providing ones.

Numerous such downed trees and debris then pressed and rested on houses,
while some dragged down many lamp-posts with wire lines and blocked roads
in the city.

At present, almost all of downed trees and debris on the roads have been
cleared and accumulated on some vacant plots in the city from where stem
roots and branches have been or are being sorted out for auction.

These stem roots of trees of 30 to 100 years of age are sold freely to
both domestic and foreign entrepreneurs for use in sculpture and
decoration.

The deadly tropical cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal
on last May 2 and 3 killed 84,537 people, leaving 53,836missing and 19,359
injured.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 1, Irrawaddy
Rice supplies stable, prices falling – Aung Thet Wine

The Burmese military government has issued a warning to rice traders not
to sell rice to the World Food Programme and not to sell to restricted
areas or to illegal exporters, sources in Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta
said.

The military government has imposed the restrictions to stabilize rice
prices in local markets and to prevent rice shortages. Burma lost many of
its paddy farms and thousands of tons of stored rice following Cyclone
Nargis.

"We can't sell rice out of restricted areas, we can't export rice abroad,
and additionally, we cannot sell rice to the WFP. If we violate this
order, we could receive one year imprisonment or our license could be
revoked," said a rice wholesale trader at the Ba Yint Naung market in
Rangoon.

As a result, rice prices seem to have gone down and the market is
plentiful and stable, say sources.

"Trading is slow now,” said one source. “Rice prices are usually high at
this time, but this year they are slow and steady, because the traders are
not allowed freely to buy and sell their commodities. The traders are
frustrated at the situation, since they are not allowed to trade freely,
and if they sell to the restricted areas, they could be punished.”

Traders say rice prices could fall lower in the near future.

The Rangoon mayor, the chairman of the Rangoon City Municipal Committee,
and Brig-Gen Aung Thein Linn, a member of the Rangoon city commodity price
management committee, briefed the local media on July 9 and confirmed the
authorities had imposed strong restrictions with the aim of stabilizing
rice prices.

The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industrialists
(UMFCCI), the Rangoon Municipal Committee, the Myanmar Rice & Paddy
Traders' Association and the Rangoon Commodities Prices Control Committee
are all playing a role in the scheme.

According to the Rangoon mayor, the cost for a basket of rice has gone
down 100 to 150 kyat below market prices in tax-free market shops and in
special subsidized rice shops.

A sack of rice now sells for about 1,000 kyat below May prices, said one
trader. A sack of rice weighs about 108 pounds and sells for about 45,000
kyat (US $30). One US dollar is about 1,200 kyat.

"There is a lot of difference in rice prices at the end of May and now.
For instance, we were selling a sack of Paw San special (high-quality
rice) for 45,000 kyat at the end of May, now it’s 35,000 kyat," said a
wholesaler at Ba Yint Naung market.

One rice trader said wholesalers can’t find enough buyers in the
countryside, because there is more supply than demand.

Meanwhile, a rice trader with the Myanmar Rice & Paddy Traders'
Association said more rice is coming into Rangoon from other regions.

"Basically, if there are 40,000 rice sacks coming into the Rangoon market,
and they are more than enough for demand. For that reason, the rice prices
will be stable for a while.”

An executive member of the Rice & Paddy Wholesalers' Association confirmed
that there will be no immediate shortage of rice, although the cyclone
impacted on agricultural production overall.

He said rice and food shortages in Burma are unlikely, since the
government and rice traders stored large amounts of rice and disaster-free
areas can grow multiple paddy crops.

"The cyclone affected 1 million acres out of 19.8 million acres of growing
land, which is quite small in percentage,” he said. “The association did a
study and it said normally a person from Burma eats 200 kilograms of rice
a year. In other words, a person eats six baskets (Burmese measurement
close to 40. 9 Liters) of rice. If we calculate 53 million in the
population, we need 1,000 million paddy baskets for a year. For the time
being, we are producing 1,475 million paddy baskets.”

Sources said rice from Pegu Division enters daily into Rangoon's the Ba
Yint Naung wholesale market and the Rangoon market can even resell some to
other areas, such as to Mandalay or Shan State.

"The authorities allow us to sell 10,000 sacks of rice to Mandalay and
20,000 sacks to Shan State on a daily basis," said one trader.

A list of rice prices: one sack of Paw San special (high-quality rice)
sells for 33,000 to 35,000 kyat; a sack of Manaw Thu Kha for 20,000 kyat;
Paw-Kywe rice for 21,500 kyat; Taung Pyan special for 26,000 to 29,000
kyat; Ziya special for 19,000 kyat; Shwe War Htun for 16,000 kyat; Ya Kyaw
for 14,500 kyat; and rain-soaked good quality rice for 14,500 to 16,000
kyat.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

August 1, Xinhua
Myanmar cooperates with UN organization in avian influenza prevention

Myanmar is cooperating with the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in prevention against highly pathogenic avian influenza
under a three-year project, the state newspaper New Light of Myanmar
reported Friday.

The three-year project (2008-2011) involves a financial aid of 1.315
million U.S. dollars pledged by the World Bank, the daily said.

With the FAO's cooperation, the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary
Department (LBVD) of Myanmar will implement the project.

In April this year, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) declared
Myanmar as a bird-flu-free country three months after the country was
proved that there was no residual bird flu virus remained over the period
since January.

According to then OIE statement, the latest spread of the H5N1 virus from
Kengtung to Mongphyat in Shan state in November last year, which infected
a seven-year-old girl later in December, had been under control since late
January this year, attributing the infection to carrying from abroad.

There were numerous outbreaks of the avian influenza in Myanmar covering
25 townships of six states and divisions over the past two years since
February 2006 until December 2007.

All of the occurrences were blamed for infecting from abroad especially
that the virus was carried into the country by migratory birds from the
cold regions in the world infecting local birds, according to the LBVD.

Myanmar reported outbreak of the avian influenza in the country for the
first time in some poultry farms in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions in
early 2006, followed by those in Yangon division in early 2007, in Mon
state's Thanbyuzayat and western Bago division's Letpadan in July and in
eastern Bago division's Thanatpin and in Yangon division's Hmawby in
October the same year.

In fight against the disease, Myanmar has been cooperating with experts
from the FAO and USAID.

Despite the declaration as a bird-flu-free country, the Myanmar livestock
authorities continue to call on the country's people to exercise a
long-term precaution against the deadly H5N1 bird flu.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 1, Associated Press
Exile says democracy in Myanmar needs new military

Democracy is still possible in Myanmar but only if moderates take control
of the military and work with the opposition and cooperate with the
international community, a political exile said here Friday.

But Win Min, a lecturer at Thailand's Chang Mai University and a foreign
affairs specialist, said he sees no political change in his homeland as
long as junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe remains in power.

He was speaking ahead of demonstrations planned in Manila to mark the 20th
anniversary of a failed student-led uprising in Myanmar, also known as
Burma, which led to his exile.

"The military alone will not make a change," said Win Min. "The mass
movement alone will not make a change. International pressure will not
make a change. We need all three coming together," he told journalists in
Manila where he was invited by the Center for International Studies at the
University of the Philippines to speak on the situation in Myanmar.

Win Min was a medical student who took part in the student movement in
Myanmar until the 1988 uprising that was brutally suppressed by the
military government.

He said some of his close friends were killed and he was forced to flee
into exile in Thailand where he continued working for the pro-democracy
movement.

His visit to Manila comes one week before a series of protests planned by
the Free Burma Coalition, a Philippine activist group seeking democracy
for Myanmar and the release from house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung
Sang Suu Kyi.

The group's activities will culminate on Aug. 8, the 20th anniversary of
the 1988 uprising.

Win Min said hopes for change in Myanmar's military leadership may lie
with 75-year-old Than Shwe's waning health.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 1, Associated Press
Germany: Doctors concerned about Myanmar

Nearly four months after Cyclone Nargis devastated coastal Myanmar, tens
of thousands of people are still dependent on international aid, the
German branch of Doctors Without Borders said Friday.

Myanmar's ruling military junta is cooperating with aid workers, but the
extent of the destruction in hard-to-reach rural areas is making it
difficult for people to recover, the organization reported at a Berlin
press conference.

"The problem is that it's a vast area, most of which is only reachable by
water," said Tankred Stoebe, the international organization's chairman in
Germany. "We still have not reached every area hit by the emergency."

Stoebe said the organization's employees in Myanmar have brought relief to
460,000 people since the cyclone struck on May 2-3, but that the food
supply in the Irrawaddy delta region is particularly precarious. Rice
fields were destroyed by the storm, and populations largely dependent on
the sea lost their fishing fleet.

"All their boats, all their nets were destroyed," Stoebe said. He said the
food supply will remain a serious concern at least until the end of the
year.
____________________________________

August 1, Irrawaddy
Press for release of political prisoners, say activists – Saw Yan Naing

The new UN human rights rapporteur for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, should
visit political prisoners and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and
forcefully press for their release during his first visit to Burma next
week, say human rights activists.

The new UN human rights rapporteur is scheduled to visit Burma from August
3 to 7 discuss human rights issues with the Burmese military government.

Tate Naing, the secretary of a Thailand-based Burmese prisoners’ rights
group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP),
said the new UN human rights repporteur should meet with long-term
political prisoners including Win Tin, a prominent journalist, as well as
detained leaders of the 88 Generation Students group.

“We want to urge him to try to meet and discuss freely with the Win Tin,
and the 88 Generation Students group including Min Ko Naing. It is also
necessary to ask for their release,” said Tate Naing.

Dozens of leaders of the 88 Generation Students group are currently
detained in Insein Prison. They were arrested in August 2007 following
protests against sharp increases in fuel enacted by the Burmese regime.

Benjamin Zawacki, an Amnesty International researcher on Burma, said, “We
will hope that the special rapporteur can persuade the government of
Myanmar to release all prisoners of conscience immediately.

During his visit, Quintana said he hoped to meet with Burmese generals,
heads of state institutions, political parties, ethnic groups, religious
groups and members of nongovernmental organizations in Burma.

The UN said on Thursday in a statement announcing the visit, “The special
rapporteur wishes to engage in a constructive dialogue with the
authorities with a view to improving the human rights situation of the
people of Myanmar.”

The new UN human rights rapporteur also requested to visit areas in
Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta which were devastated by Cyclone Nargis on
May 2-3, in addition to  Karen and Arakan states.

In May 2008, Quintana took over from Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, who served as
UN special rapporteur from December 2000 to April 2008.

Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general's special adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, is
scheduled to visit Burma in mid-August. It will be his fourth visit in
order to persuade the Burmese regime to move toward democratic reforms and
the release of political detainees.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 1, Irrawaddy
Bush and Burma – Aung Zaw

US President George W Bush has never been to Burma, and he once called the
country’s detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate “Aung Suu San Kyi,” drawing
laughter from journalists at an APEC summit in Thailand.

He has since learned how to pronounce the name of Burma’s most famous
pro-democracy leader; and thanks in large part to the tutelage of his
wife, Laura Bush, who has taken a strong personal interest in Suu Kyi’s
struggle on behalf of her people, he now knows a bit more about the
problems of a remote country that he still declines to visit.

Next week, the president and first lady will be in Thailand to mark the
175th anniversary of bilateral ties with the Kingdom. While he is here, he
will also meet with Burmese activists on the eve of the 20th anniversary
of a nationwide pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the
regime that still holds power in Burma.

The United States has always strongly supported the efforts of Burma’s
people achieve freedom from military rule. The current administration has
been no exception. Though often criticized at home and abroad for his
foreign policy, Bush has won the respect of most Burmese for his firm
stance on the repressive regime in Naypyidaw.

In 2003, the US introduced the Freedom and Democracy Act in response to a
ruthless attack on Suu Kyi and her supporters in the central Burmese town
of Depayin. In 2005, Bush identified Burma as one of the world’s “outposts
of tyranny,” together with Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Belarus.

Last year, following the crackdown on the September uprising, he blasted
the regime and tightened sanctions against the generals and their cronies.
As a further sign of support, the US Congress awarded its highest civilian
honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to Suu Kyi last December. And just
this week, Bush signed into law the Burma Jade Act, which restricts the
import of precious stones from Burma and extends existing import
sanctions.

Bush has often been faulted for his tendency to see complex issues in
black and white. But while many condemn him for trying to impose his
political vision on Iraq, few can argue that in the case of Burma, he has
taken a genuinely principled stand that is perfectly consistent with
reality.

The Burmese people are indeed fortunate to have the support of both Bush
and his wife, Laura, who has been a real driving force in keeping Burma at
the top of the world’s political agenda.

She has met with Burmese activists in Washington and New York on a number
of occasions and held video teleconferences with prominent exiles. She has
also participated in several roundtable discussions on Burma with UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim
Gambari.

When the Burmese regime crushed protests last year, she called Ban to
discuss the situation—a rare move by an American first lady, and one that
shows the depth of her concern for the fate of Burma’s people.

At the height of the crisis, she even called on Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the
junta’s supreme leader, to step down. Instead, he moved to consolidate his
position, more determined than ever to move forward with his road map to
“disciplined democracy.”

In May of this year, it became evident just how much Than Shwe has staked
on the ultimate success of this deeply flawed political process, which
promises only a continuation of military rule under another guise.

On May 3, one week before a planned referendum on a military-drafted
constitution, Burma was hit by its worst natural disaster in living
memory. But Cyclone Nargis did not stop the junta going ahead with its
rigged referendum, putting politics ahead of the lives of millions of
people.

The American response to this disaster was markedly different from that of
the rulers in Naypyidaw. The US moved quickly to temporarily suspend its
sanctions against Burma so that it could assist in the relief effort,
offering aid and the use of military aircraft to transport international
emergency relief supplies into the country.

Humanitarian workers in Burma praised the Bush administration for its bold
decision to send C-130 flights into Rangoon with relief items, setting
aside politics for the sake of saving lives.

But when the USS Essex and other US naval ships withdrew from their
positions near Burmese waters, after weeks of hopes that Bush would invoke
the UN’s Responsibility to Protect and order them into the delta, many
Burmese were more than a little disappointed.

This raises the most serious question about US support for Burma’s
pro-democracy movement: Is there any real political will in the US to
effect substantive change in Burma, or is Washington simply offering moral
support to the victims of a heinous regime to burnish its image as a
defender of freedom?

While some cynics say that Bush’s stance on Burma is merely a distraction
from the troubling consequences of other facets of his foreign policy,
others suggest that ultimately, the US is seeking to use Burma to
“contain” China, which has become the Burmese regime’s most important
ally.

These critics of US policy point to Washington’s overtures to Gen Ne Win
soon after he seized power in 1962 as evidence that the US has never been
particularly troubled by military rule in Burma or anywhere else when
broader geopolitical interests were at stake.

Although Ne Win accepted an invitation to the White House, he never became
close to Washington. Even substantial development aid and other support in
the form of weapons and helicopters for Burma’s anti-narcotics efforts
failed to bring Burma within America’s sphere of influence—something US
leaders were desperate to achieve in a bid to counter Communist China’s
regional ambitions.

But a great deal has changed since the days of the Cold War. China is no
longer the “red threat” that it once was, but a country that has opened up
to the world in ways that were almost unimaginable even two decades ago.
The US has no interest in reversing this process, any more than it has a
desire to see Burma sealed off and stagnating under the same regressive
regime that has ruled since 1988.

As part of his visit to Asia next week, Bush will be in Beijing to attend
the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games on August 8. This will give
him an opportunity to both celebrate China’s progress and to highlight the
need for deeper changes, particularly regarding its attitude towards
fundamental human rights.

By meeting with Burmese exiles the day before attending Beijing’s grand
coming-out party, Bush is sending a reminder that August 8 is not only a
day to recognize China’s achievements, but also an occasion to recall the
unfulfilled aspirations of the Burmese people.

There is little more that the Burmese people can ask of Bush in the
remaining months of his administration. And after eight years of
unstinting support, which even the most skeptical Burmese activists have
had to acknowledge as a major contribution to their cause, they can even
learn to live with his occasional mangling of Burmese names.

____________________________________
OBITUARY

August 1, Mizzima News
Min Thein Kha passes away

Min Thein Kha, the brilliant creator of the sleuth 'Surveillance Hnin
Maung,' passed away at the age of 70 today (1st August 2008). Born Maung
Aung Tun, he wrote under the pseudonym Min Thein Kha since 1976. He wrote
about a hundred novels and numerous short stories of which Manusari, Punna
Ba Kun and Sanay Maung Maung were very popular among his readers.

Although he belonged primarily to the world of the letters, his talent was
multifaceted. In addition to being a prominent writer, he was a good
orator and a famous astrologer of Burma. He started his career in
astrology in 1976 in Taungyi of Shan State. In 1978 he introduced
astrology to Rangoon, teaching the nuances of the discipline to his
disciples and students in Mayanthalin compound in Hmawbi Township until
his death.

Born on 25th June 1939 to the painter U San Shein and Daw Tin Tin, Min
Thein Kha was the eldest of seven siblings. He studied at St. Paul's High
School and obtained his matriculation degree from AV College. In 1958 he
joined the army and served for five years. He was then known as Sgt. Aung
Tun. Thereafter, he led a checkered career, working as night a watchman at
a cooking oil mill, as a paddy inspector and as rice mill manager. He was
awarded the Ph. D by the University of Calcutta for his thesis "The
destiny of 122 Burmese Kings". He is survived by a son.

But even a man of his stature was not spared criticism and attack from the
junta. In 1988 he was imprisoned for leading the 88 uprising. After his
release, he concentrated on astrology. Since then, astrology dominated his
writings. On the midnight of 25th March 1997 he started a nationwide tour
propounding the virtues of occultism. The tour continued for three years.

His funeral will be held at Yeway cemetery, Rangoon on 5th August.