BurmaNet News, August 28, 2008

[Editor]

August 28, 2008 Issue # 3544


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Five NLD members arrested for peaceful protest
DVB: Lawyer Kyi Win asks to visit Daw Suu again
DVB: 88 Student leaders appear in court
Irrawaddy: Murder story draws police wrath
Irrawaddy: Military step in to stem ‘diamond rush’
KNG: USDA woos and pressures Christian community in Putao for 2010 elections
IMNA: Junta authorities force carpenters to build high school

BUSINESS / TRADE
IRIN News: Small-scale livestock farmers feel the pinch

HEALTH / AIDS
NLM: British guest praises Myanmar's achievements in infectious disease
control

ASEAN
TV New Zealand: Manila to sign ASEAN charter

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: Campaigners hail, ARIG's decision to pull out of Burma

OPINION / OTHER
The Wall Street Journal: U.N. loves Burma's generals -- II
Inner City Press: Asked if UN set Suu Kyi up, UN remains silent, Burma
under the shroud of Turin – Matthew Russell Lee
UPI: U.N. mission in Burma not accomplished – Zin Linn
Miami Herald: Helping Burma's nonviolent struggle – Frida Ghitis


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Five NLD members arrested for peaceful protest – Htet Aung Kyaw

At least five National League for Democracy members were arrested last
night and taken to court today, the latest in a series of arrests of NLD
members, according to party spokesperson U Nyan Win.

Hlaing Tharyar township NLD members U Tin Yu, U Kyaw San, U Soe Min and
Daw Hla Hla Maw, and Kyimyintaing member U Yan Naing Tun were arrested at
around midnight by the authorities and taken to Hlaing Tharyar township
court today to face charges, U Nyan Win said.

A colleague of Yan Naing Tun confirmed the arrests.

“Last night, six people – the Hlaing Tharyar police commission and his
team and members of Kyimyintaing special branch including Win Myint – came
to arrest Ko Yan Naing Tun,” he said.

“They are being tried at Hlaing Tharyar court.”

Lawyer U Phoe Phyu said the five had been arrested for carrying out a
peaceful demonstration.

“The reason [for their arrest] is that on 15 May they walked from Shwe Yin
Aye bus stop to Nyaungdon road in a peaceful protest carrying banners
reading ‘Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’,” he said.

The five are being tried alongside Ko Mee Thway, Ko Kyaw Soe Win, Ko Win
Myint, Ko San Lwin, Ko Thant Myo and Ko Myo Kyaw Swe, who were arrested on
5 May for staging a demonstration demanding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s
release.

Phoe Phyu said the 11 people would all face the same charges.

“They are being charged under sections 143, 145, 152, 505 and 505(b) of
the penal code for illegal assembly, resisting officials on duty, and
disturbing the public order,” he said.

All 11 were taken to Insein jail after appearing in court, Phoe Phyu said.

According to the NLD’s Nyan Win, around 10 party members and activists
have been arrested this month, including U Karkyinsi and his son on 14
August, seven visitors from Irrawaddy division to Rangoon including Ko
Aung Kyaw and Ko Tin Aung on 7 August, and Dr Thet Lwin from Rangoon and
another person on an unspecified date.

Nyan Win said the latest arrests were further evidence of the authorities’
campaign of harassment against the NLD.

“The NLD has been persecuted from the start, that is nothing out of the
ordinary,” Nyan Win said.

“What is strange is that it has become more intense in recent days. They
are speeding up the destruction of the NLD. That’s all we can think.”

____________________________________

August 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lawyer Kyi Win asks to visit Daw Suu again – Htet Aung Kyaw

U Kyi Win, lawyer for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is waiting to hear if his
request for permission to visit the detained National League for Democracy
leader on Friday has been approved.

The NLD has recently expressed concern about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after
reports that she is refusing to accept food deliveries.

U Kyi Win has visited the pro-democracy leader twice this month to discuss
her appeal against the military regime’s decision to extend her house
arrest for another year.

He told DVB that he was confident he would be allowed to visit her again,
but has not yet received confirmation from the authorities.

“This evening, I went to see [
] the special branch, who are in charge of
granting permission to visit and the like,” Kyi Win said.

“I went to them and submitted the application form. I asked them to allow
me to see her the day after tomorrow, which is the 29th – had I asked for
tomorrow, it would have been too close as they have to report it to their
superiors,” he said.

“If I don’t get the 29th I asked them to give me the 1st, which is
Monday
I am relatively sure I will be granted one of these days.”

Although the meeting would be related to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal
against her house arrest, Kyi Win said the health and welfare of his
client was also important.

Despite rumours that the NLD leader had begun refusing provisions from 15
August, Kyi Win said he had not noticed anything different when he met her
on 17 August and had not asked her about it.

He said he had discussed with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi how to get freedom of
movement for her helper and companion Daw Khin Khin Win, which has been
reported to be one of the NLD leader’s demands.

Kyi Win pointed out that the way Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was summoned by
loudspeaker to meet with two diplomats at the gate of her compound would
have forced her to contravene the SPDC’s own rules for her detention.

“The prohibition order states that she must not contact, meet or speak to
foreign embassies and political organisations, and section (b) of the
order says she must not come out of her house compound,” Kyi Win said.

“From a legal viewpoint, had she gone out to see the people who summoned
her with loudspeaker from the gate of her compound – think about it, they
are banning her and you could say that Mr. Gambari is an ambassador – she
would have been breaking two rules imposed upon her.”

Kyi Win also noted that on previous occasions government officials had
picked up Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to take her to meetings with diplomats, and
said he found it impossible to understand why she had been summoned over a
loudspeaker this time.

Kyi Win also said he would discuss whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s family
physician Dr Myo Win would be able to arrange a new time to see her as he
will not be able to make the monthly medical check-up on 4 September due
to other commitments.

____________________________________

August 28, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 Student leaders appear in court – Aye Nai

Min Ko Naing, Ko Mya Aye and other 88 generation student leaders appeared
yesterday for the first time at a court hearing at Insein prison's special
court where they have been charged with several offences.

Central court lawyer U Aung Thein and two other lawyers, U Kyi Win and U
Nyaung, will act as defence lawyers for the student leaders, but have not
yet been able to meet their clients.

However, Aung Thein observed the proceedings as he happened to be in the
court at the same time for a court hearing for his other clients,
prominent monk U Gambira and 10 others charged alongside him.

"[The student leaders] have not yet been allowed to meet their lawyers as
not all of those involved in the case were present at the time," Aung
Thein said.

"The prosecutors have just opened the cases against them so no one yet
knows the details, such as in which courts their trials will be held."

____________________________________

August 28, Irrawaddy
Murder story draws police wrath – Saw Yan Naing

A reporter on a leading Rangoon newspaper, the Flower News Journal, was
summoned by police in Rangoon on Tuesday and rebuked for a story he wrote
about the murder of a couple in Thingangyun Township, said a source close
to the newspaper.

Saw Myint Than, the paper’s chief reporter, said police officers
threatened him, telling him they could close down the newspaper, and he
could be arrested.

The story about the murder passed through the military regime’s censorship
board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division office, and was also
published in other journals including the Weekly Eleven and the Voice
Weekly.

It is a common practice in Burma for news of crimes written by independent
reporters to be censored. All stories in the print media must pass through
the censorship office.

Saw Myint Than said police officials told him they had been rebuked by
higher authorities who were angry because of the story’s publication in
the media.

A Rangoon-based journalist said, “If the report is wrong, people can sue
the reporter. They just don’t respect the rights of journalists to report
news and information.”

Earlier this year, Nyein Nyein Naing, a journalist at 7 Day News Journal,
was summoned and rebuked by authorities after writing a story about the
murder of five people in a home near the residence of pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Ky in Rangoon.

____________________________________

August 28, Irrawaddy
Military step in to stem ‘diamond rush’ – Violet Cho

Burmese military authorities have stepped in to prevent hordes of local
people rushing to a remote village in central Burma in search of diamonds
following the rumored discovery there of a valuable gemstone.

An estimated 30,000 people besieged the village—Kyaut Oe, 12 miles east of
Taungoo—before the regional military command enacted a decree banning
large assemblies of people.

The diamond that sparked the “gem-rush” was reportedly found in a Kyaut Oe
creek and was bought by a dealer for 300,000 kyat (US $250). Rumors spread
rapidly that the real worth of the gem was up to five times that amount.

Many residents joined the rush to the village but came away empty-handed.

One explanation for the presence of a diamond in Kyaut Oe’s creek is that
it might have come from a collapsed pagoda or shrine. The abbot of Kyaut
Oe’s monastery informed authorities of the discovery of the gem.

Popular interest in diamonds in Burma grew after Than Shwe’s daughter
Thandar smothered herself with gems when she married two years ago. She
wore so many that Southeast Asian newspapers reported a rise in the price
of diamonds in the run-up to the wedding.

____________________________________

August 28, Kachin News Group
USDA woos and pressures Christian community in Putao for 2010 elections

The Burmese ruling junta has begun to drum up support for the ensuing 2010
general elections. The regime sponsored Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA) has begun to woo and pressurize Kachin Christian
churches in Putao in Kachin State in northern Burma, said local sources.

Rawang Jung, general secretary of Kachin State USDA flew to his native
Putao from the USDA office in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State on
August 24. He met church leaders and followers in Putao on August 25
(Monday), residents of Putao told KNG.

Rawang Jung told church leaders to choose people in Putao to contest the
2010 general elections in Burma. He met church' leaders and followers of
all denominations at No. 1 Basic State High School in Putao downtown from
9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. local time, according to participants.

Over 50 church leaders and followers from the local Lisu tribal, Rawang
tribal and Jinghpaw tribal churches attended the meeting with USDA
secretary Rawang Jung.  They were, however, forcibly invited to join the
meeting by the military authorities of Putao District, a participant said.

According to those who attended the meeting all participants were gifted a
set of clothes (Burmese suits) with an USDA medal and were served morning
food by Rawang Jung.

Some participants think that Rawang Jung's trip in Putao was meant to
garner votes for the junta's USDA in the 2010 general elections in the
country.

During June and July, a new Northern Command (Ma-Pa-Kha) commander Maj-Gen
Soe Win of junta met leaders of Buddhist, Christian and Muslim communities
in Myitkyina and donated some rice, edible oil and money.

Moreover, Brig-Gen Thein Zaw, Minister of Post, Communication and
Telegraph and a special organizer of the junta for Kachin State met
leaders of all denominations in Myitkyina at the office of the Kachin
Baptist Convention (KBC) and donated some rice, edible oil and funds to
each church on July 6.

Over 90 per cent of Kachins in the state are Christians and the junta is
trying to generate Christian votes for the controversial 2010 elections in
accordance with its seven-step roadmap to its so-called
disciplined-democracy in the country.

____________________________________

August 28, Independent Mon News Agency
Junta authorities force carpenters to build high school

The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) is forcing carpenters to
build a high school in Sub Khawza Township southern Mon State, Burma.

U Kyaw Moe, chairman of TPDC in Khawza divided carpenters into three
groups to build the high school in rotation. Each group has about 7 to 8
people. Nai Plaing, Nai San Win, and Nai Ong are heading the carpenters.

"We have to build the high school on orders from the TPDC. The authorities
have not paid the cost of construction. We have to bring the materials and
food," a carpenter said.

The carpenter said that each group was forcibly sent to build the school
and have to be at the construction site twice a week. So far they have
made the windows and the ceiling of the school.

Even though they have to work in rotation to build the school, U Kyaw Moe
ordered all the groups to come to the local hospital between August 14 and
16 to decorate the ceiling before high ranking officials visit Khawza.

The authorities started building the high school in 2004 in Khawza. About
18 villages in Khawza Sub Township have only this high school and a middle
school. Khawza village upgraded a Sub-Township in 2003.

After the authorities started building the school, they persuaded students
to join from the Mon National School controlled by the New Mon State
Party, the ethnic armed ceasefire group which signed a pact with the
Burmese regime in 1995.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 28, IRIN News
Small-scale livestock farmers feel the pinch

For 42-year-old Than Than and her husband, making ends meet has never been
harder.

Their main source of livelihood took a direct hit when Cyclone Nargis
struck Myanmar’s Yangon Division in May, sweeping away their 200 ducks and
five water buffaloes valued at over US$1,000.

Unable to sell eggs or rent out her buffaloes to plough her neighbour’s
rice fields, her plight is indicative of many small-scale livestock
farmers.

“I can barely make 1,200 kyat ($1) per day out of my livestock business
now
 Before the cyclone, I could make over 5,000 kyat ($5) per day," the
mother-of-three said, waving her arms at some ducks swimming nearby.

"Those ducks are not mine. They belong to my friend," Than Than said.

She has borrowed 40 ducks to help sustain her family, and hopes to be able
to buy her own ducks soon.

There are tens of thousands of small-scale farmers like Than Than in need
of assistance in the aftermath of Nargis - now described as Myanmar’s
worst natural disaster ever, leaving almost 140,000 people dead or missing
and affecting over two million people.

Livestock losses force change of tack

The loss of livestock in the storm was significant: In addition to over
300,000 buffaloes and cattle, in the most affected 11 townships of Yangon
and Ayeyarwady divisions, about 66,000 pigs, over one million chickens,
and around 500,000 ducks, were killed in the cyclone, the UN’s Food and
Agricultural Organization (FAO)  reported.

According to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report released in
July by the Myanmar government, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and the UN, total losses and damage as a result of Nargis run into
billions of US dollars.

Unassisted and unable to cope, many small-scale livestock farmers have
switched to fishing instead.

"It’s not so bad. I can earn enough household income from this job
[fishing]
 But, I would prefer to run my backyard livestock business
again, Daw Mya Khin, a 46-year-old widow from Thonegwa village said.

FAO efforts

The cyclone-hit area is a key livestock producing region - accounting for
roughly 50 percent of national poultry production and 40 percent of pig
production. Yangon, the largest city, was heavily dependent on surplus
livestock production from the area.

To jump-start the sector, FAO plans to distribute draught cattle, goats,
pigs and poultry to replace lost, sold or consumed livestock, and supply
veterinary medicines and vaccines to improve animal health and protect
livestock - in collaboration with the Myanmar Livestock Federation and the
Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department.

In late July, FAO donated 600 buffaloes to needy households in Myanmar's
badly affected Ayeyarwady Delta.

It has also been working to assist a large number of small-scale rice
farmers prepare their paddy fields in time for this year’s planting
season.

“We also have a plan to help the poor farmers in terms of backyard
livestock,” Ye Tun Oo, a livestock consultant within FAO’s Emergency &
Rehabilitation Coordination Unit in Myanmar, said.

“Provided we receive funds from our donors, we will implement our plan to
distribute livestock animals like chickens and pigs to the poor
cyclone-hit farmers,” he said.

As part of its relief and early recovery effort, FAO has appealed for
$33.5 million to provide immediate aid to over 50,000 small-scale farming
households and 99,000 landless rural households.

Myanmar Livestock Federation

The Myanmar Livestock Federation has its own plans to assist cyclone-hit
farmers re-establish their backyard livestock.

Starting in September, some 50,000 livestock animals will be distributed
to needy families free of charge, one senior official from the Federation
told IRIN.

"We're going to hand over those livestock animals via the township
authorities
 I hope this will help the cyclone survivors to restore [their
livestock] quickly," said the official, who was not authorised to speak on
the record.

Included in this effort would be some 2,000 pigs, 20,000 chickens and
30,000 ducks, he said.

However, despite these efforts, and in the short to medium term, cyclone
survivors will remain largely dependent on outside assistance to get by:
“It will take 2-3 years for the farmers to restore their backyard
livestock,” Ye Tun Oo said.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

August 28, The New Light of Myanmar
British guest praises Myanmar's achievements in infectious disease control

Minister for Health Dr Kyaw Myint received Director Ms Sue Wardell and
party of the Department for International Development Affairs of the UK at
his office, here, yesterday morning.

She said she was impressed by Myanmar's achievements in control of
HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. They discussed assistance of the UK for health
sector and cooperation in health sector between the two countries.

Bangkok-based EU Ambassador Mr Friedrich Hamburger and party called on
Minister Dr Kyaw Myint at the ministry, here, on the same day.

They discussed humanitarian aid for storm-hit regions, control of
HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria and future tasks.

Also present at the calls were Deputy Ministers Dr Mya Oo and Dr Paing
Soe, directors-general of departments and officials.

____________________________________
ASEAN

August 28, TV New Zealand
Manila to sign ASEAN charter

The Philippines will ratify the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) charter later this year, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday,
reversing an earlier reluctance to endorse the regional bloc's
constitution.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago, head of the foreign relations panel in the upper
house of Congress and a staunch ally of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,
said signing the charter was meant to help encourage Myanmar to improve
its human rights record.

Manila had previously insisted that Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi be released from house arrest before it would ratify the charter.

"Today, there is no such document that could provide the legal power to
enable the rest of ASEAN to see to it that Myanmar complies with human
rights law," Santiago said.

Santiago said she was confident the Senate would ratify the charter before
ASEAN leaders meet in Bangkok for an annual summit in December.

Only Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines have yet to ratify the
charter that would turn a loose association of states into a rules-based
economic, social and security organisation encompassing 560 million people
and 10 countries.

Myanmar was the latest state to ratify the landmark document in July.

After other ASEAN leaders signed the charter in Singapore late last year,
Arroyo said she would have difficulty pushing the Senate to approve it if
Suu Kyi remained under house arrest.

She said the release of Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the past 19 years
under detention, would be the "number one benchmark" for Manila to decide
whether to ratify the charter.

Santiago said the Senate committee on foreign affairs has circulated a
report recommending the ratification of the constitution and she expected
her colleagues would overwhelmingly support it.

Two-thirds of the Senate are needed to approve the charter.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 28, Mizzima News
Campaigners hail, ARIG's decision to pull out of Burma – Solomon

Arab Insurance group (ARIG) has announced pulling out of Burma's insurance
market after campaigners pointed out that its presence in the market helps
the military rulers of the country profit, Burma Campaign UK said.

After a month of releasing a report titled "Insuring Repression" by the
BCUK which revealed how international insurance companies finance Burma's
military junta, ARIG, is the second international insurance company to
withdraw from the Burmese market.

"It is welcome news, we hope that other companies will pull out of Burma
soon," Johnny Chatterton, author of the report and Campaigns Officer of
BCUK told Mizzima over telephone.

ARIG is a Bahrain based company dealing in insurance, reinsurance and
other services. Its decision to withdraw comes a week after another
international insurance company, XL limited, announced its withdrawal from
Burma.

BCUK said, ARIG has informed the group that "After a review of the current
situation it has taken a corporate decision to refrain from renewing any
of the isolated risks previously written in Myanmar [Burma]."

But no officials of the ARIG Company were available for comment on Thursday.

According to the BCUK, despite ARIG and XL's withdrawal, 14 more
international insurance companies are still in the market in Burma helping
finance billions of dollars to the military rulers of the country.

Among them are Lloyd's of London, Hannover Re, Catlin, Atrium
Underwriting, Tokio Marine, Sompo Japan, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, QBE,
ACE, Labuan Re, OCBC Bank, Pana Harrison, Target Insurance Broker and AI
Wasl.

BCUK has begun a campaign that urges insurance companies worldwide to stop
insuring in the Burmese market and the group in its report, has divided
the companies into three categories – the dirty list, shame list and clean
list.

"The time has come for governments to take action and shut down the
regime's financial lifeline," Chatterton said is a statement released on
Wednesday.

"Today we reiterate our call to the UK government to take the lead and
push for EU wide targeted financial sanctions that stop insurance
companies helping finance the military junta," he added.

According to a July 29 report released by BCUK's, 16 companies highlighted
as their members or subsidiaries sell insurance to companies in Burma,
while 203 companies are on the shame list, 218 are on the clean list.

Chatterton said his group is pushing the British government to pressure
the European Union to implement financial sanctions that will not allow
insurance companies to operate in Burma.

"There could be other insurance companies that we don't know of which is
why we are pushing for EU sanctions because Europe is an important centre
for the insurance industry," said Chatterton.

Lloyd's of London, which has three of its market members - Catlin, Atrium
and Tokio Marine – cited the lack of sanctions as the chief defence for
the actions of their members who continue to be involved in Burma.

Insurance companies, the BCUK said, are funding millions of dollars to the
Burmese junta which use it to buy more guns and weapons and strengthen its
stranglehold on power to further oppress its own citizens.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 28, The Wall Street Journal
U.N. loves Burma's generals -- II

The United Nations has long been an enabler of Burma's tyrannical leaders.
Last week it reached a new low.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Burma, spent six days in the
country, meeting almost exclusively with government ministers and
government-backed "political parties" to discuss the junta's "road map to
democracy," under which "elections" will be held in 2010. As during prior
trips, the junta rejected Mr. Gambari's offer of U.N. election monitors
for 2010.

The fact that Mr. Gambari is focusing on the next sham election instead of
the current lack of political freedoms is a diplomatic victory for the
generals. The ruling junta has already ignored international criticism for
its crackdown on peaceful demonstrators last year and its mishandling of
Cyclone Nargis, which killed 85,000 in May.

Things have gotten so bad that Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the
opposition National League for Democracy, is reportedly on a hunger
strike. She refused to meet Mr. Gambari last week, despite his efforts to
see her. Several NLD members have been quoted as saying the snub was
intended to send a message about what she thinks of the U.N. mission. Mr.
Gambari met twice with other members of the NLD's central committee.

Since Mr. Gambari began his job two years ago, he has visited Burma six
times. The last three times, top general Than Shwe has refused to meet
him. Why bother? With no real resolve at the U.N. or the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations to bring about political change in Burma, Mr.
Gambari's visits are meaningless. The generals recognize that. It's time
the U.N. did, too.

____________________________________

August 28, Inner City Press
Asked if UN set Suu Kyi up, UN remains silent, Burma under the shroud of
Turin – Matthew Russell Lee

In the UN's continued paralysis about Myanmar, on Wednesday Ban Ki-moon's
spokesperson refused to confirm or deny that his envoy Ibrahim Gambari had
taken steps to ensure that his ham-handed loudspeaker outreach would not
simply subject Aung San Suu Kyi to further house arrest.  From the
transcript of Wednesday's UN noon briefing

Inner City Press: Even in the absence of Mr. Gambari, I wanted to ask,
there are these reports that under the restrictions imposed on Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi in Myanmar that had she accepted Mr. Gambari's invitation to
meet, which was apparently delivered by a loudspeaker from outside her
house, she would have subjected herself to a longer house arrest.  Did Mr.
Gambari check with the Government?  Because it was said from this podium
that the Government facilitated; that they could have met, but now the NLD
and others are saying that it was all kind of a set up.  How did Mr.
Gambari reach out to Aung San Suu Kyi and is it his understanding that he
didn't put her in greater jeopardy?

Spokesperson Montas:  At this point, the Secretary-General is expecting to
meet with Mr. Gambari.  He is going to do so in Turin in the next three
days and we should know more about what happened when we get the report
from Mr. Gambari.

Question:  I mean, I understand that, it's just that, yesterday, at the
stakeout, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom said it was a disappointing
trip.  Various people have been reacting to it; I know he is not a fast
reactor, but is he happy thus far with the outcome of his trip?

Spokesperson Montas:  I don't have his reaction at this point.  As I said,
he has not spoken to the Secretary-General for a full debriefing of his
trip.  And he will be doing so in the next three days.

 The reference to "he's not a fast reactor" was to Ban Ki-moon, not
Gambari. But when will Gambari or Ban be saying anything about the
so-called "good offices" mandate?

____________________________________

August 28, United Press International
U.N. mission in Burma not accomplished – Zin Linn

U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari left Burma on Aug. 23 after failing to
secure meetings with senior military leaders or detained democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi. Optimism has been waning for the start of talks between
the lady and the generals after the junta forced the adoption of a new
Constitution through a referendum in May.

The international community hoped that Gambari would succeed in persuading
the military to open a genuine political dialogue with opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups to create a national reconciliation
process leading to a genuine democracy.

Contrary to this, Gambari failed to have meetings with the senior general
or the detained democracy leader. The Nobel laureate, Suu Kyi, did not
attend a planned meeting with the U.N. special envoy on Aug. 20. It seems
that she is taking a stand against the junta's setup of the meeting.

According to some analysts, the lady did not show up because she did not
want to be exploited by Gambari so he could overstate that his mission is
going well. It is Gambari's fourth trip to the military-ruled country
since a deadly crackdown on anti-government demonstrators led by Buddhist
monks last September sparked a large-scale challenge. Gambari and the
Nobel laureate of Burma were due to meet as part of the United Nation’s
shuttle diplomacy to propel political reform in Burma.

Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by a military regime that has earned
itself one of the world’s worst human rights records after brutal assaults
against a pro-democracy movement in 1988, during the Depayin incident on
May 30, 2003, and against the Saffron Revolution in September 2007, as
well as many other sporadic crackdowns. The junta has arrested over 2,000
political dissidents including Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has been confined to her residence for most of the last 19 years.

The regime held a unilateral referendum at gunpoint on May 10 and 24 of
this year and approved a new pro-military Constitution, which will
legalize military rule in the 2010 elections. There is no doubt that the
process will not be free and fair, similar to the recent gunpoint
referendum. The socioeconomic atmosphere has been deteriorating due to
repeated mismanagement by the junta.

The ruling Burmese junta has also committed a series of mistakes in
dealing with political issues. It will face a desolate future if it
continues to reject the national reconciliation process being urged by the
key opposition groups of the National League for Democracy and the United
Nationalities Alliance.

The NLD and UNA point out that the recent ratification of the Constitution
is invalid since it was conducted against the will of the people and amid
a lack of international norms. The junta also shows no respect toward the
Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council issued in October 2007
and neglects the consecutive resolutions laid down by the U.N. General
Assembly.

It appears that the junta has no plan to release its 2,000-plus political
prisoners and undertake a tripartite dialogue among the junta, the
democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic
nationalities, as has been called for by consecutive General Assemblies.

Analysts say the new Constitution and the junta's unyielding adherence to
its seven-step roadmap toward the 2010 elections make Gambari's mission
almost nonsensical.

Is Ibrahim Gambari the right person to act as a special envoy between
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Than Shwe,
the head of Burma’s military junta? Many pro-democracy advocates will give
the same answer, “No, he’s disqualified.”

This is because Gambari cannot achieve anything since he complies with the
Burmese regime’s to-do list and spends most of his time with pro-junta
groups or the junta’s puppets. He should demand to meet the
representatives of the group of 92 members of the Parliament-elect, who
have sent letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security
Council.

And he should, at least, urge the junta to release two members of this
group, U Nyi Pu and Tin Min Htut, who were arrested on Aug. 12. Three
representatives of this group, U Pu Chin Sian Thang, U Thein Pe, and Myint
Naing, are accessible in Rangoon, but the U.N. envoy did not try to
contact them.

Instead, Gambari met with the disreputable Union Solidarity and
Development Association – a gang similar to Hitler's “Brown Shirts” –
which carried out an assassination attempt on Nobel laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi on May 30, 2003, and, in that premeditated attack, slaughtered scores
of her supporters.

The worst of it is that, when he met with the NLD, he encouraged them that
the 2010 elections will be free and fair. But, when asked, he could not
give his opinion of the 1990 elections. Furthermore, he did not even
recognize that the purpose of his current mission was to focus on resuming
political dialogue with the key opposition to this military-ruled country,
which was postponed after Cyclone Nargis hit in May.

Regardless, the Mission of the United Nations to Burma, led by the
secretary-general's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, should not be taking
the wrong road in this situation. Gambari should not be advocating or
supporting the military dictators’ sham Constitution and sham 2010
elections. It will damage not only the mission but also the dignity of the
world body.

In light of the fact that Burma’s military regime has never paid any
attention to the United Nation's recommendations to fix the country's
conspicuous problems, it is vital for the U.N. Secretary General to take
up the challenge and address the enduring crisis in Burma in a more direct
manner.

--

(Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile. He is the
information director at the National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma-East Office and vice president of Burma Media Association, which is
affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers. He can be
contacted at uzinlinn at gmail.com. ©Copyright Zin Linn)

________________________________

August 28, Miami Herald
Helping Burma's nonviolent struggle – Frida Ghitis

Once again, the news from Burma rings with echoes of despair.

The latest mission from the international community has ended in
embarrassment -- not for the despotic generals who rule Burma (renamed
Myanmar by its illegitimate regime) -- but for the United Nations and its
ineffectual efforts. It seems no one who matters wants to waste any more
time meeting with the U.N. envoy. Now, unconfirmed reports say the iconic
leader of the pro-democracy opposition, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi,
may have started a hunger strike. Once again, Burma stands like a
conscience-searing mirage on the Asian horizon, reminding us of our
failure to help the most desperate.

The Nigerian diplomat chosen by the United Nations to conduct
negotiations, Ibrahim Gambari, has left Burma without having met Gen. Than
Shwe, the head of the ruling junta, or Suu Kyi, the woman who led the
country's National League for Democracy to victorious elections 18 years
ago, and has spent most of the time since then under house arrest.

Opposition leaders in exile and inside the country are fed up with
Gambari, who served as his country's U.N. ambassador during Nigeria's
military dictatorship. Burmese activists say his work has proven
''worthless,'' a ''failure.'' The United Nations defends him, calling for
patience, saying that he is engaged in a ``process.''

But how much patience? Military rulers have governed Burma since 1962. In
August 1988 -- on the supposedly lucky date of 8-8-88 -- street
demonstrators demanded democracy. Soldiers massacred protesters, and a new
junta took over. Reform was supposed to come after the 1990 elections,
called by the junta in a miscalculation. Suu Kyi's NLD won by a landslide.
The winners landed in prison, and the junta continued to grind its heel on
the population. By then, Burma had suffered not only from widespread human
rights abuses, but had been transformed from one of the more affluent
countries in Asia to one of the poorest in the world. The Burmese, one
would think, have good reason to resent appeals to patience.

Calls for democracy don't just rise out of ideological passion for the
rule of the people. No, Burma needs change because the generals have
destroyed their country and their people's lives. According to the
European Union, Burma spends less on healthcare than any country on Earth.
It spends lavishly on one of the biggest military forces in the world,
looting the country's vast natural resources to enrich top officers.
Meanwhile, combined spending on health, education -- and on helping those
who lost everything after a catastrophic cyclone -- reaches a few dollars
a year per person.

The Beijing-backed generals are not completely immune to international
pressure. After Cyclone Nargis killed 138,000 and left 800,000 homeless
last May, the junta blocked international aid. With thousands facing
death, the generals wouldn't budge. But then, French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner uttered the magic words: The Responsibility to Protect.

The RTP doctrine says that governments have the duty to protect their
people from crimes against humanity. When they become the perpetrators,
the responsibility falls on the international community. That hinted at
foreign intervention. The generals relented only enough to avert a major
catastrophe. Witnesses say minimal aid has reached the victims, but not
enough to rebuild their lives.

NLD officials say Suu Kyi has turned back food deliveries since mid-August
and say they are extremely worried about the health of a woman revered by
millions throughout Burma. Suu Kyi may want to scare the generals and
shake the international community back into action. She has already made
unimaginable sacrifices. No one knows how far she will go now.

History has shown that the junta responds only to extreme pressure,
especially when it comes from its Asian neighbors -- particularly China.
Then it ignores earlier promises when the world looks away.

Reports in the region say the day after the Beijing Olympics ended,
China's defense minister told his Burmese counterpart that he wants to
strengthen bilateral ties. China and Burma, it seems, have short memories.
After the cyclone and a year earlier, after brutal repression of an
uprising by Buddhist monks, they seemed briefly ready to negotiate. Then
the world looked away, soothing its conscience with a useless envoy.

Helping the Burmese people's nonviolent struggle requires outspoken,
vigorous and relentless diplomacy. Beijing must hear that its post-Olympic
international standing requires that it, too, pressure the junta to
negotiate a transition of power.

Enough despair. It's past time that we had some good news from Burma.

Frida Ghitis writes about global affairs.