BurmaNet News, September 10, 2008

[Editor]

September 10, 2008 Issue # 3553


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Trial of 88 Generation students begin
Mizzima News: Student Warriors lambast junta over false accusations
Irrawaddy: Crime, murder mounting in Rangoon
Irrawaddy: Authorities isolate Suu Kyi’s companion in hospital
Guardian (UK): Burma: Cyclone, starvation now plague of rats devastates
Burmese villages
DVB: Educationalists concerned by Burmese literacy rate
Kachin News Group: Junta tightens security on 1st anniversary of Saffron
Revolution in Northern Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
Mizzima News: Junta sets new target for overseas job placement
New Light of Myanmar: Tourism not only ensures international friendship
but also brings benefits to national economy
Malaysia Sun: Myanmar sets up international trade for beans

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Activists in Japan begin hunger strike

INTERNATIONAL
AP: Myanmar 1990 election winners want junta's UN seat
DPA: US concerned about welfare of Suu Kyi

OPINION / OTHER
Inner City Press: As Myanmar defends N. Korea, UNDP covers up for-ex
losses, mute on revolving door – Matthew Russell Lee
Irrawaddy: Taking the pulse of sick dictators – Editorial

PRESS RELEASE
Human Rights Documentation Unit: Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 now
available online



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 10, Mizzima News
Trial of 88 Generation students begin – Phanida

The trial of 88 Generation Students Min Ko Naing and 34 others being held
in Rangoon's Insein prison started on September 9 at South Okkalapa
Township court.

The student leaders have been arrested and held since last year. They were
remanded consecutively and on August 27 this year they were produced in
South Okkalapa Township court. The court started examination of the
prosecution witnesses.

"The 27 accused were produced before the court at Rangoon East District
Court and 21 others including Min Ko Naing were produced in South Okkalapa
Township Court. The East District Court granted criminal power to the
defence counsels to defend their clients and fixed the next hearing for
September 11. The North Okkalapa court could not hear the case today,"
advocate Khin Maung Shein said.

The prosecutor Police Special Branch Police Lt. Col. Zaw Min Aung charged
the student leaders under section 130(b) (committing depredation of
foreign governments at peace with Burma) and the court heard this case
today. On coming Thursday, the Rangoon East District Court will hear the
case against 29 students under section 4 of 'Endangering National
Convention' (SPDC Law No. 5/96).

"The prosecution charged them with committing depredation against Russia
and China. But the defence pointed out a similar case where Aye Lwin had
staged protests in front of the US embassy but action like this was not
taken," the lawyer elaborated.

The 88 Gen students had demanded on August 27 that they be tried in
accordance with international laws, to let the media witness the court
proceedings and not to handcuff them during court proceedings when they
were first produced in court.

But the authorities conceded to only one demand, allowing their family
members to enter the court room and witness the court proceedings today.

"The family members can be present and listen to the court proceedings but
they are still in handcuffs. The Police Col. allowed the family members to
enter the court room and listen to the hearing. Other demands are yet to
be met," advocate Khin Maung Shein said.

Nyein Thu from 'Hmukin Shudaunt Journal' raised a question in this regard
at a press conference held in Naypyitaw on September 7. The Police Force
Chief Police Brig. Gen. Khin Yi replied to the demands by Min Ko Naing and
party not to put them in handcuffs saying:

"According to law and Police manual 1381, those who committed offences
whether it can be granted bail or not are to be in handcuffs when put on
trial. It is in accordance with the law. According to penal code (174) if
a government servant summons someone when necessary and he refuses to be
in handcuff, he violates penal code (174). He may be given six months in
prison. Min Ko Naing's refusal was not in conformity with the law. Putting
handcuffs on someone is according to the law," he replied.

But young lawyer Pho Phyu contested the contention of the police chief and
said:  "There are no provisions in the Police manual 1381 regarding
putting the accused in handcuffs. There's nothing at all. It is not in
conformity with the law. The reference to the law is also wrong in this
case. We have never seen such court rulings in Burma Law Reports. And also
there has been no such case on the handcuff issue," he said.

The said provision applies to only non-attendance in obedience to an order
(summons, notice, order or proclamation) from public servant legally
competent, and there is no mention regarding refusing to be in handcuffs
as violating section 174 of Penal Code.

The student leaders Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Pyone Cho, Jimmy, Mya Aye,
Min Zeya, Aunt Bwe Kyaw, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe, Pannait Tun, Thet Zaw, Nyan Lin
Tun, Zaw Zaw Min and other students totaling 35 were arrested in
connection with protest demonstrations against rising fuel and commodity
prices in August last year.

Lawyer Pho Phyu will continue to act as the defence lawyer for 88 Gen
Students; Saw Myo Min Hlaing a.k.a. James, Nyan Lin and Min Han.

They were first remanded under sections 17/20 of the Printers and
Publishers Act at the end of January 2008. Then they were charged again
with SPDC Law No. 5/96 (Endangering National Convention) and section 33(a)
of the Electronic Law.

The Jail Manual paragraph 693 and Police Manual paragraph 1382 sub
paragraph 1 and sub-sub paragraph 5 and paragraph 1316, clearly stipulates
that the accused should not be in handcuffs while they are being brought
to court and brought back from the court if there are no circumstances of
escaping from custody, and while they are being put on trial.

But in the Police Manual paragraph 1382(a) and sub-paragraph 6, it
stipulates that the accused who have committed murder, attempted murder,
robbery, dacoity and burglary should be in handcuffs.
____________________________________

September 10, Mizzima News
Student Warriors lambast junta over false accusations – Than Htike Oo

Chiang Mai - An armed student rebel group – Vigorous Burmese Student
Warriors (VBSW) – on Wednesday slammed the ruling junta for accusing
opposition members and human rights activists of a bomb blast in Rangoon
in early July.

VBSW, a group claiming to operate in Rangoon, in a statement reiterated
that they were behind the blast at the government-backed civilian
organization, Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), office
in Rangoon's suburban township of Shwepyithar on July 1.

The group also lambasted the junta for arresting members of the National
League for Democracy and Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network
(HRDP) for charges against the blast.

Despite claiming responsibility for the blast, the junta was unable to
arrest its members, said the VBSW, adding that accusing and arresting
members of the NLD and HRPD is an act intended to defame Burma's main
opposition party, which maintains a policy of non-violence.

"Lying in front of the press and arresting those believed to have
connection with us and torturing them in concentration camps will only
prompt more blasts across the country," the VBSW said in their statement,
circulated through email among the Burmese community.

Burma's Police Chief, Brigadier General Khin Yi, during a rare press
conference on Sunday accused members of the NLD and HRDP leader Myint Aye
of plotting bomb blasts, including the blast in Shwepyithar.

Since July, the junta has arrested several youth members of the NLD, HRDP
leader Myint Aye and other activists for allegedly planting bombs.

"Arresting members of the NLD and human rights activists will not subdue
the people's resistance against the military but will only increase the
level of resistance," the group asserted.

The VBSW, a group which cannot be reached by either email or phone, on
July 2 claimed responsibility for the blast at the Shwepyithar USDA office
as well as for a previous blast near the ABC restaurant in downtown
Rangoon in April.

Both of the blasts, however, did not cause any human casualties, only
damaging vehicles and furniture.

Meanwhile, the junta has stepped up efforts to crackdown on opposition
activists, on Monday arresting four activists from Yenan Chaung township
of Magwe in Central Burma and interrogating them over the recent bomb
blasts.

However, the four activists, two of which are from the NLD, were later
released after hours of interrogation.

Tint Lwin, one of the activists interrogated, told Mizzima over telephone
that they were mainly asked whether they possess any explosives and plan
to carry out any blasts or demonstrations.

Observers say the increased arrests of activists within the past two
months could be an effort by the junta to curb any form of activities that
might result in a repetition of last year's September protests.

____________________________________

September 10, Irrawaddy
Crime, murder mounting in Rangoon

A 29-year-old man was stabbed to death by four assailants at a small
marketplace in Hlaing Tharyar Township at 8 p.m. On Tuesday. According to
an eyewitness in the Rangoon suburb, the victim was walking with a woman
when he was attacked. However, the woman was left unharmed and nothing was
stolen.

Local police are reportedly investigating the murder, but no one has been
arrested.

The incident was just the latest in a spate of murders, assaults,
robberies and burglaries in Hlaing Tharyar. A police officer told The
Irrawaddy that since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in early May, there has been
an average of one serious crime per day in the western suburb.

Armed robbery has become increasingly common in Hlaing Tharyar, the
policeman said, with cyclone victims being most at risk.

“Many people from cyclone-affected villages in the Irrawaddy delta, such
as Dedaye, have taken refuge in Hlaing Tharyar over the last few months,”
he said. “They bring all their money and possessions with them. This makes
them a target for robbers who are mainly looking for gold.”

Much of Hlaing Tharyar was also affected by the cyclone and many people
lost their homes and possessions.

“Housebreaking is common here,” said a resident. “I rent a house to a
family who brought all their belongings with them. Now everything has been
stolen.”

Last week, a 40-year-old officer from the Internal Revenue Department was
murdered at his home in downtown Rangoon. Police investigating the case
have said that he may have known his assailants.

Rangoon police are still looking for the culprits that executed five
people in their home on Inya Road earlier this year.

And, in a case publicized by several local weekly journals, a couple from
Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township were murdered in August. One suspect has
been arrested.

According to journalists in Rangoon, local police are warning people who
live in apartments to lock doors and gates, but at the same time telling
residents that they (the police) will not be responsible for any
burglaries.

____________________________________

September 10, Irrawaddy
Authorities isolate Suu Kyi’s companion in hospital – Saw Yan Naing

A hospitalized companion of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been
placed under security guard and denied visits by her family, party
colleagues and friends, according to Rangoon sources.

Win Ma Ma, who has lived with her mother in Suu Kyi’s home continuously
for the past five years, was admitted to Rangoon’s Muslim Dispensary and
Medical Relief Society hospital on September 6 with an undisclosed
illness.

She and her mother, Khin Khin Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s opposition
National League for Democracy, helped with general housekeeping tasks.
They lived periodically in Suu Kyi’s lakeside home since 1997, but have
been permanent residents since the Nobel laureate began her current term
of house arrest in September 2003. Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 of the
past 19 years under house arrest.

Like Suu Kyi, Khin Khin Win is reportedly prohibited from leaving the
property.

Her daughter’s isolation now in hospital increases concern over Suu Kyi,
who is reported by some sources to be on a hunger strike. The NLD says she
is refusing deliveries of food in protest at her continued detention and
at the restrictions on visits by her doctor and on the movements of her
companions.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said Win Ma Ma had been sealed off from outside
visitors and security guards had been posted at the hospital.

Nyan Win also expressed concern about Suu Kyi’s health and told The
Irrawaddy on Wednesday: "Her safety and well-being are the responsibility
of the authorities who detained her.”

The US State Department said on Tuesday the US and the international
community were also concerned about Suu Kyi’s welfare. Her isolation by
the regime made it impossible to check on reports that she is on a hunger
strike, a State Department spokesman said.

The State Department renewed its call for the release of Suu Kyi and other
political prisoners and for the start of a genuine, time-bound dialogue
with the democratic movement and ethnic minority leaders.

In Japan, a group of Burmese activists began a 72-hour hunger strike on
Monday in front of the UN office in Tokyo, demanding the release of Suu
Kyi and for the UN and Japan to take action on Burma.

Than Swe, spokesman for the Joint Action Committee of the Burmese
Community in Japan, said Suu Kyi’s wellbeing was important for the future
of Burma.

“Without her role, change doesn’t come easily,” he said. “So, her health
is very important for the future of Burma. The junta must officially
report about her health.”

____________________________________

September 10, Guardian (UK)
Burma: Cyclone, starvation now plague of rats devastates Burmese villages
– Pete Pattisson

It is an impressive arsenal - more than 100 weapons, each with a sensitive
trigger - but it is a feeble defence against the enemy threatening Mgun
Ling and his village in Chin state, deep in the jungles of western Burma.

Theirs is an unconventional war: their weapons are traps, their enemy rats.

"We can catch hundreds of rats a night, but it makes no difference," said
Mgun Ling. "They just keep coming. They've destroyed all our crops, and
now we have nothing left to eat."

Four months after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma, another natural
disaster has struck the country. This time the ruling military regime has
had 50 years to prepare for it, yet it has still proved unable and
unwilling to respond.

The disaster, known in Burma as maudam, is caused by a cruel twist of
nature. Once every 50 years or so the region's bamboo flowers, producing a
fruit. The fruit attracts hordes of rats, which feed on its seeds. Some
believe the rich nutrients in the seeds cause the rodents to multiply
quickly, creating an infestation. After devouring the seeds, the rats turn
on the villagers' crops, destroying rice and corn. In a country once known
as the rice bowl of Asia, thousands of villagers are on the brink of
starvation.

The last three cycles of flowering occurred in 1862, 1911 and 1958, and
each time they were followed by a devastating famine. The current maudam
is proving just as disastrous. A report last month by the Chin Human
Rights Organisation estimates that up to 200 villages are affected by
severe food shortages and at least 100,000 people, or 20% of the
population of Chin, are in need of immediate food aid.

Chin, home to the ethnic minority Chin people, is one of the most
undeveloped and isolated regions of Burma. These remote mountainous
communities, which survive on subsistence farming, have reached breaking
point.

"We have no food left," said the head of one village. "Last year during
the harvest the rats came and ate almost all our rice. Our corn has also
been totally destroyed. I have just one bag of rice left for my family.
After that there's nothing. People in my village are going into the jungle
to find wild vegetables, like leaves and roots to mix with a little rice.
Our situation is desperate."

Leisa, 74, who witnessed the last maudam, claimed that this famine was
worse. "In the past the bamboo flowered all at one time. The rats came,
destroyed our crops, and then left. This time the bamboo is flowering in
patches and each time it flowers, a new wave of rats come. Previously, we
suffered for just one or two years, but now we are worried it may last
seven or eight years."

The crisis is turning villages into ghost communities, as the Chin leave
their homes in search of food, or a new life, in India. One village
headman said: "Last year, we had 60 households in our village but half
have already moved to India due to the food crisis. Even with only 30
households there is still not enough food for everyone."

Every day, scores of villagers follow a tortuous mountain track to an
unmanned border post into India, battling monsoon downpours, knee-deep mud
and malaria. Some move to India for good, others like Chitu trek for days
to buy food and haul it home. "Every single week we have to walk to India
to buy rice there. The round trip takes four days. My children have had to
stop going to school because they have to spend all their time carrying
rice."

Despite the predictability of the disaster, there has been no sign of help
from the Burmese junta. One village chief said: "We made a formal request
to the chairman of the township council and the local army commander for
food, but we got no response from them."

In fact, rather than tackling the crisis, the military is compounding it.
Since the junta took power in Burma in 1962, the Chin have suffered
violent oppression at the hands of the army. The use of unpaid forced
labour, forced substitution of staple crops for cash crops and arbitrary
taxation is rife. A report last year by the Women's League of Chinland
accused the army of systematic sexual violence against Chin women.

"Every month we receive a letter ordering us to attend a meeting at the
local army camp," said one village head. "At the meetings they demand work
from us and force us to send villagers to construct their barracks. Worst
of all they order us to send them food, like chickens, cooking oil and
chillies, but since we don't have any we have to collect money from
villagers to send in its place.

"Last month, I failed to attend the meeting, because I was too busy
collecting rice from India. When I got back to my village I found an
envelope with a bullet in it. I was terrified. I thought they were going
to come and kill me."

Cheery Zahau of the Women's League of Chinland said: "The maudam has
affected India and Burma equally, but the Indian government has been
preparing for it since 2002. For example, they pay their citizens for
every rat they catch. The Burmese junta has done nothing. It's not just
that they don't care. In my opinion, they are deliberately ignoring the
disaster because they want the region to be cleansed of Chin people. Chin
groups in the border region have been trying to mobilise aid, but our
resources are very limited. We desperately need international assistance."

While the Chin await aid, the exodus to India continues. "We love our
native land," said one villager. "But we don't know how we can survive
here any longer."

____________________________________

September 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Educationalists concerned by Burmese literacy rate – Yee May Aung

Despite the ruling State Peace and Development Council’s claims that Burma
has a 94 percent literacy rate, Burmese educationalists say the reality on
the ground is very different.

Dr Thein Lwin, who works on education issues with migrant workers and
their children in Thailand, said some children had not had any access to
education.

“In my experience, there are many people, particularly from Shan State,
Karen state and some from central Burma, who have never attended school,”
he said.

“They are in their teens now and they are attending our school; the rate
of illiteracy is frighteningly high.”

The SPDC brought in free education last year and said decreed that all
children should have access to education, but there are regular reports of
parents being asked for fees and additional contributions.

A high school teacher in Rangoon said there are notices up on school walls
to say that children do not have to pay to attend school, but donations
are still being demanded from parents on various pretexts.

“Parents have to contribute as much as they can to the upkeep of the
schools,” the teacher said.

“The state doesn’t provide anything – it is not easy to maintain a school.”

Dr Thein Lwin agreed that these costs put schooling out of reach for many
parents.

“Although the schools are free, in reality, parents still have to pay for
school maintenance, donations and registration fees,” Dr Thein Lwin.

“Parents can’t afford it because they also have to pay for books.”

Thein Lwin praised the around 4000 traditional monastery schools which
provide free education to children throughout Burma.

“Thanks to the support of these monasteries to the communities, many
children are educated,” he said.

Another teacher from Kunchangone township near Rangoon said that even in
her area many children could not go to school at all and only around 5
percent received free education.

International Literacy Day is marked around the world annually on 8
September to highlight the importance of literacy and draw attention to
the millions of people around the world who lack basic literacy skills.

This year’s event focused on the vital role of literacy in addressing
public health issues.

____________________________________

September 10, Kachin News Group
Junta tightens security on 1st anniversary of Saffron Revolution in
Northern Burma

The Burmese military junta has beefed up security in Myitkyina Township,
the capital of Kachin State in northern Burma with the first anniversary
of the Buddhist monk-led Saffron Revolution approaching this month, said
local sources.

In Myitkyina and in areas ten miles from the town there is deployment of
police, soldiers and plainclothes security agents. They are checking
people on suspicion on the roads after 8 p.m. local time since early this
month, residents of Myitkyina told KNG.

According to Myitkyina residents, the military authorities in Myitkyina
have issued a new order on all night markets in the township where it has
to close before midnight since last week.

Shop owners of night markets in Shanzu North quarter near the railway
station in the township have been threatened that they will be fined
50,000 Kyat (US $ 42) per table in the shop if they do not close the shop
by 11:30 p.m. by policemen from No. 1 Police Station, said shop owners.

Snacks and food are mainly sold in the Shanzu North night market and
customers are mainly night and sex workers in the township, said market
sources.

In the current situation residents in Myitkyina have to struggle more for
a living than in the past. The shop owners in Shanzu North night market
are dejected with the order of authorities because they have to close the
shops early without registering proper sales, said a shop owner.

Earlier, the night market used to be open for 12 hours from 6 p.m. to 6
a.m. and the shop owners earned some profit, the sources added.

On the other hand, the new Northern Command commander of junta, Maj-Gen
Soe Win has started to take on drug smuggling in Kachin State since July.
However, the military authorities are yet to take action on drug dealers
and sellers who have a nexus with them, said sources close to drug dealers
in Myitkyina.

Now, the Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win has announced in Myitkyina that he will
take action on activists involved in poster movements if there are fresh
movements, said residents of Myitkyina.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 10, Mizzima News
Junta sets new target for overseas job placement – Nem Davies

Burma's Ministry of Labor has set a new target for overseas employment
agencies, looking for each registered agency to place 300 Burmese workers
abroad per year, according to placement agencies.

While the Ministry earlier set the target at just 100 positions for each
agency, the new instruction, given in April, is causing panic among
overseas placement agencies, as the Ministry also warned that failing to
reach the new target could result in a delay or the inability to renew
their company license.

"If we are short of just a few placements to meet the target, there should
not be much problem, but if we are far short of the target our license
could be revoked," commented an official at a Rangoon-based overseas
employment agency.

While there are at least 200 registered overseas job placement agencies,
the number of people seeking overseas jobs through such agencies is on the
rise, as there are fewer and fewer job opportunities in the domestic labor
market.

An agency on Rangoon's Shwe Bon Tha Street said that it is difficult to
meet the target set by the government, since finding jobs overseas for 300
people is not easy and because they have to compete with unregistered
brokers and agencies.

"It's very difficult to meet the target of 300 jobs per year. There are
many others working in this business. It's hard to compete with
unregistered brokers and agencies. They have no overhead expenses such as
staff salary, internet usage, office rent, taxes and rates paid to the
government like we do. We have to spend more than these unregistered
brokers," said an official from a registered placement agency.

Overseas job placement agencies typically demand a down payment from
clients, but now they are asking for only half as much in advance as they
used to for their services.

Of the many countries that Burmese find themselves working in, Thailand,
Malaysia and Singapore are the most common destinations, according to job
placement agencies.

____________________________________

September 10, New Light of Myanmar
Tourism not only ensures international friendship but also brings benefits
to national economy

A coordination meeting for Promotion of Myanmar Tourism was held at the
meeting hall of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism here this afternoon,
attended by Prime Minister General Thein Sein.

Also present on the occasion were the ministers, the deputy ministers, the
directors-general of the State Peace and Development Council Office and
the Government Office, heads of departments, chairmen of Myanmar Hoteliers
Association, Myanmar Tour Operators Association Myanmar Tourism Market
Promotion Committee and officials.

Prime Minister General Thein Sein made a speech on the occasion, saying
that-it is known to all that the government is making efforts for all
round development in order to build sound economic foundations that will
bring about sustainable economic development, while encouraging private
sector in line with market oriented system. World nations consider that
tourism is one of the most important businesses. The world nations big and
small are trying to promote the tourism sector competitively. Tourism
development ensures better economy for a country or a region. The living
standards will improve due to increased income of individuals. Moreover,
unemployment problems will also reduce. Tourism not only
ensures-friendship among the countries but also brings benefits to the
country's economy.

Transportation, communication and industries are in good circumstances in
most of the developed and developing countries and thus per capita income
will increase and people travel more places in their leisure hours. The
findings show that the population of world travelers was 846 millions with
earning US$ 742 billions in 2006 and US$ 856 billions in 2007. A total of
653549 travellers entered our country including border gates in 2005-2006
and 654602 in. 2006-2007.

He said tourism industry depends on political situations and natural
disaster. Therefore, the government is placing emphasis on peace and
stability of the State and prevalence of law and order and is creating
pleasant environment in the country.

He said easy transport, sufficient hotel rooms, hospitality, exchange of
money and beautiful views of nature much contribute towards the
development of tourism. With the aim of developing tourism, Ministry of
Hotels and Tourism was constituted in 1992 and Myanmar Tourism Law was
enacted in 1993.

He said it is necessary for the ministry to make arrangements for increase
of local and foreign investment to create opportunities for wider
participation of tour operators and to make Myanmar famous as a tourist
destination and to cooperate with ASEAN, BIMSTEC and ACMECS, neighbouring
countries and those countries who have positive attitudes towards Myanmar.
These tasks are to be undertaken in the framework of law, he said.

He said tourism industry is wide and delicate for it is the business of
providing services for tourists and the task of cooperation with other
departments. Income earned from tourism goes to people from different
walks of life, he said.

Earnings from tourism are in the hands of private entrepreneurs. With the
development of tourism, there will be job opportunities among the local
people. When the tourism is in decline, the income becomes less. So, the
government, the respective ministries and tour operators are to make
efforts for development of tourism in Myanmar, he added.

The government on its part will put emphasis on development of tourism. It
is necessary for the private tour operators to serve not only their
interest but also the State's.

Hoteliers Association, Myanmar Travels Association, Chefs Association and
Myanmar Market Promotion Committee have now been formed. Continued efforts
are to be made for promotion of tourism in Myanmar as there are over 600
hotels and 700 tour operators, he said.

Next., Minister for Hotels and Tourism Maj-Gen Soe Naing reported on
arrival of tourists, international flight schedule, arrival of
international flight at Yangon International Airport and Mandalay
International Airport, arrival of luxury liners, arrival of chartered
flights, voyages of yachts traveling Kawthoung and Myeik inlands, national
income from tourism industry, foreign investment, investment in hotels and
business establishments, cooperation with foreign nations in tourism
industry, and future work for development of tourism industry.

Afterwards, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs U Maung Myint reported on
issue of visa on arrival for foreigners, Minister for Home Affairs Maj-Gen
Maung Oo on security measures taken for safety and convenience of
visitors, Minister for Finance and Revenue Maj-Gen Hla Tun on taxes to be
paid by hotels and tourism industries and exchange of FEC, Minister for
Religious Affairs Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung on assistance provided to
tour companies for the convenience of pilgrims, Minister for Transport
Maj-Gen Thein Swe on steps to be taken for convenience of voyages of
flights, ships and yachts and Minister for Electric Power No. (2) Maj-Gen
Khin Maung Myint on arrangements to be made for supply of electricity to
hotels.

Next, Minister for Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan reported on broadcast of
TV programmes on promoting tourism industry, arrangements for publishing
of journals in English version, Minister for Communications, Posts and
Telegraphs Brig-Gen Thein Zaw on arrangements for issue of e-Visa for
promotion of tourism, Minister for National Planning and Economic
Development U Soe Tha on promotion of tourisms of neighbouring nations and
ASEAN nations and international tourism, hotels constructed by Chairman of
Myanmar Hoteliers Association Dr Khin Shwe for international tourists and
efforts made for attracting tourists as Myanmar is blessed with natural
beauty, cultural heritage, ancient pagods, stupas and religious edifices.

In response, the Prime Minister attended to the needs through
coordination, making concluding remarks that Myanmar people are capable of
showing tenacity till they achieve success in the face of any forms of
adversities. The government is rendering assistance for promotion of the
tourism industry, he said, calling for harmonious cooperation of
departments concerned, entrepreneurs and company proprietors to achieve
the common goal.

After the meeting, the Prime Minister visited the exhibition staged in the
Ministries' Office and observed documentary photos on the operations run
by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism for promotion of tourism industry,
documentary photos on activities of the Myanmar private hotels and. travel
agencies, documentary photos on tourism exports of Myanmar, and the
records of voyages of cruise liners that have visited Myanmar.

____________________________________

September 10, Malaysia Sun
Myanmar sets up international trade for beans

Myanmar is about to set up its first international-level beans and pulses
wholesale centre.

Myanmar beans and pulses do well on the international market and Myanmar
authorities have urged boosting export through extensive cultivation of
quality strains of crops and use of fertilizers and pesticide.

The Myanmar authorities have called for extended cultivation of marketable
beans and pulses in all the states, which are already extensively growing
beans and pulses that are marketable at home and abroad.

Beans and pulses are among the 10 major items of agricultural crops that
Myanmar grows.

Among the varieties are green gram, lablab bean, pigeon pea, butter bean
and soya bean.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 10, Irrawaddy
Activists in Japan begin hunger strike – Min Lwin

Burmese political activists in Japan have begun a hunger strike to demand
the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to call
on the United Nations and Japan to take action on Burma, according to the
Joint Action Committee of the Burmese Community in Japan (JAC).

Than Swe, a spokesperson for the JAC, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that
five members of Japan-based Burmese organizations began a 72-hour hunger
strike yesterday at 6 p.m. in front of the UN office in Tokyo.

He described the move as a “first step” in a series of planned protests.

“For the second step, five other participants will start another 72-hour
hunger strike” after the first strike is finished, said Than Swe. This
will be followed by an unlimited hunger strike, he added.

The five activists taking part in the first hunger strike were identified
as Moe Tint Tint Khine, Aung Tun Lin, Nyi Nyi Nge, Kyaw Min Tun and Tin
Aung.

“We are awfully worried about Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to accept
food for three weeks,” said Moe Tint Tint Khine, one of the participants.
“We began the hunger strike to get action on Burma from the international
community.”

Rumors have been circulating since mid-August that Suu Kyi has been
refusing food deliveries to her home by members of her party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD).

According to NLD sources, Suu Kyi has not received a food delivery since
August 15. However, there has been no independent confirmation that she is
on a hunger strike.

The NLD released a statement on Friday that Suu Kyi’s safety and
well-being are the responsibility of the Burmese military authorities who
have unlawfully detained her.

The Burmese police chief, Khin Yee, on Sunday denied that Suu Kyi was on a
hunger strike.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 10, Associated Press
Myanmar 1990 election winners want junta's UN seat – Edith M. Lederer

The pro-democracy winners of Myanmar's 1990 elections asked the U.N.
secretary-general Tuesday to recognize their own representatives in place
of those of the current military rulers at the United Nations.

A letter from candidates elected to parliament in 1990 challenged the
legitimacy of the military government that refused to cede power after a
landslide victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. The
junta has ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, ever since.

Daw San San, vice president of the Members of Parliament Union (Burma),
said in the letter obtained by The Associated Press that the organization
has set up a permanent mission to the United Nations and has appointed U
Thein Oo as its permanent representative to the U.N.

"His excellency U Thein Oo is instructed to represent the people of Burma
and the legitimate, democratically elected members of parliament in all
organs of the United Nations," San said.

Oo was identified as an elected representative from Mandalay.

Brendan Varma, a U.N. spokesman, said the letter had been received by
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office and would be studied.

Myanmar's U.N. Mission said Ambassador Kyaw Tint Swe was not in his office
to comment.

The 63rd session of the General Assembly will open on Sept. 16, a week
before world leaders arrive for their annual ministerial meeting, and
San's letter could be referred to the assembly's credentials committee.

The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962 and has been widely criticized
for suppressing basic freedoms. The current junta, which took power in
1988 after crushing pro-democracy demonstrations, held general elections
in 1990 but refused to cede power to Suu Kyi's NLD. Since then, the
country has been in political deadlock.

Suu Kyi has been in prison or under house arrest for more than 12 of the
past 18 years. For about the last three weeks, the 63-year-old Nobel Peace
Prize winner has refused daily food deliveries to her home to protest her
ongoing detention, her party said.

____________________________________

September 10, Deutsche Presse Agentur
US concerned about welfare of Suu Kyi

The United States expressed concern Tuesday about the health of Burma's
leading democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who reportedly began a hunger
strike last month to protest years of detention.

"The regime's continued isolation and detention under house arrest of Aung
San Suu Kyi makes it impossible to confirm reports such as these," State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"The United States and the international community remain deeply concerned
about her welfare."

McCormack called for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners held by the military regime.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been held under house arrest
since May 2003. Her National League for Democracy party issued a statement
Sunday announcing that she began refusing food three weeks earlier.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 10, Inner City Press
As Myanmar defends N. Korea, UNDP covers up for-ex losses, mute on
revolving door –Matthew Russell Lee

Myanmar came to the defense of North Korea at the Tuesday Executive Board
meeting of the UN Development Program.  Urging resumed funding by UNDP to
the Kim Jong Il government, despite financial and accounting
irregularities found even by the reviewers chosen by UNDP, Myanmar decried
"political motives" and called for "national ownership" of UNDP programs.

Notably, the Than Shwe government of Myanmar has shown itself adept at
owning UNDP's programs and the funds of the wider UN system, requiring
currency conversation into Foreign Exchange Certificates leading to losses
of 20% of aid money. Just last week, UNDP Associate Administrator Ad
Melkert answered Inner City Press' questions about currency exchange
losses by saying that this had been a problem in North Korea, and would
have to be resolved with the government there before any UNDP program
could resume. But at Tuesday's session, before any other member had spoken
the Executive Board president said that "the absence of UNDP from Pyonyang
can only be temporary." Even if Kim Jong Il insists on choosen UNDP's
staff, and taking their paychecks?

The North Korean representative, emboldened, called for a resumption of
UNDP programs and offices "as early as possible." Iran spoke of the need
to "redress damages" to North Korea, and said that UNDP has over-reacted
to the charges of a whistleblower.
Throughout this saga, in reviewing speeches by member states on UNDP's
Executive Board, it has become clear than many languages either do not
have a word for whistleblower, or only have words with negative
connotations like "rat" or "spy."

____________________________________

September 10, Irrawaddy
Taking the pulse of sick dictators – Editorial

It is always interesting to follow and watch news about dictators.

Now we’re reading and studying reports that North Korean’s leader, Kim
Jong-il, is believed to be seriously ill, with US American officials even
claiming that he has suffered a stroke.

Of course, North Korean officials have denied the reports. One senior
North Korean diplomat was quoted by Japan’s Kyodo news agency as saying:
“We see such reports as not only worthless, but rather as a conspiracy
plot.”

The international community and concerned governments naturally keep a
watch on the health of dictators, particularly leaders of nuclear states
such as Kim Jong-il. If they fall, their departure is likely to create
chaotic power struggles, uprisings and possibly change.

The current reports arose after Kim Jong-il failed to attend a parade
marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of North Korea. There is no
clear indication of who would succeed him if he did disappear from the
scene.

In January 2007, Burma’s paramount leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe failed to
appear at an Independence Day dinner reception in January, leading to
speculation that he was seriously ill and on the verge of death.

Than Shwe—whose age is put at 76—did, in fact, travel to Singapore for
medical treatment, but he appears to be still in good shape. This year, he
received several state visitors, including Thai Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who went to Burma to
discuss the cyclone disaster and relief efforts.

Nevertheless, rumors about Than Shwe’s health continue to circulate.

Although he and Kim Jong-il have never met, they share a striking number
of characteristics.

They are both unpredictable. They keep their countries in isolation, their
citizens in poverty and they are distrustful of foreigners and dismissive
of international opinion. They both keep their countries’ military strong
and united. And the countries under their leadership are both “outposts of
tyranny.”

Intelligence sources in Burma suggest that Than Shwe admires North
Korea—as well as Cuba—recommending them to his subordinates as lessons in
how to survive under pressure from the West.

Shunned by western governments, Than Shwe has no qualms about embracing
North Korea. Under his regime, Burma has renewed diplomatic ties with
Pyongyang.

In April 2007, the two countries signed an agreement to resume diplomatic
ties during a visit by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il.

Burma severed its diplomatic ties with North Korea in 1983 after a bomb
attack in Rangoon by North Korean terrorists during a visit by a South
Korean delegation headed by then-President Chun Doo-hwan.

However, clandestine contacts between the two countries were
re-established several years ago as Burma stepped up its search for
sources of conventional weapons.

North Korean agents were often spotted in Rangoon and Naypyidaw, and
dissident sources claimed that Burma sought help from North Korea to build
a tunnel under the new capital.

North Korea was also involved in some bizarre events in recent years.

Last year, a cargo freighter from North Korea docked in Burma in what was
believed to be the first port call by a North Korean ship since the two
countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations.

In April, 2007, the Kang Nam I docked at Thilawa port, 30 km south of
Rangoon, seeking shelter from a storm— or so ran the official explanation
for its presence.

It wasn't the first time a North Korean ship reported running into trouble
in Burmese waters.

By a strange coincidence, a North Korean cargo ship in distress anchored
at a Burmese port in November 2006, and the government reported that an
on-board inspection had "found no suspicious material or military
equipment." But journalists and embassies in Rangoon were skeptical.

In July 2006, a dissident source told The Irrawaddy that a North Korean
ship carrying a senior Korean nuclear technology expert, Maj Hon Kil Dong,
had arrived in Rangoon with a biological and nuclear package.

Western analysts and intelligence sources quickly dismissed this report
but conceded it was possible that Burma would seek conventional arms and
technology rather than high-tech long-range missiles from Pyongyang.

Than Shwe and his hardliners are still interested in developing a nuclear
reactor bought from Russia. It is not known whether the reactor is for
civilian or military purposes, and news about this development remains
hidden behind a veil of secrecy.

Burmese officials have said the 10MW light-water reactor employs 20
percent enriched uranium-235 and involves an activation analysis
laboratory, a medical isotope production laboratory, silicon doping
system, nuclear waste treatment and burial facilities.

It is hard to gauge Burma’s real nuclear ambition but its shady
relationship with North Korea has fuelled speculation and growing
skepticism.

Than Shwe and Kim Jong-il are birds of a feather, and it’s hoped that once
they leave the scene things will be better for Burma and North Korea.
Certainly the people of both countries deserve better leadership.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 10, Human Rights Documentation Unit
Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 now available online

As the first anniversary of Burma's September 2007 Saffron Revolution
approaches, the Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU) is pleased to
announce the release of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007.  At 964
pages in length, and composed of approximately 380,000 words, the
fourteenth annual edition of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 is not
only the largest and most comprehensive report ever published by the HRDU,
but is also quite likely the single largest report ever produced on the
human rights situation in Burma.

Twenty years since the brutal suppression of the 1988 uprising, the
Burmese military junta continues to exert tight control over the country's
population, while executing a litany of human rights abuses against its
citizens.  Drawing on thousands of reports, news articles, UN statements,
and other sources of information, the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007
documents the continuing and systematic perpetration of human rights
violations in Burma as they occurred across the country throughout 2007.

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 reveals that the human rights
situation confronting the people of Burma has not improved since the very
first Burma Human Rights Yearbook was published fourteen years ago.  On
the contrary, widespread human rights violations continued to be
perpetrated in Burma with near impunity throughout 2007.  Across the
country, members of the civilian population have continued to be subjected
to egregious abuses including, but not limited to forced labour,
extortion, arbitrary arrest, summary execution, rape, forced relocation,
the confiscation and/or destruction of land and property, religious
persecution and ethnic discrimination.  Dr Sann Aung of the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma on Tuesday said:

"Whether we look at it in terms of the time elapsed since the Saffron
Revolution last year or over a longer timeframe since the uprisings in
1988, the result is the same.  The root causes which gave rise to these
protests have never been adequately addressed by the regime and the
general grievances of the population remain.  While it is difficult to say
conclusively that the human rights situation in Burma is getting worse, we
can say that it certainly isn't showing much improvement."

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents the suppression of human
rights in 18 primary areas of concern, including the systematic oppression
of the freedoms of expression and assembly, manifested in the brutal
crackdown on the September 2007 Saffron Revolution protests.  Reflecting
deep discontent and impatience with military regime, the year 2007 saw a
sharp increase in public dissent against the regime, which culminated in
the monk-led September uprising – marking the largest public display of
dissatisfaction against the regime seen in the country in almost 20 years.

The HRDU is the research and documentation department of the National
Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).  The HRDU was formed
in 1993 to comprehensively document the human rights situations in Burma,
in order to protect and promote the internationally recognised human
rights of those persons in the country.

Please visit the NCGUB website at www.ncgub.net/ to download your copy of
the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 in PDF format (964 pages / 9.18 MB). 
The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 is also available for download from
the Online Burma Library.  Please click here to access the report from
that site.

All fourteen previous editions of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook may also
be found on the NCGUB website, along with the highly-acclaimed HRDU
thematic report, Bullets in the Alms Bowl; An Analysis of the Brutal SPDC
Suppression of the September 2007 Saffron Revolution Protests.

Questions, comments and requests for further information may be forwarded
to the HRDU via email at enquiries.hrdu at gmail.com.