BurmaNet News, October 15, 2008

[Editor]

October 15, 2008 Issue # 3577

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Security beefed up in Arakan state
Irrawaddy: Two names tipped for Burma’s post-2010 presidency
Irrawaddy: Local authorities deny Chin villagers food aid
Narinjara: Monks banned from religious festival
Narinjara: Arakanese politician released after 22 years
IMNA: Mon leaders discuss political future during honoring ceremony

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Burma Campaign UK urges cotton traders to stop trade
Kachin Post: India-Myanmar trade and investment talks in Mandalay
AFP: Brisk trade in tiger parts in Myanmar, says WWF
Asia Pulse: Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank inks loan deal with India's Exim Bank

HEALTH / AIDS
KNG: USDA offers 'free medical surgery' in Kachin State

INTERNATIONAL
BNI: Mizzima websites down for several days due to hacking attempts

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Campaign UK: Aung San Suu Kyi to reach 13 years in detention

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 15, Mizzima News
Security beefed up in Arakan state – Phanida

Local authorities beefed up security throughout the Arakan State capital
of Sittwe this morning, a city which has seen recurring unrest ever since
the early days of protests last year ahead of September's Saffron
Revolution.

Uniformed soldiers and army trucks were ubiquitous throughout Sittwe on
Wednesday, including at monasteries, Lawkananda Pagoda, teashops, U Ottama
Park, Mizan Park and other popular and crowded venues.

"They deployed security personnel, consisting of five to a group, at the
(Lawkananda Pagoda) under the pretext of a VIP security cordon. In some
strategic places we saw officers with the rank of Lieutenant or 2nd
Lieutenant. There are about 400 security personnel manning stations in the
city," a local resident said.

Other local residents confirmed the deployment of security personnel in
the city, but could not comment as to the reason behind the actions.

The show of force came a day after celebrations to mark the full moon day
of the Burmese month of Thadingyut, which commemorates the date when the
Buddha is said to have descended to the earthly realm.

Though previously monks could be accompanied by devotees of their choosing
during the rice alms ceremony to mark the occasion, this year each monk
was only permitted to be accompanied by two middle or high school
students.

"Over 480 monks attended the ceremony to receive offerings. Two students
followed each monk. Previously the monks could bring whoever they liked.
But this year the regional military commander arranged everything to ward
off outsiders," a well-wisher in this ceremony related.

Starting from 9 a.m. yesterday, about 500 monks came to the Wingabar
ground, opposite the Sittwe Myo Ma pagoda and circumambulated the ground
before accepting alms at about 11 in the morning.

A local resident said that this year's Thadingyut festival was not as
lively or prosperous as was typical prior to last year's mass protests.

"Last year, after the monk-led protests, there was no rice alms offering
ceremony. This year there still was no zat (dance troupe performance) or
festival market. There were only some cold drink shops, fried snack shops
and vermicelli fish soup (Monehingar) shops. The people are familiar with
the situation," she added.

Moreover, authorities continue to harass Arakan State National League for
Democracy (NLD) members by visiting their homes and other regular places
of convening.

In one instance, military intelligence agents came to the guest house and
interrogated the Arakan State Yathaydaung constituency MP U Tin Thein Aung
while he was on a social visit to Sittwe with his family.

"They watch and follow me wherever I go to check whether I am still active
in my political activities or not. They employ the police inspector and
some soldiers on stand-by duty to stay in front of my home," he said.

Moreover, Sittwe constituency NLD MP Nyo Aye is on the run after being
frequently harassed by police personnel from the township police force,
while NLD members from Tungup and Gwa Townships are facing a similar
situation.

"They come and stop us when we go to our party meetings. Moreover, they
threaten the motorcycle taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers, telling them
not to transport us or risk facing dire consequences, while questioning
them over our desired destinations," said Soe Lay, acting Secretary of the
Tungup NLD.

"We are losing our human rights, including freedom of movement. All the
NLD members cannot move around freely. We have to do something now. But
they are putting pressure on us to stop our political activities and I see
this is obstructing our political movement," he further remarked.

____________________________________

October 15, Irrawaddy
Two names tipped for Burma’s post-2010 presidency – Wai Moe

Burma’s ruling generals favor one of two candidates—a Than Shwe protégé
and a hardline government minister—for the post of president after the
2010 election, according to intelligence sources.

A source within the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA) said members of the mass organization were discussing
the chances of Lt-Gen Myint Swe, a protégé of Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his
wife, and Minister of Industry-1 Aung Thaung.

“Aung Thaung is a strategic and influential player of the USDA, while
Myint Swe is a favorite of the junta’s head, Snr-Gen Than Shwe,” the
source said. They both had the potential to take on the task of president,
he said.

Under the junta backed constitution, the president of Burma will be chosen
by the parliament, a quarter of whose members will be appointed by the
commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw (Burma’s armed forces) while the rest
will be elected in the 2010 election.

The junta says the constitution was approved overwhelmingly in the
referendum in May, although the claim is disputed by opposition forces
within Burma and Western governments.

A Rangoon woman journalist said the names of Myint Swe and Aung Thaung
also cropped up in teashop political discussion.

Myint Swe rose within the Tatmadaw to become commander of the Rangoon
Regional Command in 2002, with the rank of major general.

Aung Thaung has been accused by Burmese dissident groups of being one of
the masterminds behind the 2003 ambush of a convoy carrying democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Depayin, Sagaing Division in northern Burma.
Human rights groups estimate that about 100 Suu Kyi supporters were killed
by pro-government thugs.

Aung Thaung is also said to be one of the richest persons in Burma. His
family runs at least three companies—Aung Yee Phyo Co, IGE Co Ltd and
Queen Star Co— which are gaining footholds in oil, gas, agricultural
products, timber and rice trading industries and the importation of
computers and other electronic goods.

Meanwhile, a Rangoon researcher familiar with military affairs said Than
Shwe, 75, is not ready to retire before the 2010 election and seems intent
on maintaining his iron grip on the Tatmadaw.

The researcher said the two other members of the ruling junta, Vice
Snr-Gen Maung Aye and Gen Shwe Mann, were also likely to remain at their
posts if Than Shwe stayed in power.

____________________________________

October 15, Irrawaddy
Local authorities deny Chin villagers food aid – Lawi Meng

The local authorities in Chin State refused permission on Monday to a Chin
development agency in Rangoon to deliver emergency food aid to about 1,000
villagers in Chin State, western Burma, who are suffering from severe food
shortages, said a source close to the agency.

The Country Agency for Rural Development (CAD), a Roman Catholic-based NGO
which facilitates sanitation, education and construction projects in the
most remote parts of Chin State, was told by local officials that it would
not be allowed to send Chin villagers free packages of emergency
food—mainly rice.

“The authorities told us: ‘Teach villagers how to find food, but don’t
teach them how to get free food,’” a senior member of the CAD said.

The CAD had planned to transport the food packages to 20 villages some 80
km (50 miles) south of Haka Township, an area where it recently conducted
an assessment of the crisis before announcing last week that some 1,000
villagers were facing a severe and immediate food shortage with supplies
due to run out by the end of this month.

Despite the crisis, the local authorities have ordered the NGO to
implement what they call a “Food Forward” project—initiatives aimed at
implementing local development utilizing villager labor, paying villages
for their collective efforts but not providing free supplies.

Following the news, the senior member of CAD said, “We live under their
control, so we have to do what they say.”

According to the CAD’s assessment, farmers from seven villages in Haka
Township are facing a food crisis while hundreds of acres of land are
lying fallow after an infestation of rats destroyed rice crops followed by
a drought earlier this year. The people have sold their domestic animals
to survive because they can’t find jobs in the area, and are too far from
the Indian border to walk there in search of food. By the end of this
month 1,000 people will have nothing to eat, the NGO said.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, a representative of the Chin
National Council, an exiled human rights group, said that the Chin
villagers in question have not received any food relief or emergency
supplies from the local authorities. In addition, the Burmese government
has banned food supplies from foreign countries from being transported to
Chin State.

According to the Chin Famine Emergency Relief Committee, a relief group
based in Mizoram, eastern India, about 100,000 of the 500,000 people in
Chin State currently face food shortages.

The food crisis broke out in December 2007 when an infestation of rats
destroyed crops.

A famine generally occurs about every 50 years in Chin State when the
flowering of a native species of bamboo gives rise to an explosion in the
rat population, say experts. The rats devour the nutrient-rich bamboo
fruit before going on to decimate local rice crops.

In July, the International Rice Research Institute warned of “widespread
food shortages” in the region.

Then in August, the Chin National Council reported that 31 children had
died from conditions caused by a lack of food, such as diarrhea.

On September 10, British newspaper The Guardian reported that several Chin
villages were facing a drastic crisis following the infestation of rats.
Then on September 22, the Mawta Famine Relief Committee reported that at
least five children had died of famine-related illness in Paletwa Township
in Chin State.

Sources said that thousands of local people in Chin State are currently
surviving on nothing more than boiled rice and wild plants.

____________________________________

October 15, Narinjara
Monks banned from religious festival

Many monks in Sittwe were prohibited by the authorities from attending the
full-moon religious festival that was held in the city yesterday, said one
monk.
He said, "Every year in the past, over 1,000 monks could participate in
the festival, but this year only 100 monks participated in the festival
because the authority did not allow more monks to do so."

In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, the people have historically held
the religious festival with a large number of monks on the full-moon day
of Wa Kyut at Winkabar grounds in Sittwe.

At the festival, monks from monasteries in Sittwe form a procession and
ceremonially accept offerings such as food and other items from the
people.

"The authority ordered that just two monks from each monastery attend the
festival this year, and did not allow the rest of the monks to attend the
festival. So just a few monks had the opportunity to participate in the
festival," the monk said.

In Sittwe, there are over 300 monasteries with anywhere from 10 to 1,000
monks living in residence and studying at each one.

The authority also did not allow the typical performance by an artist’s
troupe during the evening of the full-moon festival due to security
reasons.

The monk said, "The authority always worries about security in Sittwe
because monks in Sittwe could stage a demonstration at anytime against the
military government."

During the day of the full-moon many army personnel were deployed
throughout Sittwe, in response to rumors that monks were going to stage a
demonstration against the government.

One witness said, "Over 100 armed personnel were deployed at Mizan
intersection in Sittwe on Monday night. It was intended to block monks if
the staged a demonstration on the full-moon day of Wa Kyut."

Many Buddhist families in Sittwe were disappointed by the authority's
prohibition on monks attending the traditional religious festival, he
added.

____________________________________

October 15, Narinjara
Arakanese politician released after 22 years

U Khain Tun, a member of the former Arakan Communist Party, was released
from Insein Prison on Monday after completing a 22-year sentence, said a
relative.
He said, "He was released but now he needs medical treatment as his health
is not very well."

U Khaing Tun was arrested by army authorities while he was traveling to
Sittwe from Rambree Island soon after an armed ACP force occupied the town
of Minbya in Arakan in 1986.

During the occupation, ACP seized over 100 guns from the Minbya police
station and took 1.6 million Burmese kyat from the bank. The Burmese army
responded with an operation against the party, and many members of the ACP
were arrested and killed by the government.

According to local sources, over 100 villagers were killed by the Burmese
army and many women were raped by army personnel during the operation.

U Khaing Tun was able to avoid being executed by the army because he was
arrested in sight of people in Sittwe, but he did not escape severe
torture at the hands of the authorities during his interrogation.

After being interrogated, he was sent to Insein and sentenced to life in
prison. Authorities later reduced his term to 22 years.

"Khaing Tun met his relatives only one time during his long prison term,
but it was arranged by the ICRC," his relative added.

U Khaing Tun was arrested when he was 48 years old, and is now in his 70s.

____________________________________

October 15, Independent Mon News Agency
Mon leaders discuss political future during honoring ceremony

Mon people and political leaders celebrated the honoring ceremony for Nai
Sein Maung, one of the cofounders of the Mon People's Front, on October
12th in Paung city, Paung Township. About two hundred Mon people from
eight townships joined the ceremony.

The ceremony gave Mon political leaders a chance to discuss the upcoming
general election, scheduled for 2010 by Burma's military government. The
ceremony was attended by the chairman of Mon National Democratic Front
(MNDF), Nai Htun Thein (Nai Htaw Sorn), as well as MNDF vice chairman and
secretary Nai Ngwe Thein and Dr. Min Soe Lin. The ceremony was also joined
by a representative of the New Mon State Party, Nai Shwe Thein, and other
community leaders.

"We discussed how to move forwards towards the 2010 general election, but
I can't discuss the details," Dr. Min Soe Lin told IMNA.

"Nai Sein Maung said that all Mon people must not throw away their
paddles, they must keep rowing and working in politics," added Dr. Min Soe
Linn.

MPF was founded in 1948, and sought Mon self-determination at the same
time Burma was gaining its independence from Britain. Nai Sein Maung was
not only a political chief for the MPF, but also a political voice that
opened the ears and eyes of Mon people. He is 88, and the two-time
survivor of two-year prison terms.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 15, Irrawaddy
Burma campaign UK urges cotton traders to stop trade – Saw Yan Naing

The London-based Burma Campaign UK has urged Cotton Traders—a British
clothing company—to stop selling clothes made in Burma, saying clothing
exports are a vital source of income that helps to keep the Burmese
military government in power.

The latest campaign came after Burma Campaign UK supporters found two
clothing items in the Cotton Traders 2008 catalogue with labels stating
“Made in Myanmar,” according to the Burma Campaign UK.

Johnny Chatterton, a campaign officer, said, “Companies sourcing clothes
from Burma are helping to fund a dictatorship that uses rape, torture and
murder to oppress its own people.”

“Customers of Cotton Traders will be shocked to hear they are involved
with this brutal dictatorship,” he said.

Chatterton said he did not know whether Cotton Traders actually has
investments in Burma but said that two items of clothing—a trouser and a
shirt—appeared to have been manufactured in Burma.

The group launched a boycott campaign on Wednesday against Cotton Traders,
according to a statement.

In other Burma news, Zoya Phan, the international coordinator for Burma
Campaign UK, is in Hungary to lobby the government to support stronger
European Union sanctions on Burma, according to a statement released on
Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Myint Soe, the chairman of the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers
Association, said Burma's vital garment industry could suffer factory
closures and layoffs because orders are sharply down following the global
financial crisis, according to an Associated Press report.

Myint Soe was quoted as saying, "Since the financial crisis, orders for
new consignments have been reduced, and we will see a serious impact by
the middle of December.”

He said the garment industry suffered a setback early this year when South
Africa's biggest clothing retailer canceled orders, citing the Burmese
military crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in September last
year.

That drop off led to the closure of about 35 factories in Burma, he said.
About 100 garment factories remain, employing 80,000 to 100,000 workers,
compared to more than 270 factories before 2003.

According to official statistics, Burma earned US $282 million from
garment exports in the 2007-2008 fiscal year.

Many EU countries have imposed economic sanctions on Burma in recent years
to urge it to move toward a more democratic government and to protect
human rights. The US imposed bans on imports of clothing from Burma
starting in 2003.

In late September at the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly in New
York, Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win urged the international community
to lift "unjustified" economic sanctions that hurt the development and
progress of the country.

He said that unilateral economic sanctions are unwarranted and against
international law. The sanctions are not only unfair but also immoral, he
said, claiming sanctions are holding back Burma’s contribution to the
international community.

____________________________________

October 15, Kachin Post
India-Myanmar trade and investment talks in Mandalay

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh is heading an
official delegation for trade and investment talks with the Government of
Myanmar in Mandalay on Tuesday.

During the talks, Ramesh will take up the issue of expanding trade centres
along the 1600-kms India-Myanmar border. At present, Moreh in Manipur is
the only operational trade centre on the border. India will propose two
additional such centres—Avangkhu in Nagaland and Zowkhathar in Mizoram
which is also a long-standing demand of these two states.

In addition, India will propose an expansion of items to be traded with a
view to move towards normal free trade very soon at these centres. India
is also expected to reiterate its offer to include Mynamar in the duty
free tariff preference scheme announced by it for LDCs.

The details of the financing mechanism to facilitate expanded bilateral
trade will be also be firmed up during the Mandalay talks. UBI has already
signed an agreement with the Foreign Trade Bank of Myanmar for
establishing such a mechanism.

Myanmar will be the beneficiary of the Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) with The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be signed by India and
ASEAN in Bangkok, later this year. Myanmar is also a member of Bay of
Bengal Multisectoral Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) agreement involving
Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

India is hosting the BIMSTEC Summit in New Delhi in mid-November 2008.
India’s exports to Myanmar in 2007/08 amounted to about 185 million
dollars, while its imports from Myanmar were valued at around 810 million
dollars.

On October 16, the Myanmar Prime Minister and Ramesh will inaugurate a
Centre for Enhancement of IT Skills established at Yangon with Indian
assistance of two million dollars.

This Centre, to be run by Indian professionals, is equipped to train 1000
youth every year initially who will be awarded a diploma of the Pune-based
Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) which is an
institution under the Ministry of Information Technology.

____________________________________

October 15, Agence France Presse
Brisk trade in tiger parts in Myanmar, says WWF

Skins, claws and bones from at least 1,158 tigers and other protected big
cats were spotted in open markets in Myanmar during surveys conducted over
the last 18 years, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reported Wednesday.

More than half came from five species banned from international trade,
among them four species listed at threatened with extinction.

The tally included more than 100 tigers, whose numbers in the wild have
dwindled to a few thousand worldwide, according to conservation experts.

"This can only be the tip of the iceberg," said Chris Shepherd, who
coordinated the investigation carried out by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade
monitoring network supported by WWF.

"The cats were openly displayed for sale and the dealers quite frank about
the illegality of the trade, which suggests a serious lack of law
enforcement," he said in a statement.

Three of four markets monitored in a dozen surveys -- the most recent in
late 2006 -- are located on borders with China and Thailand, with prices
quoted in Chinese yuan, Thai baht and US dollars.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is plagued with corruption, and was
ranked in September as one of the world's two most corrupt nations by
watchdog group Transparency International.

Yangon is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and thus is legally
bound by its provisions.

"The sale of endangered cat parts ... is an appalling and brazen violation
of the law in Myanmar and should not be tolerated," said Susan Lieberman,
director of the WWF's wildlife programme.

"Most of these species have very low population numbers and will not be
able to withstand the amount of poaching that is feeding this trade."

Parts of rare mammals -- especially the penis and bones -- are used in
traditional Chinese medicine to enhance sexual potency or health.

Four of the big cats whose parts were for sale figure on the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List as threatened with
extinction: the tiger, the clouded leopard, the marbled cat and the
Asiatic golden cat.

Along with a fifth, the leopard, they are all banned from international
trade by CITES.

While most of the specimens from these five species were found in surveys
during the 1990s, more than 120 turned up after 2000, showing that the
illegal trade is still going strong, the report concluded.

____________________________________

October 15, Asia Pulse
Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank inks loan deal with India's Exim Bank

The Exim Bank of India has concluded an agreement with the Myanmar Foreign
Trade Banb to provide a Line of Credit (LOC) of $84US.07 million for
financing exports from India and to fund the setting up of three
transmission lines and an aluminium factory in Myanmar. Under the
agreement, the goods and services exports include those consultancy
services fall under the purview of Foreign Trade Policy of the Government
of India and whose purchase may be agreed to be financed by the Exim Bank,
RBI said in a notification.

In addition, The Exim Bank has extended $64US.07 million for the three
transmission lines Thahtay Chaung Oakshitpin 230KV, Thahtay Chaung
Thandwe- Maei Ann 230 KV and Thandwe-Athoke 230 KV to be executed by Power
Grid Corporation of India in Myanmar.

Out of the total credit by Exim Bank under this agreement, it said, the
goods and services of the value of at least 85 per cent of the contract
price shall be supplied by the seller from India, and the remaining goods
and services (other than consultancy services) may be procured by the
seller for the purpose of eligible contract from outside India.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

October 15, Kachin News Group
USDA offers 'free medical surgery' in Kachin State

The Burmese military junta sponsored Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA) has offered 'free medical surgery' to people in
Myitkyina Township, the capital of Kachin State in the north of the
country, said local sources. It is meant to woo the electorate for the
2010 general elections which the USDA will contest, sources added.

A local source close to the USDA said, the free surgery offer seems to be
'a special project' of the ruling junta for mobilising ethnic Kachins to
garner support for the 2010 elections in the country.

The USDA's offer includes surgery of eyes, nose and lips without patients
incurring any cost. The surgeries are being performed at the Myitkyina
General Public Hospital. Patients, however have to bring a recommendation
letter from their quarter or village administrative offices (Ya-Ya-Ka)
approved by the USDA, residents in Myitkyina said.

The USDA's offer to have surgeries done started early this month in
Myitkyina. With the help of the junta's administrative offices in villages
and quarters, USDA members are organizing free surgery for patients who
are interested. USDA members are visiting each quarter in the township to
announce their offer, locals said.

Earlier, USDA members visited ethnic Kachins and Christian majority
Shatapru and Tatkone quarters in the township and compiled a list of
patients' who were willing to avail the USDA's free medical surgery offer,
said residents of the two quarters.

Recently, Brig-Gen Thein Zaw Minister of Post, Communication and Telegraph
and special organizer for Kachin State met people from the Kachin
Christian community in Myitkyina on September 19 and Waingmaw on September
20 and made small donations. He also made landline phones available to
them.

Salang Rawang Jung, general secretary of the USDA in Kachin State said at
a meeting where the Kachin Christian community in Machyangbaw in Pautao
District was present on August 26 that "the USDA is a stable party. 
Whoever emerges victorious in the 2010 elections, we will be the winner
party."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

October 15, Burma News International
Mizzima websites down for several days due to hacking attempts

The websites of Mizzima News, an independent Burmese multi-media group
based in New Delhi, were suspended by its hosting server on the evening of
October 9 ... The websites of Mizzima News, an independent Burmese
multi-media group based in New Delhi, were suspended by its hosting server
on the evening of October 9 because the site had attracted several hacking
attempts. They became fully operational only on October 14.

Mizzima's Canada-based hosting company, Hostpapa.ca, said it suspended the
sites – http://mizzima.com , http://mizimaburmese.com , http://mizzima.tv
, and http://mizzimaphoto.com – because the said attacks might also harm
other sites on the server. According to Mizzima's technical staff, the
hacking attempts were sophisticated, well-timed and organized. The hacking
file used has more than 4,000 lines of code and was adapted from a popular
PHP Shell script, the technical staff added.

"Unfortunately, to protect the servers and the other customers on your
server, we had to suspend your account," said Hostpapa's technical support
staff in its notice to Mizzima. While it is still difficult to trace who
is behind the hacking operations, Mizzima's technical staff said they
found the main attempt to have originated from Russia, with cooperation
from other hackers in Germany, France and India.

"This kind of well-organized attacking can't be done by individuals but is
instead the disguised actions of an institution, most probably in this
case the military regime," said Sein Win, Mizzima's managing editor.

Burma's military junta, which has sent several IT specialists for further
training in Russia and other parts of the world, has imposed a ban on
Mizzima's websites inside the country.

Though web users could still access the Mizzima sites by bypassing the
government's Internet filtering systems through the help of proxy servers,
the junta made it an offense to surf the site and users who are caught
doing so are made to pay a heavy penalty.

The junta always blamed exiled media groups as well as foreign
broadcasting radio stations for disseminating information on human rights
violations inside Burma as well as the continued mismanagement of the
country.

In its campaign against foreign broadcasting stations after the September
2007 protests, the junta, through its mouthpiece, New Light of Myanmar,
carried slogans that stated: "Skyful of liars attempting to destroy
nation, BBC lying, VOA deceiving, RFA setting up hostilities. Beware don't
be bought by those ill-wishers," referring to the services of the British
Broadcasting Corporation, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

This is the second instance that Mizzima's sites have been the target of
hackers. In July, Mizzima websites were crippled due to a Distributed
Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

In the same month, the website of the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma
(DVB) sustained a similar DDoS attack. In September, DVB, along with two
other websites of exiled Burmese media groups—the Chiang Mai-based
"Irrawaddy" and Bangkok-based "New Era Journal"—also came under DDoS
attack, rendering their sites inaccessible on September 24, two days
before the Saffron Revolution's first anniversary.

Mizzima News Agency, run by Burmese journalists, is an independent Burmese
multi-media group focusing on Burma and Burma-related news and issues, and
maintains four different websites.

Besides offering updated daily news both in English and Burmese, Mizzima
also podcasts video stories on its http://mizzima.tv site, stories which
are frequently picked up by other news organizations.

Mizzima, as a member of the international media watchdog International
Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX), and as a partner of the regional
media watchdog Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), has been producing
media alerts on the violations of freedom of expression in Burma for over
a decade.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

October 15, Burma Campaign UK
Aung San Suu Kyi to reach 13 years in detention

On Friday October 24th Aung San Suu Kyi will have spent a total of 13
years in detention.

On the same day leaders of Asian and European countries are holding the
ASEM Heads of State Summit meeting in China.

The Burma Campaign UK and fellow campaign groups worldwide are calling on
the leaders to back UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in securing the
release of ALL political prisoners when he visits Burma in December.

There will be a protest at the Chinese Embassy in London: 12:00pm - 1:00pm,

49 Portland Place, near Oxford Circus tube. This protest is organized by a
coalition of campaign groups and Burmese community organisations in the
UK.

13 people wearing Aung San Suu Kyi face masks will hand a giant key in to
the Chinese Embassy, representing the key to freedom that world leaders
hold, if they work together to pressure the regime. The key will have the
names and pictures of Burma’s 2,120 political prisoners on it

The number of political prisoners in Burma has almost doubled in the past
year, despite calls from the United Nations Security Council for their
release. These people have committed no crime. They have been locked up
for calling for freedom.

Although Ban Ki-moon visited Burma twice after Cyclone Nargis struck the
country earlier this year, this will be the first time a UN Secretary
General has visited Burma to discuss political problems.

“We have never had European and Asian government joining forces to
directly pressure the regime to release prisoners,” said Mark Farmaner,
Director of Burma Campaign UK. “For too long the UN has fallen for the
lies of the regime. Thirty-seven visits by UN envoys have secured not a
single reform. It is time the UN set timelines and benchmarks for change.
The release of political prisoners should be the minimum benchmark for
progress that Ban Ki-moon aims for in December.”

Last week Ban Ki-moon stated that he wanted to see the release of
political prisoners as a sign of progress for when he visits Burma in
December. It is the first time he has linked his visit with the release of
political prisoners.

Fears are growing that the UN’s controversial lame-duck envoy to Burma,
Ibrahim Gambari, will be unable to negotiate any agreement with the
generals in advance of Ban Ki-moons visit, and that the Secretary General
will use this as an excuse to cancel the visit. Last week the UN warned
they wanted to see political progress or they would cancel the trip.

On recent trips to Burma none of the senior generals agreed to meet
Gambari, even though he is widely viewed as being too soft on the
generals. On his last visit Aung San Suu Kyi also refused to meet him.

“Regardless of people’s opinion on whether Gambari’s is biased or not,
what is clear is that he does not have the confidence or respect of either
side, and so will find it impossible to negotiate any breakthrough,” said
Mark Farmaner. “We are in a catch 22 situation. Ban Ki-moon doesn’t want
to go to Burma unless his envoy secures an agreement in advance, but we
have no chance of getting an agreement without his personal engagement, as
the generals ignore his envoys.”

The United Nations has ruled that Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention is illegal
under international law.