BurmaNet News, November 6, 2008

[Editor]

November 6, 2008, Issue # 2593

INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Doctor visits Suu Kyi
DVB: Mandalay NLD members' appeal summarily rejected by court
Irrawaddy: Win Tin congratulates Obama, calls for regime change in Burma
IRIN: Teachers and pupils struggle in temporary schools

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: Myanmar stops disputed gas exploration
Mizzima News: Internally displaced persons increase along Thai-Burma border

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: Myanmar lifts rice export ban
Bernama (Malaysia): Myanmar, South Korean companies to produce bio-diesel

REGIONAL
Xinhua: 4th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam summit takes place in Hanoi

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma debate continues outside Brussels conference hall
IMNA: Gambari should visit Burma on his own terms, says MNDF leader

OPINION / OTHER
Mizzima: Burma's pro-democracy movement in crisis – Nga Zaw
Kangla (India): Why India shifts its policy on Burma – Nehginpao Kipgen
FEER: Partners in oppression – Kay Seok and David Mathieson

PRESS RELEASE
ABMA and 88 Generation: Burmese Monks and students call on the United
Nations Security Council to reinforce Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s
mandate for realizing democratic change in Burma


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INSIDE BURMA

November 6, Agence France-Presse
Doctor visits Suu Kyi

A doctor visited Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on
Thursday, witnesses said, two months after her refusal of food supplies
sparked concerns that she was malnourished.

Her regular doctor Tin Myo Win and his assistant went into the lakeside
compound where Aung San Suu Kyi is detained in the early afternoon and
stayed for about two hours, witnesses near her Yangon home told AFP.

There was no information about the nature of the visit, but a spokesman
for her National League for Democracy party has previously said that Aung
San Suu Kyi was given a clean bill of health after the doctor's last visit
in October.

Tin Myo Win gave Aung San Suu Kyi an intravenous drip on September 14,
about a month after she began refusing food rations delivered to her home,
prompting her lawyer Kyi Win to describe her as "malnourished."

The NLD and Kyi Win always denied the 63-year-old was on hunger strike,
but said she was only eating small amounts of food to call for greater
human rights in Myanmar and to protest her detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who has no other source of food aside from the daily
supplies provided by the military regime, started accepting the food
rations again a few days after being given the drip.

The Nobel peace prize winner had been detained for most of the past two
decades. She is kept mostly isolated from the outside world, only
receiving occasional visits from her doctor and lawyer.

Her NLD won a landslide victory in a 1990 election but the military never
allowed it to take office and instead cemented its decades-long grip on
power.

___________________________________

November 6, Democratic Voice of Burma
Mandalay NLD members' appeal summarily rejected by court - Aye Nai

Appeal for recently sentenced Mandalay division National League for
Democracy leaders and members has been rejected by the divisional court,
according to their lawyer.

Myint Thwin, legal representative of the group, said Mandalay district
court yesterday rejected appeal against the sentences on NLD organizing
committee members Win Mya Mya and Kan Htun, divisional deputy chairman
Than Lwin, Min Thu of Mogok, Tin Ko Ko of Meikhtila and Ko Win Shwe of
Kyaukpandaung.

"The judge at the divisional court read our appeal forms and then
immediately made the decision to reject the appeal," said Myint Thwin.

"[The judge] also intimated that we can lodge further appeals and pleas to
higher level courts."

The six were arrested during the Saffron Revolution in September 2007
after they joined the monk-led public protests. They were handed down jail
terms ranging from 2 to 13 years in Mandalay jail at the end of last
month.

Government prosecutors laid a sedition charge against the group by using
incriminating vocal materials secretly recorded during past NLD's monthly
meetings.

____________________________________

November 6, Irrawaddy
Win Tin congratulates Obama, calls for regime change in Burma – Wai Moe

Prominent Burmese opposition leader Win Tin on Monday congratulated the
citizens of the United States for electing Barack Obama as president. At
the same time, he said that Burma too was in need of “regime change.”

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, the National League for Democracy
(NLD) executive member said, “I would first like to congratulate the
American people and president-elect Barack Obama.”

Win Tin continued by urging the US to adopt a multilateral approach toward
Burma.

“We need support from the international community,” he said. “We want the
US to work with the international community and the United Nations [on
Burma].”

A veteran newspaper editor and political prisoner who was released from
Burma’s infamous Insein Prison in September after serving 19 years for
opposing military rule, Win Tin, 79, used the occasion of leadership
change in the US to call for similar action in the Southeast Asian nation.

“We need regime change in Burma,” he said. “The people of Burma want
change. They voted in the NLD in the 1990 election.”

The opposition NLD party, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won a landslide victory
in Burmese elections in May 1990. However, the ruling military junta
refused to honor the election results.

Win Tin pointed out that previous US administrations had cordial relations
with several dictatorial regimes around the world. He warned it was
important for the “leader of the free world” not to compromise with
authoritarian regimes.

Win Tin also said that more effective sanctions and proactive pressure
from the international community were necessary for Burma’s democracy
efforts.

As US senators, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden have previously
supported US sanctions against the Burmese ruling generals and their
cronies.

In Obama’s very first speech after being declared the winner on November
4, the president-elect addressed US foreign policy by saying, “To those
who would tear this world down—we will defeat you. To those who seek peace
and security—we support you.”

Prior to the US presidential elections, Frank Jannuzi, a senior Asia
advisor to the Obama campaign, said that Burmese issues should not prevent
deeper US engagement with Asean, according to a news report by Agence
France-Presse on October 31.

“Rather, the United States should work with Asean to ensure that Burma
lives up to its obligation as an Asean member,” he said.

However, Dr Tin Maung Maung Than, a Burmese scholar based in Singapore,
told The Irrawaddy that the incoming administration’s policy on Burma will
be difficult to gauge at the moment. However, he said he believed that it
would be more or less the same as the Bush administration’s policy.
President Bush’s Burma policy has been seen as radical and won praise from
Burmese living inside and outside Burma.

However, the Bush administration was often criticized for neglecting
Southeast Asia. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regularly skipped
the annual Asean regional forum.

With on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a global financial crisis
to contend with, Tin Maung Maung Than said he didn’t expect the new
administration to engage Asean immediately. “Asean won’t be a top priority
for the moment,” he said.

He pointed out, however, that President Bush had appointed Scot Marciel, a
senior state department officer, as the US special envoy to Asean.

____________________________________

November 6, IRIN
Teachers and pupils struggle in temporary schools

Of the 4,000 schools damaged or destroyed when Cyclone Nargis hit the
Ayeyarwady Delta in May, almost half have been restored.

However, according to Thierry Delbreuve, head of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Myanmar: "Schools are being
rebuilt but there are still 2,500 schools which need particular attention.

"These are still temporary schools. They need to be adequately equipped
and buildings need to be constructed as some extensive damage has been
done," he said.

Scores of schools were left with unusable latrines, while others reported
widespread loss of school furniture, teaching and learning materials.

But despite the physical damage many have resumed classes, bringing a
much-needed sense of normalcy to thousands of children.

At the Pyi Thar Yar primary school in the Ayeyarwady Delta, 56 students
continue to hold classes in a temporary shelter, covered with little more
than tarpaulin sheeting, while others are slightly better off. The primary
school in the village of Hmaw bi, about 2.4km from Pyapon and also in the
delta, has been up and running since June despite the fact that its
building collapsed.

Currently housed in a local monastery, the school accommodates close to
250 children up to grade five.

"Can you hear me? Read the sentence I have written on the blackboard," Aye
Min Latt, a fourth-grade teacher instructs the pupils. "We need to shout
very loud for them to hear us. We are tired, but the children are tired as
well," the 29-year-old teacher said.

There is no space for tables and chairs for the teachers, forcing them to
sit alongside the students on long wooden benches instead. The only table
has been put aside for the headmaster.

But while there may not be much space, the school has furniture,
blackboards, and textbooks and materials provided by the UN Children's
Fund (UNICEF), Gate Way and other private donors.

Hmaw bi primary school is just one of 2,038 schools (1,519 in Ayeyarwady
and 519 in Yangon) receiving UNICEF support, comprising roofing sheets,
furniture and textbooks.

"UNICEF is only one agency with limited resources and human capacity.
Addressing other schools is done by the government and other
organisations," UNICEF's Myanmar education chief, Niki Abrishamian, said.

Cyclone trauma continues

Meanwhile, as agencies address the physical needs of the schools,
psychological problems also need to be addressed.

Scores of children were badly traumatised by the storm and continue to
need psychosocial support.

Nay Lin Tun, a 10-year-old third grader in Hmaw bi, still misses friends
who perished in the storm. "I'm not happy in the school like before
because I miss my friends," he said.

"Sometimes I call out their names by mistake," Aye Min Latt admits. "I try
not to mention their names in the class," she said.

Many of the children in her class have lost interest in their studies.

"I have to repeat things many times to make them understand. Sometimes
they just look at me with empty eyes without listening to me," she said.

The teachers are not immune. "When I see windy and rainy weather, I simply
stop," Aye Min Latt said.

To cope, UNICEF, with the Ministry of Education, has prepared thousands of
handbooks - including tips for teachers to help children better cope with
the effects of the cyclone – to be distributed soon.

According to experts, getting children back into the classroom is viewed
as critical to the long-term recovery of the cyclone-affected area.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 6, Reuters
Myanmar stops disputed gas exploration

Myanmar stopped oil and gas exploration in deep-sea blocks in disputed
waters in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, a day after Bangladesh asked
China for help over the row, officials said.

"They have stopped exploration, but are yet to remove vessels and
equipment from our (sea) territory," a Bangladesh navy official told
Reuters.

In Yangon, a Foreign Ministry official said Myanmar had only "paused" its
exploration activities in the disputed waters.

"We don't have any reason to change our stance on this matter because it
is located in our exclusive economic zone," said the Foreign Ministry
official, who declined to be identified.

"We will continue it soon and move somewhere else within our zone when
it's finished," he said of the exploration work.

Bangladesh sent a naval patrol to the area on Sunday after Myanmar began
exploration in the blocks, raising tensions in the area thought to be rich
in gas reserves.

Yangon summoned the Bangladesh ambassador on Sunday to protest against the
actions by Dhaka, which later sent a diplomatic team to the former Burma
this week.

The two impoverished countries have been holding talks for years to
demarcate their border in the Bay of Bengal. This week Bangladesh said it
wanted a diplomatic solution to the dispute to avoid any confrontation.

Both sides have appealed to regional powerhouse China to help resolve the
dispute. China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged both countries to take
measures to resolve the dispute amicably.

"As a friend and neighbour of both countries, China hopes to play a role
through appropriate means," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told
reporters at a regular briefing.

Technical delegations from both sides were scheduled to meet in Dhaka on
Nov. 16 and 17 to discuss maritime boundary demarcation, officials said.

Bangladesh said last year some offshore blocks Myanmar had been trying to
explore in cooperation with India were in Bangladesh's waters.

____________________________________

November 6, Mizzima News
Internally displaced persons increase along Thai-Burma border – Solomon

Another 500 ethnic Karen in eastern Burma were displaced in October alone,
in the wake of fresh fire fights between rebel groups and Burmese Army
soldiers, a Committee working for the displaced said.

The Committee for the Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), a group
helping displaced persons along the Thai-Burmese border, said more than
500 Karen villagers were forced to flee their homes as a result of fresh
clashes.

Sporadic skirmishes had been going on throughout the past month between
troops of the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) and the joint forces of the
Karen splinter group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and
Burmese Army soldiers, KNU officials said.

Iris, coordinator of the CIDKP, said the displaced persons are now roaming
the jungles along the Thai-Burma border without any help and are afraid to
return home.

"They [displaced people] are wandering along the border on the Burmese
side. They have nowhere to go, because the Burmese Army has burnt their
food stocks and their houses," Iris said.

She said the internally displaced persons, dare not cross the border to
Thailand because they will not be accepted by the Thai authorities.

"We don't know the reason why they [Burmese soldiers] are attacking
civilians but it may be possible that the junta has accused the villagers
of having a nexus with the Karen National Union," Iris suggested.

The KNU, an armed Karen rebel group, has been fighting the Burmese
government for nearly half a century. Lately, the KNU faced severe and
persistent attacks by a joint force of the splinter group DKBA and the
Burmese Army.

Last week, the KNU lost one of its outposts in Khalelawse to the joint
DKBA and Burmese Army after a two-day onslaught.

David Takapaw, the Vice Chairman of KNU, said only a few Karen villagers
are left in the KNU controlled areas, as most of them have fled to
Thailand for fear of attacks launched by the junta's army and the DKBA.

He added that the Karen people living in the areas of control of Burmese
troops face severe human rights violations including being used as forced
labour, and are forced to pay excessive taxes.

"We have heard that there will be yet another stronger offensive launched
against us by the joint forces [junta's army and DKBA]," said Takapaw.

Meanwhile, a Christian NGO based in London has voiced strong concern over
the ongoing attacks and the forcible displacement of hundreds of Karen
villagers. It has called for immediate cessation of hostilities among the
armed groups.

The Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), in statement released on Tuesday
said it has received reports that at least 250 Karen villagers have been
forcibly evicted from their homes in eastern Burma in late October.

The group condemned the Burmese troops and soldiers of the DKBA for
continuing attacks on the KNU that leads innocent villagers to flee for
their lives leaving their homes.

The CSW strongly condemns these killings and the forcible displacement of
so many innocent Karen villagers, the statement said.

Earlier in September, the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a group of
eleven NGOs helping over 140,000 Burmese refugees in nine camps along the
Thai-Burmese border, in a rare report said, at least 66,000 people have
been displaced in the past one year -- 2007-2008.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 6, Agence France Presse
Myanmar lifts rice export ban

Authorities in Myanmar have lifted a ban on rice exports imposed after
Cyclone Nargis devastated swathes of crucial agricultural land in the
southwest delta, an official said on Thursday.

Myanmar banned rice exports after the May 2 and 3 cyclone, which left
about 138,000 dead or missing and wiped out 85 per cent of rice seed
stocks in the delta. More than 2.4 million people were affected by the
storm.

'Rice exports were suspended for a while after Cyclone Nargis hit to make
sure there was enough rice for local consumers,' a senior officer at
Myanmar Rice Millers' Association told AFP.

'Export permission is now granted to companies if they have rice for
export and buyers. We cannot give details on how many companies will get
export permits as companies are still applying.'

Myanmar was not a major exporter of the staple grain, but the cyclone had
a massive impact on fertile land crucial for domestic food stocks.

In Aug, the United Nations said US$51 million (S$75.56 million) would be
needed to rehabilitate rice paddies in the Irrawaddy Delta.

Foreign aid has made its way down to the affected areas, but many farmers
have been unable to replant ruined fields, either because they are
struggling with housing or they have not replaced working animals lost in
the cyclone.

When rice prices soared earlier this year amid global supply concerns, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh clinched deals with the military government to buy
Myanmar's small surplus, but then the cyclone hit and exports were
suspended.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is under US and
European sanctions because of human rights abuses and the long-running
detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

____________________________________

November 6, Bernama (Malaysia)
Myanmar, South Korean companies to produce bio-diesel

A famous Myanmar private company has reached a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) with a South Korean company on construction of a bio-diesel plant in
Myanmar.

This comes as a response to the government's call on the private sector to
join in producing bio-diesel to substitute fuel and cut diesel import,
China's Xinhua news agency quoted the official newspaper New Light of
Myanmar as saying on Thursday.

A total of 2000 acres (810 hectares) of land will be put under physic nut
plants along the Pathein-Mawtinsun motor way under the MoU signed in
Yangon Wednesday between the Agri-Tech Ltd of SPA/ FMI Companies Group of
Myanmar and the Enertech Co Ltd of South Korea , the report said.

Bio-diesel, produced from the plant, will be supplied domestically and the
surplus will be exported, the report added.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar agricultural authorities is also cooperating with
some Japanese institutions to produce high-grade bio-diesel by forming a
joint venture, according to earlier report.

Under Myanmar's Jatropha bio-energy program, a joint venture company,
named Myanmar Bio Energy Company, will be formed between the Myanmar
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, and Japan Development Institute
(JDI) and Japan Bio Energy Development Cooperation (JBEDC) for the move.

Cultivation of Jatropha physic nut plants, establishment of trading center
for such crops, raw edible oil factory and training of experts in the
aspects will be carried out and the bio-diesel produced from the joint
venture will be supplied for domestic use as well as for export, the
earlier report said.

Myanmar has set a target to grow 3.23 million hectares of bio- diesel
plants in 2008 in a bid to increase the bio-diesel output in the year to
substitute diesel, the ministry said.

The Jatropha nuts were being initially planted on 648,000 hectares mainly
in three dry zones of Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway divisions.

According to the ministry, Myanmar has about 6.41 million hectares of land
suitable for growing Jetropha plants.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 6, Xinhua
4th Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam summit takes place in Hanoi

The 4th Summit of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) closed in
Hanoi on Thursday after issuing a joint statement.

According to the joint statement, the four countries will work together to
facilitate trade and investment, and further strengthen cooperation on
transport, agriculture, industry and energy, tourism and human resources
development.

"CLMV will strengthen close coordination in trade and investment promotion
through organizing trade fairs in member countries to increase trade and
investment flow within the four countries," said the statement.

The four countries will facilitate investment by the CLMV investors in
terms of licensing, labor procedures and others in areas including
agro-industries, industrial crop processing, mineral industries,
hydropower, infrastructure development, logistics and services, the
statement said.

Leaders attending the summit have agreed in the statement to encourage
development of air linkages among major cities, cultural and natural
heritage sites in the four countries to expand trade, investment and
tourism flows.

The statement reaffirmed that efforts of the CLMV countries were the
decisive factor in their respective development and integration. It also
said support and assistance from the international community are highly
appreciated.

It called on members of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and
concerned development partners to substantiate their assistance to
complement the resources in CLMV for development and integration.

The one-day summit is attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao
Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh, Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein
Sein, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and representative from
the ASEAN Secretariat.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 6, Irrawaddy
Burma debate continues outside Brussels conference hall

Heated exchanges at last week's Burma Day conference in Brussels continue
to reverberate, with two leading participants locked in a dispute over
charges of undemocratic and “fascist” behavior.

The conference, co-hosted by the European Commission and a number of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), was marked by lively discussion
among the participants.

“Several ‘activists’ made spirited and substantive interventions
throughout the day,” said Derek Tonkin, a former British ambassador to
Thailand, in a letter to The Irrawaddy. “Their approach is not democratic,
but fascist.”

Tonkin’s charges were challenged by Mark Farmaner, director of the
London-based Burma Campaign-UK, who complained that he had been
interrupted twice by one of the conference organizers when he spoke from
the floor and that he had later been told he had no right to address the
meeting. “Yet I get called a fascist,” said Farmaner in an e-mail reply to
questions from The Irrawaddy.

Farmaner claimed that the “vast majority” of the participants in the
conference were “promoting a basic agenda of engaging in the regime’s 2010
elections, playing down or even denying that the regime had been
restricting aid to the [Irrawaddy] delta, and criticizing sanctions.

"Perhaps their anger is because even with the biased line-up their
arguments didn’t carry the day."

Tonkin, now Chairman of Network Myanmar, said in the letter that the
“incidence of intervention” by activist participants, “if anything, was
tilted in their favor by the independent and unbiased chairmen of both the
morning and afternoon sessions."

The Burma Campaign-UK charged in a press release that the European
Commission had chosen conference speakers who largely opposed the policies
of Burma’s democracy movement, even though the agenda focused on
humanitarian and political issues in Burma. "EU Burma Day is always
heavily biased in this way," the group said.

One Burmese participant, who requested anonymity, told The Irrawaddy:
“That’s not true. I think the conference organizers this time tried to
give time fairly to everyone to talk in open discussion. We mainly focused
on the impact of Cyclone Nargis and on options for the country's political
future."

A Burma Day conference in 2005 also sparked controversy. The organizers
were accused by NGOs, trade union umbrella groups and others of inviting
only Burmese regime sympathizers and excluding regime opponents. About 50
Burmese exiles traveled to Brussels to join pro-democracy groups in a
protest demonstration outside the conference venue, complaining that the
meeting was heavily lopsided in favor of those calling for an easing of EU
sanctions against Burma.

This year, the organizers invited representatives of NGOs, advocacy
groups, international organizations and think tanks from Burma and Europe
to discuss the current Burma situation and the country’s future outlook,
under the conference theme of “Burma/Myanmar—Prospects for the Future.”

Among the participants were Dan Baker, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in
Burma; Piero Fassino, EU special envoy for Burma; Jack Dunford, executive
director of the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, and Charm Tong, a
leading Burmese activist from the Shan Women Action Network.

____________________________________

November 6, Independent Mon News Agency
Gambari should visit Burma on his own terms, says MNDF leader - Sein Myint
and Mi Kyae Goe

The United Nations should not accept a recent invitation to visit Burma,
says Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF) vice-chairman Nai Ngwe Thein.
Instead, Gambari should visit the country according to his own schedule,
including meetings with opposition leaders.

The vice-chairman told IMNA in a recent interview that accepting the
junta’s invitation would mean visiting Burma as a guest, subject to the
regime’s schedule and complete control.

According to the Irrawaddy, Burma’s ambassador to the United Nations
recently invited UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari to visit the country in
late November or early December. Gambari has yet to respond.

Gambari visited Burma from August 18th to the 23rd and viewed areas in the
Irrawaddy Delta hit by Cyclone Nargis. He also met with a small number of
opposition groups including the National League for Democracy (NLD),
Burma’s largest opposition party. Importantly, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
beloved Nobel laureate and head of the NLD who has been under house arrest
for the better part of two decades, refused to meet with Gambari.

Prior to Gambari’s visit, “Five Points” were agreed to by the UN Security
Council and the “Group of Friends for Myanmar,” made up of India,
Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States, the United
Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Australia, Norway, Japan, South Korea and
the EU presidency.

The five points urged Burma’s military government to: release political
prisoners; enter into dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi; begin a credible
political process; address socio-economic issues; regularize the Good
Offices role of the UN.

The junta continues to ignore the Five Points, said Nai Ngwe Thein, and is
inviting Gambari in an attempt to engage him from a position of control.
“The military will run their election in 2010. They want to avoid the five
points,” said Nai Ngwe Thein. “The UN has called on the military to enter
a dialogue on national reconciliation, but the military will do the
opposite.”

Instead of complying, Nai Ngwe Thein said, the junta will continue on its
“seven point” roadmap to “disciplined democracy.” The fourth step was
completed in May 2008, when the junta held a referendum on a new
constitution. Both the referendum process and the constitution have been
almost universally condemned as undemocratic, but the junta claims that
the document won an approval vote of almost 92%.

The fifth step is scheduled for 2010, when Burma will hold its first
national elections in twenty years. A variety of domestic and
international voices have condemned the upcoming election, arguing that it
is predicated upon an illegitimate document.

The MNDF-Liberated Area, based in Mae Sot, is expected to refuse
participation in the election, reported the exile news agency Kaowao
Newsgroup in late October. The New Mon State Party, the largest political
party representing Mon people, has also said that it will not participate.

The MNDF has been a crucial Mon political party for over twenty years and
won five seats in the 1990 election, which was later annulled. A number of
MNDF leaders – including Nai Ngwe Thein – were arrested and the party was
officially banned in 1992.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 6, Mizzima
Burma's pro-democracy movement in crisis - Nga Zaw

Burmese pro-democracy groups, especially along Burma's borders and abroad,
are in crisis. And the crisis recently got worse as the exile government
NCGUB along with some other Burmese groups didn't endorse the failed
credential campaign at the UN filed by an alliance of exile groups, namely
the NCUB led by Maung Maung.

The Burma Day Conference held last week in Brussels further divided the
movement on positions of sanctions versus anti-sanctions and engagement
versus anti-engagement.

It has been twenty years since Burmese activists fled to neighboring
countries, many to the Thailand-Burma border, from where they have
continued the pro-democracy movement commenced in 1988.

Many of the activists have also resettled in third countries such as the
USA, Australia, Canada, Norway, England and Sweden. They remain little
engaged in the movement by participating in random demonstrations in front
of Burmese embassies in their respective countries. A few of them have
come back, after getting better education in the West, to the
Thailand-Burma border, where many groups conduct missions to restore
democracy in Burma.

The groups are mainly headed by one-man-show leaders. The leaders hardly
cooperate and share little information with one another in their efforts
to bring democracy to Burma. No doubt, resettlement programs have impacted
leadership. Yet, longstanding and hard-to-work-with leaders have led many
subordinates and new generation members to leave for third countries for
good, their progress in the leadership ranks of opposition groups being
blocked.

For instance, Dr. Sein Win has served as Prime Minster for the exile
government since its inception in December 1990. There are more than 20
Burmese organizations more or less led by one or two people. One strong
man or woman at the top has led to many problems – lack of transparency,
lack of efficiency, lack of policy and a lack of strategy.

Opposition groups label the Burmese junta as being "an old wine in a new
bottle" whenever they come up with new plans in their efforts to cling to
power. In fact, activists and the opposition movement have been "old wine
in old bottles" for nearly two decades. You see the same faces in
different meetings taking place all over the world.

The movement is in crisis. It is because of a lack of trust, lack of
respect, lack of cooperation, lack of sharing and a lack of teamwork. The
success of a social change lies in cooperation among stakeholders, sharing
information with one another and working on a common goal through
different tactics. Burma won't be democratized any time soon until Burmese
democrats come together.

The movement needs new blood, new methods, new ideas and new strategies.

____________________________________

November 6, Kangla (India)
Why India shifts its policy on Burma - Nehginpao Kipgen

The international community keeps eyeing the political turmoil in
military-ruled Burma. Understandably, neighbors better understand. Let us
analyze why India seemingly has a lukewarm interest in the Burmese
democratic movement?

It was the 1988 uprising which brought India significantly into the
Burmese politics. This was the time when Burmese people contemplated
bringing down the military regime.

The failed uprising forced hundreds of refugees across the international
border into India. From 1988 to 1992, India’s policy vacillated between
support for democracy movement and diplomatic isolation.

The P.V. Narasimha Rao’s (1991-1996) “Look East” policy basically changed
India’s foreign policy toward Burma. The dramatic policy shift, however,
happened during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s (1998-2004) administration.

There were two major factors responsible for India’s policy shift: (i) to
ounterweight the strategic influence of the People’s Republic of China;
and (ii) to deal with insurgency problems in the Northeast India. Economic
interest also contributed to it.

Of the two, countering China’s regional influence remains to be the number
one concern for India. Having experienced a bitter war with China in 1962,
India feels insecure and threatened when China’s influence is broadened.

China-Burma bilateral trade hit US$2.057 billion in 2007, up 40.9 percent
compared with 2006. China’s exports to Burma took US$1.686 billion, up
39.6 percent, while its import from Burma stood US$371 million, up 46.9
percent. China enjoyed a trade surplus of US$1.315 billion.

Similarly, India’s exports to Burma in 2007-2008 amounted to about US$185
million, while its imports from Burma were valued at around US$810
million. In addition to the Tamu-Kalay-Kalewa highway upgrade, India has
made investments in projects such as energy and gas exploration. Most
recent India’s assistance was the US$200 million project in IT program.

All these moves and counter-moves are the direct result of scrambling for
power by the two Asian powers. India, at least for now, sees engaging with
the military regime an effective means to narrowing the influence of
China.

Another important factor for India’s foreign policy shift was due to the
rise of insurgency problems in the restive Northeast India. About 20,000
insurgents from different groups of Northeast India have bases in Burma,
mostly in the Northwestern part Sagaing Division.

Talks for coordination between India and Burma security forces in
counter-insurgency operations have taken momentum in recent years. During
his visit to New Delhi in 2004, Senior General Than Shwe assured the
Indian government that he would not allow his country to be used by
anti-India elements.

Sometimes, bilateral talks and agreements have not really been put into
practice.
Although the Burmese military, in a number of occasions, has asked the
Indian government to silence its Burmese dissidents, New Delhi so far
seems to pay a wishy-washy response. Similarly, Nay Pyi Taw appears to be
not fully engaged in dismantling the bases of Indian insurgents operating
from Burma.

India apparently is not totally ignoring her support for the Burmese
democratic movement. One evidence is the presence of more than fifty
thousand Burmese refugees (no official figure available) taking refuge in
India, including some leading dissidents.
India rather acts in tandem with her national interest and security in the
face of China’s influence in the region. By engaging with the military
regime, India feels better served. To many, this looks as if India has
adopted a double-standard policy toward Burma.

In the event of Burma becoming a democratic country, India is expected to
be one of the first to throw her support. Till then, India will continue
to compete with China, while the Western world is likely to continue with
traditional sanctions.

____________________________________

November 6, Far Eastern Economic Review
Partners in oppression - Kay Seok and David Mathieson

Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited North Korea on Oct. 27 to hold
the first high-level meeting since diplomatic relations were severed 25
years ago. When the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in April
2007, the reaction was largely twofold: banal and alarmist.

The banal views argued that both authoritarian states were merely
re-establishing formal diplomatic relations severed after North Korean
agents bombed the Martyrs Mausoleum in Rangoon in 1983, killing several
members of the South Korean cabinet.

Alarmist views spoke of the specter of North Korea handing over nuclear
weapons technology to Burma, even though North Korea has been supplying
conventional weapons to Burma’s military ruled State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) for years. The SPDC also announced the purchase of a 10
megawat nuclear reactor (the same size as North Korea’s) from Russia, just
weeks after the two countries restored ties.

While both perspectives hold truth, the real concern should be for the
citizens of Burma and North Korea, who continue to suffer under the
repressive regimes. Both countries rank among the worst human rights
abusers, persecute those who attempt to flee, and severely curtail the
ability of the outside world to help those in need.

In Burma, following the crackdown on peaceful protests for change led by
monks in September 2007, more than 1,000 people were incarcerated, with
many killed. In North Korea, basic freedoms have been restricted for so
long and on such a scale that there has never been a public demonstration
calling for freedom and democracy.

Those attempting to flee repression and poverty at home are routinely
persecuted. For years, North Korea has threatened to severely punish all
who are caught in China and repatriated. More than 1,000 North Koreans in
the past year have trod a perilous route from their country through China
into Laos, then across the Mekong River to Thailand with hopes to
ultimately reach South Korea, or in some cases the United States.

Some have even attempted to transit through Burma. In light of the
restored diplomatic relations between North Korea and Burma, some
observers fear that North Koreans caught in Burma would be returned home
to face torture and imprisonment.

The military offensives and other actions of Burma’s SPDC has driven over
160,000 refugees across the border with Thailand, thousands more into
India, while hundreds of thousands live precarious lives as migrant
workers in China, Thailand and India.

The international community is often called on to respond to the
government orchestrated misery of the people of North Korea and Burma.
Efforts by relief and development agencies to alleviate this suffering are
restricted by paranoid and often corrupt officials.

In North Korea, international aid workers have been struggling to properly
monitor food distribution to ensure that the food reaches the most
vulnerable population instead of the elite or the military. Aid workers
often face rejection and restriction by North Korean officials.

In Burma, the initial government restrictions on the activities of foreign
humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies in the wake of
Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 have evidently eased. But this followed weeks
of obstruction when over 2.4 million people waited for desperately needed
aid to arrive. Such optimism is not the case in the rest of Burma, where
government restrictions and surveillance have hampered aid programs for
years.

Restrictions on organizations such as the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) has severely limited their access to prisons in Burma
since late 2005, and the ICRC released a rare public statement in June
2007 pointing to frequent violations of international humanitarian law in
ethnic conflict areas. In North Korea, the ICRC has yet to obtain access
to its notorious detention facilities.

The U.N. expert on North Korea, Vitit Muntarbhorn, has never been
permitted to visit the country, while Tomas Ojeo Quintana, the new U.N.
special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, visited Burma in a short,
tightly scripted visit in August this year. The U.N. Secretary General’s
Special Adviser to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, has visited several times since
2005, and despite initial optimism he was making progress, was rebuffed by
senior SPDC officials in August, and his efforts now seem stalled.

The chumminess of bilateral visits should not belie the effects closer
ties could have on the people of North Korea and Burma. The renewed ties
mean that both governments have a new, formal ally in prolonging and
justifying their system of repression.

The people who suffer will not be the elites who rule, but those who exist
precariously in the face of international banality and alarmism, which
both the North Korean leadership and the Burmese military are relying on.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 6, All Burma Monks’ Alliance and the 88 Generation Students
Burmese monks and students call on the United Nations Security Council to
reinforce Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s mandate for realizing democratic
change in Burma

1. The All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA) and the 88 Generation Students,
two prominent organizations working to restore freedom and democracy in
Burma, today issued a joint statement welcoming the report, submitted by
the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the General Assembly on October
20, 2008 on the situation of human rights in Burma.

2. We appreciate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his clear understanding
of the position of  key stakeholders in Burma, including the National
League for Democracy party, Members of Parliament-elect, ethnic political
parties, as well as other relevant groups, such as the 88 Generation
Students, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance and the All Burma Federation of
Student Unions. We all declared our rejection of the military junta’s new
constitution and its illegitimate conduct and use of force and fraud to
adopt it. We sincerely believe that immediate and unconditional release of
all political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the
realization of a meaningful and time-bound dialogue between the military
junta, the National League for Democracy party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and ethnic representatives are the most important issues to address in
order to pave the way for national reconciliation and democratization.

3.  In his report, the Secretary-General rightly stated that “specific
suggestions of the United Nations to improve the credibility and
inclusiveness of the political process have thus far not been taken up by
the Government.” We fully agree with the conclusion made by the
Secretary-General that “there is no alternative to dialogue to ensure that
all stakeholders can contribute to the future of their country. In this
regard the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners
will be the key for the resumption of an enhanced, all-inclusive,
substantive and time-bound dialogue”.

 4.  Thus far, we have found no evidence that the military junta in Burma
is endeavoring to implement the recommendations made by the
Secretary-General and his Special Envoy, contained in the successive
resolutions from the General Assembly and Human Rights Council as well as
in the Presidential Statements of the Security Council. More than 2,100
democracy activists are still incarcerated, hundreds more are before the
kangaroo courts, all fundamental rights of the people are severely
restricted, the junta’s civilian militias are more aggressive in
harassing NLD party members and human rights defenders, military
offensives in ethnic areas have intensified, recruitment of child
soldiers has become more and more widespread, and tens of thousands of
people are fleeing the country every day to be free from human rights
abuses.

5.  Therefore, we earnestly call on the UN Security Council to take
effective and collective action in support of the Secretary-General’s good
offices role in Burma. Without strong enforcement from the Security
Council, the military junta that rules our country of Burma will continue
to undermine the Secretary-General’s good offices mandate and the United
Nations, and more and more people of Burma will die unnecessarily.