BurmaNet News, December 2, 2008

[Editor]

December 2, 2008, Issue #3609

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: NLD leaders discuss role in 2010 election
Mizzima: Junta begins dam construction amid protests in Kachin state
Narinjara: Forced labor used for brush clearing
IMNA: Fires engulfs Moulmein market; 1000 shops burn

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima: India-Burma border closed for Indian elections

SHAN: Burma's regime increasing army presence on the Wa-Mongla border

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Myanmar PM says farm sector can absorb unemployed
The Hindu: Myanmar PM urges exporting more rice

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar to promote its traditional medicine

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN summit in Thailand postponed until March

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: World economic crisis hits Burmese workers in Malaysia

OPINION / OTHER
DVB: The future of Burma’s nonviolent campaign for democracy - Gemma Dursley
Boston Globe: An unnatural disaster in Burma - Chris Beyrer and Frank
Donaghue
Manila Times: Burma: US should move beyond sanctions - Nehginpao Kipgen

INTERVIEW
Radio Australia: Burma AIDS epidemic


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 2, Irrawaddy
NLD leaders discuss role in 2010 election - Wai Moe

Deciding whether or not to participate in the forthcoming 2010 Burmese
election is now one of the issues being discussed by the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD), say party sources.

Khin Maung Swe, an NLD executive member, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday
that in recent weeks, the NLD has held executive meetings focused on its
strategy in the 2010 general elections.

“At the moment, the NLD stands on the party’s special political statement,
issued on September 22,” said Khin Maung Swe. “The statement called for
the government to review the constitution within six months and to conduct
an inclusive process in Burmese politics. We think reviewing the
constitution is an important step for national reconciliation.”

If the junta ignores the NLD’s call for a review, the crisis in Burmese
politics will continue, he said.

He added that whether the NLD joins in the election depends largely on
whether the junta will allow a constitutional review and permit all
political parties to function freely.
He said, however, the NLD is keeping all of its options open depending on
the political situation.

This weekend, the NLD met with an Italian diplomat, Attilio Massimo
Ianucci, and discussed Burmese politics.

Khin Maung Swe said the NLD and the diplomat traded views. “He asked us if
the NLD would take part in the election, but there was no urgency or call
for the NLD to take part.”

Deutsche Press-Agentur (DPA) reported on November 29 that the Italian
diplomat urged the NLD to participate in the election. Quoted in the
report, Win Tin, a veteran journalist and a NLD executive, said: “He said
at the present, the military occupied 100 percent of the government and
after 2010, there would be only 25 percent. It is much better than the
current situation.”

“We told him that 25 percent would be just a word and in practice the
military would dominate. We said the constitution must be amended before
the election.”

According to DPA, Win Tin told the press that within the NLD there were
different views about the election. “Some [members] want to participant
and some do not,” he said.

However, Aye Thar Aung, the secretary of the Committee Representing the
People’s Parliament (CRPP), an umbrella opposition group, said he recently
met with NLD leaders and his understanding is that NLD policy is to review
the junta-backed constitution first rather than to join the election.

“If some of the NLD take part in the election, they might do it
individually,” he said.

He said the CRPP’s stand on the election is that it will not take part
unless the junta opens up the political process. The CRPP was formed in
1998 by the winning parties in the election, including the NLD and ethnic
opposition parties.

Meanwhile, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the head of the ruling junta, reaffirmed on
November 28 at a meeting of the junta’s mass organization, the Union
Solidarity and Development Association, that the regime’s “Seven-step Road
Map” is the only way to a smooth transition to democracy.

“Now, plans are well under way to see to the remaining steps including the
2010 transition work programme,” Than Shwe was quoted as saying, according
to state-run media.

Political analysts said there could well be more restrictions placed on
political parties in the 2010 election laws, which the junta has yet to
announce. Some rumors say the election law will be made public early next
year, while others say the junta has postponed the announcement until
June.

“Unlike the 1990 elections, we expect more restrictions,” said Aye Thar Aung.

____________________________________

December 2, Mizzima
Junta begins dam construction amid protests in Kachin state - Solomon

Despite protests by local residents and environmental groups regarding the
negative side effects that would befall the local community, Burma's
military authorities and a Chinese corporation have begun constructing
dams on rivers in Burma's northern Kachin state, sources said.

Led by the China Power Investment Cooperation (CPI), work has begun on the
construction of a small hydroelectric project on the Chiphwi River, about
70 miles northeast of Kachin state's capital of Myitkyina.

The dam, which is expected to produce approximately 980 kilowatts of
energy, will be used to supply electricity for the construction of other
hydroelectric projects including one at the confluence of the Nmai Hka
(May Kha) and Mali Hka Rivers, about 28 kilometers north of Myitkyina.

An official with Asia World Company Ltd. (AWC) who is working at the
construction site said, "This dam is a small one and is purposely being
built to produce electricity to be used in major dam construction along
the Nmai Hka and Mali Hka Rivers, including the Myintsone dam [at the
confluence of the two rivers]."

Burma's military government, in collaboration with CPI and AWC, plan to
construct at least seven dams on the Mali Hka and Nmai Hka Rivers, in
addition to the one at the confluence of the two rivers, and will sell the
electricity generated from the dams to China.

Local Kachin in Myitkyina, as well as environmental groups including the
Kachin Development Network Group (KDNG), have strongly protested against
construction of the dams, saying there will be little benefit for the
local community while the devastation caused by the construction will take
a heavy toll on their livelihood.

According to the Thailand-based KDNG, the planned hydroelectric projects
would destroy at least 47 villages and threaten over 10,000 lives by
inundating about 766 square kilometers of farmland with water.

A local resident from Myitkyina told Mizzima that there is a lot of
concern among the people over dam construction, as they fear the dams will
threaten their homes and destroy their livelihood.

"People do not like the project. They have voiced their objection since
the beginning, but their voices fall on deaf ears," he added.

According to the KDNG, the Burmese government's Ministry of Electric Power
No.1 and CPI have agreed to generate at least 3,600 megawatts of
electricity from the hydroelectric projects in Kachin state.

____________________________________

December 2, Narinjara
Forced labor used for brush clearing - Mrauk U

Military authorities from Mrauk U Township have forced villagers to work
at clearing brush and grasses from a dam without any wages or food in
exchange, said a villager from the area.

The villager said, "The army authority ordered the village councils around
the dam to send 20 people per day from each village to clean brush and
grass that grew on the water inside of the dam."

The use of forced labor began after General Khin Zaw from the defense
department in Naypyidaw visited the dam for an inspection last month.

"We heard that General Khin Zaw instructed the army officials to clean the
brush and grass somehow from the dam, and said he did not want to see any
bushes inside the dam in the future. After that, the army authorities
began forcing the villagers to work."

The dam is located 10 miles from Mrauk U Town and locals know it as Ah
Bound Daw Mraung. The dam was constructed by authorities five years ago to
distribute water for some nearby army agricultural projects.

According to a local source, 15 villages near the dam have been forced to
send residents to complete the work. Some of those villages are: Okk Paw
Gan, Bu Wrat Ma Nyo, Maung Re Gan, Pauk Taw Byin, Let Kar, Lat Sit Byin,
Kyi Ra Byint, and Tha Ma Rite.

"We have to go to the dam in the early morning every day for work, and we
are allowed to return home after 4pm everyday. Residents in our village go
there to work on a rotating system every day," the villager added.

Army Battalions 540, 378, and 379 based in Mrauk U have many agricultural
and husbandry projects nearby that use the water from the dam.

____________________________________

December 2, Independent Mon News Agency
Fires engulfs Moulmein market; 1000 shops burn

A fire in Moulmein’s second largest market engulfed nearly 1,000 shops
Monday evening, say eyewitnesses and shop owners.

According to woman who owned a shop in the market, one fire truck arrived
soon after the fire began at 6:30 pm. At that point only a few shops were
burning, she said, but the truck had no water with which to douse the
fire.

Trucks bearing water from Mudon, Kyaikmayaw Townships, and Hpa-an Township
Karen State also eventually arrived, the woman added, but by then the fire
was too strong to be stopped.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire had mostly burned itself out by 8:30
pm. The shops did not have to be lost, a monk from Moulmein commented to
IMNA, but the fire brigade responded too slowly.

It is unclear how the fire started. The female shop owner said that a
restaurant near the market was to blame, while a businessman from nearby
who came to watch the fire said the fire was begun by candle inside a
stall in the market.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, show-owners were able to move about
in the market and recover salvageable items. Within a few hours of
sunrise, however, Moulmein authorities prohibited civilians from entering
the market.

Access is prohibited to all but police, soldiers and members of the fire
brigade, who spent the day inside the market collecting items that escaped
the blaze, as well as salvageable iron. It is unclear what will happen to
the rescued goods, but the iron was taken to an undisclosed location
outside Moulmein.

Injuries or causalities caused by the fire are unknown, but the Irrawaddy
reported on Tuesday that the Moulmein hospital was facing staff shortages
and difficulties treating all those burned attempting to save their shops.

The fire will have serious economic consequences for shop-owners, while
residents and neighboring business are likely to feel effects as well.

For shopkeepers, the fire means both a loss of inventory and of location.
According to a female owner of a monk supply shop in the market, rights to
a particular location typically cost between 25 and 40 million.

Moulmein authorities will build a new market in the same place as the old
ones, reported a senior monk from the area, but it is not clear whether
shop owners will have to re-purchase stalls in the new market.

Vendors selling things like food and fruit adjacent to the market will
also face difficulties, added the monk, for they rely on the heavy foot
traffic generated by the market.

A Moulmein resident who spoke with IMNA also worried that the fire will
drive up prices of basic goods, because before the fire the market
serviced many people from both Moulmein and surrounding townships.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 2, Mizzima
India-Burma border closed for Indian elections

India’s northeastern state of Mizoram, bordering Burma’s Chin state, on
Monday sealed-off the international boundary between the two countries in
preparation for Tuesday’s elections.

The deputy commissioner for Mizoram’s Champhai district on Monday issued
an order to close the 404 kilometer long Indo-Burma border for security
purposes, PC Lal Duhthlanga, a sub-divisional police officer at the
Champhai police station told Mizzima.

“We are going to have an election. For this purpose, all international and
state boundaries will be closed,” Duhthlanga said.

According to him, the border, closed at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, will not
reopen until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Mizoram state will elect 40 members to the Mizoram Legislative
Assembly. Over 600,000, of an estimated population of over 900,000 in the
state, are expected to cast votes, according to news reports.

Meanwhile, Duhthlanga said the state government has also deployed
additional security, including Mizoram police and Assam Rifles, along the
border, and particularly at trade point No. 2, which links Zokhuathar
village in Mizoram with Haimual village in Chin state – to try and prevent
any crossing of traders and smugglers during election day.

“Assam Rifles and Mizoram police personnel are deployed along the border.
One police post and Assam Rifles post are stationed on the main road [Indo
– Burma border trade road (2)],” he added.

However, unlike with previous elections, when Burmese and other outsiders
were forcibly evicted, arrested and deported from the state, so far the
Mizoram government has not arrested any Burmese migrant workers because
“there is no threat from foreigners to interfere in the polling,”
Duhthlanga said.

He commented that security in the state remains normal and that ballot
boxes will be placed in all constituencies including areas known to be
infested by Burmese rebels such as the Zomi Reunification Army (ZRA), Zomi
Reunification Organization (ZRO) and Chin National Confederation (CNC).

“There is no movement or activity among armed groups such as the ZRA, ZRO
and CNC this year,” he added.

The closure of the border impacts border trade between India and Burma,
which is one of the main lifelines for businesses in Mizoram, as most
merchants and traders heavily rely on goods and commodities imported from
Burma.

“The border seal includes trade activities. Except security personnel, no
one can cross the border,” a Champhai police officer told Mizzima by
telephone.

However, unlike other times when the border has been closed due to
conflicts or misunderstandings, the closure this time, say several Burmese
traders in the state, will not have much impact on business.

“We don’t think there will be a major impact on our business because the
border seal will only be in place for two or three days,” a Burmese trader
from Aizawl, capital of Mizoram, told Mizzima.

In contrast, when the borders were closed for nearly two months earlier in
June and July of this year, commodities in Mizoram, including in the
capital, rose sharply, according to the local business community.

____________________________________

December 2, Shan Herald Agency for News
Burma's regime increasing army presence on the Wa-Mongla border

Both the Wa and its southern ally Mongla are closely following the gradual
build-up of the Burma Army along its border in Mongkhark and Mongyang,
north of Kengtung, according to sources coming to the Thai-Burma border.

"Although reports are still sketchy, as the details of the build-up are
still lacking, there is little doubt that new units are coming and
establishing new outposts in the two townships," said a border watcher in
Maesai, opposite Tachilek, 160km south of Kengtung.

Both the Wa and Mongla, officially National Democratic Alliance
Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), are also reinforcing to prevent any
attempt by the Burma Army to cut off the geographical links between them.

"The Burma Army appears to be trying to reclaim areas under Mongyang
township's jurisdiction that were lost to the Wa and Mongla forces before
the ceasefire (in 1989)," he said.

Mongpawk, Mongphen and Hotao, under Wa control, and Hsaleu, under Mongla
control, are considered part of Mongyang. Both have refused to return the
areas to the Burma Army although the latter had offered to compensate by
returning Markmang [Mawfa] to the Wa and recognizing Mongla, formerly part
of Kengtung, as a separate township. "If we accept it, the Burma Army will
take control of the areas between Mongla and us [Wa]," a Wa officer had
earlier told SHAN. "Mongla will be easily occupied and the Wa will be
surrounded on all sides – except on the Chinese side – by the Burma Army."

Both the Wa and Mongla commanders refused to comment on the current
tension. Clashes were reported but later found out to be false. "What is
true is that the Burma Army has dispatched spies, both local and its own,
to reconnoiter, many of whom have been caught by both Wa and Mongla," said
Lt-Col Gawnzeun, Commander of the anti-junta Shan State Army (SSA) South,
whose units are operating in Mongyawng, adjoining Mongla's southeastern
rim.

China, according to earlier reports, has warned both sides against
starting a war along its border. "What we are witnessing therefore is just
war in the shadows," quipped the border watcher.

The Wa have been granted a Self-Administered Division (SAD) status in the
newly approved constitution drawn by the ruling military council.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

December 2, Associated Press
Myanmar PM says farm sector can absorb unemployed

Myanmar's prime minister has said that the country's economy can provide
jobs for returning migrant workers who lost their jobs due to the global
financial crisis.

All three state-run daily newspapers on Tuesday published the remarks by
Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, made at a meeting with ministers,
government officials and businessmen in the capital of Naypyitaw. It was
the first public comment from the government on how the global crisis
might affect the country.

In the remarks, made Monday, Thein Sein said that should workers overseas
lose their jobs, Myanmar's agricultural sector by itself could employ
millions.

Thein Sein said there are 46,057 Myanmar workers legally working abroad,
but statistics from other countries and organizations estimate that more
than 2 million are working abroad illegally, the New Light of Myanmar and
other newspapers reported.

Thein Sein said millions of workers are needed in palm oil plantations,
rubber plantations and teak plantations, and for timber extraction.
Fisheries and the salt industry are also ready to hire workers, he said.

The foreign, labor and agriculture ministries all stand ready to help
Myanmar workers who lost their overseas jobs, he added.

The prime minister conceded that the global economic crisis could have an
indirect impact on Myanmar and destabilize local markets even though the
effect on the monetary sector should be minimal because Myanmar's currency
is not freely convertible so money transactions are not closely linked to
foreign banks.

Thein Sein said Myanmar, which faces U.S. and European economic sanctions
by the West because of the ruling junta's poor human rights record and
failure to restore democracy, has no relations with Western monetary
institutions. He also said Myanmar's foreign loan burden is insignificant
compared to other countries, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

____________________________________

December 2, The Hindu
Myanmar PM urges exporting more rice

Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein has urged agricultural
entrepreneurs in the country to make greater efforts for exporting more
rice, saying that the country has enough cultivable land to boost paddy
production.

Out of 17.6 million hectare of cultivable land, only 11.6 million hectares
of paddy or 65.9 percent could be grown, Thein Sein pointed out at a
coordination meeting on development of agricultural sector and boosting of
export items held in Nay Pyi Taw Monday, the official newspaper New Light
of Myanmar reported Tuesday.

Last year saw a production of 30 million tons of paddy out of 7. 6 million
hectares grown, but only about 20,000 tons of rice were exported, Thein
Sein said, adding that up to October this year, over 170,000 tons of rice
had been exported amid Nargis, which was up from the previous year.

"Although Myanmar's rice production has increased, it can be found that
she has not been capable of producing more rice than the nations that are
smaller and have fewer farmland than Myanmar, " he pointed out, citing the
fact that Thailand exports 7 million tons of quality rice and Vietnam 4.5
million tons.

"Myanmar is to strive for ensuring local self-sufficiency in rice and
export about 3 million tons of rice annually," he outlined.

He also stressed the need to keep boosting of other export items.

Up to October this year, more and more crops such as rice, corn and sesame
could be produced, but beans and pulses export fell 5.4 percent and that
of rubber 0.7 percent, he said.

Although export volume of animal product rose by 25.4 percent, that of
marine products was down by 6.1 percent, fish and prawn by 1.7 and 4.2
percent, forest products 0.6 percent, industrial finished products 15.9
percent, and natural gas 18.2 percent, he revealed, calling for the review
of the reason for the fall in the export volume.

He went on to emphasize the need to double efforts for the development of
agricultural sector and boosting of export items, saying that the
agricultural sector alone requires millions of workers and citing that the
available number of them is only 17, 974 and 200,000 for extended growing
of oil palm and rubber respectively.

He expects that the estimated two-million Myanmar illegal workers working
abroad could come back to the homeland to join agricultural undertakings.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

December 2, Xinhua
Myanmar to promote its traditional medicine - Feng Yingqiu

A two-day 9th Traditional Medicine Practitioners Conference of Myanmar is
due to open in the country's new capital of Nay Pyi Taw later on Tuesday,
aimed at promoting the development of the country's traditional medicine
and its medical practices.

Myanmar traditional medicine is recognized as one of the principal
contributors to the public health and a genuine legacy left by ancestors.

As the Myanmar traditional medicine is playing a more and more important
role in treating diseases in the country, the government places more
emphasis on the aspects, calling on traditional medicine practitioners to
protect and preserve them from depletion and extinction and to ensure
their perpetual existence.

At the same time, the practitioners are also urged to harmoniously strive
for the promotion of the standard of Myanmar traditional medicine to reach
international level.

According to the health authorities, Myanmar has made arrangements for the
development of the traditional medicine in line with the set standards,
opening diploma courses and practitioner courses to train out skilled
experts in the field.

A decade before, Myanmar's Institute of Traditional Medicine conferred
diplomas on traditional medicine to those who had completed two-year
theoretical course and one-year practical course.

In 2001, Myanmar established its University of Traditional Medicine in
Mandalay, the second largest city, where traditional medicine, anatomy and
physiology, microbiology and medicine and Chinese acupuncture are taught.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has set up the first national herbal park in the new
capital of Nay Pyi Taw to grow herbal and medicinal plants used in
producing medicines for treating various diseases.

The 81-hectare National Herbal Park, aimed at becoming an
international-level one, was established by the Ministry of Progress of
Border Areas and National Races and Development Affairs.

Over 20,000 herbal and medicinal plants of over 700 species from some 10
states and divisions for producing medicines used in treating diseases
like cholera, dysentery, hypertension, diabetes, malaria and tuberculosis
are being grown in the park.

Encouragement has also been made to set up large traditional medicine
industries with the private sector to produce potent drugs for common
diseases, herbal gardens for medicinal plant conservation and find means
to treat patients with the combined potency of the Western and Myanmar
traditional medicine.

There are 12 traditional medicine hospitals and 214 such clinics in the
country with services provided by nearly 10,000 practitioners, earlier
statistics show.

The Myanmar traditional medicine, composed of such ingredients as roots,
tubers, bulbs, natural items and animal products, has in a historical
perspective, represented the typical Myanmar culture and traditional value
and norms.

Meanwhile, practitioners in the country are also being urged to make
efforts for the promotion of Myanmar traditional medicines through
cooperation with the international community.

"To be able to uplift the health standard of the people, Myanmar will
cooperate on approval of Beijing Declaration on traditional medicine,"
official media said

The Congress of Traditional Medicine of the World Health Organization
(WHO) was held in Beijing, China in early November.

The Myanmar delegation to the WHO congress discussed matters on Myanmar
traditional medicine including measures being taken for conducting
research on treatment of six major diseases — diabetes, hypertension,
malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea and dysentery through traditional
medicine.

____________________________________
ASEAN

December 2, Agence France Presse
ASEAN summit in Thailand postponed until March

Crisis-hit Thailand has postponed a summit of the Southeast Asian bloc
ASEAN scheduled for mid-December until March, a government spokesman said
today.

News of the delay came shortly after the country’s constitutional court
dissolved Thailand’s ruling party and barred Prime Minister Somchai
Wongsawat from politics for five years.

“The ASEAN summit has been postponed to March next year,” government
spokesman Nattawut Saikaur said after Somchai’s final cabinet meeting in
the northern city of Chiang Mai.

The summit had been scheduled for December 15-18, also in Chiang Mai. It
had already been moved out of Bangkok due to the turmoil, which has seen
protesters occupy both of the capital’s airports.

Protesters said today that they would lift the airport siege, which has
cost Thailand economically and in terms of its international image both as
a tourist haven and a beacon of stability in the region.

The ASEAN charter, which commits the bloc’s 10 member nations to promote
democracy and human rights and was due to be signed at the summit, will
now be adopted in Indonesia.

“The cabinet agreed to the foreign ministry’s proposal to declare the
ASEAN charter in Jakarta and the ministry will write a letter to inform
group members,” Nattawut said.

Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations and a former Thai foreign minister, said he had not yet been
informed of the decision.

“I am not yet aware of it. I am still waiting for the decision,” he said
by telephone from Hong Kong. “But so far, I am aware there is no
government in Thailand now, therefore the foreign ministry must handle
this issue.” Thailand holds the rotating chair of the association.

ASEAN leaders had been set to be joined at the summit by heads of
government from East Asia as well as the heads of organisations such as
the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World
Trade organisation.

Surin said Sunday that time was “running short” for Thailand to hold the
summit, adding that a delay would enable better preparations.

The statement said Surin had “reassured” Thai authorities “that a
postponement will not negatively affect ASEAN work plans too much.” Member
nations Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam had called for a postponement while
others had expressed concerns over the situation in Thailand.

In 2006, the Philippines rescheduled a December summit for the following
month after two powerful storms threatened to batter its central region,
although some sources said it was linked to security threats.

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

____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 2, Irrawaddy
World economic crisis hits Burmese workers in Malaysia - Min Lwin

Hundreds of Burmese legally employed in Malaysia are returning home after
losing their jobs because of the worldwide economic downturn.

Ye Min Tun, of the Malaysia-based organization Burma Workers' Rights
Protection, told The Irrawaddy that more than 300 Burmese migrant workers
had returned to Burma in late November, paid off by their employers
because of falling orders.

Hundreds of others faced dismissal before the Chinese New Year, Ye Min Tu
said. Those still employed were experiencing cuts in pay and overtime.

About one third of the 300-strong Burmese work force at one leading
aluminum factory, Press Metal Berhad, were repatriated on November 27 and
30, according to Burmese workers at the Kalang plant.

"Orders for new consignments dropped after the onset of the world
financial crisis and impacted us very badly,” said one Burmese worker.

An official of Press Metal Berhad refused to comment when contacted on
Tuesday by The Irrawaddy.

Dismissed workers say employers are paying them no compensation. Nor had
employers given sacked workers any indication of whether they could
reclaim their jobs if the world economy improved, Ye Min Tu said.

According to Burmese sources in Malaysia, migrant workers have to pay
agents up to 1.6 million kyat (US $1,200) to secure jobs there. Many were
being dismissed before they had earned enough money to cover agent fees.
Malaysia has been a popular destination for Burmese workers since the
1990s. Several hundred thousand are said to be working in restaurants, on
construction sites, rubber plantations and in factories.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
The future of Burma’s nonviolent campaign for democracy - Gemma Dursley

Since Burma’s pro-democracy protests of 2007, many of those at the centre
of the Saffron Uprising have been quietly jailed, and the optimism that
many allowed themselves to embrace last September has quickly given way to
the more familiar anger and frustration.

For some, these emotions have led to demands for a reappraisal of activist
methods. The same despair that led many to hope for an unlikely Iraq-style
invasion has caused some to question the wisdom of taking on the junta
through nonviolent means. Since these have failed to bring change, and
since the regime even dares to kill and imprison revered monks, then
perhaps it is time to speak to the generals in a language they understand.

The dissatisfaction brought by failed uprisings and almost half a century
of military rule is clearly understandable. However, strategy cannot be
guided by emotion, and jettisoning a nonviolent struggle in favour of a
violent one must be critically examined. So far this has not happened –
articles and arguments on exile news websites have appeared to only
address the morality of employing violence, without looking at what would
be gained or lost by such an approach, and even whether it is possible.

Types of nonviolent resistance

This focus on whether violence is ethically right or not stems, I believe,
from the failure to distinguish “strategic nonviolent resistance” from
“principled nonviolence”. The Buddhist component of the pro-democracy
movement in Burma often serves to fudge this distinction, yet it is
crucial to understand the difference.

Strategic nonviolent resistance is a way of waging conflict against an
opponent through mass civil disobedience and disruption. It includes a
wide variety of tactics, such as strikes, boycotts, demonstrations, and
the setting up of alternative institutions. Its effectiveness is
unquestionable: academics at the International Center on Nonviolent
Conflict have shown that nonviolent campaigns have been almost twice as
effective as violent campaigns, while Freedom House reports that in the
last 35 years, nonviolent struggle has accounted for the vast majority of
victories for democratic movements.

While activists might embark on a nonviolent campaign due to its
effectiveness, principled nonviolence finds its origins in religious and
philosophical convictions that are devoid of political content. Despite
much success, nonviolence still has connotations of pacifism and ‘doing
nothing’. However, there is nothing passive about such resistance, no
intention to make weaponry from compassion and love. It is a strategy
which works by bringing massive disruption to the state.

Why nonviolent methods work

The Philippines’ Marcos in the 80s, Indonesia’s Suharto in the 90s, and
authoritarian governments in Central and Eastern Europe in the early part
of this decade, to name but a few, were all brought down by nonviolent
movements. Memories of TV footage showing the vast multitudes involved in
these revolutions indicate one particular reason why nonviolent campaigns
are effective.

Nonviolent methods unite groups across the social spectrum, as do violent
state reprisals against nonviolent campaigners. The peaceful nature of
Burma’s 2007 uprising made the junta’s justifications for the crackdown
appear absurd, and many Burmese who may once have viewed themselves as
apolitical were suddenly politicised by the military’s actions. Violent
movements, however, are seen as ugly and extreme by many sections of the
public, even if the violence might be morally justifiable, and
participation is drastically reduced.

Nonviolent groups also receive widespread international support. An excess
of suffering in the world means that international NGOs and, to some
extent, governments, must pick and choose the causes they support.
Although market metaphors might sound heartless, one factor giving the
Burmese pro-democracy movement a higher value than other struggles is the
nonviolent methods employed by the opposition. Violent opposition is hard
for overseas groups to market to potential supporters. State crushing of
violent resistance elicits, if anything, only guarded international
protest; firing on unarmed demonstrators, on the other hand, unites much
of the world in condemnation.

Repressing nonviolent campaigns yields high costs within governments, as
regime members find themselves in disagreement over the correct way to
respond. Although the junta appears intact and unified today, we know that
many in the army had, and still have, grave misgivings about violence
meted out upon the protesters and the Sangha. Violent opposition elicits
little if any understanding from government members. Officials are far
more likely to switch their allegiance away from a regime if they are sure
the resistance will not threaten their lives.

Failure in Burma

Despite these advantages, a frustrating lack of progress and a justifiable
indignation towards a regime with no conscience tempts activists to
countenance violence. If peaceful methods aren’t yet working, then surely
violent methods must be deployed.

But the wisdom of activists’ choices can only be assessed by looking at
the political context in which they are made, and the continuation of
military rule has little or nothing to do with the pro-democracy movement
choosing the wrong route to emancipation. Failure to bring change is due
to the way structural conditions impede the collective action which
effective resistance requires.

People don’t naturally come together to rebel – they must be convinced to
contribute to a movement, whether violent or nonviolent. Mobilising
recruits needs, amongst other things, leadership and movement
entrepreneurs, and organisation. However, these require a degree of
structural space within which to operate. Such room is denied by the
junta’s repressive machinery, which deals in the surveillance, harassment,
assault and detention of anyone trying to mobilise resistance.

A legal system which fails to provide or protect political and civil
rights means that association and communication between activists is
strictly curtailed. This makes disunity among opposition groups difficult
to overcome, and leads to a lack of imagination and coordination. Even the
sole legal opposition organisation struggles to exist. Any would-be
political entrepreneurs thus face enormous difficulties, whether they are
committed to a violent or a nonviolent approach, and a fractured
opposition is not going tempt regime members to switch loyalties. The
problem, in short, is not the content of the strategy, but the near
impossibility of devising and executing any strategy.

The current political situation makes surrender to the most immediately
satisfying ‘solution’ very tempting. Diplomatic efforts to improve the
stalemate proceed at a snail’s pace; meanwhile, prisons are filling up
with political detainees, and one-sided political violence intensifies.
Frustration and tiredness pervade activist circles, and ‘an eye for an
eye’ can rejuvenate and motivate some.

Yet it is crucial to understand that any attempt at violent resistance
would run into the same obstacles that impede nonviolent action, while
possessing none of the advantages of the latter. Instead of allowing
themselves to be led by the military into a futile armed confrontation,
activists should concentrate on circumventing the obstacles to collective
action imposed by the junta, presenting a coherent and united movement for
change, and maintaining a commitment to nonviolent methods.

____________________________________

December 2, Boston Globe
An unnatural disaster in Burma - Chris Beyrer and Frank Donaghue

In the field of disaster relief studies it is a truism that the first
responders, whether in an earthquake or a cyclone, are generally ordinary
people in the affected area who have survived. They are the first to start
digging out the rubble or tending the wounded. Civilian volunteers are the
backbone of the later phases of emergency responses too - people who bring
food and water, volunteer at shelters, give what they can. Only in a
system as profoundly inhumane as Burma would such good Samaritans be
punished for their compassion. But that is precisely what happened last
week.

At least four civilian volunteers who tried to help the victims of Burma's
ferocious Cyclone Nargis were sentenced to 15- to 59-year prison terms for
their efforts. Among those jailed was the beloved comedian and satirist
Zarganar, who was sentenced to 59 years in some of the world's most deadly
prisons. Burmese journalists reporting on the cyclone were also sentenced.

These sentences have come among a wave of others, including decades-long
sentences for monks who led last year's Saffron Revolution demonstrations;
members of the National League for Democracy, the party that won Burma's
last elections but was never allowed to govern; and the leaders of the 88
Generation, the students who supported Aung San Suu Kyi in her nonviolent
struggle for social change.

Why imprison civilian volunteers in the midst of a humanitarian crisis?
Before his arrest, Zarganar said, "I want to save my own people. But the
government doesn't like our work. It is not interested in helping people.
It just wants to tell the world and the rest of the country that
everything is under control and that it has already saved its people."

Perhaps the clearest indication of the junta's priorities was its
insistence on holding a national referendum on the new constitution in the
still-devastated Delta region less than three weeks after the storm. The
ruling generals placed survival of military rule over saving Burmese
lives. This is tragically consistent with their past behavior: Burma has
among the lowest levels of public funding in healthcare worldwide, less
than $1 per person in 2006, according to the World Health Organization.
The people of Burma are impoverished, but the junta is rich and richly
armed.

Despite these harsh realities and the extraordinary price Burmese citizens
who oppose the generals must pay, many in the international community have
called for expansion of aid to Burma. The International Crisis Group said
last month, "Aid should rather be seen by international policymakers as
valuable in its own right as well as a way of alleviating suffering, but
also as a potential means of opening up a closed country, improving
governance and empowering people to take control of their own lives." But
with their show trials and these latest brutal prison terms, the generals
have made it clear that improving governance and empowering the people of
Burma is precisely what they are most unwilling to do.

Of course aid should be increased to the people of Burma, but not on the
generals' terms, which include tight control on information, the denial of
Burmese citizen participation in the response, and markedly limited access
to the rest of the impoverished country not affected by the cyclone.

Those arguing that stepped-up international aid can deliver on political
change have precious little evidence for this, especially since the
political space has just abruptly narrowed. The incoming Obama
administration may well increase assistance to Burma, but this should be
coupled with more pressure on the junta and its allies, especially the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, and Russia, for political
reform.

The longer-term development and well-being of the Burmese people is not
simply dependent on levels of foreign aid, but on true political
development and a return to democratic rule. There can be no "apolitical"
humanitarian aid in places like Burma, however much we'd wish to see it.
Just ask Zarganar.

Chris Beyrer is director of the Center for Public Health and Rights at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Frank Donaghue is CEO for
Physicians for Human Rights.

____________________________________

December 2, Manila Times
Burma: US should move beyond sanctions - Nehginpao Kipgen

In an apparent shift from the policy of traditional sanctions, the US
Congress created a post for policy chief for Burma to increase pressure on
the military junta.

In response to this unprecedented action, the White House announced the
nomination of Michael Green for the post on November 10. Whether this
ma-neuver brings vigor to the Burmese democratic movement is a question
remains to be seen.

Green, who has served as a senior director for Asian Affairs under the
Bush administration, should have noticed the quandary over the Burmese
political imbroglio, especially the futility of conflicting approaches by
the international community.

According to this legislation, the policy chief will consult with the
governments of China, India, Thailand and Japan, members of Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the European Union to coordinate
international strategy.

Years of sanctions after sanctions, this is a new birth in the American
policy toward Burma. Sanctions, however, still remain the popular way of
punishing the rogue regimes and governments around the world.

When it comes to Burma, sanctions have little impact on the military
regime due to engagements by neighboring countries, notably China, India
and members of Asean.

A solution to Burma’s problems greatly lies in two possible ways: Popular
Uprising and Intervention. Popular uprising have been tasted twice in 1988
and in 2007. Both events were brutally crushed by the military with force.

The word intervention can be engagement or sanction. There is no doubt
about the US sanctions hurting the military generals and also the general
public. Had there been a coordinated international approach, Burma could
have been different today.

It must be difficult for the US government to abandon its traditional
policy of isolating the Burmese generals and start engaging with them. But
they have to realize that sanction alone is not effective in resolving
Burma’s crisis when there is engagement on the other end.

While sanctions are in place, the new envoy can start initiating a ‘carrot
and stick’ policy by working together with key international players. The
one similar to the North Korean six-party talk model should be given
emphasis on Burma.

The six-party talks involving the United States, European Union, Asean,
China, India and Burma should be initiated. In the beginning, the military
generals and some other countries might resist the proposal, but we need
to remember that the North Korean talk was also initially not supported by
all parties.

The hard work of the US in North Korea is now paid off with North Korea
being removed from the State Department’s list of terrorists, and in
return, North Korea promised to shut down and dismantle its nuclear
facilities.

It was not only the sticks that worked but also the carrots. The US
offered energy and food assistances to the North Korean leadership. A
similar initiative could convince Burma’s military generals to come to the
negotiating table.

Now that the UN Secretary General is heavily involved in the process, the
US can garner stronger support from the international community. Without
such move from the US, Ban Ki-moon’s ‘Group of Friends of the Secretary
General on Myanmar’ will yield little.

The most effective UN intervention would happen when the Security Council
decides to take action. This scenario is bleak with China and Russia
vetoing the move, and likely to do again if Burma issue comes up in the
Council’s agenda.

The creation of US special envoy and policy chief for Burma is a widely
welcome move. With this new position coming into place, the US should
start moving beyond imposing sanctions.

Nehginpao Kipgen is the General Secretary of US-based Kuki International
Forum www.kukiforum.com and a researcher on the rise of political
conflicts in modern Burma (1947-2004).

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

December 2, Radio Australia
Burma AIDS epidemic

Medecins San Frontieres comment on grave situation in Burma.

[Yesterday was] World AIDS Day. As the world continues to count the cost
of the global epidemic, the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres says
many people continue to die needlessly, because they can't access
anti-AIDS drugs. In Burma, where nearly a quarter of a million people are
believed to be HIV-positive, MSF says less than a fifth of those most in
need of anti-retroviral therapy are getting the drugs they need. MSF wants
the government, and international donor organisations, to start taking
more responsibility.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Joe Belliveau, operations manager, Medecins Sans Frontieres,
Amsterdam

JOE BELLIVEAU: MSF started treating patients in Burma about five years ago
in 2003 and at that time there was absolutely no treatment offered by any
other organisation or indeed by the government of Burma. Since that time
the government has started a national AIDS program and other organisations
have also started to treat. However the scale of what's been offered is
vastly short of what's needed. So the government has stepped in, they have
shown that they can treat and they have started to treat but the numbers
are just paltry compared to the needs.

SEN LAM: So the government has responded to your call for it to start
funding and supporting these programs?

JOE BELLIVEAU: No, the funding falls well short of what's needed. What I
mean is more that the government has started a program at all. So in fact
they have about 2,000 patients on treatment. At this moment in time there
are about 76,000 people in Burma who are in desperate need of
antiretroviral treatment. That means they've reached the life-threatening
stage of the disease and if they don't get ART very soon they're going to
die. So the government has about 2,000 patients on antiretrovirals. MSF
has about 11,000 and there are a few other organisations that have very
low numbers of people on ART so you can see the gap between what's needed
urgently and it's huge compared to what's offered.

SEN LAM: And, Joe Belliveau, you've impressed on the Burmese junta the
urgency of the problem, as you've just said. Burma's junta didn't listen
to the world post cyclone Nargis. What makes you think they will change
their minds now and start listening now?

JOE BELLIVEAU: Our call is not only to the junta - it certainly is to the
Burmese government to step up, to put more funding into health care in
general and specifically into HIV AIDS programming, but it's also to the
international community, which has also been very reluctant to put money
into aid programs for Burma. And so we're calling for both the government
and international donors to really now put efforts into scaling up and I
think we've set up a system that's quite replicable but now it just needs
to be taken up by both the government and international organisations.

SEN LAM: And, Joe, I understand HIV infection rates are rising in Asia
according to the World Health Organisation, so is the message of
prevention and safe sex not getting through?

JOE BELLIVEAU: There are quite a few programs run through non-governmental
organisations in Burma. I don't know about neighbouring countries so much
but I know in Burma there is a fair amount going into the prevention side
of things but at a time when the immediate crisis is so massive, I mean
it's not time for prevention. Those kind of programs should go, they
should be happening but it's time now for treatment. Treatment is there,
it's not that expensive, it can be delivered in an efficient manner and
it's really time now for people to start treating people with HIV AIDS.