BurmaNet News, January 10-12, 2009

[Editor]

January 10 – 12, 2009, Issue #3629


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Lawyer plans to appeal sentences of 11 students
Kachin News Group: Students distribute 600 anti-junta posters on Kachin
State Day
IMNA: Civilians forced to pay after Karen rebels seize army rice
Mizzima News: Curfew imposed in Magwe oilfields

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Standing ovation for educator, new teaching method gets greater
publicity
Narinjara News: Man arrested for smuggling fertilizers to Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Junta struggling to keep state budget afloat
Xinhua: Myanmar to grant more blocks for gem mining
Xinhua: Private companies in Myanmar propose to cultivate more timber

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Myanmar rat infestation causing food crisis: NGO

REGIONAL
AFP: Singaporeans arrested in protest over Myanmar activist expulsions
AFP: Abhisit calls for change in Burma

INTERNATIONAL
DPA: East Timor president opposes international sanctions on Burma
Mizzima News: Nigeria's $500 million gift to junta draws international ire

OPINION / OTHER
The Manila Times: Not standing up and being counted on Burma
AsiaNews.it: Failure of international community before drama of Burmese
people – Pascal Khoo Thwe
Irrawaddy: When the market speaks – Yeni

INTERVIEW
Irrawaddy: Messenger in the dark


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 12, Democratic Voice of Burma
Lawyer plans to appeal sentences of 11 students – Yee May Aung

Mandalay central court lawyer Myint Thwin is hoping to appeal the lengthy
prison sentences given to 11 university students from Mandalay in November
last year before the 24 January deadline.

The students, who were arrested in September 2008, had no legal
representation during their trials.

The 11 included the leader of the 2007 generation All-Burma Federation of
Student Unions for Upper Burma, Bo Min Yu.

"The ABFSU leader, Bo Min Yu, was sentenced to over 100 years in prison,”
Myint Thwin said.

“They had no lawyer defending them in court and I saw in their case files
that they had confessed to all the allegations,” he said.

“Maybe they didn't have enough time to hire lawyers or maybe they were not
given enough time to do so.

"All the allegations they confessed to were very serious ones."

Myint Thwin said he is now trying to get in touch with the families of the
group to help them appeal the sentences before the two-month deadline for
appeals expires on 24 January.

Myint Thwin has already been officially appointed to represent two of the
students, Kathy Aung and Wei Phyo Lwin.

"Now I'm looking through their case files and verdicts to find loopholes
to get them the legal protection they need," he said.

"I'm also trying to get rest of the families to hand me legal power to
assist their children free of charge."

Kathy Aung was sentenced to 26 years’ imprisonment in total on four
different charges for taking part in an underground training session in
Mae Sot.

"Two monks and four other youths were also included in the case against
her," Myint Thwin said.

"She was sentenced to eight years in prison under two unlawful association
acts along with Ko Myo Myint Aung," he said.

"We have finished writing the appeal letters and will present them on
Monday then we take the process forward."

____________________________________

January 12, Kachin News Group
Students distribute 600 anti-junta posters on Kachin State Day

For the first time this year, students in Kachin state in northern Burma
pasted and distributed 600 posters against the ruling Burmese junta in the
venue of the 61st Kachin State Day celebrations and four major townships,
today before dawn, said student activists.

The students distributed 300 A-4 sized handouts to the people during the
celebration of the 61st anniversary of Kachin State Day in the Kachin
National Manau Park in Shatapru quarter in Myitkyina. The handouts were
also pasted at the entrance of the Kachin National Manau, said students'
activists.

At the same time, 80 anti-junta handouts were pasted in 18 quarters in
Myitkyina, 180 handouts were pasted in eight quarters in Waingmaw and 20
handouts each were pasted in Mohnyin and Danai (Tainai) townships, added
students into the movement in Myitkyina.

The student activists said, the handouts were pasted on roadside walls,
roadside signboards, electric poles and governmental offices in those
townships.  In Waingmaw, the handouts were also pasted in front of the
Township Union Solidarity and Development office and police station.

The A-4 sized handout-posters included five points---- first rejecting the
junta-run 2010 elections; second, demanding the unconditional release of
all political prisoners; third, stopping the Irrawaddy River dam project
at the Myitsone; fourth, expressing the triumph of the democracy movement
and fifth, ousting the ruling junta, a student activist told KNG over
telephone.

The poster movement was organized by the All Kachin Students' Union
(AKSU), an underground Kachin student organization based in the state,
said student leaders in Myitkyina.

Zau Shawng, one of the AKSU leaders in Myitkyina who organized the
movement said, the aim of the poster movement on Kachin State Day was to
encourage people in Kachin state in order to involve themselves more in
democracy movement along with people in the whole of Burma for solidarity
in order to topple the military junta. They would like to prove that they
completely reject the junta's 2010 elections.

Student leader Zau Shawng was announced Kachin Hero of 2008 for his
leadership in organizing a series of anti-regime posters movements in
Kachin State last year under the brutal Burmese ruling junta by
Thailand-based Kachin News Group (KNG): www.kachinnews.com, recently.

Meanwhile, Kachins are holding the Manau festival marking the 61st
anniversary of Kachin State Day which falls today without any problems
related to students' poster movement, said participants.

____________________________________

January 12, Independent Mon News Agency
Civilians forced to pay after Karen rebels seize army rice – Leyh Mon


Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) soldiers along the Thanbyuzayat
(Thanpyuzayart) to Three Pagodas Pass motor road have seized at least 100
sacks of rice from civilian drivers forced to transport the cargo for the
Burmese army. Drivers are being made to pay for the loss, say sources
close to the drivers.

On December 26th and January 4th, temporary KNLA checkpoints near Ta-nyin
and Myaing Thayar villages, Kyainnseikyi and Three Pagodas Pass Township,
respectively, stopped civilian drivers en route to Three Pagodas.
According to a source in the KNLA, KNLA soldiers from company No. 2 and 3
of Brigade 16 queried the drivers about their loads’ ownership, and took
only rice belonging to the Burmese army.

The same KNLA source alleged that 140 sacks of rice, each weighing 50
kilograms, were seized. This number could not be independently confirmed
by IMNA, but a close friend of one of the drivers who had his load seized
on January 4th said 60 sacks were taken from a total of 21 vehicles.

According to the friend, Infantry Battalion (IB) No. 31 randomly chose
drivers in Thanbyuzayat and forced them to carry rice along with their
regular commercial loads. During the winter and hot seasons, scores of
cars and trucks make the trip between Thanbyuzayat and Three Pagodas Pass,
on the Thai-Burma border. The road, which opened to traffic in December,
becomes impassable in the rainy season.

After the raids on December 26th, authorities in Thanbyuzayat held a
meeting with the drivers and informed them that they would each be
required to pay 50,000 kyat as a repayment for the lost rice. According to
a trader in Three Pagodas who knows a number of the affected drivers, the
order was issued by authorities within the Southeast Command, which
controls the area. The payments, however, had to be made to IB No. 31.

“After the KNLA took the rice, Burmese soldiers called a meeting with the
drivers and ordered them to repay money for the rice – 50,000 kyat each,”
said the trader. The payments are uniform and do not vary depending on the
number of rice sacks transported by the drivers, the source added. Cars
were typically carrying 3 to 4 sacks, while trucks carried 5 to 10.

According to the IMNA sources, the drivers have already made the required
payments. “If the drivers don’t repay the money, they [the army] will stop
them from driving on the road. So the drivers will face trouble,” said the
friend of one of the drivers. Some drivers unlucky enough to be pressed
into service twice have, consequently, had to pay twice, added the trader.

When asked to comment on the impact the rice seizures have had on drivers,
captain Htet Nay said, “They took the rice because the Burmese soldiers
are our enemy. The materials from the traders we did not take. We did not
threaten them, we only asked them if they were carrying rice belonging to
the soldiers.” The KNLA, the armed wing of the Karen National Union, is
embroiled in one of the longest running civil wars in the world, and has
been fighting a succession of central governments in Burma since 1948.

The trader in Three Pagodas Pass, meanwhile, wondered at IB No. 31’s
decision to send the rice without an armed escort. In the past, he said,
security guards have accompanied the semi-regular, approximately
tri-monthly supply shipments. The decision to leave the rice unguarded
might have been calculated to entice seizure by the KNLA, he surmised,
creating a pretense under which money could be collected from drivers. Or,
he added, maybe the soldiers are afraid of the KNLA.

____________________________________

January 12, Mizzima News
Curfew imposed in Magwe oilfields – Zar Ni

The Burmese military junta has intervened and imposed curfew in an
oilfield, after the dispute between a private oil company and local oil
producers in Myaing Township, Magwe Division in central Burma.

The trade dispute occurred between local oil producers and 'Kaung Zaw
Hein' Oil Company in Hnaw Bin oilfield in Bahin village tract, Myaing
Township, Pakokku District, Magwe Division. After the skirmish between
them, the local army unit LIB 247 imposed dusk to dawn curfew in this
area.

"Now no one can go outside after 7 p.m. They have imposed curfew. The
district police officer is now in this area. Moreover, the police are
questioning many people. The Myaing Township Peace and Development Council
(TPDC) Chairman has been organizing door to door campaigns to sell their
oil only to this private company," a local oil producer and oil-well owner
told Mizzima.

The local people from Bahin village tract, Myaing Township, produce oil by
hand-drilled oil wells. But the private company 'Kaung Zaw Hein' entered
the market and tried to exploit the producers, which ignited the
discontent among them.

"They collected heavy taxes and slashed the oil price and moreover they
told us to sell the oil only to them. Then the dispute turned to a brawl
and later a riot. The people set the company office on fire including two
company-owned vehicles. Then LIB 247 fired warning shots, which injured
the wife of a cow cart owner from Shandong village, Ma Win Mar in the
thigh," an eyewitness from this oilfield said.

Earlier, the oil producers had to pay Kyat 2,000 per barrel as tax for
area development fund to the district authority. Then this company
collected Kyat 8,500 per barrel as tax from these producers, the local
people said.

"We must pay money as tax to them otherwise we cannot take our oil out of
the oilfield. Moreover they forced us to sell oil only to them but they
paid only Kyat 25,000-30,000 per barrel, when the market price is Kyat
55,000 per barrel. We then asked them to stop this practice," a local
added.

The local authority is hunting down the labour and oil producers, who led
this protest. Some are still at large and over 20 people have been
detained by them so far.

Initially, they were held at Bahin police station and then they were taken
to Myaing, it is learnt. Their exact whereabouts are not yet known, an oil
producer said.

He said the condition of Ma Win Mar, who was injured by a gun shot, was
also not known. Ma Win Mar was not admitted to the hospital immediately.
They argued that it was not a gun shot wound, just accidental bruises and
cuts incurred when she was on the run by bamboo spikes. It was only the
next day that she was taken to Myaing and her whereabouts too are not
known.

Under the current tense circumstances, the local oil producers are finding
it difficult to continue their production. They could not take even a
bottle of oil out from their oilfield.

"They told us that pay tax or do not produce oil here. We cannot do
anything under this tight security. We are in a waiting and watching mode.
No one is satisfied with the current situation," he said.

The producers can get at least one barrel per day if the oil output is good.

The Myaing TPDC office refused to answer the phone, when Mizzima contacted
them to ask about this incident. They just said that they had no
information on it and hung up the phone.

Mizzima also could not contact both the Bahin police station and the
Myaing police station.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 12, Shan Herald Agency for News
Standing ovation for educator, new teaching method gets greater publicity

Burma’s foremost exiled educator Dr Thein Lwin received a standing ovation
by the participants at the 2-day seminar held in Chiangmai which ended
yesterday (11 January).

The RWCT (Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking) methods, which
include a shift from traditional teacher-centered approach to a
student-centered one, adopted by his Thinking Classroom Foundation also
received a further boost in publicity.

The RWCT initiated by the International Reading Association and the Open
Society Institute, is featured as one of 25 recommended practices for
crisis prevention and peace building in Learning to Live Together: Good
Practices in Schools, a publication by UNESCO in 2004. “We have always
acknowledged its contribution to building grassroots democracy,” writes
Thein Lwin in his paper Education and Democracy in Burma.

The outcome of its application was reported by teachers from both inside
and outside Burma, which was variously described by other participants as
“inspiring” “enriching experience” “impressive” and “amazing”, among
others.

“Critical thinking, as advocated by the RWCT, goes well with the Lord
Buddha’s Kalama Sutta, in which he warned people not to be led easily by
tradition or by the idea: ‘this is our teacher,’” said a senior monk from
Burma. “The student-centered approach was one practiced in Burma since the
Pagan period. It faded out towards the end of the Konbaung dynasty
(1752-1885) and the advent of British colonialism.”

Nevertheless, the monk counseled the importance of preserving worthwhile
traditional values such as respect towards one’s teachers.

The Buddha’s advice to a lay disciple Sigala included how a pupil school
treat his/her teacher: “by rising from one’s seat to salute them; by
waiting upon them; by eagerness to learn; by personal service; and by
paying attention to their teaching.”

Walpola Rahula’s What the Buddha taught also advises how teachers should
show their love for their pupil: “they train him well; they make him grasp
what he has learnt; they instruct him thoroughly in the lore of every art;
they introduce him to their friends and companions; and they provide for
his security everywhere.”

“No Bodhisat (The Buddha-to-be) ever has the teacher’s fist (now open, now
closed); he teaches all he knows,” according to the scriptures.

The Thinking Classroom Foundation runs three centers: Teachers Training,
Migrant Learning and Children’s Learning.

The Teacher Training Center has already trained over 2,000 teachers since
2001. The Migrant Learning Center in Chiangmai, opened in 2005, that
offers Thai language, English language and computer training, has also
trained over 2,000 migrant workers most of whom are Shans. The Children
Learning Center, established last year in Chiangmai, has 120 at present
children of migrant workers.

The project is funded by Prospect Burma.

Apart from the RWCT, Dr Thein Lwin, a graduate from the University of New
Castler, UK, has recommended a decentralized education system where each
state establishes guidelines and policies for its own school curriculum,
according to its own priorities, values and needs.

____________________________________

January 12, Narinjara News
Man arrested for smuggling fertilizers to Burma

Despite fertilizer prices recently coming down in Burma, Bangladeshi
traders continue to export fertilizer products to Burma illegally through
the sea route.

On January 10, the Bangladesh Coast Guard arrested a fertilizer smuggler
in possession of 400 sacks of fertilizers, as he was attempting to enter
Burmese territory with the contraband in three trawlers.

According to an official, "A regular patrol team of the coast guard chased
and seized the three trawlers loaded with 400 sacks of urea fertilizers on
the Boleshwar River. At the scene they arrested one smuggler, 45-year old
Habibullah, while the other smugglers jumped into the river and fled."

Since the Burmese government has not provided the necessary fertilizers to
Burmese farmers in the country, they have been using and depending on
smuggled fertilizers from Bangladesh to cultivate their crops.

A businessman from the border said, "The smuggled fertilizers are being
exported by Bangladeshi businessmen to Burma, even though the price of
fertilizers is declining in Burma by the day. The decreasing prices in
Burma, are still double of what the fertilizers would fetch in
Bangladesh's markets."

In the fertilizer markets of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, a sack
of fertilizer was 40,000 Kyat in the past, but is currently at 28,000
Kyat.

In the Bangladeshi market, a sack of standard urea fertilizer is only 500
Taka, or 8,000 kyat.

The Bangladeshi authorities have been cracking down on fertilizer
smuggling to Burma, but the trade continues due to the potential for high
profits if the contraband makes it through to Burmese territory.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 12, Democratic Voice of Burma
Junta struggling to keep state budget afloat – Moe Thu

Experiencing increased pains related to the global financial crisis,
Burma's military government is struggling to maintain a solvent state
budget, seemingly exploiting every option available to them, such as the
introduction of a pre-paid phone system and further state-run auctions.

"Given the measures of the military government, they are apparently
absorbing cash from the general public, which is adding to the woes of
poor cash flow among public trading activities," said a retired professor
from the Rangoon Institute of Economics.

Only last month, a pre-paid cellular phone system was introduced,
attracting many customers.

"Theses days, public voices over stagnant business, from street vendors to
large-scale exporters, are getting louder," added the professor, who
declined to be identified.

He said many items normally intended for export – like seafood and
agricultural produce – have instead flocked into the already suffering
local market.

He also said revenue from natural gas, primarily exported to Thailand, is
declining – as prices of crude oil have fallen under US $50 a barrel in
the world market.

"Decreased energy prices are symbolic of reduced economic activities," he
said.

Additionally, the military government is facing a limited supply of raw
gems, reduced extraction possibilities the result of aggressive extraction
over the past few years in previous attempts to service the country's
cash-strapped budget.

The supply of Burmese rubies dropped to 1.5 million carats in fiscal year
2007-2008 from 2.3 million carats in 2004-2005, according to government
statistics; while sapphire decreased to 308,642 carats in 2007-2008 from
1.088 million carats in 2003-2004.

"These [the gems] are not just decreasing in quantity, but in quality
also," the professor said, adding that the real situation signals the
sector's decreasing reliability as a means of revenue.

Yet, to counter pains from the ongoing financial crisis, Burma's military
government has limited options. However, one such proposed course is the
plan to maintain the construction sector by contracting for new projects
in the country's nascent capital of Naypyitaw.

For example, the government has recently revealed that the development of
a prototype of a countrywide geographical profile map is beginning around
Naypyitaw, utilizing a model scaled at 1: 60 kilometers.

"The government hopes that the multi-million dollar project will provide
job opportunities for general workers who are in dire straits,
increasingly suffering from economic hardship," the professor said.

However, he iterated that most infrastructure projects are politicized on
purpose, not really for the sake of the general populace, but more in a
move to make an impression on the public.
____________________________________

January 12, Xinhua
Myanmar to grant more blocks for gem mining

Myanmar will grant four more blocks in three states and division for local
investors to carry out gem mining, according to the Ministry of Mines
Sunday.

The four blocks are located in Shan state's Mongshu and Namhyar, Kachin
state's Moenyin and Sagaing division's Mawhan Mawlu.

Myanmar occasionally introduced gem mining blocks for engagement by
domestic entrepreneurs to promote gem production in the country.

In 2006, 77 blocks in Shan state and 39 in Mandalay division were allotted
for gem mining, while 99 near Lonekin in Kachin state for jade mining,

In 2007, Myanmar permitted again 319 jade mining blocks for such
engagement. Among those unexplored jade blocks allotted, 139 were in
northern Kachin state's Moenyin and 180 in Sagaing division's Khamhti.

Each block measured one acre (4,000 square meters) and the blocks were
leased on a three-year term.

There are six mining areas in Myanmar under gem and jade exploration,
namely, Mogok, Mongshu, Lonkin/Phakant, Khamhti, Moenyin and Namyar.

For the development of gem industry, Myanmar has been holding gem shows
annually starting 1964 and introducing the mid-year one since 1992 and the
special one since 2004. On each occasion, the country's quality gems,
jade, pearl and jewelry worth of millions of dollars were put on sale
mainly through competitive bidding.

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond,
cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet
tinged with yellow.

____________________________________

January 12, Xinhua
Private companies in Myanmar propose to cultivate more timber

Local private companies in Myanmar have proposed to the government to
cultivate 81,000 hectares more of timber in two division and state for the
development of the sector, the Voice weekly reported Sunday, quoting the
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Presented by the ATSO Green, Yeedagon, NRTC and Honda companies, a total
of 48,600 hectares and 7,493 hectares will be respectively grown in Bago
division and Kachin state, the report said.

Permitted by the government, private companies had cultivated 810 hectares
of timber since 2005.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has been holding international wood log tender sale of
thousands of tons monthly since decades ago, tendered by dozens of local
and foreign timber companies.

Occasionally, the state enterprise cut the sale quota to enhance the
export of value-added finished products which are recommended as more
profitable than the log export.

Export of wood log is traditionally restricted in Myanmar and export of
teak log by the private sector was banned since 1992 when the government
enacted the Forest Law.

According to official statistics, Myanmar exported 399,596 cubic-meters of
teak and 1.12 million cubic-meters of hardwood in the fiscal year of
2007-08, gaining a total of 538 million U.S. dollars of foreign exchange.

During the year, timber stood as the country's fourth largest export goods
after natural gas, agricultural produces and mineral products.

Myanmar is rich in forest resources with forest covering about 50 percent
of its total land area

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 12, Agence France Presse
Myanmar rat infestation causing food crisis: NGO

Tens of thousands of people in remote northwestern Myanmar faced a food
crisis after their farmlands were destroyed by a rat infestation, a
non-governmental organisation said Monday.

The infestation erupted two years ago in Chin state, which borders
Bangladesh and India, and some residents were now receiving rice handouts,
said Joseph Win Hlaing Oo, director of the Country Agency for Rural
Development.

"We estimate that some 70,000 people in Chin State have been suffering
from a food crisis since two years ago because of rat infestation and
drought," he told AFP.

"We started rice distribution to local people in the first week of this
month under a food-for-work programme," he said.

A separate report by the UN World Food Programme said that 75 percent of
crops in the area had been destroyed by rats and 30 percent of villagers
surveyed had been forced by the rodents to leave their fields.

"Farmers are reported to be struggling to meet day-to-day food needs,
resorting to edibles gathered from the forests," the report said, adding
that many people were migrating to border areas in India.

Problems with communication, transportation and funding were limiting
access to other areas in Chin state which may also be affected, Joseph Win
Hlaing Oo added.

He said that during a trip to Chin state he had seen about 15 rats each
measuring about 1.5 feet long (45 centimetres) that had been killed by
villagers with guns.

"They were so big and unusual," he said.

Military-ruled Myanmar suffers from severe levels of malnutrition. The WFP
has said that more than one third of the country's children are
malnourished.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 12, Agence France Presse
Singaporeans arrested in protest over Myanmar activist expulsions

Police Monday arrested two Singaporean activists for staging a protest in
support of Myanmar nationals allegedly being forced to leave the
city-state for involvement in political activities.

Seelan Palay and Chong Kai Xiong stood outside the Ministry of Manpower's
building in the city's business district for about an hour before they
were handcuffed by police without showing any resistance.

They wore red T-shirts and held a banner that read "Stop ill-treatment of
Burmese activists."

The protest was in support of two Myanmar nationals, Moe Kyaw Thu and Win
Kyaw, whose work permits have not been renewed by Singapore, effectively
forcing them to leave, Palay said.

He said the two men were among 40 Myanmar nationals who took part in a
protest against their country's ruling junta during a summit of Southeast
Asian leaders hosted by Singapore in November 2007.

"We can't just stand by as Singaporeans, as personal friends, and watch
them being expelled one by one," he said.

Moe Kyaw Thu told AFP that he was required to leave Singapore by January
27. Win Kyaw could not be contacted for comment Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately reply to emailed queries
from AFP on the case of the Myanmar nationals. A few others who took part
in the same protest in 2007 have also had their work permit renewals
turned down.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in September defended the government's
decision not to renew the visas of some Myanmar nationals working or
studying in the city-state, saying they were "undesirable" people.

Singapore has eased rules governing protests in a designated public park
but it remains illegal elsewhere to hold a public gathering of five or
more people without a police permit.

Singapore is home to an estimated 30,000 Myanmar nationals, many of them
drawn by jobs as labourers that pay far above what they could earn in
their poverty-stricken homeland.

____________________________________

January 12, Agence France Presse
Abhisit calls for change in Burma

Thailand will vote on Sunday in the biggest set of by-elections ever in
what amounts to major test for the new government of Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva, both in Bangkok and in the provinces.

He specifically ruled out western tactics such as sanctions, but would not
say what action Thailand might take.

In his first public comments on Burma since he became prime minister, Mr
Abhisit said Thailand had to act differently because it was so close to
Burma.

"The goals of Western countries and the countries in this region for
[Burma] are not different," said Mr Abhisit. "We all want to see some
changes.

"But our measures may be different because of two main reasons: cultural
differences and the distance of the countries. Those who are far away may
use some measures while those who are neighbours have to use other
measures."

And Mr Abhisit didn't comment on what steps Thailand might take to try and
push for change in Burma, which has been under an often brutal military
dictatorship since 1962.

He spoke after a meetting in Bangkok between Foreign Minister Kasit
Piromya and Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu of Burma. The two discussed
ongoing relations, said a foreign ministry official who refused to go into
detail.

The US and Europe have imposed economic sanctions on the regime, but China
and Thailand especially have spent billions on doing business and buying
oil in the country.

Asian countries have advocated a more diplomatic approach with their
awkward neighbor, championing a process of "constructive engagement" with
the junta.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 11, Deutsche Presse Agentur
East Timor president opposes international sanctions on Burma

The US and European Union should review their policy of imposing economic
sanctions on Burma as the country's pariah military regime is key to the
future stability of any elected government, East Timor President Jose
Ramos-Horta said Sunday.

"If we aren't pragmatic about it there will be no solution (in Burma) in
the immediate term or long term," said Horta, who was in Bangkok over the
weekend at the invitation of the International Peace Foundation.

Horta, the 1996 Nobel peace laureate, reiterated his controversial stance
against economic sanctions on Burma and Cuba, which he had made known at
the United Nations and other forums.

"We cannot further punish a collectivity of people because of the
perceived sins of their leaders," said Horta.

He said Sunday that Burma's long-delayed democratization process would
require the participation of the military, which has ruled the country
since 1962.

"You look at the transition in Thailand, the transition in the Philippines
and Indonesia," he said. "The military have remained part of society, part
of the state and party of the country."

"If you have a road map which at the end the Burmese military see their
interests have been preserved, they might find some incentive," he added.

That is exactly what Burma's military-drafted constitution guarantees. The
charter was pushed through in May, after a dubious plebiscite called
despite Cyclone Nargis, which devastated much of the Irrawaddy Delta and
left millions homeless and without aid.

The new charter guarantees a dominant role for the military through an
appointed Senate that will have the right to block legislation. An
election is scheduled for 2010.

"Assuming the military cedes power, no elected civilian leader in Burma
can survive without the full support of the military," said Horta, a
well-known independence hero in his own country.

____________________________________

January 12, Mizzima News
Nigeria's $500 million gift to junta draws international ire – Salai Pi Pi

Nigeria is making a "big mistake" by giving a donation of half a million
US dollars to Burma's military government in aid of cyclone victims, as
the donation is unlikely to reach the targeted population, according to a
UK-based campaign group.

"It was a big mistake made by the Nigerian government. The money they have
given will not be going to help the victims of the cyclone," Mark
Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told Mizzima.

Farmaner's comments came after Nigeria handed US$ 500,000 to Burma's
ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Tint Swe, during a meeting with the
Nigerian ambassador on December 23.

The Nigerian Ambassador to the UN, U. Joy Ogwu, in a statement on December
23 said the donation was part of Nigeria's response to the international
appeal for assistance to victims of cyclone Nargis, which swept through
Burma's southwestern coastal regions in early May 2008.

"I am honored to present this cheque for the sum of five hundred thousand
dollars, through you, to the government and people of Myanmar [Burma], as
Nigeria's contribution to the ongoing relief efforts in the country," Ogwu
said.

Farmaner, however, said Nigeria's donation has been wrongly channeled as
it bypasses the U.N., which has set up warehouse donations for cyclone
victims in Burma, and it is most likely that the donation will not reach
the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

"It is very strange that they gave money at all," Farmaner said, adding
that the donation is more likely to be pocketed by the ruling junta.

"If they [Nigeria] understood more about Burma, they would have given
money to the United Nations or aid agencies instead of giving to the
regime," he added.

On May 2 and 3 of last year, Cyclone Nargis stormed into Burma's Irrawaddy
and Rangoon Divisions, leaving 2.4 million people in need of assistance
and more than 130,000 dead or missing.

Burma's military rulers came under international fire for delaying the
entry of aid workers and relief materials to cyclone hit regions. The
regime later came under further consternation over criticism of its
foreign exchange mechanism, which the U.N. itself acknowledged costing the
international body 20 to 25 percent of allotted relief funds.

Farmaner speculated the largesse could be a Nigerian effort to achieve
closer ties with Burma's ruling generals for future business
opportunities.

"Some governments like Nigeria want to look towards Asia as possible for
investment," Farmaner said, adding that Nigeria could also be using the
opportunity to improve its international reputation.

However Ogwu, in her statement, said, "We take this opportunity to express
our unflinching solidarity with the people and the government of Myanmar
[Burma], for the concrete action being taken to address the situation
[aftermath of Nargis]."

The U.N. did not wish to comment on the donation, saying it was the
decision of Nigeria to give directly to Burma.

"The UN cannot comment on anything done by state members without U.N.
involvement," an official at the U.N. office in Geneva told Mizzima.

Meanwhile, the U.N. said it has obtained only 64 percent, or US$ 304
million, of the total US$ 483 million appeal made to the international
community for reconstruction and relief work in Burma's cyclone hit zones.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 11, The Manila Times
Not standing up and being counted on Burma

THE Philippines missed out on a gilt-edged chance to make a principled
stand on the burning question of Myanmar—or Burma as the civilized world
remembers this beautiful country and its gentle people before both were
brutalized by the pariah generals, led by Senior Pariah Than Shwe, who
have turned the country into their personal fiefdom.

When the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on
the discredited military junta to free all political prisoners, including
Nobel Peace Prize winner—and the country’s legitimate leader as
overwhelmingly decreed by the people in the last free and democratic
election ever held in that country—Aung San Suu Kyi, the Philippines
joined Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore in abstaining.

Fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations members Brunei, Laos,
Malaysia and Vietnam voted against the resolution, while Cambodia absented
itself.

We guess the Asean members did what they did on the customary—but badly
flawed in relation to Myanmar—principle of not interfering in the internal
affairs of a fellow member.

But the undeniable point is that Myanmar under the despicable junta is a
huge embarrassment to Asean, and contributes nothing but grief to the
organization—as the record will disgracefully show.

Time and again the junta has practically given a dirty finger to Asean
(and the UN, for that matter) whenever it has attempted to bring it into
line, or talk the generals into being part of the civilized world.

What is most surprising about the Philippine vote at the UN on this
particular issue is the proven fact that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
has been outspoken in her calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released and
the country set on the road to freedom and democracy.

But whispers in the diplomatic circuit is that a senior government
official has an uncomfortably cozy relationship with the uniformed clique
in Yangon, and this might have had something to do with the Philippines
not breaking ranks and standing up and being counted (to the cheers of a
good part of the world, we can guarantee) on the sad and sorry state of
Myanmar.

rjottings at yahoo.com

____________________________________

January 10, AsiaNews.it
Failure of international community before drama of Burmese people – Pascal
Khoo Thwe

For most Burmese, 2008 will be remembered for "an apocalypse by the name
of Cyclone Nargis" that devastated the country, "and the year the
international community headed by the United Nations thoroughly failed" in
the face of the emergency and the drama of the refugees, incapable of
touching the power of a military dictatorship that "represses any voice
contrary to the regime" in blood. The charge comes from Pascal Khoo Thwe,
a Burmese activist of Padaung ethnicity, exiled in London, in an editorial
published on the website of the dissident newspaper Democratic Voice of
Burma.

He recalls how last May, the world was "waiting for the arrival of the
biggest Olympic Games ever to be held" in China, and too preoccupied "not
to do anything which could upset the striding dragon that is China" to
think of the tragedy afflicting Myanmar. The situation was intensified by
the neglect of the ruling junta, which did not take into consideration the
alarm raised by a meteorological center in India, considering Nargis on
the level of a simple tropical storm.

"The more people the storm killed," Pascal Khoo Thwe writes, "the better
for the generals as no one could blame them for it and they could seize
the prime lands of the people who perished." Many of the victims were of
Karen ethnicity, a minority that the government has repeatedly tried to
eradicate by force from the region.

He does not spare criticism of foreign governments, which "'urged',
'denounced', 'condemned' and 'demanded'," but did nothing concrete to
change the situation and help the Burmese people. At the same time, he
blasts the UN policy of "wait and see," while "hundreds of people were
dying day by day."

The repression imposed by the military rulers also impacts those - few, in
reality - who have promoted personal initiatives to help the populations
and areas ravaged by the passage of the cyclone: Pascal Khoo Thwe cites
the example of the most famous Burmese actor, Zarganar, who was "stopped,
assaulted, and intimidated by agents of the junta," and finally "arrested
and imprisoned for his efforts." He also tells about a farmer - the only
survivor in his family - who, a few weeks after the catastrophe,
reprimanded a volunteer with a foreign NGO, telling him: "Thanks for
nothing and for coming too late. Keep on helping tyranny." "The farmer
disappeared without a trace and nobody knows what happened to him." He
also recalls those who "have courageously fought against the dictatorship
for years, like Win Tin," a leading representative of the opposition party
National League for Democracy, who seem to have "wasted their energy"
without the international community providing them "any concrete help" or
ceasing "to support the generals" in power.

For the future, Pascal Khoo Thwe does not seem to be on board with the
wave of optimism that has accompanied the election of U.S. president
Barack Obama. It is not a matter of distrust, justified among other things
by many of his predecessors who never kept their promises, but a question
of political realism. "Obama has too many things on his plate to sort out
as the most powerful leader on earth, such as the mess in Afghanistan,
Iraq, Israel/Palestine and the global economic crisis, to name but a few.
I would advise my countrymen that we should not pin our hopes on events
abroad." He urges that "we must all stop mentally depending on foreign
powers . . . and go beyond the politics of emotion." "We must stop our
reliance on a magic bullet formula in politics, by really listening to the
concerns of those at the grassroots level." Otherwise, there will be a
repeat of the slaughter, massacres, and natural disasters on an even more
devastating scale, which can be avoided only if the people are capable of
facing the future "with less anxiety and emotion." "The history of Burma,"
he concludes, "has shown that good ideas or actions or foreign support
alone are not enough to govern or rebuild a nation and maintain its soul."
____________________________________

January 12, Irrawaddy
When the market speaks – Yeni

The sharp fall in oil prices on world markets has created a unique
situation in Burma, where the cost of fuel on the black market is now
lower than at government-controlled pumps.

Until the recent precipitous fall in world oil prices, the government was
cashing in by rationing fixed-price fuel at state-run pumps while also
attempting to control the flow of gasoline and diesel on the black market.

The sudden drop in world market prices by more than half has turned the
system upside down. Today, the black market price for a gallon of gasoline
is 300 kyat (US $0.27) lower than the 2,500 kyat ($2.20) charged at
government-run pumps, while diesel is 400 kyat ($0.35) cheaper than the
official price of 3,000 kyat ($2.70).

The official price of gasoline and diesel had remained unchanged since
sharp increases at the state-run pumps sparked the demonstrations that led
to the September 2007 uprising.

Burma’s “black” economy controls everyday life, where consumers contend
with differences between state-decreed prices and black market rates for
many basics, particularly fuel.

The military took advantage of the situation by selling to the black
market while keeping rationing. Ordinary citizens are allowed only two
gallons (nine liters) a day and often have to queue for hours at the
pumps. Black market sources, on the other hand, were readily
accessible—although at a price—and many found a handy means of income by
dealing in this dark side of the Burmese economy.

Trapped in a spiral of rising costs by having to buy fuel on the
international market in dollars and then selling it in the local currency,
kyat, the regime’s Ministry of Energy dropped its subsidy on pump prices
in 2007.

The junta undertook a partial "liberalization" of Burma’s energy market by
allowing Myanmar Economic Holding, Ltd, which is owned by the military,
and Htoo Trading Co, Ltd, which belongs to Tay Za, a close associate of
leading figures in the ruling junta, to import fuel.

When oil prices on world markets hit $100 a barrel in the third quarter of
2008, the regime again tried to control fuel sales. In May 2008, black
market prices spiked at 7,000 kyat ($6.20) for a gallon of diesel and
6,000 kyat ($5.30) for gasoline.

In response to the impact on businesses, the regime authorized the
formation of a “diesel committee” to ensure that companies operating heavy
equipment had adequate access to fuel at reasonable prices. The committee,
at that time, set the price of gasoline at 4,500-5,000 kyat ($4.00-4.40) a
gallon and diesel at 4,600-5,200 kyat ($4.10-4.60).

Along with a dramatic decline in world oil prices in recent months,
according to business sources in Burma, large amounts of lower-priced fuel
are being smuggled into the country from China, India and Thailand, making
it additionally difficult for the military to reap profits from its own
artificially created black market.

Pressure is now increasing on the Burmese regime to free the country's
fuel market from government price-control.

That should be a good news. Declining energy prices should lower other
living costs and provide some much-needed relief to consumers.

Traditionally, the regime has shown little understanding of the dynamics
of a market economy, looking instead only at short-term problem-solving.
Now the market is starting to speak loudly—and this time the regime has to
listen.

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

January 12, Irrawaddy
Messenger in the dark

Fear follows Burmese artists even when they venture abroad, according to
the leading painter Chaw Ei Thein.

The self-censorship they practice within Burma persists even when artists
work and exhibit outside the country, she told The Irrawaddy in an
interview.

“We always take into account that we have to return home,” Chaw Ei Thein
said.

The pioneering artist—one of the organizers of Burma’s first collection of
work by mentally handicapped people, in 2000—has participated in
international exhibitions. She mounted her third solo exhibition last
month, at the Balance Art Gallery in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, with
the title “In This Dark and Closed Space.”

A reporter for The Irrawaddy visited the exhibition and interviewed Chaw
Ei Thein.

Question: Almost every
painting in this exhibition looks pessimistic


Answer: I was wondering when I was working on these paintings if they were
more pessimistic than optimistic. I thought that what I offered as art or
what I wanted to say to my audiences could make them depressed or
disappointed. But I couldn't avoid that. I just wanted to do it. In fact,
it was a time when I felt dejected. I knew that I felt dejected. Although
I thought there were ways to escape that feeling, I just felt dejected.

Q: Is the reason that you felt dejected related to politics?

A: Of course, nobody can avoid politics. So the situation of my own
country impacts everybody, including artists like me.

Q: I saw some installation art here. Tell me about it.


A: If you paint on canvas, you have a frame or limitation. I cannot
present something that I want to say. Maybe I am not that skillful. So one
day I wondered how I could present without painting. I found a pot at the
market and got an idea to create a work of art using domestic utensils. I
observed the sunlight shining on the pot. I found a spot of sunlight
inside the pot and that gave me an idea to paint. It solved my problem. I
got the idea to paint inside the pot. The next day, while I was painting
downstairs, I looked at the ground to ease my eyes and saw some small
stones. I found some facets on the stones. At that time, in fact, I was
painting some faces on the inside surface of the pot. So I picked up a
stone, washed it and painted faces on its surface. I liked it very much.
As the faces are not symmetric, the expressions of these faces also became
automatically different. And then, I washed them and painted on them. That
can also be called installation art. It is mixed media.

Q: I noticed that you used some body parts, such as faces, hands or legs
in your
paintings or performance. Why?

A: I also asked myself that question. I liked these parts of the body. To
confess, the first thing that influences me is that I like tattoos very
much. So I paint body parts on faces or hands when I present performance
art. The meaning is simple. I am not alone. When my hands stretch out,
they are not alone. A lot of people are stretching their hands out. They
are not formal anatomy.

Q: How do you assess the freedom of creating art in Burma?

A: To be truthful, there is no freedom to create art inside or outside the
country. Some might think that they are free outside [Burma]. As for me, I
don't feel free, no matter whether I am inside or outside. That is my
problem. When I was outside the country for the first time, I thought that
I was free and free to do anything. But fear rode piggyback. So before
anybody censored our art, we censored ourselves. We always take into
account that we have to return home.

Q: What do you think of the creative arts in Burma as a performance or
installation artist?

A: It is surprising that although artists in our country have many kinds
of difficulties, like connection, as compared to those in other countries,
art— especially paintings—can compete with other countries better than
other art, such as literature or film. It does not lag behind. We artists
have nobody to support us. We are on our own. But we can overtake other
people despite different kinds of difficulties.

Q: You teach children. Why do you choose to teach children painting?

A: Painting provides creative and critical thinking for children. I know
its importance through my father (artist Maung Maung Thein) since I was
young. And I like teaching. I like painting. So it is part of my hobby and
I stick to it.

Q: What is the difference between children in Burma and those abroad? How
do their opportunities differ?

A: Opportunities are different, very different. If the system is good, a
lot of people under that good system will be better off. If the system is
not good, people will have trouble. There is no opportunity inside the
country [Burma]. There is a difference in self confidence. There are some
art lessons in Burma's schools. But they are just for competition, just
for one show. There are some lessons in the curriculum but they are not
systematic. The whole system is not updated.

Q: A painting of yours
about the September 2007
uprising is close to realism. Why did you include that painting among your
expressionist work?

A: Ah! In fact, I was not there when it [the uprising] broke out. I was in
China, presenting performance art. I knew something [of the uprising] from
the Internet. It hurt my heart and soul. It was an original photo of a
monk and soldiers in the foreground. You can see some heads and guns. I
want to fill them in in black.

Q: Finally, tell me about this exhibition.

A: The most important thing I would like to say is that I want to let
people feel what I am feeling about the present situation. Another thing
is that what people know about us is just superficial. They don't know in
depth. So, as an artist, I feel myself as 'messenger.' People just know
what is going on per se. The military government is ruling. Auntie Suu
[Aung San Suu Kyi] got the Nobel Peace Prize. That's all they know. They
don't know our daily problems or difficulties. They know only two names.
But they don't know Burma. So what I do is talking rather than painting.
Such as how we eat, how we live, how the electricity is or how our
education is in my country. I want to say that I am working as a messenger
with my art.