BurmaNet News, January 17-20, 2009

[Editor]

January 17-20, 2009, Issue #3634


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Leading Saffron Revolution monk on hunger strike
DVB: Underground tunnels built at Naypyidaw
IMNA: Largest Mon political party will not participate in 2010 elections
Irrawaddy: Opposition leaders expect Obama to stick to Burma policy

ON THE BORDER
BBC News: Agents exploit boat people misery
New York Times: Casting light on plight of Burmese dissidents
Shanghai Daily: More than 50 Chinese kidnapped in Myanmar

BUSINESS / TRADE
Narinjara News: Burmese rice traders feel economic pinch

HEALTH / AIDS
Xinhua: Myanmar bans poultry breeding in Yangon populated areas

REGIONAL
Network Media Group: Migrants in hiding face severe hardships

INTERNATIONAL
Telegraph (UK): Two Burmese fishermen survive 25 days at sea in ice box
The Hindu via Press Trust of India: Aung San Suu Kyi receives Trumpet of
Conscience Award

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: ‘So far, so bad,’ but nothing is permanent – Kyaw Zwa Moe
Washington Independent: Bush waives sanctions under Burma bill – Mike Lillis
USCB: Acceptance remarks on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi – Aung Din
Office of the Press Secretary: Memorandum for the Secretary of State and
the Secretary of the Treasury

PRESS RELEASE
WLB: Statement on the Fifth Congress of the Women's League of Burma



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 20, Mizzima News
Leading Saffron Revolution monk on hunger strike – Ko Wild

Residents in Mandalay who have close contact with Mandalay's Obo prison
say that Ashin Gambira, a leading monk during the Saffron Revolution, is
on hunger strike.

He is reportedly staging a hunger strike in Mandalay's Obo prison while
waiting to be transferred to Khamti prison in Sagaing Division, following
a transfer order from higher authorities.

"Ashin Gambira, it is sure, has been on hunger strike since the 13th of
this month. Now it's been seven days," a resident from Mandalay who has
close contact with the prison told Mizzima.

However, for security reasons, the resident declined to reveal his source
inside the prison.

Additionally, all political prisoners were previously allowed to
fortnightly meet with family members. And family members of Ashin Gambira
had met with him twice and were able to give him parcels. But on the 14th
of this month, family members could neither meet with nor give parcels to
the detained monk.

"They came last Wednesday to meet him but could not meet him or give him a
parcel. The authorities didn't give any reason for their denial, just
saying to come next Wednesday. That's all. His mother, worrying about her
son, said, 'Something might happen to my son, all others except my son are
allowed to meet their loved ones'," according to a resident from Mandalay.

However, despite the insistence of local residents who have close contacts
with Obo prison, Mizzima has not yet been able to verify the news of the
hunger strike with independent sources.

On the 19th of November last year, the Kemmendine Township court heard
Ashin Gambira's case inside Insein prison and gave him a 12 year prison
term for three offences, including 'insulting religion' and 'committing a
crime against public tranquility'.

Then, two days later, the Kamayut and Ahlone Township courts handed down
judgment on a total of 13 additional cases against him, eventually
bringing his sentencing to a total of 68 years in detention.

Ashin Gambira (29) joined September 2007's Saffron Revolution as one of
the leading monks while pursuing his 'Dhamasaria' religious studies.

After the Saffron Revolution he was on the run from arrest for over a
month before finally being apprehended on the 4th of November 2007 in
Singai Township, Mandalay Division.

In addition to Ashin Gambira, another political prisoner recently denied a
meeting with family members is 88 generation student Ko Pyone Cho.

Ko Pyone Cho's father, U Win Maung, who has just returned from attempting
to visit his son, said, "I arrived back here at about one a.m. last night.
I could not meet my son. The authorities didn't give any clear reason.
They just said it was by order of higher authority. When I asked if I
could meet him at the end of this month, saying I would wait until that
time, they replied that they could not make any guarantee. They said they
must act in accordance with the order given by their higher authority.
They also said they felt sorry, but could not do anything."

Ko Pyone Cho's wife was in the beginning of December allowed to meet with
her detained husband. At that time, his health condition was good except
for high blood pressure, and prison authorities gave him medicine as
prescribed by the prison doctor, said U Win Maung.

He said "he got medicine. At that time, the weather was not yet so cold.
Now, when I visited there, it's getting cold. Cold wind is blowing 24
hours a day. We gave warm clothes and blankets to prison authorities for
my son when we visited him last time. We could give a parcel to him this
time too through the prison authorities, but we could not meet him. The
prison authorities apologized, but assured us they will give all the stuff
left with them to my son," explained Ko Pyone Cho's father.

U Win Maung left Rangoon to meet his son on the 8th of this month.

He spent two days each in Mergui and Coco Islands on the way to Kawthaung.
While on reaching Mergui and Tavoy towns, he heard that authorities had
barred political prisoners from meeting with family members, but with a
grim hoped that he might be allowed to meet his son, he proceeded to
Kawthaung.

"I felt sorry and am still worrying about him. Though they said he is in
good health, I cannot accept this good news without meeting my son myself.
The weather is changing. I can only speak of the condition of his health,
his progress and his morale when I can see him in person myself. I hope I
will not experience this same situation again next time. I demanded they
[prison authorities] let us meet with my son at the earliest possible
time," U Win Maung said.

____________________________________

January 19, Democratic Voice of Burma
Underground tunnels built at Naypyidaw – Naw Say Phaw

The Burmese military has ordered the construction of an underground
network of tunnels between Naypyidaw and the town of Pin Laung in Shan
state, according to a worker on the site.

According to the construction worker, who worked on the site for about
three months, building contractors working for the military’s construction
division 3 assembled teams of workers from different part of Burma to dig
the tunnels.

"Rumour has it that the construction was for a secret weapons facility and
security was very tight around the site," the worker said.

"They were digging a very large tunnel with four main entrances to it.
Inside the tunnel there were a lot of different sectors with maze-like
paths scattered all around and also some parking lots," he said.

"There were about five groups with about 50 construction workers in each.
We often saw North Koreans there, about every five days."

Local residents speculated that the site was linked to a secret weapons
project.

"Some people said it is a weapons facility they are building with
assistance from North Korean scientists,” the worker said.

“There were about five military checkpoints to pass to get to the site
from Naypyidaw,” he said.

“They have also deployed troops and anti-aircraft batteries on the
hilltops surrounding the area."

The construction worker said people employed on the project had not been
paid for two months and many had struggled with the difficult working
conditions.

"They promised us 30,000 kyat a month for our labour but they haven't paid
us since November last year and they also kept our ID cards so we can’t
leave the site," the worker said.

"Despite that, some people left their ID cards and ran away from the camp
as they could not cope with the heavy labour – there were also no proper
safety measures or medical assistance apart from a small clinic," he said.

"They didn't provide us with any safety helmet or shoes. Sometime rocks
would fall down from the cave roof," he went on.

"On one occasion, two workers died when some explosives went off in a
deeper tunnel but they just sent more people into that area to continue
the work."

____________________________________

January 20, Independent Mon News Agency
Largest Mon political party will not participate in 2010 elections – Arka,
Rai Maraoh, and Mi Kyae Goe

The New Mon State Party (NMSP) will not participate in Burma's 2010
elections. The decision comes after the group held a two-week long Party
Congress at NMSP Central Headquarters in Ye Township, Mon State. The
Congress concluded on January 17th.

The refusal to participate in the election is based upon opposition to
Burma's constitution, NMSP party spokesman Nai Ong Mange told IMNA on
Monday. "If the SPDC does not change their constitution, it is difficult
for the NMSP to accept. Because the constitution is not suitable for Mon
people and their lives," he said. "We are not fully against the election –
if they fix the constitution. If the government changes some parts of the
constitution, the NMSP will consider whether to participate. If they do
not change the constitution, the party will not join."

An official supporting vote of over 90% approved Burma's constitution in
May 2008 referendum. The referendum process – and the constitution itself
– have been internationally condemned as wildly undemocratic. "The Problem
with the constitution is that it doesn't let people organize or talk
freely. If Burma becomes a democracy, its people still will not be able to
organize or talk freely," said Nai Ong Mange. A day earlier, NMSP General
Secretary Nai Hongsa also told the BBC that the document's built in
obstacles to amendment made it unacceptable.

Nai Ong Mange also said that the party had learned its lesson from the
1958 surrender and disarmament of the Mon National Front so that the group
could participate in parliamentary elections. A number of the groups'
leaders were arrested within the next five years, he said. A subsequent
military coup make the elections irrelevant and laid the groundwork for
today's State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military government.

The party's decision to functionally forgo participating in the election
raises questions about the durability of the group's ceasefire with the
SPDC. The two sides agreed to halt armed conflict in 1995, though no
negotiations have subsequently taken place. The NMSP is the largest
political party representing Mon people, and continues to administer a
small amount of territory along the Thai-Burma border.

The chief question will deal with the NMSP's military wing, the Mon
National Liberation Army (MNLA), which retains 6 battalions under arms. In
early October, Major General Thet Naing Win promised the group that it
would not be pressured to disarm. But the armed wings of ethnic political
parties elsewhere, including the much larger United Wa State Army and the
Kachin Independence Organization, have reported increasing pressure to
"exchange arms for peace" and field political candidates without armed
backing.

Nai Ong Mange was clear that the NMSP has no plans to break the ceasefire,
although he left unclear the future status of the MNLA. "Many people hear
rumors about the ceasefire – will we break the ceasefire? And they worry.
The reason we made the ceasefire was to develop Mon areas. To develop the
country. And to bring peace to Mon people," said Nai Ong Mange. "But the
ceasefire should be maintained on both sides."

"The party's intention is not to break the ceasefire," Nai Ong Mange
continued. "If the SPDC puts pressure on the NMSP to put their arms under
the SPDC, we will consider that issue among ourselves, and we will ask for
opinions from monks, Mon organizations and also Mon people. Then the party
will consider it again and make a decision."

Other NMSP officials were clearer about the future of the MNLA, however.
On Sunday, Nai Hongsa told the BBC that the MNLA would not be brought
under the auspices of the SPDC as a loosely allied "border police." And
NMSP Central Executive Committee member Nai Shwe Thein, who spoke with
IMNA, made little effort to be conciliatory when discussing the prospect
of pressure for MNLA disarmament. "The day they say the MNLA should be
under control of the SPDC, the next day or maybe the day after that, the
ceasefire will be broken," he said, though he tempered his words: "If they
do not order [the MNLA to disarm or come under SPDC control], the
ceasefire will be maintained."

____________________________________

January 19, Irrawaddy
Opposition leaders expect Obama to stick to Burma policy – Saw Yan Naing

Burmese opposition leaders expect US support for the pro-democracy
movement to remain strong after President-elect Barack Obama takes office
on Tuesday. Some said, however, the Burmese people themselves remained the
most potent force for political change.
Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy (NLD), told The
Irrawaddy: “We believe that the US will keep up its support for human
rights and the democracy movement in Burma.”

An ethnic Arakanese leader in Rangoon, Aye Tha Aung, chairman of the
Arakan League for Democracy, said he didn’t expect greater support for
political change in Burma. “The most important force for change in Burma
are the Burmese people, opposition groups and ethnic leaders,” he said.

International pressure on the Burmese regime was still needed, however, he
added.

Ludu Sein Win, a veteran Burmese journalist in Rangoon, said nothing more
than condemnation of the regime could be expected from the Obama
administration.

“I want to urge the Burmese people: Don’t rely on Obama and [UN
Secretary-General] Ban Ki-moon,” Sein Win said. “We must rely on
ourselves.”

Sanctions alone were not enough to bring about political change in Burma,
Sein Win said. He thought that sanctions had only a small impact and were
insufficient to bring down the regime.

Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners (Burma), said the Obama administration should maintain
sanctions against the Burmese junta and its cronies.

Burma would not be a priority issue, however, in view of such immediate
challenges as the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the US economic
crisis.

Bo Kyi said Obama should try and persuade China and leaders of the
Association of South East Asian Nations to work on a solution of the Burma
question. “We also want him to try to find out common ground in
cooperation with the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and 10
non-permanent members.”

Bo Kyi said he would also like to see the new US administration continue
to pressure the Burmese junta to release all political prisoners,
including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to enter into a tripartite
dialogue with ethnic leaders and opposition and agree to a constitutional
review.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 20, BBC News
Agents exploit boat people misery – Subir Bhaumik

Relatives of illegal migrants who made ill-fated boat journeys from
Bangladesh to Thailand say agents who arranged the trips are still trying
to exploit them.

Family members contacted by telephone said the agents claimed the migrants
were in jail in Thailand and wanted money to get them out.

The Thai military allegedly forced the migrants' boats back into the sea
and set them adrift. Hundreds were rescued off India and Indonesia but
hundreds more are still missing. The Thai army has officially denied
forcing any of them to return.

Telephone interviews with family members reveal that the agents promised
the migrants jobs in Malaysia - Thailand, they said, was only a transit
point.

'Good job promised'

The migrants are mostly Rohingya Muslims originally from the Arakan
province of Burma. Over the past 20 years many have fled from there to
southern Bangladesh to escape what they say is persecution from Burma's
military government.

While many have been repatriated from Bangladesh, thousands have remained
and live in refugee camps in the far south-east of the country.

Most are cared for in camps run by the UN but there are also "unofficial"
settlements - between the coastal town of Cox's Bazar and the Teknaf river
which serves as the border between Bangladesh and Burma - where conditions
are especially tough.

Shakila Khatun, a 25-year-old mother of three, lives in a UN camp at
Nayapara near Cox's Bazar.

"My husband Ahmed left by one of these boats to Thailand in mid-December.
We paid the dalal (agent) all we had and he promised my husband a good job
in Malaysia. But now he is asking for more money to get Ahmed released
from a Thai jail," Shakila told the BBC over the telephone.

When it was brought to her notice that the Thais have not arrested anyone
but have allegedly pushed all the Rohingyas back into the sea, Shakila
started to weep.

"I have been asking the agent for my husband's contact in Thailand, so
that I can speak to him, but the agent would give me none," she said.

Ms Khatun said the agent had threatened her with "dire consequences" if
she disclosed his identity to the Bangladesh police.

"I was against this boat journey all the while, but my husband was
desperate to make a good living. He paid the agent some cash advance at
the end of the last boat season in April and the agent asked him to be
ready for the journey in December," she said.

When she was told that some of the boatpeople were rescued in India and
Indonesia, while others possibly lost their lives, Ms Khatun said she
feared the worst.

"Why is Ahmed not calling me if he is alive? We never fought in our
married life," she said.

Teenaged daughters

Najib Ashraf's son Karim was another man from the unofficial Rohingya
settlement at Leda, near Cox's Bazar, who joined Ahmed on the fateful boat
journey.

"I think I have lost my son forever. He was the breadwinner for my entire
family. So when the agent came to me for more money last week, promising
to get Karim out of a Thai jail, I chased him away," said 65-year old
Najib.

"Karim was 35 and the father of two teenage daughters. He took this risky
voyage to save for their dowry. No-one is now left in this world to
support these two girls. I am an old man and I have no strength to work
for his family."

Khaleda Begum is a mother of five children at the Leda Rohingya
settlement. Her husband, Anis Mohammed, was also on a boat.

She told the BBC that her family paid 35,000 taka ($512 - a fortune for
poor refugees) to the agent.

"Now this agent wants another 30,000 Bangladesh taka ($439) to get Anis
released. But we have no money left and can give him nothing," said Ms
Khaleda.

She told the BBC that the agent was denying media reports about the
pushback of the boat people by the Thais.

"He says they are in jail and we will get them out," Ms Khaleda said.

Khaleda said two of her neighbours lost four of their sons who had
travelled in the same boat as her husband.

Bangkok-based human rights activists say more than 1,000 boat people,
mostly Rohingyas and some poor Bangladeshis, have been intercepted by the
Thai military and pushed back into the sea in boats without engines or
enough food and water.

They say that Indian and Indonesian coastguards have rescued about 500 of
them - the rest are missing, possibly drowned in the Andaman sea.

____________________________________

January 20, New York Times
Casting light on plight of Burmese dissidents – Thomas Fuller

By the time he contracted tuberculosis, U Htay Aung, a dissident jailed
for seven years in Myanmar, was incapable of telling prison guards about
his condition. He had already lost his voice from years of exposure to the
cold concrete floor that prisoners slept on.

So Mr. Htay Aung decided to announce his illness in a more graphic form.
He coughed up enough blood to fill a small cup. “When the guard came
around, I showed him,” said Mr. Htay Aung, who has now recuperated but
whose voice remains raspy. “They transferred me to the leprosy ward.”

Mr. Htay Aung recently told the story to a reporter and a handful of
former political prisoners who have settled in this small Thai city on the
border with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Many of them work at the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a group that tracks the
plights of the more than 2,100 jailed dissidents in Myanmar and organizes
aid for them and their families.

Founded nine years ago, the association has never been busier.

Last year, the Burmese military government sentenced 410 dissidents to
prison terms ranging from a few years to six decades or more. The
association lists details of the convictions in its online database, which
is widely consulted by diplomats, United Nations officials and human
rights workers. U Bo Kyi, the co-founder of the association, says that an
additional 600 dissidents are in detention and have yet to be tried.

Among those convicted last year was an 80-year-old Buddhist nun, Daw
Ponnami, who was given four years of hard labor for her involvement in
street demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September 2007. She has
been spared the hard labor, the association says, but in what may be the
final humiliation of her twilight years, her conviction was for insulting
Buddhism.

A well-known comedian known as Zarganar was sentenced to 59 years in
prison after criticizing the government for neglecting the victims of the
cyclone that swept through lower Myanmar in May, killing more than 130,000
people.

U Gambira, a monk who helped lead the 2007 protests, was sentenced to 68
years.

Other political prisoners are listed in the database as farmers, a
blogger, an ice cream seller, a bus conductor and a hip-hop singer in a
band called Acid. All angered the government in one way or another.

In United Nations reports and diplomatic cables, Burmese political
prisoners are often just a statistic, a measurement of the many human
rights abuses carried out by Myanmar’s ruling generals.

But to members of the association here, the prisoners are part of a
fraternity of fellow dissidents who have many needs. The association helps
family members smuggle medicine, reading materials, blankets, clothing and
food to the prisoners.

Occasionally guards are sympathetic, Mr. Bo Kyi said. Often they help just
because they are poor and need the small bribes that prisoners and family
members pay them.

Even the most basic necessities can require payment. “If you want to get
more water for a shower you have to pay money,” Mr. Bo Kyi said.

Some prisons are so crowded that prisoners can sleep only on their sides.
But guards reserve “V.I.P.” corners where prisoners can lie flat on their
backs — for a fee.

The association’s annual budget of $200,000 is financed by the United
States government’s National Endowment for Democracy, the Dutch government
and private donors.

The budget also helps pay to whisk out of the country dissidents in danger
of arrest.

Two years ago the association sent $100 to U Aung Kyaw Oo, a former
student activist who spent 14 years in prison, to help him escape Myanmar.
He made it to Thailand, and he said he would remain here. “It feels better
than inside,” he said. “They can’t arrest me here.”

Myanmar’s most famous political prisoner, the Nobel laureate and
pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is barred by the military
government from leaving her lakeside house in a plush neighborhood of
Yangon, the commercial capital, formerly known as Rangoon. Her cause is
championed by a wide variety of people across the globe, including foreign
leaders and college students in the United States.

But most political prisoners in Myanmar live much more anonymously and in
much more rudimentary conditions.

To be a political prisoner in Myanmar, Mr. Bo Kyi said, is to truly
experience darkness. Prisoners are often let out of their cells only 20
minutes a day, he said. They are lorded over by the criminal prisoners,
who are encouraged by the guards to discipline and intimidate them. And
they are routinely transferred hundreds of miles from their families to
remote prisons that have no clinics or medical staff.

As punishment, guards sometimes make prisoners crawl through an
interrogation room where the floor is made of bricks with sharp edges.
During interrogation they require male inmates to answer them using words
in the Burmese language that are usually reserved for women.

Mr. Bo Kyi and his colleagues say they want to cast light on the plights
of the lesser-known prisoners. His group’s logo shows a beam of light
shining into a prison cell.

As a former political prisoner himself, Mr. Bo Kyi is fluent in the notion
of deprivation and cruelty: the crowded cells, the inadequate food and the
stinking bucket that inmates shared as a toilet.

But 10 years after his release he says he now also sees more clearly the
pain that lingers outside prison walls, among the extended families who
are ostracized and harassed by Myanmar’s authorities. In October, he heard
about the wife of an imprisoned dissident who, desperate for cash, cut her
long hair, a treasured symbol of beauty in Myanmar, and sold it for the
equivalent of $20.

“When I got that information I felt very sad,” Mr. Bo Kyi said in English,
which he learned from a fellow inmate who had memorized the
Burmese-English dictionary to pass the time. The association sent the
woman cash to help her start a small grocery store.

The association tracks prisoners through its networks of sympathetic, or
bribed, prison guards, former political prisoners and family members.

Perhaps more than any other organization, the group has succeeded in
cutting through the extreme secrecy of Myanmar’s military government.
Recent trials have taken place inside a prison in Yangon without lawyers
or family members present. The government recently cracked down on lawyers
who tried to defend political prisoners, sentencing at least two to jail
terms for contempt of court. One lawyer threatened with prosecution, U
Kyaw Kyaw Min, 29, fled to Thailand and is now being helped by the
association.

The Red Cross has been barred from visiting prisoners for the past three
years, and a United Nations envoy for human rights is given a highly
circumscribed tour of prisons during now-and-again visits.

David Mathieson, Myanmar consultant for Human Rights Watch, the New
York-based advocacy group, said Mr. Bo Kyi and the association had won the
respect of diplomats and human rights workers because of their
just-the-facts approach.

“They are keeping their efforts very disciplined and very directed,” Mr.
Mathieson said. “In terms of the Burmese opposition in exile, it’s the
most effective.”

In September, Human Rights Watch awarded Mr. Bo Kyi a Human Rights
Defender Award.

The association for prisoners works out of a small house, shaded by a
coconut tree and located in the backyard of a Thai family’s home. Mr. Bo
Kyi, who shuffles around in cheap plastic sandals, is paid 8,000 baht a
month, about $232.

The staff members surround themselves with reminders of their years in
prison. There are authentic leg irons smuggled out by an escaped prisoner,
a scale model of Insein prison outside Yangon and a wall with hundreds of
photographs of political prisoners.

“We gave up our best years,” Mr. Bo Kyi said, as he scanned the wall of
photographs. But he does not want revenge on the government, he said.
“What we want is very simple,” he said. “Just freedom of speech.”

____________________________________

January 19, Shanghai Daily
More than 50 Chinese kidnapped in Myanmar – Tom Qian

MORE than 50 Chinese from Shanxi Province have been kidnapped in Myanmar
since August, Beijing News reported today.

Two more victims, aged 16 and 19, were reportedly kidnapped last week and
the Ministry of Public Security has started investigating the case, said
the report, which added that all the victims were young.

Police in Shanxi believe the kidnappers are Chinese from Yuncheng City in
the province and that they illegally entered Myanmar, the report said.

An employee of the Chinese Consulate General in Mandalay of Myanmar
surnamed Zhao told the newspaper that it was impossible to capture
criminals in a foreign country without proper authorization. Such kidnaps
started in 2007, but the number of cases increased rapidly afterwards,
Zhao was cited as saying.

A Yuncheng policeman told the newspaper the kidnappers were demanding a
high ransom.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 20, Narinjara News
Burmese rice traders feel economic pinch

Burmese rice traders have been losing profits in exporting rice to
Bangladesh as the price of rice has recently fallen in Bangladesh, said
one rice trader from Burma.
"We received profits in the past in the business of exporting rice to
Bangladesh, but we are not getting profits like previously due to the rice
price in Bangladesh falling," the trader said.

The rice price has been going down by the day in Bangladesh following the
transition of power to the new government in the first week of January.

"We sold one sack of rice to Bangladesh businessmen for 1,200 taka last
week, but now we are having to sell a sack of rice in the Bangladesh
border markets for 800 taka. We are suffering from weak profits," the
trader added.

Despite the declining price of rice in Bangladesh, rice in Burma is still
being exported to Bangladesh through the Teknaf border point every day.

The businessman in Teknaf port said that at least 10,000 bags of Burmese
rice are being exported to Bangladesh by Burmese rice merchants on a daily
basis.

A clerk from the port told Narinjara over the phone that four rice cargo
ships harbored in the port yesterday, and were collectively carrying
12,000 bags of rice being exported to Bangladesh.

Rice merchants from Rangoon, Pathein, Mawlamyint, Sittwe, Taungup, Kyauk
Pru, and other towns in Arakan State have been exporting rice to
Bangladesh since the dry season started this year.

A ship owner from Sittwe said the rice business with Bangladesh is not
very good, but rice is still being exported from Burma because the
domestic rice price is also very low.

Last year, 100 baskets of paddy was only 250,000 kyat, while this year the
same amount costs only 120,000 kyat in Arakan's rice markets. Many farmers
are suffering in Arakan State as the prices have not gone up this year.

"We are all facing an economic crisis in Burma and we have no other
alternative business here. So we have been involved in the rice business
exporting to Bangladesh even though the profit for such trade is small,"
the rice trader concluded.

____________________________________
HEALTH / AIDS

January 20, Xinhua
Myanmar bans poultry breeding in Yangon populated areas

Myanmar has banned breeding of chicken, quail and pig in populated areas
in the former capital of Yangon as part of its preventive measures against
bird flu, a local weekly reported Monday.

Quoting the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department (LBVD),the Weekly
Eleven said, the ban covers that for commercial purpose as well as for
home consumption.

Besides, the authorities are also carrying out check on live chickens in
Yangon's markets if they carry H5N1 virus or not, the report said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has stepped up tight bio-security against cross-border
bird flu, banning poultry import from neighboring Bangladesh.

Bio-security check is also being carried out at the Maungtaw border point
in prevention against mixing of home-breed poultry with migratory wild
birds which are moving into Myanmar in the cold season especially at this
time, other local report said.

The LBVD has called on the country's people to take preventive measures
against cross-border bird flu, saying that the avian influenza was found
occurring intermittently in neighboring countries in both the east and
northwest and attributing the phenomena to have been caused by the
migratory birds, carriers of deadly H5N1 virus from one place to another.

In April last year, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) declared
Myanmar as a bird-flu-free country three months after the country was
proved that there was no residual bird flu virus remained over the period
since January.


>From February 2006 until the last in December 2007, there were numerous

outbreaks of the avian influenza in Myanmar covering 25 townships of six
states and divisions.

All of the occurrences were blamed for infecting from abroad especially
that the virus was carried into the country by migratory birds from the
cold regions in the world infecting local birds.

Despite the declaration as a bird-flu-free country, the Myanmar livestock
authorities continued to call on the country's people to exercise a
long-term precaution against the deadly H5N1 bird flu.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 20, Network Media Group
Migrants in hiding face severe hardships – Thida Htun

Burmese migrants, around 300 in number, who have been hiding fearing
arrest by Thai authorities, are undergoing severe ordeals in order to
survive, according to Ko Moe Joe, in charge of the Joint Action Committee
on Burmese Affairs (JACBA).

"Currently, there is a problem of getting drinking water. The migrants do
not live in houses, they live in shelters. Among 300 people, about 10
people have been diagnosed with diarrhoea. Five others are sick," he said.

The owners prohibited people from meeting the migrants or giving them
donations since they were afraid of the authorities discovering the hiding
places. Therefore we have illegally sent them aid, said Ko Hteik Thu Aung,
a person helping the hiding migrants.

"They did not allow us to visit them as the migrants felt that they were
in danger. After negotiations with the owners over the telephone, the
owners agreed that three migrants would fetch things at night. No other
alternative is available," he said.

Some of the migrants in hiding said that they usually shared the things
that they got.

"We get drinking water bottles and cans of fish but it is not enough for
us. We manage to share it among ourselves," a migrant said.

"The weather is very cold here. To avoid the cold, they set up a fire all
through the night. Some people have donated blankets but more are still
needed," Ko Moe Joe said.

"We managed to get medicines to cure patients, who were sick and suffering
from diarrhoea, only at night," Ko Hteik Thu Aung said.

On January 14, Thai authorities razed bamboo fields, banana fields, and
teakwood plant fields, which are located near the Thai-border township of
Phopphra and 44 kms away from Maesot. About 300 migrants from those fields
have been hiding in jungles and in nearby villages.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 20, Telegraph (UK)
Two Burmese fishermen survive 25 days at sea in ice box – Bonnie Malkin

Two Burmese fishermen are lucky to be alive after "miraculously" surviving
25 days in shark-infested waters by floating in a large ice box after
their fishing boat broke apart in heavy seas off the north coast of
Australia.

The pair, aged 22 and 24, were plucked from a vast expanse of ocean by an
Australian coastal patrol plane after living for almost a month in the
impromptu craft.

It is believe the men survived by drinking rain water and eating the
remains of fish left in the bottom of the bath tub-sized ice box, which is
normally used for storing fish. They had no life jackets and no means of
communication.

Their 10-metre wooden fishing boat, which set off from Thailand with 20
crew aboard, sank before Christmas. The other 18 crew members did not
survive.

Their ordeal was made more remarkable by recent harsh weather conditions
in the region. The seas between Indonesia and Australia have been buffeted
by monsoonal rains and a series of storms in the past three weeks.

It is estimated that the ice box would have been hit by winds of up to 50
knots caused by Cyclone Charlotte, but it is believe monsoonal rains
falling in the area may have prevented the pair from dying of thirst.

The fishing boat is thought to have set off from Thailand with Burmese and
Thai crew members. The pair's ordeal began on 23 December, when the wooden
boat splintered and sank in heavy seas 200 miles north of Australia.

The men clung to the ice box and managed to climb inside, but said they
saw two groups of crew, one of 11, one of seven, go down with the vessel.

The men remained in the ice box until Jan 17, when they were spotted by a
routine customs service flight that patrols for far larger craft such as
illegal trawlers and people-smugglers. They were found 60 nautical miles
northwest of Horn Island in the Torres Strait and eventually winched to
safety by a rescue helicopter which flew them to Thursday Island, off
northern Queensland.

A photograph taken from the patrol plane shows both men standing shirtless
in the pink ice box - a waist-high container barely larger than an office
desk - waving frantically.

Once aboard the rescue helicopter the hungry and dehydrated men drank four
pints of water each, the rescue team said.

The men told rescuers that ships had passed them while they were adrift,
but none had stopped.

Health officials said the men were recovering from their time at sea well
and had been released from hospital.

They will now be questioned by police and immigration officials, although
Australian authorities have said there was "no reason" to doubt their
account of their shipwreck.

The Australian authorities have decided not to mount a search for any
other possible survivors. "These two people being spotted is miraculous in
itself in the huge expanse of ocean after drifting for 25 days,"
Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Tracey Jiggins said.

"It's amazing they had survived that long."

Officials did not know why the fishing boat sank, Ms Jiggins said, but the
two men said the vessel had been taking on water for some time before it
went down.

The men will be detained at Thursday Island until they are identified, an
Immigration Department spokesman Sandi Logan said.

Theirs was not the first tale of survival in the Torres Strait. In 2006,
three men spent 22 days drifting in a small dinghy off Cape York until
they were rescued.

____________________________________

January 20, The Hindu via Press Trust of India
Aung San Suu Kyi receives Trumpet of Conscience Award

Burmese democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi has been presented with the
prestigious Trumpet of Conscience Award for leading the people of her
country in the fight against the military junta.

The annual award is given by Realizing the Dream, a non-profit
organization set up by Martin Luther King III in honour of his father
great Martin Luther King Jr. The award is given on the occasion of birth
anniversary of the great American leader. Monday happens to be his 80th
birthday.

At a glittering function held last evening, a few blocks away from the US
capitol, the award was presented by Queen Noor of Jordan to Aung Ding,
executive director of US Campaign for Burma, on behalf of Aung San Suu
Kyi.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi epitomizes the ideals of this award," Queen Noor
said in her speech. "She is a freedom fighter and passionate advocate for
the use of non-violent action against repression and military force," she
said.

"A dedicated practicnor of Buddhism, a dedicated student of Gandhian
principles and a follower of King's teachings, Aung San Suu Kyi has led
her followers in Burma to engage the repressor with calm, passion and
collective conviction," Queen Noor said.

In his speech, Aung Din hoped that President-elect Barack Obama will
uphold existing economic sanctions and lead a strong diplomatic effort to
organize international community to put collective pressure on Myanmar's
military regime.

Among other awardees at the yesterday function were Rev Claude William
Black Jr (Testament of Hope), Rep. John Lewis (Drum Major) and Senator
Edward M Kennedy (Realizing the Dream). Last year, former US President
Bill Clinton had received Realizing the Dream Award.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 20, Irrawaddy
‘So far, so bad,’ but nothing is permanent – Kyaw Zwa Moe

Will 2009 bring a positive change to Burma? A golden question, but no one
has the answer. When asked “How’s it going in Burma?” a fellow Burmese
journalist who is visiting Thailand answered: “So far, so bad.”

The young journalist said the phrase is used a lot by his friends in
Rangoon. At first, it seemed funny, but I felt a pang in my heart,
reflecting the real situation. All events to date point to the truth of
the phrase.

The roots of the aging, military government, its decrepit system, our
aging dissident leadership and their tired policies are firmly stuck in
place.

Where are the new people and ideas to give birth to an effective, new
pro-democracy movement? After 47 years under one of the most oppressive
dictatorial rulers in the world, Burma needs a miracle, something we can’t
imagine right now.

The unexpected can happen and change events: The Saffron Revolution,
Cyclone Nargis. Who knows? Something extraordinary could happen within the
junta’s leadership.

Before1988, no seasoned politician or political observer could foresee the
nationwide pro-democracy uprising which toppled late dictator Ne Win’s
authoritarian socialist regime. In 1988, the poor economic situation and
political oppression suddenly led to a political explosion.

The situation now is worse than then, as my fellow journalist said.
Politically the country still waits for a more democratic system and
ethnically, the country has never been united. Worse, economically it is
more battered than ever.

Burma, in fact, could explode at anytime. Repressive policies applied over
the nearly five decades of military rule have piled up an immense
dysfunctional bureaucracy which hides the smoldering anger and hate of the
Burmese people.

Nobody knows when the country might explode. Unpredictable things can
happen in 2009, before the military regime, known as the State Peace and
Development Council holds the scheduled national election in 2010. Burma’s
political organizations as well as international community should be
prepared for such an event.

But for now, everyone must continue to work individually with new
strength, with new resolve for the New Year. During the New Year period,
the Irrawaddy has asked prominent persons in and outside Burma for their
New Year resolutions.

“Things here don’t seem to bring change,” lamented the prominent
journalist-politician Win Tin. “For 2009, however, my resolution is to
continue working very hard for democracy and the freedom of the country
and to work together with pro-democracy forces.”

It’s encouraging, even amazing, to hear such strong determination from Win
Tin, an executive member of the main opposition National League for
Democracy who spent 19 years in prison after the 1988 nationwide
pro-democracy uprising.

Burma’s famous rock star Zaw Win Htut, said, “In 2009, I have a plan to
travel across the country to perform music concerts in at least 25 cities.
My purpose is to make people happy and joyful.” The rocker’s resolution
isn’t political, but it can bring happiness to desperate people.

A prominent HIV/AIDS activist in Rangoon, Phyu Phyu Thin, said she plans
to expand her projects across the country. “I will keep up my work in
order to quickly provide ARV medicine to those in need,” she said.

Her resolution will definitely make a difference in Burma where there are
240,000 HIV/AIDS patients and 76,000 patients without ARV treatment,
according to Médicins Sans Frontieres–Holland (AZG), a leading INGO.

An activist who works with Burmese migrants in Thailand, Moe Swe, said, “I
will keep trying to be a real representative of the workers. This year I
am determined to expose exploitation in factories, political groups and
nongovernmental organizations.”
Each of these resolutions is inspiring. They are just a few of the
resolutions of people we interviewed. If everyone keeps trying to make
their resolutions true, we will all be contributing to different sectors
of Burmese society.

Burma’s main problem remains political: The fight between the oppressor
and the oppressed. Peaceful, national reconciliation is the most
appropriate way to go forward, and the military leaders are still the main
roadblock.

In Burma, a radical change—including regime change—is probably not
realistic. As I said, we need a miracle for that. This year, everyone
should make realistic resolutions to accomplish achievable goals.

Everyone who is politically involved in Burma should have one fundamental
resolution to work for: The release of more than 2,000 political
prisoners, including detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It is
an essential first step toward national reconciliation and needed to break
the current deadlock.

Many people and groups in the international community, including UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, must be determined to achieve that goal as
part of their 2009 resolutions.

Ban said in his year-end press conference at UN headquarters in New York.
“I am disappointed by the unwillingness of the government of Myanmar
[Burma] to deliver on its promises for democratic dialogue and the release
of political prisoners."

He postponed his trip to Burma, which was scheduled for December, saying
he will return to Burma only when he is assured that his visit will yield
tangible results, such as the release of all political prisoners,
including Suu Kyi.

Burma has a way of always disappointing us. But in 2009, we can’t give in
to disappointment. Ban must seek more creative, decisive actions on the
part of the UN.

“So far, so bad” may be true for now, but if everyone pushes forward with
strong resolve, Burma will achieve some great steps forward in 2009.

Buddha’s fundamental philosophy still prevails in the universe:
Impermanence is the only permanence. The phrase “So far, so bad” will not
be permanent.

____________________________________

January 17, Washington Independent
Bush waives sanctions under Burma bill – Mike Lillis

Seems he just couldn’t resist.  With just days left in his tenure,
President George W. Bush yesterday scrapped a portion of a Burma-sanctions
law that was intended to weaken the country’s brutal military junta by
freezing the assets of its leaders.

The provision — found in the Block Burmese JADE Act, which Bush signed
into law in July — freezes the finances of Burma’s military leaders and
their families in all U.S.-owned banks, including those operating
overseas. The original law also applied the asset-freeze to yet-unnamed
Burmese nationals who are later discovered to support the repressive
regime. Bush’s waiver prevents the freeze from applying to this anonymous
group, instead limiting sanctions only to those appearing on the Treasury
Department’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.
Here’s the still-president’s explanation:

Because the imposition of effective and meaningful blocking sanctions
requires the identification of those individuals and entities targeted for
sanction and the authorization of certain limited exceptions to the
prohibitions and restrictions that would otherwise apply, I hereby
determine and certify that such a limited waiver is in the national
interest of the United States.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, isn’t convinced. Berman blasted Bush’s move Friday, saying the
decision runs “contrary to the law.” From Berman’s statement:

Now those who are supporting the Burmese military clique and who have not
yet been publicly identified by the Treasury Department will get a free
pass — just what Congress was trying to prevent. It is puzzling that a
President who has professed support for Burmese advocates for freedom has
made a decision in his final days in office that was both unnecessary and
so contrary to his past actions.

Berman spokeswoman Lynne Weil said the waiver provision was intended for
cases when national security might be compromised or Washington wanted to
cut a deal with an individual in return for some form of cooperation. “To
do a blanket waiver — exempting people who haven’t even been named — it’s
unusual,” Weil said.

The move is particularly puzzling because Laura Bush has been an unusually
vocal critic of Burma’s human rights record.

So what is George thinking? We’ve been asking ourselves that for eight years.

____________________________________

January 18, US Campaign for Burma
Acceptance remarks on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi – Aung Din

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great honor for me to accept the “Trumpet of Conscience” award, on
behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma’s democracy movement. She has
been working tirelessly to bring freedom and democracy to Burma. Her
leadership has offered courage to the people of Burma as they confront the
brutal military regime with brave feats of civil disobedience. While we
are here to honor her courage, her love and her sacrifice for the people
of Burma, she could not join all of us today because she is still under
house arrest, where she has been for more than 13 years.

As Dr. King did, and as you all do, Aung San Suu Kyi has a dream; her
dream is simple and innocent: She wants to help people to have freedom
from fear, freedom from oppression and freedom to exercise their
fundamental rights. She encourages people to stand against injustice. She
requests the military regime to start a meaningful political dialogue and
to engage in national reconciliation amongst all stakeholders in Burma.
However, her quest for peace is being denied by the military regime, which
wants to maintain their ruthless power by whatever means necessary.

The military regime uses excessive force and civilian militias to crush
peaceful protesters, and arrests, tortures, and imprisons thousands of
democracy activists. The regime has intensified military offensives
against ethnic minority civilians, which has resulted in the destruction
of over 3,300 villages, forcing two million refugees to flee to
neighboring countries while an additional half million people remain in
hiding in jungles and mountains in eastern Burma to avoid being killed by
Burmese soldiers. The regime’s soldiers rape ethnic women and girls, as
young as seven years old, with impunity and millions of people are subject
to forced labor and force relocation.

While I am honored to receive the award on her behalf, I am also sad that
she is not here with us today. If she was here, she would thank Martin
Luther King III, his siblings and “Realizing the Dream” for recognizing
her work for justice in Burma. She would feel greatly honored to be in the
company of Senator Edward Kennedy, Congressman John Lewis and Reverend
Claude Black, who have provided great leadership for the people of the
United States of America. She would also thank Her Majesty Queen Noor of
Jordan for presenting the award and she would thank you all for the
spotlight this occasion gives to Burma.

President-elect Obama paid tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi by stating: I
quote: “She has sacrificed family and ultimately her freedom to remain
true to her people and the cause of liberty. And she has done so using the
tools of nonviolent resistance in the great tradition of Mahatma Gandhi,
Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, earning the 1991 Nobel Peace
Prize.”: unquote. I hope President Obama will uphold existing economic
sanctions and lead a strong diplomatic effort to pressure the regime.

Thank you for this tribute to our nationally elected leader and hero. I
wish that I will have a chance to return to my country soon to present
this award to Aung San Suu Kyi, and tell her how the people of the United
States of America stand with us during our darkest days.

Thank you.

____________________________________

January 15, Office of the Press Secretary
Memorandum for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury

Presidential Determination No. 2009-11; SUBJECT: Limited Waiver of Certain
Sanctions Imposed by, and Delegation of Certain Authorities Pursuant to,
the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of
2008

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of
the United States, including the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's
Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-286) (JADE Act) and
section 301 of title 3, United States Code, in order to ensure that the
United States Government’s sanctions against the Burmese leadership and
its supporters continue to be implemented effectively, to allow the
reconciliation of measures applicable to persons sanctioned under the JADE
Act with measures applicable to the same persons sanctioned under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and
to allow for the implementation of additional appropriate sanctions:

(1)  I hereby waive, pursuant to section 5(i) of the JADE Act, the
provisions of section 5(b) of the JADE Act with respect to those persons
described in section 5(a)(1) of the JADE Act who are not included on the
Department of the Treasury's List of Specially Designated Nationals and
Blocked Persons.  Because the imposition of effective and meaningful
blocking sanctions requires the identification of those individuals and
entities targeted for sanction and the authorization of certain limited
exceptions to the prohibitions and restrictions that would otherwise
apply, I hereby determine and certify that such a limited waiver is in the
national interest of the United States.

(2)  I hereby delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury the waiver
authority set forth in section 5(i) of the JADE Act, including the
authority to invoke or revoke the waiver with respect to any person or
persons or any transaction or category of transactions or prohibitions by
making the necessary determination and certification regarding the
national interest of the United States set forth in that section.  I
hereby direct the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the
Secretary of State and with necessary support from the Intelligence
Community, as defined in section 3(4) of the National Security Act of
1947, as amended (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)), to continue to target aggressively
the Burmese regime and its lines of support.  I further delegate to the
Secretary of the Treasury the authority to take such actions as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of section 5(b) of the JADE Act.  The
Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other
officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with
applicable law.  The authorities delegated to the Secretary of the
Treasury under this memorandum shall be exercised after consultation with
the Secretary of State.

(3)  I authorize the Secretary of State, after consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury, to take such actions as may be necessary to
make the submissions to the appropriate congressional committees pursuant
to section 5(d) of the JADE Act.

I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to report this
determination to the appropriate congressional committees and to publish
it in the Federal Register.

GEORGE W. BUSH

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 18, Women’s League of Burma
Statement on the Fifth Congress of the Women's League of Burma

The Fifth Congress of the Women's League of Burma was held in a liberated
area near the Thai-Burma border from 15–17 January, 2009.

It was attended by fifty-five representatives from member organizations,
the Secretariat and working teams of the Fourth Congress Term (2007-2008).
 Representatives to the Congress reviewed the programs, agreed upon WLB's
policies and future work plans, amended the constitution, and shared ideas
and suggestions on how to improve the implementation of the WLB's
programs.

The Congress also analyzed the current political situation. Not only is
the SPDC continuing to detain Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Khun Htun Oo and other
political prisoners, it is deliberately persecuting political detainees,
and is carrying out further arrests. The SPDC is not allowing
pro-democracy political parties and activists to carry out any independent
organizing activities. The WLB condemns SPDC's plans to hold its
"election" in 2010. The election is based on the SPDC's illegitimate
constitution, and will simply endorse military rule indefinitely. The
election is being held in defiance of the people's wishes and will be a
totally unfair process.

The Congress laid down the future work plans for 2009-2010 for the WLB's
programs: Peace and Reconciliation, Women Against Violence and Political
Empowerment. During this 2009-2010 term, WLB will also prioritize
activities to oppose the SPDC's 2010 Election. The Congress has formed a
WLB advisory team comprised of veteran women activists and the WLB
founding members.

In addition, the Congress agreed with the principle of having a strong,
broad, united alliance among the democratic forces. However, WLB will not
support any government or alliance which is not formed according to
democratic processes.

The Women's League of Burma (WLB) is an organisation working for the
advancement of the status of women towards a peaceful and just society. It
was established on 9 December 1999 by twelve women's organizations based
along Burma's borders with Bangladesh, India, and Thailand.

The WLB member organizations named their Presidium Board members and
elected three secretariat members for the 2008-2009 Term.

The Secretariat Members elected are:
Lway Aye Nang                     General Secretary
Tin Tin Nwe                            Joint-General Secretary (1)
Saw San Nyein Thu                Joint-General Secretary (2)

Contact:
Lway Aye Nang                                                         + 66
89 434 2841
Tin Tin Nwe                                                               
+ 66 87 849 9332