BurmaNet News, March 23 - 24, 2009

[Editor]

March 23-24, 2009, Issue #3676

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Insein court sentences 13 more political activists
DVB: Coalition group will not contest 2010 election
Mizzima News: NLD requests meeting with party leaders

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: SSA ready to hold talks with junta

BUSINESS / TRADE
AP: Gem sales earn Myanmar $191 million
Irrawaddy: Army capitalists: the junta’s wealth
Kyodo News (Japan): Number of Internet cafes jumps in Myanmar

ASEAN
AFP: Singapore sees Asian human rights compromise

REGIONAL
VietNamNet Bridge: PM receives Myanmar ambassador

OPINION / OTHER
Times of London: World’s longest war nears its end – Richard Lloyd Parry
The Nation (Thailand) Burma’s generals are afraid of telephones and the
internet – Htet Aung Kyaw

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Justice Committee: International court condemns Burma junta for its
illegal and "grotesque" record on detention  
Freedom Now: UN declares Noble Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi of
Burma’s detention illegal; her immidate and unconditional release

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 24, Irrawaddy
Insein court sentences 13 more political activists

In an apparent warning to Burmese citizens and a snub to the international
community, the Burmese military government has sentenced 13 more
dissidents—a signal that it was playing hardball on the issue of political
prisoners.

According to sources in Rangoon, a special tribunal in Insein Prison on
Monday sentenced 13 pro-democracy activists on a variety of “security”
charges—some for participating in relief efforts to help victims of
Cyclone Nargis, others for protesting the detention of opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.

Four of the convicted were former student activists: Yin Yin Wine, Tin Tin
Cho, Myat Thu and Ni Mo Hlaing. In response to the Cyclone Nargis disaster
in May they volunteered as relief workers in the Irrawaddy delta and
collected donations from friends and relatives. The tribunal sentenced
them to three years in prison.

Three others—Htet Htet Oo Wai, Win Myint Maung and Tun Tun Win—were
members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). It was
alleged that they had taken part in a march to the People’s Assembly
building in Rangoon in December calling for the release of Suu Kyi. They
were each sentenced to five years imprisonment under State Emergency Act
5/J.

The other six activists were arrested on August 7, 2008, in relation to
their activities on behalf of the dissident 88 Generation Students group.
One of the six was a schoolteacher, Aung Aung Zaw, who had been arrested
allegedly in possession of anti-government leaflets. The six were
convicted at a separate hearing in Insein Prison on Monday, although their
sentences are as yet not known.

The sentences came after just a week after United Nations Human Rights
Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana reported to the UN Human Rights Council on
Burma, in which he called for the release of all political prisoners
before the 2010 election.

Although the Burmese regime released more than 9,000 prisoners in
September and 6,313 prisoners in February, Quintana said that only 29
political prisoners had been included in the move.   “These releases,
although encouraging, lack any proportionality with the total number of
prisoners of conscience,” Quintana said at the time. “Therefore, these
measures cannot be seen as progressive.”

The issue of health care in Burmese prisons has recently been called into
question among other human rights concerns.  Jailed labor activist, Su Su
Nway was recently hospitalized with heart disease in Kalay General
Hospital outside Kalay Prison in Sagaing Division.  Another jailed
activist, well-known comedian Zaganar, reportedly told his family that he
was concerned about the quality of drinking water and the food in prison.

Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of a Burmese human rights group, the
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), said, “For
prisoners, medical care and food and water quality in Burma’s prisons are
the main challenges. Many political prisoners, including some prominent
activists, are in poor health.”

According to the AAPP, 138 political prisoners have died in Burmese
prisons since 1988 and at least 115 are currently in poor health.

____________________________________

March 24, Democratic Voice of Burma
Coalition group will not contest 2010 election - Nay Htoo

Burmese political coalition group the Forum for Democracy in Burma has
stated that it opposes the planned 2010 elections and will educate Burmese
people about the problems with the election.

The statement was made at the end of a five-day seminar, which took place
from 18 to 22 March, held at an unspecified place along the Thai-Burma
border.

The FDB is a coalition of exiled organisations and activists. The seminar
was attended by 32 coalition group members and five observers.

Dr Naing Aung, leader of the FDB, said the coalition had chosen to stand
strong against the ruling State Peace and Development Council’s plan to
hold elections in 2010, and vowed that the group would cooperate with the
public for their campaign.

“We will be educating our people more about the election,” he said.

“The aim of the election is to bring the 2008 constitution to life which
would lead us to remain as slaves of the military the same as 20 years
ago,” said Naing Aung.

The 1990 elections were won by the opposition National League for
Democracy in a landslide victory but the military government ignored the
results and has continued to rule.

“We will be looking for various methods to fight for our rights,” he added.

“It is unlikely that we would be on safe ground when calling for our
rights since Burma is ruled by an oppressive government.”

____________________________________

March 24, Mizzima News
NLD requests meeting with party leaders – Myint Maung

The National League for Democracy’s Central Executive Committee has called
on the junta to let them meet with party Vice-Chairman Tin Oo and General
Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi.

NLD party spokesman Nyan Win today said that the party sent a letter dated
the 19th of this month to the SPDC [Burma’s military government] Chairman
requesting permission for a meeting with their leaders in order to
facilitate decisions at this crucial juncture in the country’s politics.

"As everybody knows, the government announced that a general election will
be held in 2010. We need to discuss and consider this general election,"
Nyan Win said.

Thus far, the government has yet to respond to the inquiry.

"If we get a positive response from them, we shall implement it. If not,
it will mean differently. So we have to consider the outcome in different
ways,” he said.

In the meantime, authorities yesterday sentenced more dissidents to
varying terms of imprisonment.

The special court sitting inside Insein prison on Monday handed down
verdicts to 13 activists, including five political activists, NLD members
and cyclone Nargis volunteers.

The special court sentenced NLD Youth members Htet Htet Owei, Win Myint
Maung (a.k.a. Pe Pyoke) and Tun Tun Win to five years imprisonment each
under charges stemming from the Emergency Provisions Act – having been
arrested on the 30th of December 2008 for staging a protest, originating
at the NLD head office, by marching with banners and placards.

Similarly, volunteers Tin Tin Cho, Yin Yin Waing, Myat Thu and Ni Moe
Hlaing, who donated their services to cyclone Nargis victims, were
arrested at a teashop in Rangoon on the 12th of June 2008 and were
yesterday sentenced to three years imprisonment each for abetting an
unlawful association.

And a further six youth from Rangoon who tried to distribute pamphlets in
association with the 88 Generation Students on the 7th of August 2008 were
sentenced to various prison terms ranging from two to seven years.

Aung Kyaw Oo and Zeya Oo were sentenced to seven years imprisonment for
infringing upon state security while Htin Aung, Than Tun Zin and Tin Tun
were sentenced to five years each for involvement in an unlawful
association and former 88 Student Myo Thant was given two years for
threatening state security.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 24, Shan Herald Agency for News
SSA ready to hold talks with junta

The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political arm of the
Shan State Army (SSA) South, is keen to hold talk with the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) to resolve all political problems of the
country by peaceful means if Thailand would facilitate them, according to
Sai Hseng Merng, Deputy Spokesman of the group.

“We are happy to come to the negotiating table if both Bangkok and SPDC
have really reached agreement,” he said.  The Nation reported on 23 March
that Burma has urged Thailand to help facilitate talks with ethnic
resistance movements to join the seven-step roadmap toward national
reconciliation when the Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya made his two day
visit to Burma on 22-23 March.  "(Burma's) Prime Minister Thein Sein and
Foreign Minister Nyan Win have asked me to talk with the minorities and we
are pleased to help," Kasit was quoted by The Nation as saying.

SSA always welcomes talks to resolve the political problems, Sai Hseng
Merng maintained, but the main cause of the problems must be solved first
which means there is a need to look back into the past history.  “The
political problem betweens Shan State and the Burmese military was due to
the SPDC’s violations of the Panglong agreement. Moreover, they sent their
forces and seized our land,” said Sai Hseng Merng. “SPDC always talks
about holding talkswith ethnic groups, but their actions has never matched
their speeches.”

The junta and the SSA had agreed to hold talks on 23 May 2007 but they
failed to take place when the Burma Army delegation failed to appear at
the venue.   “It showed that the SPDC was not honest and did not really
want to talk with us,” Sai Hseng Merng added.

The SSA, according to him, will also consider contesting in the elections
if the junta follows a democratic process and if it agrees to the
following demands:
To free all political prisoners and grant amnesty to all dissidents both
inside and outside the country and allow them to form political parties to
contest in the elections
To amend the "Nargis constitution" together with the National League for
Democracy (NLD) and other ethnic parties.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 24, Associated Press
Gem sales earn Myanmar $191 million

Myanmar has earned more than 140 million euros, or $191 million, from
sales of jade at its latest government-sponsored gem auction, despite a
U.S. ban on their import, a merchant said.

More than 3,500 lots of jade were sold at the Jade, Gems and Pearl
Emporium, said the merchant who participated in the auction but spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of government reprisal. Revenue figures
for gemstones and pearls were not available.

Organized by the Mines Ministry, gem auctions are a major revenue earner
for Myanmar's ruling junta, which faces economic and political sanctions
from the West because of its poor human rights record and failure to hand
over power to a democratically elected government.

The government, which takes a 10 percent tax from the sales, does not
release official sales figures from the auction.

The sale ran from March 8-20 in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, and drew
more than 3,000 gem merchants, mostly from China and Hong Kong. Attendance
and revenue was roughly the same as at previous auctions, despite the
sanctions and the global financial crisis.

Last year, the United States banned the import of gems from Myanmar, which
already was the voluntary policy of retailers such as Tiffany's and
Bulgari. U.S. officials said at that time that Myanmar has been evading
earlier gem-targeting sanctions by laundering stones in other countries
before they are shipped to the United States.

Because of U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar in July 2003, which
froze all U.S. dollar remittances to the country, international business
transactions including the gem sales are done in euros.  Myanmar gem
sellers say the sanctions have little impact on their business because
their major buyers are gem merchants from Asia.

____________________________________

March 24, Irrawaddy
Army capitalists: the junta’s wealth

The Burmese military has monopolized the country’s economy, especially
heavy industries, mining and the import-export sector, since the military
seized state power in September, 1988.

According to Burmese defense scholar Maung Aung Myoe, the collapse of the
socialist regime in 1988 opened the way for the Tatmadaw [armed forces] to
resume its socio-economic role, independent of the country and its
private, commercial interests, as it decided to play the leading role in
national politics.  The scholar notes in his book, “Building the
Tatmadaw,” that there were two reasons to establish commercial
enterprises: to be self-reliant and to finance defense modernization as an
off-budget measure.

The Burmese military founded two military-managed economic organizations,
the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and the Union of Myanmar Economic
Holding Limited (UMEHL), in 1989 and 1990 respectively.

Interestingly, UMEHL, also known as U Pai, funding is based on
contributions from military personnel, military units, retired military
personnel, army veteran organizations and the ministry of defense to
support in-service and retired military personnel.  UMEHL was previously
led by Lt-Gen Myo Nyunt, a former Rangoon regional commander. It is
currently led by Lt-Gen Tin Aye of the Office of Defense Industries.

UMEHL was the first business venture established by the Burmese military
for small and medium-sized commercial enterprises and industries. Its
subsidiary and affiliated firms engage in macroeconomic trading with
Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, China, South Korea, and India. Edible oil,
fuel oil and automobiles from these countries are imported to Burma and
exports include cigarettes, beans and pulses, gems and garment products.

Maung Aung Myoe’s book, published by Institute of Southeast Asia Studies
in Singapore, said that between 1990 and early 2007, UMEHL formed 77 fully
owned firms.

UMEHL’s commercial interests include gem production and marketing, garment
factories, wood and wood-based industries, food and beverage,
supermarkets, banking, hotels and tourism, transportation,
telecommunications and electronic equipment, computer, construction and
real estate, the steel industry, cement production, automobiles, cosmetics
and stationery. 

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, UMEHL started 35 firms; it has liquidated
six firms since 1999.
One of the liquidated firms, the Myanmar Ruby Enterprise, operated Mogoke
mine, Mongshu mine, Nanyar mine, Mawchi mine and a gold mine in the
Tahbeikkyin area.

Maung Aung Myoe noted that one of the main reasons for firms being
liquidated was the investment sanctions imposed by Western governments.
Another possible reason could be structural problems relating to poor
macroeconomic policies and business environment in Burma.

Among the corporations heavily involved with UMEHL are Segye Corporation
of Korea, Daewoo Corporation of Korea, Korea-based Pohon Iron and Steel
Co. Ltd, Rothmans Myanmar Holding Pte Ltd. Of Singapore, Fraser & Neave of
Singapore, Mitsugi Corporation of Japan and Nikko Shoji Co. Ltd of Japan.

The MEC is by nature secretive. It is under the ministry of defense and is
designed to help the Tatmadaw to build its own industrial and
technological base. MEC operates at least 21 heavy factories across the
country, according to Maung Aung Myoe.  Among them, MEC operates with Thai
companies on the construction of Tarsan Hydroelectric Power Plant on the
Salween River.

Since 1989 when Burma introduced an open-market economy, the country has
remained poor, but the generals who monopolize the natural resources and
the economy have increased their personal fortunes while maintaining their
military machine.

____________________________________

March 24, Kyodo News (Japan)
Number of Internet cafes jumps in Myanmar

Number of Internet cafes in Myanmar has jumped 11 percent in less than
three months, a local weekly paper reported in its latest issue.

The number of cybercafes increased from 409 in January to 455 in
mid-March, the Weekly Eleven newspaper reported, quoting figures from
state-run Myanmar Infotech, the only provider authorized to issue Internet
cafe licenses in Myanmar.  Of the total, 353 are located in the country's
largest city Yangon and in nearby areas, while 13 are in the country's
second largest city Mandalay, the report said.
Myanmar started allowing Internet cafes, which are officially called
Public Access Centers, in 2004.  The number of such centers stood at only
around 20 in Yangon in 2006 but has grown significantly as Myanmar
Infotech began more generously issuing licenses to promote education.

Myanmar is one of the 12 countries listed as ''Internet Enemies'' by
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders in its latest annual report on
Internet freedom, issued March 12.  The country not only has one of the
lowest Internet penetration rates in the world but its users are among the
most threatened, the press freedom organization said.  ''Going on line is
itself seen as a dissident act,'' it says, adding that laws relating to
electronic communications and the dissemination of news online ''are among
the most dissuasive in the world, exposing Internet-users to very harsh
prison sentences.''

The other countries on the list are Saudi Arabia, China, Cuba, Egypt,
Iran, North Korea, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 24, 2009; Agence France Presse
Singapore sees Asian human rights compromise

Southeast Asian nations are expected to reach a "political compromise" on
the powers and functions of a regional human rights body, Singapore
Foreign Minister George Yeo said Tuesday.  In a statement to parliament,
he said the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members
remain divided on the details but the human rights watchdog should be
launched by the group's leaders in October.

Human rights activists have said the body would be powerless to
investigate abuses and enforce punitive measures, based on an early draft
of its functions.

The draft "terms of reference" seen by AFP affirms ASEAN's underlying
principle of non-interference in domestic affairs, which has been used by
some members to fend off criticism about alleged rights abuses.

But Yeo said the issue of human rights in a grouping as diverse as ASEAN
should be taken one step at a time, and government-appointed drafters of
the terms will have to reconcile differing positions.  "This diversity is
a political reality that cannot be wished away," Yeo said in a written
answer to a question in parliament, released to the media Tuesday.

"Some ASEAN member states preferred a body which is less intrusive because
they believe that Western countries and NGOs might manipulate it to
interfere in their domestic politics," he said.  "Others made the opposite
argument, that a robust and credible human rights body will help us
address this issue on our own terms."

Yeo did not mention any specific country, but ASEAN includes Myanmar,
whose ruling government has been accused by international human rights
groups of widespread violations.

"We should not forget that this is a very delicate negotiation," he said.

"The final document will be a political compromise. So it will not be a
perfect document, but a document that reflects the current state of
consensus on human rights in ASEAN at a particular time," he added.

Yeo said the final draft will be submitted to ASEAN foreign ministers
during a meeting in Thailand in July, and the human rights body should be
launched by the leaders in October.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 24, 2009; VietNamNet Bridge
PM receives Myanmar ambassador

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received newly-appointed Myanmar ambassador
Khin Maung Soe in Hanoi on March 23.  The Vietnamese PM expressed his
pleasure at the development of bilateral cooperation between the two
countries, especially in economics, trade and investment. 
 
However, the PM said, economic ties between the two countries fail to
match their potential with two-way trade being at only 108 million USD.
The government leader requested that the ambassador work closely with
Vietnamese ministries and relevant agencies to strengthen bilateral ties
and facilitate investment in Myanmar by the Vietnam National Oil and Gas
Group and the army-run mobile phone service provider Viettel. 
 
He emphasized Vietnam’s consistent policy of strengthening cooperation
with Myanmar, thus contributing to transforming ASEAN into a bloc of
peace, friendship and development.  The Myanmar ambassador affirmed that
he would do his best to push up economic, trade and investment cooperation
between Vietnam and Myanmar.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 24, 2009, Times of London
World’s longest war nears its end

It began with British betrayal after the Second World War and has
stubbornly outlived every other conflict. But now, as it marks it diamond
jubilee, the world’s longest-running war is nearing its endgame.  The
guerrilla army of the Karen ethnic group, which has been fighting since
1949 for independence from Burma, is facing the greatest crisis in its
history. If Karen resistance collapses, as some believe is likely, it will
be a triumph for the Burmese junta as it consolidates its hold on power.

After a three-year offensive by the junta, the Karen National Liberation
Army (KNLA) has been forced into increasingly small pockets of resistance,
according to Burma experts.
Deprived of funds and equipment, it is able to do little more than slow
the advance of the Burmese Army as it lays waste to hundreds of villages,
driving thousands of terrified civilians before it.

Most serious of all, the Karen leadership is losing the support of
neighbouring Thailand, where it was formerly able to organise, arm and –
when necessary – retreat. Trapped between the Burmese Army to the west and
an increasingly unfriendly Thailand to the east, with hundreds of
thousands of their people in wretched refugee camps, the Karen are
experiencing a humanitarian and military catastrophe.

“The military situation is as bad as it’s been at any time in the past 60
years,” said David Mathieson, a Burma researcher with Human Rights Watch.
“The Karen have less territory, fewer soldiers and fewer resources to
sustain resistance. The Burmese have them more and more surrounded, and
their backs are up against the wall.”

A Karen leader on the Thai border said that the KNLA and Burmese Army were
fighting near the town of Kawkareik, close to the Thai border. All year
there have been reports of Karen villagers being driven into the jungle by
marauding soldiers.  “It’s a cat-and-mouse kind of struggle,” David
Tharckabaw, vice-president of the political organisation the Karen
National Union (KNU), told The Times by phone from the Thai border town of
Mae Sot. “The Burmese burn down villages and relocate the people close to
their own camps.”

The Karen conflict has its origins in the Second World War, when many
Karen fought alongside the British Army against the invading Japanese. The
seven million Karen were promised their own state by the British but when
independence came in 1948 the promise was forgotten. A year later, in
January 1949, the Karen began the armed struggle that has continued ever
since.
In the early decades of the war, the KNU dominated the Irrawaddy Delta,
close to the former Burmese capital Rangoon, as well as areas north of the
city and all of Kayin State. But in the 1990s an increasingly well-armed
Burmese Army made steady gains and in 1995 the KNU was driven out of its
capital, Manerplaw.

At this time, Buddhists in the Christian-dominated KNU broke away to form
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which now fights alongside the
Burmese Army. Formerly, the KNU had operated as a quasi-government,
providing schools and clinics and receiving income from tax, as well as
from a profitable trade through Thailand in timber, gold, zinc and
antimony.
The loss of territory brought a loss of funds, which made it harder to arm
and equip itself. The KNU claims to have 10,000 soldiers, including
village militia men, but according to Mr Mathieson the number of active
fighters is probably between 3,000 and 5,000.

Last year the KNU suffered another blow when its respected and charismatic
leader, Pado Mahn Shar, was assassinated at his home in Thailand by
unidentified gunmen. Among many Karen there was a suspicion that the ease
with which the killers escaped, and the failure to apprehend them,
reflected a cooling of the welcome afforded by Thailand. Last month Karen
military commanders were ordered out of Thailand and back across the
border.

This probably reflects the Thai Government’s increasing dependence on
Burma for raw materials and energy – the two governments are jointly
planning ambitious hydroelectric dams along the Salween River which forms
part of their border.  The border is a valuable conduit not only for the
Karen but for Burmese struggling to overthrow the military dictatorship.
After the junta cracked down on large pro-democracy demonstrations of
monks and activists in 2007, many of them escaped into Thailand.

“It’s a crucial route for information,” said Mark Farmaner of the Burma
Campaign UK. “If that’s closed down the whole country will become much
more isolated.” - The United Nations has ruled that the continued
detention by Burma of the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi violates
domestic and international laws. The latest one-year detention period of
Ms Suu Kyi, who has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest,
expires in May.

____________________________________

March 24, The Nation (Thailand)
Burma’s generals are afraid of telephones and the internet

LAST WEEKEND, the Paris-based media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) published a report entitled "Enemies of the Internet", which named
Burma as one of 12 countries that actively practices censorship and
restricts freedom of speech on the Internet.   "The 12 enemies of the
Internet 
 have all transformed their internet into an intranet in order
to prevent their populations from accessing 'undesirable' online
information," the RSF report said.

As I work for a daily news service, this report is nothing surprising for
me. But I was surprised when I learned that a group of hackers from the
jungle capital of the low-speed intranet country attacked high-speed
websites in the world's richest country.  "Yes, this cyber attack was made
by Russian technicians. However, they are not in Moscow but in Burma's
West Point cyber city", claimed Aung Lin Htut, the former deputy
ambassador to Washington and a former spy for ousted Burmese prime
minister Gen Khin Nyunt. (Many Burmese observers compare the country's
Maymyo Academy of Defence Services to the US Army's West Pont academy).

Last September, which was the anniversary of the "saffron revolution" led
by Buddhist monks, the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) website
and two others leading websites (of the Chiang Mai-based Irrawaddy
magazine and Delhi-based Mizzima) were attacked by unknown hackers.  "We
can easily say that the Burmese government is behind this attack," said a
DVB statement. They used DdoS, or distributed denial-of-service, which
overloads websites with an unmanageable amount of traffic."

But the DVB technicians doubt that the attackers are government-backed
hackers who are based in Russia. "Technically, it is of course difficult
to say who is behind the attack," the statement said.
According to Aung Lin Htut, thousands of Burmese army officers are
studying Defence Electronic Technology at the Moscow Aviation Institute
(MAI), and hundreds of them return to Burma each year to work in Maymyo
after they receive the four-year Masters Degrees. The subjects for Burmese
officers studying there are computer software programs, nuclear
technology, short range and long range missiles, and aeronautics and
engineering.

"There is full-scale electricity supply and hi-speed Internet connections
at Napyidaw (the country's official capital city) and the West Point cyber
city. The cyber attack is just the beginning of their plan to attack the
democracy movement," the former spy told this correspondent in an
electronic conversation from Washington.  I asked how these officers would
be able to apply their knowledge in Burma, where the electricity supply is
intermittent.

Although the two VIP locations are very advanced in IT, the rest of the
country is still in the dark. There is not enough electricity, telephone
lines, or hi-speed Internet connections for the general population.  "Our
office telephone line has been cut for over two years. There is no
response from the authority whenever we ask the reason," said Nyan Win, a
spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy.  "To open an
e-mail address for the NLD may lead me to Insein (prison)" he added.

The junta recently arrested dozens of students and activists, including
Min Ko Naing's 88 Generation students' group, which took part in the
September 2007 uprising and who were involved in distributing relief after
Cyclone Nargis ripped through the country last year. A number of the
students and activists were sentenced to 65 years in prison for violations
of the electronic law, meaning that they had used cellphones, cameras,
e-mail and the internet without permission from the authorities.

"I'm very interested in IT and so I learned something about it on the
Internet. This is only my guilt that will send me to Insein," said one
activist named Zagana as a judge sentenced him to jail.

A recent UN report says that 6 out of every 10 people in the world use a
mobile phone.  "But I think the NLD is the only political party in the
world that has no telephone, no Internet or website in the 21st century,"
Nyan Win lamented to me during a cellphone (which he rents from friends)
conversation from Rangoon. The NLD members and activists have no
permission to buy a cellphone, and are not permitted to own or even use an
Internet line or a laptop computer in Burma. If you live in Burma, you
need permission from the authorities to buy a cell or land phone, a fax
machine, an Internet line, computer, camera, satellite TV, or short-wave
radio.

"This is an unacceptable condition for the party that won the 1990
election, while the junta allows everything for the USDA - the
pro-government Union Solidarity Development Association - for the 2010
election campaign," said Soe Aung, a spokesman for exiled 88 Generation
students and the Forum for Democracy in Burma.

"Cellphones and the Internet are daily basic necessities for politicians
and the party," he said to this correspondent in a text message from his
Blackberry. "This is very useful and you will see how US President Obama
does his daily job using this phone," he added from Bangkok.
But in Burma, the ageing NLD leadership in Rangoon and the army generals
in Napyidaw have no Blackberry or cellphone. The generals have banned
cellphones in the capital for security reasons, while the NLD leaders have
not been able to get either a land phone, a cellphone or an e-mail
account.  "This is not just the nature of a generation gap between Obama
and Than Shwe. Burma's politics is wrong indeed," Soe Aung added.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 24, Burma Justice Committee
International court condemns Burma junta for its illegal and "grotesque"
record on detention  

Today sees the publication of one of the most important international law
judgments in recent years. In a heavily argued case, decided last November
but only now made public, the international legal system has ruled in the
clearest possible terms that the military regime in Burma has contravened
every last vestige of humanitarian law and falls to be condemned in the
strongest possible way. Significantly, the tribunal rejected every single
one of the Burmese Government's arguments. The regime has been held to be
operating entirely outside of the law and its violations of minimum
standards of international law are described by the tribunal as
"grotesque".

The judgment has come in a case brought on behalf of four prisoners in
Burmese jails. Their "crime" was to wear white clothes, to call for
Buddhist prayers and to organise a letter-writing campaign to inform the
generals of the plight of the people. Their fate as a result has been
extreme torture, a year of detention without charge, lack of access to
family and lawyers, eventual trial without representation (their lawyers
were imprisoned for contempt for trying to represent them) and now
sentences of hundreds of years of imprisonment for their supposed crimes.
They are also representative of thousands of other prisoners wrongfully
and inhumanely detained by the Burmese junta.  Their names are Min Ko
Naing, Ko Jimmy, Min Zayar and Pyone Cho.

The case of these four men was taken up by the Burma Justice Committee and
was argued by two English barristers (Sappho Dias and Adam Zellick
instructed by Jared Genser of DLA Piper LLP (US)) before the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The Burmese Government
defended the proceedings, arguing that the detentions of the four were
legal and fully in accordance with Burmese law.

In an impressive judicial ruling, the jurists of the international
tribunal founded under the auspices of the UN Charter have declared the
Burmese Government's position to be unarguable and improper as a matter of
international law. The detentions of all four Petitioners have been held
to be arbitrary and in contravention of a whole raft of provisions of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Whilst the Burmese military has so far ignored the outcome and continues
illegally to imprison all four Petitioners contrary to international law
and in contempt of the judgment of the tribunal, the ruling is almost
unprecedented in its force and signifies that the Burmese dictatorship's
conduct cannot be tolerated in international law any longer. Experts
believe that International Criminal Court indictments against the ruling
Generals and global sanctions against the regime are many steps closer
today in light of the judgment handed down.

Sappho Dias, Chairman of the Burma Justice Committee, said:  “The BJC
calls on Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, to press for the release
of all political prisoners in Burma. The international community has a
responsibility to those being persecuted in Burma, and we must act now to
end the injustice that is being perpetrated against the Burmese people.”

Tim Dutton QC, immediate past Chairman of the Bar and a leading member of
the BJC, said:  “The Burma Justice Committee is pleased that the UN
Working Group has reached its conclusion in this case. The Petitioners'
case was overwhelming, although that did not stop the dictatorship from
attempting to defend their actions. But the Petitioners remain
incarcerated. The junta lost the case and the tribunal has ruled, but the
ruling is being flouted. These four men must be released immediately.

"More generally, the judgment is yet further evidence against the brutal
military dictatorship, which, as part of its regime of repressing its
citizens, illegally detains thousands of people, and subjects them to
degrading and inhumane punishment.

“We support the call for the release of these four men. We also call for
the release of all those unlawfully detained by this regime. The junta is
guilty of wholesale breaches of human rights, and the continued oppression
of those working to bring democracy and the rule of law to Burma will not
be tolerated. Those who support the illegal activities of this regime must
expect, whether they be generals or gaolers, that they will be brought
before courts and tribunals and held responsible."

Note for Editors

The Burma Justice Committee was established by lawyers in order to provide
advice and assistance to those  who are affected by the unlawful conduct
of the Burmese Military Dictatorship.  It is chaired by Sappho Dias (a
barrister) who is of Burmese origin and the Vice Chair is Adam Zellick,
also a barrister who has acted in a number of international human rights
cases,  and is the author of a book on habeas corpus.  Amongst its members
are barristers and solicitors with expertise in (amongst others) War
Crimes, Human Rights, International Law, International Trade and
Sanctions, Criminal Law.  It counts amongst its members and supporters the
current and immediate past Chairmen of the Bar Council and many other
distinguished lawyers and jurists.

Burma : The Petitioners in Brief.

NB These notes on the Petitioners lives were included in the materials for
the case put before the UN Group on Arbitrary Detention, and were released
in November 2007 when the Petitions were lodged.  They record information
known to the Burma Justice Committee as at that date.

Htay Win Aung (alias Pyone Cho).
The alias Pyone Cho in Burmese means Sweet Smile. He was a Joint General
Secretary of the Rangoon Division Students Union in the period 1988 to
1989. He was first arrested following the post 1988 crackdown in July 1989
alongside Tint Sann. The Military Junta accused them of anti-government
activities although Htay Win Aung was not brought to face trial until 1991
(2 years after arrest). The so-called trial was before a military tribunal
which did not permit Htay Win Aung to be legally represented. Nor were his
relatives allowed to attend the trial. A sentence of 7 years imprisoment
was imposed on him. This 7 year sentence was extended to 14 years as Htay
Win Aung sent to the UN a statement about the conditions existing in the
notorious Myingyan Prioson. He was released for the first time in 2005. On
release he was suffering from malnutrition as well as cataracts, which
made him blind. He was re-arrested for a second time on 30th September
2006 being released (for the second time) on 11th January 2007. Following
the recent protests by the monks against the Military Junta, Htay Win Aung
was re-arrested on 22nd August 2007.

Kyaw Min Yu (alias Ko Jimmy).
Kyaw Min Yu was a student in his third year studying Physics at Rangoon
University when he was first arrested in 1989. He was tried and sentenced
to 20 years imprisonment. This sentence was increased by a further 12
years when he contacted the UN Human Rights Commission. Ge was released in
2005. He is married and his wife is currently in hiding from the Military
Junta. Nilar Thein AND Kyaw Min Yu have a daughter, now aged 4 months, who
is now living without her father or her mother. Kyaw Min Yu was
re-arrested following the prodemocracy protest by the monks on 22nd August
2007. There have been repeated rumours of his death in Burma but U Myint
Tein, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy believes these
are false rumours generated by the Military Junta to flush his wife out of
hiding.

Min Ko Naing. (Formal name: Paw Oo Tun).
Min Ko Naing is an alias meaning the Conqueror of Kings in Burmese. Min Ko
Naing is one of the prominent figureheads in the struggle for democracy.
In 1988, he was the Chairperson of the All Burma Federation of Student
Unions. He was in his third year at Rangoon Arts and Science University
reading Zoology.  Min Ko Naing is regarded as the most charismatic of the
student leaders to have emerged from the 88 Generation. He is described as
kind, generous, flexible and broad-minded. It is also said of him that he
has a sense of humour which has sustained him through the long years of
solitary imprisonment. He was first arrested on 23rd March 1989 and
subsequently sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. During his first spell in
prison, Min Ko Naing was visited by the then-US Congressman Bill
Richardson who offered him freedom on the basis of an agreement to be
deported to the United States. Min Ko Naing refused this offer. He was
subsequently released for the first time on 19th November 2004. However,
on 27th September 2006, he was arrested a second time and was not released
until 11th January 2007. Although his name his not well known outside
Burma, his is a name which has charismatic power in Burma. He was arrested
after the recent prodemocracy protests by the monks on 22nd August 2007.
He is the recipient of human rights awards from Canada, the Czech
Republic, Norway, Italy and United States.

Min Zayar. (Formal Name: Aung Myin, Aung Par).
Min Zayar is an alias meaning the Teacher of Kings in Burmese. Min Zayar
at 49, in the oldest of the detainees. In 1988, he was in his fifth year
at Rangoon University reading Law and was a Committee member of the now
banned All Burma Students Union.  Throughout 1988, he was repeatedly
arrested and held in prison for short spells. There were 3 such arrests in
1988. On 25th August 1989, he was arrested for a fourth time and sentenced
to 8 years imprisonment. He was released in October 1995 but since that
date has been repeatedly re-arrested and imprisoned for varying lengths of
time. He was last released on 11th January 2007. However, following the
recent pro-democracy protests he was rearrested on 21st August 2007.

There are fears that all of the detainees are being tortured and mistreated.

For more information, or a copy of Opinion No. 46/2008, please call
Camilla Barker on 0207 067 0330
____________________________________
March 24, 2009 Freedom Now
UN DECLARES NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE AUNG SAN SUU KYI OF BURMA’S
DETENTION ILLEGAL; URGES HER IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – Today, Freedom Now released Opinion No. 46/2008 from
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The judgment declares
unequivocally that the ongoing detention of Burmese democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi is illegal and in violation of both Burmese and international
law. It also urges her immediate release:

The Working Group . . . declare[es] Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s placement under
house arrest [is] arbitrary, being in contravention of Articles 9, 10, and
19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . . . and even domestic
law . . . which itself contradicts to the basic principles and norms of
modern international law . . . Consequent upon this Opinion, the Working
Group requests the Government to immediately release, without any
condition, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi from her continued placement under house
arrest.

An independent and impartial body of the UN Human Rights Council, the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention consists of experts from Chile,
Pakistan, Russian Federation, Senegal, and Spain. Previously, the Working
Group has issued four opinions – 8/1992, 2/2002, 9/2004, and 2/2007 – that
her prior terms of house arrest violated international law. But this is
the first time the Working Group has declared her detention to be a
violation of domestic Burmese law.

After Ms. Suu Kyi’s political party and its allies won the 1990 elections
in Burma with more than 80% of the parliamentary seats, she has spent more
than 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest.

“It is deeply unfortunate that the Burmese junta continues to flagrantly
violate its own and international law,” said Jared Genser, President of
Freedom Now, and lead attorney for Ms. Suu Kyi. “Previously, the UN
Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, ASEAN, European Union,
and United States have all called for Ms. Suu Kyi’s release. The only
question remaining is how long will Burma’s bold-face defiance of the
international community be tolerated?” he added.

Freedom Now is supporting the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now
Campaign (www.fbppn.net), which aims to collect 888,888 signatures calling
for the release of Ms. Suu Kyi and the more than 2,100 other political
prisoners in Burma.  For more information, contact Ted Loud +1 (202)
799-4348.