BurmaNet News, March 25, 2009

[Editor]

March 25, 2009, Issue #3677


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: US official in rare Myanmar talks
SHAN: SSA opposes junta’s political process calling it undemocratic
Mizzima News: NLD requests meeting with party leaders
Xinhua: Myanmar PM stresses people cooperation with gov't in national
development efforts

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: China deports Myanmar women sold as surrogate mothers
DVB: Burmese nationals arrested for smuggling rocket launchers into India

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: EU eyes extending Myanmar sanctions - officials

ASEAN
Business World: Manila seeks way out of talks deadlock

REGIONAL
VOA: Thailand offers to mediate Burmese talks
The Nation (Thailand): Thailand and Burma to sign pact on anti-human
trafficking issues

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: La ONU califica de ilegal la detención de la disidente birmana
Aung San Suu Kyi
AP: Verenigde Naties noemen huisarrest Suu Kyi illegaal

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: Burma key to war on drugs – Editorial
Islamic Horizons (US): Bound by Burma – Ramadan Alig



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 25, Agence France Presse
US official in rare Myanmar talks

A senior US official paid a rare visit to military-ruled Myanmar for talks
on improving relations, officials and state media said Wednesday, a
further sign of a new approach from Washington.

Stephen Blake, director of Mainland Southeast Asian Affairs at the US
State Department, met Myanmar foreign minister Nyan Win in the
administrative capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, the official New Light of
Myanmar newspaper said.

The government-run paper said Blake and the foreign minister held "cordial
discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral
relations between the Union of Myanmar and the United States".

Official sources in Naypyidaw, the remote purpose-built capital opened by
the regime in 2005, said it was the first time a senior US official had
visited the city to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.

Blake later went to the main city of Yangon to meet opposition leaders.

The trip comes as US President Barack Obama's administration continues to
review the tough stance his predecessor George W. Bush took against
Myanmar's isolated and secretive ruling junta.

"Myanmar and the US have been friendly countries since the beginning. They
were also the first country to recognise our independence from the British
in 1948," a senior Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They misunderstood our country's situation after the 1988 uprising. We
will not understand each other without talking. It was the first time a
director of the US visited here for talks -- the US did what they should
do," he said.

There was no immediate comment from US officials.

A student-led uprising in 1988 ended in a brutal military crackdown which
left an estimated 3,000 people dead.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the army since 1962.

Blake Wednesday met senior leaders from the opposition National League for
Democracy, whose leader, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been
detained for most of the last 19 years on political charges.

An NLD spokesman, also called Nyan Win, said the party's central committee
met Blake at its headquarters for an hour in the afternoon but the US
official would not reveal Washington's likely future stance towards
Myanmar or Suu Kyi.

"He (Blake) asked us about the NLD's opinions on the recent political
situation and the coming 2010 election. We also asked him about the policy
of the US State Department," spokesman Nyan Win told AFP.

"We told him that we haven't decided yet whether or not to participate in
the elections but we told him the important thing for us is to review the
state constitution and to begin dialogue (with authorities)."

The spokesman said he believed Blake was the most senior official from the
State Department to see the NLD in recent years.

"He did not bring any message from the authorities. He did not mention
about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Nyan Win added.

The junta ignored a landslide election victory by Aung San Suu Kyi's
pro-democracy party in 1990 and critics say general elections planned for
2010 are a sham aimed at entrenching the generals' power.

The regime has handed out heavy jail terms to dozens of pro-democracy
activists in recent months, many of them involved in protests led by
Buddhist monks that erupted in 2007.

But US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month that the Obama
administration is reviewing its policy toward Myanmar to find ways to
better influence the regime and help the country's impoverished people.

Bush's administration strengthened decade-old sanctions against Myanmar --
imposed under his predecessor Bill Clinton -- while Bush's wife Laura was
an outspoken critic of the military regime.

____________________________________

March 25, Shan Herald Agency for News
SSA opposes junta’s political process calling it undemocratic – Hseng Khio
Fah

The political wing of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, the Restoration
Council of Shan State (RCSS), has said that the current junta-dictated
political process is not a democratic one, according to its statement
released today.

It stops short of calling it “the 7 step roadmap,” apparently not to
offend Thailand, which has lent support to it.

The statement deals with three topics: politics, drugs and the proposed
peace talks.

On the current political situation in Burma, the SSA has recommended a 4
point proposal:
·	Amnesty for all political dissidents and armed opposition
·	Amendment by all stakeholders of the junta-approved constitution
·	Ethnic participation in the Electoral Commission
·	For winning parties of the 1990 elections, like the National League for
Democracy (NLD) and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) to have
a say in the upcoming elections. Their exclusion would only make the 2010
elections a meaningless exercise
Concerning drugs, the resolution, it says, must come from a political
settlement. “Shan State must be given the right to rule itself,” citing
the 1947 Panglong Agreement, which united Shan, Kachin and Chin with
Burma. (Bangkok Post, 10 June 2001 issue, quoted the Thai Army as saying
that the root of Thailand’s drug problems could be traced to violations of
the treaty by Burma’s successive governments.)

Regarding the Thai-facilitated peace talks with Burma’s military rulers,
the RCSS says, “Our doors are always open for talks with the Burmese
military. However, for talks to succeed, both sides must make concessions,
not just the RCSS yielding to all the conditions set by the Burmese
military.”

The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) also welcomes Thailand’s
offer to facilitate talks, according to Khu Oo Reh, Deputy Secretary
General.

“We are always ready to hold talks with the junta if there is a safe venue
for both sides,” he said.

With Thailand as a facilitator, chances for peace are greater, according
to him. “It would have more chance to succeed than if we did it by
ourselves,” he added.

KNPP has held several peace talks with the junta both officially and
unofficially. The latest was in 2007 in Tachilek, eastern Shan State,
opposite Thailand’s Maesai, he said.

____________________________________

March 25, 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.

____________________________________

March 25, Xinhua
Myanmar PM stresses people cooperation with gov't in national development
efforts

Myanmar Prime Minister General Thein Sein has stressed the importance of
people's cooperation with full understanding in the government's all
national development efforts as well as maintenance of peace, stability,
security and national solidarity.

"All the national development tasks, however hard they might be, could be
successfully carried out if the government, the people and the Tatmadaw
(armed forces) understood one another and did their bit conscientiously,"
Thein Sein told a ceremony to inaugurate the Kengtawng hydropower plant in
southern part of Shan state on Tuesday, the official newspaper New Light
of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

Noting that a new state constitution has been approved, Thein Sein said
elections would be held in 2010 according to the new constitution.

He emphasized the need for "the government, the people and the Tatmadaw to
work in concert in order that the state could usher in a new era through
successful implementation of all the steps of the democratic process laid
down".

He maintained that "despite misunderstanding, pressure and sanctions, the
government would steadily march towards its goal, emergence of a new
democratic state, enlisting people's cooperation".

At the end of May last year, the ruling State Peace and Development
Council formally promulgated a new state constitution after its draft was
ratified during the month's nationwide referendum.

The formal promulgation of the new constitution marked the end of the
government's fourth step of its seven-step roadmap announced in 2003. The
remaining steps are to hold a multi-party democracy general election in
2010 to produce parliament representatives and form a new civilian
government to which power is to be handed over by the military.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 25, Reuters
China deports Myanmar women sold as surrogate mothers

Two pregnant Myanmar women were deported after being smuggled to China and
sold as surrogate mothers, the China Daily said on Wednesday, citing
police in a border town in Yunnan province.

The 26-year-old women were sold for $3,500 in Taihe, eastern China's Anhui
province, after coming to China in December from their homes in Banmo, in
Myanmar's Kachin State. They had been lured to China in the hope of
finding jobs that they hoped would earn them over $80 a month.

In the end, they were paid $250 each for agreeing to become surrogate
mothers, the paper said, without explaining to whom they had been sold.
They had been assured they could return home after giving birth.

A third woman, who escaped from the smugglers, was deported in January,
the paper said. Police said a woman held for having lured the Myanmar
mothers was part of a "multinational gang."

(Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Nick Macfie)

____________________________________

March 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burmese nationals arrested for smuggling rocket launchers into India –
Khin Maung Soe Min

Police in India’s Mizoram state have arrested three Burmese nationals near
the Burmese border on suspicion of smuggling rocket launchers into India.

The three suspects, Zacchunga, Albert and Thang Suan Liana, from Chin
state in northwest Burma, were arrested on Saturday whilst travelling to
Champhai town in Mizoram state, near to the Rekhutha checkpoint on the
Burma border.

A police official in Champhai who spoke to DVB said the Mizoram police had
obtained information about the weapons prior to the arrest.

They stopped a passenger truck in which the three were riding and found
five rocket launchers.

“The weapons, which came from China, were carried across Burma into
Mizoram state,” said a police officer who took part in the arrest.

“We are carrying out further investigation on the case.”

Arrests for weapons smugglers supplying arms to rebel groups in India are
frequent, but cases involving heavy weapons such as rocket launchers are
rare.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 25, Reuters
EU eyes extending Myanmar sanctions - officials

The European Union will wait until next month before deciding whether to
extend sanctions against Myanmar, a special envoy said on Tuesday,
although another EU official saw little prospect of them being lifted.

There has been an emerging debate in the international community over
policies towards Myanmar after Washington said it was reviewing its policy
and conceded that sanctions had not influenced the junta on human rights
and democracy.

The EU's special envoy to Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said there had been no
decision yet on new sanctions, which expire at the end of April.

"Our attitude about this is in relation with the evolution of the
situation. If there will be some positive new steps, we take note," said
Fassino, who is on a trip to the region before reporting back to Brussels.

"The European Council many times declared we are ready to change the
sanctions if there are some positive steps in (the) direction to obtain
our goals," he said, without elaborating.

But another EU official was pessimistic there could be progress within a
month to justify lifting sanctions.

"The chances that (the junta) will move in the next month, there is only
one month's time, I don't think they're very big," the official told
Reuters, asking not to be identified.

The sanctions apply to a long list of Myanmar officials and firms
associated with its military rulers.

The EU has been pushing Myanmar to open a dialogue with the opposition,
release political prisoners and guarantee elections due in 2010 are free
and fair.

The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to
recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National
League for Democracy. Its leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house
arrest for most of the past two decades.

Myanmar has been pursuing its own "roadmap" to democracy, which includes a
referendum on an army-drafted constitution.

Western governments have criticised the poll as a sham aimed at
entrenching military rule. The 10-member Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, has sought to address
democratic reforms and human rights issues in the former Burma under a
policy of "constructive engagement".

But the EU and Washington have urged ASEAN to put more pressure on their
neighbour.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month on a trip to the
region that the sanctions had not influenced the junta, but also said that
trying to engage them had failed.

____________________________________
ASEAN

March 25, Business World
Manila seeks way out of talks deadlock – Jessica Anne D. Hermosa

Talks to forge a free trade deal between the European Union and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have hit a deadlock, with
the scope of the pact and inclusion of military-ruled Myanmar as sticking
points, trade negotiators from both camps yesterday said.

The Philippines is considering either going with a simple framework
agreement involving all ASEAN members and then building on it with
country- specific side deals, or just moving ahead on its own with a
bilateral deal with the EU, Trade Assistant Ramon Vicente T. Kabigting
told industry groups at a consultation conference.

In the same conference, the economic, political and public affairs
division head of the European Commission delegation to the Philippines,
Gabriel Munuera-Vinals, urged the government to push talks with the EU,
saying the country stands to gain from the influx of European investments
and the exchange of know how.

But first, the two regions will have to try to solve the impasse over
Myanmar's inclusion and on other issues, Mr. Kabigting said, noting that
ASEAN prefers to go into the deal with all 10 members on board.

The two regions have had six meetings on this matter since 2007 and still
haven't resolved differences on Myanmar.

"The EU has reminded us that they have a mandate. They can sign with
anybody except Myanmar," Mr. Kabigting said, noting however that the EU
can forge economic ties with Myanmar only if the purpose is developmental.

"Our response is 'please do not burden the economic agenda with a
political issue and please let us go forward'," he said.

To this end, an option of forging a "thin deal" on mere trade and
investment facilitation with all ASEAN countries can be considered, as
this will not violate EU's stance against Myanmar, Mr. Kabigting said.

"We were thinking of a podium [where we put] trade facilitation, trade in
services and some investment provisions as well. And then on top of that
podium, each and every member of ASEAN could build his own skyscraper with
the EU...with terms even more ambitious than what is on the podium," he
said.

Myanmar's inclusion in the deal, however, is not the only point where the
two regions differ.

ASEAN wants the lowering of tariffs to be agressive for the EU and the six
pioneer ASEAN members, and "gentler" for new members Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam, said Mr. Kabigting.

EU, on the other hand, wants to treat all ASEAN members equally.

For technical barriers to trade, meanwhile, the ASEAN wants to use the
World Trade Organization standard, while EU prefers deeper commitments.

"If we are going to stay at the level of the WTO, what is the point of an
FTA? The whole point is to build on what is already there at the WTO," Mr.
Munuera-Vinals said.

The EU also wants the scope of the deal to include commitments on
treatment of labor, sustainable exploitation of natural resources and
transparency in government procurement, which the ASEAN opposes.

"We fear it is a form of a non-tariff barrier," Mr. Kabigting said.

For Mr. Munuera-Vinals: "All these rules, contrary to what some would
think, are not a disadvantage to the Philippines...And some of these rules
are beneficial - it [sic] goes along the lines with what is happening in
the Philippines or what officials want."

"And the position of the EU in approaching the FTA is to focus on
transparency [and not market access]," Mr. Munuera-Vinals said.

Officials from the two regions will meet again in May to try to resolve
differences, Mr. Kabigting said.

"Nobody has left the negotiating table. We will take advantage of the gap
between one meeting and the next to really think about these issues," he
said.

"And if EU does not come to the regional table, it is my personal
assessment that...we have to do this on a bilateral basis. Yes, we are
ready tro engage on each and every issue," he said.

The Philippines will likely be exempting rice, meat products, iron and
steel, sugar, motor vehicles and petrochemicals from regular tariff cuts,
Mr. Kabigting said.

It will, on the other hand, negotiate for increased market access to the
EU for exports of furniture, decor, footwear, fashion accessories,
garments, fresh and processed food, chemicals, electronics, forest
products, and construction materials.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 25, Voice of America
Thailand offers to mediate Burmese talks – Ron Corben

An offer by Thailand to act as an intermediary between Burma's military
government and the ethnic-Karen armed group the Karen National Union is
being cautiously welcomed by the rebels and rights activists. Analysts
have raised doubts of a complete cease-fire unless Burma's military
government modifies the constitution before 2010 national elections.

Thailand's offer to mediate talks between Burma's military and the Karen
National Union was made by Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, during an
official visit to Burma.

A spokesperson for the Forum for a Democratic Burma, Soe Aung, says
Thailand needs to look at questions linked to the constitution and human
rights in Burma.

"If the Thai Foreign Minister is really willing to help, they have look at
the root cause of the problem which is the ongoing human rights violations
of the military regime and ignoring the people's call for democracy and
freedom," he said.

The Karen National Union has been fighting for autonomy for five decades.
A short ceasefire was reached between Burma's military and the rebels
following talks in 2004, but fighting has resumed.

More than 100,000 Burmese refugees, including Karen, are living in camps
in Thailand.

Spokesperson Debbie Stothardt of the rights group the Alternative ASEAN
Network on Burma, says Thailand should not use a peace agreement as a
pretext to force refugees back to Burma.

"It is in Thailand's interests to try and be a go-between and negotiate
something but we also would like the Thai authorities to do it in a very
fair and principled manner, and not use this as an excuse to
indiscriminately push back people who have been trying to flee the
military oppression in Burma," she said.

The Karen National Union and political and rights activists also want the
military to revise the constitution that was adopted last year.  They say
the constitution entrenches the military in power and excludes
participation by ethnic and pro-democracy groups such as the National
League for Democracy.

The constitution is part of the military government's so-called "road map
to democracy" that includes general elections in 2010.

Soe Aung says the main issue remains the military government's support for
democracy.

"If there is no constitution that guarantees the rights of the people,
this constitution is not going anywhere because it lacks the people's
participation, the people's representatives, like the NLD and the ethnic
groups," he said.

Since 1998 the Karen National Union is reported to have held talks with
the military government on four occasions, the last in 2006.

____________________________________

March 25, The Nation (Thailand)
Thailand and Burma to sign pact on anti-human trafficking issues –
Poungchompoo Prasert

An 11-year-old girl was the youngest victim of human trafficking crimes
that were found mostly in Chaing Rai, Samut Sakhon, Songkhla and Pattani
while immigrant workers were continuously lured to serve on fishing boats,
as there was a 10,000 position labour shortage in the industry.

At the yesterday seminar at Bangkok's Asia Hotel, Minister of Social
Development and Human Security, Issara Somchai, said he would represent
Thailand to sign an agreement on April 24 with the Burmese government to
tackle human trafficking issues including the Rohingya boat people case
that Thailand was accused of torturing them.

At this same event participated by state official and public organisations
from 29 provinces, International Labour Organization (ILO) official
Suvajee Good reported that ILO had rescued 649 child workers facing severe
treatments from 2008-2009, 48 per cent of whom were human trafficking
victims in fishery industry.

As child workers were used in illegal businesses, prostitution and drug
trade in the past 34 years, the youngest victim was found to be only 11
years old being used as a house maid working long hours without proper
meals or payment, she said.

Such child workers were found mostly in major provinces such as Chiang
Rai, Samut Sakhon, Songkhla and Pattani, she added.

Ekkalak Lumchomkae, official at the Mirror Foundation's Operation Center
against Human Trafficking, said that 70 workers were rescued and
identified as human trafficking victims in fishery while another 145
workers were being determined if they were also the victims.

He further revealed that there were at least 30 human traffickers
especially in the fishery industry which suffered a shortage of 10,000
positions.

Not only adults were taken, but also boys aged 15-17 were lured to work on
fishing boats by various ways such as convincing words, sleeping pills in
drinking water, or treating to prostitutes until suffering overwhelming
debt.

Pol Lt Col Chokchai Ngamwong from Children Juveniles and Women Division
said that a recent police search at a house detaining human trafficking
victims in fishery industry discovered a record of July 2008 which the
gang reportedly earned Bt150,000, as the house took in 23 newcomers per
day, each of whom was sold to the gang at Bt2,000 before being sold to a
fishing boat at Bt4,000.

Citing the good profit and low risk of getting caught as major attractions
for criminals to turn to human trafficking, he said it was of lower risk
compared to the drug or weapon trades that had clear evidences for
prosecution.

He said that Bangkok's Sanam Luang and Hua Lampong Train Station had seen
the most cases of 23 people being lured on daily basis and that police was
requesting arrest warrants for such criminals.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 25, Reuters
La ONU califica de ilegal la detención de la disidente birmana Aung San
Suu Kyi

El Grupo de Trabajo sobre la Detención Arbitraria de Naciones Unidas
calificó ayer de ilegal le arresto de la líder del principal partido
opositor de Birmania, la Liga Nacional para la Democracia (LND), Aung San
Suu Kyi, que ha pasado más de 13 de los últimos 19 años bajo arresto.

El organismo de Naciones Unidas se basa para dar esta calificación no sólo
en leyes internacionales sino en la propia normativa birmana, como explicó
el abogado Jared Genser, presidente a su vez de la ONG 'Freedom Now'. Por
tanto, "el Grupo de Trabajo pide al Gobierno la inmediata liberación, sin
condiciones, de Aung San Suu Kyi de su continua retención bajo arresto
domiciliario".

Esta petición se lanzó el pasado noviembre, aunque no se conoció hasta
esta semana, y da un aviso también a las altas instancias de Naciones
Unidas y a la comunidad internacional. "Instaría directamente al
secretario general Ban Ki Moon a ir a Birmania y dialogar directamente con
la junta militar", reclamó Genser.

____________________________________

March 25, Associated Press
Verenigde Naties noemen huisarrest Suu Kyi illegaal

Myanmar schendt niet enkel internationale regels, maar ook zijn eigen
wetten, zeggen de VN.

Aung San Suu Kyi, die in 1991 de Nobelprijs voor de Vrede won, is het
gezicht van de oppositie in Myanmar. Ze werd gevangen genomen in 1990.

De militaire leiding van het land beschuldigt Suu Kyi ervan een gevaar te
vormen voor de openbare orde. Ze bracht dertien van de laatste negentien
jaar door in huisarrest. Telkens werd haar aanhouding verlengd, ondanks
felle internationale protesten.

'De laatste beslissing om het huisarrest te verlengen, was niet enkel een
schending van het internationaal recht, maar ook een overtreding van de
Myanmarese wet', zo staat te lezen in een juridisch rapport dat de VN aan
de junta bezorgden.

De VN veroordeelden de opsluiting van Suu Kyi al vaker, maar het is de
eerste maal dat ze ook zeggen dat Myanmar zijn eigen wetten overtreedt.
Ook een advocaat van de oppositiepartij noemde de opsluiting onterecht
omdat Suu Kyi, die altijd geweldloos verzet predikte, geen gevaar vormt
voor de openbare orde.

Het is zeer onwaarschijnlijk dat Suu Kyi hierdoor vroeger vrijkomt. Jared
Genser, de advocaat van Suu Kyi in Washington, denkt niet dat de
uitspraken van de VN de houding van de junta in Myanmar zullen veranderen:
'Ik koester niet de illusie dat de junta zal luisteren naar de VN.'

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 25, Bangkok Post
Burma key to war on drugs – Editorial

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is to kick off a new campaign against
illegal drugs next week. And there is good reason for the new impetus on
the "war on drugs".

In announcing the new campaign, Mr Abhisit cited frightening new evidence
that the rate of addiction is rising once again. His figures appear to
confirm the general feeling throughout the country that neither drug
suppression nor treatment have been adequate. The government must lead the
fresh campaign against illicit drugs while keeping in mind that the public
will not accept either legal abuses or official violence of the past.

The serious drug problem in today's world has several faces. One of the
most important is that the drugs which debase and imperil the country come
almost exclusively from outside. Thailand of the past was a drug producer,
home to traffickers selling out their country and exporting their illegal
products. Today, the country imports virtually all illegal drugs. Chiefly,
they come from Burma, where the government appears to do little against
one of the world's richest and most prolific trafficking rings. So-called
recreational drugs also come from South America and Europe, frequently
carried through neighbouring countries along the way.

Mr Abhisit has promised to increase border security as part of the
six-month anti-drug programme he will kick off on April 1. Of all the ways
to fight drug trafficking, this may be the most difficult and prone to
failure. The long and difficult Burmese and Lao borders in particular are
virtually impossible to seal. Smugglers detect an effort to guard one
portion of border and move to another.

The premier and his anti-drug security forces of the military and police
should put more emphasis on gaining information about the drug gangs. Last
week, a joint US-Thai operation dealt a significant blow to the narcotics
trade when agents arrested some top traffickers and hit them where it
really hurts - in their pocketbooks.

Authorities seized more than 117 million baht in cash and goods. The three
arrested men, former associates of the late heroin warlord Khun Sa,
admitted to having sold 750kg of heroin and methamphetamines in the past
year.

The arrested men pinpointed a large drugs laboratory. Close to the Thai
border of Tak province, it is reportedly owned by the United Wa State
Army, Southeast Asia's biggest and most influential drug cartel. The UWSA
thrives in what seems to be the absence of any action against the group by
the generals in Burma.

The public backs increased government action against drugs. Weekly surveys
by Abac Poll show that drugs have been the top overall concern of viewers
of the premier's weekly talk on TV. Mr Abhisit was correct to equate drugs
with terrorism and international crime as the chief threats to the
country. The prime minister correctly ordered that the war on drugs must
adhere to civil and human rights.

Two additional steps are vital to defeat the drug traffickers. The first
is to make good on Mr Abhisit's pledge to redirect some anti-drug
resources to help addicts and victims. It is as necessary to reduce the
demand for drugs as the supply. But the key to reducing supply rests with
the military dictators of Burma. Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was in
Burma and agreed to talk about the Burmese concern over the Karen
resistance, but without gaining any concessions from the junta on the
UWSA. So long as Burma allows drug trafficking to flourish, Thailand and
other neighbours will remain at a disadvantage.

____________________________________

March 25, Islamic Horizons (US)
Bound by Burma – Ramadan Alig

Earlier this year, a brief news item mentioned that the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was concerned about the fate of 126
Burmese refugees being held at an undisclosed Thai location. The boat
people are members of Burma's (renamed "Myanmar," another traditional name
for the country, by the ruling military junta in 1989) Rohingya, a mainly
Muslim minority.

In Jan. 2009, the Thai navy towed boats filled with about 1,000 Rohingya
refugees into international waters and set them adrift with only paddles;
nearly 650 were rescued off the Thai and Indonesian coasts. The Thai navy
denies persistent reports that the boats' engines had been sabotaged and
that the refugees had been given inadequate food and water supplies.
Various international media reports dismiss Thai claims and hold the navy
and the army's dreaded Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC)
responsible for these violations. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Thailand label these refugees "economic migrants," which creates excuses
for such human rights violations. Independent investigators reject this
label.

As neither Thailand nor Indonesia have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention,
which defines who is a refugee, their rights, and states' legal
obligation, or its 1967 Protocol, they give little legal protection to the
Rohingya. According to official figures, 1,225 Rohingya arrived in
Thailand in 2005-06, 2,763 more in 2006-07, and another 4,886 in 2007-08.

The root causes of this ongoing problem lie with the junta, which does not
recognize the Rohingya as one of Burma's estimated 130 ethnic minorities.
Its 1982 amendment to the country's citizenship law rendered the Rohingya
Muslims "stateless" and thus vulnerable to severe restrictions of
movement, which affect their ability to trade, seek employment,
healthcare, and education. Even visiting a neighboring village requires a
travel permit. After the Feb. 2001 riots, travel authorizations became
more restrictive. Arbitrary land confiscation (without compensation) occur
to provide land for Buddhist settlers or to build and enlarge military
camps and plantations for growing crops for the military and for
commercial purposes. In 2002, at least two new "model villages" were
established in Maungdaw township. The junta used the 9/1 1 "war on terror"
as a pretext to grab more Rohingya land to build military camps on its
border with Bangladesh.

A 2003 International Labor Organization (ILO) report revealed that forced
labor is widespread in Northern Arakan state - the poor cannot afford the
bribes demanded - even though the practice declined significantly during
the last decade after the UNHCR and the WFP (World Food Program) assumed
responsibility for building local roads. Despite the presence of UNHCR and
international agencies, however, conditions have hardly improved.

In 1978, more than 200,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to escape the
"Nagamin" (Dragon King) military operation. Officially aimed at
"scrutinizing each individual living in the state, designating citizens
and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking actions against
foreigners who have filtered into the country illegally," it resulted in
widespread killing, rape, destruction of mosques, and more religious
persecution. During 1991-92, some 250,000 people from Burma's Northern
Rakhine state fled to Bangladesh, claiming widespread forced labor,
summary executions, torture, and rape. They were sheltered in twenty camps
in the Cox's Bazar district. While most eventually went back, some 20,500
people- mostly Rohingya- remain in two of the original camps. Even though
they live under excruciating conditions, most of them do not want to
return home in the absence of peace and democracy. Amnesty International
and similar groups have reported on these events.

Besides Bangladesh, large numbers of Rohingya live in Malaysia and Saudi
Arabia. Every year, thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshis get on rickety
boats in hopes of finding work elsewhere. Many travel to Thailand by sea
and then overland to Malaysia. Thailand recently offered to host a
regional conference on how to deal with these "illegal immigrants."

The military, which has ruled since 1992 under the garb of the "State
Peace and Development Council" (the former "State Law and Order
Restoration Council"), considers Arakan's Muslims to be illegal immigrants
from Bangladesh. Unfortunately, Burmese civil society and political
opposition often share this perception. Such conditions can hardly be
considered "conducive for a return in safety and with dignity" of the
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. This explains why the majority of them do
not agree to repatriate voluntarily. As of 2005, the UNHCR has helped
repatriate some of them, but allegations of human rights abuses in the
refugee camps have threatened this effort. Despite earlier UN efforts, the
vast majority of them cannot go home because of the junta's policies.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who has spent much of
the last two decades under house arrest, is often covered in the
international news; however, the plight of the Rohingyas and similar items
is only reported when an "incident" occurs. Suu Kyi, the daughter of
General Aung San (the father of modern-day Burma), heads the National
League, which won the 1990 general elections. The junta, however, did not
allow her to become prime minister.

The Rohingya, a mainly Muslim ethnic group, is concentrated in two
northern townships of Rakhine state (formerly known as Arakan) in western
Burma. Their history in the state dates back to the early seventh century,
when Arab Muslim traders settled down and married local women. There is
little historical evidence, however, about this period. The Rohingya are
physically, linguistically, and culturally similar to South Asians,
especially Bengalis. In addition, some of Arakan's Rohingya are
descendants of those Arabs, Persians, and Pathans who migrated there
during the Mughal Empire. Several Rohingya held cabinet and parliamentary
posts under U Nu (1907-95; prime minister 194856, 1957-58, and 1960-62).

Sean Garcia and Camilla Olson, who assessed the Rohingya's situation in
Bangladesh and Malaysia in Nov. 2008 for the Washington-based Refugees
International (www.refugeesinternational.org), observed that repressive
government policies in Bangladesh and Malaysia, as well as the lack of
adequate international support, force the Rohingya to struggle for
survival in both countries. Garcia and Olson, who also fault the UN and
donor countries for helping to separate the Rohingya from other Burmese
refugees, recommend that they be integrated into the regional responses
for Burmese refugees. Host countries should allow the UNHCR and
implementing partners to provide basic services to the Rohingya and
officially recognize them as a refugee population.