BurmaNet News, May 29, 2009

[Editor]

May 29, 2009, Issue #3722

QUOTE OF THE DAY
We are facing a crisis of constitution, not a constitutional crisis. -
Aung San Suu Kyi, speaking of the validity of the charges against her at
her trial.

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: "We are facing a crisis of constitution,” Suu Kyi tells lawyer
Mizzima: Yettaw's testimony throws a wrench into junta's plans
Reuters: Myanmar's Suu Kyi ill, court delays trial
AFP: Party 'very concerned' for health of Myanmar's Suu Kyi
IMNA: Junta prepares new training centers for “Border Guards;” 2 ethnic
Karen groups likely to attend

ON THE BORDER
DPA: Minister: Myanmar assures repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh
IMNA: Thai Government to Issue New Work Permits for Migrant Workers News

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Weekly business roundup
DVB: Italy backs $5 million food aid package to Burma

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: More Asean MPs Call for Suu Kyi’s Release
AFP: Singapore says ASEAN expulsion will not change Burma

REGIONAL
The Nation (Thailand): Burma should listen to the world: FM

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: Myanmar should end media curbs on Suu Kyi trial: watchdog
Mizzima: Human rights in jeopardy around the world: AI

OPINION / OTHER
The Times of India: Free Her – Editorial
Irrawaddy: A guilty verdict is certain, but what then? - Editorial
Asia Times: ASEAN, EU lock horns over Myanmar - Stephen Kurczy
The Asia Age: India must talk rights, not realpolitik, with Burma -
Shankari Sundararaman

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

May 29, Irrawaddy
"We are facing a crisis of constitution,” Suu Kyi tells lawyer - Min Lwin

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, defense lawyer Nyan Win said that
Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi privately told him that the
charges against her are invalid as she was charged under the 1975 State
Security law, which was annulled by the 2008 constitution.

“We are facing a crisis of constitution, not a constitutional crisis,” she
reportedly told him on Thursday.

The lawyer said that Suu Kyi was referring to a 1975 law enacted under the
1974 constitution, which became invalidated when the military seized power
in 1988. In addition, under the junta’s “seven-step road map,” the country
approved a new constitution in May 2008 by national referendum, which
would also invalidate the 1975 act.

Defense witness Kyi Win (no relation to Suu Kyi’s lawyer Kyi Win) echoed
Suu Kyi’s sentiments in the courtroom on Thursday, testifying that if the
1974 constitution was still in effect, then the existing constitution was
“null and void,” according to a report in the state-run The New Light of
Myanmar on Friday.

Kyi Win testified on the ninth day of Suu Kyi’s trial on Thursday. He was
the sole witness that the defense team was allowed to call; however, three
other defense witnesses were denied the opportunity to testify, although
the court gave no reason for their disqualification.

Kyi Win also questioned the junta’s claims that Suu Kyi was responsible
for the intruder in her compound on May 3-5, according to The New Light of
Myanmar.

Although misleading, it is believed the state-run newspaper was attempting
to translate Kyi Win’s testimony to read that if the State employed guards
around Suu Kyi’s property, then the security of the house was its
responsibility, not Suu Kyi’s.

Although the official version of Kyi Win’s statement reads otherwise, it
is believed he said that the Law to Safeguard the State against the
Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts has already been
invalidated.

Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon after court proceedings, Rangoon Northern
District Court authorities escorted defendant John William Yettaw to Suu
Kyi’s lakeside residence to describe how he had entered and left the
compound on May 3-5, Burma’s state-run media reported on Friday.

On the ninth day of the trial, Yettaw reportedly testified to the court
that he entered Suu Kyi’s compound in the morning on May 4 and he left
just before midnight on May 5, and that he had undertaken to go to the
Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s house of his own accord.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, Nyan Win said Suu Kyi’s defense team
had not been informed that court authorities intended to take the American
intruder to the lakeside compound.

“The government has just done whatever they wanted,” he said. “In fact, if
they want to do something regarding the trial, they must inform us.”

Yettaw reportedly confessed to the court that he accepted that he had
broken Burmese immigration law and the law of Rangoon City Development
Committee by secretly entering Suu Kyi’s residence at night without asking
permission, even though he knew that the house was guarded by security
members, the New Light of Myanmar reported.

____________________________________

May 29, Mizzima News
Yettaw's testimony throws a wrench into junta's plans - Nem Davies

Yesterday’s state-run media, weary of potential implications, omitted some
facts revealed during the court testimony on Wednesday of American John
William Yettaw, who disclosed that he encountered security personnel while
trying to sneak into Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence.

At Wednesday's hearing, Yettaw testified that he met with armed security
personnel upon leaving her house after his first visit, in November of
last year, with the security detachment aiming their guns at him and
asking, "What are you doing here?" Apart from that, he reportedly faced no
trouble and harassment by security deployed at Suu Kyi's compound and
managed to leave the area, according to his testimony.

Then, in his second visit, he again testified he encountered five security
personnel while trying to sneak into her house by swimming across Inya
Lake. On this occasion security personnel threw some stones at him but did
not do anything to block his entry.

However, yesterday's state-run media failed to report any of these
proceedings.

In his testimony, Yettaw repeatedly justified entry into the house because
"God sent him here to convey a message of imminent danger to the life of
Daw Suu unleashed by a terrorist outfit."

The court’s reported earlier plan of handing down a verdict today, Friday,
was jeopardized by Yettaw’s testimony, a leading police officer told
Mizzima.

The court instead fixed the date for final arguments for Monday, June 1,
said Kyi Win, who testified yesterday as the sole defense witness.

As with all but two days of the trial, Wednesday being the 8th day of the
proceedings, the court was closed for Yettaw's testimony to journalists,
the diplomatic community and other interested parties not directly
involved in the case.

On a day when Aung San Suu Kyi's presence was not required at the court,
Yettaw's testimony on Wednesday lasted approximately three hours with the
judges also hearing for about half an hour from Suu Kyi's two live-in
colleagues, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, who are also being charged.

Security remains tight around Insein Prison, where the court is convening,
and Insein Market. Civilian organizations loyal to the junta can be seen
monitoring those who come to the venue in vigil or out of keen interest in
the proceedings.

____________________________________

May 29, Reuters
Myanmar's Suu Kyi ill, court delays trial - Aung Hla Tun

Yangon - The party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed
"grave concern" on Friday for her health while she is in prison facing
charges that carry a jail term of up to five years.

"It is learnt that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not been able to sleep well at
night because she gets cramps in her legs day after day," the National
League for Democracy (NLD) said.

Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, said the court decided to delay final
arguments in the case until June 5. The final hearing was to be held on
Monday.

"They did not give us a reason," he told Reuters.

The 63-year-old Suu Kyi was moved from her home to a guest house in
Yangon's notorious Insein Central Prison on May 14 to face charges of
violating her house arrest. Only days earlier, she had been treated for
low blood pressure and dehydration.

The NLD said she "is in desperate need of proper medical treatment and we
are very much concerned about her health."

Suu Kyi has spent more that 13 of the past 19 years in some form of
detention, and activists fear for her health if she is convicted, as is
widely expected.

She faces a three to five year prison term if found guilty of breaking the
terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay for two
days after he swam to her home on May 4.

The case has been condemned by the West as a "show trial" to keep Suu Kyi
detained during the regime's promised elections next year, dismissed by
critics as a ploy to entrench nearly a half century of military rule.

Myanmar's Southeast Asian neighbors have warned the trial threatened the
military government's "honor and credibility," but rejected calls for
tough action against the ruling generals.

The regime lashed out at its critics on Thursday, accusing them of
meddling in its affairs and denying the prosecution of Suu Kyi was a
political or human rights issue.

The American intruder, John Yettaw, has told the court that God sent him
to warn Suu Kyi that she was going to be assassinated by "terrorists."

Suu Kyi has denied any prior knowledge of his plans and blamed the
incident on a security breach, for which no officials have been punished.

Suu Kyi is accused of breaking the terms of her house arrest under a
draconian state security law. Her lawyers argue she was charged under a
section of the law that is no longer valid because it is based on the 1974
constitution abolished years ago.

Suu Kyi's two female housemates and Yettaw are charged under the same
security law. The American is also accused of immigration violations and
breaking a municipal law that bans swimming in Inya Lake where Suu Kyi's
home is located.

(Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

____________________________________

May 29, Agence France Presse
Party 'very concerned' for health of Myanmar's Suu Kyi

The party of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday it
was "very concerned" for the health of the Nobel Laureate while she is in
jail facing trial.

The 63-year-old had suffered a series of health scares in recent months
before she was charged with breaching her house arrest in early May over
an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside home.

"We are very much concerned for her health situation. Because of frequent
leg cramps at night she has to walk around," Nyan Win, a spokesman for her
National League for Democracy (NLD), told AFP.

"The chief of the (prison) medical team is also trying to find out the
reason. Aung San Suu Kyi has said that the chief of the medical team is
taking care of her," he added.

Myanmar's state-controlled media reported last week that medical
specialists had visited her at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison and she
was receiving daily health care at the jail.

Nyan Win also said that final arguments in the internationally condemned
trial had been pushed back from Monday until Friday. Aung San Suu Kyi
faces five years if convicted.

"The court informed her main lawyer Kyi Win this evening about the
postponement of the final arguments until June 5. We don't know the
reason," Nyan Win said.

He said that he would go to Insein Prison on Saturday to meet Aung San Suu
Kyi after her legal team applied to the court to be able to consult with
her.

"We hope we will be allowed to see her," he said.

Myanmar's military junta has kept Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of
the last 19 years, most of them in virtual isolation at her tightly
guarded home by Yangon's Inya Lake.

She was twice placed on an intravenous drip at her house earlier this
month because she could not eat, had low blood pressure and was
dehydrated. Doctors also administered a drip last year.

In November 2006, Aung San Suu Kyi had an ultrasound, which is used to
screen for a variety of ailments including heart and gynaecological
problems, and was given a clean bill of health by her personal physician.

____________________________________

May 28, Independent Mon News Agency
Junta prepares new training centers for “Border Guards;” 2 ethnic Karen
groups likely to attend
 - Rai Maraoh and Blai Mon

The Burmese army is preparing two training centers in Mon State for ethnic
armed groups being transformed into government “Border Guard Forces”
(BGF). Two ethnic Karen ceasefire groups are likely to be trained there as
the junta steps up pressure on other area groups prior to the 2010
election.

In April, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) junta announced
that armed ethnic ceasefire groups would no longer be permitted to exist
as independent forces, as many have since agreeing to put fighting on hold
in the 1990’s. Instead, they must either disarm or integrate themselves
into the SPDC army as BGF battalions.

BGF battalions will receive training and support, including weapons, from
the SPDC army. BGF battalions must also drop their use of ethnic
nationality based names, and accept the presence of soldiers and officers
from the regular SPDC army as part of their command structure.

Two training centers for BGF battalions are to be located in Thanbyuzayat
Township, Mon State; one is to be at the No. 4 Military Training Center
near Waekalee village and the other to be freshly built near Yethagon
village, on the Thanbyuzayat to Three Pagodas Pass motor road. According
to Bangkok based media group Kitpyaing, orders issued by the SPDC
Southeast Command, which controls the area, directed training centers for
BGF battalions to be prepared by October 2009.

“Before, the government planned to hold the trainings in May 2009. But [my
source] said the trainings were moved to September,” a source in the Karen
National Union (KNU) who maintains close contact with a group becoming a
BGF told IMNA. “Soldiers from sergeant to private have to attend 90 days
of training; warrant officers to battalion commanders have to attend the
training for 45 days.”

The question of ethnic cease-fire groups transforming themselves into
government BGF battalions is a delicate one, with groups negotiating what
some perceive as a choice between renewed armed conflict or loss of
control and potential domination by the SPDC. Consequently, the majority
of the country’s largest groups have thus far dodged the question: for
most, negotiations are ongoing.

In the area near the new training centers, however, the picture is
beginning to clear slightly. At least one ethnic Karen group recently
agreed to undergo training at the new BGF training centers in
Thanbyuzayat; last week, IMNA reported that the Karen Peace Force (KPF),
which split from the KNU in 1997, would be forming at least one BGF
battalion. The group is currently made up of 500 troops; each BGF
battalion must include 326.

“In order to change the Karen Peace Force into a Border Guard Force
and
give it military training and administration, SPDC authorities are now
building a new training center,” explained a source close to the group.

A second ethnic Karen group, the larger Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
(DKBA), meanwhile, is also expected to form BGF battalions, though there
has not been an official announcement. An article released by the Human
Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) earlier today, however, reports that
this group is now forcibly conscripting men so that its ranks are
sufficiently full to field multiple BGF battalions.

“After the DKBA leader met with the General That Naing Win [in late
April], they started to recruit and collect the new soldiers for their
battalions,” HURFOM quoted a KNU District-level Chairman. The DKBA split
from the KNU in 1994. “That Naing Win [who heads up the SPDC Southeast
Command] announced that 326 privates must join the battalion. If they
don’t have that amount [of troops available]
 they don’t want to destroy
the old battalion and don’t want to combine with KPF [or] for the two
battalions to become one; therefore, they forced the villagers to join the
military service to achieve the necessary number.”

According to HURFOM, the conscription is being carried about by DKBA
Battalion No. 999, headed by Commander Chit Thu. Irrawaddy News,
meanwhile, reported in January that Commander Chit Thu had already told
soldiers of the DKBA’s planned transformation into BGF battalions during
Independence Day celebrations.

The status of a third Karen cease-fire group, the KNU/Karen National
Liberation Peace Council (KPC), has yet to be confirmed. The group, which
was formed by Htein Maung after splitting from the KNU in 2007, received
permission to operate an “economic zone” near Three Pagodas Pass in
February, and opened an official office in the border town by the end of
the following month. Whether this means it will transform into a BGF has
not been confirmed by IMNA, though the Irrawaddy reported it to be so in
February.

The area’s largest question mark remains the New Mon State Party (NMSP),
whose armed wing the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) currently fields
6 battalions. Though it announced it would not be participating in the
2010 elections following a large Party Congress in January, its position
on becoming a border guard force is less clear. In an interview with IMNA
in January, party spokesman Nai Oung Mange skirted the question, saying
the NMSP would “consider the issue” and “ask for opinions from monks, Mon
organizations and also Mon people” if pressured to transform the MNLA.

Other party higher ups including party Chairman Nai Hongsa and Central
Executive Committee member Nai Shwe Thein have been more definitive in
asserting that the MNLA would not be changing into a BGF; the former
promised as much in an interview with the BBC in January, while the latter
went so far as to say the ceasefire would not survive an attempt by the
SPDC to absorb the MNLA.

Such positions were announced prior to any official pressure from the SPDC
over the issue, however, and according to Nai Oung Mange the SPDC has yet
to issue a BGF order regarding the MNLA. “The first time General Ye Myint
came and meet with us, he did not order us to change our party into a
Border Guard Force,” Nai Shwe Thein told IMNA yesterday. “I am sure, they
will come and tell us to make our party as a border guard, but I am not
sure about when.” Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, meanwhile, canceled a recent meeting
between government and NMSP officials at the end of April.

Should the NMSP refuse to form BGF battalions, the SPDC will likely look
to other, less powerful Mon groups to form BGF battalions. A highly ranked
retired MNLA officer who spoke with IMNA today pointed to the Mon Peace
and Defence Force (MPDF), a small group led by Nai Ong Chan, who retired
from the party nearly a decade ago and briefly allied with Nai Aung Naing,
then top MNLA general, who split from the party in 2008.

The MPDF has recently been making waves, publicly carrying firearms in
places they are normally prohibited – including Moulmein, Mon State’s
capital city. According to Kaowao News, the group has opened an official
office in the city and is conducting gambling operations – all with the
backing of the SPDC Military Affairs Security.

In April, MPDF members got into an armed altercation with NMSP officials
over taxation of a lucrative ox fight in Kyaikmayaw Township that resulted
in shots fired and a truck accident. Soon after, 3 MPDF members were
arrested for the assassination of respected party member Dr. Nai Min Naung
in Mudon Township. An assassination attempt on a second NMSP member in
Mudon failed in May. Though no group members have been officially arrested
or accused, NMSP members widely believe the attempt to be the work of the
MPDF.

It is unlikely that the Nai Ong Chan group could field enough soldiers to
form a BGF battalion; the number of Nai Ong Chan followers is unknown,
though one NMSP source in an area frequented by group members estimated
them to number just over 10.

Another open question regards the Mon Peace Group – Chaung Chi (MPG-CC),
which split from the NMSP in 1997. The group broke an extended period of
relative quiet by joining with the SPDC army to launch an attack on the
Karen National Union’s Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Mergui
during early April. According to another NMSP source, however, even with
support from a recent SPDC-backed recruiting push the MPG-CC numbers just
40 or 50 soldiers.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

May 29, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Minister: Myanmar assures repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh

Bangladesh Migration Myanmar Minister: Myanmar assures repatriation of
Rohingya from Bangladesh = Dhaka

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said Friday that leaders of the
military-run Myanmar administration had agreed to a repatriation of
Rohingya refugees, several thousands of whom had been living for years in
Bangladeshi camps.

"The leaders of the Myanmar administration admitted that the Rohingyas are
Myanmar nationals and agreed to take them back home," she told a press
conference on her return from abroad after visiting a number of countries,
including neighbouring Myanmar.

Dhaka will send a list of the refugees, to be prepared in consultation
with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, shortly to Yangon
seeking their repatriation.

The process for repatriation of the refugees has remained stalled for
nearly five years.

By official statistics, some 22,000 Rohingyas, a minority Muslim group of
Myanmar's northern Rakhane state, are awaiting repatriation.

But media reports said that more than 200,000 Rohingya refugees, most of
whom have already adopted with Bangladesh's society, are staying in
south-eastern Cox's Bazar district.

Myanmar authorities in December last year denied Rohingyas as their
citizens rather tried to brand them as Bangladeshi citizens.

During her maiden visit to Myanmar between May 16 and May 17, Dipu Moni
requested Myanmar Home Minister Major-General Maung Oo, to take back their
citizens. The general assured her of the repatriation, while asking for a
list of its citizens.

It has been reported that hundreds of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh as
the military junta in Myanmar cracked down on minority ethnic groups to
divert international focus on its domestic affairs.

____________________________________

May 28, Independent Mon News Agency
Thai Government to Issue New Work Permits for Migrant Workers News -
Jaloon Htaw

Thai TV Channel 3 on Monday reported that the Thai government plans to
issue a large number of work permits for migrant workers, so they may stay
in Thailand.

One Mon migrant worker in Bangkok told IMNA how many different industries
have almost gone out of business due to a lack of available labor. They
added that they thought the government had arrested many of the migrant
workers.

Said the worker about the town of Maharchai, “most of the industry is
there. Now they [the large factories] need 700,000 migrant workers. So the
bosses asked the Thai authorities to issue work permits.” This figure was
corroborated by a member of the NGO, Labour Rights Promotion Networks
(LRPN), which is based in Maharchai.

In June the government will first allow those workers holding current
permits to apply to extend them for another year, said a volunteer at the
Raks Thai Foundation.

a volunteer at the Raks Thai Foundation reports that in July work permits
will be issued by the Thai government to new migrant workers and existing
workers who formerly lacked legal status. In Maharchai approximately
300,000 new permits will be issued.

New permits will cost 6,500 Baht each and extended permits will cost
4,500. Currently the work permits do not allow work or travel in other
towns unless the boss has given permission. But in 2010 this will change.
In 2010, the work permits that have been in effect for a full year can be
redeemed into a passport that allows unrestricted work and travel in
Thailand; in addition, these permits will allow migrant workers easier
travel to and from their home countries.

This will be only the third time that the Thai government has given
permits to a significant number of migrant workers since they began to
issue them 12 years ago, said the LRPM. There are more than 2,000,000
Burmese currently living in Thailand, along with 2,000,000 other
foreigners, many from Lao and Cambodia.

“If we have a work permit card, we can go and do anything,” said an
exuberant migrant worker from Phuket Town.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

May 29, Irrawaddy
Weekly business roundup - William Boot

Trade Unions Pressure Chevron on Burma

Two American trade unions backed by a several human rights groups have
attempted to force US oil giant Chevron to justify its continued
involvement with the “pariah military regime” of Burma.

The teamsters’ and AFL-CIO unions sought to press a vote at Chevron’s 
annual shareholders’ meeting in California on Wednesday to disclose
business dealings in Burma, where it has a stake in the Yadana gas field.

The disclosure bid, which garnered 25 percent of the vote but failed to
pass, questioned the Chevron management’s political risk assessment
criteria.

“We’re pleased that other Chevron shareholders recognize the enormous
legal, financial, political and reputational risks associated with
operating in Burma,” said teamsters’ general-secretary Thomas Keegel after
the vote.

“The Burmese military junta is one of Chevron's partners in Yadana through
its military-run oil company, Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.
That makes Chevron business partners with a pariah military regime that
has brutally dominated the people of Burma and that has put a Nobel Peace
Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest.”

Chevron, which has a 28 percent share in the Yadana field, managed by
France’s Total, says it will not quit Burma, despite pressure also from
the US Congress.

The Californian company insists that its business presence in Burma
benefits ordinary people.


China’s Green Policy Stops at Border where River Changes Name

A Chinese state-owned company is pressing ahead with a project to build a
large dam on the Salween River in Burma—after the Beijing government
ordered a halt to similar projects along the same river in China.

Praise has been lavished on China’s Pemier Wen Jiabao for suspending dam
work on the upper reaches of the Nujiang River, reportedly over
environmental concerns.

But those concerns appear to evaporate after the 3,240-kilometer river
from the foothills of the Himalayas crosses into Burma.

The Chinese Sinohydro Corporation construction company is still moving
ahead with a 1,200-megawatt hydroelectric dam scheme on the same river at
Hatgyi in Karen State.

In Burma, the river is called the Salween and the military regime is
unconcerned about the environment. Chinese and Thai government state
agencies are involved in the Hatgyi project.

Environmentalists say the concerns now apparently preoccupying government
officials across the border in China do not apply in Burma, where a number
of controversial dams are proposed.

“All of the dams planned on the Salween River will greatly disrupt the
riverine ecosystem and destroy the livelihoods of those peoples living
along the river,” says the NGO Burma Rivers Network. “Large areas of
land
will be flooded. Those living along the river will be forcibly
relocated, likely without compensation.”

Most of the electricity from the Hatgyi project is earmarked for Thailand.


Burma, Bangladesh Discuss Improved Sea Links to Boost Trade

Burma and Bangladesh are attempting to improve trade and cooperation in
the Arakan coastal region border area between the two countries.

Proposals for agricultural fertilizer factories, hydroelectric schemes and
commercial coastal traffic between Chittagong and Sittwe were discussed at
a ministerial level meeting, according to Bangladeshi media reports.

The two sides talked about ways of boosting the value of bilateral trade
more than 300 percent—from US $140 million a year in 2008 to US $500
million in 2010.

The proposals, between a Bangladeshi delegation led by Foreign Minister
Dipu Moni and several of Burma’s military leaders, including energy
minister Gen Lun Thi, came despite friction in other relations between the
two countries.

The issue of sea territory boundaries between the two countries in the Bay
of Bengal remains unresolved, and Dhaka is expected to refer that issue to
the United Nations for arbitration.

Both sides claim areas believed to harbor lucrative undersea natural gas
deposits.


New Cyclone Hits Fishing, Rice Industries

Cyclone damage in Burma’s Arakan State has damaged coastal shrimp farms
and agricultural crops while other farming communities are still trying to
recover from last year’s Cyclone Nargis.

Cyclone Aila earlier this week ripped through coastal areas on both sides
of the border between Burma and Bangladesh.

Hundreds of flimsy built houses have been destroyed and fishing and shrimp
farming businesses badly dislocated, according to the Kaladan news agency.

The cost of damage has not yet been assessed. Reports from Arakan say the
authorities had made little or no preparation for this year’s cyclone
season.

Burma’s fishing and rice industries are still struggling to recover from
the devastation wreaked by Nargis one year ago.

____________________________________

May 29, Democratic Voice of Burma
Italy backs $5 million food aid package to Burma - Francis Wade

The families of fishermen affected by Burma’s cyclone Nargis last year
will be the recipients of a multi-million dollar food aid programme
organized by the Italian government and the United Nations.

The programme will target 32,000 fishing and farming families in the
Irrawaddy delta area where the cyclone struck last May, killing 140,000
people.

Over one million acres of farmland were inundated with salt water, while
many families’ farming and fishing equipment was destroyed.

The Italian government has sponsored the initiative, which is being
managed by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

The Rome-based organisation has said that assistance will be given in the
development of sustainable, small-scale fisheries and the improvement of
rice production.

In addition, the FAO hopes that new employment will be generated.

"The 32,000 families would join the 112,000 households whom FAO helped
between June 2008 and May 2009, as part of its $US17 million cyclone
Nargis assistance project, and hundreds of thousands of other families in
various parts of [Burma] that FAO is working with and has worked with
during its 30 years in this country," said Shin Imao, FAO's representative
in Burma.

____________________________________
ASEAN

May 29, Irrawaddy
More Asean MPs Call for Suu Kyi’s Release - Wai Moe

Kuala Lumpur—Support for Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has
stepped up with about 100 more parliamentarians from Southeast Asian
countries adding their voices to the growing international calls for her
release.

Two Members of Parliament (MPs) from Singapore, Charles Chong and Inderjit
Singh, on Friday called for the suspension of Burma from the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) due to the Burmese junta’s disregard
for Asean’s concerns over Suu Kyi.

Asean diplomat sources confirmed to The Irrawaddy that leading members of
the regional bloc such as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the
Philippines are seriously considering suspending Burma’s membership if the
junta extends Suu Kyi’s detention or sentences her to prison on trumped-up
charges.

In Malaysia, 30 MPs on Tuesday joined half a million other signatories on
a petition organized by an umbrella group called “Free Burma’s Political
Prisoners Now!” Among the politicians was Malaysian opposition leader
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Before May 26, only three MPs had signed the petition calling for the
release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 political prisoners in
Burma,” said Ye Min Htun, a Burmese activist based in Kuala Lumpur. “But
now, 30 MPs have joined the campaign. I am very surprised.”

However, observers have pointed out that most signatories were from
opposition parties and not from the ruling National Front coalition led by
new Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Aegile Fernandez, the program coordinator of Tenaganita, a well-known
Malaysian human rights group, said that Malaysians are concerned about Suu
Kyi’s incarceration.
She added that more politicians from the ruling party in Malaysia should
show solidarity with Suu Kyi.

In the Philippines, 32 MPs called for a Filipino government resolution on
May 21 denouncing her trial in Rangoon and demanding the Burmese military
government release Suu Kyi.

Among the new members of Asean, 29 Cambodian MPs voiced their concern by
sending a letter of protest this week to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM),
which was held in the Cambodian capital on May 27-28.

According to the BBC, during the Asem in Phnom Penh this week, Burma’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint remarked to British Junior Foreign
Minister Bill Rammell that “we [the Burmese junta] are not the enemy.” In
reply, the British minister reportedly said that although the European
Union and Burma are not enemies, they wanted to see freedom for Suu Kyi
and positive changes in the country.

Analysts said the Burmese regime’s latest attempt to detain Suu Kyi
presents a critical challenge to Asean, which has only recently
implemented its first constitution, called the “Asean Charter.”

As the current chairman of Asean, Thailand called on May 19 for the
immediate release of Suu Kyi. In a statement on behalf of Asean, the Thai
government said it was ready to help with national reconciliation and
democracy efforts in Burma.

The Burmese regime responded through its state-run newspaper, The New
Light of Myanmar, saying, “Alternate Asean Chairman Thailand’s statement
[sic] which is not in conformity with Asean practice, [is] incorrect in
facts, [and is] interfering in [Burmese] internal affairs.”

However, a source close to Thailand’s foreign ministry said that although
non-interference in internal affairs is one of Asean’s basic principles,
members have the “collected responsibility” for issues in the region under
the Asean charter and Thailand’s statement reflected the “collected
responsibility.”

In Phnom Penh, Asean members voiced their support for the Asean chairman’s
statement on Burma.

Kavi Chongkittavorn, an editor at Bangkok’s The Nation newspaper, said
that Burmese issues are now becoming problematic to the Asean Charter. If
Asean cannot handle the issues the charter will be meaningless, he said.

Vietnam will take over the Asean chairmanship next year. Analysts say
Asean could be expected to tone down its criticism of Burma under a
Vietnamese chairmanship.

____________________________________

May 29, Agence France Presse
Singapore says ASEAN expulsion will not change Burma

Expelling Burma from ASEAN isn't the way to bring about reform in the
military-ruled nation even if it tarnishes the group's credibility, the
Singapore government said yesterday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations will have greater influence on
Burma by maintaining dialogue instead of isolating it or imposing
sanctions, said Zainul Abidin Rasheed, senior minister of state at
Singapore’s foreign ministry.

Burma has been in the spotlight recently for its treatment of democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial for violating her house arrest
after an American man swam to her lakeside home.

She faces up to five years in jail if convicted in a case that has
triggered strong international condemnation.

Speaking in the Singapore parliament, Zainul acknowledged that "domestic
developments in [Burma] have adversely affected the reputation and
credibility of Asean."

But expelling the country from the regional bloc isn't the right way to
induce reforms, he said.

"The question of expulsion or suspension which are often raised by
external observers of ASEAN is not as straightforward as it seems," Zainul
said, noting that Western sanctions have had little effect on the country.

"We have always believed in ASEAN that we have more influence over
[Burma], however limited, through engagement rather than isolating it."

The comments echoed those of Thailand’s ASEAN chair, Surin Pitsuwan, who
on Wednesday said expressed concern about Burma membership in the bloc.

Speaking on the sidelines of talks between ASEAN and European Union
leaders in Hanoi, Thailand’s ASEAN chair, Surin Pitsuwan, warned of damage
to the bloc’s credibility, with Burma an ever more controversial member.

"The discussion in the room back there was that [Suu Kyi’s trial]...
affects ASEAN's image and ASEAN's collective interests," he told
reporters.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

May 29, The Nation (Thailand)
Burma should listen to the world: FM

The Burmese military junta should respond in positive to international
pleas to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Foreign Minister
Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

Burma should take into consideration seriously as the international
community unanimously called the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and
all political prisoners for national reconciliation, he said.

It is very rare the international community from the United Nations
Security Council, the United States, the European Union, the Asean and
countries in East Asia took the same stance on the Burma, he said.

"Now the ball is in their court, I think Burma is thinking about the call
seriously," Kasit told reporters.

Aung San Suu Kyi's is on the trial for the charge of breaching her house
arrest term as an American John Yettaw swam across the Inya Lake to her
resident in Rangoon.

The meetings of Asia-Europe in Hanoi and EU-Asean in Phnom Penh this week
were dominated by Burma issue. Ministers to the meetings expressed their
concern and called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma, however, stayed the court defending it was internal affairs and
trial was conducted in accordance with its laws.

Kasit said Burma as a member of the Asean has an obligation to comply with
Asean Charter which guilds the regional grouping to a people caring
community.

"Of course, the charter's text has no sanction clause but there is a moral
obligation which members have to comply," he said.

It is not interference in domestic affairs since all concerns were raised
with good intention to see progressive of national reconciliation in
Burma, he said.

"How the national reconciliation could take place if Aung San Suu Kyi was
under detention. The process is not inclusive," he said.

Burma's political situation would loom large again next week when leaders
of the Asean gathered in South Korea's Jeju Island to commemorate 20th
year anniversary of Korea-Asean relation.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

May 29, Agence France Presse
Myanmar should end media curbs on Suu Kyi trial: watchdog

An international media rights group urged Myanmar's junta Thursday to lift
restrictions on coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial, saying the lack of
transparency made a fair verdict unlikely.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the military government
had been "inconsistent" in its dealings with the media over the trial of
the Nobel laureate inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

Most of the trial has been behind closed doors, with authorities allowing
a limited number of local reporters -- including some working for
international media -- to cover proceedings on just two days since it
opened on May 18.

"Burmese journalists are or are not allowed into the trial at the
military's whim while foreign journalists are carefully kept away," RSF
said, referring to the country by its former name, Burma.

"Even with this limited access, the Burmese public is not being properly
informed as the military's prior censorship prevents any independent
coverage. The lack of transparency makes a fair verdict even more
unlikely," it added.

RSF said several citizen journalists had been warned not to take photos or
film of Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters outside the prison. A demonstrator
was arrested Thursday outside the court, where many police officers are
stationed.

Myanmar citizens must tune to international radio stations broadcasting in
Burmese or the two satellite TV stations with Burmese language programming
for free coverage of the trial, RSF said.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, faces up to five years behind bars on charges of
breaching her house arrest, stemming from an incident in which an American
man swam across a lake to enter her closely watched home.

____________________________________

May 29, Mizzima News
Human rights in jeopardy around the world: AI - Usa Pichai

Amnesty International (AI) is reporting that the world is sitting on a
social, political and economic time bomb fuelled by an unfolding human
rights crisis, according to their latest annual report released on
Thursday.

In AI's 2009 State of the World’s Human Rights, Secretary General Irene
Khan cautioned in a statement, “Underlying the economic crisis is an
explosive human rights crisis. The economic downturn has aggravated
abuses, distracted attention from them and created new problems. In the
name of security, human rights were trampled on. Now, in the name of
economic recovery, they are being relegated to the back seat.”

The statement noted that higher food prices has led to more hunger and
disease, notably in Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe, where governments are
accused of using food as a political weapon.

Burmese authorities are further accused of ongoing human rights abuses
related to restrictions on the freedom of expression and continued
offensives against ethnic groups.

Since November 2005, when a current government offensive began in the east
of Burma, more than 140,000 Karen civilians are said to have been killed,
tortured, forcibly displaced, sexually violated, recruited for forced
labor and otherwise subjected to widespread and systematic violations of
their human rights. According to AI, such actions are tantamount to crimes
against humanity.

In the report's focus on Asia and the Pacific, AI highlighted the May 2008
landfall of Cyclone Nargis in Burma, which killed some 130,000 and
displaced hundreds of thousands more. The rights watchdog accuses Burma's
authorities of pursuing policies detrimental to the relief and
rehabilitation of those affected by the killer storm.

“The cyclone should have also wiped away any lingering doubts over whether
repressive government policies can impoverish a population. The world
watched in horror as Myanmar’s [Burma's] government, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), refused to acknowledge the scope of the
disaster and provided little assistance to the estimated 2.4 million
survivors of the cyclone.”

AI’s report indicated that the SPDC rejected international assistance and
blocked access to the effected area when survivors most needed food,
shelter and medicine.

“Instead, a week after the cyclone, as victims were still struggling to
survive, the SPDC diverted crucial resources towards a rubber stamp
referendum to approve a new and deeply flawed Constitution," argues AI.
"By deliberately blocking vital aid while failing to provide adequate
assistance itself, the SPDC violated the rights of hundreds of thousands
to life, food, and health.”

The report noted that even Burma's erstwhile defenders in the
international community, including ASEAN countries and China, objected to
the junta's actions following Nargis, calling on the Generals to provide
access to aid and mediating between Naypyitaw and the wider international
community.

The group added that setting aside its historic reluctance to speak in the
language of human rights, ASEAN’s valuable efforts in the wake of Cyclone
Nargis helped those devastated receive critical assistance.

AI further leant its support to the establishment of a Human Rights
component to the ASEAN Charter.

Amidst trying times for human rights around the world, “The Charter
asserts members’ commitment to human rights and provides ASEAN with an
unprecedented opportunity to create a strong human rights body,”
postulates the London-based organization.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

May 29, The Times of India
Free Her – Editorial

Myanmar cares a damn about what the world says. Its deputy foreign
minister has highlighted this once more. In response to international
calls for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on
trial on charges of hosting an American man at her home, therefore
allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest, Maung Myint said, "It
is not political, it is not a human rights issue. So we don't accept
pressure and interference from abroad."

Suu Kyi's supporters believe that this latest trial is an excuse for the
junta to prevent her release which was due and subsequent participation in
elections scheduled for next year. There are fears that the trial is
loaded against Suu Kyi and there's no way of verifying what's really going
on. We really never know what happens in Myanmar, tightly controlled as it
is by a draconian military junta.

Outraged by what is widely perceived as an unfair trial, the international
community has strongly condemned the junta's latest move. US president
Barack Obama has called for Suu Kyi's "immediate" release, a call made by
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and British prime minister Gordon Brown,
among others. Celebrities like film actors George Clooney and Daniel
Craig, and football star David Beckham, are among those who have signed
petitions calling for international pressure on Myanmar's military rulers
to secure Suu Kyi's release. In short, the democratic world is putting its
weight behind one of democracy's bravest soldiers.

India's stand, as is often the case, is ambivalent. We have just concluded
a spectacular democratic exercise and are still showing it off to the
world. But, unfortunately, when it comes to speaking up for the defenders
of democracy in Myanmar, our voice drops to a whisper. To put it bluntly,
India's foreign policy with regard to Myanmar is caught in a trap. We
chose to play footsie with the military regime in the hope of getting
access to Myanmar's natural resources and to secure our north-east from
infiltration. We have achieved a degree of understanding on border
infiltration but have been well eclipsed by China as far as exerting
influence in Myanmar is concerned. We have, meanwhile, let down the people
of Myanmar in their quest for democracy. If India is to make amends, this
new government must redraw India's approach map to Myanmar. Given our
aspiration towards a greater global role, New Delhi, under the foreign
ministry, would do well to recalibrate its approach towards our
neighbours, especially towards ruthless dictators whom nobody in the world
particularly likes.

____________________________________

May 29, Irrawaddy
A guilty verdict is certain, but what then? - Editorial

Despite a note of guarded optimism struck by one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s
lawyers and notwithstanding mounting international pressure, there is no
real indication that her trial in Rangoon will end in her acquittal and
release.

“We don't accept pressure and interference from abroad,” said Burma’s
Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Myint.

“The case against Aung San Suu Kyi is an internal legal issue,” he told a
meeting of the European Union and Southeast Asian ministers in Cambodia.

Since the pro-democracy leader was first arraigned on a charge of
violating the terms of her house arrest, international pressure has been
increasing to unexpected levels, even from the organization where the
regime traditionally finds protection, the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (Asean).

Strong statements came from world leaders such as US President Barack
Obama, who said, “It is time for the Burmese government to drop all
charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and unconditionally release her and her
fellow political prisoners. Obama’s administration—which had been
reviewing its hard-line policy towards Burma—also extended its economic
sanctions against the junta right after her arrest on May 14.

Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a particularly strong and
impassioned statement, talking of action to ensure the release of Suu Kyi.

The statement, issued to mark Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday on June 19,
declared: “I add my voice to the growing chorus of those demanding your
release. For too long the world has failed to act in the face of this
intolerable injustice. That is not changing. The clamour for your release
is growing across Europe, Asia, and the entire world. We must do all we
can to make this birthday the last you spend without your freedom.”

The UN Security Council was prompted to break its silence, expressing its
concern over Suu Kyi’s arrest and trial and the current deadlocked
political situation.

Asean, which is always cautious about criticizing its members, said the
action now taken against Suu Kyi had damaged the image of the grouping.
Asean’s Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said Burma’s treatment of the
pro-democracy leader and other political prisoners has damaged Asean’s
image. The Thai government, the current chair of Asean, also expressed its
concern over Suu Kyi’s trial and her state of health.

All these expressions of concern, however, fall on deaf ears in Naypyidaw.
The junta’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the trial “will not
have any political impact. The government, therefore, will hold multiparty
general elections, fifth step of the roadmap in 2010.”

There it is. Now it’s clear. Suu Kyi will be sentenced to three or five
years imprisonment at the end of this carefully orchestrated trial, which
is likely to end next week, according to Suu Kyi’s legal team.

So, what then? What can be expected from world leaders such as Obama and
Brown and organizations such as the UN Security Council and Asean?

For his part, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN special rapporteur on human
rights in Burma from 200 to 2008, has called for the Security Council to
establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity committed
by the junta, with the possibility of obtaining an indictment by the
International Criminal Court.

In the case of Asean, it is being suggested that the grouping might want
to suspend Burma because of the damage it is doing to its image.

World leaders like Obama and Brown can work with the international bodies,
the UN, EU and Asean, and even with Burma’s closest allies, China, India
and Russia, which are quietly guarding their business interests with the
junta by turning a blind eye to the trial and other injustices.

All need only one thing—political will.

____________________________________

May 29, Asia Times
ASEAN, EU lock horns over Myanmar - Stephen Kurczy

Phnom Penh - Minutes into the first session of the 17th ministerial
meeting between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the
European Union (EU) this week in Phnom Penh, and Myanmar's deputy Foreign
Minister Maung Myint had already told all delegates to keep out of the
junta's internal affairs.

The trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, which entered its ninth
day on Thursday, is purely a legal matter and of no concern to the outside
world, Maung Myint said on Thursday. "It is not political, it is not a
human-rights issue. So we don't accept pressure and interference from
abroad."

European delegates summarily rejected Maung Myint's statement, sparking a
back-and-forth discussion that lasted hours and sidelined hopes for
substantial progress in other areas. Myint
declined to elaborate on his comments when approached by Asia Times
Online, saying, "I already expressed myself at the meeting this morning."

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout told delegates that Myanmar had taken "a
big step backwards" and Suu Kyi's trial could not be treated as merely an
internal issue. Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb added that "it is
an old-fashioned way of thinking" to talk about "not meddling in internal
affairs".

The EU was created to do exactly that within Europe, Stubb said, and ASEAN
should consider doing likewise. Later, during their lunch of shrimp
cocktail, grilled lamb and caramel flan, a French diplomat reportedly
delivered a 15-minute lecture on human rights directed at Myanmar.

ASEAN, however, maintained a softer stance towards its embattled member.
The 10-nation bloc [1] repeatedly attempted to steer the discussion away
from Myanmar and asked that the 27-nation EU focus on enhancing
cooperation and not just the junta's human-rights record.

At the meeting the two blocs signed two declarations enabling the EU to
accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, a
non-aggression pact, and agreed to seek ways to give new impetus to
negotiations on an ASEAN-EU Free Trade Area.

"The Myanmar issue is one, but there are other issues that need to be
addressed," ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan said on Thursday. "Let
us not just let one or two issues become the obstacle [to] all the
cooperation that we have been having together."

"We're not saying we shouldn't discuss Myanmar, but it's not the only
issue affecting ASEAN and the EU," added Enrique Manalo, the Philippines'
under secretary of state for policy and head of delegation, between
meetings Thursday. "It doesn't mean we don't want to discuss it, but we
don't want to spend a whole hour just discussing Myanmar."

In a 30-minute speech on Thursday morning that addressed a host of issues
from climate change to cyber crimes, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
avoided any mention of Myanmar or the trial of Suu Kyi, saying, "We should
not lose sight of the broader and longer-term interests of the two
regions."

The ministerial meeting began on Wednesday evening, with 110 ASEAN
delegates and 161 European delegates in attendance. Most arrived directly
from the Asian-EU summit in Hanoi, where North Korea's nuclear tests and
Myanmar's human rights abuses had dominated talks. At the end of the
meeting, diplomats released a joint statement calling for the release of
Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Cambodian Foreign Minister and event co-chair Hor Namhong attempted to
start the Phnom Penh summit on a different note, proposing "not a working
dinner, but a relaxing dinner". As food was served, Myanmar's Maung Myint
and the chief Estonian delegate heeded the advice, discussing rock music
at their end of the dinner table.

On the opposite side of the room, however, Stubb was assuring Asia Times
Online that Myanmar's human-rights situation would soon be addressed. Suu
Kyi "should be freed and she should be freed immediately", he said.

Suu Kyi, 63, is being tried at Yangon's notorious Insein prison for
allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest when, on May 4, she
allowed an American man who swam across a lake to her house to sleep
overnight. Though she was due to be released on Wednesday, she now faces
up to five years in prison. (See The fool and The Lady of the lake, Asia
Times Online, May 15)

US President Barack Obama has called the hearing a "show trial". When
asked on Thursday if any ASEAN or EU delegates expected Suu Kyi's release,
an Irish diplomat burst out laughing. That the court will find Suu Kyi
guilty is considered a near certainty, although it remained unclear at the
end of the EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting how either regional bloc would
respond to this verdict.

"Let's wait and see," said Namhong. The EU has threatened to tighten
sanctions against Myanmar if the pro-democracy icon is convicted. Czech
Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, who co-chaired the meeting as the Czech
Republic now holds the rotating EU presidency, also refrained from
identifying any repercussions. "We have to wait," he said.

Myanmar was not the only target of international disapproval during the
ministerial meeting. The group also condemned North Korea's recent
underground nuclear test and missile launches, calling for the
denuclearization of the peninsula. As with Myanmar, European delegates
came down harder on North Korea than their ASEAN counterparts. After an
hour of wrangling over the phrasing of a joint statement, at the behest of
ASEAN, EU delegates agreed to soften their wording from "strongly"
condemning to only condemning North Korea.

According to one European diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity,
ASEAN resisted stronger criticisms of North Korea and Myanmar because it
wants to maintain regional alliances, particularly with China. He said
that being Myanmar's biggest supporter and principal arms supplier (See
China drawn into Myanmar's border strife, Asia Times Online, May 28),
China could exert more control over its southern neighbor if ASEAN loses
influence in Yangon.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo said during the meeting on
Thursday that Myanmar's long border with China and India automatically
turns the nation into a potential flashpoint between the world's two most
populous countries. "Having good relations with China, having good
relations with India, helping them interact with each other in a way that
is advantageous to us, all that is at the core of ASEAN foreign policy,"
Yao said, cautioning that Myanmar could easily isolate itself further.

"Myanmar has been a place of contest between China and India. And I
believe it more is in your interest in Europe to have Myanmar integrated
into Southeast Asia than for it to be left isolated on its own. I am not
making a defense of what the present government is doing ... [but] you
have your position, we have our position, and our Myanmar friends have
their position, which we should respect."

The European diplomat said ASEAN's softer stance toward North Korea and
Myanmar is understandable, and the EU would not penalize the organization
for its policy.

"We have to keep in mind that Burma [Myanmar] should not be isolated, the
diplomat said after the summit. "If we let Burma [Myanmar] go, then it
will be, politically, strongly influenced by either India or China or
maybe both. And then we will have nothing to say."

Notes
1.) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations consists of Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand and Vietnam.

Stephen Kurczy is an Asia Times Online contributor based in Cambodia. He
may be reached at kurczy at gmail.com.

____________________________________

May 26, The Asia Ages
India must talk rights, not realpolitik, with Burma - Shankari Sundararaman

In a bizarre twist to the never-ending saga of abuse against Aung San Suu
Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy Opposition leader, who was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1991, the ruling military junta has placed her on trial
just before the May 27, 2009 deadline to release her from house arrest.
Placed under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years, Ms Suu Kyi
represents lasting hope for change from a politically-rigid military
system which has kept Burma isolated from much of the international
community for over 45 years.

Under both international and Burma’s national law on arbitrary detention,
Ms Suu Kyi’s term of house arrest was to end on May 27, after which the
junta could not hold her in custody. Just as that deadline was
approaching, there was a murky and unexplained intrusion into her
residential compound by an uninvited American.

The intrusion leaves her more susceptible vis-à-vis her opponents and
strongly questions the validity of the allegations brought against her.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial is a grim reminder that Burma continues on
its path of self-destruction and human tragedy with little regard for
international opinion and censure. The recent setback also indicates that
the junta’s promise of holding elections in 2010 remains a remote
possibility.

For the last 19 years, Burma’s protracted political impasse remains a
problem both at the domestic level and for the international community at
large. This intransigence has been made even more complicated by the
demand of the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Ms Suu Kyi,
that the electoral verdict of the 1990 elections be upheld and that
political power be handed over to the NLD. This claim was initially
supported by the United States of America and the European Union. However,
given the time lapsed since then, and the changed scenario of Burma’s
interaction with its regional players, there is little feasibility of
getting the junta to recognise the 1990 verdict and to act upon it. The US
and the EU both realise this. Also, in light of the crackdown against the
monks’ protest in September 2007, and the subsequent unwillingness to
accept international assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Nargis, the
imperviousness of the junta becomes very clear.

The insistence of the regional players that Burma accept humanitarian
assistance at least ensured a two-pronged approach to the political and
the humanitarian crisis. The recent extension of the mandate given to the
Tripartite Core Group (TCG) overseeing the rehabilitation is a welcome
step but the political manipulations of the junta do not mitigate its
stand on this issue. And, pushing forward the new Constitution and the
fraudulent referendum are clear indicators that there is no willingness on
the part of the regime to include any form of national reconciliation with
the political voices in Burma.

Given the unchanging reality of the Burmese military junta, tackling the
problem remains an enigma for both regional and international actors. In
an attempt to look for a way out, there have been suggestions of following
the six-party talks formulation, as in the case of North Korea. While this
will include both China and Japan, the actual change in approach from
these two are not likely to be significant. However, from the point of
view of the current impasse, the three remaining key players will have to
take cognisance of their approach to Burma. These are the US, the Asean
(Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Lao PDR,
Burma and Cambodia) and India.

For the first time in over two decades, the US is beginning to show
willingness to change its approach to Burma. US secretary of state Hillary
Clinton’s statement during her first foreign visit on a new approach to
Burma seemed to find resonance in the April 2009 visit of the director of
the office of mainland Southeast Asia, Stephen Blake, to Burma.

Simultaneously, the US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg stated
that the US hoped to initiate a new strategy for Burma after consultations
with other Asian countries which would act as a roadmap to assist Burma
out of international isolation. In the aftermath of Ms Suu Kyi’s recent
setback, the US senate has passed an emergency resolution asking for the
immediate release for Daw Suu Kyi and other political dissidents. It has
also urged the Obama administration to increase its diplomatic efforts
among the regional players to bring pressure on Burma to uphold the
principles of human rights.

For the Asean the latest stand-off will be a litmus test.

During the 2007 monks’ protest, Asean did not bring much pressure on Burma
because domestic matters do not fall within the purview of its
jurisdiction. However, the adoption of the Asean Charter should indicate a
willingness to take a more effective stand. This is a situation when the
Asean can balance its "constructive engagement" approach with effective
preventive diplomacy. Suspending Burma from the Asean till the time the
junta moves towards a more inclusive national reconciliation process will
show that the regional organisation is serious in its approach to protect
the principles enshrined in the Charter.

For India too this offers a clear test. India and Burma’s economic ties
have been growing over the past decade. This was founded on the grounds
that Burma offered geographical contiguity for India with its Southeast
Asian neighbours. The recent visit of India’s vice-president Hamid Ansari
to Burma indicates growing economic potential, particularly in the areas
of energy sector cooperation and infrastructure.

The volume of trade between India and Burma touched $995 million in
2007-08. India is Burma’s fourth-largest trading partner and its second
biggest export market. Given the volume of economic ties and the security
implications for India’s Northeast, the compulsions of realpolitik have
far outweighed the option of taking a principled approach to issues of
human rights and democratisation. India remains selective in voicing its
angst against human rights violations across the globe.

But it is of vital importance to address human tragedies in a coherent and
principled manner and this must be critically endorsed within our foreign
policy, without bias as to where it happens and who it affects.

Dr Shankari Sundararaman is an associate professor of Southeast Asian
Studies at the School of International Studies, JNU