BurmaNet News, August 4, 2009

[Editor]

August 4, 2009 Issue #3768


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Su Su Nway put in solitary
AFP: US defendant in Suu Kyi case hospitalised in Myanmar
Narinjara: Increase in child labour in Arakan

ON THE BORDER
IMNA: NMSP officially rejects future role in Burmese government ‘Border
Guard Force’

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade hits over 3 bln USD in 2008-09
Reuters: Thailand to import gas from Myanmar's M9 late 2013

INTERNATIONAL
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Nuclear watchdog urged to seek answers
from Burma
Irrawaddy: Total Chief: Critics can ‘go to hell’

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: Burmese junta will benefit from Salween dam

PRESS RELEASE
Salween Watch: New report reveals human costs of planned Salween mega-dam
in war-torn Shan State





____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 4, Irrawaddy
Su Su Nway put in solitary – Lawi  Weng

A prominent Burmese labor rights activist, Su Su Nway, was placed in
solitary confinement for three days after participating in a ceremony to
mark the 62nd anniversary of Martyrs’ Day on June 19 in Kalay Prison, in
Sagaing Division, according to her sister.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, her sister, Htay Htay Kyi, said,
“She was put in solitary confinement because she stood up and sang an
independence anthem composed by Min Ko Naing to mark Martyrs’ Day.”

Htay Htay Kyi said she visited her sister on July 21 when she delivered
medicine to Su Su Nway who said she had been denied medical care by the
prison authorities.

Su Su Nway, 37, suffers from hypertension and heart disease.

In 2006, she won the John Humphrey Freedom Award for promoting human rights.

She was arrested together with two colleagues after they pasted
anti-government posters on a billboard in downtown Rangoon during the
monk-led uprising of 2007. She was sentenced to 12 and a half years in
prison.

Su Su Nway is among other 2,100 political prisoners who are currently
being detained by the Burmese military authorities.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in July called on the Burmese junta to
release all political prisoners before the national elections in 2010.

Burmese permanent representative at the UN, Than Swe reportedly told Ban
that Burma will release prisoners before the election; however, he did not
specify if political dissidents would be among the prisoners released.

____________________________________

August 4, Agence France Presse
US defendant in Suu Kyi case hospitalised in Myanmar

The American man on trial in Myanmar for trespassing at Aung San Suu Kyi's
home was taken to a city hospital overnight after having convulsions in
prison, a hospital worker told AFP Tuesday.

John Yettaw, 54, who has epilepsy and other health problems according to
his lawyer, was taken from Insein prison to Yangon General Hospital on
Monday night, the worker said, and was recovering after treatment.

"Mr Yettaw was hospitalised since last night. He is getting better now,"
the hospital worker said on condition of anonymity.

Yettaw was taken to the hospital by police after having a fit, and has
been kept under guard away from other patients, the source said, adding
that his condition was not serious. The source did not provide any further
details.

The US embassy in Yangon and Yettaw's lawyer, Khin Maung Oo, said they
were not yet aware of the incident.

Khin Maung Oo said Yettaw had been staying at the prison's hospital during
his trial, where he had been receiving treatment for diabetes, epilepsy
and a heart complaint by doctors from the health ministry.

"(But) when I met him for the verdict date on July 31 he said he was
fine," the lawyer told AFP.

Yettaw, a former military veteran from Missouri, is on trial alongside
opposition leader Suu Kyi and two of Suu Kyi's female aides after he
donned homemade flippers to swim to her home in May.

The devout Mormon said he embarked on his mission to warn Suu Kyi of a
vision he had had that she would be assassinated.

He faces charges of abetting Suu Kyi's breach of security laws,
immigration violations and a municipal charge of illegal swimming. All
four defendants face up to five years in prison.

Yettaw was arrested just days before the most recent, six-year spell of
Suu Kyi's house arrest was due to expire in the military-run nation.

Suu Kyi is accused of breaching the terms of her house arrest by giving
Yettaw refuge at her house, but critics say the charges have been trumped
up to keep her locked away until after elections scheduled for 2010.

A verdict in her case had been expected last week but judges postponed
their pronouncement until August 11, saying they needed time to review the
case.

____________________________________

August 4, Narinjara
Increase in child labour in Arakan

There has been a quantum leap in child labour in Arakan State after the
state started facing severe economic crisis, said a social worker in
Sittwe.

“If we compare child labour with last year, there has been an increase
this year. Most child labourers are waiters in restaurants and teahouses,
pavement vendors, newsvendors, plastic collectors everywhere in Arakan
state,” he said.

Most children in Arakan state could not attend schools this year because
of financial crisis in the family.

“Most children in rural areas could not attend schools in this academic
session. Only 10 per cent of children from some villages in rural areas
attended schools because most could not afford the expensive school fees,”
he said.

A parent from Maungdaw said a student in a primary level school has to pay
5000 kyats for entrance and stationery fees in Maungdaw Township.

A traveller, who shuttles between Sittwe and Buthidaung by ship, said,
“Yes, it is true many children in rural areas in Arakan could not join
schools this year. Many aged between 10 and 15 are working in many places
as child workers.”

On the ferry ships plying between Sittwe and Buthidaung, there are many
children who sell food items in packages to passengers.

“I have never seen children selling food on the ships in the past. Now
many children are seen selling foods packages on the ships,” the traveller
said.

The number of child workers has increased in places like jetties and bus
stations in major towns of Arakan including Kyauk Taw, Mrauk U, Sittwe,
Ann, Minbya, kyauk Pru, Taungup and Thandwe.

A woman in Sittwe told Narinjara over telephone that the number of beggars
has also increased since the onset of the monsoons in Sittwe, the capital
of Arakan state. Among them, three fourths are children.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 4, Independent Mon News Agency
NMSP officially rejects future role in Burmese government ‘Border Guard
Force’

On August 4th, the New Mon State Party (NMSP) announced that it decided to
turn down the offer made by the Burmese State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC), to reform its armed wing, the Mon National Liberation Army
(MNLA) into either a Border Guard Force (BGF) or a government aligned
people’s militia. Despite increased pressure from the SPDC to bring the
MNLA under nominal state control as a reduced force, the NMSP statement
sites the importance of ethnic identity and the will of the people in
making its decision.

The statement, already available on the NMSP website, is to be officially
announced on August 5th, at the 62nd Mon Revolution Day, which celebrates
the beginning of the Mon armed struggle in 1948.

According to the statement, the NMSP signed the 1995 ceasefire with the
Burmese regime because, like other ethnic armed groups, it wanted to solve
the political turmoil in Burma through tripartite talks including the
Burmese government, the ethnic communities, and the national democracy
movement. It adds that its status as a political party with an armed wing
has brought the NMSP and the Mon people their own rights and freedoms, as
well as provided protection for Mon people and culture.

The NMSP will maintain the cease-fire with the government and will
continue to call for tripartite talks to solve, not only the political
problems with the current Burmese regime, but also with the future
government that will form after the 2010 election.

This decision came after an emergency Central Executive Committee (CEC)
and Central Committee (CC) meeting was convened on July 25th, where senior
NMSP party members vowed to discuss their options until they had reached a
decision regarding the future of the MNLA.

On June 7th high-ranking NMSP officials met South East Command (SEC)
General That Naing Win who officially requested that the MNLA reform as a
BGF. Though the NMSP was originally given until the end of July to return
with a decision, it appears the deadline was extended, as the statement
will officially be given to Southeast Command on August 5th.

The issue of forming BGFs has been a contentious issue for the ceasefire
groups. In an attempt to resolve the long standing armed stalemate with
over 15 ethnic armed groups, the SPDC requested that each group reform its
armed wing into a ‘Border Guard Force’. The request comes as the SPDC
purse’s its 7-step “roadmap” to a “disciplined democracy”. Seen by many as
an attempt to legitimize its ruling status though an attempt at a civilian
election, the SPDC has placed significant pressure on armed groups to
resolve their status before the 2010 election.

The decision to reject the BGF offer came, according to one NMSP officer,
after party leaders appealed to the opinions of the Mon community,
prompting an influx of feedback from monks, university students, Mon youth
groups inside Mon State, and Mon State residents who sent in letters. NMSP
party leaders also spoke with residents of the central quarters of Thaton,
Moulmein, and Tavoy districts under their control. The majority opinion
held that the party should not accept the Burmese government request to
form a BGF or a pro government people’s militia.

“The BGF and people’s militia are not important because orders to them
would come from them [SPDC] and would have to act according to their
orders,” said Nai Oukar Mon from Mon community at Mae Sot. “Such a result
would in no way help the Mon people and NMSP. Because of the plans of the
Burmese government, it [BGF] would not benefit our people.”

Three youth groups located inside of Mon State in Burma, released a joint
statement comprising the opinions of the Mon Youth Organization, Young
Monk’s Organization, and the Mon University Students Organization, which
declared, “We don’t want to be a BGF or people’s militia, and don’t want
to be damaged from the cease-fire. We want the party leaders make a
decision themselves from their intelligence.”

“We have to think hard about the cease-fire. Before cease-fire with the
SPDC, Mon people could do regular business not mixing with other
ethnicities. But now we mix with other ethnicities after the cease-fire,”
explained a Mon nationalist from TPP stating why he thought the Mon army
should not become a BGF or people’ militia. “Before it was just the Mon
and Karen ethnicities who lived at TPP. Mon depended on the Mon and Karen
depend on Karen. If the cease-fire breaks apart and fighting begins again,
other ethnics will administrate the area.”

A business man, also from TPP, expressed his distaste for the BGF
proposition, explaining that in acquiescing to the SPDC’s demands, and
submitting a reformed MNLA under nominal government control, the NMSP and
Mon people would suffer a loss of dignity.

Additionally he stated that he supports the ceasefire, saying if it were
to break, the Mon people would have no chance to fight for their culture.
However, even the loss of that would not be significant as in his eyes the
NMSP and the Mon people never received much support from the Burmese
government, as had been agreed upon in the 1995 ceasefire agreement.

“The Mon army will become the Burmese army and it will be difficult for us
to have any political control,” said one resident of Three Pagodas Pass
[TPP] who was asked by IMNA his opinion on the political outcome if the
NMSP had accepted the BGF offer. “It would be more difficult to conduct
business and protect against human rights abuses because the army
[including BGF and people’ militia] is led by the Burmese government. Its
will be fine if Mon have to guard Mon border areas.”

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 4, Xinhua
Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade hits over 3 bln USD in 2008-09

Thailand bilateral trade hit 3.05 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year
2008-09 which ended in March, according to the latest figures of the
government's Central Statistical Organization.

Of the total, Myanmar's export amounted to 2.655 billion dollars, while
its import stood at 398.28 million dollars, enjoying a trade surplus of
2.25 billion dollars.

Thailand stood first in Myanmar's foreign trade partner line-up during the
year, followed by Singapore, China, India, China's Hong Kong, Malaysia,
Japan, South Korea, Indonesia.

In 2007-08, Thailand also led as Myanmar's top trading partner as well as
top exporting country.

Of the year's Myanmar-Thailand bilateral trade volume of 3.205 billion
dollars, Myanmar's export to Thailand amounted to 2.823 billion dollars,
while its import from Thailand 382 million dollars, gaining a trade
surplus for exporting natural gas.

Thailand exports to Myanmar textile, shoes, marine products, rice, rubber,
jewelry, motor cars, computer and electronic accessories and vice versa,
while importing from Myanmar forestry products, marine products,
agricultural produces and natural gas.

____________________________________

August 4, Reuters
Thailand to import gas from Myanmar's M9 late 2013

Thailand plans to import natural gas from offshore Block M9 in the Gulf of
Martaban in Myanmar in late 2013, Energy Minister Wannarat Charnnukul said
on Tuesday.

Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) (PTTE.BK: Quote,
Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was expected to sign a gas sales agreement
with parent company PTT PCL PTT.BK by the fourth quarter of this year,
Wannarat told reporters.

"The two sides will discuss some details and then propose the issue to
governments of both countries for approval," he said.

PTTEP is expected to supply an initial 300 million cubic feet per day
(mmcfd) from M9, of which 240 mmcfd would be delivered to Thailand and the
rest to Myanmar, Wannarat said.

PTTEP's subsidiary owns 100 percent of Block M9, located about 300 km (185
miles) south of Yangon.

It is expected to have petroleum reserves of 1.5 trillion cubic feet per
day and needs at least $1 billion for investment, he said. (Reporting by
Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Alan Raybould)

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 4, Sydney Morning Herald (Australia)
Nuclear watchdog urged to seek answers from Burma – Anne Davies

AMERICAN non-proliferation experts have called on the international
nuclear watchdog to seek clarification from the Burmese Government over
its nuclear program after a Herald report that quoted defectors claiming
there was a secret military nuclear program.

The report, based on interviews by Professor Desmond Ball of the
Australian National University and a journalist, Phil Thornton, said the
country had been developing a secret nuclear program. It revealed Burma
was building a secret reactor, with North Korea's assistance, at Nuang
Laing, close to Mandalay.

The report has prompted intense interest among US security experts,
particularly in the light of comments by the Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton, in Thailand.

She said there had been "co-operation between North Korea and Burma in the
past" and that North Korea had provided Burma with high-technology
materials barred by the United Nations Security Council.

She made the remarks while praising Burma for having co-operated in the
enforcement of UN resolution 1874, which is designed to prevent North
Korea from shipping nuclear materials to other nations.

A North Korean ship turned back after being shadowed by the US Navy en
route to Burma last month.

Daryl Kimball, of the Arms Control Association, told the Nelson Report, an
influential online security report, that although there had been no
evidence of a Burmese nuclear-weapons quest, whatever the North Koreans
were doing must be made a priority by the International Atomic Energy
Agency, of which Burma is a member.

"The report is probably enough cause for the IAEA director-general [and
Russia] to seek clarification from Myanmar [Burma] and request a special
inspection," Mr Kimball said.

Russia is said to have agreed in 2007 to provide the Burmese with a small,
civilian light-water reactor, which would be subject to agency
inspections, although the project's exact status is disputed.

David Albright, the head of the Institute for Science and International
Security in Washington, which monitors nuclear proliferation said:
"There's no hard evidence, just suspicions right now. We are watching it."

He pointed out visits to Burma by executives from the North Korean firm,
Namchongang Trading Corporation, which is under sanctions for its role in
trading nuclear technology. Western officials say it channelled equipment
and material for the nuclear reactor in Syria, which was destroyed in an
Israeli air strike in September 2007.

Mr Albright also pointed to sales of technology used in ballistic missile
manufacture from North Korea to Burma.

On Monday the Institute for Science and International Security posted
links to photos on the YaleGlobal site, which show extensive tunnel
construction in Burma overseen by North Korean engineers. They are
understood to be separate to tunnelling related to the nuclear program
referred to by the defectors.

____________________________________

August 4, Irrawaddy
Total Chief: Critics can ‘go to hell’

The CEO of the French energy giant Total said critics of the company’s
operations in Burma “can go to hell,” according to an interview published
by Newsweek magazine on August 3.

“I am bringing gas to Thailand. Bangkok was the world’s most polluted
city. They switched from oil fuel to gas. Bangkok is clean now. We are
proud of being part of this,” Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total, told
the US weekly magazine.

Thailand pipes about one billion cubic feet of gas per day from Burma’s
offshore reserves in the southeastern Andaman Sea through the
controversial Yadana gas pipeline, which human rights campaigners say has
been a site of widespread abuses since its inception.

Total has been involved in the Yadana project since the 1990s, working in
partnership with the US-based Unocal (now a wholly owned subsidiary of
Chevron), Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and
Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Co.
Total and its partners have long been accused of turning a blind eye to
serious human rights abuses committed by Burmese security forces guarding
the pipeline, including forced labor, land confiscation, forced
relocation, rape, torture and murder.

A brutal crackdown on monk-led protests in 2007 and the current trial of
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi have brought renewed
pressure on investors in Burma’s gas and oil sector, the single largest
source of hard currency for the ruling regime. Burmese pro-democracy
activists say energy companies should think twice about their investments
in Burma.

“Today, [rights campaigners] are trying to tell us you have no right to
speak. They can go to hell. If you want to ask somebody, don’t ask Total.
Ask the government of Thailand, which buys Burmese gas,” de Margerie said.

“Or ask the government of India why they have companies investing in
Burma, when we froze investment. Why is South Korea, ally of the United
States of America, investing in Burma? Why Total?” he added.

However, de Margerie’s claims that Total has been unfairly singled out
ignores actions taken against other major investors in Burma’s energy
industry.

Recently, US-based NGO EarthRights International (ERI) filed a 43-page
complaint to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) calling for an investigation of the South Korean government’s
respect for OECD guidelines.

The complaint, made on behalf of the Shwe Gas Movement and nine
Korean-based organizations, is related to investments in Burma by Daewoo
International and the Korea Gas Corporation.

Complaining that “Total is a punching bag while other companies invest
without criticism is simply untrue,” said ERI project coordinator Matthew
Smith, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

“He (de Margerie) claims that Total is proud to provide natural gas to
Bangkok but at the same time he tries to deflect negative criticism to
Thailand. This strategy is consistent with the way Total has handled most
of the negative outcry about its presence in Burma: deny and reject any
and all negative criticism.

“Total’s project has generated billions of dollars for the military regime
from the peoples’ natural resources. It’s dubious at best to claim that is
a positive thing for the country,” Smith said.

“Elsewhere Total has touted respect for fiscal transparency but at the
same time it has not published the payments it has made to the Burmese
regime—that raises serious questions,” he added.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 4, Bangkok Post
Burmese junta will benefit from Salween dam

The Thai government will soon make a decision to support the damming of
the Salween River.

It will be lobbied by investors who wish to make money from this scheme.
But largely the people and environment that will be most affected will
have no say. This matter may not mean much to you. But it means a lot to
the people who will lose their homes and livelihood. It will mean a lot to
the people who are forced to relocate, or are forced to work as slaves for
the Burmese army and in the construction of roads and the dam. It will
mean a great deal to those that are raped and murdered by the Burmese army
as it enters the region to gain control of the dam.

The dam will make a lot of money for the Burmese government at a time when
it is suspected of building nuclear weapons. The energy produced by the
dam is not needed by Thailand, so where will it go to in Burma? The
Salween is one of the last big rivers to be undisturbed by dams. Over the
last century humans have dammed almost all large rivers. This has brought
some short-term gains, but now it is becoming apparent that it is at a
huge environmental and human cost.

Please publish information on this issue and the desire of the people that
this dam be stopped.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

August 4, Salween Watch
New report reveals human costs of planned Salween mega-dam in war-torn
Shan State

A new report released today provides a rare glimpse of communities
struggling to survive amidst civil war and abuses in the flood zone of the
tallest dam planned for Southeast Asia in southern Shan State of Burma.

The report “Roots and Resilience” by the Shan Sapawa Environment
Organization focuses on the ecologically unique area of Keng Kham, a
community of 15,000 that was forcibly relocated over ten years ago; the
majority have fled to Thailand. Today the estimated 3,000 that remain are
managing to maintain their livelihoods and culture despite the constant
threats of the Burma Army and the impending Tasang dam.

Indigenous Shan cultural practices, river-fed farms, sacred cave temples
and pristine waterfalls are depicted in photos from this isolated
war-zone, together with updated information about the dam project, which
has been shrouded in secrecy.

The 7, 110 MW Tasang Dam is the biggest of five dams planned on the
Salween River; the majority of the power from the dam will be sold to
Thailand. Project investors include the Thai MDX Company and China’s
Gezhouba Group Company.

Thailand’s support for the controversial dam was recently reiterated when
the project was included in its national Power Development Plan.

Military tension has escalated in recent months in Shan State as the
Burmese regime has been putting pressure on the United Wa State Army to
transform into a “Border Guard Force.”  Abuses linked to anti-insurgency
campaigns are also on the rise.

“Why is Thailand accelerating plans for Tasang precisely when the
situation is so uncertain?” said Sai Sai, a spokesperson from Shan Sapawa
Environment Organization. “The dam is in a war zone. The Burma Army has
forced villagers out of the area and many have come to Thailand. If the
dam is built they won’t be able to go back.”

For more information please see www.salweenwatch.org

Contact: Sai Sai
Tel: 0810310481
E-mail: shansapawa at gmail.com