BurmaNet News, October 24 - 26, 2009

[Editor]

October 24 – 26, 2009 Issue #3826


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Will the junta and Wa compromise?
Mizzima News: Constitution must be revised before election: opposition
leaders
DVB: US citizen begins trial in Burma

ON THE BORDER
The New Nation (Bangladesh): Steps taken to stop influx of Rohingyas
DVB: Ten explosions hit Kokang capital

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar puts off opening of biggest business organization office
in China

ASEAN
AFP: Asia lets Myanmar off hook over Suu Kyi again: analysts
BBC News: Burma: Suu Kyi 'can play a role'
DPA: ASEAN welcomes US engagement with Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
PoliticsDaily.com (USA): The arrest and torture of an American in Burma
(and why you never heard of him) – Alex Wagner
Wall Street Journal: Asean's 'Human-Rights' Council – Not off to a great
start – Editorial
Times of India: US 'softens' Myanmar stance, thanks to India – Indrani Bagchi
New Light of Myanmar: Senior General Than Shwe sends UN Day message




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

October 26, Irrawaddy
Will the junta and Wa compromise? – Saw Yan Naing

The Burmese military government has reportedly reached a provisional
agreement with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) over the ethnic cease-fire
militia’s role as a border guard force, according to several sources.

However, the sources said that while negotiations were ongoing, so were
preparations for a military conflict between the two armies.

The junta has reportedly beefed up its forces in the area to a strength of
50 battalions while the UWSA, which has an estimated 25,000 fighters, is
digging trenches and preparing defenses.

According to the sources, the Wa leaders would like to buy time to delay
the decision on border guard forces. Some reports indicate that the Wa
leadership has responded to the Burmese commanders that their troops are
not yet ready to serve as border guards as they require additional
training.

Some Burma analysts have predicted an all-out war between Burma’s two
largest armies sooner or later. Some said the Wa will “fight to the death”
while others are confident that a compromise will be reached.

It is widely acknowledged that China has been holding talks with both
Burmese officials in Naypyidaw and Wa leaders in Panghsang, the Wa
capital, in efforts to ease the crisis after the recent conflict with the
Kokang army in northeastern Shan State. Beijing may also have weighed in
on the issue of the Wa transforming its units to border guard forces under
Burmese army command.

The Burmese military authorities had earlier set October as a deadline for
the UWSA leadership to accept the regime’s “offer” of joining the regime’s
border guard force plan.
On Saturday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed the issue of stability
and peace along the Sino-Burmese border with his Burmese counterpart Gen
Thein Sein during the 15th Asean Summit in Cha-am, central Thailand.

Wen told Thein Sein that Beijing “hopes that the Burmese regime will
achieve stability, national reconciliation and development” in Burma,
according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Web site.

On October 19, the Burmese regime’s Secretary 1, Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo,
flew to China on an official visit with a delegation. According to Xinhua
news agency, China’s Vice-Premier Li Keqiang told Tin Aung Myint Oo:
“China and Myanmar [Burma] should make efforts together to strengthen
exchanges and cooperation, as well as safeguard stability on the border
areas for the sake of the fundamental interests of the two peoples.”

China would like to see a compromise between the junta and the Wa, said
Khuensai Jaiyen, the chief editor of the Chiang Mai-based Shan Herald
Agency for News.

The UWSA and its military allies—the Mongla group, the Kokang militia and
the New Democratic Army-Kachin—have also been in talks in Panghsang almost
every day since Oct. 20 and plan to respond to Naypyidaw on the subject of
border guard forces by the end of October, said Jaiyen.

Some observers said the UWSA and its allies might seek to compromise along
the lines of the Kachin Independent Organization, which proposed
transforming its battalions into units of an autonomous “Kachin Regional
Guard Force” as opposed to a Burmese army-controlled border guard force.

According to the Burmese military authorities’ demands, each border guard
force will be made up of 326 soldiers, of which some 30 Burmese staff
officers with significant roles in the command structure will be posted to
each battalion.

David Mathieson, a Burma analyst for the New York-based Human Rights
Watch, said, “If they [the junta and the UWSA] can resolve the issue
peacefully and don’t return to conflict, that will be good for the
civilians in this area.

“If there is fighting in Wa areas, the impact on civilians will be much
greater,” he said.

The Thai National Security Council recently stated that the outbreak of
hostilities between the Wa and Burmese government forces could force more
than 200,000 refugees into northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai
provinces.

Some 37,000 Kokang refugees fled into China after fighting broke out in
and around the Kokang capital, Laogai, near the Sino-Burmese border in
late August.

Larry Jagan, a British journalist who follows Burmese issues, said that
Than Shwe and his deputy, Maung Aye, are supreme nationalists who will
find it very hard to allow an independent army on Burmese territory.

“There is a very strong potential for the Burmese army to launch an
offensive against the Wa,” said Jagan.

The pretense for an attack on the Wa is likely to be based on the UWSA’s
involvement in the drugs trade and illegal weapons factories, as well to
counter the Wa’s perceived notions of building an independent state,
according to Burma observers.

The Wa have become synonymous with drug trafficking in recent years and
stand accused by many sources of relying on the drugs trade to buy
weapons.
Four years ago, the US indicted eight Wa leaders after a US court
described the UWSA as “a criminal narcotics trafficking organization.” The
UWSA’s financial officer, Wei Hsueh-Kang, is wanted in Thailand and the
US.
According to Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control, heroin seizures by
police in northern Thailand have increased more than 2,100 percent from
last year: in the 10 months to August, the authorities seized 1,268
kilograms, or 2,795 pounds, of heroin, up from 57 kilograms a year
earlier.

At the 20th anniversary of the UWSA in Panghsang on April 17, Bao
You-Xiang, the UWSA leader, reportedly stated that he will build “a more
solid and united Wa State,” prompting fears among Burmese nationalists
that he aimed to establish an autonomous Wa state.

A UWSA officer in Panghsang, who requested anonymity, told The Irrawaddy
on Monday that Wa commanders are currently discussing with their
lower-ranking troops the issue of the border guard force order and will
likely hold a meeting with junta officials the end of October.

“We also want to solve the issue peacefully. But, it very much depends on
the Burmese regime,” he said.

____________________________________

October 26, Mizzima News
Constitution must be revised before election: opposition leaders – Salai
Pi Pi

New Delhi – Prominent Burmese opposition leaders say the junta’s planned
2010 elections cannot be inclusive and broad-based unless the 2008
Constitution is first revised.

Win Tin, a veteran politician and senior member of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD) party, said in order to make the 2010 election
inclusive the 2008 Constitution must be amended, as the document, which he
asserts enshrines military-rule, will essentially bar all dissidents
including Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in the poll.

“The constitution does not allow any political prisoners their electoral
rights, and this will also include Aung San Suu Kyi,” Win Tin clarified.
“Therefore, it is necessary that the constitution is revised before the
election.”

Win Tin’s comments came in response to a statement from the Burmese Prime
Minister at the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
summit, concluded on Sunday.

The Burmese Premier, Thein Sein, reportedly ensured leaders of the
10-member ASEAN bloc meeting in Thailand that the 2010 elections would be
free, fair and inclusive of all stakeholders.

Thein Sein also commented that Aung San Suu Kyi could be allowed to play a
role in national reconciliation, further hinting that the regime may relax
restrictions on the detained opposition leader if she maintains a “good
attitude.”

“He briefed us on some of the dialogue that is taking place and he feels
optimistic that she can contribute to the process of national
reconciliation,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters.

“We welcomed the affirmation by the Prime Minister of Myanmar [Burma] that
the general elections to be held in 2010 would be conducted in a free,
fair and inclusive manner,” Abhisit continued in his statement.

While cautiously welcoming Thein Sein’s comments, Win Tin noted the Nobel
Peace Laureate has been maintaining a soft stance towards the regime and
urging national reconciliation for the last twenty years.

Meanwhile, Aye Thar Aung, Secretary of the Committee Representing Peoples’
Parliament (CRPP), a coalition of political parties that won the 1990
election, on Monday echoed similar views to those of Win Tin, primarily
that the junta’s planned election next year cannot be inclusive unless the
constitution, which he called “forcibly endorsed in 2008”, is revised.

“Without revising the 2008 Constitution, the election will not be able to
yield anything good for the people of Burma,” Aye Thar Aung told Mizzima.

Aye Thar Aung added that Burma’s generals only want Aung San Suu Kyi to
contribute for their national reconciliation plan but are reluctant to
change their overall stance in fear of losing power.

“Changes have to come from both sides. They [the junta] also must change
their stance towards her,” he elaborated.

He said the only way to build a genuine national reconciliation is to hold
a tripartite dialogue between the Burmese generals, Aung San Suu Kyi and
leaders of the ethnic groups.

Following the U.S. announcement of its new policy on Burma, Aung San Suu
Kyi last month offered junta leader Senior General Than Shwe her
willingness to cooperate in the easing of sanctions.

In response, Than Shwe allowed her and her party meetings with western
diplomats.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 19 years in detention, was
sentenced to another 18 months of house arrest in August after an American
man swam uninvited to her lakeside home, spending two nights on the
premises.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, but the regime
refused to honor the result and instead drew up a seven-step roadmap to
democracy. According to the roadmap, the proposed 2010 election is the
fifth step.

In a statement at the end of the ASEAN summit in Thailand, leaders of the
16 countries encouraged Burma to ensure the implementation of their
seven-step roadmap and to restore democracy in the country.

However, Win Tin emphasized the “NLD will not contest the upcoming
election if the regime does not revise the constitution.” The NLD has also
consistently called on the junta to release all political prisoners, in
addition to mandating free and fair elections, before they consider
participating in any poll.

____________________________________

October 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
US citizen begins trial in Burma – Khin Hnin Htet

The Burmese-born US citizen currently detained in a Rangoon prison has
appeared in court on charges of fraud after allegedly using false
identification to enter the country.

Lawyers for Kyaw Zaw Lwin, also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, said that the
courtroom on Thursday heard accounts from two witnesses in the prosecution
team, a police officer and an immigration official.

They claim that Kyaw Zaw Lwin intended to use a Burmese national’s
identification card with his photo pasted onto it.

“He entered the country using his American passport, not by using the ID
the officials had mentioned,” said lawyer Kyi Win. “They only found the ID
in his possession after they searched him.”

Kyaw Zaw Lwin was arrested upon arrival at Rangoon airport on 3 September,
and has since been held at Rangoon’s Insein prison.

Shortly after his arrest, state-run media in Burma appeared to link him to
a series of bombings that hit Rangoon in mid-September, a fortnight after
he was detained.

An article in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said that he “had contact
with” members of the All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) and
Thailand-based Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB), who in turn were
allegedly close to “sabbateurs” involved in the bombing.

The leader of the ABSDF, Than Khe, told DVB however that the allegations
were political smearing by the government.

Kyi Win also complained that his client had been held in handcuffs
throughout the hearing, in violation of Burmese law.

“According to the police code of conduct, a defendant appearing before the
court’s judge should be freed from handcuffs,” he said, adding that police
cited security concerns as a reason to keep them on.

“This clearly violates Article 477 of the court manual and shows that no
rule of law exists.” His next court hearing is scheduled for 30 October.

Su Su Kyi, the aunt of Kyaw Zaw Lwin, said that his family had received no
response following requests to visit him in prison.

“A letter seeking permission to meet with Ko Nyi Nyi Aung has been sent to
the authorities via the embassy but no response has been made yet. We will
send another letter on Monday,” she said.

Su Su Kyi said that US embassy staff who visited Kyaw Zaw Lwin in prison
in September said that he had shown signs of torture.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

October 26, The New Nation (Bangladesh)
Steps taken to stop influx of Rohingyas

Dhaka – The government yesterday has taken a number of steps to stop
influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar into Bangladesh.

The National Committee on Prevention of Smuggling at a meeting with Home
Minister Sahara Khatun in the chair has instructed the law enforcing
agencies, including Coast Guards, to take measures so Rohingyas cannot
trespass into Bangladesh.

Briefing reporters, the Home Minister said if any Rohingya could manage to
sneak into the country and was caught, he must be immediately handed over
to the BDR.

Measures will also be taken so Rohingyas cannot obtain Bangladeshi
passport or national ID card, she said, adding that the meeting decided to
take action against those who helped issuing documents to Rohingyas as
Bangladesh nationals.

The Home Minister said that from now on no passport will be issued without
police verification by regional passport office, especially for the people
from the areas where Rohingya people are living. She said in case of any
emergency like medical treatment the passport could be issued from Dhaka
passport office.

On cross-border smuggling, Sahara Khatun said the meeting emphasized
arresting the godfathers of smuggling to effectively deal with the
clandestine trade, as in most cases only the carriers of smuggled goods
were arrested.

The Home Minister said those providing information to help catch the
kingpins of smuggling will be given incentives.

State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Huq Tuku, Home Secretary Abdus
Sobhan Sikdar and senior officials concerned were present in the meeting.

____________________________________

October 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
Ten explosions hit Kokang capital – AKT and Thurein Soe

More than 10 simultaneous blasts hit Burma’s northeastern Shan state last
week, the site of heavy fighting earlier this year between government
troops and an ethnic army.

The explosions happened in Laogai, the capital of the Kokang special
region in Shan state, sources located near to Burma’s border with China
said.

Five government army battalions had been deployed there following heavy
fighting in August that pushed some 37,000 civilians across the border
into China.

The number of casualties from the blasts is so far unknown. One device
exploded on Saturday close to a gold shop owned by the current leader of
the ethnic Kokang army, Bai Xuoquan.

Government troops launched an offensive against the Kokang group, the
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), in August this year,
breaking a 20-year ceasefire agreement.

The MNDAA had been resisting pressure from Burma’s ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC) to transform into a border guard force prior to
the 2010 elections.

The fighting sparked tension between Burma and China, with Beijing warning
the Burmese junta to ensure peace along its shared border. Chinese
premier, Win Jiabao, said on Sunday that he felt confident that Burma
“could properly handle” problems with stability in the region.

Meanwhile, one man was killed and two women were injured last week when a
hand-grenade accidentally exploded in Burma’s border town of Myawaddy,
according to the Karen Information Centre (KIC).

The owner of the grenade was a member of the pro-junta Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA), who was visiting a friend’s house at the time. He is
now in hiding, while the two women are being treated in hospital. The
identity of the victim is unknown.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

October 26, Xinhua
Myanmar puts off opening of biggest business organization office in China

Yangon -- Myanmar has put off the opening of the resident office of the
Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI)
in China's Nanning, which was originally scheduled for this month on the
occasion of the 6th China-ASEAN expo, sources with the UMFCCI said on
Monday.

It still needs some time to complete the preparatory work including
decoration of the office in Myanmar traditional style, the sources said.

There were 242 entrepreneurs of 83 companies taking part in the five-day
China-ASEAN expo last week held in the capital of Southwest China' Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region.

These entrepreneurs were from such sectors as agriculture, fishery,
industry, manufacturing, gems, traditional handicrafts, forestry and hotel
and tourism.

Myanmar booth on display at the expo highlighted the Muse border town as a
town of facilitating trade and cooperation in levying tariff.

Since joining the China-ASEAN trade fair in 2004, Myanmar booth featured
the commercial hub of Mandalay in the second trade fair, tourism site of
ancient city of Bagan in the third fair, port city of the former capital
Yangon in 4th fair and cyber city of Yadanarpon in the 5th fair, the
sources said, adding the country won the best booth, best design and best
creativity awards in the 4th China-ASEAN trade fair in 2007.

In the last 5th China-ASEAN trade fair, Myanmar won the best booth award
again.

China's Nanning and Myanmar's Yangon established friendship city
relationship in July this year.

According to Chinese official statistics, China-Myanmar bilateral trade
amounted to 2.626 billion dollars in 2008, up 26.4 percent. Of the total,
China's export to Myanmar took 1.978 billion dollars.

____________________________________
ASEAN

October 25, Agence France Presse
Asia lets Myanmar off hook over Suu Kyi again: analysts – Rachel O'Brien

HUA HIN, Thailand – Asian leaders barely mentioned Myanmar democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi at a weekend summit, making a mockery of the region's
grand claims for its new rights body, analysts said.

Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
which includes Myanmar, devoted just three lines to the military-ruled
nation's political situation in the nine pages of their final declaration.

While the statement called for elections promised by the junta in 2010 to
be "fair, free, inclusive and transparent", it made no mention of the
opposition leader, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.

The summit at the Thai resort of Hua Hin opened with the inauguration of
ASEAN's first human rights body, hailed by members as "historic" but
widely derided by activists, given the lack of action on Myanmar.

"The whole thing is a bit of a farce," David Mathieson, a Myanmar expert
at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

"There were pretty low expectations for the human rights commission and
ASEAN has probably fulfilled these expectations. There's no way ASEAN can
maintain any credibility while kowtowing to the Burmese leaders," he
added.

Burma is Myanmar's former name.

Suu Kyi had her house arrest extended in August for 18 months after she
was convicted over an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to
her home. It effectively keeps her out of the way for next year's
elections.

A senior Southeast Asian diplomat confirmed to AFP that Myanmar and Suu
Kyi were not discussed at the ASEAN leaders' retreat, although they did
come up when the bloc met with leaders from China, Japan and South Korea
on Saturday.

Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein told his counterparts that the junta
could relax the conditions of Suu Kyi's detention, a Japanese official
said -- but this possibility was earlier raised by the junta at her
conviction.

The rights commission's launch was also marred by a row over the barring
of rights activists from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and
Singapore, who were meant to meet ASEAN leaders at Hua Hin to discuss the
new watchdog.

The Myanmar representative, Khin Ohmar, said their exclusion was an
"extreme disappointment", but not a surprise.

"Now the trial is done and Aung San Suu Kyi is back in house arrest, ASEAN
is coming back to avoiding the whole Burma issue again," she added.

Khin Ohmar said ASEAN was prevented from applying any real pressure on the
military regime because of its long-standing policy of non-interference in
members' internal affairs.

"As long as they have that they will not be able to solve the Burma
problem", she added.

Myanmar's ruling generals did allow Suu Kyi two meetings with a minister
this month after she wrote a letter to junta chief Than Shwe offering
suggestions for getting Western sanctions against Myanmar lifted.

The move coincided with a recent shift in US policy to re-engage the
isolated regime, after decades of hostility.

"These are positive developments and I think Myanmar authorities have
promised their commitment to the... roadmap (to democracy)", Thai Foreign
Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters in Hua Hin.

The positions of ASEAN and the international community "remain firm", he
said, reiterating the call for free and fair elections and the release of
all political prisoners.

But ASEAN nations have been reluctant to admonish Myanmar when they face
their own rights issues, especially in communist Vietnam and Laos but also
in Thailand, which has been under fire for its treatment of ethnic
minorities.

"The change in the US approach reduces the pressure on ASEAN to push for
reform in Myanmar," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at the
Singapore Management University.

"ASEAN has usually had limited impact on reforms in Myanmar, and this
pattern is likely to continue," she added.

____________________________________

October 26, BBC News
Burma: Suu Kyi 'can play a role'

Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein has told Asian leaders the detained
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi can contribute to national
reconciliation.

It was not clear if that meant Burma's military would allow her to take
part in next year's elections.

The Burmese PM was speaking at the Association of South East Asian Nations
(Asean) regional summit in Thailand.

The leaders were strongly criticised by activists for their failure to
demand more of Burma on ending military rule.

"He [the Burmese premier] briefed us on some of the dialogue that is
taking place and he feels optimistic that she can contribute also to the
process of national reconciliation," said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva.

He "recognises full well that the rest of the world expects to see
elections as inclusive as possible," Mr Abhisit said.

It is not clear if the reported comments mean Burma's military would allow
Aung San Suu Kyi any role in next year's elections.

On Saturday, Japan's prime minister Yukio Hatoyama reported that the
Burmese had said the conditions of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest could
be relaxed if she showed what they called a good attitude.

This month, Burma allowed her to meet Western diplomats, after extending
her detention by 18 months - a move which could ensure her absence from
elections planned by the junta for next year.

Indian premier Manmohan Singh said there was an "atmosphere of hope" about
improving relations between Burma and the United States, which recently
began to re-engage the junta after years of hostility.

The summit leaders, from the 10-member Asean and partners China, India,
Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan, had all welcomed the US
engagement, Mr Abhisit added.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi in Seoul, South Korea

However, just three lines in a nine-page closing document were devoted to
Burma, where summit leaders hoped the 2010 elections would be "fair, free,
inclusive and transparent".

It made no mention of Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20
years.

"The whole thing is a bit of a farce," David Mathieson, a Burma expert at
Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

Asian leaders spent more time discussing plans to "lead the world" by
forming an EU-style community by 2015.

There was debate at the summit over whether the community should also
include the United States.

The junta has kept Ms Suu Kyi under house arrest for most of the past two
decades after her National League for Democracy swept elections in 1990
but was barred from taking power.

____________________________________

October 26, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
ASEAN welcomes US engagement with Myanmar

Cha-am, Thailand - The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on
Sunday welcomed a new US policy of engagement with Myanmar, saying it was
the right approach to dealing with a member of its club considered a
pariah by many Western nations.

'The one thing we are completely agreed upon is that we welcome signs of
further engagement on the part of various regions in response to some of
the developments in Myanmar,' Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said
after the conclusion of the three-days ASEAN summit and related events in
Cha-am, 130 kilometres south-west of Bangkok.

US President Barack Obama has encouraged a policy of engagement with
Myanmar since coming to power, although the US has not dropped economic
sanctions on the pariah state.

ASEAN has long advocated engagement with Myanmar, a member of the regional
grouping since 1997, as the best tactic for encouraging the military-run
country to implement political reforms.

To date, ASEAN engagement has failed to pressure Myanmar to free
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years
under house arrest. She was recently sentenced to another 18 months of
detention.

There are another 2,300 other political prisoners in Myanmar, some of them
serving 100-year-long sentences.

Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein reiterated his regime's intention to
hold a general election next year, for which the junta will promulgate a
new election law soon. The election is part of its seven-step road map to
democracy.

'ASEAN has always argued that engagement is the right approach and we feel
that if everyone takes this engagement approach we would be encouraging
Myanmar in the successful implementation of her road map,' Abhisit said.

Myanmar's junta recently allowed Suu Kyi to hold talks with foreign
diplomats in Yangon about raising economic sanctions on the country,
raising hopes that she and other political prisoners will be freed before
the election is held.

'They recognize full well that the rest of the world expects to see an
election that is as inclusive as possible,' Abhisit said of the junta.

Myanmar has been ruled by military regimes since 1962.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

October 26, PoliticsDaily.com (USA)
The arrest and torture of an American in Burma (and why you never heard of
him) – Alex Wagner

While I was sitting in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Burma
on a beautiful fall day last week, a Burmese-born American citizen who
happens to live 30 minutes from Capitol Hill was languishing in Rangoon's
notorious Insein prison. The Burmese courts have charged this American,
Kyaw Zaw Lwin, with fraud and forgery, though the ruling regime's official
mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, has also accused him of terrorist
activities. Kyaw Zaw Lwin's defense counsel has said that his client was
physically tortured during his detention and denied any allegations that
he was plotting to incite unrest. Last week, his trial began.

So where is his rescue from Bill Clinton, who so thrillingly swooped in to
extricate two Americans being held in North Korea? Given the announcement
of the new U.S. policy of engagement with Burma just four weeks ago, Kyaw
Zaw Lwin could be waiting quite a while.

With all the media attention paid to the North Korean detention (and
subsequent release) of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the
lack of coverage of an American citizen being held and allegedly tortured
by a rogue regime is shocking. Equally so is the administration's apparent
lack of focus on the matter.

On Sept. 12, State Department spokesperson Ian Kelly reported, "We have
reached out to [the Burmese] government to get additional information [on
Kyaw Zaw Lwin]," adding that no further details were available. Nearly six
weeks later, during the Congressional hearing on Burma, Kurt Campbell, the
Obama administration's newly appointed assistant secretary for East Asian
and Pacific affairs, was asked what developments had occurred in the case
of Kyaw Zaw Lwin. He responded that there weren't any updates.

Is this just part of the cost of engagement? In exchange for Chinese
financing of American debt, the U.S. has taken an increasingly soft
position on China's human rights record, and on Oct. 5, the president
declined to meet with the Dalai Lama, the perpetual thorn in Beijing's
side.

Last week, the administration was mum on the abduction and suspected
execution of Uighur dissidents in China's Xinjiang Province. And in the
case of Kyaw Zaw Lwin, the State Department's actions -- or, perhaps,
inactions -- thus far might suggest the sort of concessions the U.S. is
prepared to make as engagement with Burma begins.

A leader of what came to be known as the 88 Students Generation -- a
pro-democracy movement inside Burma that held massive, student-led
demonstrations in 1988, and ended with the killing of over 3,000
protesters at the hands of the military -- Kyaw Zaw Lwin was granted
asylum in the U.S. in the wake of the uprising. He moved here in 1993 and
became a citizen, relocating as other Burmese exiles have to the
Washington, D.C.. area, where he became friends with my grandmother.

Some 30 years earlier, this is where she and my mother, also seeking
refuge from the repressive Burmese military government, settled upon
arrival in the States. As anyone in D.C. can tell you, Washington is a
small town, and it is especially so if you are part of the community of
Burmese exiles clustered around the Beltway. There is the local monastery
where everyone pays his or her respects to the monks; there is the Asian
grocery store where you can buy imported pickled tea leaves and smelly
durian fruit; and the Burmese restaurant downtown that makes a decent
noodle soup. There is also an activist exile network, populated by Burmese
who have watched, helplessly for the most part, as their country and its
people have been stomped into the ground by a regime intent on maintaining
control of the country's rich natural resources at all costs.


>From time to time, you see them at rallies in front of the Burmese Embassy

or the United Nations, armed with homemade signs and bullhorns, hoping to
get arrested or to make it onto the local evening news. This isn't to
disparage these protests, it is simply to say that -- as any Burmese will
tell you -- the country's decades-long struggle for freedom almost never
makes headlines. For U.S. officials, identifying the strategic imperative
of addressing the situation in Burma is challenging. To them, it appears
merely that a once-prosperous Southeast Asian country has fallen into the
hands of a particularly despicable group of armed military men, known as
the State Peace and Development Committee (SPDC). The SPDC's actions have
been morally reprehensible, but for an American audience facing multiple
wars, terrorist attacks and economic freefall, well, there have been other
things to worry about.

Kyaw Zaw Lwin's participation in the human rights movement continued after
his escape from Burma: He co-founded the Burmese Students Committee for
Social Affairs, began working as a research assistant for Refugees
International, and became a leading member of the Free Burma's Political
Prisoners Now Campaign. He moved into a townhouse in suburban Maryland,
bought a car and became engaged to a fellow exile and activist, a
registered nurse named Wa Wa Kyaw. My grandmother, a fiery advocate for
Burmese democracy even well into her 80s, often needed rides to the
monthly activist meetings and plenary sessions – and when she requested
transportation, it was Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a soft spoken, dutiful emissary, who
would pick her up.

In late spring of this year, Free Burma's Political Prisoners Now
spearheaded a campaign with several advocacy organizations to gather
888,888 signatures (the number 8 is particularly auspicious in Burmese
culture, as well as a reference to the uprisings of 1988) to protest the
incarceration of nearly 2,100 political prisoners in Burmese jails. Though
the campaign did not meet its goal, nearly 680,000 signatures were
collected. The organizers of the campaign hoped to deliver the signatures
to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has repeatedly called on the
Burmese regime to release all political prisoners.

One of the emissaries chosen to deliver these signatures was Kyaw Zaw Lwin
-- because he had been incarcerated for political activities following the
1988 protests, because his mother is serving a five-year jail term for
political activities inside Burma, and because his sister has been
sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in the 2007 pro-democracy
protests inside the country.

Secretary Ban's office declined to receive Kyaw Zaw Lwin and his petition,
and the signatures were instead handed off to Special Representative
Ibrahim Gambari's office without much fanfare, although Kyaw Zaw Lwin did
make a statement at a small press conference that day: "My message to Mr.
Ban Ki-moon is simple," he said. "Your words show you take this issue
seriously. But now I want to see what action you will take to secure the
release of my family and all Burma's political prisoners."

Eight weeks later, the Burmese courts extended the house arrest of
opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's
most famous political prisoner. And several weeks after that, Kyaw Zaw
Lwin himself was thrown into jail.

He had been back to the country several times before and had entered with
little problem, but on Sept. 3, upon arrival at Rangoon's airport, he was
seized. Little has been heard of him since. On Sept. 24, the New Light of
Myanmar reported, "Steps are being taken . . . against Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a
citizen of a foreign country who, out of disloyalty to his motherland and
people, planned to instigate unrest and launch terrorist attacks."

His family has had no contact with him since his arrest. "There's lots of
red tape," said Wa Wa Kyaw. "His aunts, who live in Rangoon, tried to meet
with him, but the Burmese authorities told him that since he's an American
citizen, the visit has to go though the U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. They have put in a request, but it hasn't been granted."

For decades, Burma's government has been maligned for widespread
corruption, repression of basic freedoms, state-sponsored violence
targeting ethnic tribes, and torture of civilians. Because of this, the
SPDC is seen as one of the most brutal regimes in the world. It is also --
so far -- one of the most intractable. For decades, U.S. dialogue with the
SPDC has been nonexistent.

Given the myriad abuses perpetrated by the Burmese regime on its people,
the U.S. has enjoyed the moral high ground in refusing to engage with the
brutal junta, but its approach has yielded few, if any, results in the
intervening years.

President Obama's new Burma strategy is part of a broader policy of
Speaking With Friends and Enemies of Freedom alike: it treads a careful
line between "constructive engagement" with the regime and maintaining
broad economic sanctions. It's unclear whether this will yield any more
tangible results than non-engagement has, and this hasn't been lost on the
Obama administration. "We expect engagement with Burma to be a long, slow,
painful and step-by-step process," Campbell said during his House
testimony.

Critics say that engagement may, in fact, damage the U.S.'s broader
foreign policy objectives. During the hearings last week, Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher, a Republican from California and a longtime advocate of the
Bush-era policy of diplomatic freeze-out, was unrelenting: "With all due
respect, we know all about Burma. It's not an unknown quantity. It has a
vicious gangster regime, one of the most despicable regimes in this
planet. We are saying that they are a legitimate government to sit down
with. They are not."

Campbell was quick to emphasize that the U.S. government deplores actions
taken by the SPDC and that relaxing of sanctions is off the table until
concrete and substantive reform is in place. Dialogue, though, is a
two-way street: for partners from whom we are seeking to gain something,
concessions must be made.

Meanwhile, coverage from inside Kyaw Zaw Lwin's trial reported that the
prosecution has called two witnesses who were "not convincing and vague."
Thirteen more witnesses for the prosecution have yet to testify. As in the
trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the
Burmese courts will reach a guilty verdict and that the punishment will
far outweigh the trumped-up crime. Given the new U.S. strategy of
high-level diplomatic dialogue with the regime, one could speculate that
perhaps the U.S. is negotiating on the sidelines for Kyaw Zaw Lwin's
release, much as they did with John William Yettaw, the American arrested
and sentenced by Burmese courts to four years of hard labor for an
unsanctioned visit to Aung San Suu Kyi.

But unlike Yettaw -- a mentally-ill man from Missouri with no connection
to the Burmese opposition movement -- the SPDC has significant grievances
with Kyaw Zaw Lwin. For those Burmese who have left the country and
emigrated overseas, working with exile opposition groups to unseat the
generals from their perches of power, the regime reserves a specific brand
of vitriol. They -- Kyaw Zaw Lwin, and my grandmother, too -- are seen as
traitors, pawns of the West. In the eyes of the regime, they are enemies
of the state.

The prisoner's fiancée, Wa Wa Kyaw, says advocacy efforts have been
difficult: "I am working full time, and I can't quit my job," she says. "I
have to stay supporting the family -- Kyaw Zaw Lwin has five family
members in prison in five different locations in Burma. His aunts need
financial support to travel and visit everyone, and my nephew is also in
prison for activities during the 2007 protests."

The innocents in Burma, hostage to a brutal junta for nearly five decades,
seem to be locked in a tragic cycle of repression, uprise, protest and
defeat. Could renewed U.S. engagement with the SPDC win freedom for Kyaw
Zaw Lwin, an American citizen wrongly imprisoned in a foreign country? Of
course, but whether our government will choose to secure it is anyone's
guess.

-------------

Alex Wagner is the executive director of Not on Our Watch, a global
advocacy and aid organization founded by Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt
Damon and Jerry Weintraub and dedicated to stopping and preventing mass
atrocities and gross violations of human rights. She lives in New York
City.
____________________________________

October 25, Wall Street Journal
Asean's 'Human-Rights' Council – Not off to a great start – Editorial

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations inaugurated its human-rights
commission Friday. Like its United Nations equivalent, it's a toothless
body, but it can still do damage to the cause it's supposed to serve.

Asean members aspire for the council to be "a vehicle for progressive
social development and justice, the full realization of human dignity and
the attainment of a higher quality life for Asean peoples," according to
their inaugural declaration. These are worthy goals.

But Asean is a broad church that includes countries like Burma and Laos
that want to rubber-stamp their authoritarian regimes, not submit to real
scrutiny. All 10 commissioners who will serve on the council for three
year terms were chosen by their respective Asean member nations, in most
cases through opaque selection processes that involved little or no public
consultation. Commissioners include Kyaw Tint Swe, the Burmese ambassador
to the U.N. who has long defended the junta's rights record there, and
Brunei's Abdul Hamid Bakal, a Shariah court judge. The commission operates
by consensus and its mandate focuses on promoting human rights, not
protecting them.

The initial signals aren't encouraging. At the weekend Asean summit in Hua
Hin, Thailand, delegates discussed regional integration, climate change
and removing trade barriers. No less than five Asean nations—Burma,
Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Singapore—refused to meet with civil
society representatives during a scheduled "interface meeting" Friday
meant to act as a forum for discussion between heads of state and civil
society representatives.

This was nothing if not predictable, given the composition of the council.
It's also a shame, given the need for an effective human-rights watchdog
in the region. Burma, for instance, will be holding elections next year.
If the human-rights council meant what it said about upholding "human
dignity," it could mention the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, the jailed
opposition leader who is still under house arrest. Or it could examine the
status of the Rohingya refugees who routinely wash up on the shores of
Thailand and Malaysia as they flee from Burma.

Asean aspires to be a regional organization with bigger global clout.
Embracing a human-rights council like this is detrimental to that goal.

____________________________________

October 26, Times of India
US 'softens' Myanmar stance, thanks to India – Indrani Bagchi

New Delhi – In the past couple of years, India has taken a lot of
international heat for its close engagement with Myanmar’s ruling junta
when the US and EU were slamming on sanctions, essentially driving Myanmar
into even greater isolation.

But the US policy was singularly unsuccessful, as many Indian officials
said it was bound to be. It took US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to
signal a change, when she announced the review saying the sanctions
weren’t working. This week, when US assistant secretary of state Kurt
Campbell stops by New Delhi on his way to Yangon, India aims to keep
“engagement” on top of the agenda.
India, like China, had two mantras for the West — engage with Myanmar
and take the sanctions pressure off. Most in the west thought this was
India’s way of keeping up with the Joneses, in this case China,
particularly as China made further inroads into Myanmar. In fact, one of
the key issues India will discuss with the US will be to delink the
fledgling engagement process from next year’s elections in Myanmar.
That, India feels, would put almost unbearable pressure.

India looks upon the softening by US and Myanmar as significant, said
sources. In a clear sign of
reciprocity to the US signals, Myanmar’s prime minister Thein Sein
reportedly indicated to his Asean colleagues on the sidelines of the East
Asia Summit this weekend that the junta government might soften the terms
of Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest.

Earlier, the 15th Asean Summit issued a statement saying the Asean leaders
discussed the Myanmar situation and underscored “that the general
elections to be held in Myanmar in 2010 must be conducted in a fair, free,
inclusive and transparent manner in order to be credible to the
international community”.

Fresh from the failure of the isolation policy in both North Korea and
Myanmar, the Obama administration, after an eight-month-long review, has
decided to engage with Myanmar’s generals. On September 29, Campbell
held his first meeting with Myanmar’s science minister U Thaung in New
York.

Though it did not yield much, it certainly paved the way for the first
official visit from Washington to Yangon in decades. The basic idea here
is not to repeat the mistakes of North Korea, that could push isolationist
regimes like Myanmar closer to countries like North Korea.

Campbell announced this week that the US would closely work with India and
China regarding Myanmar.

In India, former foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon as well as his
successor Nirupama Rao have used the foreign office consultations with the
US to push for engagement with Myanmar and a sensitisation of the US to
Myanmarese concerns. India is a reluctant mediator, but at Myanmar’s
request, India has even passed on messages from the junta to the US at a
reasonably high level. This was one of many signals that Myanmar sent to
the US indicating it was ready to open up.

India sees an unprecedented desire for openness with the Myanmarese
generals. This has been helped by an important development — a letter by
jailed leader Suu Kyi to Than Shwe declaring she would work to reduce
international sanctions on Myanmar. She also asked in the letter to meet
representatives of the US, EU and Australia, which was allowed.

That started an internal thaw, which contributed to the new western
approach. India, said sources, has conducted an equal number of
confidential conversations with the Myanmarese as well.

____________________________________

October 25, New Light of Myanmar
Senior General Than Shwe sends UN Day message

Myanmar has great faith in important role played by United Nations in
promoting social justice, economic progress and better standards of living
of citizens of the world

Myanmar will work towards vision of the United Nations

NAY PYI TAW, 24 Oct — The following is the full text of the message sent
by Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than
Shwe on the occasion of the 64th Anniversary of the founding of the United
Nations.

Today is the 64th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. On
this special occasion, we join the Member States of the World Organization
in commemorating and celebrating this very significant and auspicious day
for the international community.

Sixty-four years ago, the United Nations was established to bring peace
and stability to the chaotic world devastated by scourge of two World
Wars. Overriding concerns of the United Nations in

its early part of history had been its peace agenda. In the height of cold
war with an impending threat of nuclear war and seemingly endless regional
conflicts across the globe, it became imperative that peace and stability
must prevail if development and progress are to be achieved. Over the
decades, the United Nations has successfully maintained international ace
and security. Moreover, the United Nations also made advances in the field
of development, protection of the environment and promotion of
international law, etc. These advances are made possible by the
commitments of the Member States to work collectively and cooperatively
within the United Nations.

The world again faces complex crises threatening development and security.
At this juncture, we need to look to the founding principles of the United
Nations to address the challenges. The world today is undergoing profound
changes. We are living in a global and interdependent world. Never before
in time of peace, have the members of the United Nations been presented
with so many new challenges and opportunities. These have far reaching
impacts on the entire international community.

The imbalances in global economic, financial, and trade environment remain
a major impediment for many developing countries. The emerging global
issues of climate change, financial and economic crises, and food and
energy crises threaten to undermine socio-economic progress gained,
including the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals.

The United Nations is the best forum to tackle global challenges, as well
as for guaranteeing international peace and security. The challenges that
we are facing today can best be addressed by an integrated approach. The
United Nations, the most universal institution has also on its agenda,
vast array of works that touch every aspect of the lives of people around
the world. Therefore, full potential of the United Nations must be
galvanized.

It is clear that no country can deal with the multitude of global problems
alone. They can be effectively resolved only through collective efforts
within the most representative international mechanism. Myanmar has great
faith in the important role played by the United Nations in promoting
social justice, economic progress and better standards of living of the
citizens of the world. Our hope for a better, more prosperous and peaceful
world remains with the World Organization.

On this 64th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, let us
reaffirm our support and commitment to the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations which have proved timeless and universal.
Together with the international community, Myanmar will work towards the
vision of the United Nations that is a center of harmonizing the actions
of nations for attainment of peace, security and prosperity for all. - MNA