From editor at burmanet.org Tue Oct 27 14:56:15 2009 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:56:15 -0400 (EDT) Subject: BurmaNet News, October 27, 2009 Message-ID: <23603.63.173.78.131.1256669775.squirrel@webmail4.pair.com> October 27, 2009 Issue #3827 INSIDE BURMA DVB: 25 percent of Shan families forcibly relocated DVB: Photos released of murdered Japanese journalist Irrawaddy: Playing the Suu Kyi card IMNA: NMSP Chairmen organize throughout Mon State in preparation for 2010 elections ON THE BORDER Al Jazeera: Rohingya forced to build fence Xinhua: Myanmar, China to jointly shoot film featuring human trafficking REGIONAL Mizzima News: Junta supremo to visit Sri Lanka INTERNATIONAL The Age (Australia): Wives ignore party divide to support Suu Kyi Mizzima News: Religious freedom yet to be won in Burma: new report ISRIA.com (France): Troika of the community of democracies appeals to Burma/Myanmar to end human rights abuses OPINION / OTHER Guardian (UK): A glimmer of light for Burma ? Simon Tisdall PRESS RELEASE Burma Rivers Network: Communities stand up against Chinese dams on Burma?s Irrawaddy ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA October 27, Democratic Voice of Burma 25 percent of Shan families forcibly relocated ? Francis Wade More than a quarter of families in Burma?s northeastern Shan state were forcibly relocated in the past year, while nine percent of families had at least one member injured by a landmine, a US health academic said. A further 24 percent of families had one member taken by Burmese troops for forced labour, according to Professor Chris Beyrer, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings were reported to the US House Foreign Affairs Committee during a testimony on US policy to Burma last week. While much of the rhetoric surrounding the policy shift has focused on Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma?s 2,100 political prisoners, Beyrer said that attacks on ethnic nationalities in the Karen and Shan states ?are the second major cause for concern in Burma today?. Attacks by Burmese troops in Shan state, Burma?s largest state with a population of nearly five million, had been particularly intense, with 39 villages targeted and 10,000 villagers forcibly displaced as ?part of a systematic and widespread scorched earth campaign?. The findings of investigations into landmine injuries in Shan state were among the highest rates ever documented, he said. Burma?s state expenditure on healthcare is amongst the lowest in the world. Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) estimates that $US0.70 per capita per year, or 0.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), is channeled into the health sector. The volatile Shan state, which borders China, was the scene of heavy fighting in August and September between government troops and an armed ethnic group from the Kokang region. The fighting, which erupted following rising tension over the government?s proposals to transform ethnic armies into border guard militias, forced some 37,000 refugees into China. Beyrer said that the attacks on ethnic groups were part of the government?s preparation for the 2010 elections. ?The junta is creating new humanitarian emergencies with its current campaign for political control of ethnic areas and destabilizing its border regions with China,? he said. ?Burmese refugees continue to flee not only into China, but to Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia, making this a truly regional concern.? ____________________________________ October 27, Democratic Voice of Burma Photos released of murdered Japanese journalist ? Francis Wade Images of the post-mortem examination on the body of a Japanese journalist shot dead by Burmese police during the September 2007 protests have been released for the first time. Accompanied by the images obtained by DVB of the body of Kenji Nagai, who worked for Tokyo?s APF news agency, are photographs of the possessions he carried when he died. Separate footage captured by DVB reporters filming the demonstrations appears to show Nagai carrying a camera that has not been included in the exhibit of his possessions. A letter sent in November 2007 by Japanese activists to Burma?s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) protesting the shooting had demanded that the camera and videotape be returned to Nagai?s family ?without any modifications to the recorded material?. The family has since received all of his belongings apart from the camera and videotape. Subsequent footage released on Japanese television showed a government soldier taking the camera. A wristwatch that Nagai was wearing when he died is also missing from the exhibit photograph. Nagai was killed by a single bullet-wound to the chest as he filmed monks and civilians protesting on the streets of Rangoon, in what has now come to be known as the Saffron Revolution. The Japanese prime minister at the time described the killing as ?extremely unfortunate?, while the government?s chief cabinet secretary demanded an investigation into the incident. Relations between the two countries temporarily soured after the shooting, with Japan halting aid to Burma. This was resumed however following cyclone Nargis in May 2008. Nagai was the only foreigner to have been killed during protests which lasted for eight days before the government launched a brutal crackdown, killing scores of monks and students in the process. Up to 50,000 people are thought to have been involved in the demonstrations which erupted after the government hiked up fuel prices overnight, in some cases to five times their original price. Since his death, an award has been created in Nagai?s name to honour reporters documenting human rights abuses in Burma. The first recipient of the award was Eint Khaing Oo, a female journalist who was imprisoned after reporting on cyclone Nargis. She has since been released. The Times quoted an associate of Nagai?s who said the 50-year-old was ?relentless? in his pursuit of stories. He had previously documented conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia and Palestine. For photos, visit: http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=2990 ____________________________________ October 27, Irrawaddy Playing the Suu Kyi card ? Wai Moe At last week?s meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) at the resort town of Cha-am in Thailand, Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein told heads of state that Burma?s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has a role to play in the country?s reconciliation process. He did not, however, provide details or clarify exactly what role he was referring to. However, Win Tin, a prominent leader within Suu Kyi?s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has claimed that Thein Sein?s comment could be intended to defuse tensions with the United States ahead of the Asean- US summit in Singapore next month. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, he said, ?I think this is a kind of political game that the Burmese premier is playing with regard to Suu Kyi. At the moment, I do not see any genuine political will toward the reconciliation process in Burma. ?Reconciliation is more than just a word or a concept. It must be practiced at the dialogue table,? he added. The Asean-US summit will be held in Singapore on Nov. 15, coinciding with the annual leaders' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC). US President Barack Obama will meet with Thein Sein during the summit, the first meeting between the two. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Kurt Campbell is also scheduled to visit Burma in the coming weeks. He may meet with Suu Kyi and some ethnic leaders, as well as government officials such as U Thaung, the minister of Science and Technology and former Burmese ambassador to Washington, who Campbell met in New York in September. Whether Campbell will meet with junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe is unclear, according to diplomatic sources. Commenting on Campbell?s trip, Win Tin said he hoped Campbell would be more proactive toward democracy in Burma than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, whose trip to Burma in July was widely labeled a failure. ?Mr Campbell will be different from Mr Ban Ki-moon,? Win Tin said. ?During his visit, Mr Ban Ki-moon met representatives of 10 political parties and gave us just two minutes each to explain the political situation in the country?it was very disappointing.? Suu Kyi has repeatedly requested the junta for an audience with members of her party?s central executive committee, including Win Tin, but to date her requests have gone answered. After the conclusion of its Burma policy review, the Obama administration said that it will follow a policy of direct engagement with Burma while it retained sanctions against the junta. The chairman at the 15th Asean summit in Cha-am on Sunday said the regional leaders welcomed the US?s engagement policy. ?The US? engagement with Burma is very different from Asean?s,? said Larry Jagan, a British journalist who specializes in Burma issues. ?The US? Burma policy goes with engagement and sanctions. ?The US? engagement is very sensible. We can call it ?sensible engagement,?? he said, adding that Asean has lost momentum in dealing with Burma since it allowed the military regime membership in 1997. During the summit, Thein Sein and his foreign minister, ex Maj-Gen Nyan Win, briefed Asean representatives on the political situation in Burma, including the 2010 election and Suu Kyi?s meetings with the junta?s liaison officer, ex Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, and Western diplomats. Burmese officials even hinted during a meeting with Japanese delegates that Suu Kyi could be released before her current 18-month term of house arrest expires if she ?maintains a good attitude.? Unlike previous meetings in Thailand throughout 2009, at the 15th Asean Summit, Abhisit and Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya responded briefly to a few questions concerning Suu Kyi at press conferences. However, the Asean chairman dropped a previous call for the release of political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, in his statements during the summit and related meetings. ?This is disappointing,? said Win Tin. ?It showed Asean cannot do anything for the Burmese people. It seems Asean?s engagement with Burma is just for business interests.? ____________________________________ October 27, Independent Mon News Agency NMSP Chairmen organize throughout Mon State in preparation for 2010 elections ? Rai Maraoh Reports have surfaced that New Mon State Party (NMSP) chairman Nai Htaw Mon, as well NMSP Central Executive Committee members Nai Hong Sar and Nai Htar Wara, have been traversing Mon State and MNSP territory since mid-September 2009, organizing Mon communities in Burma in preparation for the 2010 elections. ?They [the NMSP organizing committee] are explaining the most important elements of the NMSP agenda, and what they have done already and what are they are planning to do for the future? said an NMSP officer based in Sangkhlaburi, Thailand. According to IMNA?s reporters, Nai Htaw Mon and his fellow Central Executive Committee members have been touring the various districts of Mon State and MNSP territory separately, each accompanied by a small group of NMSP members. The three groups have been holding lectures in strategic locations, where they discussed the NMSP?s political positions to groups of villagers, youth, and monks. ?Nai Htaw Mon and his members organized in Mudon Township this week, they explained the NMSP?s decision not to accept the SPDC?s Border Guard Force or People?s Militia offers,? said a Mudon Township resident who attended a lecture at a local monastery. According to IMNA?s reporter, Nai Htaw Mon and his group have thus far toured Moulmein District and Tha-ton District, NMSP General Secretary Nai Hong Sar and Central Executive Committee Member Nai Htar Wara have both travelled from Tavoy District to Bee Ree area, upstream of the Ye river. Reports indicate that the majority of the lectures centered around the NMSP?s official rejection of the Burmese government?s offer to convert its armed wing into a Border Guard force this August. ?They accumulated [for the lectures] the residents at the NMSP district office, and then for the monks they spoke at the monasteries; they also included Mon youth these meetings; They told us Mon people needed to know about NMSP?s position [regarding the Border Guard Force offer], they told us the NMSP will never change their position on this issue,? the Mudon Township resident who spoke to IMNA added. This source added that the organizers at the Mudon Township conference informed the audience that the NMSP wants the Mon community in Burma to understand the NMSP?s position on the Burmese government?s Border Guard Force offer clearly, before the 2010 elections. This January, IMNA reported on the NMSP?s January 27th announcement of dissatisfaction with the Burmese Government?s 2008 constitution; the NMSP issued a statement claiming that if certain elements of the constitution were changed, it would consider running in the 2010 elections. ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER October 27, Al Jazeera Rohingya forced to build fence ? Nicolas Haque On Myanmar's side of the Naf River that marks border with Bangladesh, labourers are hard at work building a fence that will prevent them fleeing persecution. They will not be paid for their work. Instead the men, who come from the persecuted Rohingya ethnic group, have been coerced into erecting the 230km long fence by the threat of violence against their families. The Rohingyas are a distinct ethnic group from Myanmar's Rakhine State. The authorities in Yangon have refused to recognise them as citizens and they have been persecuted for their cultural difference and practice of Islam. For many, life in Myanmar has become so difficult that they have fled across the border to Bangladesh. Over the past year 12,000 Rohingyas have been caught crossing the border illegally. Now they are being forced to build a fence to prevent such escapes. "The Myanmar army have forced all of the men living in the villages on the border to work on the fence," a worker involved in the construction says. "Most of them are Rohingyas. If we don't do as they say they beat us and our families." So far they have fenced off 70km of border in what experts believe is an attempt by Yangon to increase control of the lucrative smuggling trade that flourishes in the area. "Illegal trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh has formerly been in favour of Bangladesh, but this will change now,"explains Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, from Dhaka University. "The country that controls the barriers between borders can also assert greater control over the illegal trade." Disputed border Bangladesh and Myanmar have never agreed on their borders, and an ongoing dispute over where their maritime frontiers lie has seen tension rise along the Naf river. The contested maritime border involves a patch of sea believed to contain valuable oil and gas. Control of these waters could make either country very rich, and experts say that diplomatic relations between the two countries has deteriorated as a result of the dispute. "The tension was heightened last November when the Myanmar Navy came in to put a rig in what Bangladesh claims, rightly, to be our own territorial water," says Retired Major General ANM Muniruzzaman, from the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies. "Eventually the Bangladeshi diplomatic efforts diffused the situation, and the Myanmar navy rig went back, but the Myanmar government has consistently told Bangladesh that this is their water, and that they will come back. When that happens, perhaps the Myanmar government wants to put a dual pressure on Bangladesh, not only from the sea but also from the land border." That process may have already started. Myanmar has deployed 50,000 men to the border with Bangladesh, and in the past month alone, Dhaka has responded by sending an additional 3000 troops to the area in a manoeuvre codenamed "Operation Fortress." Officially, the Bangladeshi government denies there is tension along the border. The troops say they are there to monitor and stop the illegal trafficking of goods and people. But the soldiers know that relations between the two countries are strained. "We have a border through which we can observe the other side of the river. Our troops morale is very high, under any circumstances we are ready to protect the integrity and sovereignty of our country," says Lieutenant Colonel Mozammel, commanding officer of Border Guards Bangladesh in Teknaf. Unregistered refugees Meanwhile, the horrific conditions faced by the Rohingyas in Myanmar are prompting thousands to flee to Bangladesh. Malika is one of those who crossed the Naf river illegally. Her feet are swollen from the three-day walk to escape Yangon's soldiers. She says she suffered horrific abuse there and had no choice but to leave. "I couldn't stay there, the soldiers raped me over and over again," she says. "The Myanmar army do not consider us as humans." But once in Bangladesh, the refugees face new problems. Of more than 400,000 Rohingyas believed to have slipped across the border into Bangladesh, just 26,000 have been offically recognised as refugees by the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations. The authorities refuse to feed and house the rest. Even the handful of NGOs working here are not allowed to provide food or medical aid or education facilities to unregistered Rohingyas because the government fears that this would spark tensions between poor local villagers and the new arrivals. Fadlullah Wilmot, the director of Muslim Aid in Bangladesh, explains: "More than 44 per cent of the population in this area are ultra poor, that means that their daily income only provides their basic food needs. The literacy rate is about 10 per cent. The wage rate is low, so of course there are tensions." In limbo In 1992, the Bangladeshi government, under the supervision of UNHCR, organised the forced repatration of 250,000 Rohingyas on the basis that the refugees would be given citizenship by the Myanmar authorities. That promise was never kept. Professor Ahmad believes the refugees are trapped between a rock and a hard place. "Myanmar's position is they do not recognise them as citizens, they are stateless within Myanmar, and they are also stateless when they come to Bangladesh," he says. "If you build the fence now Myanmar will probably say it is ready to take the 26,000 legal refugees from the camp but not the unregistered because they don?t know who they are." Trapped in limbo between two countries that don't want them, the Rohingyas have become a bargaining chip for both Bangladesh and Myanmar as they try to settle their border dispute. In Bangladesh's refugee camps, frustration and anger are rife amongst the beleagured minority. "We cannot work. Our children can't go to school. Our wives aren't allowed to see doctors," one man says. "We cannot receive any food aid. No one wants us. This is humiliating, we have no arms, but we are ready to fight and to blow ourselves up. People need to know that we exist." ____________________________________ October 27, Xinhua Myanmar, China to jointly shoot film featuring human trafficking Yangon -- Film directors of Myanmar and China will cooperate in shooting an educative film featuring a story of human trafficking across border, sources with the Myanmar Motion Picture Enterprise (MMPE) said on Tuesday. The film, "The Road to Hell", is based on a story in which the mother rescued her son and daughter from human traffickers to whom they were sold by her second husband. Their roles will be played by Myanmar and Chinese actors and actresses, the sources said, adding that the movie will be shot in the border areas of the two countries as well as Thailand. Myanmar is making efforts to promote the standard of the country's video features and movie production for penetrating foreign markets in cooperation with foreign countries and through attending foreign film festivals. Earlier this month, a Myanmar film delegation comprising director, actors and actresses took part in the 18th China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival held in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, in which two Myanmar movies -- "Piece of String" and "Myaw Lint Chin Myar Swar" (Much Expectation) were screened. In 2007, Myanmar also took part in another Chinese film festival in Suzhou with the film "Hexagon". For the development of TV and movie sector, Myanmar sent delegations in the past few years to international radio, movie and TV shows, Beijing Film Festival and 16th Chinese Golden Rooster Film Festival as well as to China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Singapore to learn the digital camera technology and to India to study the TV broadcasting. ____________________________________ REGIONAL October 27, Mizzima News Junta supremo to visit Sri Lanka Chiang Mai ? The Burmese junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe will visit Sri Lanka next month as part of an exercise to boost bilateral ties between the two countries, said official sources. Than Shwe, with an entourage of several ministers is likely to leave Burma on November 11 in the newly bought Myanmar Airways International A-320 aircraft and will return to Naypyitaw on November 16. His visit is reciprocal in nature following that of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Burma last June. During his visit to Burma, President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited General Than Shwe to visit Sri Lanka. During the ensuing visit, the junta chief is expected to visit the pilgrimage sites of the country. Than Shwe's family, which has an ostentatious life style, will be part of the official visit. ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL October 27, The Age (Australia) Wives ignore party divide to support Suu Kyi ? Brendan Nicholson and Peter Hawkins TWO of Australia's most influential women have made a powerful protest against the Burmese junta's treatment of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Therese Rein, wife of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Lucy Turnbull, wife of Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull, were among hundreds who turned out on the Sydney Opera House steps at the ''Stand for Freedom'' protest yesterday. The presence of Ms Rein marks her most significant foray into a highly contentious international issue, and is a marked contrast to the low profile role adopted by her predecessor, Janette Howard. It is certain to annoy Burmese officials. Ms Rein said Ms Suu Kyi was a truly courageous woman and an inspiration to all women in Australia and around the world. ''The Australian people, and the women of Australia in particular, want to send a message today to Aung San Suu Kyi and to the people of Burma on whose behalf she continues to sacrifice her own freedom. ''We wish to convey our great admiration for you and our strong support for your struggle,'' she said. ''You provide an inspiration to young women in Australia and around the world.'' Six years ago, Lucy Turnbull, then lord mayor of Sydney, awarded the keys of the city to Ms Suu Kyi. Members of Australia's Burmese community accepted the keys on her behalf. ''I don't think anyone at the key ceremony six years ago could have imagined that Aung San would be still under house arrest today,'' Ms Turnbull said. The rally was organised by human rights activist, Labor MP and friend of Ms Suu Kyi, Janelle Saffin, who said she was inspired by the turnout. Ms Saffin said she was encouraged to see such a strong response to Ms Suu Kyi's call to the world's democracies to ''please use your liberty to help ours''. ''Our message to Suu Kyi and the Burmese is simple,'' she said. ''We stand behind you, beside you, in front of you, and in times of trouble we will keep you in our hearts and minds.'' On the Opera House steps, and holding a large portrait of Ms Suu Kyi, was Daw Khinpyone, from Baulkham Hills in Sydney's north-west. Ms Khinpyone spent nearly four years in jail in Burma during the 1960s. She remembers the time spent in prison while she was pregnant and then as a young mother still breast-feeding her child. ''That's not strange - everybody suffers there,'' she said. ''We are fighting for democracy and need to support our people in Burma who suffer a lot. But, our community is so happy after today and wants to say thank you.'' Australian, British and American diplomats met Ms Suu Kyi in Burma on October 9, their first substantive contact since 2003. Ms Suu Kyi sought the meeting to obtain information about the three countries' sanctions policies. A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the meeting was a significant step by both Ms Suu Kyi and the Burmese authorities. ____________________________________ October 27, Mizzima News Religious freedom yet to be won in Burma: new report New Delhi ? The United States State Department has once again produced a report critical of the right to religious freedom inside military ruled Burma. Monday?s release of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor?s 2009 International Religious Freedom Report accuses Burma?s government of both propagating and favoring the views of state-sponsored Buddhism, while systematically obstructing the practice of politically engaged Buddhism and other religions. ?The regime commonly employed nonreligious laws to target those involved in religious and political activism, including the Electronic Transactions Act, Immigration Act, and Unlawful Associations Act,? finds the report. ?The Government?s pervasive internal security apparatus imposed de facto restrictions on collective and individual worship through infiltration and monitoring of meetings and activities of virtually all organizations,? adds the document. With specific reference to the monk-led protests of 2007, the report calls out the generals on their attempt to "systematically restrict efforts by Buddhist clergy to promote human rights and political freedom." According to those consulted by American authorities, some 200 clergy remain imprisoned inside Burma, with roughly three-quarters of the said population arrested following the Saffron Revolution. Meanwhile, adherence to and promotion of a form of Buddhism in accordance with the interests of the military government continues to be a goal of the regime as well as a means of personal advancement for those deemed to be dutifully toeing the line. ?In practice,? argues the report, ?the Government continues to show a preference for Theravada Buddhism through official propaganda and state-sponsored activities, including donations to monasteries and pagodas, encouragement of education at Buddhist monastic schools in rural areas, and support for Buddhist missionary activities.? Disapproval is also expressed for the junta?s 2008 Constitution, which the State Department points out does not allow members of religious orders to vote while providing the basis for suppression of religion under means "subject to public order, morality, health, and other provisions of the Constitution." No constitution in Burma, however, has ever granted the clergy the right to vote. Though crediting the government with apparently no longer subscribing to a policy of forced conversion, the reports authors spare no corner in their disclosure of the numerous means through with the regime seeks the conversion of non-Buddhists to Buddhism. The report does acknowledge that government promotion of Buddhism to the detriment of minority religions is well entrenched in the annals of modern Burmese history, iterating, ?Successive civilian and military governments have tended to view religious freedom in the context of perceived threats to national unity or central authority.? Burma's Rohingya Muslims are singled out for their persistent targeting by the regime, a population that is still not even eligible to obtain National Registration Cards indicating they are in fact a component of Burmese society. It is widely expected that Burma will be labeled a country of particular concern (CPC) come early 2010, when Washington?s annual, official report is expected released on the status of freedom of religion around the world. Burma has been included in every such list since the inaugural grouping was identified in 1999. CPC designation is reserved for the governments of countries found guilt of ?ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.? The stigma can carry with it the imposition of sanctions, which regarding Burma have been widely employed since before the advent of the International Religious Freedom Act in 2008. ____________________________________ October 27, ISRIA.com (France) Troika of the community of democracies appeals to Burma/Myanmar to end human rights abuses On 26 October in Washington, the Troika (Portugal, Lithuania and Mongolia) of the Community of Democracies, which is currently chaired by Lithuania, issued a statement expressing grave concern about the development of the trial of the opposition leader of Burma/Myanmar Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and appealed to the ruling regime of Burma/Myanmar to end gross human rights abuses in the country. In the statement, the Troika of the Community of Democracies urges the regime of Burma/Myanmar to immediately release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, to initiate a political dialogue with the democratic opposition of Burma/Myanmar and representatives of ethnic minorities leading to national reconciliation, democratic reforms and free and transparent general election. In 1990 in Burma/Myanmar, the general election was organised for the first time in 30 years. The election was won by the National League for Democracy, the leader of which is Aung San Suu Kyi. She was arrested and has spent 14 years out of the past 20 under house arrest. On 11 August 2009, the Burma/Myanmar court sentenced the leader of the opposition Aung San Suu Kyi to additional 18 months of house arrest for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest, when in May 2009 the military of Burma/Myanmar arrested a U.S. citizen near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi. It is believed that the junta has used the incident before the election that is scheduled in 2010 to once again prolong the term of the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi. The term had to end this year. In 1991, Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize. Since 1962, Burma/Myanmar has been ruled by the military regime. The country suffers from big corruption, poverty and human rights abuses. Since 1996, the European Union has applied sanctions against the military regime in Burma/Myanmar. Established in 1999, the Community of Democracies is an intergovernmental structure. Democracies and developing democracies take part in its activities. The goal of this organisation is to strengthen and deepen democracy worldwide. The Community of Democracies is based on the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Convening Group of the Community of Democracies is comprised of 17 members: Cape Verde, Chile, the Czech Republic, India, Italy, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Salvador, South Africa, South Korea and the U.S.A. ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER October 27, Guardian (UK) A glimmer of light for Burma ? Simon Tisdall As the regime makes tentative steps to re-engage, western governments must take care not to undermine Burma's people Cautious optimism expressed by Asian leaders at the weekend that the situation of isolated, benighted Burma is taking a turn for the better may prove to be more than the usual diplomatic doublespeak. Recent, relatively positive signals from the ruling military junta do not amount to a change of heart; the generals are not about to put up a sign saying "Dun Dictatin'" and retire to their jungle palaces, officials say. But out of darkness, a glimmer of light shows. One hopeful indication came when Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained opposition leader, was temporarily released from house arrest to meet foreign diplomats and junta functionaries. The regime is also tentatively re-engaging with western governments, including the US, which is due to send a high-level delegation soon. And last month, prime minister Thein Sein promised the UN that presidential and legislative elections due next year would be "free and fair". Despite Suu Kyi's sentencing in August to a further 18 months' detention, Thein Sein reportedly told leaders at the 16-nation Asia-Pacific summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, that he was "confident she can contribute to the process of national reconciliation". Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, said: "There was an atmosphere of hope that the leadership is moving towards normalising its relationship with the US [and] that next year's election should see a reconciliation of the various segments of Myanmar society." There are several reasons for the regime's shifting stance, western observers say. One is that the junta has begun to recognise it needs the legitimacy that only a relatively transparent poll process can bring. Domestically, the creation of regional legislatures may help defuse ongoing, historically violent tensions with the country's 16 ethnic groups; internationally, a respectable election could trigger an easing of sanctions and additional aid and investment. Senior General Than Shwe, 76, head of the junta, is said to be hoping to stand down next year, for reasons of age and possible infirmity. He was committed to the regime's so-called "road map" to democracy and felt he had done "a good job" in holding the country together, one analyst said. Now Than Shwe wanted to secure his legacy and the future safety of himself and his family by regularising, within defined limits, Burma's relations with the west. Another reason for taking advantage of Barack Obama's willingness to reopen dialogue is said to be a desire to counter China's growing influence. Harsh words from Beijing over the recent forced exodus of 30,000 mostly ethnic Chinese Burmese from Kokang into Yunnan province came as a sharp reminder that China, historically, was Burma's No 1 enemy, and its security and commercial interests do not necessarily coincide with Rangoon's. US officials stress Obama is not offering the generals an easy option; sanctions would remain in place until there was a quantifiable improvement in the regime's behaviour, secretary of state Hillary Clinton said last month. "We expect engagement with Burma to be a long, slow, painful and step-by-step process," said her deputy, Kurt Campbell, who may lead the visiting American delegation. But even circumscribed interaction with the US, underpinned by joint demonstrations of mutual interest over issues such as North Korea, would give the junta a strategic alternative to China and its other overbearing neighbour, India. Scepticism that this apparent shift will lead to anything more than a sham election, decked out with democratic window-dressing to deflect western critics and hoodwink international opinion, is natural, given the junta's record since it stole the 1990 polls. The evident risk for Obama, the UN, and others is that they will be suckered into supporting the insupportable. There's no doubt the 2010 election project is highly problematic. Burma's new constitution guarantees the continuing ascendancy of the military. New political candidates and parties will be vetted, Iran-style. Lack of free media, the absence of independent scrutiny, and intolerance of open debate do not sit well with the holding of "free and fair" polls. And one deliberate side-effect may be the sidelining of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), the winners in 1990, whose ageing leadership now faces a cruel dilemma: either participate in the elections, thereby lending credibility to a possible political travesty, or hold back and risk irrelevance. "While never ending our struggle for democracy, the NLD has continually sought to engage the regime and open a dialogue, based on peace and mutual respect, that could address Burma's critical political as well as social problems," said NLD co-founder and former political prisoner U Win Tin in a recent article in the Washington Post. But he added: "We will not be cowed or coerced into participating in a fatally flawed political process that robs the Burmese people of the freedom for which we struggle." In other words, a careful balance must be struck. Any western policy aimed at bringing the generals in from the cold should be carefully calibrated to strengthen, not undermine, the legitimate aspirations of the Burmese people. Getting the balance wrong will risk prolonged darkness in a land where, as Kipling might have put it, it was the light that failed. ____________________________________ PRESS RELEASE October 27, Burma Rivers Network Communities stand up against Chinese dams on Burma?s Irrawaddy Open defiance against Chinese dams in military-ruled Burma surfaced this month as dam construction and a forced relocation process began in the country?s northern Kachin State. Affected people directly confronted leading military personnel and held mass prayers, while a community network has written to the Chinese dam builders. On October 9th, residents of Tanghpre village at the planned Myitsone dam site on the confluence at the source of the Irrawaddy handed an open letter directly to Burma?s Northern military commander, objecting to the dam. The dam will flood the confluence and displace 15,000 people. In August military authorities informed residents that they had less than two months to begin moving out. ?We cannot bring our farms with us when we move? said a representative of the Tanghpre Village Housewives Group in a meeting with the commander on October 10th. ?We do not want to move and we appeal to you to bring our concerns to Naypyidaw for consideration.? On the same day, three hundred residents assembled at the confluence for a public prayer ceremony to protect the rivers. Several historical churches will be submerged by the Myitsone Dam, which will also flood forests in one of the world?s ?hottest hotspots? of biodiversity. The Kachin Development Networking Group, which has been monitoring the dam developments, are today sending an open letter to China Power Investment calling on them to immediately stop construction of the Myitsone Dam and other dams in Kachin State ?to avoid being complicit in multiple serious human rights abuses associated with the project.? China Power Investment is planning a series of seven dams on the Irrawaddy and its two main tributaries. Construction of the 2,000-megawatt Chibwe Dam on the N?mai River has already begun. The majority of the electricity from all the dams will be transmitted to China. The latest details of the developments at the two dam sites and the recent community opposition can be found in a report Resisting the Flood released today by the Kachin Development Networking Group on www.burmariversnetwork.org Video footage is available at http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/videos.html Contact: Ah Nan, (+66) 848854154, kdngchn at gmail.com