BurmaNet News, November 4, 2009

[Editor]

November 4, 2009 Issue #3833

INSIDE BURMA
AP: Top US officials meet Myanmar junta, Suu Kyi
Aljazeera: US envoys meet Myanmar PM
Irrawaddy: Burma: catching two fishes at once?
Mizzima: US urged to call for revision of constitution
Myanmar Times	: Plastic bags to be banned as govt acts on pollution

ON THE BORDER
Kaladan: 52 Rohingyas pushed back to Burma

REGIONAL
DVB: Thailand grants driver licenses to Burmese

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: Burma abstains from UN nuclear resolution
DVB: Obama could meet Burmese premier

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Engagement? It's Asean’s shame (Editorial)
Wall Street Journal: Reaching out to Burma - Bertil Lintner
Irrawaddy: Burmese-US relations: ‘Mind the gap!’ - David I. Steinberg

OBITUARY
Mizzima: Former Foreign Minister Win Aung dead

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 4, Associated Press
Top US officials meet Myanmar junta, Suu Kyi

Yangon, Myanmar -- The U.S. wants better relations with military-ruled
Myanmar if it makes concrete steps toward democracy, a senior American
diplomat said Wednesday after holding the highest-level talks with the
junta and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 14 years.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said he explained Washington's
new policy, which reverses the Bush administration's isolation of Myanmar,
also known as Burma, in favor of dialogue with a country that has been
ruled by the military since 1962.

The goals of the new policy are "strong support for human rights, the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the
promotion of democratic reform," Campbell said in a statement at the end
of his two-day visit.

Campbell and his deputy, Scot Marciel, are the highest-level Americans to
visit Myanmar since 1995.

Earlier Wednesday, Campbell, the top State Department official for East
Asia, greeted Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his
lakeside hotel in Yangon where they met privately for two hours, U.S.
Embassy spokesman Richard Mei said. The content of the talks was not
immediately known.

Suu Kyi, 64, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years. Dressed in a
pink traditional Burmese jacket, she was upbeat as she emerged from the
hotel.

"Hello to you all," she said to photographers before getting into the car
that whisked her back to her tightly guarded home.

Myanmar's junta has praised the new U.S. policy, but shown no sign it
intends to release Suu Kyi or initiate democratic and electoral reforms
demanded by Suu Kyi's party ahead of elections planned for next year.

But the military government has made some gestures, such as loosening the
terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest and allowing her more meeting with
visitors such as Campbell, in hopes that the U.S. will ease political and
economic sanctions.

Campbell said he told junta officials that the U.S. "is prepared to take
steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on
reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government."

Campbell was continuing talks he began in September in New York with
senior Myanmar officials, which were the first such high-level contact in
nearly a decade. He met Wednesday morning with Prime Minister Gen. Thein
Sein, Mei said.

Campbell said he emphasized that Myanmar "should abide by U.N. resolutions
with regards to proliferation." He did not elaborate, but was apparently
referring to arms purchases from North Korea. There is also some
speculation, though no evidence has been made public, that Myanmar is
seeking to develop nuclear weapons with North Korea's help.

State television, which on Tuesday ignored the Americans' visit, broadcast
footage of Campbell's meetings with both Suu Kyi and the prime minister.

Suu Kyi was recently sentenced to an additional 18 months of house arrest
for briefly sheltering an uninvited American, in a trial that drew global
condemnation. The sentence means she will not be able to participate in
next year's elections, which will be the first in two decades.

U.S. sanctions, first imposed more than a decade ago, failed to force the
generals to respect human rights, release jailed political activists and
make democratic reforms. The Obama administration decided recently to step
up engagement as a way of promoting reforms.

Washington has said it will maintain the sanctions until talks with
Myanmar's generals result in change.

Campbell is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Myanmar since a
September 1995 trip by then-U.N. Ambassador Madeleine Albright.

____________________________________

November 4, Aljazeera.net
US envoys meet Myanmar PM

The most senior US official to visit Myanmar in 14 years has met the
military government's prime minister for talks.

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific
affairs, along with his deputy Scot Marciel, met Thein Sein in the remote
jungle capital of Naypyidaw on Wednesday.

The two are also set to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained opposition
leader, later in the day in Yangon, the former capital. But Myanmar
officials said the two envoys will probably not get to meet Senior General
Than Shwe, the head of the military government, on their two-day visit.
'First step' Ian Kelly, a spokesman for the US state department, said the
visit was a "fact-finding" mission, adding that it was the "first step, or
I guess I should say the second step in the beginning of a dialogue with
Burma [Myanmar's earlier name]".

Campbell met Myanmar's information minister and local organisations on
Tuesday for talks which Kelly said "laid out the way we see this
relationship going forward, how we should structure this dialogue". "But
they were mainly in a listening mode," he added.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy
(NLD), told the AFP news agency that the party sees the envoys' visit "as
the start of direct engagement between the US and Myanmar government".
"But we do not expect the exact and big change from this meeting. This
visit is just a first stage," he added.

Washington signaled a sharp shift in its policy towards Myanmar in
September, saying it would be "engaging directly with Burmese
authorities", and holding the highest-level contact in a decade with
Myanmar officials in New York later in the month.
But the US has also said that it will not ease sanctions on the Southeast
Asian country without progress on democracy and human rights.
Larry Dinger, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Yangon, said in
an interview published in the semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper this
week that Washington wanted to make progress on "important issues" but
would maintain sanctions "until concrete progress is made".
Backing engagement

Aung San Suu Kyi has welcomed US engagement of the military government and
in late September wrote a letter to Than Shwe to offer her co-operation in
getting Western sanctions lifted after years of backing harsh measures
against the ruling generals.
The generals granted the Nobel peace laureate two rare meetings with a
government minister and allowed her to see Western diplomats last month.

Thein Sein, Myanmar's prime minister, told Asian leaders at a summit in
Thailand last month that the government sees a role for Aung San Suu Kyi
in fostering reconciliation ahead of the promised elections next year, but
it was not clear what form this would take.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention,
continues to be kept under house arrest after having her detention
extended by 18 months in August over an incident in which an American man
swam to her lakeside house uninvited.

Her situation will be discussed when Barack Obama, the US president, meets
Southeast Asian leaders at a regional summit in Singapore in mid-November,
Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister, said on Tuesday, adding that
Thein Sein was expected to attend.

____________________________________

November 4, Irrawaddy
Burma: Catching two fishes at once? - Saw Yan Naing

The visiting US delegation’s talks with the Burmese regime, ethnic
minority groups and the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has coincided
this week with the news that the China gas pipeline project is finally
under way in Arakan State.

Few things are coincidental in Burma, and several analysts questioned
whether the timing of the two initiatives was planned by Burma’s generals
or whether, in fact, the US and China were competing to win influence
among the generals ahead of each other.

Could it be that the pariah state was effectively catching two fish at
once? It would surely be a sunny day for the military elite’s bank
accounts if they could consolidate their pipeline deal with the Chinese
while simultaneously convincing the Americans to lift sanctions.

China's state-owned National Petroleum Corporation announced on Tuesday
that construction has finally started on a pipeline that will transfer
Middle Eastern and African oil from the Indian Ocean through Burma to
Yunnan Province in China’s southwest.

The multimillion dollar pipeline project will also pipe natural gas from
Burmese waters in the Bay of Bengal to China.

If Beijing is to revert to talks with Naypyidaw concerning its energy
needs, the savings it will make bypassing the Malacca Strait, and a
timeline for constructing the pipeline, then it will likely have to curb
its criticisms of the junta’s policy to wage war on Chinese-blooded ethnic
groups such as the Kokang and the Wa, and reassess its claims for damages
caused by Burma’s government forces during their campaigns against the
ethnic armies and condone the resulting flood of refugees onto Chinese
soil.

The US has moved hastily to overturn the Bush doctrine of sanctions on
Burma’s military rulers since the Obama administration came to power
earlier this year. After an initial hint by Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton at engagement with the generals, the US moved quickly into the
spotlight in August by sending Senator Jim Webb to Naypyidaw—where he went
a full step further than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by physically
meeting with junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

In September, Burmese Premier Thein Sein attended the UN General Assembly
in New York, the first time a Burmese leader had done so in 14 years.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Nyan Win took advantage of the cooling climate
to meet Webb at the Burmese embassy in Washington.

Most Burma analysts say the regime is trying to find a balance—it wants to
maintain a strong relationship with Beijing (without being entirely
dependent on China) while aiming to establish better connections with the
new US administration.

To that end, the Burmese authorities on Wednesday allowed a US delegation,
led by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Kurt Campbell, to meet with Suu Kyi, leaders of her National League for
Democracy, and some ethnic representatives.

But most analysts warned that it was too early to be optimistic about
results from the US delegation’s visit.

“We can’t expect much from the current visit as the US delegation is just
a fact-finding mission,” said Win Min, a Burmese analyst in Chiang Mai,
Thailand.

By allowing the US delegation to meet with opposition groups, the regime
is relaxing some of its restrictions on dissidents with the aim of having
the US lift sanctions on Burma, he said.

Larry Jagan, a Britain journalist who regularly covers Burma issues, said,
“I think this is a part of Than Shwe’s usual approach to international
relationships. He is trying to balance China’s influence in Naypyidaw.
But, he will keep Burma’s relationship with China strong.”

Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia's Macquarie University who
produces the Burma Economic Watch report, said, “I think the regime are
attempting to assert that they are not wholly dependent on China, and see
the opening of a dialogue with the US as a way of presenting this.”

However, he said that sanctions on Burma won't be lifted in the absence of
genuine reform in Burma, and he doesn't see any change on this front for
the time being.

“For the moment, it's hard to be anything but skeptical. We have been down
this road before,” he said.

Another Burma watcher, Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at
Temple University Japan Campus, said that the Burmese generals are looking
to balance their dependence on China by pursuing better ties with the
US—but only on their own terms.

“It is a strategy for remaining entrenched in power,” Kingston said.

He said the eruption of fighting against the Kokang army in August is a
reminder of just how fragile the peace is in Burma and how the Burmese
military represents the greatest threat to that peace.

“After 20 years of relative peace, this offensive is the latest sign that
the cease-fires may be unraveling, he said.

Chan Htun, a former Burmese ambassador to China, said Burma’s generals are
xenophobic and care for no one.

“They act first and solve later,” he said, and illustrated his point by
pointing to the way the Burmese government cracked down on Chinese in
Burma during the riots of 1967.

Benedict Rogers, the co-author of a forthcoming book called “Than Shwe:
Unmasking Burma's Tyrant,” said, “Their [the Burmese generals’] policy is
simply to look out for their own interests – and if by engaging with the
US they believe they can promote their own interests, they will do so.”

____________________________________

November 4, Mizzima News
US urged to call for revision of constitution - Mungpi

New Delhi - Burma’s main opposition party – the National League for
Democracy – on Wednesday told the visiting United States diplomats to
include the revision of the 2008 constitution as one of the main agendas
in its engagement with the ruling junta.

1990 election winning party told the US Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt
Campbell led US delegation that without revising the 2008 constitution
there could be no free and fair elections, no improvement in the situation
of Human Rights, and the process of national reconciliation cannot be
kick-started.

Campbell along with US ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN), Scot Marciel, accompanied by Charge d’Affairs of US
embassy in Rangoon Larry M Dinger, on Wednesday visited the NLD office as
part of their fact-finding mission.

“The main discussion from our side is urging them to call for a revision
of the 2008 constitution, without which, none of the other concerns
including violation of human rights can be achieved,” Win Tin, a Central
Executive Committee (CEC) member of the NLD told Mizzima.

The US diplomats are in Burma for a two-day fact-finding mission as part
of the US’s new policy of engaging the military regime while maintaining
the existing sanctions.

They arrived on Tuesday, also had a two hour meeting with detained
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday afternoon prior to their
meeting with the NLD CEC.

“We did not have enough time to discuss or ask the diplomats about their
meeting with Daw Suu,” Win Tin said, adding that their meeting with the
two US officials began at about 3:30 p.m. and concluded at 4:30 p.m.
(local time).

In their discussions, Win Tin said, the NLD made it clear that they will
not participate in the 2010 elections unless the junta revises the 2008
constitution, on the basis of which the elections will be held.

“It is good to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners, but if the constitution is not revised, there would be no
improvement in Burma’s politics,” Win Tin said.

He argued that the 2008 constitution, which was drafted following a
14-year long convention, where delegates were handpicked, is designed to
safeguard the military’s interest and not to guarantee the peoples’
rights.

“If we take out the gist of the constitution, we can say that the Tatmadaw
[military] is the principle guardian of the constitution, Tatmadaw is the
principle operator of the constitution and Tatmadaw is the principle
interpreter of the constitution,” Win Tin remarked.

He said he is a little disappointed with the US for remaining silent over
the junta’s 2008 constitution and making no particular mention in their
calls for reform.

The United States has urged Burmese military rulers to release political
prisoners including Suu Kyi and to make the 2010 elections an all
inclusive process but has not particularly called for a revision of the
2008 constitution, Win Tin said.

“For me, this is most surprising because without getting the foundation
right, nothing will be right. There can be no free and fair election and
no inclusiveness in the political process,” he added.

But he said the NLD welcomes the visit of Campbell led delegation and
urged them to take stronger initiatives in order to facilitate a political
dialogue in Burma.

Earlier on Wednesday morning, the US delegates met Burmese Prime Minister
Thein Sein at the new jungle capital city of Naypyitaw. The delegation
also met several other political parties including ethnic nationalities
political parties.

Campbell is the senior most US official to visit Burma in the past 14
years. But he is unlikely to meet junta supremo Snr General Than Shwe, as
he is away on a tour to the Cyclone Nargis devastated region of the
Irrawaddy delta.

The delegation’s visit is the second step in the new US’s policy of
engagement with the junta, announced in September. In September, Campbell
met U Thaung, the Burmese Minister for Science and Technology in New York
on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

____________________________________

November 2-8, the Myanmar Times
Plastic bags to be banned as govt acts on pollution - Ye Lwin

A worker at a plastic factory in Hlaing township holds low-density
polyethylene beads used to make plastic bags. A ban on the more
environmentally damaging high-density polyethylene bags will come into
effect from December 1, officials announced last month.

THE cheapest and most common type of plastic bags will be banned in Yangon
Division from December 1 for environmental reasons, officials announced
last month.

Businesses will be banned from manufacturing, importing, trading or
distributing high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic bags from the end of
this month, the Yangon Division Peace and Development Council said in an
October 21 announcement.

However, two other kinds of plastic bags currently in use – low-density
polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) will not be banned, traders
said.

“The ban is just for HDPE plastic bags which are commonly used in Yangon.
But there is no affect on the other types of plastic bags – PE and PP,”
said U Ohn Than, who runs a plastic factory in Yangon’s Hlaing township
that employs about 10 people.

The higher density of HDPE bags means they take longer to break down than
both PE and PP, which generally disintegrate within 90 days if placed in
landfill.

“It takes about 100 years for HDPE bags to break down, due to their high
density. It is a major cause of environmental pollution,” U Ohn Than said.

Yangon will be the third city in Myanmar to introduce such a ban, after
Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.

Globally, many cities and countries have introduced regulations governing
the use of plastic bags, from outright bans to taxes and levies. Several
of Myanmar’s neighbours, including Thai-land and China, have also
introduced laws restricting the use of HDPE plastic bags.

Last month’s announcement, which was also distributed to manufacturers,
was welcomed by many residents in downtown Yangon, who often have to
suffer severe flooding in rainy season because drains are blocked with
discarded plastic bags.

“We welcome this action as it will help to reduce pollution in the city
and greenhouse gas emissions to some extent,” said U Ko Maung, 40, from
Kyauktada township.

Local environmental groups have lobbied for several years for the
introduction of such a ban. Dr Phone Win, from Mingalar Myanmar, an NGO
that runs several environmental projects, said the campaign’s success
depended on providing a viable alternative to HDPE.

“There are pros and cons when it comes to using plastic bags.


>From the consumer’s point of view, they are handy for carrying things.

>From the environmental point of view, they cause environmental pollution

and contribute to global warming,” Dr Phone Win said.

“We need to take into consideration consumers; we have to replace HDPE
bags with another convenient form of packaging that they can use,” he
said. “Only when people participate actively will the program be
successful.”

While many in the manufacturing industry acknowledge HDPE bags are an
environmental problem, U Ohn Than said it would have “serious
repercussions” for the sector.

“This is a good decision from an environmental point of view. But there
will be serious repercussions for HDPE manufacturers and employees will
bear the brunt of this decision,” he said.

Manufacturers range in size from workshops with five to 10 workers to
large factories with up to 100 employees. The majority, perhaps 70
percent, of workers are women.

The machines that produce HDPE bags cannot be converted to produce more
environmentally friendly alternatives. Each machine costs from K4 million
to K10 million and the larger factories employ up to 20 machines.

There will also be ramifications in the retail sector, as low density
polyethylene bags are significantly more expensive. In other countries,
this cost is normally passed on to the consumer through a bag “tax” or
charge.

The government has touted natural alternatives to plastic, such as bags
made from banana leaves, lotus leaves, paper or reeds. Some retailers have
already made attempts to wean consumers off HDPE plastic, with varying
success. In January 2008, Orange super-market, which has branches in
Yangon and Mandalay, introduced “Go Green Bags”, made from spunbond, a
durable, nonwoven polyester material, at a cost of K1500 each.

A spokesperson from City Mart Holding, the largest retailer in Myanmar,
said that since August 2009 the super-market chain has introduced bags
made of cloth and paper as an alternative to HDPE bags.

However, customers have to pay about K500 for the bags, which are reusable
and washable. The spokesperson would not comment on the impact of the new
rules.

In response to the ban introduced in Mandalay in June, some supermarkets
started to use paper bags but the K500 fee was not popular with customers.

“I think most consumers are not prepared to pay additional fees to the
supermarket just for a bag to carry their shopping,” said Daw Sein Sein
from Mandalay.

U Ohn Than agreed it could take some time for consumers to get used to the
changes.

“Using HDPE plastic bags is deeply rooted in our society, we have been
using them for many decades. We will find something effective to replace
them sooner or later but for the time being, local authorities are
suggesting to use banana leaves or the broad leaves of the inn tree,” U
Ohn Than said.

While it isn’t clear what action will be taken against anyone who defies
the ban, the authorities said no import licenses for HDPE raw materials
will be issued from December 1.

http://www.mmtimes.com/no495/n001.htm

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 4, Kaladan Press
52 Rohingyas pushed back to Burma

Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh: Within two days, from November 2 to 3, fifty two
Rohingyas, including women and children were arrested and pushed back by
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from Goondon point, said a local from border area.

On November 2, in two phases, the arrested Rohingyas were pushed back to
Burma. In first phase, at about 3:30 am, 13 Rohingyas were pushed back to
Burma and in the second phase, 26 Rohingyas were also pushed back to Burma
in the evening from Goondon border point.

Yesterday, on November 3, at about 10 am, policemen from Ukhiya police
station checked a passenger car, which was going to Cox’s Bazaar. The
police arrested 14 Rohingyas from the car, who recently crossed the
Burma-Bangladesh border. They were pushed back to Burma by Bangladesh
Rifles (BDR), according to our correspondent.

They crossed the Burma-Bangladesh border given the persecution by the
Burmese Army, Nasaka (Burma’s border security force), Military
Intelligence (Sarapa) and the police. Mostly, they were forced to work in
barbed wire fencing being erected on the Burma-Bangladesh border and in
army and Nasaka camps, said one of the detained.

The arrested are from Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships of Arakan State.

According to Prodip Dash, the OC of the Ukhiya police station, after
arrest all were handed over to the BDR to be pushed back to Burma.

The arrested were identified as Hafez Islam (22), Neyamat Ali (45), Abdul
Hamid (35), Sadek Hussain (45), Abu Taher (50), Noor Mohamed (43), Sayed
Alam (45), Md. Enus (50), Md. Waras (40), Sara Khatoon (50), Samina Akter
(25), Mamtaz Begum (35), Gulzer (50) and another person.

It is learnt that two girls among the arrested have been missing from the
border since October 2, but there is no confirmation.

Recently, the Bangladesh government increased pushing back of Rohingya
people to Burma to stop infiltration to Bangladesh. But, Rohingya people
are still coming though the BDR has been watching border areas and are on
red alert. Rohingya people are a burden for the Bangladesh government,
said a local elder from the border area.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Thailand grants driver licenses to Burmese - Aye Nai

Numbers of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand will soon be able to drive
vehicles following the Thai government’s decision to allow them to possess
cars and motorcycles.

Migrants arriving in Thailand who hold temporary resident cards are
targeted in the government scheme, Thailand’s Matichon newspaper reported,
while migrant workers without the cards will need recommendations from
their employers.

According to Thailand’s Department of Road Transport, it is now in the
preparation stage to accept vehicle registration for those who have proper
documents.

A Burmese migrant living in Thailand welcomed the decision. “Our bicycles
used to be confiscated because we didn’t have a sale receipt from shop so
we are now happy that we will be able to show licenses,” he said.

Those who obtain the documents will have the same rights as Thai drivers,
with access to maintenance facilities.

“In the past, Burmese migrant workers didn’t have the right to either
posses or drive vehicles. We often had to pay fine whenever we got caught
by Thai authorities,” said Moe Gyo, chairperson of Joint Action Committee
for Burmese Affairs.

Burmese migrant workers in Thailand number around two million, who work
mainly in the construction, fishery and agriculture industries.

Htoo Chit, director of Thailand-based Grassroots Human Rights Education
and Development organisaiton, told DVB that he also welcomed the
registration plan but voiced concerns over safety.

“Burmese migrants sustain injuries from road accidents almost every day
because they don’t know Thai traffic regulations,” he said.

“We think it’s important for them to know the regulations
so we are now
planning training for them. We will officially deal with Thai traffic
police department to organize the training.”

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Burma abstains from UN nuclear resolution - Francis Wade

The Burmese government has abstained from a draft United Nations
resolution on nuclear disarmament billed as a “leading proactive measure”
towards non-proliferation.

The draft resolution was however adopted by the UN general assembly last
week by an “overwhelming majority of 170 in favor to two against”,
according to the Japanese foreign ministry. It was Japan who submitted it.

A foreign ministry statement said that the resolution “incorporates a high
evaluation of the constructive role of civil society in nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation”.

Fears over Burma’s nuclear ambitions have strengthened in the past six
months in tandem with what appears to be a cosying relationship with North
Korea, who along with India rejected the resolution.

An investigation published in August by Australian academic Desmond Ball
and journalist Phil Thornton that quoted evidence from two Burmese army
defectors interviewed about apparent nuclear programmes in Burma further
fuelled concerns.

A senior-level United States delegation is now in Burma to kick-start a
new policy of engagement with the country’s military rulers.

Senior US officials have stated that Washington is looking to draw Burma
away from North Korea, which has been the subject of UN sanctions since it
carried out a successful nuclear test in May.

While no solid evidence that the Burmese government is developing nuclear
weaponry has come to light, observers believe the intention could be
there.

“A lot of countries dream of nuclear power, either for weapons or peaceful
research,” said Burmese political analyst Aung Naing Oo, adding that “I’m
not in the least bit surprised that Burma abstained”.

“Especially a country like Burma which has been isolated for so long, they
look around and see countries that can stand shoulder to shoulder with
superpowers that own, or are in the process of owning, nuclear weapons.”

China, France, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Cuba and Bhutan also abstained from
the resolution. Both China and Israel are leading weapons suppliers to the
Burmese junta.

Aung Naing Oo added that the abstention may have held a more symbolic
meaning beyond just the ambitions of a country looking to bolster its
defence.

“A lot of countries with problems want to handle their own affairs using
the question of sovereignty, and they don’t want interference from any
other countries,” he said.

“Burma has used this non-interference to prevent international meddling.”

____________________________________

November 4, Democratic Voice of Burma
Obama could meet Burmese premier - Joseph Allchin

United States president Barrack Obama could cross paths for the first time
with Burmese prime minister Thein Sein at a summit to be held in Singapore
later this month.

The Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told Kyodo News yesterday
that he “expects” Thein Sein to attend the inaugural ASEAN-US summit, held
on the sidelines of the larger Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
summit.

Obama is also due to attend, and will be the first US president to meet
leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in 10
years.

Although it is unknown whether the two will meet directly, relations
between Washington and Naypyidaw took a dramatic turn yesterday as the
most senior-level US delegation to visit Burma in 14 years arrived in
Rangoon. The head of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar
(AIPMC), Kraisak Choonhaven, told DVB however that a meeting between the
two could be risky.

“Mr Obama risks being disappointed,” he said. “[The Burmese government]
would probably say that they are on their way and just keep on doing what
they are doing. He should not do it until there is some believable
response coming from Naypyidaw.”

The US delegation in Burma, led by the head of Washington’s East Asia and
Pacific Bureau, Kurt Campbell, this afternoon met with detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a Rangoon hotel.

The issue of her detention will likely feature highly on the agenda at the
ASEAN-US summit, while much speculation will ride on the talks that took
place today.

Choonhaven warned however that without the will to release Suu Kyi, “how
can they do the whole country?”

The US has pinpointed her release as a key goal of engagement with the
regime, following years of sanctions and isolation.

Campbell said however that dialogue “will supplement rather than supplant”
sanctions, that were ratcheted up following Suu Kyi’s detention in August.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 3, Irrawaddy
Engagement? It's Asean’s Shame (Editorial)

During the recent summit meeting in Thailand of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) we witnessed the usual handshakes and
smiles on the summit podium.

However, behind this front of unity, some civil society groups in the
region were shunned, while cronies of the Asean governments and Burma’s
repressive regime, were invited to attend an interface meeting between
government officials and other civil society groups.

Despite this shocking compromise, some officials claimed the summit was a
success.

The sad fact is that Asean remains a club where bureaucrats, politicians
and generals who commit crimes against humanity have little respect for
their own citizens. To be blunt, Asean leaders remain ignorant about
Burma, if not ill-informed.

Recently, we heard a wishful and naïve comment from Asean Secretary
General Surin Pitsuwan, who was dubbed a shining star when he became Thai
foreign minister in 1997.

Surin told the Voice of America that Washington's willingness to talk with
the Burmese junta opened a “new ball game” for the region. Countries in
Southeast Asia were looking forward to seeing adjustments from both sides,
he said.

“This is a new opportunity. And, all of us in Asean, every member state,
recognizes this new opportunity," Surin said. "I think Myanmar [Burma]
itself recognizes that this is a golden opportunity for engagement, for
interaction, for dialogue, which is well and good. And, I think it's going
to be good for the region.”

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Asean was pleased that the
United States, which maintains strict sanctions against Burma, was now
following its lead in trying to engage the junta.

“The one thing we all agreed on is that we welcome signs of further
engagement in response to some developments in Burma. Asean has always
argued that engagement is the right approach,” Abhisit said.

We all cautiously welcomed the Washington’s new approach to Burma.
However, many remained skeptical whether the regime will make any major
concession.

In reality, Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for Southeast
Asia, who is now in Burma meeting regime officials and opposition leaders,
cautioned that it will be a step-by-step process and that engagement with
Burma will be long and painful.

Let’s make it crystal clear once and for all that Asean’s past and present
engagement policy with the brutal regime in Burma has gone nowhere. So it
is not worth taking credit. Instead, Asean should look at itself in the
mirror.

Asean’s engagement policy with Burma is rather one of appeasement and
economic engagement, exploiting Burma’s natural resources.

In return, the regime leaders, who have killed thousands of innocent
people and Buddhist monks and keep politicians and activists in jails,
conveniently hide behind the Asean shield.

At last month’s Asean summit, many media observers and journalists thought
that the grouping has allowed the regime to walk away scot-free.

Abhisit denied that the group had softened its stance on Burma, having
previously issued direct appeals for the release of all political
prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

“It is not true,” he said. “It was discussed. Everybody agrees that we
should help Burma move forward in completing their roadmap so that it will
lead to democracy.”

Abhisit’s statement again showed Asean’s wishful thinking on the regime’s
intentions and its “road map.” It is the constitution that Asean leaders
and US leaders should question, because the document only prolongs
military rule in Burma. It is a death sentence for many Burmese and ethnic
nationalities.

In order to keep its credibility and stance, Asean should spell out its
own stand on Burma.

It is important that Asean should make clear to Burmese leaders that it
will join the US’s financial and targeted sanctions against the regime
leaders and their cronies if they fail to take meaningful steps.

Surin Pitsuwan and Asean have a golden opportunity in view of the
approaching summit meeting in Singapore between Asean and the US, to be
attended by US President Barack Obama.

Asean must take a stand and be firm on Burma, demonstrating that the
regional grouping’s credibility and reputation are at stake because of the
brutal nature of the Burmese regime.

Surin and Asean leaders should come out and challenge the regime to free
political prisoners and Suu Kyi and make meaningful political progress
towards national reconciliation. The Burmese junta should be told that the
new ball game is based on reward and punishment.

____________________________________

November 3, Wall Street Journal
Reaching Out to Burma- Bertil Lintner

'Engagement' has been tried before—and it didn't work.

U.S. diplomats Kurt Campbell and Scot Marciel are visiting Burma this week
to test the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with
authoritarian regimes. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asserted
this policy will "help achieve democratic reform." But this approach has
been tried before—and it didn't work.

Westerners who believe they can "engage" the generals to make them change
their ways are naïve. Burma's ruling generals don't receive Western
visitors because they are interested in learning anything from them. They
talk to outsiders because they think they can use them to get critics off
their backs and remain in power. Foreigners, whether they advocate
"engagement" or sanctions, have always overestimated their own importance.
Burma's generals listen only to themselves and any change would have to
come from within the armed forces—the country's most powerful
institution—and not from sweet-talking diplomats.

It is easy to forget that Sen. Jim Webb's visit to Burma in August, hailed
by some foreign diplomats as a "breakthrough," was far from the first of
its kind. In February 1994, Congressman Bill Richardson—now the governor
of New Mexico—paid a highly publicized visit to Burma. Unlike Mr. Webb, he
was allowed to bring an American correspondent with him, Philip Shanon of
the New York Times. They met prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi—who also
then was under house arrest—and intelligence chief Gen. Khin Nyunt. Ms.
Suu Kyi, then as well as now, expressed her willingness to talk to the
junta.
[ RIGHTS_BUG ]

At the time, Mr. Richardson's visit was also described as a
"breakthrough"—although he himself was very cautious in his remarks and
just said that change may come if there were a dialogue between Ms. Suu
Kyi and Gen. Khin Nyunt. That did not happen, and after a second visit to
Burma in May 1995, Mr. Richardson stated at a press conference in Bangkok
that his trip had been "unsuccessful, frustrating and disappointing.
Here's my conclusion after my trip. There is serious repression,
regression and retrenchment by the [junta] in the area of human rights and
democratization."

The next "breakthrough" came when, in April 2000, Malaysian diplomat
Razali Ismail was appointed as the United Nations' special envoy to Burma.
He initiated talks between Ms. Suu Kyi and the generals, which began in
October of that year. In May 2002, he scored an even more important
success by securing Ms. Suu Kyi's release from house arrest. But a year
later she was detained again. In January 2006, Mr. Razali quit his post
after being refused entry to the country for nearly two years. In an
interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, he admitted he had
failed in his job "to help broker an agreement between the government and
opposition that would lead the country towards democracy."

His successor, Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari, was equally
unsuccessful. After the junta had suppressed a September 2007 movement for
change led by Buddhist monks, Mr. Gambari visited Burma and the U.N. said
in a statement that, "We now have a process going which would lead to
substantive dialogue." Mr. Gambari himself said that national
reconciliation had begun as the government had appointed a "Minister for
Liaison," Maj. Gen. Aung Kyi, to "smooth relations" with Ms. Suu Kyi.

Two years later, we are back at square one. The junta insists that it has
to follow its "seven-step road map to democracy" and that "free and fair
elections" will be held next year. But few inside the country seem to
believe that these "elections" will lead to anything more than ensuring
the military's grip on the country. Many ordinary Burmese are saying it is
just another government-orchestrated event in which they are required to
participate, not unlike the last year's "referendum" in which a new
constitution was approved by a Stalinesque 92% of the electorate. That is
the path the junta wants to follow, and they are not going to negotiate
their own demise with some foreign emissaries.

Nor is it likely that Western pressure—or engagement—is going to improve
the human-rights situation inside the country. Just days before the U.S.
envoys arrived Tuesday the military raided the homes of journalists and
activists, detaining about 50 people in a crackdown on overseas private
donations for victims of the devastating May 2008 cyclone Nargis. And just
by coincidence as the American visitors arrived, the military put on a
drug-burning show in the country's remote northeastern region. The drugs
were said to have been seized from a local army, which, until it ceased
being an ally and broke with the government in August this year, had been
praised by the authorities for its "drug-suppression efforts."

The show goes on. The military has a clear vision of what kind of state
Burma should be—and that is not a democracy. It is sometimes argued that
the hopes for a more pluralistic society rest on the next generation army
officers. Aware of this danger, officers have been given unprecedented
privileges and business opportunities in order to retain their loyalty to
the regime. There are no Young Turks lurking in the wings.

Still, Burma's only hope for the future is that some officers, young or
old, will change their minds. Until that happens, nothing is likely to
change. And emissaries sent by the U.S. or any other Western power are
likely to end up being as frustrated as Mr. Richardson was 14 years ago.

Mr. Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand and author of
several books on Burma.

____________________________________

November 4, Irrawaddy
Burmese-US Relations: ‘Mind the Gap!’ - David I. Steinberg

As a Burmese colleague reminded an unofficial Washington conference on
Burma/Myanmar a few days ago, departing passengers on the London tube
(subway) were warned to “mind the gap” between the train and platform,
otherwise there might be an accident.

That advice, he noted, also has merit in thinking about Burmese relations
with the US.

That dangerous gap in relations has widened over the decade and a half
since the last senior US officials traveled to Burma/Myanmar. The
isolation in direct dialogue with that country has also been reflected in
US-imposed economic isolation through the imposition of various degrees of
sanctions since the failed peoples’ revolution of 1988.

In the past few months, we have witnessed a remarkable shift, not so much
in policy but in the efforts to see whether that gap in relations might be
narrowed and perhaps bridged.

The present visit of Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell follows
the articulation of a new policy toward Burma by the United States, which
in turn followed the August visit by Sen. Jim Webb, the chair of the US
House of Representatives Asian subcommittee on foreign affairs.  These
efforts are part of a process, which as Secretary Campbell has noted, is
likely to be long and arduous.

The new policy of the Obama administration, released in September by
Secretary Campbell, calls for a continuation of the set of sanctions
already set in place, and that began over two decades ago when the US
cancelled its economic and military aid program in 1988. At the same time,
it advocated enhanced and direct dialogue with the Burmese leadership.

Both sanctions and dialogue are obviously not ends in themselves—they are
tactical means by which to try to achieve goals.  Those goals, according
to the administration, are to see a more democratic Burmese administration
concerned with improving the economic and political plight of its diverse
peoples.

The efforts by the Obama administration to improve relations with
Burma/Myanmar through the visits of Sen. Webb and Secretary Campbell, and
the new policy are welcome changes. There have been indications from the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) that they too are also
interested in exploring better relations.

Both governments are, however, in effect restricted by internal
administrative considerations. The SPDC is wedded to its new Constitution
that will continue taut military control over the critical affairs of
state through an elective process that, as Snr-Gen Than Shwe has noted,
will bring “discipline-flourishing democracy,” a version of the democratic
process unlikely to satisfy the unmodified meaning of the term “democracy”
to the Western world.

He indicated in his March 27, 2009, speech that as a new well does not
quickly yield clear water, so the administration under the new
Constitution and legislature will require what is, in effect, a military
filter of that muddied democratic water.

The Obama administration is also restrained by a strong anti-military
sentiment in both parties in the Congress. As a Washington observer noted,
Burma is a “boutique issue,” important but not top tier.

And, as another writer indicated, the executive branch, concerned with
other more urgent priorities, leased out policy toward Burma to the
Congress, from which it is now trying to retrieve it.

The attitudes, or purported attitudes, of Aung San Suu Kyi have strongly
influenced U.S. policy backed by an effective lobbying force of rights
advocates and expatriate Burmese. Modifications in US policy will not
easily be accomplished without significant positive changes within Burma
itself.

Clearly, internal political considerations affect the possible narrowing
of the gap in relations that presently exists.  But this is the best
opportunity in about two decades to explore affecting change.  It is in
the interests of the Burmese people, the United States, and indeed the
Southeast Asia region and beyond, that this process proves fruitful.

David I. Steinberg is distinguished professor of Asian Studies at the
School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  His latest book is
“Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know.” (Oxford University Press).

____________________________________
OBITUARY

November 4, Mizzima News
Former Foreign Minister Win Aung dead

Chiang Mai– Former Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung (65), died early on
Wednesday morning in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, while under
detention, family sources said.

A family member told Mizzima that he died of illness related to age but
did not specify the disease, saying they are in no mood to give details as
they are now in mourning.

The family member said the body is being kept in a funeral parlour and the
obituary would be announced on Thursday.

Sources close to the family said Win Aung died at about 1:55 a.m. (local
time) on Wednesday in the prison.

Eyewitnesses said, the body was brought out of the Insein prison and was
transported in a hearse owned by the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA) escorted by the police.

Win Aung was one of those trusted by the purged Prime Minister, General
Khin Nyunt. He served as the Foreign Minister of the Burmese military
regime from 1998 to 2004, until he was purged along with his boss.

While several other officials loyal to Khin Nyunt were also purged along
with Win Aung, he was the only one to be imprisoned.