From editor at burmanet.org Thu Nov 12 13:18:27 2009 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:18:27 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News, November 12, 2009 Message-ID: <45557.63.173.78.131.1258049907.squirrel@webmail2.pair.com> November 12, 2009 Issue #3839 INSIDE BURMA DVB: Suu Kyi to release ?procedure for the nation? Irrawaddy: Women arrested for holding Buddhist prayer services for Suu Kyi Irrawaddy: The junta?s No 4 unexpectedly resigns SHAN: Mongla refuses to buckle BUSINESS / TRADE Reuters: Dhaka to revive talks on Myanmar-India gas link ASEAN VOA: US leaders may interact with Burmese at Singapore summit REGIONAL AFP: Myanmar junta leader 'thrilled' to be in Sri Lanka Mizzima News: India urged to change policy on Burma INTERNATIONAL AFP: Clinton calls for release of Myanmar's Suu Kyi ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA November 12, Democratic Voice of Burma Suu Kyi to release ?procedure for the nation? ? Htet Aung Kyaw Detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is soon to release a statement reportedly offering constructive guidelines for a better future in Burma, her party spokesperson said. Nyan Win, spokesperson for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, met with Suu Kyi yesterday and said the statement would be released on 17 November. `?Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has outlined a work procedure beneficial for the nation and we drafted [a statement] based on it,? he said. [Yesterday] we had an approval from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the statement.? He added that the statement had been submitted to the NLD?s central executive committee for final approval before it is released. Further details of what is contained in the statement are unknown, but Nyan Win said it was something ?that could bring a positive outcome? for Burma, which has been under military rule for nearly five decades. Elections are due in the country next year for the first time since 1990, when the junta refused to honour the NLD?s landslide victory. The party is yet to announce whether it will participate after criticizing the 2008 constitution for appearing to guarantee continuation of military rule. Nyan Win said he also discussed with Suu Kyi plans to renovate the lakeside compound in Rangoon where she has been kept under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years. ?We talked about negotiations with authorities to gain permission for an architect and construction workers to enter her house after a renovation plan has been approved by the government municipal,? he said. The house, on Rangoon?s University Avenue, is in a dilapidated state, and was recently the subject of a dispute between Suu Kyi and her estranged cousin, Khin Maung Aye, over ownership. Suu Kyi?s meeting with senior United States? delegates in a Rangoon hotel last week was the first time she has appeared outside of either the house or Insein prison since last being placed under house arrest in 2003. ____________________________________ November 12, Irrawaddy Women arrested for holding Buddhist prayer services for Suu Kyi Rangoon special branch police have arrested Naw Ohn Hla and three other women who regularly hold Buddhist prayer services for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and charged them in a special court in Insein Prison. They are charged with inciting activities to undermine public order under section 505 (B) of the penal code, according to attorney U Kyaw Hoe. He said the women, who were arrested on Oct. 3, regularly held religious services for Suu Kyi on Tuesdays. They are being held in Insein Prison. The case could be heard on Monday, he said. If found guilty, the women could be sentenced to up to two years in prison. Special branch police said Naw Ohn Hla was carrying a copy of the Kamavaca, a Buddhist scripture recited at monastic services, he said. The other women arrested were Ma San San Myint, Ma Cho Cho and Ma Cho Wai Lwin. The women were arrested at San-Pya Market in Thin-Gan-Gyun Township in Rangoon while on their way home from a monastery after offering food to monks. Naw Ohn Hla, a former National League for Democracy (NLD) member, has been frequently detained by authorities for her political activism. Her attorney said the women were simply engaged in a private Buddhist religious ceremony. "The Kamavaca is just a religious scripture, and there?s no reason for arresting people for having it," he said. A monk in Rangoon, told of the arrests, said it was an infringement of religious freedom. "I feel sorry to hear this news,? he said. ?It is an extreme act that shows no respect for religious freedom in our country. It is a pure violation of religious freedom. Almost every Buddhist usually keeps an image of the Buddha, some mantra or religious teaching close at hand. The act was based on prejudice and it makes the government look bad in the eyes of the international community.? The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma says 2, 168 political prisoners are being held in Burmese prisons. ____________________________________ November 12, Irrawaddy The junta?s No 4 unexpectedly resigns ? Min Lwin Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, who ranked No 4 in the junta, voluntarily resigned from the Burmese armed forces in recent weeks, according to sources. The general?s unexpected resignation has not appeared in state-run media. He reportedly said that he no longer wanted to be involved in politics and serve in the army. Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo salutes during celebrations of the country's Independence Day, in Naypyidaw, early on January 4, 2009. (Photo: Getty Images) Tin Aung Myint Oo, who was the quartermaster-general of the armed forces, retired quietly. He still holds his Secretary 1 position in the State Peace and Development Council, the ruling body that governs the nation. Lt-Gen Myint Swe, the commander of the Bureau of Special Operation 5, was named quartermaster-general. Myint Swe is a prot?g? of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the SPDC chairman and commander in chief of the armed forces. Tin Aung Myint Oo became a four-star general in March 2009 and was known to be a military hardliner. Businessmen who are close to the top military leaders said that there was no question of the battle-hardened general?s loyalty to Than Shwe. However, there has been speculation that a recent spat between Than Shwe?s grandson and Tin Aung Myint Oo?s son might have trigger Tin Aung Myint Oo?s resignation. A few months ago, according to a story impossible to confirm, Capt Naing Lin Oo, the son of Tin Aung Myint Oo, crossed swords with Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the favorite grandson of Than Shwe, over the location of the Seven Corners caf? in Rangoon, owned by Naing Lin Oo. The caf? was demolished by government municipal officials because it occupied government-owned land. The information that led to the demolishing of the caf? was believed to have come from Nay Shwe Thway Aung, who reportedly had personal problems with Naing Lin Oo. It?s said that the dispute between the two powerful children eventually reached Than Shwe, who reportedly called Tin Aung Myint Oo to find out what was going on. Realizing that trouble might lie ahead, Tin Aung Myint Oo reportedly dispatched a senior army officer to get his son to sign a paper admitting that he had broke the law by opening the caf?, sources said. Naing Lin Oo reportedly refused to sign the paper, but the army officer convinced him with one sentence: ?Your dad sent me over here for you to sign this paper. Sign it now.? Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is now in his 60s, won the Thiha Thura medal in combat against Communist rebels in the 1980s. He led successful operations against Communist insurgents in Eastern Shan State in September 1988, which led to a cease-fire agreement in 1989. He served as commanding officer of No 111 Light Infantry Battalion in Sagaing Division in 1990; commander of the Tactical Operation Command under the Northern Military Command in 1992; in 1994, he was a brigadier general with the Military Operation Command based in Kyaukme Township in Northern Shan State. He became commander of the Northeast Military Region in Lashio in 1997. He replaced Thein Sein as secretary-1 when he was promoted to prime minister in 2007. Tin Aung Myint Oo recently traveled to China to meet with Chinese leaders to discuss the issue of ethnic rebels along the Sino-Burma border. ____________________________________ November 12, Shan Herald Agency for News Mongla refuses to buckle The Shan State Special Region #4, otherwise the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), based in Mongla, opposite China?s Daluo, has been instructed by the Burmese Army to submit its list of manpower and weapons, according to reports filtering to the Thai-Burma border. The directive was issued separately to each brigade command by corresponding Burmese Army commands on November 9: * Central Authority and 896th Brigade, based in Mongla, by Triangle Region Command, based in Kengtung * 369th Brigade, based in Hsaleu, by Mongkhark area command * 911th Brigade, based in Nampan, by Mongyawng area command According to the ruling junta?s administrative structure, Mongla is a separate township, while Hsalue and Nampan are in Mongyang and Mongyawng townships respectively. (Mongyang, in turn, comes under Mongkhark area command) Col Than Tut Thein, Chief of G-1, made a two-day trip to Mongla on November 9 to deliver the instructions. He was informed afterwards that the Mongla leadership was not ready yet to present the list. ?He was asked why Naypyitaw had refused to consider the proposal by the ceasefire groups, while issuing one demand after another for them to agree to,? said an informed source who recently returned from Mongla. ?The Colonel was unable to give a satisfactory answer.? Than Tut Thein?s visit coincided with that of a Wa delegation led by Bao Youri, Deputy General Secretary of the United Wa State Party (UWSP) and the Wa supreme leader Bao Youxiang?s elder brother. He was reportedly accompanied by two other top leaders: Zhao Guo-ang and Ying Shenbeng. The Wa delegation arrived in Mongla on 8 November and left on 10 November, the same day as Than Tut Thein. Sources say the presence of Wa and junta representatives at the same time was an accidental affair. There is as yet no official or unofficial statement on the Wa visit by either group. ?There is only one thing we can say right now,? said a source close to the Wa leadership. ?The Kokang debacle will not be repeated in Mongla.? Fire broke out at the Mongla market on November 3 night, which was quickly put out after it destroyed several shops. No culprit has been traced. Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Naypyitaw?s chief negotiator, is due to meet leaders of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Shan State Army (SSA) ?North? in a few days, according to a source on the Sino-Burma border. Naypyitaw so far has inaugurated the formation of Border Guard Forces (BGFs) by the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), Kokang and Karenni Nationalities People?s Liberation Front (KNPLF). ____________________________________ BUSINESS / TRADE November 12, Reuters Dhaka to revive talks on Myanmar-India gas link Dhaka ? Bangladesh will restart negotiations over a long standing proposal for a pipeline across its territory that would take natural gas from Myanmar to India, a senior energy official said on Thursday. "We have received a green signal from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and forwarded the proposal to the foreign ministry to resume negotiations with New Delhi and Yangon in this regard," said Mohammad Mohsin, secretary for the energy and mineral resources division. India has in the past proposed building the 290-km (181-mile) pipeline to import gas from Myanmar, but the proposal did not get immediate approval from Bangladesh. "Now we have received the green signal from the head of the government to revive the discussions regarding the construction of a regional gas pipeline as it will benefit our country," Mohsin told Reuters. Bangladesh, which faces gas shortages of up to 250 million cubic feet a day, hopes to use gas from the link and to gain from fees, the official said. In January 2005 energy ministers of the three countries met for the first time in Yangon to discuss construction of a tri-nation gas pipeline with a total length of 950-km, and signed a draft memorandum of understanding. The pipeline was expected to enter eastern Bangladesh through the Brahmanbaria border point and enter India's West Bengal state from the northern Rajshahi area of Bangladesh. The draft had a provision for hydropower transit from the Himalayas to Bangladesh through India, and a corridor across India for trade between Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Progress on the project has been delayed due to differences between Dhaka and New Delhi over trade and corridor issues. India and Myanmar in 2006 considered redesigning the gas pipeline so that it skipped Bangladesh altogether. Analysts said there were gas reserves of up to 6.0 trillion cubic feet in the blocks off Myanmar from which gas is to be transported to India. Investors in the relevant gas fields off Myanmar include South Korean Gas Corporation (KOGAS), India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) (ONGC.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), GAIL India (GAIL.BO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Daewoo International (047050.KS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). If the plan is implemented, about $350 million would be invested in Bangladesh and it would expect to get nearly $100 million as a carrier fee per year, energy officials said. Bangladesh would also get another $100 million as a one-off "right of way" charge and $25 million each year for sharing in its management, the officials said. (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir, editing by Anthony Barker) ____________________________________ ASEAN November 12, Voice of America US leaders may interact with Burmese at Singapore summit ? David Gollust Manila ? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says she or President Barack Obama might meet Burmese leaders in the context of a U.S.-ASEAN summit Sunday in Singapore. The Obama administration is pressing Burmese military leaders to release detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and hold free, fair and credible elections next year. The Obama administration shelved the isolation strategy of its predecessor and is trying dialogue with the Burmese military government to push it toward reform. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there are no formal meetings planned, but she left open the possibility that she and President Barack Obama might interact with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein or other officials when they take part in a U.S.-ASEAN summit-level dialogue Sunday in Singapore. Two senior U.S. diplomats went to Burma last week to open the dialogue and at a Manila news conference with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Clinton called the mission by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Kurt Campbell and his deputy Scott Marciel "very successful." The two State Department officials were allowed to hold a private, unmonitored meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi. Clinton said the United States continues to demand the unconditional release of the Nobel Peace laureate, who has been detained most of the time since 1990, when her National League for Democracy party won national elections but was barred by the military from taking power. "We are trying to encourage Burma to conduct the kind of internal dialogue with all of the stakeholders including Aung San Suu Kyi that could lead to there being fair, free and credible elections next year," she said. "We think that is an essential first step. We are continuing to call for the freedom of Aung San Suu Kyi. We believe that her detention over so many years is baseless and not funded on any concern other than that she is a leader of the political opposition," she added. Clinton said Aung San Suu Kyi "has every right" to resume an active role in politics and that her future role would be something the Burmese people, and not the United States, would have to decide. She said the United States would be highly skeptical of an election process that did not include representatives of all elements of the political opposition. She urged active involvement by Burma's neighbors to spur reform. "What we want to do, along with friends like the Philippines and other ASEAN members is to encourage, urge, persuade the leadership of Burma to enter into this dialogue with their own people-to create the conditions for legitimacy that should be apparent when you have an election, and that is what we are looking to achieve," said the secretary of state. Clinton said despite the outreach to Burma, the Obama administration is not dropping human rights related sanctions, which include a virtually total U.S. trade ban against that country. Sunday's summit of the United States and ASEAN - the Association of Southeast Asian nations - will take place on the sidelines of the broader 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore. ____________________________________ REGIONAL November 12, Agence France Presse Myanmar junta leader 'thrilled' to be in Sri Lanka ? Mel Gunasekera Kandy ? Myanmar's junta leader General Than Shwe said he was "thrilled" to be in Sri Lanka, where he was given a 21-gun salute and an elaborate red-carpet welcome at the start of his four-day state visit Thursday. "Sri Lanka and Myanmar have a history of close Buddhist ties," he said during a meeting with Sri Lanka's foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama in the central Buddhist pilgrim city of Kandy. Than Shwe, who is on his first visit to the island and comes with a 26-member delegation, said he was looking forward to touring Buddhist shrines during his stay, before leaving on Sunday. Speaking through a translator, the reclusive junta leader looked relaxed in a dark grey pin-striped suit and nodded when Bogollagama said he hoped the visit would also explore avenues for economic co-operation. "We warmly welcome you, your excellency," Bogollagama said during the meeting in a heavily guarded deluxe hotel in Kandy, 115 kilometers (72 miles) northeast of Colombo. Than Shwe was due to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse later Thursday. Rajapakse welcomed him earlier at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Sri Lanka and Myanmar both practise Theravada Buddhism and have had cultural and religious ties since the 11th century. Myanmar monks living in Sri Lanka have warned Colombo that its increasingly close relations with Myanmar's military regime would further raise international concern over the island's rights record. In a statement on Wednesday, the monks said Rajapakse was "foolish" to become associated with Than Shwe. A spokesman for the monks said they were not demonstrating against Than Shwe's visit due to safety fears. "The Sri Lankan government has very good relations with the junta and if we demonstrate they could use force against us," a monk, who identified himself as Nyanasyri, told AFP. Than Shwe is to spend two days in Kandy and then travel to the ancient site of Anuradhapura to visit more Buddhist sites. The junta leader is due to receive blessings from Buddhist monks at a temple outside the capital Colombo on Sunday before he leaves. Rajapakse visited Myanmar in June and thanked the junta for providing relief supplies for Sri Lankan civilians displaced earlier this year during the final stages of fighting between troops and separatist Tamil rebels. ____________________________________ November 12, Mizzima News India urged to change policy on Burma ? Salai Pi Pi New Delhi ? The New York based Human Rights Watch has urged the Indian government to change its current policy towards Burma before its elections in 2010. Brad Adams, Executive Director of HRW?s Asia Division said on Thursday that the world?s largest democracy, India should press Burma to release Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners to usher in genuine political reforms in the country, instead of strengthening its cozy ties with the regime. ?We think the Indian government should reverse it policy and stand for democracy and human rights in Burma,? said Brad Adams in a press conference held in the Women?s Press Club in New Delhi. Adams said India?s role is important in pushing the Burmese military leaders to hold a genuine election next year while the international community, including Southeast Asian countries criticizes Burma for its human right records and slow pace in restoring democracy. ?India should not accept the forthcoming 2010 election in Burma if the regime does not release detained Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,? he said, ?No one will take the poll result seriously.? After the Burmese regime rigged the referendum to approve the constitution in 2008, it announced holding elections next year, which Adam said, will entrench military rule in the country. India had supported the Burmese pro-democracy movement in 1988 but it changed its policy to appeasing the Burmese regime after it adopted the ?Look East? policy in 1993. Instead of pushing the Burmese regime to go for political reforms, India strengthened its bilateral relations on trade, military and economic sectors with Burma for over a decade to counter the influence of China on Burma. ?India made a big mistake by competing with China in the Burmese market, particularly for energy as it has hoped for a long time that it will be awarded with major oil and gas concession but for 15 years, China had increased its penetration into the Burmese market,? Adams said. He added, ?China got most of the major contracts but India got nothing. China had already won over the Burmese market and it will continue to win it.? Adams said if India changes its position and becomes a human rights proponent, China will be isolated when it comes to the Burma issue. After the China factor, India had increasingly sought the help of the Burmese regime to launch counter insurgency operations against India?s Northeast armed rebels, reportedly taking shelter in Sagaing Division, in the northwest region of Burma. ?In return India also helps Burma in flushing out Burmese armed groups based in India,? Adams said, ? but there is no cooperation from Burma so far.? ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL November 12, Agence France Presse Clinton calls for release of Myanmar's Suu Kyi Manila ? US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Myanmar Thursday to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, stepping up the pressure ahead of President Barack Obama's meeting with the junta's premier. "We think she should be released, we don't think she should be in detention," Clinton told a news conference in Manila, referring to the Nobel laureate, who has spent most of the past 20 years under house arrest. "We are going to continue to call for her unconditional release." Suu Kyi's party won the 1990 general elections, but the ruling junta never recognised her victory and has had her in detention for most of the time since then. Clinton said she discussed the Myanmar issue with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo at the start of a two-day visit here on Thursday. "We are trying to encourage Burma to conduct the kind of internal dialogue with all the stakeholders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, that could lead to there being fair, free and credible elections next year," Clinton said. Myanmar's generals are preparing to hold the first elections in two decades next year, but Aung San Suu Kyi has called for a boycott, calling them a sham designed to legitimise the junta. Thursday's talks took place ahead of Obama's scheduled meeting in Singapore this weekend with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines and Myanmar. Military-run Myanmar's prime minister, Thein Sein, is expected to join Sunday's meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The encounter would be the first meeting between a US president and a Myanmar leader in 43 years.