BurmaNet News, November 12, 2009

[Editor]

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 protégé 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 café in Rangoon, owned by Naing Lin Oo.

The café was demolished by government municipal officials because it
occupied government-owned land. The information that led to the
demolishing of the café 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 café, 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.”

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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.