From editor at burmanet.org Fri Nov 13 14:03:32 2009 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:03:32 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News, November 13, 2009 Message-ID: <15042.63.173.78.131.1258139012.squirrel@webmail1.pair.com> November 13, 2009 Issue #3840 INSIDE BURMA Reuters: Myanmar's Suu Kyi's lawyers file detention appeal NLM: Diplomatic relations established between Union of Myanmar and Kingdom of Bahrain BUSINESS / TRADE Mizzima News: Burmese currency touches record high DVB: Dhaka restarts India-Burma pipeline talks ASEAN Financial Times: Asean offers US first meeting with Burma leader REGIONAL VOA: Clinton says Burmese elections not legitimate without national dialogue AFP: Sri Lanka fetes Myanmar junta leader DVB: Monks boycott junta chief in Sri Lanka INTERNATIONAL Irrawaddy: HRW calls on India to change its Burma policy OPINION / OTHER Irrawaddy: Climate change and Aung San Suu Kyi ? Aung Zaw ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA November 13, Reuters Myanmar's Suu Kyi's lawyers file detention appeal ? Aung Hla Tun YANGON ? Lawyers for Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday they had lodged an appeal against her house arrest with the Supreme Court but expected no rapid decision. The 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate was sentenced in August to three years in prison for letting an American intruder stay in her home in May, which contravened the terms of her previous detention. Myanmar's junta leader later commuted the sentence to 18 months' house arrest. "We lodged the appeal at the Supreme Court this morning. The Supreme Court will take some time to decide whether to accept it or not," lawyer Kyi Win told reporters. Suu Kyi has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years in detention of one sort or another, mostly under house arrest. Myanmar's military, which has ruled the country for almost 50 years, plans to hold multi-party elections in 2010. A senior official from the Foreign Ministry was quoted this week as saying Suu Kyi could be released soon so she could help organize her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), for next year's election. However, the official, Min Lwin, told Reuters on Thursday after his return from an overseas trip that he had been misquoted. He declined further comment on the matter. Critics call the proposed election a sham and say the military will still hold the real power. The NLD has not yet said whether it will take part. The United States is reviewing its policy on Myanmar, trying to engage it diplomatically but without lifting trade and investment sanctions for the time being. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called again on Thursday for Suu Kyi to be released and said the United States would be skeptical about an election that excluded opposition representatives. Clinton and President Barack Obama will be in Singapore this weekend where they are expected to attend a meeting with leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations, which includes Myanmar. No bilateral meeting has been planned. (Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Jason Szep and Ron Popeski) ____________________________________ November 13, New Light of Myanmar Diplomatic relations established between Union of Myanmar and Kingdom of Bahrain Nay Pyi Taw ? The Union of Myanmar and the Kingdom of Bahrain, desirous of establishing friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms of International Law in accordance with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and on Consular Relations, decided to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries at Ambassadorial level with effect from 10 November 2009. The Joint Communique on the agreement .to establish diplomatic relations between the Union of Myanmar and the Kingdom of Bahrain was signed by the Permanent Representative of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations and the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations in New York on 10 November. Myanmar has been making efforts to expand diplomatic relations with countries all over the world and the Kingdom of Bahrain has become the 100th country with which Myanmar has established diplomatic relations. ? MNA ____________________________________ BUSINESS / TRADE November 13, Mizzima News Burmese currency touches record high ? Kyaw Kha Chiang Mai ? The Burmese currency ?Kyat? touched a record high in seven years with the black market exchange rate prevailing below Kyat 1,000 against the US dollar. Money changers traded their USD at the selling rate of Kyat 990, which is the second highest record after Kyat 900 against the USD in 2001. But the money changers cautioned that the rate was not yet stable. ?The currency witnessed wild fluctuation with rates changing seven times in a day,? a money changer in Rangoon told Mizzima. Over the last three days, the exchange rate was about Kyat 1,030 against the USD. Though the reason behind the sharp rise of the value of Burmese currency is still not clear, economists and observers pointed out that it might be due to trade stagnation, huge inflow of Cyclone Nargis aid money into Burma and seasonal high demand for Burmese currency in the opium harvesting season. At the same time, the government is trying hard to stabilise the gold price and USD exchange rate. The government maintained the gold price below Kyat 600,000 per tical (16 gm) though gold price is rising in the world market. The Minister of Mining Brig. Gen. Ohn Myint warned gold traders at the annual general meeting of gold traders held in October to control price of gold in order to avoid unrest and uncertainty in the nation due to fluctuation of prices. ?The world gold price is also fluctuating wildly and so is the price in our country. But we must control the price in order to avoid fluctuations and panic buying which may lead to collapse of the country,? Brig. Gen. Ohn Myint said. But observers pointed to the lack of reliable and accurate statistics in this regard. Foreign Exchange Certificate (FEC) is currently traded at around Kyat 980 against the USD. Despite the Burmese regime setting the equivalent of US dollar and FEC while still using the fixed rate of one US dollar being equal to 6.5 Kyat as the official rate there is more demand for the US dollar than FEC. ____________________________________ November 13, Democratic Voice of Burma Dhaka restarts India-Burma pipeline talks ? Joseph Allchin The Bangladesh government has restarted tri-nation talks over a proposed 950-kilometer gas pipeline to run from western Burma to eastern India, through Bangladesh. "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 [Rangoon] in this regard," Mohammad Mohsin, secretary for the energy and mineral resources division, told Reuters. If it goes ahead, the $US1 billion pipeline will connect Arakan state in western Burma to India?s Western Bengal, which borders Bangladesh. Burma holds vast offshore natural gas reserves in the Bay of Bengal. Initial talks were held between the three governments in 2005 but differences between Dhaka and Delhi scuppered the plan. In return for pipeline access through Bangladesh, Dhaka had sought access to hydroelectric power in Bhutan and Nepal via a ?corridor? through India. This plan was however rejected by Delhi, much to the ire of the Bangladesh government which since has hindered Indian attempts to connect its troubled North East region with the rest of the country. As a result of the fall out with Dhaka, India and Burma then considered routing the pipeline around Bangladesh. However the proposal to reignite discussions comes only days after the Thailand-based Arakan Rivers Network campaign group published a report on an Indian plan to connect these North Eastern states with the sea via a controversial dredging project on the Kaladan River. Observers have said that this could be indicative of the brinkmanship between the two countries, with Bangladesh holding India hostage over its strategic position, but not wanting to lose out on regional trade. If the talks are successful Bangladesh could make over $100 million a year as a fee, and more in one-off charges. It could also receive much-needed natural gas from the pipeline. More significantly, however, it could signal a further sign of India?s stomach for a fight with China over a stake in Burma?s wealthy fossil fuels and strategic regional position. ____________________________________ ASEAN November 13, Financial Times Asean offers US first meeting with Burma leader ? Kevin Brown and Edward Luce Barack Obama wades into a noodle soup of Asian multilateral groups when he arrives in Singapore late on Friday in a policy of direct engagement with regional bodies that is intended to draw a line under the George W. Bush years. But the new approach, which includes the first ever meeting between a US president and the heads of the 10-member Association of South East Asian nations, is also potentially hazardous. Since Burma is a member of Asean, Mr Obama will become the first US president to meet Thein Sein, prime minister of Burma, a senior member of the ruling junta. US officials on Friday faced ticklish questions over whether Mr Obama would take steps tomorrow to avoid being in a photo with Mr Sein. ?We?re not going to discuss photos that haven?t been taken,? said a senior official. The officials added that the Obama administration had chosen to engage with the Burmese, while maintaining tight economic sanctions on the country, in the hope of boosting the chances of restoring democracy to the country when it holds what are expected to be another round of rigged elections in 2010. Human Rights Watch, the US-based campaign group, urged Mr Obama to make human rights in Burma, and throughout the region, his top priority. ?Asean leaders have long sent mixed messages on Burma, so Obama should encourage them to unite in a strong statement of support for real democratic reforms,? said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of HRW. Mr Obama is likely to follow the Asean leaders in calling for credible elections in Burma next year, and for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the veteran opposition leader. But the reality is that Burma has been sidelined as an issue in order to allow the US to re-engage with Asean, a region of 580m people with a combined gross domestic product bigger than India?s. The US has never held a summit with Asean, mainly because such a meeting could not be held without putting a US president in the same room as a senior representative of Burma. Perhaps more important in US eyes will be Mr Obama?s separate meeting in Singapore with Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of Indonesia, a country in which the US president spent four years of his childhood and which he has pledged to visit next year. Officials say Mr Obama sees Indonesia as a lynchpin of America?s renewed ?outreach? to Asia against the backdrop of a China that is moving rapidly ahead to forge stronger trade, economic and infrastructural links with countries throughout the region. Although never stated baldly, the underlying assumption is that the US needs to take rapid steps to match China?s increasingly tentacular reach following eight years of what officials describe as neglect for the region under Mr Bush. One such test will be in the evolution of the debate over the creation of an East Asian Community ? a body from which China is thought to want to exclude the US, while Japan is pushing for its inclusion. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. ____________________________________ REGIONAL November 13, Voice of America Clinton says Burmese elections not legitimate without national dialogue ? David Gollust Manila ? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday elections planned in Burma next year will not be seen as legitimate unless the military government engages in dialogue with the country's opposition and ethnic minorities. Clinton spoke with VOA in Manila in advance of joining President Obama in Singapore for multi-lateral meetings that could include U.S. interaction with Burmese leaders. U.S. Secretary of State Clinton says there is no expectation that any U.S.-Burma encounter early next week in Singapore will produce a breakthrough like an easing of restrictions on democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But she is none-the-less expressing hope for long-term change in Burma based on, among other things, unusually accommodating treatment accorded two senior U.S. diplomats who visited Burma last week. In an interview with VOA, the Secretary of State said the American envoys not only met with Burmese government officials, but also opposition figures including an unrestricted meeting with the long-detained National League for Democracy party leader. "It was an open and very free exchange of our ideas with them. Secondly, the fact that unlike in previous visits, our ability to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi was unmonitored, unsupervised for two hours, which was quite unusual and very helpful, the fact that the diplomats were able to meet with representatives of the political opposition and ethnic groups. It was a series of meetings that were more far-ranging and more open than we have seen in reports from others who have gone," she said. Clinton will join President Barack Obama for the summit of APEC - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. On the sidelines of that, there will be a meeting Sunday bringing together Mr. Obama and the leaders of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, which includes Burma. No separate U.S. Burma meeting is planned, but both the president and Secretary Clinton say they may have interaction with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein. Clinton told VOA if she does have a conversation with the Burmese leader, he will again be pressed to allow a fully open electoral process. "I would certainly reinforce the message that our two diplomats, Assistant Secretary (for East Asian Affairs) Kurt Campbell and Deputy Assistant Secretary Scott Marciel brought with them to Burma, underscoring the willingness of the United States to engage with Burma, but recognizing that if the government there holds elections there next year, they will not be legitimate unless they engage with a dialogue with the people of Burma and create the atmosphere for free, fair and credible elections," she said. Clinton has said the United States is not prepared to lift sanctions against Burma, including a near total ban on trade, without major steps toward reform, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Earlier Friday, at a "town hall meeting" with Filipino students and reporters, Clinton said she doubted the Singapore meetings would yield any major announcement by Burmese authorities like an easing of restrictions on the detained opposition leader. She said there is no doubt that Burmese military leaders who have ruled the country since 1962 are "on the wrong side of history" but said bringing change to the country could be a slow process lasting years. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under various forms of detention most of the time since 1990, when her NLD party won national elections but was barred from taking power. Senior U.S. officials say the detained Nobel Peace laureate told them she supports the Obama administration's effort to engage the military, and mobilize regional pressure for free elections. ____________________________________ November 13, Agence France Presse Sri Lanka fetes Myanmar junta leader ? Mel Gunasekera Kandy, Sri Lanka ? Dozens of dancers, drummers and three elephants greeted Myanmar's reclusive junta leader as the elderly general began a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka Friday on a rare foreign outing. Schoolchildren cheered and waved paper flags of both countries and passers-by took pictures as the visiting leader's motorcade slowly drove through the narrow streets of the central Buddhist pilgrimage city of Kandy. General Than Shwe and his wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing, both dressed in white tunic tops and gold embroided sarongs, clasped their hands in prayer as a saffron-robed Buddhist monk invoked blessings on their arrival. Their 26-member entourage later moved to pray and meditate at the historic Temple of the Sacred Tooth relic, that was once bombed by the now defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 1998. The junta leader, believed to be in his 70s, looked to have recovered from a stomach bug on Thursday and was able to climb the stairs to the gilded roof chamber at the temple, where the tooth of Lord Buddha is believed to be enshrined. He has looked physically frail since arriving on Thursday, but on the few occasions he has spoken publicly, his voice has been firm. He stressed the "history of close Buddhist ties" between his country and Sri Lanka during a meeting with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Thursday and occasionally stopped to ask questions from officials on Friday. Sri Lanka and Myanmar both practise Theravada Buddhism and have had cultural and religious ties since the 11th century. Speaking through an interpreter, Than Shwe said he was honoured to worship at a historic Buddhist shrine. He is on his first overseas visit since 2004 and will leave on Saturday for the ancient site of Anuradhapura where he will visit more Buddhist sites, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said. The junta leader is due to receive blessings from Buddhist monks at a temple outside the capital Colombo on Sunday before he leaves. His visit has outraged Myanmar monks living in Sri Lanka, who warned Colombo that its increasingly close relations with Myanmar's military regime would further raise international concern over the island's human rights record. A spokesman for the monks, who identified himself as Nyanasyri, told AFP Thursday that they were not demonstrating out of fears for their safety. Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and the regime stands accused of human rights violations, including the repression of monks, journalists and political opponents -- most notably pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Than Shwe donated a 10,000-dollar cheque to the temple on Friday, and the Temple custodians in turn presented him with a bronze plaque and an intricately carved silver tea set. They also explained the legend of how the temple's tooth was snatched from the flames of the Buddha's funeral pyre, and was smuggled into Sri Lanka hidden in the hair of a princess. Than Shwe and his family, which included his daughters and grandchildren, posed for pictures just outside the red-roof temple and planted a mango tree to mark his visit. As he walked around the temple, a few Western tourists eagerly followed him around taking pictures. Sri Lankan President Mahinda 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 13, Democratic Voice of Burma Monks boycott junta chief in Sri Lanka ? Htet Aung Kyaw Burmese monks living in Sri Lanka have said they will enact a boycott of religious services for the visiting Burmese junta chief in protest against mistreatment of monks in Burma. Senior General Than Shwe, who has presided over the ruling military government since 1992, this week made a rare visit to Sri Lanka. The notoriously reclusive leader is known to regularly shun diplomatic meetings with foreign envoys visiting Burma, and rarely sets foot outside of the new jungle capital, Naypyidaw. U Awbartha, a member of the Burmese Scholar Monks Association in Sri Lanka, said that the normally apolitical monk community would deny religious services, a practice known as Pattanikkujjana, for Than Shwe. ?Burmese monks inside and outside of the country initiated their act of Pattanikkujjana against the government who tortured, murdered and imprisoned them after the 2007 Saffron Revolution,? he said. ?The Pattanikkujjana act is still in place so we would not accept any donation [from Than Shwe]. We have also urged our fellow monks to refuse his donations.? He added that ties between the two countries appear to have strengthened since the Sri Lankan government successfully defeated the rebel group, the Tamil Tigers, last year. The Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has been heavily criticized by the United Nations for allegedly violating international law during the conflict, visited Burma soon after the Tamil defeat. The Sri Lankan conflict had ranked alongside the Burmese junta?s conflict with the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) as one of the world?s longest running. ?Burma doesn?t have many friends in Europe and in America,? said U Awbartha. ?Similarly, Sri Lanka hasn?t been in close relations with these countries due to their war against the Tamils. I think these two countries are building diplomatic ties because of this.? Meanwhile, Than Shwe has reportedly been taken ill at the President?s House in Colombo, where doctors are treating him for a ?minor stomach ailment?, according to the Colombo Page news agency. ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL November 13, Irrawaddy HRW calls on India to change its Burma policy ? Zarni Mann A leading human rights group says India should do more to promote democracy in Burma, despite its concerns about China?s growing influence in the Southeast Asian country. At a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that India, as the world?s most populous democratic country, should consider the good of the people of Burma when dealing with the country?s ruling junta. ?The Indian government is saying that it will support democracy in Burma, but it isn?t doing much to promote that. We think that should change,? said Brad Adams, HRW?s executive director for Asia. He said that India should export its democracy, press freedom and strong civil society to Burma instead of competing with China for influence over the country?s military leaders. ?We want the Indian government to have a much more proactive foreign policy in promoting democracy in Burma. It?s a major neighbor and a major influence, but it has been quiet for the last 10 or 15 years,? said Adams, describing the country?s Burma policy as ?primitive.? Critics say that New Delhi?s relations with Burma are narrowly focused on improving trade and combating insurgents in India?s restive northeastern border areas. India has also come under fire for its silence on the continuing detention of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. Adams also criticized the Burmese junta for clinging to power since losing the country?s last national election in 1990. He highlighted the regime?s brutal crackdown on monk-led protests in 2007, and condemned its efforts to impose a military-drafted Constitution on Burma through last year?s rigged referendum and an election slated for next year. The 2010 election will not be free and fair unless everything about it is changed. [The junta] lost the 1990 election, and again in 2008, they said that more than 90 percent accepted the Constitution. It?s not credible. It?s a joke,? he said. Burmese activists who attended the meeting said they also hoped to see changes in the relationship between India and Burma. ?We hope the meeting will have some effect on the Burma issue because [Adams] can tell Indian policymakers that it is more beneficial for the Indian government to promote democracy in Burma,? said Thin Thin Aung, presidium board member of the Women?s League of Burma. In the early 1990s, India actively supported democratization in Burma, but later changed course with its ?Look East? policy, designed to counter Chinese influence in Southeast Asia. Ties between Burma and India have strengthened steadily since 1993. India is currently the fourth largest investor in Burma, after China, Singapore and Thailand. Burmese official statistics show that Burma-India bilateral trade reached US $995 million in 2007-08, with Burma?s exports to India accounting for $810 million. In October, Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor visited Burma and met junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The two countries reached an agreement to begin work on the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, including the Sittwe seaport in Arakan State, in December. India will provide $117 million. ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER November 13, Irrawaddy Climate change and Aung San Suu Kyi ? Aung Zaw The regime in Burma is like climate change?if you don?t contain it now, it could be catastrophic. Seeing Burma going nowhere over the past decades, friends and foes of the regime have reached the consensus that the country needs to make meaningful progress. To achieve momentum in the land of ?standstill,? we need some energy and a shakeup. Washington?s new Burma policy is indeed shaking things up. However, we must be realistic?external forces can only inject a dose of fresh air into political dynamism in Burma. The plain fact is that change must come from within. So we?d better not to wait but make a move of our own. US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell?s statement following his visit to Burma and the briefing he gave on his talks there received positive feedback not only in Burma but also in European and Asean capitals. There?s no doubt that the new US policy is comprehensive. It covers Burma?s pressing issues, including ethnic nationalities, democratization, the 2010 election, the need for national reconciliation and political dialogue, the problem of narcotics and security questions. More importantly, the US has no plans to lift sanctions until it sees progress in these key areas. The new policy no doubt injected positive energy and some rare hope in Burma. The visit of two high ranking US diplomats also created a good impression, although we all know that it will be a long and difficult process. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that there is a lot of work to do on Burma, saying: ?We have no illusions that any of this will be easy or quick.? We all know that no one has the magic pill to cure Burma?s ills. In a message directed at the principal stakeholders, regime leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, Clinton said Burma?s problems must be resolved by the Burmese people themselves. It could be a win-win situation if Than Shwe and Suu Kyi wanted to make the most of the positive energy released by the new US initiative and its policy of direct engagement. It is understandable that many are deeply skeptical about the sincerity of Than Shwe and the slow pace of political progress in Burma. If Than Shwe took a pragmatic approach, however, he could make the next move and strike a deal with Suu Kyi. The paramount leader of the regime has delivered little of substance in the past two decades. Nonetheless, we all know that the election in 2010 will be his personal exit strategy. He needed a safe passage out of the political arena. This can be an opportunity for Suu Kyi. She could demonstrate that she is pragmatic and a deal-maker, too. She could show that she is ready to help the national reconciliation and political process to move forward. Since the mockery trial earlier this year, Suu Kyi is back in the political limelight. She has won enormous support from the international community and her popularity inside the country has no doubt surged. There are reports in Rangoon that Suu Kyi, who has held talks with Than Shwe in the past, is now asking for further meetings. Recently, she expressed her gratitude to Than Shwe for allowing her to meet diplomats and US officials. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), is planning to release an important statement for the nation soon, the party spokesman said. How important for the nation the statement will prove to be remains to be seen. Political pundits say the NLD statement may include Suu Kyi?s stance on western sanctions and the 2010 election. This indicates that Suu Kyi may make a meaningful and pragmatic offer to Burma?s paramount leader, who wants the Lady to show ?respect? and ?good behavior.? A statement by Suu Kyi and her next moves should spell out her own ?climate change? policy.