BurmaNet News, November 21 - 23, 2009

[Editor]

November 21 – 23, 2009 Issue #3846


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Discrepancies highlighted in US citizen trial
AFP: More than 120 fishermen detained in Myanmar: official
New Light of Myanmar: A&I Minister arrives back from Italy
Mizzima News: Burma to commission ‘Ye’ hydro-power project in December

ON THE BORDER
DPA: Thai activists demand pull-out from Myanmar dam project

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar attracts 62 million USD in foreign investment in eight months

INTERNATIONAL
AP: UN slams Burma over forced labor practices
Irrawaddy: Junta crimes to be raised in The Hague
TheGovMonitor.com (US): Australia to provide $15 million humanitarian
assistance for Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Beware of the generals’ elections – Dr. Zarni
Mizzima News: Burma UN Resolution 2009: A paper punch – Dr. Tint Swe

PRESS RELEASE
Amnesty International: Myanmar: End arrests of activists and continue aid
after Cyclone Nargis




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 23, Democratic Voice of Burma
Discrepancies highlighted in US citizen trial – Khin Hnin Htet and Thurein
Soe

The lawyer for an American citizen currently standing trial in Burma last
week highlighted what he said was an inconsistency in one of the key
charges brought against his client.

The Burmese-born United States’ citizen, Kyaw Zaw Lwin (also known as Nyi
Nyi Aung), is standing trial in a Rangoon courtroom on charges of fraud
and of carrying excessive amounts of the Burmese currency into the
country.

He was arrested in early September upon arrival at Rangoon International
Airport, with initial speculation that the Burmese government had linked
him to a Rangoon bomb plot.

His lawyer, Nyan Win, said that testimonies from four prosecution
witnesses were heard in Friday’s court hearing.

“Nyi Nyi Aung was accused of possession of Burmese currency exceeding
value of $US2000,” he said. “But by the time he was arrested, he was still
waiting in a queue to reach the airport’s custom checkpoint to make a
personal declaration [of the items and money he was carrying.]”

“The government prosecutors said they had already handed a declaration
form to passengers to fill out on the plane before it landed,” he added.

“[Nyi Nyi Aung] handed that to the officials so he didn’t have to go
through the custom check point. This is an interesting point.”

The defendant was recently allowed to see his relatives for the first time
since he was detained in Rangoon’s Insein prison on 3 September, a family
member told DVB.

His aunt said in September that US embassy staff who had visited him in
prison reported that he had been denied food for eight days and showed
signs of being beaten.

Meanwhile, another lawyer for Nyi Nyi Aung, Kyi Win, has been appointed as
deputy chair for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD)
party’s legal-advisory committee.

Kyi Win, along with Nyan Win, had represented detained opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi during her three-month trial earlier this year.

The committee’s duty is to assist the Central Executive Committee by
providing legal advice to NLD members and civilians during trials. He will
be joined by nine other lawyers in the committee.

“This committee will provide lawyers and legal assistance to NLD members
and civilians by request when they are facing charges,” said Kyi Win.

____________________________________

November 23, Agence France Presse
More than 120 fishermen detained in Myanmar: official

Yangon – M ore than 120 mostly foreign fishermen have been arrested and
detained in Myanmar's notorious Insein prison for illegal fishing,
official sources told AFP Monday.

Most of the group were Indonesian and the rest were Filipinos, Taiwanese
and Myanmar nationals, the official said on condition of anonymity.

"More than 120 fishermen were arrested and sent to Insein prison on Friday
for their illegal fishing," the official told AFP.

He said authorities had discovered about 10 illegal fishing vessels but
declined to give further details.

Another official confirmed the detention, saying they were likely to be
charged under the immigration act.

The Indonesian and Philippine embassies in Myanmar's main city Yangon
could not be reached for confirmation, but a Taiwanese fisheries official
confirmed that about 40 fishermen from four Taiwanese boats were being
held.

"We can confirm four fishing boats registered in (south Taiwan's) Pingtung
county have been held in Yangon since last week," said Tsay Tzu-yaw,
deputy director of Taiwan's Fishery Administration.

A few of the fishermen were Taiwanese, including the captains, while the
crew consisted of mostly Filipinos and Indonesians, the Taipei-based China
Times reported.

The newspaper said the four boats had left the Thai island of Phuket on
November 18 and were chased by the Myanmar navy the following day, before
radio contact was lost.

Tsay said the Taiwanese government was still gathering information on the
arrests before beginning efforts to get the fishermen home.

Under the law of the sea, a nation has the right to outline an exclusive
economic zone stretching up to 200 nautical miles from its shores and
claim the right to exploit the resources within that area.

Myanmar possesses a 2,229 kilometre-long (1,385 miles) coastline along the
Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

____________________________________

November 23, New Light of Myanmar
A&I Minister arrives back from Italy

Nay Pyi Taw — A Myanmar delegation led by Minister for Agriculture and
Irrigation Maj-Gen Htay Oo attended the 2nd Non-Aligned Movement First
Ladies Summit on 15 November, the World Summit on Food Security on 16 to
18 November and the 36th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organization
Conference on 19 and 20 November in Rome of Italy.

On 15 November afternoon, the 2nd Non-Aligned Movement First Ladies Summit
was attended by wives of Heads of State/Government, Presidents and Prime
Ministers and ministers of NAM countries including Myanmar.

Madame Susanne Mubarak, wife of the President of Egypt, presided over the
summit. The meeting discussed loan assistance for farmland utilization and
food production, and creation of more opportunity for women to take part
in human resources development sector.

On 16 November morning, the World Summit on Food Security took place at
the FAO headquarters in Rome of Italy, attended by heads of State/
Government and representatives of heads of States from 152 FAO member
countries and representatives of international organizations.

FAO    Director-General Mr Jacques Diouf, Senate Speaker of Italy Mr
Renato Schifani, UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon and Rome Mayor Mr
Giovanni Alemanno extended greetings.

The summit approved the declaration of FAO Summit, and participants of the
summit delivered addresses on endeavours for food sufficiency, rural
development for food sufficiency, role of farmers and commercial sector
related to food sufficiency and prevention against damages in food
sufficiency during the financial crisis.

Leader of the Myanmar delegation Minister Maj-Gen Htay Oo met President of
International Agricultural Development Fund Mr Kevin Cleanver and Italian
NGO AVSI Secretary-General Mr Alberto Piatti on 16 November. The minister
also met responsible persons of World Food Program on 17 November and
Minister for International Development Affairs Mike Foster of the UK at
the FAO Headquarters.

The Myanmar delegation attended the 36th Session of the Food and
Agriculture Organization FAO Conference.

Leaders of the USA, Bangladesh, Germany and Zimbabwe presided over the
conference. Turkish Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered an
opening address.

On 18 November, Minister Maj-Gen Htay Oo discussed cooperation in
agriculture sector, construction of Cyclone Shelter in the Nargis hit
regions and availability of water in tropical region with Director of
FOCSIV Board Mr Alberto Zamberletti at Mediterraneo Hotel.

On 19 November, Minister Maj-Gen Htay Oo delivered an address at the 36th
Session of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference and
explained widely laying down the policies for boosting food and
agriculture production, assistance for supply of water for agriculture
purpose and inputs for the farmers while Myanmar is striving for
overcoming difficulties of food sufficiency during the financial crisis,
raising irrigated sown acreage to increase food production and endeavours
for prevention against loss and wastage in food production in climate
change.

The minister also met FAO Director-General Dr Jacques Diouf on 19 November
afternoon and discussed progress in cooperation between Myanmar and FAO
and requirements in collecting of farm census.

The minister received Special Diplomat of European Union to Myanmar Mr
Piero Fassino and the Italian Ambassador to Myanmar at Mediterraneo Hotel
on 20 November.

The minister explained endeavours of Myanmar on restoring peace and
stability for economic development of the nation. On 20 November
afternoon, the Myanmar delegation left Rome and arrived back Myanmar on 21
November morning. - MNA
____________________________________

November 23, Mizzima News
Burma to commission ‘Ye’ hydro-power project in December – Kyaw Thein Kha

Chiang Mai – The Burmese Ministry of Electric Power (1) will commission
the Ye village hydro-power project in December, billed as the biggest in
the country.

“We will begin operating one turbine of the four for hydro-electricity. We
will begin in December and run the turbines one after another in the
following months. We are still unsure of the exact date but it might
probably be the end of December,” Aye Aye Thant, Director
Hydro-Electricity Department of the ministry told Mizzima.

For the commissioning of the hydro-power-project, several engineers from
the engineering department were said to have reached the hydro-power
plant.

The hydro-project on the Myittha River, located between Ye-Yamann
villages, about 31 miles southeast of Mandalay city, is being constructed
by the Department of Hydro Power Implementation (DHPI) No. (2) of the
Ministry of Electric Power (1).

According to the ministry’s press release, the project cost is over US $
600 million. While the US$ 200 million was taken as loan from China, the
ministry has borne the rest.

According to Burma River Network, a Thailand-based activists group that
monitors Burma’s hydro-projects -- Hydro Power Generation Enterprise along
with China International Trust and Investment Co. (CITIC) and Sinohydro
Corporation signed an agreement in 2004 for the project and was later
joined by five other Chinese companies.

The initial design of the project was by a Japanese company Nippon Koei.
For details of the design and construction the Burmese government signed
an agreement with a Swiss company Colenco Power Engineering in 2003.

The hydropower plant is 2264 feet wide and 433 feet high. It will produce
an estimated 790 megawatts.

The project, once completed, is expected to supply electricity throughout
the country through Kyaukse, Meikhtila, and Mandalay towns via 230 KV
(Kilo Volt) cable lines.

Currently the Ministry of Electric Power (1) operates over 15
hydropower-projects located across the country’s Kachin, Shan, Kayah, and
Karen states.

However, rights activists have expressed concern over the appalling human
rights violations including forced relocations of villages, forced labour,
and environmental degradation. Besides, campaigners also expressed fear of
a possible break in the dams and its consequences for inhabitants and
residents downstream.

According to a report by Xinhua, Burma’s current electricity generation is
1684 megawatts, and the statistics of the government shows that Burma
consumed 6.62 billion kilowatts in 2008-2009.

However, Burmese, including urban residents of Rangoon and Mandalay say
they are facing problems as electricity supply is inadequate. Residents of
Rangoon and Mandalay, the two largest cities in Burma, said they receive
electricity supply for only six to seven hours a day.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 23, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Thai activists demand pull-out from Myanmar dam project

Bangkok – Thai civil society leaders representing 189 organizations
demanded Monday the government withdraw from the controversial Hutgyi dam
project in Myanmar or face dire consequences.

The group delivered a letter to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva saying
that international talk of engagement with Myanmar's military regime in no
way negated the many objections to the Hutgyi dam and others along the
Salween River that are designed to supply power to Thailand.

"We are extremely worried that local people will be devastated if dams
like the Hutgyi go ahead because outsiders mistakenly think there has been
a political breakthrough of some kind," said Pianporn Deetes, coordinator
of the Living River Siam-Southeast Asia Rivers Network.

Plans have been in place for years to build seven large dams on the
Salween to supply electricity mainly to Thailand and China. So far no
progress has been made beyond minor preparatory work, but activists fear
that Thailand's state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is
determined to build at least some dams.

The letter said the proposed 1,360-megawatt Hutgyi dam, 47 kilometres from
the Thai-Myanmar border, would lead to major human rights abuses against
minority peoples opposed to the regime and flood a great area on both
sides of the border. It said there would not be a transparent enquiry into
the need for construction in a country where military rule remains
controversial and contested.

Thailand's close economic ties with the regime are in stark contrast to
those of most Western democracies, which have imposed economic sanctions
on the country.

Such sanctions are deemed ineffective as long as Myanmar's main trading
partners - Thailand, India and China - refuse to follow suit.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 23, Xinhua
Myanmar attracts 62 million USD in foreign investment in eight months

Yangon – Myanmar attracted 62 million U.S. dollars in foreign investment
in the first eight months of this year, the local Weekly Eleven News
reported Monday.

The investments came from Thailand with 15 million dollars in hotels and
tourism, the United Arab Emirate (UAE) with 41 million dollars in oil and
gas sector and China's Hong Kong with 6 million dollars in manufacturing
sector.

In the fiscal year 2008-09 (April-March), four countries injected a total
of 984.996 million dollars in Myanmar, nearly six times that of 2007-08
fiscal year.

According to official statistics, total foreign contracted investments in
Myanmar hit 15.767 billion dollars in nearly 21 years up to the end of May
this year since the country opened to such investment in late 1988.

The foreign investments came from 31 countries and regions in 424
projects, with Thailand ranking first with 7.406 billion dollars, the
figures show.

Their investments were respectively injected into 12 economic sectors
opened for foreign investment by the government which are electric power,
oil and gas, manufacturing, real estate, hotels and tourism, mining,
transport and communications, livestock breeding and fisheries, industry,
construction, agriculture and services sector.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 23, Associated Press
UN slams Burma over forced labor practices

Geneva — The UN labor agency has criticized Burma for failing to abolish
forced labor more than a decade after the global body first took up the
issue with the Southeast Asian country, officials said Friday.

The International Labor Organization adopted a resolution last week saying
it is "deeply concerned" that Burma continues to imprison people who claim
to have been subject to forced labor or were involved in complaints
against the practice, said spokeswoman Laetitia Dard.

The resolution called for the immediate and unconditional release of the
prisoners, as well as of all other people detained for political or other
labor activism. Foreign governments and human rights groups have for years
urged Burma to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been
detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.

Burma has consistently maintained that it is making good-faith efforts to
eliminate forced labor and recognize the right of its citizens to make
complaints on the subject without fear of punishment. The ILO resolution
acknowledged that the country was cooperating regarding complaints.

The Geneva-based ILO has since 1998 been investigating forced labor being
used in Burma to aid the governing military junta and to build roads and
other projects. The latest resolution also expresses concern about forced
labor being used in infrastructure projects such as building oil and gas
pipelines.

____________________________________

November 23, Irrawaddy
Junta crimes to be raised in The Hague – Arkar Moe

The Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC) is attending a Nov 18-26 meeting of the
Assembly of State Parties to the International Criminal Court in The Hague
to discuss the Burmese military government's alleged crimes against
humanity, war crimes and other human rights abuses.

BLC General Secretary Aung Htoo, who is based in exile, has been attending
the meetings in the Netherlands as an NGO delegate from Burma for the
first time.

According to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) web site, the
grouping will discuss "ICC Campaigns in Asia: Prospects and Challenges in
Afghanistan, Burma and Indonesia" on Nov. 25.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Thein Oo, the chairman of the BLC,
said, “We intend to cooperate with International Criminal Court and to
create a network to take more action against the Burmese military junta.
Moreover, we intend to share our experience of the junta’s abuses and
crimes, and discuss how we can cooperate to establish a regional network.”

He added: “We expect the Coalition for the International Criminal Court
(CICC) to cooperate among state parties and put more pressure on the
Burmese junta through the UN and the ICC. We especially want to lobby
harder because representatives of China and other world powers will be
attending."

The CICC is a network of over 2,500 nongovernment organizations which work
closely with the ICC.

“Actually, we all need to practice alternative approaches to the Burmese
military junta and pave ways for preventive actions,” Thein Oo said.

The director of Thailand-based rights group Human Rights Education
Institute of Burma, Aung Myo Min, told The Irrawaddy on Monday: “It’s very
hard to put the issue of the Burmese junta's crimes against humanity to
the ICC because Burma is not yet a signatory to the ICC. But, the UN
Security Council can take the junta to task about its deplorable humna
rights record. The Burmese regime has commited many crimes such as the
conscription of child soldiers and the systematic rape of ethnic women
which should be put before the ICC.”

The Burmese military authorities issued Order 1/2009 in April,
blacklisting the BLC as an unlawful association. This order came alongside
a campaign of defamation in the Burmese state-run press, which denounced
the BLC as an “enemy of the state,” and accusing BLC members, in
particular those working with the ICC, of “violating the rule of law of
Burma.”

The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent international tribunal to
prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes. The ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes which
have been committed or are being committed if a given state’s judicial
system is unable or unwilling to investigate and take legal action to
ensure justice.

In July, the CICC called on the Security Council to press for the
surrender and trial of President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and others wanted
for serious crimes committed in Darfur.

____________________________________

November 22, TheGovMonitor.com (US)
Australia to provide $15 million humanitarian assistance for Burma

Australia will provide $15 million in humanitarian assistance for the
Burmese people still suffering from the devastation caused by Cyclone
Nargis which struck Burma in May 2008.

Cyclone Nargis killed an estimated 140,000 people and severely affected
more than two million people.

Australia will make this formal commitment at the ASEAN Post Nargis and
Regional Partnerships Conference in Bangkok on Wednesday 25 November which
will be attended by key international donors and ASEAN member countries.

As we have done in the past, Australia’s assistance will be delivered in
close cooperation with international organisations working on the ground
in Burma.

This package of assistance includes:

    * $7 million over two years to address the water and sanitation needs
of the hundreds of thousands of people struggling to access clean
water as the dry season progresses.

    * $4 million to improve their food security, especially the thousands
of families who rely on agriculture and fishing to survive.

    * $2 million to improve access to education services for children who
have yet to return to school after the disaster.

    * $1 million to support essential maternal and child health services
in particularly needy rural and remote areas.

    * $1 million of further support for ASEAN’s role in the management and
coordination of relief efforts.

Eighteen months after the disaster there are still critical needs in
cyclone affected areas particularly in sanitation, education and
livelihoods.

Australia continues to be one of the largest international donors to the
recovery effort following Cyclone Nargis.

This assistance is part of Australia’s ongoing commitment to the people of
Burma, delivering aid that addresses the needs of Burma’s poor and
vulnerable.

This assistance also underlines the critical importance of continued
access for international humanitarian workers to the affected people in
Burma.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 23, Irrawaddy
Beware of the generals’ elections – Dr. Zarni

The promised 2010 elections in Burma are the talk of the town these days. 
Future uncertainties for the country’s military regime as well as the
popular opposition notwithstanding, today’s election discourses may be
diagnosed with a serious historical amnesia. It’s a cliché to say that
those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it.

To begin with, since its failed attempt to physically harm the top leaders
of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the Depayin ambush six years
ago, the ruling State Peace and Development Council has opted for a
discursive and political strategy to beat the NLD.

Accordingly, it unfurled its “Roadmap for Democracy” without deviating
from its trademark domestic political repression. Just this month the UN
Human Rights Commission slammed the regime for a constellation of human
rights violations, including “the continuing practice of arbitrary
detentions, enforced disappearances, rape and other forms of sexual
violence, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”

Only months before the promised elections, the facts on the ground do not
signal that there is any real potential for much-needed political,
economic and societal transformation.  The regime’s “roadmap” is unlikely
to meet even its own stated objectives of turning the country into a
“modern, prosperous nation,” let alone satisfy popular liberal
aspirations.

In fact, “We the People” have become jaded after almost a half-century of
the generals’ unbroken record of catastrophic failures in economic
management, ethnic relations and political leadership, as well as a clear
pattern of broken promises, on top of the grinding poverty induced by the
regime that envelopes the lives of the Burmese.

Under Gen Ne Win’s military rule (1962-88) we lived through the sham
constitutional referendum of 1973 in which 92 percent of the voters
purportedly favored the Socialist Constitution which, according to the
general himself, was designed to prevent the party from morphing into a
“one-party dictatorship.”

We also participated in the election for “socialist democracy” with the
Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) as our vanguard.

Our hearts sank further as we watched the emergence of a “Pyithu Hluttaw”
or “People’s Parliament,” which came to be filled with parliamentarians
from all ethnic, social and professional backgrounds, but many of whom
were too afraid to leave their seats for a “comfort break” during Ne Win’s
speeches, let alone table or debate any motion of societal significance.

Nowadays when I hear Burma pundits and “players” who counsel “pragmatism”
and discuss the supposed potential for parliamentary space, the imagery
that springs to mind is this: rows and rows of our MPs in their seats in
the Hluttaw stealthily soiling their fine silk longyis, all robotically
nodding and feigning attentiveness while Chairman Ne Win extolled the
virtues and successes of  “the Burmese Way.”

Fast-forward to the post-2010 Pyithu Hluttaw.  Pliant democratic MPs who
have made it in the military’s electoral process aren’t likely to fight
for the people, within or without this talked-up “space.”  The regime will
most certainly weed the defiant and assertive types out of its
“discipline-flourishing democracy,”  by keeping them behind bars, under
house arrest or in exile, barring their candidacy or even disqualifying
their election wins on trumped-up legal grounds.

Maybe I am still suffering from the trauma of having lived through
“civilized military rule” and the military-sponsored “socialist
democracy.”

During Gen Ne Win’s “socialist democracy” period, we watched the
“civilianization” of military rule and the militarization of the State.

By that, I mean the regime staffing all branches of State bureaucracy with
thousands of veterans and in-service military officers, with the purpose
of expanding its control and domination in all spheres of life. Most of
these men possessed neither a sense of bureaucratic professionalism nor
appropriate managerial skills or mental orientation.

Despite its failed institutional legacy, this militarized bureaucracy is
what survived after the complete collapse of the BSPP.  For any reforms to
succeed, an enlightened political leadership and competent and
professional bureaucracy are prerequisites. It would be interesting to see
if Snr- Gen Than Shwe’s "discipline flourishing democracy" will include a
plan to transform this militarized State so as to help facilitate and
sustain a modern democracy, or economic development.  So far, there are no
such signs.

Now the US and Britain have publicly indicated that they are willing to
tango with “Naypyidaw men,” providing that the latter take certain steps
to make the roadmap’s last act "free, fair and inclusive."  Never mind
that the regime has set the autopilot on “cheat” since its journey to
“democracy” began.

Washington’s Plan A for change in Burma now is to push for “free, fair and
inclusive” elections in exchange for increased humanitarian dollars, the
removal of Burma's “pariah” status, a counterbalancing weight against
Beijing and the prospect for easing the sanctions.  It doesn’t appear to
have a Plan B, though.

What can the opposition’s western supporters do if the 2010 elections are
not fair, free or inclusive?

With the looming elections, Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD must be feeling it is
between a rock and a hard place as the party whose resounding electoral
victory had long been ignored by the same generals in power.  Regardless
of whether the NLD fields candidates through proxy parties or contests the
elections, the generals will make sure her party is in no position to
field any sizable number of candidates, much less win a landslide again.

Be that as it may, and for the sake of moving the country forward, let’s
leave aside the categorically anti-democratic Constitution for a moment
and shift attention away from the flagship popular opposition and the
revered Nobel Peace laureate.

What other benchmarks, then, could be treated as signals that the regime
is serious about democratic transition?

It could, for instance, relax media and Internet censorship; show
increased tolerance towards valid public criticism of its policy and
leadership failures; enable existing parties to reorganize themselves with
full organizational rights and responsibilities; adopt conciliatory
gestures towards multi-ethnic dissidents and armed resistance
organizations; allocate public resources fairly and equitably among the
parties for election purposes; and grant them equal access to the
State-owned media outlets; and last but not least, encourage and educate
the Burmese electorate in general about their voting rights, as well as
fundamental rights as citizens of a soon-to-be democracy.

Concretely speaking, democratization is a multi-layered process and
involves more than holding one-off political events such as elections or
adopting a Constitution, or convening a parliament once or twice a year. 
Without institutionalizing legal regimes of human rights to protect
citizens' and communities’ socio-cultural rights, as well as economic and
political freedoms, no polity can be labeled democratic.

At the societal level, democratization means ruling elites initiating a
mass educational plan to encourage, facilitate and support a progressive
shift in cultural values, authority relations, collective beliefs and
mindsets and social practices.  only then can a culturally conservative
and semi-feudal society such as Burma be expected to evolve into something
that can sustain a formal democracy and its further advancement.

Unfortunately for the people, the “Naypyidaw men” have grown accustomed to
power, privileges, wealtha and State protection, as well as adept at
control, manipulation and domination over the public, economy and the
State.  As such, these men in the main are not going to be agents of
change, regardless of whether engagement or isolation, sanctions or trade
are pursued.

It is the people themselves—multi-ethnic communities, religious leaders
and associations, individual professionals, educators, entrepreneurs,
artists and intellectuals, and pockets of enlightened military officers,
as well as the webs of informal networks—who need to be viewed as
potential change agents and treated accordingly.

While the new Western efforts to tango with the generals are welcome, only
the public and the society on the ground can, and will, bring about
genuine transformation.

Burma’s sordid electoral history, the exceedingly illiberal nature of the
ruling cliques and their unpredictable tactical teases—for instance,
opaque talks of Aung San Suu Kyi’s release—should make pundits weary of
the a-historical and deliberately naïve pro-election discourses.

When change does happen in Burma, for sure it will not be achieved through
the generals’ elections.

Dr Zarni is a columnist for The Irrawaddy and Research Fellow on Burma at
the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

____________________________________

November 23, Mizzima News
Burma UN Resolution 2009: A paper punch – Dr. Tint Swe

Mizzima News - Passing a resolution on Burma in an international forum is
an annual routine practice, which can embarrass the ruling military junta
but as that cannot make a change in the country it does not impress the
severely oppressed people of Burma. There have been over 30 resolutions
already passed unanimously and later by voting at the UN bodies such as
the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Commission. It is because none
of them is binding and the condemned junta just says a few words of anger
after the resolution is passed.

However at the 64th UN General Assembly the document of 19th November on
the situation of human rights in Burma has something to be noted by
serious observers. The Assembly again strongly condemned the systematic
violations of human rights and fundamental freedom of the people of Burma.

Nonetheless even a paper jab is not an easy job. One month ahead of days
for Burma at the UN, the Burmese government in exile has the annual task
of holding a series of meetings with foreign missions in New York. The
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) although
composed of duly elected Parliamentarians has no mandate to represent the
people of Burma not only in their national Parliament but also at the
United Nations. The UN is the largest body of the governments no matter
elected or not. So the people’s representatives have to approach the
missions from friendly nations. Within a month, they have talks with 30 to
40 approachable missions asking for sponsorship of the draft resolution
and the important points to be included in it.

Obviously EU countries are champions of Burma resolutions at the UN. This
year 47 countries including one from Asia, Republic of Korea sponsored the
resolution on Burma of the Third Committee Agenda item 69 (c). In the UN
documents, the language is important and critical. The sponsor countries
have to bargain the language in the document with the friends of the
Burmese military junta. The ASEAN countries which recently established a
human right body in their own bloc are native defenders of human rights
perpetrator, the regime of Burma.

In this year’s UN document there are five welcomes, five urges, five
strongly calls upon and simply calling upon for eight times. It was mixed
with three deep concerns and one strong condemnation.

There was only one “note with appreciation” followed by two “expressions
of grave concerns”. One of which said, “Expresses grave concern at the
recent trial, conviction and sentencing of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, resulting
in her return to house arrest, and calls for her immediate and
unconditional release; Expresses grave concern at the continuing practice
of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, rape and other forms of
sexual violence, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and
strongly calls upon the Government of Myanmar to allow a full, 
transparent, effective, impartial and independent investigation into all
reports of human rights violations, and to bring to justice those
responsible in order to end impunity for such crimes.”

The Third Committee passed the motion by voting with 92 in favour, 26
against with 65 abstentions. Those countries opposed or abstained took
their position on voting based on their policy on country specific
resolution, not on the situation in Burma.

The ambassadors from Israel, Sweden and Japan gave sound-bites to Burmese
language radios. The people of Burma learn that about 10 countries namely
China, Russia, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Cuba, and
Libya are aggressively on the side of the military regime of Burma.

The second-line countries such as Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia,
Vietnam, and Bangladesh took the floor to express their disagreement to
the resolution but most of the neighbouring countries either abstained or
opposed expressed their support to the effort of the UN Secretary General
in their deliberations. This year the mandate of the UN Secretary General
has been spelled out in detail and strengthened.

Most of the condemnations and concerns are more or less the same as those
of previous years. But the fresh noteworthy paragraph is focused on the
election to be held in 2010. It said, “The UN strongly urged the
Government of Myanmar to ensure the necessary steps to be taken towards a
free, fair, transparent and inclusive electoral process and calls on the
Government to take such steps without delay, including by enacting the
required electoral laws and allowing the participation of all voters, all
political parties, and all other relevant stakeholders in the electoral
process.”

The world body is changing. Year by year, it becomes more difficult to
maintain a country specific resolution. This year there are only
three-country specific resolutions: Burma, Iran and North Korea.
Developing countries attempted to wipe out the country specific resolution
given the reasons that naming and shaming can't improve the HRs situation
of a country and they want Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism in
place where a country specific situation should be scrutinized.

The other important development at the UN is the call for independent
investigation on violations of human rights and humanitarian law and to
end impunity. It may lead towards the direction of the Commission of
Inquiry.

As the previous President had promised to Senior General Than Shwe of
Burma in March 2006, India keeps assuring and defends at the UN and also
at the ILO. It is a coincidence that on the same day the International
Labour Organization also took a decision on Burma’s widespread and
documented forced labour practice. ILO has charged Burma of using forced
labour since 1998. ILO criticized Burmese authorities for failing to
abolish forced labour and called for the release of imprisoned people who
have complained about forced labour.

The people of Burma are not excited after listening to news from the UN.
They realize very well what the UN is and what the military rulers of
Burma is all about. As long as the junta is in power the UN bodies have to
do their annual rituals.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 23, Amnesty International
Myanmar: End arrests of activists and continue aid after Cyclone Nargis

International donors meeting in Bangkok this week should pressure the
Myanmar authorities to end harassment of activists trying to help
survivors of Cyclone Nargis, and ensure sufficient aid reaches those
affected, Amnesty International said today.

In late October, the Myanmar authorities arrested at least 10 political
activists and journalists for accepting relief donations from abroad,
sources inside the country told Amnesty International.

Their whereabouts is unknown and it is not clear whether any charges have
been brought against them.

The ten—whom Amnesty International considers prisoners of conscience—were
among at least 41 dissidents arrested last month as part of a broader
crackdown by the Myanmar government.

“The authorities are denying Nargis survivors assistance they desperately
need and have a right to receive,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty
International’s Myanmar Researcher.

The most recent crackdown precedes the 25 November meeting of the ASEAN
Tripartite Core Group (TCG), which was established in May 2008 to monitor,
coordinate and facilitate international aid to areas hit by Cyclone
Nargis.  It comprises high-level representatives from ASEAN, the Myanmar
government, and the United Nations.

“More than 18 months after the cyclone, the survivors still require
critical support from the international community,” said Zawacki.

Extra funding is still needed to provide new houses, cyclone shelters,
livelihood programs, water and sanitation facilities, education
facilities, and health services to hundreds of thousands of people in
Myanmar, international agencies say.

The TCG’s three-year project for post-cyclone recovery efforts has a
projected cost of US$691 million, but only $125 million has been
committed.

“Leaders meeting in Bangkok must ensure that the required aid is
forthcoming and reaches those who need it,” Zawacki said.  “The
international community should increase its donations and demand
transparency, accountability, and non-discrimination in the distribution
of aid.”

Background
Seven people arrested in late October are members of the local Lin Let Kye
(“Shining Star”) program, formed in May 2008 and devoted to relief and
social activism: Ka Gyi, Zaw Gyi, Lai Ron, Shwe Moe, Aung Myat Kyaw Thu,
Paing Soe Oo, and Thant Zin Soe, who is also the editor of Foreign Affairs
Weekly  .  Three others who had made donations to humanitarian efforts,
Thet Ko, Myint Thein, and Min Min, were also arrested.

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2-3 May 2008, and left 140,000 people
dead or missing.

In October the US pledged to fund US$10 million through international NGOs
for Nargis-related recovery programs, while the EU committed to funding 35
million Euros (US$51.5 million) for the Livelihoods and Food Security
Trust (LIFT) fund, aimed at improving human security in Myanmar.  Funds of
US$326 million have been committed so far in the original 2008 Myanmar
Flash Appeal, out of the US$477 million requested.


For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press at amnesty.org or call
Benjamin Zawacki, Researcher, Southeast Asia  in Thailand on: + 66 (0)81
138 1912 or 44 (0)7930498054.