BurmaNet News, November 25, 2009

[Editor]

November 25, 2009 Issue #3848


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Junta continues war on monks
Irrawaddy: INGO work in Burma could stop during election period

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Thai refugee camps face tough year ahead
Kaladan Press: Villagers flee to avoid forced labor for border fence

ASEAN
Bernama (Malaysia): Asean mobilises over US$88 million for Cyclone Nargis
survivors

REGIONAL
Thai Press Reports: Thailand EU Special Envoy discusses Myanmar issue with
Thai Foreign Minister
AP:Trial of Khmer Rouge Prison Chief in final stage

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: Myanmar cyclone survivors still need shelter - U.N.
Bangkok Post: Top award given to brave journalists from Burma

OPINION / OTHER
Guardian (UK): Burma watchers are right to be cautious about signs of
change – Andrew Heyn
Mainstream Weekly (India): Has India a policy on Myanmar? – Dr Ninan Koshy

PRESS RELEASE
Karen Human Rights Group: Exploitative abuse and villager responses in
Thaton District




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 25, Irrawaddy
Junta continues war on monks – Arkar Moe

A war on monks is still underway in Burma, revenge for the monk-led
peaceful mass demonstrations in 2007. The military junta continues to put
pressure on monks and their family members, place bans on preaching the
Dhamma and impose travel restrictions.

Ashin Thavara, the secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’
Representative Committee (ABMRC),  told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “My
parents go to sign up at the township authority every month, and the
authorities order my family to inform them whenever I contact them. They
also pressured my parents' employer to fire them from their job.”

Ashin Thavara, 26, played a leading role in in the demonstrations and is a
founding member of the ABMRC, which launched the demonstrations together
with other monk organizations.

 “The Burmese authorities confiscated all of my belongings in February
2008, they have  pressured monks leave my monastery, Zeya Theikdi
Monastery in  Rangoon's Thingankyun Township. It now has only  one old
monk.”

On Sept. 27, 2007, the military government cracked down on the
demonstrators and scores of monks were forced to flee their monasteries to
escape arrest. Dozens of monks fled the country .

According to official data, there are now more than 400,000 monks in
Burma, and its community, the Sangha, is  considered one of the strongest
and most revered institutions in the country.

Ashin Issariya, one of the founders of All Burma Monks'  Alliance (ABMA), 
said: “The military junta still oppresses and insults monks and the
Buddhist religion. There are currently more than 250 monks and more than
20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities."

The regime's Ministry of Religious Affairs  seeks to control monks through
the Sangha  Maha Nayaka Committee (a state-sponsored Buddhist monks’
organization), which has issued orders restricting monks’ travel and
ability to offer dhamma teachings.

Authorities have also  banned individual monks, such as Shwe Nya War
Sayardaw, the  dean of Shwe Nya War Buddhist University in Rangoon, from
delivering dhamma talks.

A  monk who  studied at the Buddhist University told The Irrawaddy  on
Thursday: “ Shwe Nya War Sayardawgyi has been banned from Dhamma talks in
Rangoon since last year, because of his two Dhamma CDs, “True
Independence” and “Don’t be Unfair.” Recently, he was also  banned from
presenting talks on full moon day in Hledan Township and Kyee Myin Daing
Township on Nov. 19.”

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has also stopped issuing letters of
recommendation,  which are required, for a monk to travel to a foreign
country.

A monk in Rangoon, Ashin Panyarsarmi, said, “Now the authorities are
watching monks closely, and it's very difficult to get visas and
scholarships.”

Ashin Nayminda, who played a leading role in the 2007 demonstrations, said
the authorities told his friends that if they contacted him, they could be
arrested.

"Some of my friends who took part in the demonstrations have stayed away
from me and  returned to lay life," he said. "All of my property in my
monastery in Dawbon Township in Rangoon was confiscated.”

An abbot in Mandalay Division told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “Plain
clothes security officers  are closely watching certain monks and
monasteries."

He said four youths  who were in contact with monks in Mandalay were
detained in September. "Their family and relatives do not know where they
are now," he said.

State authorities closed  Maggin Monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun
Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested
for his involvement in the demonstrations. Monks and novices were evicted
along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the
monastery at the time.

In October 2009, the  All Burma Monks’ Alliance  expelled Sen-Gen Than
Shwe from the Buddhist faith because he had failed to issue an apology for
his abuse of monks and the religion of Buddhism.
____________________________________

November 25, Irrawaddy
INGO work in Burma could stop during election period – Wai Moe

International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) operating in Burma
are likely to suspend their activities next May, according to NGO sources
in Burma.

Although no official announcement has yet been made by the regime, some
government officials warned that INGO work could be suspended from May
until October because of the 2010 election, said INGO sources.

“We have heard from government officials that possibly because of the
election, INGOs in the country will temporarily close project activities
in the country,” said an INGO staffer in Rangoon, requesting anonymity.
“No written order has yet been made by government ministries, however."

A veteran lawyer in Rangoon, Kyi Wynn, said a non-Burmese friend working
for an INGO told him he had been informed by a  government official that
INGO activities would be halted during the election period.

The lack of any official confirmation is causing confusion among INGOs,
who are asking whether the decision to suspend activities applies to all
or just those aid groups which have been operating in the country since
the Cyclone Nargis disaster in May 2008.

A backlog in granting visas for foreign relief workers has also arisen.

William Sabandar, special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations secretary-general for post-Nargis recovery in Burma, told The
Irrawaddy in July: “There’s a backlog in the granting of more than 200
visas.” The delays were hampering work in the cyclone-hit region, he said.
The backlog has not yet been cleared, according to INGO staff.

Burma's ruling generals often see INGOs that work in Burma as a "tool of
neo-colonialism." Government officials have warned foreign NGOs to follow
four basic principles—“non-political, non-religion, non-profit and
non-governmental.”

In early 2008, the junta reduced INGO projects in Burma from five years to
one year. INGOs must also renew their projects three to six months in
advance.

The ruling junta hasn't yet announced a date for the election planned in
2010, although observers say it will be held either before or after the
monsoon season. Both the 1990 general election and the 2008 referendum
were held in May.

The 1990 election was announced about 15 months in advance.  The electoral
law allowed 90 days for campaigning.

The constitutional referendum in May 2008 was announced the previous
February. The referendum went ahead despite Cyclone Nargis and the regime
barred foreign aid workers while voting took place.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 25, Democratic Voice of Burma
Thai refugee camps face tough year ahead – Francis Wade

Rising rice prices and the threat of an influx of Burmese refugees into
Thailand over the coming year could place a heavy strain on refugee camps
along the border, the head of a refugee aid group warned.

The comments came in the wake of a visit by European Union officials to
the Mae La camp in Thailand’s western Tak province, which is home to some
40,000 Burmese refugees.

EU funding accounts for around 65 percent of the total $US60 million in
international aid that goes to the camps each year.

Jack Dunford, head of the Bangkok-based Thailand Burma Border Consortium
(TBBC), which provides food, shelter and amenities to the camps, said that
enough funding had been secured for this year, but warned of an uncertain
12 months ahead.

“There are three variables that we have no control over: exchange rates,
the price of rice and the number of refugees, so when we look at annual
funding we always have to do some guess work,” he said.

“All three tend to be going against us, and with the global funding
squeeze, we are expecting that next year is going to be difficult.”

While the price of rice has dropped since the peak of the global food
crisis last year, he warned that widespread flooding and storms in India
and the Philippines, two of the region’s main rice producers, may push
prices back up.

He also warned of a possible exodus of Burmese fleeing fighting in the
run-up to elections in Burma next year, many of whom would cross into
Thailand.

“Over the next 12 months we’re facing very uncertain times in Burma, in
particular huge uncertainties about what’s going to happen in the border
areas,” Dunford said. “We’ll obviously see how it plays out, but we could
have a major emergency.”

The Burmese government has been aggressively attempting to transform the
country’s 18 ceasefire groups into border guard forces prior to polling; a
move that it believes would significantly strengthen its dominance in the
volatile border regions.

Fighting between Burmese troops, supported by the Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA), and the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) in
June, forced around 5000 Karen civilians into Thailand, many of whom ended
up in makeshift camps.

Another outbreak of fighting in Burma’s northeastern Shan state in August
and September caused some 37,000 refugees to cross into neighbouring
China.

Some of the camps along the Thai-Burma border have been in place for 25
years, and the EU has sent a senior-level delegation each year to assess
conditions inside the camps. In total, around 130,000 Burmese refugees
live in the nine camps, the majority from Karen state.

____________________________________

November 25, Kaladan Press
Villagers flee to avoid forced labor for border fence

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Villagers in Maungdaw Township are fleeing from
homes to avoid being rounded up by Nasaka for forced labor in fence
erection on the Burma–Bangladesh border, said a village elder on condition
of anonymity.

A Burmese Army Sergeant U Sein who came to Maungdaw Township earlier and
camped in Nagakura village for security and supervising the fence
construction went to Wabeg village of Maungdaw Township on November 15 and
mobilized 10 villagers to work in the fence construction by promising that
they would be paid Kyat 3,000 a day each.

The villagers, believing the false promise went to the work site of
Ngakura village tract with him. But, after four days, when the villagers
demanded their wages they were not paid. The authorities were quoted as
saying “We came here to suck Rohingyas’ blood.”

Hearing this, the villagers on November 19 evening fled from the wok site
without getting money for their work, said another villager.

The following day, the Sergeant went to the Nasaka camp of Wabeg village
and filed a case against the villagers, who fled the work site. The
Sergeant filed a case saying the villagers fled from the work site after
taking Kyat 100,000 each, said a Nasaka aide on condition of anonymity.

As a result, Nasaka personnel frequently go to their homes to arrest them,
so the villagers have to keep fleeing from their homes to avoid arrest. 
They have been passing their nights without sleep. They are also unable to
work to support their families.  The family members are facing acute food
crisis.

“How can the Rohingy people pass days and nights with such harassment
towards the community?” a local trader asked.

The ran away villagers are identified as Mohamed Khasim, Jalal Ahmed, Aman
Ullah, Kori Mullah, Md Rofigue, Abul Shama, Md. Jubair, Jaffar Alam, Md.
Eliyas and  Md. Ismail.

____________________________________
ASEAN

November 25, Bernama (Malaysia)
Asean mobilises over US$88 million for Cyclone Nargis survivors – D. Arul
Rajoo

Bangkok – Asean, the United Nations and humanitarian partners pledged to
donate over US$88 million to assist Cyclone Nargis survivors with recovery
activities at the Post-Nargis and Regional Partnership Conference here
Wednesday.

The pledge, exceeding 85 per cent of the US$103 million sought, came from
donors such as Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway,
Holland, the European Commission, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland,
Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The contribution will be used towards the provision of 17,800 new houses,
40 new schools, 16 cyclone shelters, livelihood programmes for one million
people, water and sanitation facilities for 800,000 people.

It will also cover education facilities to 35,000 students and health
services to 900,000 individuals as mapped out in the Prioritised Action
Plan of the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP).

Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 2 and 3, 2008, causing catastrophic
destruction and at least 140,000 fatalities. Damages were estimated at
over US$4 billion, which made it the most damaging cyclone ever recorded
in the region.

Today's conference, co-chaired by Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan
and Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific, was held to raise funds to address
critical needs for the continuing reconstruction in the Irrawady Delta,
which bore the brunt of the devastating cyclone.

Surin, in his opening statement, said that if support was not forthcoming
soon, gains made over the past 18 months would be quickly lost, and the
window to provide timely assistance would close.

"While much has been done, there are many affected communities across the
delta who are still highly vulnerable and require urgent continued
humanitarian assistance, especially in the areas of shelter, livelihoods,
water, sanitation and hygiene, education and health," he said.

Heyzer said despite the international support for the post- Nargis
recovery effort, so far only a small portion of the total appeal for
humanitarian assistance had been met by the international community.

"Today, we are in danger of falling short of our promise to the people of
the Irrawaddy Delta. If we are to continue our work for the victims of
Cyclone Nargis, additional resources are urgently needed," she said.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 25, Thai Press Reports
Thailand EU Special Envoy discusses Myanmar issue with Thai Foreign Minister

On 23 November 2009, Mr. Piero Fassino, European Union Special Envoy for
Myanmar, paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to
exchange views on the Myanmar issue. The meeting was also attended by the
Swedish Ambassador, the Spanish Charge d' Affaires, and the Ambassador and
Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand as the EU
Troika.

Foreign Minister Kasit welcomed recent developments in Myanmar, including
the recent visit to Myanmar of Mr. Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary
of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the meeting between Myanmar
Prime Minister and US President during the 1st ASEAN-US Leaders' Meeting
last week in Singapore and Myanmar Prime Minister's commitment to organize
a free, fair, inclusive, and transparent general election in 2010 during
the 15th ASEAN Summit in Cha-Am - Hua Hin. The Thai Foreign Minister also
stressed the readiness of the ASEAN member countries to cooperate with
Myanmar in areas of capacity building in the organization and management
of elections. He opined that the 2010 election in Myanmar would be a
significant turning point for ASEAN which is moving towards and ASEAN
Community in 2015. He also urged the EU to engage more with Myanmar and
increase its presence in Myanmar.

The Special Envoy reiterated the EU's readiness to provide assistance and
support to make the election in Myanmar free, fair and inclusive. He
emphasized the EU's wishes to have a constructive dialogue with all
parties concerned in order to enhance cooperation and increase engagement
with Myanmar. In addition, Mr. Fassino affirmed the EU's close
consultation with ASEAN on Myanmar and expressed hope that the general
election would be a stepping stone for the national reconciliation in
Myanmar.

Mr. Fassino is a former Italy's Foreign Minister and Member of Parliament
for three consecutive terms. He was appointed by Mr. Javier Solana, EU
High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, a Special
Envoy for Myanmar since 2007.

____________________________________

November 25, Associated Press
Trial of Khmer Rouge Prison Chief in final stage

Phnom Penh — Prosecutors in the genocide trial of a former Khmer Rouge
prison chief demands a 40-year jail sentence for a man whom they described
as snuffing out innocent lives and spreading terror across Cambodia.

Kaing Guek Eav commanded the notorious S-21 prison, where those accused of
disloyalty to the xenophobic communist regime were held.
Chief Khmer Rouge interrogator Duch reads a document during closing
arguments at his trial by a UN-backed tribunal at the Extraordinary
Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on the outskirts of Phnom Penh
November 23. (Photo: Reuters)

The prosecution, making its closing arguments, is demanding a lengthy
prison term for Kaing Guek Eav, who commanded S-21 prison when the
communist group held power in 1975-79, and oversaw the torture and
execution there of about 16,000 men, women and children accused of
disloyalty.

Co-prosecutor William Smith said that Kaing Guek Eve, also known as Duch
(pronounced DOIK), spread terror across Cambodia and should be sentenced
to 40 years in jail.

Some 1.7 million Cambodians died of torture, execution, disease and
starvation during the Khmer Rouge's rule, during which the Maoist
ideologues emptied cities and forced virtually the entire population to
work on farm collectives.

Duch is charged with crimes against humanity, war crimes, murder and
torture. He has denied personally killing or torturing the S-21 prisoners,
and testified that he acted with reluctance on orders from his superiors,
saying he feared for the safely of his family and himself.

Duch, who takes the stand Wednesday in his defense, is expected to be
sentenced early next year.

"Your honors, when you review the evidence of the accused's efficiency,
initiative, dedication, drive, enthusiasm and zeal, there is absolutely no
doubt that, as misguided as he was, he was a fully willing participant in
these crimes," Australian co-prosecutor William told the U.N.-assisted
tribunal.

Smith said no mercy was shown when Duch's friends and former colleagues
were brought into the prison. He taught and directed his staff to achieve
economies of scale by capturing and killing as many of the regime's
enemies as possible.

Survivors of the S-21 have described how they were routinely beaten,
received electric shocks, had their toenails torn out, and were
waterboarded. Surgeries were performed on detainees without anesthetics.

Duch's believed in communist and revolutionary ideals and the Khmer Rouge
trusted him to carry out the grisliest of orders, said Smith.

"It was clear the accused was proud to receive instructions and was proud
to pass them on," he said. "He believed in the party and its ideals."

Dressed in a neatly ironed white shirt and beige trousers, Duch sat
passively in the dock, occasionally raising his eyes toward the ceiling
and sometimes scratching his chin as prosecutors accused him trying to
mislead the court.

If the tribunal finds him guilty, the former schoolteacher faces a maximum
penalty of life in prison. Cambodia has no death penalty. Prosecutors did
not specify Tuesday how much time he should serve.

"The crimes of which he will stand convicted are of such an extreme
seriousness and were committed against so many people that it is
inconceivable that anything other than a lengthy sentence of imprisonment
should be imposed upon him," Chea Leang, a Cambodian co-prosecutor, told
the court.

"He was the personification of ruthless efficiency," she said. "He was
totally indifferent to the suffering of the victims. He was the perfect
candidate to run S-21."

Spectators at Tuesday's hearing hundreds of schoolchildren and Buddhist
monks and nuns in orange and white robes.

The closing arguments will conclude on Friday, while a verdict and
sentence are expected early next year.

In his testimony, Duch has accepted responsibility for his role in
overseeing the prison and asked for forgiveness from victims' families. He
also told the court he was ready to accept heavy punishment for his
actions.

Duch is the only accused Khmer Rouge leader to acknowledge responsibility
for his actions. Four other senior Khmer Rouge leaders are in custody
awaiting trial.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 25, Reuters
Myanmar cyclone survivors still need shelter - U.N.

Bangkok – Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in makeshift
homes 18 months after Cyclone Nargis tore into Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta,
killing at least 140,000, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

International donors pledged a fresh $88 million for 17,800 new houses, 40
new schools and livelihood programmes for 1 million people, but that won't
be enough, the United Nations and the 10-member Association of Southeast
Asian Nations said.

The money only covers 14 percent of the most vulnerable families, leaving
about 100,000 without a proper home. The United Nations says 178,000
families in the former Burma need help with shelter.

Most of those families are living in makeshift homes covered with
threadbare tarpaulins distributed in the early phase of the relief effort,
according to aid workers.

"The materials have gone through two monsoons and they won't last another
season," Srinivasa Popuri, leader of a shelter aid group in Myanmar, told
Reuters.

In May last year, Cyclone Nargis swept through Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta,
flattening villages, destroying 450,000 houses, killing 140,000 and
leaving 2.4 million destitute.

"What is reflected here (with 17,800 new houses) is not what is needed. It
is a much-reduced version of what may be possible to do between now and
July," said Bishow Parajuli, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in
Myanmar.

The latest pledge falls short of $103 million sought by the United
Nations, ASEAN and the Myanmar government for the period ending next July.
In February, that group estimated the cost of recovery from Cyclone Nargis
at $690 million.

(Editing by Jason Szep and Paul Tait) ((email:
bangkok.newsroom at reuters.com; +66 2 648 9720. Reuters messaging
jason.szep.reuters.com at reuters.net)) (If you have a query or comment on
this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia at thomsonreuters.com)

____________________________________

November 25, Bangkok Post
Top award given to brave journalists from Burma

Reporting from Burma is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and
the members of one media group have paid a high price

On Thursday night in London a documentary tracing the lives of eight
Burmese children left orphans after Cyclone Nargis won, if not the most
prestigious award in international journalism, then certainly one of the
more important ones.

Orphans of Burma's Cyclone took out the best feature section for the
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) at the Rory Peck awards, which are given
annually to freelance cameramen and documentary-makers who run the sorts
of risks the mainstream media is often unwilling to undertake to tell an
important story.

But despite the honour of  DVB snaring its first major international
award, neither of the winners _ identified only as ``T'' and ``Z'' to
protect their identities _ was on hand to accept the award.
T is in the custody of the Burmese authorities and facing 10 years in
prison for his courageous journalism, while Z is in hiding in Thailand,
his colleagues concerned he may face the same fate as T if he returns to
Burma.

``It means a lot for us and our journalists inside Burma, especially T,''
said DVB Executive Director and Chief Editor Aye Chan Naing from Oslo,
where the news organisation is based. ``The job he's done has not been
forgotten.''

The judges praised the skill and courage of the two cameramen, saying:
``Despite all the dangers, they still created a film narrative _ it was a
journey for each of the individual families _ and you went on that journey
with them.''

It's fitting the pair won the award. The Rory Peck Trust was established
in 1995, two years after freelance cameraman Rory Peck was shot dead while
filming a siege at the Russian parliament, to honour and offer support to
freelance cameramen and documentary makers.

Described by critics as a remarkable film that highlights the ``miserable
absurdity'' of the junta, Orphans of Burma's Cyclone follows the
day-to-day lives of eight children over a six-month period who lost their
families to cyclone Nargis in May 2008.

It took a month before the paranoid military regime let foreign aid into
the country, with the tragedy eventually claiming an estimated 150,000
lives and leaving millions homeless in the Irrawaddy Delta.

``We never found my mother,'' 10-year-old Ye Pyint, now a surrogate father
to his six-year-old sister May Hnin and their baby brother Nge Lay, three,
says in the documentary. ``Someone told me they saw my father's body with
some rubbish on a beach.

``I think my baby brother loves me when I get him food,'' he says,
cuddling Nge Lay. ``The baby is always asking for food and if he doesn't
get it he cries.''

Commissioned by Britain's Channel 4 through Quicksilver Media, the brief
for DVB and its reporters was difficult to fulfil; trace the story of the
same group of orphans over a six month period by revisiting them to see
how they coped post-Nargis.

T and Z were the only ones nominated for the award, but there were three
or four teams involved in the secret filming to avoid detection by the
authorities, says Aye Chan Naing. ``Sometimes security was very tight,
sometimes journalists were exposed, sometimes we had to run away from
authorities. So we had many, many problems.''

About 10 people worked on the documentary, not only filming and
interviewing, but also providing security and watching out for
authorities.

The situation is nothing new for DVB, which has about 80 staff inside
Burma facing surveillance and the constant threat of arrest.

Aye Chan Naing says 10 DVB journalists are still in custody as a result of
reports smuggled out during the Saffron uprising in late 2007, while
another 15 had to be smuggled out because of concerns for their safety.
Reporters Without Borders rates Burma 171st out of 175 countries on its
international index of press freedom, and identifies 13 journalists and
cyber-dissidents imprisoned by the regime.

In T's case he was not arrested directly because of the documentary, but
for sending footage back to DVB through an internet cafe. Aye Chan Naing
says T, aged in his mid-20s, was picked up by Special Branch police
outside the cafe, who may have tried to get him to act as an informant
immediately after his arrest.

T's home and files were searched, but nothing was found. He faces charges
of filming without government permission.

``They took him to a coffee shop and left him alone in the hope that
someone would try and contact him. They kind of used him as bait,'' says
Aye Chan Naing.

Arrests such as T's present a problem for DVB, which must protect the
identities of its staff if news is to flow out of Burma. Aye Chan Naing
says they cannot know for certain what T has revealed to the authorities,
which is why Z, who was in Sweden undertaking a training course at the
time of T's arrest, is in hiding as his identity may have been revealed.

The issue is further complicated by the fact that T has not yet been
officially charged, which means DVB cannot have a lawyer appraise his
situation or argue on his behalf.

``We don't know how much they know about our people. Perhaps they don't
know how deeply they are involved,'' says Aye Chan Naing.

Revealing the identity of an imprisoned or detained journalist's plight is
also another sensitive issue. Turning them into a cause celebre may be a
viable option for some who have already been given lengthy jail sentences
by the junta, but for others with the prospect of more lenient punishment
this can backfire.

Aye Chan Naing says there will be even tighter controls on the media in
the run-up to next year's planned elections. But he believes that the new
digital technologies, particularly satellite internet, will make it
virtually impossible for the junta to strangle news getting out.

``If they're really trying to crack down they are going to lose. There's
no way they can silence journalists when there's this sort of technology
around.''

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 25, Guardian (UK)
Burma watchers are right to be cautious about signs of change – Andrew Heyn

Flurry of activity could prove, as so often before, to be just window
dressing, writes British ambassador Andrew Heyn.

This is a particularly interesting time for Burma watchers. A flurry of
activity, both domestically and internationally, has aroused hopes that
things might be starting to move in a positive direction. But the optimism
is offset by fears that this might be a repeat of the window dressing, so
often seen before, that is designed to obscure the reality of a regime
conducting business as usual.

The optimists point to recent engagement by the US, and nascent dialogue
between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese regime. Aung San Suu Kyi has
recently written to Senior General Than Shwe offering to meet him to
discuss how they can work together for the benefit of the people of Burma.

Were it not for bitter experience, people might be getting ready to
celebrate and preparing for a new, properly inclusive form of politics.
But Burma has seen many false dawns and no one is getting too excited.

In terms of hard facts there is not much to get excited about. A few
months ago I sat in the Rangoon court that, after a show trial, sentenced
Aung San Suu Kyi to a further period of house arrest. More than 2,100
political prisoners remain in jail. Elections next year look like going
ahead on the basis of a constitution that delivers 25% of the seats in the
new national assembly to the military before a single vote has been cast.
Burma's record on human rights and wider political freedoms remains
dreadful, as last week's EU-tabled resolution in the UN's human rights
committee made depressingly clear. The economy continues to stagnate.

The most widespread reaction in Burma to these recent developments is to
wait and see. People recognise that it is far too early to assess how
successful renewed international efforts by the US and EU (along with the
UN and Asean) will be. Neither do we know whether Senior General Than Shwe
will respond positively to Aung San Suu Kyi's conciliatory and
constructive offer to work together for the benefit of all the Burmese
people.

In the meantime the EU remains clear that, in the absence of concrete
progress on the ground, sanctions that are carefully targeted at the
economic interests of the regime and its associates will stay in place.
The US approach is the same. We are clear that if there is genuine
irreversible progress, we will respond positively and make proportionate
adjustments to our restrictive measures. In the meantime we are increasing
our commitment to ordinary people through our programme of humanitarian
aid, which is delivering crucial support, including for basic healthcare
and for poor families in rural areas.

Everyone hopes that the optimists are right. Real change here would
transform the lives of the Burmese people – not only by helping them
escape the poverty trap in which so many of them find themselves mired,
but also by alleviating the atmosphere of fear and suspicion in which they
live.

Diplomats are spared the worst of the overt intrusions and scrutiny which
are a daily reality for many people, especially those who work for
political change. A small reminder of the ubiquitous nature of the
security presence occurred last weekend. A visit to a pagoda, about 20
miles south of Rangoon, concluded with the close questioning of our local
driver by a special branch officer who seemed to appear from nowhere after
we parked the car.

I reflected how it must be for the Burmese. Without recourse to, or
support from, a democratically elected government and its institutions,
they would surely see the questioner an instrument of dread.

The climate of fear and suspicion is well founded. This is why those who
are cynical about the government's intentions significantly outnumber the
optimists on the streets of Rangoon. The Burmese people will make their
judgement about whether there has been genuine change on the basis of
actions, not words.

____________________________________

November 24, Mainstream Weekly (India)
Has India a policy on Myanmar? – Dr Ninan Koshy

It may be more correct to speak of an Indian approach to Myanmar or
India’s relations with that country rather than of a policy. While certain
assumptions or considerations behind the approach are evident, Myanmar
rarely finds a place in India’s foreign policy formulations or
perspectives, in spite of the stakes being very high.

The time has come to evaluate the results of the approach and test the
validity of its assumptions in the light of new developments with a view
to formulating a coherent policy. This is all the more necessary in view
of repositioning of major powers in Asia and India’s self-understanding of
its role as an emerging world power.

Myanmar’s geographical position is of immense strategic significance to
India. India has extensive interests in Myanmar. It is the gateway to the
ASEAN countries and the vitality of Myanmar as a link is of crucial
importance especially with the gathering momentum of India’s Look-East
policy.

In August 2007, Myanmar suddenly burst into international attention by the
“saffron revolution” which was followed by the brutal crackdown by the
military regime. The large-scale protests were triggered by a sudden and
huge hike in fuel prices but there were other causes including anger
against economic mismanagement, protest against political repression, loss
of confidence in the junta’s ‘roadmap’ for democracy and finally overall
discontent with the military misrule of nearly two decades. The violent
suppression of the protests, led by the monks, prompted even allies of the
military government to recognise that change was desperately needed.

While these developments present important new opportunities for change,
they must be viewed against the continuance of profound structural
obstacles. The balance of power is still heavily weighted in favour of the
Army, whose top leaders continue to insist that only a strongly controlled
military-led state can hold the country together. Pushing forward the new
Constitution which ensures military domination and the fraudulent
referendum are clear indicators that there is no willingness on the part
of the regime to include any form of national reconciliation with the
political forces in Myanmar.

Factors that have necessitated the accommoda-tive Indian approach to
Myanmar are the importance of containing insurgency in India’s North-East,
countering or balancing the growing Chinese influence, and energy
requirements. The people of Myanmar do not figure among these
considerations; nor are their aspirations for a democratic future a
factor. New Delhi’s diplomacy has traversed the entire spectrum from
support to the pro-democracy Opposition groups to support for the military
regime.

New Delhi claims to be working through quiet diplomacy but there is no
evidence of any tangible results. Its public positions on Myanmar have
been much less critical than those of China. During a visit to Myanmar on
January 19, 2007, External Affairs Minister (then) Pranab Mukherjee said
that India had to deal with governments “as they exist”. “We are not
interested in exporting our own ideology. We are a democracy and we would
like democracy to flourish every where.

But this is for every country to decide for itself”. Our respected
statesman had conveniently forgotten that the people of Myanmar had long
ago decided for democracy and that the implementation of the decision was
illegally and violently destroyed by the junta. He also overlooked the
fact that the right to decide was precisely what is being denied to the
people of Myanmar today.

When there was widespread condemnation of the 2007 crackdown, all what
Mukherjee could manage to say was to express the hope that “the process of
national reconciliation and political reforms initiated by the government
of Myanmar would taken forward expeditiously”, bestowing legitimacy and
credibility to the junta’s plans which they did not deserve.

India’s claim that it is following a policy of non-interference in
internal affairs with regard to Myanmar does not hold water with its
record of interference in Sri Lanka, Nepal etc. It should be remembered
that leaders of the pro-democracy movement look up to India for
inspiration and support. Sui Kyi frequently cites Mahatma Gandhi as a
model for her own non-violent resistance and views India’s democratic
system as a model for their own ethnically diverse country.

There are tensions between India’s declared interests and its policy of
engagement with Myanmar which legitimises the junta. India also appears to
be increasingly out of step with Asian neighbours that are quietly
pressing the military regime to pursue internal political reform in the
interests of regional stability. There are also evident contradictions
between Indian officials developing interest in employing the ‘soft power’
of Indian democracy as a tool of foreign policy and their support for a
military regime that violently suppresses political dissent.

In 2003 India secured a commitment from the Myanmar regime that Indian
insurgents including the ULFA and the Khaplang factions of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland would not be allowed to use Burmese
territory as a refuge or to launch attacks into India.

The two countries subsequently have shared intelligence and performed
coordinated military operations against insurgents operating in the
region. Indian military officials express satisfaction with the Myanmar
military’s demonstrated cooperation on this issue and frequently cite this
as a valued deliverable of New Delhi’s engagement with the regime.

So wary have been Indian officers of upsetting military cooperation with
Myanmar that they have been outspoken, for instance, during the
September-October 2007 crackdown in the junta’s defence. Calling the
repression “their internal matter”, Indian Army commander General Deepak
Kapoor spoke at the height of the violence about “maintaining the close
relationship” citing India’s “good relations with Myanmar”.

The military-to-military relationship has political implications, again
exposing lack of a policy which emboldens Indian military officers to make
such statements. In return Myanmar has leveraged its cooperation against
Indian insurgents to secure significant military assistance from New Delhi
including the provision of lethal weaponry with sophisticated components
manufactured in Europe, alleged by human rights groups to have been
employed against Burmese civilians.

Despite the military help, Myanmar’s support for Indian objectives has not
been clear cut. Following bilateral agreements in 2003-04 on
anti-insurgent cooperation the regime freed a group of Manipur dissidents
captured in 2001.

Perhaps more importantly the continuing military campaign against the
ethnic minorities leading to destruction and displacement of people has
given Indian insurgents not only space to operate but support from some of
the minority groups. So it has to be carefully weighed whether a military
regime waging war against ethnic groups or a democratic government that
represents also the minorities is better for India to deal with the
insurgents.

Indian leaders also view Myanmar with vast reserves of natural gas, as a
leading potential long-term source of energy supply free from the
geopolitical risks of West Asia oil and natural gas. However, here also
the attempts by India have not been very successful. Myanmar has become a
theatre of intense energy diplomacy and competition with clear advantage
to China because of the support China renders to the junta in its capacity
as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

One of the main factors limiting India’s influence is that India itself
sees its relations with Myanmar essentially in terms of competition with
China rather than formulating a policy to further its own strategic and
economic imperatives.

Indian officials and strategists are gravely concerned about Chinese
activities in Myanmar, including competition for energy resources, the
construction of deepwater ports capable of docking Chinese vessels along
Myanmar’s coastline and the operation of military listening posts on the
Coco islands only miles from India’s territorial waters in the Bay of
Bengal. China is constructing deep water port facilities potentially
capable of berthing war ships at Yangon, Kyankpyu and other harbours in
Myanmar.

Indian officials believe that India can only counter such Chinese
influence along India’s eastern land and maritime flanks through a policy
of comprehensive engagement with Myanmar’s military junta.

There may be need for a policy debate over whether the best way to offset
China’s influence is to emulate it by embracing the Myanmar regime even
more closely or to pursue an approach that distinguishes India from China.
through an engagement also with the pro-democracy movement, clearly
factoring the people of Myanmar as a major consideration.

Indian leaders who believe that unconditional support for the military
rulers in Myanmar is necessary to sustain bilateral cooperation seem to
have overlooked that China’s own tolerance for the junta’s repression is
limited. Concerned by the possibility that the junta’s brutality towards
its own people could lead to revolutionary unrest that would threaten
regional stability, senior Chinese officials in both Beijing and Yunnan
province reportedly pressed Myanmar’s leaders to improve governance and
reduce violence against civilians.

Although it blocked the Security Council from imposing sanctions against
Myanmar, China condemned the junta’s September 2007 crackdown in stronger
terms than did democratic India. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao publicly
expressed concern about the junta’s repression and urged it to “promote
domestic reconciliation and achieve democracy and development”.

China supported the UN Security Council statement deploring the crackdown
in Myanmar and urging political reconciliation—a change of position by
Beijing which had previously used its veto to shield the Myanmar regime
from such criticism.

In contrast, India’s public response made no mention of democracy in
Myanmar, with Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressing only “concern’
about the situation and declaring India’s friendly interest in a
“peaceful, stable and prosperous” Myanmar.

If Beijing had indeed identified “a real self-interest in stopping the
leadership from taking further steps that lead to instability internally
and in the region” it was surprising that New Delhi felt constrained from
using its hard-won influence for similar ends. New Delhi’s voice was
conspicuous by absence during the show trial of Suu Kyi held in May this
year.

On the diplomatic front Myanmar’s junta has signalled where its strength
lies. The strength of Myanmar lies in the strong demand for its natural
resources by all its neighbours. The reality is that China, India and
Thailand are all interested in the reserves of energy that Myanmar has.
Myanmar’s resources have allowed it to bypass international sanctions in
the past and will now be used to negotiate with its Asian neighbours to
win necessary international support and recognition.

The shift in the policy of the USA on Myanmar has raised new questions
with regard to India’s approach. For the first time in more than two
decades the US has expressed its readiness for engagement with Myanmar. US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s statement during her first foreign
trip on a new approach to Myanmar has been followed up by discussions
between the two countries and now the visit of the high-level delegation.

The talks presumably centred on improving Myanmar’s human rights situation
and its claimed intention to move towards democracy, but the subtext is
improving diplomatic relations and fostering influence in a country widely
viewed as a key regional ally of China. While the US wants to make it
clear that the new policy does not mean the end of US sanctions, it
concedes a “momentum for policy shift”.

Policy analysts say a major reason for this new gambit is a realisation
that Chinese political and economic influence in the region has blossomed
in the past decade while US attention was largely diverted especially by a
foreign policy to suit the ‘war on terror’. Washington, which has
substantially expanded its military ties in Asia, seems to have become
increasingly concerned about China’s growing influence and power in the
region through non-military means.

While much of the focus of the USA has been on China’s rapidly modernising
military and its growing capacity to project power beyond its immediate
borders, a quiet but strong competition is now emerging between Washington
and Beijing for influence in South-East Asia which will have
reverberations across the whole of Asia.

The implications for India by the US, its strategic partner, entering into
Myanmar need serious consideration. That this is happening at a time of
apparent change in the US’ perception of India with the change in the
Administration in Washington makes such consideration particularly
relevant.

[Revised text of the keynote address at a seminar on “Recent Developments
in Myanmar: Implications for India” organised by the Centre for Asia
Studies, Chennai and the Department of Politics University of Madras]

Dr Ninan Koshy is a commentator based in Thiruvananthapuram and formerly a
Visiting Fellow, Harvard Law School, USA.

http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1785.html

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 25, Karen Human Rights Group
Exploitative abuse and villager responses in Thaton District

SPDC control of Thaton District is fully consolidated, aided by the DKBA
and a variety of other civilian and parastatal organisations. These forces
are responsible for perpetrating a variety of exploitative abuses, which
include a litany of demands for 'taxation' and provision of resources, as
well as forced labour on development projects and forced recruitment into
the DKBA. Villagers also report ongoing abuses related to SPDC and DKBA
'counter insurgency' efforts, including the placement of unmarked
landmines in civilian areas, conscription of people as porters and 'human
minesweepers' and harassment and violent abuse of alleged KNLA supporters.
This report includes information on abuses during the period of April to
October 2009.

To view the news Field Report: http://www.khrg.org/khrg2009/khrg09f20.html

About KHRG

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) was founded in 1992 and documents the
situation of  villagers and townspeople in rural Burma through their
direct testimonies, supported by photographic  and other evidence.  KHRG
operates independently and is not affiliated with any political  or other
organisation.  Examples of our work can be seen online at www.khrg.org, 
or printed copies may be obtained subject to approval and availability by
sending a request to  khrg at khrg.org.

For more details of the report, or interviews, please contact KHRG at
khrg at khrg.org