BurmaNet News, December 9, 2009

[Editor]

December 9, 2009 Issue #3856


INSIDE BURMA
BBC News: Burma junta official meets Aung San Suu Kyi
Mizzima News: UN committed to Burma’s development projects

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Arakanese abducted for border fence work
Narinjara: Burmese soldiers return to border to resume fence construction
Kaladan Press: EU, UNHCR ink deal to improve living conditions of Rohingya
refugees
Kantarawaddy Times: Karenni IDPs flee to Thai-Burma border

REGIONAL
IPS: Mekong media should ask tougher questions
Irrawaddy: Burma threatens Thailand's stability: Bangkok Governor

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: No progress despite engagement with Myanmar: US official
Irrawaddy: Burma taking severe hit from climate change: Watchdog

OPINION / OTHER
Telegraph (UK): Burma's crimes against humanity must not be ignored
Kachin News Group: Burmese military junta thrives on cycle of corruption
New Light of Myanmar: If positive attitude and honesty are shown – Chan
Mya Aye



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 9, BBC News
Burma junta official meets Aung San Suu Kyi – Alastair Leithead

Bangkok – Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a
government minister in Rangoon in the third such meeting since the
beginning of October.

Her meeting with labour minister Aung Kyi lasted 45 minutes but no details
of what they discussed have been released.

Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years and her latest
term of house arrest was extended earlier this year.

This means she will not be able to run in elections due to be held next year.

'Dishonest'

The Burmese government appears to be more open to dealing with the
international community - high level American representatives have visited
the country to meet senior generals and opposition leaders to push
President Barack Obama's policy of engagement.
The European Union also recently expressed a wish to work more closely
with the ruling generals.

Amid all these talks Ms Suu Kyi has been opening up her own dialogue.

This meeting is the third with labour minister Aung Kyi, the government's
liaison officer, and follows a letter Ms Suu Kyi wrote to the country's
leader General Than Shwe, asking to meet him and to work more closely with
the state.

She has recently been studying international sanctions imposed on Burma.

They would be part of any deal to release political prisoners - Ms Suu Kyi
is just one of more than 2,000 being held.

It is thought the government is keen to ensure the election is seen to be
legitimate, even if there are serious concerns over whether they will be
free or fair.

But in a timely reminder of her fragile position, editorials in the
state-run media spoke critically of Ms Suu Kyi, suggesting she had been
"dishonest" in her dealings with the ruling generals and was deliberately
trying to tarnish their image.

____________________________________

December 9, Mizzima News
UN committed to Burma’s development projects

New Delhi – A senior official of the United Nations, Dr. Ajay Chhibber
during a five-day visit to Burma reiterated the World Body’s commitment to
support ongoing and future development programmes aimed at the upliftment
of the poor and the needy.

Dr. Chhibber, who is visiting the country in his capacity as Assistant
Secretary-General and Assistant Administrator of UN Development Programme
(UNDP), reaffirmed the UN’s commitment in his meetings with various
ministers of the Burmese junta, a statement by the UN office in Rangoon
said.

“UNDP will support the development in Burma’s agricultural sector by
cooperating with the FAO for the country to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals,” the statement said.

During his visit, from December 3 to 7, Dr. Chhibber held talks with
ministers of the Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Ministry,
Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry, National Planning and Economic
Development Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UN envoy, during his visit, also toured the ‘Dry Zone' in central
Burma, where UNDP is implementing its Microfinance Project and Integrated
Community Development Project (ICDP).

About 245 villages and over 160,000 people have received assistance from
UNDP under the ICDP till October 2009, the statement added.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 9, Democratic Voice of Burma
Arakanese abducted for border fence work – Thiri Htet San

Burmese troops are abducting villagers near to the Burma-Bangladesh border
and forcing them to work on the construction of a border fence, an Arakan
local has reported.

Hundreds of local villagers in Arakan state’s Maungdaw district are being
forced to work on the fence for as little as 400 kyat ($US0.40) per day, a
Maungdaw resident told DVB.

A number of construction sites have sprung up along the border to
facilitate what has become a controversial project. Government officials
from both countries were forced into a meeting on the Burmese side of the
border in October after escalating tension.

A military build-up on the Burmese side of the border, allegedly to
support construction of the fence, triggered a reaction from Dhaka, which
sent three fresh Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) battalions to the area.

A source based on the border said that Bangladesh had followed the
reinforcement with the development of a bunker network near to Teknaf,the
southernmost point of mainland Bangladesh. Teknaf lies opposite Maungdaw
district.

Another resident in Maungdaw’s Katpalaung village said that following the
refusal of residents to work on the fence, Burmese troops had began
abducting villagers at night and forcing them to the construction sites.

“Because they are only paying around 400 kyat per day, more and more
people are refusing to come and work at the site,” said the villager.
“Then [troops] abducted people at night and forced them to work. It’s been
going on about a week and a lot of people have gone into hiding.”

Local authorities in Maungdaw were not available to comment.

The fence is aimed at stemming cross-border smuggling and the movement of
refugees. Burma has however been accused by Bangladesh of breaching the
agreed demarcation by 150 feet.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said in November that
complaints of forced labour in Burma had risen by 50 percent since May
this year, with more than half of these stemming from the recruitment of
youths into the army.

Forced labour in Burma, as determined by the ILO, comes in varying forms,
from hard labour used in the renovation of roads and infrastructure to use
of civilians as porters or ‘minesweepers’ by the Burmese army.

____________________________________

December 9, Narinjara
Burmese soldiers return to border to resume fence construction

Maungdaw: About 600 Burmese soldiers from Military Operation Planning
Bureau, or Sakhaka, 15 based in Buthidaung, 80 miles north of Arakan's
capital Sittwe, arrived on the western Burmese border in the early morning
on Tuesday to resume the fence construction that had been postponed for
the rainy season, report local residents and other officials on the
border.

"They returned to our area yesterday morning to resume the fence
construction and they are likely to resume the work from today. They were
stationed at six locations on the border from Nasaka Areas No. 1 to 6
along the border," said one resident.

The six areas where soldiers are stationed include Taungbro, Nga Khura,
Nantha Daung, Ma Kyi Chaung, as well as two other locations in Maungdaw
Township.

However, the soldiers came to the area outfitted in Nasaka uniforms rather
than army uniforms and most of them came without weapons.

"I think the Burmese authority wants to avoid any untoward incidents with
the neighboring country. So the soldiers were adorned in Nasaka uniforms,"
he said.

The authority postponed construction of the fence during the rainy season
due to the many obstacles posed by the weather.

"Many parts of the fence construction have been completed since the
project started in January 2009 but some parts are still under
construction. The soldiers are reportedly going to work on the remaining
parts of the fence now," he said.

The army authority has also asked local people to work at the project as
day laborers. The army authorities say they will pay 1,700 kyats for
female worker and 2500 kyats for male workers per day.

Many villagers who are unemployed in the area are willing to work on the
construction at the pay rate offered by the army.

The villagers work at various sites at the construction alongside
soldiers, doing things such as digging earth, and transporting cement,
pillars, and other materials, said another villager on the border.

The Burmese military authority has been constructing a fence along the
western Burmese border since the beginning of this year, ostensibly with
the aim to prevent human trafficking and smuggling.
____________________________________

December 9, Kaladan Press
EU, UNHCR ink deal to improve living conditions of Rohingya refugees

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: The European Union (EU) and the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) inked an agreement to improve the
living standards of registered Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh yesterday,
according to sources.

The European Union (EU) will donate Taka 1360 million to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in aid of Rohingya refugees
based in two official camps in Cox's Bazar, the source said.

The fund would ensure better health, nutrition and life skills for over
28,000 refugees in the camps.

Saber Azam, Country Representative of UNHCR and Stefan Frowein, Head of
the EU in Bangladesh, signed an agreement on behalf of their respective
global organizations in the capital, Dhaka.

The money would be used to improve safety and security in the camps and
help prevent sexual violence through the installation of solar lighting
that would allow women to move around safely at night, the two parties
decided while inking the agreement.

Besides, improvements would be made to drinking water and sanitation
facilities in the two camps at Kutupalong and Nayapara in Cox's Bazar.

"The money will help to improve living conditions of the refugees at the
two camps," said Saber Azam.

A refugee from Nayapara camp said, “I hope since the EU has decided to
donate huge money to us, our living standard will improve, but the money
should be used where it is needed.”

____________________________________

December 9, Kantarawaddy Times
Karenni IDPs flee to Thai-Burma border – Par Reh

Twenty eight Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who had been hiding in
the jungles for many years, in an effort to avoid the Burmese Army, fled
to the Thai-Burma border earlier this month. Prior to going into hiding,
they used to live in villages in Karenni State's district no. 2.

The Burmese Army often summons Karenni locals as route seekers for
security reasons due to ambushes by Karenni revolutionary armed groups. As
a result, Karenni locals often hide in the jungles and avoid the Burmese
Army's summoning porter, an IDP, who hid in the jungles for over a year,
said.

"The Burmese Army personnel torture us. They come only to torture us.
Therefore, we cannot live in our villages. We sleep in the jungles. We
cannot breed pigs and chickens," El Chet, a Thee Palo villager said.

These 28 IDPs are members of five families from Thee Palo and Kavee Doo
village in PhasaungTownship in Karenni State's district no.2. They have
reached Karenni refugee Camp 1, on December 2. However, it is uncertain
whether Thai authorities will accept them as refugees.

Currently, acceptance of new refugees is not under the direct control of
the UNHCR and Karenni camp committee, it depends on the Thai Army and the
Thai Ministry of Immigration.

Thai authorities will investigate newcomers and ascertain whether they
have really escaped from gun-battle between ethnic armed groups and the
Burmese army.

The Burmese Army has summoned porters from all ages and men, women, boys
and girls alike, Phar Muu, an administrator of Karenni State's district
no. 2 said.

"They know that if they travel with Karenni locals, they will not be
stopped. They always summon locals as route seekers. Locals have to show
them the safe way. If there is a gun battle taking place, the route
seekers must take action," he added.

There are over 40 villages in district no.2 in Karenni State. People from
these villages, have been hiding in the jungles and some of them have
become members of KNPLF. If people become members of KNPLF, the Burmese
Army will not disturb them. Therefore, some people have joined the KNPLF,
El Chet added.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 9, Inter Press Service
Mekong media should ask tougher questions – Tess Bacalla

Chiang Mai, Thailand – Countries in the Mekong region have indeed opened
their borders and former foes become friends, but several of them are
still ruled by authoritarian governments that put limits on media and
other freedoms.

Aung Zaw, exiled Burmese editor of ‘The Irrawaddy’ magazine, stressed this
contrast during in his opening remarks at Wednesday’s opening of the
Mekong Media Forum in this northern Thai city, where he has lived and
fought for Burma’s freedom since fleeing the repressive state 21 years ago
as a student activist.

In this kind of environment — where openness has filtered through all
economies in the region but not necessarily into their political
environments — the founder and editor of the magazine focusing on Burmese
and South- east Asian issues said journalists need to raise fundamental
questions to authorities lest they remain buried and allow the region’s
repressive regimes to remain in power unchallenged.

This while scores of people continue to languish in oppressive
environments — such as Burma where there are 2,000 political prisoners —
that denies them of fundamental freedoms as well as economic opportunities
in an otherwise resource-rich region.

"The role of journalists is not about nurturing media organisations; it is
about having the courage to tell the truth," and being committed to the
pursuit democracy in an environment dominated by repressive regimes," said
Aung Zaw.

The Mekong region consists of China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and
Thailand through which flows the Mekong River, one of South-east Asia’s
most important river systems.

The Forum brings together more than 200 participants — composed of about a
hundred journalists and at least a hundred other media professionals and
analysts, development experts and civil society members — for four days of
discussion around critical issues confronting the media within the region.

"If you look at the Mekong countries, these used to be hostile to each
other, but borders have opened up and people travel a lot" while trade has
been increasing, he said, highlighting some of the major changes that have
swept across the region through the years. Yet, these countries are still
ruled by authoritarian states.

Although it has become a region with some of East Asia’s healthiest growth
rates, the region faces a host of complex issues, including cross-border
disputes and migration, poverty, environmental degradation, human
trafficking and HIV/AIDS.

Experts say such social ills have been brought about in part by increased
economic and socio-cultural integration. "Intensified illegal activities
such as smuggling, drug trafficking, prostitution, and gambling are
concentrated along the economic corridors, threatening border
communities," states a report by the Asian Development Bank.

Aung Zaw said journalists have a "watchdog," not a "lapdog," role to
perform. "We should be raising questions to our authorities" to make them
"accountable and transparent."

He challenged the Mekong journalists at the Forum to collectively rally
around the cause of press freedom and democracy, citing the issues that
bind them together — issues bordering on repression, specifically of the
press — and notwithstanding the diversity within Mekong societies.

"Are we united enough to defend ourselves? Are we united enough to defend
our brother and sister journalists who are locked in prison (notably those
in Burma), to protect our press freedom?" These, too, are the very
important questions to ask in this forum, Aung Zaw added.

"When we talk about Mekong region, there’s a link (among the countries),"
he said. Burma, for example, continues to be in power because countries
such as Cambodia, Laos, China, Vietnam and Thailand "continue to support
this pariah regime. They are very good at defending each other’s
interests."

Because the military junta continues to hold sway in Burma, at least two
million Burmese have fled to neighbouring Thailand to work as migrant
workers, many of whom labour under deplorable working conditions and
extremely low wages. Among the biggest casualties of the repression in
Burma are journalists. "You can see how the Burmese government continues
to crack down on journalists," he said.

Aung Zaw said that the media, for instance, should be looking into why
some international donors to Mekong countries appear to be much more keen
on providing support for big infrastructure projects in the region, and
not for initiatives that push democratic space.

Journalists can dig deeper into Japan’s recent pledge of 5.5 billion U.S.
dollars in aid to the Mekong countries, he suggested. "What is behind it?
What is (its underlying) agenda?" asked the Burmese journalist, who
launched the ‘Irrawaddy’ magazine in Thailand in 1993.

He said that often, proponents of development projects "don’t talk about
building a democracy, press freedom, and how to develop seasoned
journalists". Yet the development process relies very much on how the
media follow, report and monitor the most important issues for the
countries they report on.

"Our participation (as journalists) is very vital in the face of such
development projects," he added.

____________________________________

December 9, Irrawaddy
Burma threatens Thailand's stability: Bangkok Governor – Simon Roughneen

Bangkok —Speaking at a dinner talk on Tuesday night, city governor M.R.
Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that Thailand's already-precarious stability
faces an additional spoiler across the border in Burma.

Addressing a forum at the Bangkok Sheraton Grande Hotel, the Democrat
Party Deputy Secretary-General and former deputy foreign minister said,“a
major source of regional instability is the large standing army maintained
by the Myanmar [Burmese] government.”

He compared Thailand's 430,000-strong military with Burma's, which has
been estimated at more than 500,000 strong and is thought to be the
largest standing army in Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the Burmese junta's attempts to upgrade and expand its
military, Paribatra said, “Myanmar [Burma] has been modernizing [its
military] for a long time, and this could fuel a regional arms race.”

Thailand spends less than 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on
defense, he said, while the military dictatorship in Naypidaw is thought
to allocate around one-third of the country's GDP to military spending.

Accurate figures for Burma's military spending are not available, but
several organizations including the Soros Foundation believe that around
40 percent of Burma's GDP is spent on the military.

Thailand is about to start a military modernization program, based on two
five-year procurement and upgrade phases, according to Paribatra.
Thailand's defense spending as a proportion of GDP has declined relative
to the rest of southeast Asia in recent years.

The increasingly close relationship between the Burmese junta and the
Communist regime in North Korea is also causing concern in Thailand. Both
sides are collaborating on conventional military means,  and rumors
circulate that Naypyidaw is seeking Pyongyang's assistance in developing
some form of nuclear capability. North Korea itself tested nuclear weapons
in early 2009.

Focusing on domestic Burmese politics, Paribatra said that the lack of
national reconciliation in Burma would mean continued violence and
instability, especially in the borderlands where ethnic minorities live.
This would lead to more displacement, and, inevitably, Thailand would
receive additional refugees coming in to the north. More than 130,000
Burmese refugees already live in camps along northern Thailand's border
with Burma.

The Burmese junta's armed forces attacked the ethnic Kokang militia in
northern Shan State close to the Chinese border in late August, causing
37,000 refugees to flee into China. It was suggested that this was a
prelude to a wider assault on ethnic minority groups.

Militias representing the 17 “cease-fire groups” have been ordered to
become border guard forces that would be part of the junta state security
apparatus. However most have either refused or ignored the request,
prompting speculation that the junta's growing and well-equipped forces
will attack the recalcitrant ethnic militias before and possibly after the
planned 2010 national elections.

Paribatra likened the internal displacement situation in Burma to that of
Sudan's western Darfur region, where government forces and allied militias
have carried out what the US believes to be a genocide since early 2003.

Another source of concern for Thailand is the Burmese drug trade, he said.
UN figures show Burma produced an estimated 410 tons of opium in 2008
(this is enough to make 40 tons of heroin), making the country the world's
second-largest producer after Afghanistan, which accounts for 90 percent
of world output. Burma is also a major source for methamphetamine, much of
which is trafficked to Thailand from northern Shan State.

Despite the concerns, Thailand has an ambivalent relationship with Burma.
Economists believe the Thai economy depends on cheap Burmese labor
provided by an estimated 3 million Burmese migrants.

Gas piped from the Shwe Field helps meet Thailand's electricity needs even
though Burmese citizens frequently go without power, and this despite
long-standing allegations that junta forces have perpetrated atrocities
and human rights violations in the vicinity of the Yadana Pipeline, which
carries the gas south to Thailand.

Thailand is also involved in a highly-controversial project to build a dam
on the Salween River, less than 50km from the Thai-Burma border–though
this has been hit by recent fall-off in Thailand electricity needs. The
drop in demand of 2,000 megawatts over the past year is more than the
entire generating capacity in Burma.

Thailand's Burma policy appears contradictory and lacks a coherent overall
strategy, according to observers, who suggest Burma's ruling military are
siphoning off the revenues from Burma's natural resource exports for both
personal use and to finance the same massive military budget that is now
causing concern in Bangkok.

Similarly, many of the Burmese refugees and migrants in Thailand have been
displaced by forced clearances and rights abuses carried out by junta
forces.

On November 23, a petition signed by 189 organizations and handed to Thai
prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva outlined the potential impacts of the
Salween project. The PM was warned that while Thailand may benefit from
greater electricity, it is also likely to face another influx of Burmese
refugees escaping human rights abuses at the site of the Hatgyi dam, in
Karen state.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 9, Agence France Presse
No progress despite engagement with Myanmar: US official

Singapore — There are no signs of progress towards democratic change in
Myanmar despite Washington's decision to hold direct talks with the
country's military rulers, a senior US diplomat said Wednesday.

High-level talks last month in Myanmar between the junta and US officials
were "cautious" and made little headway, said Scot Marciel, the US deputy
assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.

"It's perhaps useful that we are talking, but that isn't progress,"
Marciel said at a seminar organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian
Studies, a Singaporean think tank.

"Progress will come when there's change on the ground in Burma. So far,
there's been none," said Marciel, who was part of the US delegation led by
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

A lack of progress will make it difficult for the United States to
continue its policy of engagement with Myanmar but Washington is willing
to give it time to yield results, said Marciel.

"At some point if there's no progress, it will be hard to sustain a
dialogue but we're not at that point yet and I think, as I said, we didn't
make progress on our trip," he said.

"On the other hand, we didn't really anticipate that we were going to go
there and make progress overnight.

"The problem is there is only one person who makes the decisions and that
person has not yet shown a particular amount of openness," Marciel said in
reference to Than Shwe, the chief of Myanmar's military government.

Under President Barack Obama, the US government has adopted a policy of
engagement after sanctions on the impoverished Southeast Asian country had
failed to bring about desired reforms.

At a landmark summit in Singapore on November 15 with Southeast Asian
leaders including Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, Obama called for the
release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
____________________________________

December 9, Irrawaddy
Burma taking severe hit from climate change: Watchdog – Wai Moe

Burma is one of the countries worst affected by extreme weather resulting
from climate change, according to a new report that assesses the impact of
global warming over a period of nearly two decades.

Published by the Berlin-based climate watchdog Germanwatch on Tuesday, the
report, the Global Climate Risk Index, says that Bangladesh, Burma and
Honduras were the countries most affected by extreme weather events from
1990 to 2008.

The report was launched in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where the
United Nations Climate Change Conference is underway.

In addition to Burma and Bangladesh, four other Asian countries were in
the 10 worst-hit list: Vietnam, India, the Philippines and China. The
other region most adversely affected was Central America, where Nicaragua,
Haiti and the Dominican Republic, along with Honduras, were among the 10
most vulnerable countries.

The group noted that poor countries had suffered the worst from the
effects of climate change over the period covered by the report.

“All of the 10 most-affected countries 
 were developing countries in the
low-income or lower-middle income country group,” Germanwatch said.

“Poorer developing countries are often hit much harder. These results
underscore the particular vulnerability of poor countries to climate
risks, despite the fact that the absolute monetary damages are much higher
in richer countries,” the group said.

The report also ranked Burma as the worst-hit country in the world in 2008
due to the impact of Cyclone Nargis, which devastated the Irrawaddy delta
in early May, killing tens of thousands of people.

“The huge number of fatalities in Myanmar [Burma] were caused by Cyclone
Nargis and revealed the low adaptive capacity of the country which,
however, is also a result of the political failure to embark upon serious
disaster preparedness,” the report said.
The report puts the death toll from the disaster at a relatively low
figure of 85,000, while estimating the cost of damages at US $4 billion.
However, other organizations, including the UN, have said that the cyclone
killed as many as 134,000 people and left more than 2 million homeless.

The report notes that during the 18-year period it covers, almost 600,000
people died in more than 11,000 extreme weather events, causing losses of
$1.7 trillion.

As one of the world's least developed countries, Burma’s carbon footprint
is not as big as that of industrialized countries such as Australia, the
US and China. However, widespread deforestation in the country means that
it has contributed significantly to global warming.

Although forests covered 344,237 km2, or 50.9 percent, of the country in
1989, Burma's forest area is now 322,218.6 km2, or 47.62 percent of the
total land area, according to official statistics—a loss of more than 3
percent over the past two decades.

According environmental researchers in the country, Burma’s deforestation
is a result of  unsustainable logging, particularly during the early years
of the current military regime's rule in the 1990s. At the time, the junta
sold Burma’s forests cheaply to foreign companies, particularly from
neighboring countries, to shore up its foreign exchange reserves.

The regime first noticed the risk of deforestation in 1992, when then
Forestry Minister Lt-Gen Chit Swe announced the Forest Law, which
designated reserved forests for environmental and biodiversity
conservation. At the same time, Burma signed onto the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the UN Conference on Environment and
Development.

In the following years, the regime adopted legislation for sustainable
forests such as the “Protection of Wildlife and Wild Plant and
Conservation of Natural Areas Law” in 1994, the “Myanmar Forest Rules” in
1994, the “Myanmar Forest Policy” in 1995, and the  “Protection of
Wildlife and Wild Plant and Conservation of Natural Areas Rules” in 2002.

Burma ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2003 and authorized the National
Commission for Environmental Affairs to focus on environmental issues.

But deforestation in the country is ongoing, despite forest protection
laws. Burmese environmental researchers say that agricultural expansion,
infrastructure projects, including dams projects, and excessive
consumption of firewood are challenges for sustainable forest management
in Burma.

However, researchers say that logging—both legal and illegal—for
commercial purposes is the worst cause of deforestation. Companies owned
by cronies of the regime, such as Tay Za’s Htoo Trading, are permitted
sell timber to foreign companies, while cease-fire groups are doing the
same in territories under their control.

Burma's low level of economic development is also a factor in
deforestation, according to some observers.

“The use of firewood by the public causes both deforestation and the
release of carbon dioxide,” said an environmental researcher in Rangoon.
“From a street-side teashop in Rangoon to a village household, burning
firewood is still necessary for cooking.”

Others attributed this problem partly to a lack of knowledge of
environmental issues. Awpi Kyal, a well-known cartoonist who often focuses
on the environment, said: “Some information about the environment is
available in Burmese journals and magazines, but they are very academic
and not written for the general public.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 9, Telegraph (UK)
Burma's crimes against humanity must not be ignored

The British government should lead the way in condemning Burma's brutal
repression of its own people, say Caroline Cox and Benedict Rogers.

As we remember the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and mark International Human Rights Day tomorrow, there are many
countries and people who deserve our immediate attention, including,
urgently, Burma.

We have just returned from another visit to Burma’s borders. Over the past
fifteen years, both of us have travelled regularly to Burma’s borderlands,
to meet refugees who have fled the country, and internally displaced
people trapped behind the borders in the conflict zones.

Burma is ruled by one of the world’s most brutal military regimes, with
the Orwellian name of the State Peace and Development Council. It is
guilty of every possible human rights violation. In 1990, the junta held
elections, which were overwhelmingly won by the Nobel Laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). They won
82 per cent of the parliamentary seats, yet the military rejected the
results, imprisoned the victors and intensified its grip on power. Most of
those elected 19 years ago remain in prison or in exile today. Aung San
Suu Kyi has spent more than 14 years under house arrest, and was given a
further 18 months in a sham trial earlier this year.

Aung San Suu Kyi deserves our utmost respect, and serves as a crucial
symbolic figure for the suffering of her people. But she at least receives
some international media attention. Many of her fellow prisoners suffer
unreported. More than 2,000 political activists are in prison, subjected
to horrific torture, denied medical treatment and, according to
eye-witnesses, in labour camps they are yoked like oxen and forced to
plough the fields.

Even more forgotten are Burma’s ethnic nationalities, who to varying
degrees are suffering a campaign of ethnic cleansing, religious
persecution and crimes against humanity. They face cultural genocide, and
there may even be a case of attempted genocide to investigate.

Last month, we visited the Chin people of western Burma, along the border
with India. The Chin are predominantly Christian, and are persecuted for
their religion as well as their ethnicity. They have a tradition of
building crosses on hill-tops, but in recent years the Burma Army has
forced Chin Christian villages to tear down the crosses, and construct
Buddhist pagodas in their place. Chin children are lured from Christian
homes, and forced to become novice Buddhist monks. From the regime which
brutally slaughtered Buddhist monks protesting in September 2007, it is
the ultimate irony – it is a regime which will use any tool to stay in
power, including religion.

The Chin people, like other ethnic groups, endure widespread and
systematic forced labour and rape. Over the past two years, their
suffering has been compounded by a chronic food shortage, caused by a
natural phenomenon. Every fifty years, the bamboo flowers attract a plague
of rats. The rats multiply rapidly, and destroy virtually all means of
survival – rice fields, rice barns and other food supplies. We have
highlighted this and our advocacy led to the British Government providing
£800,000 for emergency food aid. In the latest cruel twist, however, we
heard allegations on our recent visit that aid channelled through the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was being distributed to
malnourished, starving people in at least 17 of the affected villages in
the form of loans, rather than aid. As if that were not absurd enough,
villagers were told to repay the loans at two hundred per cent interest.
In other cases, people already weakened by malnutrition have been forced
to work for their food. Sometimes the inhumanity of international
organisations is shocking.

On previous visits to Burma’s eastern border with Thailand, we have heard
testimonies of rape, torture and forced labour from the Karen, Karenni,
Shan and Mon ethnic groups. Since 1996, over 3,300 villages in eastern
Burma have been destroyed and at least a million people driven from their
homes. We have sat with women who have been gang-raped by soldiers of the
Burma Army, looked into the eyes of a woman whose 15 year-old son had been
tied to a tree and beheaded and heard another woman tell how her husband’s
eyes were gouged out, his lips torn off, his ears cut off. Another woman
described how her husband was hung upside down from a tree, his eyes
gouged out, and then drowned.

These are crimes against humanity. International organisations such as
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have produced numerous
reports, in addition to our own, documenting these atrocities. The United
Nations itself has accused the regime in Burma of violating international
law. It is time therefore for the UN to establish a commission of inquiry
to investigate these crimes. The British government should lead the way.

The UN must also introduce a universal arms embargo. Britain supports this
in principle, but needs to be more pro-active in turning it into a
reality.

Humanitarian aid for the ethnic groups along Burma’s borders is
desperately needed. Britain has provided some assistance cross-border to
the internally displaced people in eastern Burma, and this should be
increased. The British government must also continue its assistance to
victims of the chronic food shortage in Chin State, taking measures to
ensure that it reaches all the people in need.

As the regime prepares to hold new elections next year, it is vital for
the international community to remember the basis on which these elections
are held. A new constitution was introduced last year, following a
completely sham referendum. The constitution guarantees a quarter of the
parliamentary seats for the military, and excludes Aung San Suu Kyi and
all political prisoners from contesting. The General Secretary of the
Karen National Union (KNU) has described it as a “death sentence for
ethnic diversity”. Real change will not come in Burma without significant
revisions to the new constitution, and guaranteed inclusive free and fair
elections. In particular, the world must pay attention to the plight of
Burma’s ethnic nationalities, who make up forty per cent of the population
and who face a regime hell-bent on their destruction. As one Chin student
told us, “Please help us to fight for our indigenous rights. I am
concerned and worried about our future in Burma. Burma’s political crisis
is not only a democracy problem, it is also an ethnic and constitutional
problem.” This will only be solved by meaningful tripartite dialogue
between the regime, the NLD and the ethnic nationalities – and only
international pressure will secure such an outcome.

Baroness Cox is a cross-bench member of the House of Lords and Chief
Executive of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART). She is co-author of
'This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the Twenty-First Century', with a chapter
dedicated to Burma.

Benedict Rogers is East Asia Team Leader at the human rights organisation
Christian Solidarity Worldwide , and author of several books on Burma,
including “Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant”, to be published in 2010
by Silkworm Books.

____________________________________

December 9, Kachin News Group
Burmese military junta thrives on cycle of corruption

The Burmese military junta thrives on a cycle of corruption, which has
spread its tentacles to all the government's civil sectors as well, said
locals.

According to the International Corruption Perception Index-2009 released
by Berlin-based Transparency International on November 17, Burma is the
world's third most corrupt country.

Companies dealing in jade, timber, mineral and gold in Burma's northern
Kachin State have to give bribes in large amounts of cash or gold bars for
business permits, mainly to five top generals in Naypyitaw. They are
Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein,
Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Secretary 1 and Brig-Gen Ohn Myint of the Minister of
Mines, alleged business sources.

Again, the bribes, which amount to multi-million kyats or gold bars,
equivalent to the amount in currency, have to be paid to the
Myitkyina-based Northern Regional command commander Maj-Gen Soe Win and
his wife.  Junior military officers in the command are also beneficiaries
along with military battalions and columns at the local levels, added
business sources.

In the Hpakant jade mining areas in western Kachin State, the companies
are granted official jade mining blocks and permits annually, depending on
the amount of bribe and the selection by one of the five top generals in
Naypyitaw, said jade businessmen.

The amount of bribe is the highest for Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice Snr-Gen
Maung Aye. If companies can bribe the two top generals, they are quickly
granted the finest jade mining blocks and permits, added local jade
businessmen.

To get a jade mining permit, a private company without direct links with
the junta, has to spend more than 200 million kyats (over US$163,934) as
bribe to the top five generals in Naypyitaw, said sources in jade
companies.

Again all timber companies or businessmen, except Yuzana Company and the
Htoo Trading Company owned by Teza also spelled Tay Za, the son-in-law of
Snr-Gen Than Shwe, have to pay bribe to the Burmese military and
multi-government departments for log transportation and to operate logging
fields, said local timber businessmen.

For Burmese troops in Kachin State, the three checkpoints on the illegal
Sino-Burma border trade routes in Kachin State--- Laja Yang, Loije and Kai
Htik are the best places for making filthy lucre than in any other place
in the state, said sources close to Burmese soldiers.

At the checkpoints, soldiers and other security agents forcibly collect
tax from all goods trucks and illegal timber trucks, said sources close to
the checkpoints.  But, the Burmese Army battalion in the three checkpoints
is appointed in a rotational system every three or four months, added
local sources.

They also need to bribe their senior officers up to the level of the
Northern Regional command commander Maj-Gen Soe Win as long as they man
and make money from the checkpoints.

On the other hand, government employees in all sectors are also steeped in
corruption in different ways for extra income, which has become a culture
because they receive low salaries, said local sources.

Nowadays, civilians in Kachin State are victims of corruption of the
military and government employees in myriad ways because they do not have
a chance of making money from business.

People believe that corruption will not decrease in Burma as long as the
military junta rules the country, according to local sources.
____________________________________

December 9, New Light of Myanmar
If positive attitude and honesty are shown – Chan Mya Aye

These days, local political groups and foreign media are found hand in
glove making various comments on the open letter Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has
delivered to the Head of State. In particular, very repeatedly, they are
suggesting that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's offer be honoured, and criticizing
that it was not proper the offer had not been responded yet. Apparently,
they are putting pressure on our country to shape itself into one to the
liking of the West Bloc, by chopping and changing about the case.

In reality, they are able to broadcast news stories about the case
irresponsibly due to the internal traitors that are stirring up problems.
Foreign radio stations can take full advantage of and overstate the cases
provoked by internal anti-government groups.

It is common knowledge that NLD's special announcement 6/09/09 and Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi's open letter to the Head of State came out on 28
September 2009. In the letter, she said that she wanted to cooperate with
the government on lifting the sanctions against Myanmar.

A thorough review shows that it was she and the party that called for
international sanctions against Myanmar. And she has never stated any
hints of changing her mind regarding her policy about the sanctions. But
only when the US announced to introduce the policy of sanctions plus
direct relations with Myanmar, would she offer to work together with the
government to lift sanctions. Her offer does not conform to what she did
and said previously, and is highly questionable. Anyhow, the government
accepted her offers with benevolence. It is global knowledge that after
the two meetings between U Aung Kyi and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
government fulfilled her wishes of meeting three foreign envoys from the
West Bloc, and NLD CEC.

Then, she delivered the second letter dated 11 November to the Head of
State. In the letter, she said she wanted to cooperate with the government
in nation-building tasks and to meet ailing NLD CEC members to pay
respects to them, to meet other NLD CEC members, and also with the Head of
State.

Nowadays, the government is stepping up cooperation with local political
forces, and trying to improve ties with the US. It implies that the
government has showed its positive attitude in this context. If the other
side shows true positive attitude in response, positive results can be
visualized. However, the behaviours and acts of Daw Aung Suu Kyi and
followers are somewhat doubtful.

The two letters reflect her dishonesty. She should have approached the
government in an honest way in order to work out the stalemate. In
practice, I feel that her letters suggest her dishonesty, and are designed
to tarnish the image of the ruling government, putting all the blame on
the government.

If NLD and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi really want to work together with the
government in the national interest, they can deliver letters directly to
the Head of State. They sent letters by post, but the news about the
letters had received media coverage, from the Internet down to the radio
stations before the letters were received by the person concerned. In the
first time, NLD issued an announcement with the letter as part of it,
before the letter was received by the Head of State, thus prompting
widespread statements of the news by the media. In other words, the person
concerned received the letter only after a wide variety of suggestions had
been made through the media to fuel the case. Here, the government was
like the parents of naughty children. I am confident that the government
sad due to the fact that it was inconsiderate of its children to show
complete disregard for its benevolent attitude towards them. However, the
government showed its magnanimity by complying with their wishes.

Surely, if they had realized and recognized the government's fulfillment
of their wishes, they would have mended their ways. Instead, they went
further in the second letter. It was said that they had secretly informed
the media about the letter in advance through NLD (Central) Work Youths
Group. Then, they tried to hold the government responsible for that as
though the government had disclosed the case. In the end, they admitted
that the persons who were held responsible were those among the members of
NLD.

In the meantime, various media are shouting that it should be done this or
that way, it has not been accepted yet, there has been no reply regarding
this. It is quite obvious that it was all a ploy to attract the attention
of the media by spreading the issue among them. Frankly speaking, I think
it was an attempt to put pressure on the ruling government through the
media as a way of saying that "We, on our part, have made an offer and the
government is to see to the remaining part."

All will remember that this is not the first time and it has been done
before. Even before the two sides could not make any compromise during the
meetings between Minister U Aung Kyi and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the latter
issued a unilateral announcement dated 8-11-2007 in Singapore via Mr
Gambari. Actually, a clandestine plan was made to issue the announcement
by taking advantage of the meeting between Mr Gambari and Daw Suu Kyi
arranged by the government during his visit to Myanmar. I still remember
that the situation got unnecessarily confused as the media was used as a
tool by taking advantage of the government's kind approval. Daw Aung San
Suu Kyi herself should have understood that the announcement was to be
issued in the media only after reaching agreement between the two sides
until the discussion period was over. She might as well have understood
that. This time, she has employed the same way again in complicity with
the outside anti-government media. This is the insincere way of hers, I
think.

No one can avoid mistakes. Nobody is perfect. One may make a mistake
sometimes and one should not be blamed for making a single mistake.
Usually, we say 'forgive and forget' when a person makes a single mistake.
But when a person makes the same mistake two or three times, we will have
to assume that he is doing the mistake on purpose with insincere
intention.

It has been three times since Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD used the media
as a tool in an insincere way. Their act was not sincere at all. They made
the ploy intentionally.

It should be taken into consideration that the attempt of one side to
force the other into a corner by making dishonest use of the media might
delay the other's response. If one looks at the event superficially, it
can be said that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's offer might be positive. However,
making dishonest use of the media like this could make the other side's
direction change. It could also make it hard for the other side to respond
positively. Anyway, it is hoped that the government, like parents, will be
generous enough to do what should be done.

It was a matter that should have been discussed first between the two
sides. But one side made a pre-emptive attempt by disclosing it to the
media untimely. Now, the foreign media's untruthful and fruitless
broadcast could prevent the other side's step forward and make it withdraw
the hand it is going to extend. It should have been taken into serious
consideration. Opposition groups at home are now trying to avoid
embarrassment about their wrong strategy and tactics by making use of the
letters like this. And at the same time, they are trying to put the blame
on the government with the use of foreign media. It is something that
should not be done.

To cut a long story short, it is acceptable that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sent
a letter to the Head of State. However, they should not have passed the
buck to the government after disclosing the letter to the media with an
ulterior motive. If they are really in favour of the interests of the
nation and the people and if they are honest and have good intentions, it
is the best way for them to put forward their stand frankly and make an
honest approach to the government.