BurmaNet News, December 16, 2009

[Editor]

December 16, 2009, Issue #3861


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Junta bans Dhamma advertising
SHAN: Yawdserk warns ceasefire leaders
New Light of Myanmar: Senior General Than Shwe inspects greening of Mt. Popa

ON THE BORDER
Reuters: Border stability to top China-Myanmar talks
Mizzima News: Thailand to provide Polio vaccine to migrant children

REGIONAL
Kyodo News: 37 Myanmar exiles seek long-term residency

OPINION / OTHER
BBC News: Is Burma softening its stance? – Alastair Leithead
Irrawaddy: North Korean weapons mystery: Is Burma the missing link? –
Simon Roughneen

PRESS RELEASE
ERI: French oil giant Total S.A. still linked to killings and forced labor
in Burma (Myanmar)
UN/ESCAP: Myanmar development partnership seeks to boost agricultural
sector and enhance rural livelihoods




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 16, Irrawaddy
Junta bans Dhamma advertising – Arkar Moe

Burmese authorities have banned the public display of posters in Mandalay
advertising dhamma talks by monks.

The ban was issued through the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, the
state-sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization.

Dhamma talks are a deeply rooted tradition in Burma, and posters
advertising them usually carry pictures of the monks who give them.

A monk from Pyigyi Ta Kun township, Mandalay Division, told  The Irrawaddy
on Monday: "I think the military regime wants to stop people listening to
the teachings of dhamma. People are angry about the ban."

The 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
Monday: “Shwe Nya War Sayardawgyi was banned from giving dhamma talks in
Rangoon last year because he spoke about Bogyoke (General) Aung San and
the essence of independence.”

Aung Htet Lin, who helps organize dhamma talks, told The Irrawaddy on
Monday:  “We have to apply to the Burmese authorities and the Sangha Maha
Nayaka Committee in advance. We have to list the name of the sangha, the
title of the dhamma and the place and time it will be delivered."

In another restriction on Buddhist religious activities in Burma, the
Ministry of Religious Affairs has stopped issuing letters of
recommendation, which monks need to travel broad.

Ashin Issariya, a founders of the All Burma Monks'  Alliance (ABMA), 
said: “It is clear that the military junta is challenging Burmese monks
and Buddhist devotees. The junta doesn't want monks to be popular,
well-known or close to the people."

Ashin Issariya said the restrictions were an insult to monks and would
have a "bad effect" on the country and its people, leading to more
conflict.

Mandalay resident Min Ye Aung, who also helps organize dhamma talks, said
the authorities were also limiting the space allotted for the talks with
the aim of reducing the number of people attending them.

In October, the ABMA expelled junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe from the
Buddhist faith on the grounds that he had failed to issue an apology for
his abuse of monks and the religion of Buddhism.

According to official data, there are 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.

____________________________________

December 16, Shan Herald Agency for News
Yawdserk warns ceasefire leaders

The non-ceasefire leader Yawdserk of Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ has
warned ceasefire groups opposed to the Border Guard Force (BGF) program
setout by Naypyitaw of the need to beware of who among the leadership is
in favor of the program, citing his experience with the Mong Tai Army
(MTA) led by the late Khun Sa ((1934-2007).

“Whenever the people, the officers and men were asked whether or not to
surrender, all were unanimously against surrender,” he recalled the events
preceding the MTA’s surrender on 7 January 1997. “We were completely
unaware that Khun Sa and his inner circle had already agreed to turn
themselves over to the junta. By the time we knew what was going on, it
was already over.”

Following the unanticipated mutiny by Col Gunyawd on 6 June 1995 and the
resultant mass desertions to him, Khun Sa had sent trusted emissaries
including his uncle Khun Hseng to Rangoon calling for a ceasefire, the
same status as other movements that had preceded him, notably the United
Wa State Army (UWSA) and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Rangoon,
in light of both the international and regional blacklisting of Khun Sa as
a druglord, had rejected the offer and instead demanded total surrender,
to which he quietly acquiesced.

Until then, the MTA was recognized by Rangoon as the strongest armed
resistance movement.

To date, 7 ceasefire groups including the Kokang that was attacked and
subdued in August have agreed to the BGF program. Only 6 remain defiant to
the demand which include KIO, UWSA, Mongla, SSA ‘North’, Kayan New Land
Party (KNLP) and New Mon State Party (NMSP), all of which are undergoing
pressure to give in.

“By clever maneuvering by the minority, the majority could find themselves
checkmated if they are not on the lookout,” Yawdserk, 52, who had served
as a field commander in the MTA 13 years ago. “I myself was able to break
out of the cordon only after the surrender.”

Two days after the MTA force in Pang Maisoong, opposite Chiangmai,
surrendered on 25 January 1996, Yawdserk escaped with 300 men to form what
later became the SSA ‘South’, which together with the Karen National Union
(KNU) and the Karenni National Progress Party (KNPP), remain the principal
armed opposition movements still fighting against Burma’s military rulers.

Khun Sa died under virtual house arrest in Rangoon in October 2007.

____________________________________

December 16, New Light of Myanmar
Senior General Than Shwe inspects greening of Mt. Popa

Nay Pyi Taw – Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Than Shwe,
accompanied by SPDC Member General Thura Shwe Mann, SPDC Secretary-1
General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, SPDC Member Lt-Gen Tin Aye, the
Commander-in-Chief (Navy), the Commander-in-Chief (Air), senior military
officers of the Ministry of Defence, commanders, ministers and officials
left Bagan for Mt. Popa region by helicopter yesterday morning and arrived
there at 9:40 am.

At the briefing hall of private tea plantations in Kyinma camp of Mt. Popa
Park, Minister for Forestry Brig-Gen Thein Aung submitted reports to the
Senior General, saying that in accord with guidance of the Head of State
on greening of Mt. Popa region, such tasks as forests conservation and
afforestation were undertaken thoroughly; that private sector had been
permitted to grow tea since November 2008 after trial cultivation of
one-acre tea plantation that grew well under shade trees.

The minister continued to say that if cultivation of tea became a success,
it would not only create new jobs but provide tea and dried tea to the
region. The minister then elaborated on tea plantations of private sector
and future plans.

A one-acre pilot tea plantation with 5,400 plants that are suitable to
climate of the region has been grown in the eastern part of Mt. Popa
region.

With regard to private sector, Tin Tun Win Producers Company has so far
grown over 0.7 million tea plants on 200 acres with application of contour
system near Yenge camp at Mt. Popa and planned to establish as many as 500
acres of tea plantations. It is learnt that about 0.3 million of tea
saplings have been grown in the nursery of the company and monsoon,
groundnut and orange have been grown in the plantations as mixed-crops.

The minister added that for greening the environs of Mt. Popa region and
long-term benefit of local people, banana plantations inside forest
reserves and public protected forests had been replaced with trees, plants
and perennial crops.

The minister went on to say that the replacement of over 5,000 acres of
banana plantations with trees, plants and perennial crops in period
between 1996 and the rainy season of last year was a cent per cent success
and over 1.3 million of trees including teak, ironwood, Gmelina arborea,
kapok, eucalyptus, belleric myrobalan were planted in addition to
perennial crops such as cashew, tamarind, sweet sop, jack fruit and so on.
The minister gave a detailed account on income per acre of perennial crops
grown in the region, locals’ interests in cultivation of perennial crops,
accomplishment of replacing banana plantations with perennial crops in
collaboration with local people.

The Senior General in his guidance said that Mt. Popa region was an
invaluable natural resource for arid central Myanmar that had hot and dry
weather; that Mt. Popa and climate of the region had direct relation and
thus Mt. Popa region was pivotal for favourable weather condition; that
Mt. Popa region was major watershed for central Myanmar as most of rivers
and creeks flowing through the region originated from Mt. Popa region. He
said that dams constructed in the surrounding areas also were somewhat
related with Mt. Popa region; that strenuous efforts had been made for
greening of the region so as to keep the region, an invaluable natural
resource, under preservation; that Mt. Popa region had now become greener
with trees as a result of over 10 years of thorough conservation.

He said that geographical condition of Mt. Popa and its environs were
suitable for cultivation as the region being an extinct volcano; that it
was necessary to be aware of the value of Mt. Popa; that perennial crops
that were likely to grow well including tea plants were to be grown
extensively for higher income of the local people and greening of Mt.
Popa.

Next, the Senior General and party viewed thriving one-year old tea plants
and mixed-crop groundnut plantations in pilot tea plantation of a private
company.

The Senior General and party viewed onemonth old tea saplings in the
nursery and looked round the plantation in a motorcade.

Afterwards, the Senior General and party proceeded to Popa Mountain Resort
from which the Senior General viewed flat top of Mt. Popa, greening of Mt.
Popa region and forest conservation.

The Senior General then met with personnel concerned and inquired about
harvest of seasonal crops, water inflow into Kyetmaukytaung dam, supply of
irrigation water and socio-economic conditions including increase in per
capita income.

The Senior General and party left Mt. Popa region in the afternoon. – MNA

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 16, Reuters
Border stability to top China-Myanmar talks

Beijing/Yangon: Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping arrives this week in
Myanmar where he is press for assurances there will be no more unrest on
their shared border.

The military-ruled former Burma has few foreign friends due to its human
rights record and detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
ahead of an election next year. That gives extra significance to a visit
by Xi, seen as a frontrunner to succeed President Hu Jintao.

China is one of Myanmar's rare diplomatic backers, often coming to the
rescue when it is pressed by Western governments over issues such as the
2007 crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. But
relations have been strained of late. In August, Myanmar's army overran
Kokang, which lies along the border with the southwestern Chinese province
of Yunnan and was controlled for years by an ethnic Chinese militia.

The action pushed thousands of refugees into China and angering Beijing. A
second, 20,000-strong ethnic Chinese militia, the United Wa State Army
(UWSA), denounced as a narcotics cartel by the United States, has refused
to disarm and is preparing for an imminent attack by the Myanmar army,
activists and local media say.

"If there was renewed fighting with some of the other groups, the
potential refugee flows would be much greater," said David Mathieson,
Myanmar researcher for New York-based Human Rights Watch. "I think they
would also be concerned about increased drug shipments coming from that
part of Burma into China, because a lot of these groups have just been
liquidating their inventory to try and get money to prepare for fighting,
and some of it does go through China."

RARE MEETING WITH TOP GENERAL
China's foreign ministry has given few details of the visit set for
Saturday and Sunday. But a Myanmar government official told Reuters that
Xi was scheduled to meet General Than Shwe, the leader of the junta, who
rarely receives foreign dignitaries.

Problems along the border, where Myanmar is trying to coax ethnic militias
to end decades of fighting and form a border guard force under government
jurisdiction, will likely top issues to be discussed with Xi as will next
year's election. "Matters concerning the transformation of ethnic armed
groups like the UWSA and the upcoming elections could be on the top the
agenda," the official said on condition of anonymity. The election,
already roundly dismissed by rights activists as a sham, are the last stop
on Myanmar's "road map" to democracy, but it remains unclear what civilian
rule would look like after almost 50 years of army-led government.

The visit will also give Xi a chance to get to know the leaders of a
country which China sees as a vital strategic partner ahead of his own
expected ascendancy to the presidency. "He is expected to succeed
President Hu in 2012 and I think the upcoming visit of his to Myanmar is
very important for cementing existing ties," one Yangon-based Asian
diplomat told Reuters. The neighbours have significant business ties.
Bilateral trade grew more than one-quarter last year to about $2.63
billion.

In late October, China's CNPC started building a crude oil port in
Myanmar, part of a pipeline project aimed at cutting out the long detour
oil cargoes take through the congested and strategically vulnerable
Malacca Strait. China's overriding concern is a stable Myanmar to give its
landlocked southwestern provinces access to the Indian Ocean as well as
natural resources like oil, gas and timber.

"The way political reform is going in Burma does suit China's interests,
because basically it's going to be a civilian-front parliament for
continued military rule," said Mathieson.

____________________________________

December 16, Mizzima News
Thailand to provide Polio vaccine to migrant children – Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai – Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health will provide free
Poliomyelitis vaccination across the country for all Thai and migrant
children next week.

Dr Thongchai Keerati Hathayakorn, Director of Ranong Provincial Department
of Public Health said on Tuesday that the department persuaded parents of
Thai children of age under five and migrant children from neighbouring
countries of age under 15 to make the children take the Poliomyelitis
vaccination twice.

“There are reports that found the disease pandemic in Burma and India. So
the ministry wants to eradicate Poliomyelitis from the country,” Dr.
Thongchai added.

He added that Ranong Province has a border with Kauthong in Burma, where
many Burmese children cross the border regularly and do not take the
vaccination entailing health risks in the future.

The Thai health authorities have invited all parents or employers to bring
their children for vaccination at every public health post (government’s)
in the province twice on December 23 and December 27 to complete the
vaccination programme without any expenses incurred.

Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly
affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated food
and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the
nervous system. Many infected people have no symptoms, but do excrete the
virus in their faeces, hence transmitting infection to others. Initial
symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in
the neck, and pain in the limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the
disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. Polio can only be
prevented by immunization.

Last week, Manit Nopamornbadee, Deputy Minister of Public Health of
Thailand said that the country has had no evidence of the disease for more
than 12 years but there is a possibility of its recurrence because of the
trans-border pandemic.

“The mobility of workers both Thai and migrants have resulted in their
children not completing the vaccination programme,” he said.

Dr. Paichit Warachit, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Health
said that Thailand has distributed Poliomyelitis vaccination for 16 years
and could provide it to more than 90 percent of all Thai children in 2008.
It was found that 12 per cent of migrant children from Thailand never had
the Poliomyelitis vaccine and 28 per cent had not completed the
vaccination programme.

According to the ministry, the programme will cover 2.5 million children
across the country, that focusses in risk areas along the border and in
remote areas, and for migrant children those who find it difficult to
access medical services.  The aim is to check the disease from outside the
country. In 2009, there have been 1,457 Poliomyelitis cases around the
world. It was found that the disease was pandemic and increased three
times in the country where previously this disease was rarely found.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

December 16, Kyodo News
37 Myanmar exiles seek long-term residency

More than three dozen people from Myanmar who have been granted
exceptional status to remain in Japan without being designated as refugees
have applied for more stable long-term residency, their lawyers said.

The 37 people from 22 families living in Tokyo and Gunma, Saitama and
Chiba prefectures applied with the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau for
long-term residency because they may not be able to renew their current
residence status if the situation in Myanmar changes.

Their current status denies them welfare benefits and does not allow their
relatives to come to Japan.

"They are not able to live a stable life in Japan due to many obstacles,"
said Hironori Kondo, one of the lawyers.

Less than 20 percent of applicants for long-term residency have been
granted the status this year, according to research by the legal team, and
one man who did apply committed suicide in April because his family was
not allowed to join him.

"My husband killed himself because it was too dangerous for him to return
to our home country (to see the family). How can we make a living now?"
asked the man's 40-year-old widow at a news conference Monday.

Instead of being granted refugee status, the 37 people were given a
designated activities visa. Under long-term resident status, foreigners
can stay for a designated period without any work restrictions.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 16, BBC News
Is Burma softening its stance? – Alastair Leithead

This month Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi passed two
milestones.

The first was 14 years - that is the amount of time she has now spent in
detention during the past two decades.

The second was to meet Western diplomats and begin talks with Burmese
military leaders - talks which some think could see her released.

"Given the impasse of the last 20 years, what has happened in the last
three months gives us the hope there will be some movement," says Derek
Tonkin, a former British ambassador and current Burma activist.

There seemed little hope of progress in August, when Burmese pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, known as The Lady, had her house arrest extended
by 18 months for allowing an uninvited American man to stay in her
lakeside home after swimming to see her.

While the controversial court case was going on, the Obama adminstration
was looking at engagement within a review of its Burma strategy ahead of
elections planned for Burma next year.

This was happening amid the fear of increasing Chinese influence in the
gap left by Western isolation.

'Pragmatic engagement'

Soon after the trial ended, Senator Jim Webb became the most senior US
official to meet Burma's top general, Than Shwe.

He was also allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi - something even UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon could not do.

As a man reporting back directly to President Barack Obama, his message
that "sanctions hadn't worked" was what the generals wanted to hear.

He emphasised the increased influence of China as well - an Asia-wide
trend that has Washington worried.

The next step was a switch in US policy towards "pragmatic engagement" -
in other words, direct senior level dialogue with the leadership.

US demands include the release of political prisoners, including Ms Suu
Kyi, but what are they offering in return?

The only high-value card is sanctions, and that is what The Lady also used
to open her own talks.

Her recent letter to number one general Than Shwe requested a meeting with
Western diplomats for her to establish what sanctions are in place, and it
was permitted within a week.

"The generals are looking for international recognition for the 2010
election. They are trying to co-opt Aung San Suu Kyi and her National
League for Democracy to take part in the elections without any
constitutional change," said Derek Tonkin.

"We are still waiting for a really significant movement, but I could see
Aung San Suu Kyi being released before the election if they could secure
an understanding."

An end to sanctions?

The message from Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein at the recent meeting
of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) in Thailand was
that the ruling generals see a role for Ms Suu Kyi in fostering
reconciliation, according to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva - and
that the conditions of her detention could be relaxed.

Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian and author whose grandfather was UN
Secretary General U Thant, thinks her early release is possible but
unlikely. He believes the purpose of the talks is partly to find out what
exactly the Burmese want.

"It is extremely unlikely the US Congress will overturn sanctions, but if
the US government thinks the Burma generals are moving in the right
direction there are other things they can do," he said.

"Everything from using the name Myanmar, rather than Burma, to lifting
some of the restrictions the US has on multilateral co-operation to
assistance programmes."

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made it clear that dialogue
would supplement rather than replace sanctions.

"We will maintain our existing sanctions until we see concrete progress,"
he told the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs this month.

"We believe any easing of sanctions now would send the wrong signal to
those who have been striving for so many years for democracy in Burma."

Europe's stance

Mark Farmaner, from Burma Campaign UK, which has strongly supported
sanctions, said the US policy of demanding results is what the UN has
failed to do, and will put extreme pressure on the regime.

"Sanctions were always meant to be one of the few tools to give them
leverage to force the generals into talks, but they should not be given
away unless you get something in return," he said.

"One hundred political prisoners of more than 2,000 are seriously ill and
being systematically refused medical treatment. The regime is ruthlessly
pushing ahead with its agenda. You have to look at history and come back
down to earth.

"We are afraid of EU countries pre-emptively lifting sanctions and that
would send the wrong message to the generals," he added.

There doesn't appear to be much fear of that, as the European Union still
has not made an official statement.

Some sources suggest this is because Britain is "dragging its heels" and
urging collective caution.

But Western diplomats say Europe will soon open up its own dialogue with
Burma, following the US lead.

"The elections may not be free and fair, but we need to be there anyway,"
diplomats say, pointing out it's the first opportunity in 20 years for any
change at all, and the West has to position itself to engage with a new
government made up of at least some elected civilians.

So does that mean lifting some European sanctions? Only in co-ordination
with the US policy, but it's understood consideration is being put to the
mechanics of what might be lifted and when.

This could include the re-opening to Burma of special EU trade access for
developing countries, or allowing access to international financial
institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the
Asian Development Bank.

Author Thant Myint-U thinks the ruling generals will balance their image
abroad and better relations with the West against their well-established
plans for a "democratic" Burma.

"There is concern among some quarters in Burma of an over-reliance on
China, and as the US is the only balancer they think it is time to reach
out to the US," he said.

Progress is slow, but as one diplomat said "anything can happen in Burma".
____________________________________

December 16, Irrawaddy
North Korean weapons mystery: Is Burma the missing link? – Simon Roughneen

The North Korean arms cargo interdicted in Bangkok seems unlikely to be
bound for Burma, despite ties between Pyongyang and the Naypyidaw military
junta. Burmese junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe visited Sri Lanka in
November, reciprocating a visit made by Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa in June this year.

The final destination of the cache remains unclear. The crew claim that
the airplane was to land in Sri Lanka to refuel, with the Ukraine as a
final destination, apparently after the cargo had been dropped off
elsewhere. Sri Lankan officials denied any knowledge that the
embargo-breaking flight was going to land in that country.
Thai police and soldiers remove boxes of weaponry from a cargo plane at
Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok on Dec. 12.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the plane was going
to “a destination in the Middle East” to unload the weapons. Earlier this
year, authorities in the United Arab Emirates seized 10 containers of
North Korean arms on board a Bahamian-flagged ship. Like the Ilyushin-76
flight cargo, the manifest was listed as “oil drilling equipment.” The
consignment was supposedly destined for Iran.

Other speculation surrounds a possible African destination. Sudan is also
under a UN arms embargo, but acquires weapons from China and Russia among
others, and has become increasingly close to states such as Iran and Burma
in recent years. The latter two are thought to be key buyers in North
Korea's US $1bn per annum illicit arms bazaar, prompting speculation that
a bevy of human rights violators are collaborating in an underground
weapons trade.

Sudan's deputy foreign minister visited Burma in October 2009 to discuss
“beneficial cooperation on investment and energy sectors,” according to
The New Light of Myanmar, a junta-backed publication based in Rangoon.
Both Sudan and Burma are important sources of energy supply to China,
which has fostered these links while Western competitors remain largely
absent, due to international sanctions on both Khartoum and Naypyidaw.
Sudan, like Burma, will stage controversial elections next year, amid
speculation that oil-rich southern Sudan will later secede, a move that
Khartoum is likely to resist with military force.

Another possible destination is Eritrea―a closed, autocratic regime
akin to Kim Jong-il's dictatorship in North Korea. Eritrea has unresolved
border problems with Ethiopia, and is also supporting some Islamist
factions in Somalia.

The US reportedly tipped off Thai authorities about the illicit cargo,
according to Thai media reports that the government and Americans have not
commented on. However it is not clear why the crew landed at Bangkok's Don
Mueang Airport. If carrying illicit weaponry from Pyongyang, this move
would appear foolhardy in extreme, given the close military and
intelligence links between Thailand and the US.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton lauded the seizure, stating
that it "shows that sanctions can prevent the proliferation of weapons and
it shows that the international community when it stands together can make
a very strong statement."

Experts at Swedish-based SIPRI, an arms monitoring organization, traced
the jet to an arms trader linked to Victor Bout, who is now in prison in
Bangkok. It appears the airplane was most recently registered under a
company called Beibars, linked to Serbian arms dealer Tomislav
Dmanjanovic. According to SIPRI and the UN, past owners of the aircraft
have trafficked arms to Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Chad. It had previously been registered with
three companies identified by the US Department of the Treasury as firms
controlled by Mr Bout, labeled the “Merchant of Death” for his role in
supplying arms to an array of terrorist groups and insurgents around the
world.

The US is trying to extradite Bout, who was arrested in Thailand in March
last year, and later indicted on four terrorism charges in New York.

Earlier in 2009, the US navy shadowed a North Korean ship suspected of
carrying arms to Burma, forcing it to turn back. North Korea is helping
the Burmese junta with conventional weaponry, and there is some
speculation that the nuclear-armed Communist regime in Pyongyang is
sharing this technology with Naypyidaw.

However, Victor Cha, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies in Washington, says that Burma is now wary of
receiving arms transfers from North Korea. The Burmese junta is not under
an international arms embargo, despite calls for one to be applied, and
therefore does not have to rely on the underground arms trade to equip its
military, which is believed to be the largest in Southeast Asia.

Cha acknowledged that precise analysis of what and how North Korea is
selling, and to who, remains impossible. The Thai seizure is likely a drop
in the ocean of what is estimated at a $1 billion annual trade. Cha cited
a recent visit by China’s Premier Wen Jiabao to North Korea, followed by
Beijing’s defense minister, as fueling fears that North Korea may on
occasion be able to send arms through China, which shares a land border
with Burma. China is thought to fear instability or economic collapse in
North Korea, and Pyongyang relies on its illicit arms trade for foreign
currency.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

December 16, Earth Rights International
French oil giant Total S.A. still linked to killings and forced labor in
Burma (Myanmar)

Bangkok -- The French oil giant Total S.A. (Total) continues to be linked
to killings and forced labor in Burma and continues to mislead
policymakers, investors, and the general public about its impacts in the
military-ruled country, according to the Washington DCbased
nongovernmental organization EarthRights International (ERI).

In a recent response to ERI’s 106-page report Total Impact: The Human
Rights, Environmental, and Financial Impacts of Total and Chevron’s Yadana
Gas Project in Military-Ruled Burma (Myanmar) (Sept 2009), Total
categorically denied ERI’s evidence of ongoing human rights abuses in the
area of its natural gas pipeline in the country. A new 35-page report
released today by ERI, entitled Total Impact 2.0, explains in detail how
Total failed to refute any of ERI’s fresh evidence of forced labor,
killings, and multi-billion dollar profits funneled to the Burmese regime
through the company’s natural gas pipeline. ERI noted that “a close
reading of Total’s response makes it abundantly clear the company hasn’t
refuted our research and documentation on the human rights and financial
impacts of their project.”

“Total continues to try to distort perceptions of its role in Burma,
undoubtedly at the expense of effecting real change around its presence
there,” according to ERI’s Burma Project Coordinator Matthew Smith, an
author of the ERI reports. “The people of Burma won’t be fooled by savvy
and misleading public relations,” he added, “and neither will the general
public, investors and policymakers interested in supporting them.”

In September 2009, ERI published two reports with nearly 200 pages of new
research, accumulated over seven years, linking Total and its Yadana
partners – Chevron Corporation, the
Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production (PTTEP), and
the state-owned
Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) – to widespread and systematic human
rights abuses in the area of its natural gas project in the Tennaserim
region of Burma. The reports document years of testimonies from local
victims of abuses in Total’s project area, committed by the Burma Army
providing security for the companies and the pipeline.

“In the last few years we’ve documented hundreds of instances of forced
labor ordered by the Burma Army securing Total’s pipeline, and the cases
are continuing,” says ERI Program Coordinator Naing Htoo, a co-author of
the ERI reports and principal fact-finder. “The company has in effect kept
complaints of forced labor from reaching the International Labour
Organization
(ILO) and other parties” he added, “and that raises serious questions.”

ERI has recommended that Total facilitate local villagers’ option to file
complaints of forced labor with the ILO. “Anything less spells
complicity,” ERI’s Smith added.

ERI’s September reports also linked Total and Chevron to high-level
corruption and prolonged authoritarianism in connection to their pipeline
project, constructed in the 1990s. ERI calculated the pipeline has
generated more than US$7 billion in revenues since production began a
decade ago, and around one billion US dollars in 2008 for Burma’s ruling
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), making the pipeline one of the
two largest sources of revenue for the military junta, along with the
Yetagun gas project. Rather than benefit the people of Burma, ERI cites
documentation that most of this revenue would not have been included in
Burma’s national budget and that large amounts have instead found their
way to offshore banks in Singapore. In Total Impact 2.0, ERI once again
calls on Total to publish disaggregated revenue payments to the Burmese
regime since the company first signed its Yadana-project contract with the
Burmese authorities in 1992. In direct response to ERI’s recommendation of
revenue transparency, Total recently published a figure of $254 million
that its portion of the Yadana project generated for the Burmese regime in
2008.

“We acknowledge and welcome Total’s gesture toward revenue transparency
but note that the company and its partners have yet to practice full and
disaggregated revenue transparency in Burma since the first contract was
signed in 1992,” added ERI’s Smith. “The company and its partners should
follow through and publish complete information related to revenue data
and payments as a minimum level of corporate responsibility.”

In Total Impact 2.0, ERI re-issues its previous recommendations for Total
and its consortium partners in Burma, the international community, and the
SPDC. ERI’s Naing Htoo claims the recommendations are “reasonable and
realizable given what is known about Total’s presence in Burma.”

Total Impact 2.0 is the third report released by ERI in 2009 regarding
Total and Chevron’s impacts in Burma. The 81-page report Getting it Wrong:
Flawed “Corporate Social Responsibility” and Misrepresentations
Surrounding Total and Chevron’s Yadana Gas Pipeline in Military-Ruled
Burma (Myanmar) was released in September 2009 and is an indepth exposé of
five impact assessments commissioned by the companies from 2002-2008. The
impact assessments were conducted by the US-based CDA Collaborative
Learning Projects (CDA) using what ERI regards as a “deeply flawed
methodology.”

ERI collected evidence for seven years demonstrating that CDA’s
assessments are “inaccurate and misleading, and contrary to international
best practice.” The assessments “should no longer be relied upon as
accurate or credible,” according to the September report.

According to ERI, examples of CDA’s flawed methodology in Burma include:
CDA visited Total’s “pipeline villages” on five occasions with escorts
from the oil company, at times using interpreters provided by Total; CDA
interviewed villagers in groups and in the presence of Total staff and
military intelligence; local villagers were warned by Burma Army pipeline
security
forces about communicating to CDA and other foreign visitors, under the
threat of persecution; and often, plain-clothed security were placed in
villages prior to visits by outsiders, including CDA.

A villager quoted in the ERI report summed up the fundamental problem with
CDA’s work in Burma: “We did not say everything we knew clearly to these
foreigners because we had been warned by the soldiers in advance.”

Total has not yet responded to the allegations in this ERI report.

Contact: Matthew F. Smith, (Thailand) +66.87.181.0160,
matthew at earthrights.org.
Naing Htoo, (Thailand) +66.81.531.1256, nainghtoo at earthrights.org.
Paul Donowitz, (US) +01.202.466.5188 ex.105, paul at earthrights.org

____________________________________

December 16, United Nations/Economic and Social Commission for Asia
Myanmar development partnership seeks to boost agricultural sector and
enhance rural livelihoods

Nobel laureate Stiglitz leads expert discussions on restoring country as
‘rice bowl of Asia’

Bangkok (UN/ESCAP Information Services) -- The United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Government of
the Union of Myanmar today held a wide-ranging dialogue aimed at boosting
the country’s agricultural sector and to help it reclaim its status as the
rice bowl of Asia.

At the invitation of ESCAP, Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof. Joseph
Stiglitz and other eminent experts discussed strategies for Myanmar to cut
poverty in light of Asia’s regional and subregional experiences.

“It is my hope these ideas and analysis will open a new space for policy
discussion and a further deepening of our development partnership,” UN
Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer said
at the event held in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw.

“These development objectives can only be achieved through the successful
engagement of local experts and people who know what is happening on the
ground. This development partnership, requested by the Government of
Myanmar, provides a unique platform for eminent international scholars and
local researchers to exchange experiences and ideas with government
agencies and civil society,” Dr. Heyzer added.

This is the second in a series of events launched by Dr. Heyzer during her
visit in July to Myanmar, and was organized by ESCAP with the country’s
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation and Ministry of National Planning
and Economic Development.

In his presentation, “Towards a more productive agrarian economy for
Myanmar,” Professor Stiglitz noted that Myanmar was well-positioned to
learn from other countries in the region that have developed on the back
of gains in agriculture. “There are large opportunities for improvement.
Myanmar should take a comprehensive approach,” he said.

He urged the Government of Myanmar to: promote access to appropriate
agricultural financing; take measures to boost access to seeds and
fertilizers; dramatically boost spending on health and education; and
create well-paid jobs in construction of rural infrastructure in order to
stimulate development and raise incomes and spending.

Professor Stiglitz also noted that well-functioning institutions were
critical to success, and that Myanmar could learn from the mistakes made
by other resource-rich countries. “Revenues from oil and gas can open up a
new era, if used well. If not, then valuable opportunities will be
squandered,” he said.

“Economics and politics can not be separated,” Professor Stiglitz added.
“For Myanmar to take a role on the world stage — and to achieve true
stability and security — there must be widespread participation and
inclusive processes. This is the only way forward for Myanmar.”

Maj. Gen. U Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation of Myanmar,
noted that climate change has had significant effects on the country’s
agriculture and livelihood, particularly in the dry zone. “To mitigate
such pressure we are implementing short-term and longer term measures,
such as promoting access to irrigation water to increase productivity, and
developing resource-based as well as knowledge-based sustainable
agriculture and livelihoods built on existing infrastructures,” he said.

“We are adopting a holistic approach informed by the human development
perspective to address the needs of the most vulnerable,” he added. “We
cannot afford to be complacent — thus the tasks for agriculture and rural
development must be implemented through mass movement.”

The Minister also welcomed and supported the continued close cooperation
and collaboration of ESCAP in the development partnership series. “I look
forward to the joint activities to come in 2010, in particular the
regional development programme for sustainable agriculture towards
inclusive rural economy development,” he said.

Col. Thurin Zaw, Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic
Development, delivered a presentation on Myanmar’s “National development
plans and the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

The meeting was organized into two segments: The morning roundtable was
devoted to expert discussions and included presentations on “Recent
socio-economic development,” by Daw Khin Ma Ma Swe of the Ministry of
National Planning and Economic Development, and on “Approaches for
agriculture and rural development,” by Daw Dolly Kyaw of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation.

There were also presentations on “Establishing the virtuous cycle of food
security, sustainable agriculture and rural economy development,” by U Tin
Htut Oo and U Tin Maung Shwe of the Academy of Agriculture, Forestry,
Livestock and Fisheries Sciences, and on “Enhancing Myanmar’s rural
economy,” by Ikuko Okamoto of the Institute of Developing Economies-JETRO.

The afternoon high-level development forum covered, “Economic policies for
growth and poverty reduction: lessons from the region and beyond.”

For more information please contact:

UN/ESCAP Information Services <unisbkk.unescap at un.org> OR
<stiglitzpress at gmail.com>