BurmaNet News, December 23 - 26, 2009

[Editor]

December 23 – 26, 2009, Issue #3866


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Tin Aye: A military tycoon
SHAN: Wa, Mongla seek protection against chemical warfare

ON THE BORDER
Washington Post: Chinese border town emerges as new front line in fight
against human trafficking

BUSINESS/TRADE
BBC News: Burma to buy Russian MiG planes

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: U.N. assembly condemns Myanmar rights record
Washington Post: Little word from U.S. on Nyi Nyi Aung, jailed in Burma
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (US): Burmese influx drops as jobs become scarce

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Regime would be wise to heed Stiglitz's words – Kyaw Zwa Moe
Asian Tribune: No sign of progress in Burma – Zin Linn
New Light of Myanmar: National unity is the most essential requirement for
perpetuation of sovereignty of the State; True patriotism means not to
harbour narrow-minded nationalism – Than Shwe

PRESS RELEASE
AAPPB: Female political prisoner Tin Tin Htwe @ Ma Pae dies in Prison




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

December 26, Irrawaddy
Tin Aye: A military tycoon – Wai Moe

As the chief of ordnance production within Burma's armed forces, Lt-Gen
Tin Aye was personally responsible for the recent purchase of 20 MiG-29
fighter jets from Russia at a cost of 400 million euros (US $575 million).

No stranger to handling money, he also stands accused of filtering
millions of dollars in gas and oil revenues from state coffers. He and
junta strongman Snr-Gen Than Shwe are reportedly the only two persons who
have access to the funds.

Brought through the ranks by Than Shwe, and regarded as one of the richest
men in the country, Tin Aye was thrust into the spotlight in September
when he represented the junta at a North Korean anniversary party in
Rangoon.

Ranked No 5 in the Tatmadaw (Burmese armed forces) hierarchy by state-run
media, he has become a noticeable part of Than Shwe's entourage at
official events and graduation ceremonies at Burmese military academies
alongside junta No 3 Gen Shwe Mann and No 4 Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo,who is
quartermaster-general of the armed forces.

When Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited Burma on Dec. 19-20, Tin
Aye joined No 2 Deputy Snr-Gen Maung Aye’s welcoming committee at
Naypyidaw Airport, and was involved in bilateral meetings and luncheons
with the Chinese delegation.

A graduate of Defense Service Academy-9, 64-year-old Tin Aye has made
official visits to various countries, including China, North Korea, Russia
and Ukraine, to buy arms and military equipment. He reportedly traveled to
North Korea with Shwe Mann in April.

Tin Aye also chairs the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL),
often regarded as the armed forces' business arm in handling trade.

Tin Aye’s relationship with the junta chief started when he was under Than
Shwe's command at the 88th Light Infantry Division, before being made Than
Shwe’s personal assistant.

Aung Lin Htut, a former spy officer, wrote in April that two military-run
business enterprises, UMEHL and the Myanmar Economy Corporation, are
headed by Tin Aye and Tin Aung Myint Oo.

While UMEHL manages all the government ministries dealing in trade and
business––the ministries of  trade, mines, forestry, energy, livestock,
fisheries, agriculture, electrical power, Industry 1 and Industry 2––the
MEC runs military-owned factories and enterprises.

“Therefore Than Shwe can spend [unlimited] money without auditing,” Aung
Lin Htut wrote.

Like other families of the ruling generals, Tin Aye’s family also has its
hands in several business ventures. His son, Zaw Min Aye, manages an
import-export firm, including a concession for importing motor vehicles,
as well as IT and media businesses.

Zaw Min Aye's Pyae Swan Yee Co. is one of richest firms in the country.
The company is reportedly involved in business services, electronic
components and supplies, printing and publishing. He is also the owner of
the Rangoon-based Ecovision weekly.

Pyae Swan Yee is not currently blacklisted with Western sanctions,
although Tin Aye, his wife Kyi Kyi Ohn and Zaw Min Aye are on the list.
____________________________________

December 25, Shan Herald Agency for News
Wa, Mongla seek protection against chemical warfare

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army
(NDAA) are purchasing thousands of protective suits against possible
chemical warfare by the Burma Army, according to sources close to the said
ceasefire groups.

The buying spree was prompted by intelligence reports that the Burma Army
was planning to destroy Wa and Mongla’s defenses “by using airpower,
firepower and chemical weapons,” said a source close to Mongla, the main
base of NDAA.

A source close to the Wa also confirmed the possession of a number of
protective suits in their armory.

Kachin News Group reported on 30 September that mortars shells laced with
chemical ingredients to be used against the rebel armies are marked with
yellow, green and red colors and that those who were affected when the
shells explode would display 3 symptoms: feeling faint, breathing
difficulties and losing eyesight.

The Karenni Army, the armed wing of the Karenni National Progressive Party
(KNPP), also charged the Burma Army of employing CW during its attack on
the strategic Yamu mountain on the Thai-Burma border near Maehongson in
2006. So did the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of
Karen National Union (KNU), after its Kawmoora base was attacked and
seized in December 1994.

The Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) reported on 20 March 1995: Shortly
after the fall of Kawmoora, Lt.Gen.Tin Oo (Secretary-2 of SLORC) was in
Thailand at the invitation of Thai Army Commander-in-Chief Wimol
Wongwanich. Tin Oo’s contacts while in Thailand were primarily only with
Thai military leaders. Just after his return to Burma, Thai journalists
questioned Gen. Chettha Thanajaro, Assistant Army Chief of Staff of
Thailand. In an article entitled “Burmese Admit They Use Chemicals to
Fight Karens” on February 28th, the Thai language Daily News paraphrased
Gen. Chettha’s words as follows: “Concerning the Australian government’s
protest over SLORC’s use of chemicals against the Karen, Tin Oo replied
that they had to wipe out the thieves and rebels that are against the
government. He said that although the use of chemicals is not right, it is
necessary.”

SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council) was the former name of the
present SPDC (State Peace and Development Council).

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

December 26, Washington Post
Chinese border town emerges as new front line in fight against human
trafficking – Keith B. Richburg

This booming little border town in China's southwestern Yunnan province,
where the economic prosperity of China is separated from the destitution
of Burma by nothing more than a flimsy, rusted metal fence, has emerged as
the new front line in the worldwide fight against human trafficking.

On any given afternoon, a steady stream of people scale the six-foot-high
fence, unperturbed by the Chinese border guards posted just a hundred
yards away. Amid the Burmese men looking for day labor, or women coming to
sell their vegetables in the wealthier Chinese markets, is traffic far
less benign:

Burmese women being brought over for marriages with Chinese men -- some
forced, some voluntarily arranged through "matchmakers." Babies being
brought into China to be sold. And Chinese women from poorer inland areas
being moved in the opposite direction, often ending up in Southeast Asia's
sex industry.

In the shadowy world of human trafficking, say government officials and
advisers with foreign aid agencies, China has become a source country, a
destination country and a transit country all at once.

"Some of the Yunnan women and girls think they'll get a better job in
Thailand," said Kathleen Speake, chief technical adviser for the United
Nations' International Labor Office in Beijing. Burmese "are coming into
China. We're looking at being trafficked for adoption, and women being
trafficked for marriage."

No firm numbers are available on the extent of trafficking. Kirsten di
Martino, a project officer in Beijing for UNICEF, said that from 2000 to
2007, China's public security bureau investigated 44,000 cases of
trafficking, rescuing about 130,000 women and children. But, she added,
"this is just the tip of the iceberg."

China, she said, "is very big, and has a lot of border -- and has a whole
lot of problems."

Here in Ruili, two criminal gangs were cracked and 14 women rescued in the
first half of the year, said Meng Yilian, who works for the newly formed
group China-Myanmar Cooperation Against Human Trafficking. Burma is also
known as Myanmar.

A legally suspect vocation

"In the villages bordering Myanmar, there are some people working as
matchmakers, " she said. "And some of them are human traffickers. It's
hard to tell who are the matchmakers and who are the traffickers."

Matchmaking, which falls into a legally murky terrain, is rooted in
Chinese tradition, which allows a man to make a gift to a woman's family
in exchange for marriage.

In this border area, matchmakers are not hard to find. From Ruili, a
gravel road leads west, running parallel to the Burmese border and past
ethnic Dai villagers working in paddy fields. In Mang Sai village, the
matchmaker is a heavy-set 28-year-old woman who said she has been in the
business seven or eight years and had "successfully made 20 matches,"
including two involving Chinese buyers and Burmese girls.

The matchmaker -- she requested that her name be withheld because her
profession is legally suspect -- said a local Chinese girl will cost as
much as 50,000 renminbi, about $7,300. But a girl from Burma, she said,
costs just 20,000 renminbi, or just under $3,000.

She said her matchmaking fee is 3000 renminbi, or about $440.

"I follow the principle: Only if the two people like each other is it a
match," she said.

Further south, in Jie Xiang town, a pharmacist said it was often difficult
to tell which Burmese girls come here voluntarily to marry Chinese men and
escape poverty and which ones are the victims of traffickers.

The pharmacist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared
reprisals from traffickers, said, "For the woman 25 to 30 years old, they
come voluntarily. For those 25 and younger, it's hard to tell if they come
voluntarily or were forced."

The pharmacist, 43, said he often speaks with the Burmese women because
they come to his shop for carsickness medicine before they set out for
long drives with their new husbands.

"They are forced by their economic situation at home," the pharmacist
said. "They have no other choice."

He said he knows one trafficker in the town who is trying to find a buyer
for an 8-year-old Burmese girl after selling the mother.

"The border is so long, and there are a lot of channels," the pharmacist
said. "You can't watch every path. It's really easy for people to come
across. There's no strict border here at all."

A long, porous border

A few hours at the border confirmed what the pharmacist said. While the
official border crossing point at Jie Gao was relatively quiet -- just a
few cars passing by and two pedestrians -- there was a steady flow over
the rickety metal fence nearby, just out of eyeshot of the green-uniformed
border policemen.

A woman from Burma, Zei Nan, 51, climbed over the fence carrying a sack
filled with vegetables she was hoping to sell. A young man, Zaw Aung, 29,
said he crosses over from Burma almost every day, looking for day labor.
Another woman, Huang Shuguo, 30, came to the fence to bring a change of
clothes for her husband, who drives a motorcycle taxi on the Chinese side.

The spot is so well-known as a border crossing point that it could hardly
be called secret. Red taxis and motorcycles cruised up and down the narrow
street, hoping to pick up Burmese migrants. Others stopped to discharge
their passengers at the fence.

Several people crossing said that on the rare occasions when the police
intervene to stop people, the penalty is a fine and a day in jail. But Zaw
Aung said, "We are seldom caught. Even the police know we are climbing
over."

The government, however, recently launched a crackdown on the
"matchmakers" as one step in the effort to combat trafficking. And there
is evidence that the move has had some effect.

In Huo Sai village -- a place identified by area residents as a key
transit point for trafficked Burmese women -- the matchmaker was nowhere
to be found. Residents said the matchmaker had gone underground because of
the increased police monitoring.

Researcher Wang Juan contributed to this report.
____________________________________
BUSINESS/TRADE

December 23, BBC News
Burma to buy Russian MiG planes

MiG-29s are designed in Russia, and used by many nations worldwide
Russia has signed a contract to deliver 20 MiG-29 fighter planes to Burma,
Russian media reports say.

The contract is worth 400m euros (£356m; $570m), sources close to the
Russian arms firm Rosoboronexport say.

Many countries in the West have imposed sanctions against Burma, in
response to its poor human rights record.

But the country's military rulers still receive many goods, including
arms, from its neighbours China and India, as well as Russia.

The Kommersant newspaper said Russia had already given 12 MiGs to Burma in
2001.

In the 1990s, Burma bought Chinese military aircraft to the value of about
$2bn, a source at Rosoboronexport told the Vedomosti business daily.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

December 24, Reuters
U.N. assembly condemns Myanmar rights record

United Nations – The U.N. General Assembly condemned wide-ranging human
rights violations in Myanmar in a resolution adopted early on Thursday.

The resolution on the country formerly known as Burma, voted through by
86-23 with 39 abstentions, "strongly condemns the ongoing systematic
violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of
Myanmar."

It also called on Myanmar's military rulers to immediately release
opposition leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from
house arrest, as well as freeing more than 2,000 other prisoners of
conscience.

In November, Myanmar's U.N. envoy, Than Swe, rejected the non-binding
resolution, then in draft form, calling it "glaringly deficient" and
little more than "another means to maintain pressure on Myanmar in tandem
with sanctions."

Swe could not be reached for comment on Thursday's vote.

Assembly condemnations of the human rights situation in North Korea,
Myanmar and Iran have become an annual ritual in recent years.

This year's vote came after U.N. special rights investigator on Myanmar
Tomas Ojea Quintana told the General Assembly in October that "the
situation of human rights in Myanmar remains alarming."

Envoys from nations that rights groups have also accused of having poor
human rights records -- including China, Russia, Libya, Sudan, Syria,
Egypt and Zimbabwe -- say they generally vote against such resolutions
because they oppose singling out specific countries.

____________________________________

December 24, Washington Post
Little word from U.S. on Nyi Nyi Aung, jailed in Burma – Glenn Kessler

After his arrest in September, the American was held for 17 days in a dank
Burmese jail and denied food, medical treatment, sleep and the chance to
speak with a U.S. government official. Even after he finally met with a
representative from the U.S. Embassy, the American was transferred to
solitary confinement in a cell for military dogs.

But the harsh treatment on what advocates say are trumped up charges has
barely merited a peep from the Obama administration.

Nyi Nyi Aung, a Montgomery Village resident and Burmese democracy advocate
who has traveled there often, appears to be politically inconvenient for
both the United States and the Burmese military dictatorship at a moment
when the two countries have taken tentative steps toward engagement after
years of stormy antagonism.

"It is shocking to me that an American citizen has been treated this way
and higher U.S. officials are silent on that," said Wa Wa Kyaw, Nyi Nyi's
fiancee and also a U.S. citizen and Maryland resident. "It will let the
generals think, 'We can do whatever we want, even torture and inhumane
treatment of a U.S. citizen,' because America wants to do the engagement
policy."

In one apparent concession to American sensitivities, the Burmese
government in October abruptly dropped charges of instigating unrest in
concert with pro-democracy groups. Instead, it accused Nyi Nyi of purely
criminal acts -- allegedly possessing a forged Burmese identification
document and failing to declare U.S. currency totaling more than $2,000.
His lawyers say he is innocent of both offenses; they note that he appears
to have been seized by authorities before he even made it through customs,
where he would have had to declare the currency.

Officials at the Burmese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a
request for comment.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, is regarded as one of the world's most
oppressive nations, ruled by generals who have enriched themselves while
much of the country remains desperately poor. The National League for
Democracy, the party of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, won a
landslide electoral victory in 1990, but the military leadership refused
to accept it. Since then, she has been under house arrest for most of the
time, as have hundreds of her supporters.

The 40-year-old Nyi Nyi was one of the leading organizers of
demonstrations against the junta in 1988 and fled the country after a
violent crackdown, eventually settling in the United States as a political
refugee in 1993. He became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and earned a college
degree in computer science, but he also remained deeply involved in
Burmese democracy efforts.

Wa Wa said that her fiancee managed to often travel to Burma to visit his
family and work with the Burmese underground because his U.S. passport is
in his legal name, Kyaw Zaw Lwin. In his professional and personal lives
in the United States, he has used Nyi Nyi Aung -- an amalgam of a
childhood nickname and his father's first name -- and for years the
Burmese government never made the connection.

But last summer Nyi Nyi's profile was raised when he helped deliver a
petition to senior United Nations officials with 680,000 signatures
calling for the release of all political prisoners in Burma.

Wa Wa, who has lived with Nyi Nyi since 2005, also has secretly traveled
back to Burma even though she is a political refugee. "We have taken the
risk because we want to organize and train the new generation for
democracy and freedom," she said.

Nyi Nyi's mother and sister are serving prison sentences of five years and
65 years, respectively, for their involvement in 2007 anti-government
demonstrations known as the "Saffron Revolution." Wa Wa said that he tried
to enter the country again in part to see his ailing mother. But he
appears to have been seized as soon as he landed at the airport in
September.

Nyi Nyi's treatment in prison has attracted worldwide attention, with both
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issuing statements on his
case. Fifty-three members of the House of Representatives, including House
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), sent a
letter last week to Senior Gen. Than Shwe calling for Nyi Nyi's immediate
release and return to the United States.

On Nov. 6, Sen. Barbara Milkulski (D-Md.) sent Wa Wa a letter saying she
had asked Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to condemn the
detention in the "strongest terms possible." But Clinton -- who over the
summer called for the release of another American, John Yettaw -- has been
silent. Yettaw, who was tried for entering Aung San Suu Kyi's compound,
eventually was freed through the intervention of Sen. James Webb (D-Va.),
when he traveled to Burma and met with senior leaders in August.

Sources also said that Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell did not
raise the case when he met with senior Burmese officials in a rare
high-level visit to Burma last month, though it has been raised at lower
levels. Jared Gensler, a Washington lawyer who is assisting Wa Wa, said
Westerners put on trial in Burma are usually treated well and then
deported, but Nyi Nyi appears to be the first American of Burmese descent
on trial, which might account for the rough treatment.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the department is handling
the case as it would for any American citizen. "Embassy representatives
have monitored his court appearances and been able to talk with him in
that setting," he said. "We continue to press the Burmese government for
ongoing consular access as required by the Vienna Convention so that we
can ensure that he is treated appropriately."

____________________________________

December 26, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (US)
Burmese influx drops as jobs become scarce – Angela Mapes Turner

The federal government placed fewer Burmese refugees in the Fort Wayne
area this year than anticipated, conceding to a local economy increasingly
unable to meet residents’ needs.

The State Department says about 300 Burmese refugees were resettled in the
Fort Wayne area between October 2008 and October 2009, about half the
number aid agencies had been expecting, a result of lobbying by agencies
tasked with placing refugees in their new homes.

Although that’s the third-highest number of refugees welcomed in a year,
it pales in comparison with the more than 800 refugees resettled here the
year before.

The federal government considers community resources, refugees’ geographic
preferences and family reunifications when deciding where to assign
refugees. National representatives of 10 voluntary agencies charged with
resettling refugees meet weekly to discuss incoming cases.

For a while, only refugees with family members already in the Summit City
have been resettled here, but “family reunification” was being broadly
interpreted locally to include aunts, uncles, first and second and more,
State Department spokeswoman Beth Schlachter said.

Oppressed refugees have been fleeing Myanmar, as Burma is called by its
ruling military government, for decades. Since the 1990s, many have been
sent to Fort Wayne. As the Burmese refugee population swelled over the
past decade, an increasing number of incoming refugees asked to be placed
with relatives in the city, Schlachter said.

After refugees are in the U.S., they’re able to move freely, so many take
it upon themselves to reunite their own families, “secondary migrants,”
Schlachter said. Buoyed by secondary migration, the city is believed to
now have the largest concentration of Burmese refugees in the U.S.,
estimated at more than 5,000, according to Catholic Charities and other
human-services agencies.

Since April, at the request of local refugee resettlement agencies, the
State Department has limited “family reunification” to parents, siblings,
grandparents and grandchildren. Each city’s resources available to
refugees are evaluated independently, and Detroit and Fort Wayne are the
only two cities with the current restrictions, Schlacter said.

“We’re trying to encourage people to go places where they would have a
smoother transition and better chances of employment,” she said.

At the start of 2009, local social-services agencies were bracing for a
third year of record numbers of refugees, so the downturn came as a
relief.

Several years of high refugee numbers stretched the resources of schools
and agencies such as the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health,
which struggled to provide basic services such as immunizations. Even the
reduced number of refugees this year was a challenge, Allen County Health
Commissioner Dr. Deborah McMahan said.

“It’s been a real learning experience, I think, for all of us,” she said.

When the State Department approves refugees for admission into the U.S.,
placement agencies receive two weeks’ notice that the refugees are coming.
The agencies receive a stipend to provide housing, furniture, food and job
placement help, and they can’t turn away refugees.

Until the start of this year, Catholic Charities was the only agency in
Fort Wayne given the task by the federal government of resettling refugees
in northeast Indiana. In January, World Relief, a faith-based
international humanitarian aid organization, opened an office at Simpson
United Methodist Church on South Harrison Street in anticipation of the
increased flow of refugees.

Catholic Charities, which considers 150 to 250 refugees a year a wieldy
number, had advocated for a slowdown as early as 2007, Executive Director
Debbie Schmidt said.

Although World Relief’s representatives agreed to the restrictions,
secondary migration brings its own challenges because refugees come
without the support system of a local resettlement agency, said Julie
Navrotsky, church and volunteer coordinator for World Relief.

“In some ways, the restrictions have perpetuated that problem,” she said.
“I think we understand both sides.”

World Relief resettled 65 refugees in Fort Wayne between January and
September, about 35 fewer than it had hoped, a disappointment to the local
agency, Navrotsky said.

“The purpose of World Relief coming to town was to help with the influx,”
Navrotsky said.

World Relief has resettled refugees only from Myanmar this year, but it
might start resettling refugees from elsewhere or begin programs to help
secondary migrants, she said. Even when local refugees struggle to find
work, most are grateful to be out of refugee camps, reunited with family
members and in a place where their children will receive an education.

“Hopefully, the numbers will come up,” Navrotsky said.

Catholic Charities also plans to do more for secondary migrants and will
assign two caseworkers to the year-old Burmese Advocacy Center for that
purpose, starting next month, said Nyein Chan, resettlement services
director for Catholic Charities.

World Relief volunteer Nilar Mon, 37, came to the U.S. five years ago when
her husband applied for political asylum.

She should have an edge over most of the Burmese newcomers in getting a
job – she has a driver’s license and speaks English; she graduated from
high school in Burma; and she is an experienced seamstress.

But Nilar Mon was laid off from her factory job four months ago and has
been unable to find work since, and neither has her husband, who also
speaks English. It’s even more difficult for refugees arriving in the city
who don’t speak English and often lack basic education, she said.

She spent a recent morning visiting newly arrived refugees in their
apartments, dropping off diapers and household items, talking refugees
through the unfamiliarity of Fort Wayne’s public transportation system and
the cold, wet snow.

“They are scared to go out of their apartment,” she said. “The snow is too
cold. They never saw that.”

But many of the refugees do venture out by necessity, traveling to work if
they can find it. Two common sources of employment are Vera Bradley
locally and Tyson Foods Inc. in Logansport, but those companies can only
offer so much, Navrotsky said.

Navrotsky has seen more refugees trying to tap into the growing population
by starting Burmese-focused businesses, many home-based, and restaurants.

“There are some pretty innovative things going on, but there’s just not
enough work to go around for people who want a job,” she said.

Nilar Mon hopes to be one of those innovators in a few months. After being
laid off, she enrolled in cosmetology school. She hopes to open a salon to
serve the Burmese community.

She’s about a fifth of the way to that goal, but she and her husband have
two children to support and no job between them.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

December 23, Irrawaddy
Regime would be wise to heed Stiglitz's words – Kyaw Zwa Moe

“There is the hope that this is the moment of change for the country.”
That optimistic statement was made by Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel
Economics laureate after a visit to Burma.

Stiglitz was speaking at a press conference in Singapore organized  by the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) after attending an economics forum in the Burmese capital,
Naypyidaw.

Stiglitz met Burmese military officials led by Maj-Gen Htay Oo,
agriculture and rural development minister, and Soe Tha, national
development minister, and told the forum that revenues from oil and gas,
if well used, could open up a new era for the country.

He called specifically for an increase in spending on education, which he
said was necessary because the country is aging and the next generation
needs to be prepared to face the challenges of economic development.

Stiglitz especially urged the Burmese regime to improve the economic
conditions of the rural poor in Burma. Around 75 percent of the country's
estimated 57 million people live in rural areas.

Burmese farmers are especially hard hit because of crippling loan charges.
According to researchers, Burmese farmers pay as much as 7-10 percent
interest a month—which Stiglitz described as a symptom of serious
malfunctioning of the credit system.

In a situation where the financial sector worked properly, interest rates
would be lower, he said.  He stressed this point repeatedly and noted that
productivity suffered because of the lack of capital to buy fertilizers.

The Naypyidaw forum was the second in a planned series of events initiated
with a visit to Burma in July by UN Under Secretary-General and ESCAP
Executive Secretary Noeleen Hezyer. A previous visit to Burma by Hezyer
was described by ESCAP as the "first step in a development partnership
with the government of Myanmar [Burma] to discuss its agriculture economy
and policy."

The Burmese economy today is worse than at any time since World War II.
The country's rural economy has been extremely hard hit, even before
Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta in May 2008.

So there is no doubt that Burma needs seriously and radically to reform
its agricultural sector. The big question is whether or not the ruling
generals will take Stiglitz's valuable advice—historically, Burmese
leaders never listened to the input of experts.

The fledgling-democracy that followed independence from Britain in 1948
failed to improve the economy of a country recovering from the ravages of 
war. That era ended with the military coup in 1962 , following
insurgencies by many ethnic minorities.

The late dictator Ne Win, busy with strategies to deal with the rebels,
never considered how to open up the country and boost its economy to
improve the lives of the people. During his rule from 1962 to 1988, the
economy of the country sank ever deeper and the country was ranked as an
LDC, or “Least Developed Country,” by the UN in 1987.

One year later, the uprising fired by the moribund economy brought about
the collapse of Ne Win’s authoritarian government.

Like Stiglitz, Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew often suggested an
opening up of the Burmese economy to encourage tourism and attract  
foreign investors. Former closed countries like China and Vietnam were
held up as examples. Lee wrote in his book, From Third World to First:
“Nothing happened. Ne Win did not want foreigners in Burma.”

The current government, which succeeded Ne Win’s authoritarian regime, has
claimed it introduced the country to a “market economy,” although that
never was the case.

All fundamental market institutions in Burma are suppressed and private
enterprises are co-owned or indirectly owned by the state. Corruption is
rampant. According to the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index issued by
Transparency International, Burma is the world's third most corrupt
country.

The ruling generals have declared that the country could be
self-sufficient without having much to do with the outside world,
especially those Western countries that are strong critics of their human
rights violations and mismanagement.

In his book, Lee Kuan Yew recalled his trip to Rangoon in 1965: “I did not
realize at that time how determined he [Ne Win] was to be self-sufficient,
to have little to do with the outside world and to return to a romantic,
idyllic past when Burma was rich and self-sufficient.”

How about today? It all depends on the mind-set of Than Shwe, who has the
final word on any issues in Burma, including the economy and economic
policies.

Can Than Shwe be expected to heed the suggestions made by Stiglitz? It is
a matter of will. The world has pushed and advised Than Shwe and his
government in the past two decades to undertake the changes Burma must
make in the interests of a stronger economy and political stability. Burma
has never seen a hint of these positive changes because the generals never
considered them.

Currently, the international community and regional governments hope to
persuade the generals to introduce greater political and economic reform.

The US has taken the lead by dropping its policy of isolating Burma in
favor of  engagement. However, the junta could face tougher US sanctions
if Washington's new policy of direct engagement with the regime fails to
produce results. That's the message contained in recent remarks by
legislators in Washington and US diplomats in Asia.

It's to be hoped that Than Shwe will take seriously an additional message
from Stiglitz: “It would be a mistake to miss this moment.”

____________________________________

December 26, Asian Tribune
No sign of progress in Burma – Zin Linn

Feelings are running high with people of Burma because of a sad story. Tin
Tin Htwe, 38, from Bahan Township in Rangoon, reportedly died of a heart
disease.

Tin Tin Htwe, who was arrested during the 2007 Saffron Revolution, died in
Insein Prison hospital on 23 December, according to Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP), a Thai-Burma border based
organization working for the rights of political prisoners in Burma. Her
residential quarter, located within a kilometre east of Shwedagon Pagoda,
offered a panoramic sight of the deadliest crackdown during the 2007
September Saffron Revolution when armed forces fired on the procession of
Buddhist monks.

In 2009, there have been three political prisoner deaths. Salai Hla Moe,
Saw Char Late and Tin Tin Htwe, died in prison without getting proper
medical health care. According AAPP’s documentation, 143 political
prisoners, some of them law makers, writers and journalists have died in
prison since 1988.

Present sorrowful affairs in Burma re-confirm that the military junta is
making a determined march along the anti-democracy course. For instance,
the junta continues to detain and incarcerate more than 2,200 political
prisoners. They include Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi who has
been confined to her residence for 14 of the last 20 years. Su Su Nway,
recipient of the 2006 Humphrey Freedom Award from the Canada-based group,
Rights and Democracy, is lodged in the notorious Insein Jail since
November 2007. This is her second jail stint since 2005.

Leaders of the '88 Generation Students such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi,
Jimmy (aka) Kyaw Min Yu, Htay Kywe, Hla Myo Naung, Mee Mee and Nilar Thein
are sentenced to 65 years. Ethnic Shan political leader Hkun Htun Oo and a
prominent comedian Zarganar are also still in prison despite medical
complications.

In fact, there are many more political prisoners who are seriously sick;
they receive just rudimentary health care. Most political detainees are
intentionally transferred to remote prisons where health-care is in a
state of desolation. Most prisoners of conscience have to face terrible
torture as a matter of routine daily. The International Committee of the
Red Cross has been denied free access to prisons since December 2005.

Releasing prisoners of conscience may be a sign of sincerity that the
generals honestly want to restore democracy and human rights in Burma.
But, delay in release of political prisoners means the military rulers may
not allow democracy and national reconciliation.

Peoples from all walks of life are severely suffering from a lot of
miseries under the military regime which is in the saddle for nearly five
decades. The consequences of this reign of violence produce spilling over
effects directly into territories of the neighbouring countries.

Over the past two decades, more than a million Burmese workers have fled
to Thailand. This has placed tremendous pressure on the Thai governments
which is facing its own hardships. Trans-border crime has gone up with a
massive influx of narcotics drugs, including heroin and methamphetamines.
Trafficking in women and children has increased along the 2,400 km-long
Thailand-Burma border. The regime's neglect of health-care has also
produced a new HIV/AIDS flow into neighbouring countries.

Within the country, the living standards of average citizens are rapidly
falling. The situation is alarming even on the outskirts of Yangon.
According to the UN estimation, one child in three under the age of five
is suffering from malnutrition.

Field studies by Dr Chris Beyrer (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health) and his colleagues show that the junta has neglected the health
sector. “Burma’s investment in the health infrastructure is one of the
lowest worldwide’, the study carried out during 2005 and 2006 shows. The
health sector is steeped in corruption, the study says.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has ranked Burma one place above
Sierra Leone, which came 191st in a list of countries surveyed. Nearly
three-fourth of the country lives below the poverty line. A large slice of
the country's budget, an estimated 40-50 percent goes to fund a
400,000-strong armed force.

Health care gets just under three percent of the outlay. A niggardly
allocation of $137,000 per year is made for treatment of 52 million people
suffering from HIV/Aids. UNICEF reports that spending on healthcare in
Burma amounts to 40 cents per citizen per year, compared to $61 in
Thailand.

Signalling that defence will continue to attract funding, Russia has
signed a contract to deliver 20 MiG-29 planes to Burma’s air force.
Kommersant - Russia's Daily Online – reports that the contract is worth
nearly 400 million euros (570 million dollars). This is yet another
instance of Russia ignoring the sanctions on Burma. China is also ignoring
these sanctions. With such friends to defy the world opinion, the junta is
unlikely to the mounting pressure from human rights activists and people
at large. It will do its best to perpetuate the fraud it had inflicted in
the name of a referendum in 2008 on a constitution that is designed to
keep the army in power.

The elections scheduled for 2010 will legalize the military rule. Just
like the referendum held at gun-point, the forthcoming election will be
anything but free and fair. But the question is how long will the junta be
able to cling to power?

The socio-economic situation is worsening by the day. Till date, the junta
has failed to pay attention to the problem with all its energies focussed
on cementing its hold on the structures of governance. National
reconciliation is a mantra the Junta recites only when nudged by the
outside powers and not otherwise. The junta also does not show respect to
the successive resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA)
calling for a return of democratic system in Burma through a tripartite
dialogue between the Junta led by Senior General Than Shwe, democratic
forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic
nationalities.

‘A tiger is a tiger and it never lives on grass’, according to a Burmese
saying. It is time therefore for the world leaders to mount a campaign to
cage the Burmese tiger and to usher in a democracy. Belief in military
dictators’ promise of building a democratic country will make them an
object of ridicule.

Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. Now he's
working at the NCGUB East Office as an information director and is
vice-president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the
Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.

____________________________________

December 26, New Light of Myanmar
National unity is the most essential requirement for perpetuation of
sovereignty of the State; True patriotism means not to harbour
narrow-minded nationalism – Than Shwe

Nay Pyi Taw – The following is the full text of the speech delivered by
Senior General Than Shwe, Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, at the
Graduation Parade of the 11th Intake of Defence Services Medical Academy
today.

Comrades, Today is the graduation day of the 11th Intake of the Defence
Services Medical Academy. As you will soon have to discharge the duties of
national defence and the duty of the Defence Services Medical Corps, I
would like to give necessary guidance solemnly to all of you. Comrades, As
you have successfully completed the military and medical studies at the
Academy, you will have to provide health care services to the Tatmadawmen
and their family members in the regiments you are posted to.

By nature of work, our Tatmadawmen are always facing the brunt of severe
weather, disease from different regions and injuries caused by various
reasons. In addition, you will have to perform your duties in the
far-flung remote areas where there would be neither communications nor
medical health care services.

Therefore, when you perform the duty of health care services for the
Tatmadawmen and their families, apart from providing medical treatment, it
is necessary for you to undertake extensive educational activities to
promote public awareness so that they could live with health knowledge and
consciousness.

If each and every Tatmadawman will become smart enough to live with health
knowledge and consciousness in line with the motto “Prevention is better
than cure”, losses caused by diseases could be prevented. It is an honour
for a Tatmadawman to sacrifice his life for the country in the fight
against an enemy. However, it is an undesirable loss for the country and
the Tatmadaw if a Tatmadawman lost his life due to diseases.

Therefore, you must render health care services to Tatmadawmen who are
performing national defence duties in accordance with the aim of the
Defence Services Medical Corps "Sound Health and Fitness for Combat
Capability" so that all the Tatmadawmen could fulfill their duties in good
health without any trouble of diseases.

Beside, our family members must also take part in rendering necessary
support together with the Tatmadawmen in the remote regions where com
munication and transportation are difficult. I would like to urge you to
treat such family members as your own close relatives and provide health
care services to them.

Comrades,

You are medical professional as well as members of the Tatmadawmen
shouldering the duties of national defence. Our Tatmadaw has always paid
respect to its loyalty to the State and the people, as it is steadfastly
upholding the “Four Oaths” of its commitments. The Tatmadawmen are those
who do not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the country and the
Tatmadaw if necessary.

Those fine and noble traditions of our Tatmadaw must be upheld and
maintained at risk of your lives. As the main responsibility of Tatmadaw
is safeguarding of the country and national security, you must also
perform your duty of defending the country playing whatever role you are
in. You have to perform the duties of providing medical services
hand-in-hand with the
combatant Tatmadawmen in the frontline. Likewise, you will also have to
render health care services of the Tatmadawmen and members of their
families who have been carrying out the supplying duties in the base. In
whatever region or situation you are posted, you need to render your
services with goodwill and kindness according to the motto: "Goodwill and
Kindness take harm away".

The services of the members of the Medical Corps like you play an
important role for the Tatmadaw, as the combating warriors will be able to
fully perform their national defence duties only when they are in good
health and fitness and high morale.

Comrades,

There have been advancements in medical science and military related
science with the changes of eras and systems.

Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have been produced by combination
of medical and military sciences. There were times when those weapons were
used in some regions although the international community is making
efforts to control and restrict those weapons, as the attacks with such
kinds of dangerous weapons could have serious consequences causing social
sufferings for consecutive generations of mankind. As you are members of
Tatmadaw and medical professions, you are required to seek ways and means
in advance to prevent the dangerous consequences of these nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons. Only then will you be able to protect the
members of the Armed Forces effectively in the face of such dangers.
Therefore, apart from your studies at the Academy, you have to pursue
further studies on a sustainable basis not only of the ever progressing
medical science but also other related military science and tactics. I
wish to urge you to apply your profession with innovative and creative
efforts in the interest of the country and the Tatmadaw through exchange
of knowledge and experiences gained in your practical life among
yourselves.

Comrades,

Being Tatmadawmen performing duties of national defence, we should always
undergo training to get ourselves ever ready for combat in accordance with
the motto of "Three Forevers". You have been trained to acquire the
military education by the Academy up to the level of a Platoon Commander.
You will also have the opportunity to study further advanced military
education occasionally at the military training institutes. While
practicing continuously military profession, you need to keep pursuing
studies in ever changing military tactic so that you will be able to lead
your troops in the battle fields in time of need. Moreover, only when you
keep on practicing your medical knowledge learnt from the Academy, will
you be able to carry out health care activities effectively. Being
Tatmadawmen and medical doctors, you need to be not only military leaders
with full of physical prowess and combat capability but also medical
doctors with mental prowess and kind heart to help others. I wish to urge
you to train and build up yourselves in order to become good leaders
imbued with both physical and mental prowess.

Comrades,

As the Tatmadaw was born out of the peoples, we always uphold the interest
of the people. During the course of the history, we have made our utmost
endeavours to carry out the public welfare activities.

Our members of medical corps sacrificed their own interest and rendered
assistance to the people in the areas affected by the Cyclone Nargis in
early May 2008. The Tatmadaw has proved its goodwill intention rendering
help with warmth, goodwill and loving kindness to the people living in the
far-flung remote areas lacking in communication and transportation
facilities. The collective efforts of the State, people and the Tatmadaw
has successfully overcome the ensuing epidemics that could arise in the
areas struck by natural disasters. In that regard, contributions of the
Members of the Medical Corps deserve commendation and have been put on
record with high esteem and honour. As all of you are to be assigned at
different regions of the country, you have to look after the health and
wellbeing of the local people to the best of your ability. Since majority
of the people of our country live in the rural areas, the Government has
laid down five programmes for Rural Areas Development with a view to
emergence of the new, modern developed nation and is striving to achieve
the objective of making every one free from curable diseases fully enjoy a
long life. Therefore, while lending your hands in implementing the
National Health Plan laid down by the State, you have to continue to
participate in the public welfare activities in line with the fine
tradition of the Tatmadaw.

Comrades,

Being physicians and members of the Tatmadaw, all of you are also young
leaders of the Tatmadaw. Therefore, you are required to equip yourselves
with the leadership qualities. Whatever tasks assigned to you must be
fulfilled together with the members under your charge by exerting correct
leadership. Good leadership means having firm belief in yourselves,
capabilities, and possessing the ability to build the members under your
leadership to have good morale, discipline, full capabilities, unity, and
the ability to lead them to work together under your management.

Moreover, as you are going to lead and supervise the members of the
medical corps, you have to be excelled in your respective professions in
order to earn admiration, trust and reliance from the members of the
corps.

In this way, you can successfully fulfill all the assigned duties
harmoniously with the team spirit. Comrades, As you are to be assigned at
different regions of the country, you have to build up the national unity
while performing your duties to look after the health and wellbeing of the
national brethren.

National unity is the most essential requirement for the perpetuation of
the sovereignty of the State which is resided by over one hundred national
races. Although we have different faiths and traditions, all the
nationalities are the citizens of the Union of Myanmar with the same
characteristics such as kindness, helpfulness, patience, bravery, and
patriotism.

True patriotism means not to harbour narrow-minded nationalism, but to
have the true patriotic spirit desirous of working together for the
perpetuation, progress and prosperity of the Union.

While extending help in the health and welfare activities of the national
brethren, you must organize the people so that such a true patriotism or
union spirit be flourished among the national races.

Comrades,

I would like to conclude by urging you-

- To exert efforts to become reliable physicians of the Tatmadaw in line
with the motto of the Defence Services Medical Academy “Courageous
Physicians, the Conquering Warriors”.

- To try to become good leaders equipped with three designated capacities
while upholding the "Our Three Main National Causes", and to undergo
training and get yourselves ever ready for the national defence.

-	To build national unity by serving the interests of the local people at
any regions of your assignment.
-
____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

December 24, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners Burma
Female political prisoner Tin Tin Htwe @ Ma Pae dies in Prison

On 23 December Tin Tin Htwe@ Ma Pae, aged only 38, died in Insein prison
from a burst aneurysm. She was initially in Tharrawaddy prison hospital
before being transferred to Insein prison after her condition
deteriorated.

She was arrested on 26 September 2007 with 14 other political activists
because of their involvement in the 2007 Saffron Revolution and initially
they were released with bail. However, on 24 November 2007, they were
sentenced under sections 332 (hindering a public servant from carrying out
their duty) and 294 (covering obscene acts and songs in public) to three
years and three months with hard labor.

In 2009, there have been three political prisoner deaths. Salai Hla Moe,
Saw Char Late and Tin Tin Htwe, died in prison without getting proper
medical health care.

According AAPP’s documentation, there are 143 political prisoners who have
died in prison since 1988.

Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
For further information, please contact:
Tate Naing, AAPP Secretary, +66(0)812878751
Bo Kyi, AAPP Joint-Secretary, +66(0)81-3248935