BurmaNet News, January 16 - 19, 2010

[Editor]

January 16 – 19, 2010, Issue #3878


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Several politicians express support for Burma election
AFP: Suu Kyi lawyers give final arguments in top Myanmar court
Kaladan Press: Win Tin permitted to travel outside Rangoon
Mizzima News: American academicians meet NLD leaders
Reuters: As poll looms, Myanmar still building parliament

ON THE BORDER
Times of India: India will ask Myanmar to launch intensive search for
Paresh Baruah
Khonumthung News: Chin students union to observe conference

BUSINESS / TRADE
Vietnam News Agency: Vietnam boosts investment in Myanmar

REGIONAL
DVB: Japan calls for Suu Kyi’s release

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Dark signs of things to come – Kyaw Zwa Moe
Wall Street Journal: India can move the needle on Burma – Kelly Currie

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Campaign UK: Kachin farmer murdered by Burmese Army soldiers -
authorities take no action

ANNOUNCEMENT
New York Open Center: New York Open Center hosts its first exhibition on
contemporary Burmese art organized and curated by Burmese artists from the
tri-state area



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 19, Irrawaddy
Several politicians express support for Burma election – Saw Yan Naing

While many international observers and Burmese dissidents have condemned
the military government's plan to hold a general election this year,
several veteran Burmese politicians, former political prisoners and
student activists expressed support for this year's election at an
informal political meeting in Rangoon on Saturday.

The individual comments came at a meeting called the “Burma Affairs Forum”
which took place at the Karaweik Hotel in central Rangoon. About 50
participants discussed the pros and cons and the issues surrounding the
proposed election.

The meeting was organized by a committee including student activists who
were involved in the 1988 uprising and politicians who intend to contest
this year's election, such as ethnic Shan politician Shwe Ohn and the
daughter of late Deputy Prime Minister Kyaw Nyein, Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein.

One of the meeting organizers, Thein Tin Aung, said, “We focused the
agenda on how to approach the election. The participants discussed how to
ensure a smooth transition from military rule to democracy. Another item
on the agenda was: 'How to deal with the military regime 
confrontation or
cooperation?'

“In my opinion, the election is vital for the process of democracy,” he
added.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein said, “An election
is a great chance for the politicians, for the people and for the country.
For the sake of the country, we have decided to grab this opportunity.

“There is no other alternative to the election,” she said.

“It doesn't mean we accept the 2008 Constitution. We hope it can be
changed at some time in the future,” she said, adding that Shwe Ohn, who
formed the Union Democratic Alliance Party to contest the election,
brought up the issue of federalism at the forum.

Most major opposition and ethnic leaders did not attend the meeting,
including those from detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy (NLD).

The NLD has said the military regime must allow for a review of the
Constitution and the release of political prisoners before it will
consider participating in the election.

To date, no electoral law or date have been announced for the election.
However, the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun last week claimed the election
will be held on Oct. 10.

Meanwhile, Aye Lwin, a student leader in the 1988 uprising who founded his
own political group in 2005 known as the Union of Burma 88 Generation
Students group, said that his organization is conducting political
campaigns in different townships and divisions across Burma.

“The election is a chance for change,” he said. “Therefore, we have to
try––even if we all have different opinions about the process.”

He said that his organization is receiving a positive response from the
public while in the field, but said that many people are still fearful of
involvement in politics.

The pro-junta National Unity Party (NUP) is also campaigning across the
country, sources said. The NUP won 10 parliamentary seats in the 1990
election while the NLD won 392 seats.

In December 2009, the Brussels-based Euro-Burma Office––which is tasked
with helping the Burmese democracy movement prepare for a transition to
democracy––said it will provide financial support to opposition parties
and ethnic groups that will contest the general election if they need
support, according to the organization's Executive Director Harn Yawnghwe.

The aim of supporting those groups is to let them strive for democracy and
ethnic rights within any political space that might be opened up by the
Burmese regime, he said.

Many exiled dissidents and international observers have denounced the
planned election as a “sham” designed to entrench the junta's rule and
have called for a boycott of the election.

____________________________________

January 18, Agence France Presse
Suu Kyi lawyers give final arguments in top Myanmar court

Yangon — Myanmar's supreme court heard final arguments on Monday against
the extended house arrest of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,
her lawyer said.

The 64-year-old opposition leader was ordered in August to spend another
18 months in detention after being convicted over an incident in which a
US man swam to her house. A lower court rejected an initial appeal in
October.

Monday's hearing at the top Yangon court, where both sides gave arguments,
lasted more than three hours, according to Suu Kyi's main lawyer Kyi Win.
He said a decision was expected within a month.

"We expect them to accept our arguments and after that release Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi," he told AFP. Daw is a term of respect in Myanmar.

"The law is completely on our side," he said, adding that they argued her
conviction was unlawful because it was based on regulations in the
country's now-defunct 1974 constitution.

If the appeal is rejected, Suu Kyi and her legal team will write to the
office of the chief justice at the supreme court, explained Nyan Win,
another of her lawyers.

If this also fails, it is thought they would have to appeal directly to
the military government to try to get the conviction overturned.

The Nobel peace laureate, who is detained at her lakeside mansion in
Yangon, did not attend the court and journalists were barred, although the
British ambassador and another embassy official were seen going into the
hearing.

Myanmar's military rulers have kept Suu Kyi in detention for 14 of the
past 20 years, having refused to recognise her party's landslide victory
in the country's last democratic elections in 1990.

The extension of her detention after a prison trial sparked international
outrage as it effectively keeps her off the stage for elections promised
by the regime some time this year.

But in recent months the United States, followed by the European Union,
has shifted towards a policy of greater engagement with Myanmar -- which
has been under military rule since 1962 -- as sanctions have failed to
bear fruit.

Suu Kyi has also changed tack after years of favouring harsh international
measures against Myanmar, writing twice to junta chief Than Shwe since
September offering her cooperation in trying to get Western sanctions
lifted.

On Friday she met the ruling junta's liaison officer, in the latest sign
of dialogue between the two sides. It was the fourth meeting between the
pair since the beginning of October.

She was also granted a meeting in December with three elderly senior NLD
members, at which she asked for their approval to reorganise the party
leadership committee.

But the junta has not yet granted her requests to meet the rest of the
committee and to hold talks with Than Shwe himself.

In November the regime allowed her to make a rare appearance in front of
the media after meeting US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, the
highest level official from Washington to visit Myanmar for 14 years.

A visit by US senator Jim Webb in August secured the release of John
Yettaw, the American man who swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's home in May
and sparked the case that led to her detention being prolonged.

____________________________________

January 19, Kaladan Press
Win Tin permitted to travel outside Rangoon

Win Tin, a leader with the National League for Democracy (NLD), for the
first time since his release from prison in September 2008 on Monday
traveled outside of Rangoon.

After serving over 19 years in prison, the veteran politician was released
in September 2008 but remained under constant surveillance, prevented from
leaving Rangoon due authorities withholding his national identity card.


Ohn Kyaing, a Central Executive Committee member of the NLD, however, said
he was unexpectedly given his national identity card two months ago,
enabling him to travel to Burma’s second largest city of Mandalay, about
430 miles north of Rangoon, to attend the centennial anniversary of the
birth of the late Ludu U Hla.

“There were no official travel restrictions imposed on U Win Tin. But he
was not issued a national ID card
and without this, no one can buy air,
rail or car tickets. The ID card is also necessary for the registration of
overnight guests and for hotel check-ins. So, in this way, he was unable
to travel to other places,” Ohn Kyaing said of his previous obstacles to
moving around the country.

“But strangely this ID card was issued to him about two months ago,” Ohn
Kyaing added.

Though he received the ID card some two months ago, he has since now been
unable to enjoy his freedom of mobility due to undergoing cardiac surgery.

Ohn Kyaing said Win Tin had no troubles in purchasing bus tickets and
reportedly reached Mandalay safely.

Win Tin was joined by Ohn Kyaing, poet Pyapon Ni Lone Oo (a.k.a. Aung
Myint) and writer Monywa Aung Shin in attending the memorial of prominent
journalist Ludu U Hla, which was held on Tuesday.

Win Tin, also a veteran journalist, served as Editor-in-Chief of the
Hantharwady daily newspaper in Mandalay for over 10 years.

After attending the proceedings, Win Tin reportedly visited colleagues and
friends on Tuesday morning before paying homage to U Pyinnya, abbot of the
Taung Laylone monastery in Amarapura.

Ohn Kyaing said Win Tin is scheduled to visit the residence of the late
Ludu Daw Ahmar, wife of Ludu U Hla, in Maymyo on Wednesday. But his return
date to Rangoon has not yet been fixed, Ohn Kyaing added.

The 81-year old politician is one of the founding members of the NLD and
was an active participant during the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. He was
arrested in July 1989 and sentenced to 20 years prison.

Win Tin began his career as a journalist at age 13 and later wrote several
political and human rights papers while in detention in Insein prison. His
writings include, Resolving Crises Through Dialogue, Demanding the Release
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from House Arrest and the Situation of Human
Rights Violations Inside the Burma Prisons.

He has received several awards in honor of his firm belief in democracy
and human rights, including UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom
award, the Golden Pen of Freedom prize and the Reporters without Borders
award.
____________________________________

January 18, Mizzima News
American academicians meet NLD leaders – Kyaw Thein Kha

Chiang Mai – A three-member team of American academicians led by Prof.
Karl D. Jakson, Director General, Southeast Asia Studies, John Hopkins
University, met a few leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The team visited the NLD party headquarters on January 11 and met CEC
members Nyan Win, Han Thar Myint and Ohn Kyaing from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

“We met but there was no discussion as such. They inquired about the
current political situation in Burma, the current situation in the NLD,
future objectives, among others. We just answered some questions,” CEC
member Nyan Win said.

Nyan Win also said that Prof. Karl D. Jakson once conducted research on
former Indonesian President Suharto. He had heard that the team would meet
some ministers in Naypyitaw.

Another CEC member Ohn Kyaing said the US team asked about NLD’s
Shwegondaing Declaration. The party clarified its stand in the declaration
to the Americans.

“We explained our stand in the Shwegondaing Declaration to them but there
were no discussions. They told us they would meet government functionaries
in Naypyitaw the next day,” he told Mizzima.

According to Ohn Kyaing, the US team told Burmese embassy officials in the
US that they would like to meet NLD and Burmese government officials when
they applied for visas.

Though rumours suggested the American academicians met NLD leader Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi also, the NLD CEC members could not verify it.

Despite the US team being allowed to meet the NLD, some observers said
they are yet to see any positive signs in Burmese politics.

Burma affairs observer Win Min said, “Using both tools is better than
using only one tool relating to pressure tactics. We must say this is
exercising additional force in exploring ways for a positive development.
But for the time being, we cannot see any positive sign of progress.
Everything depends on Senior Gen. Than Shwe”.

Prof. Karl D. Jakson  received his doctoral degree in Political Science
from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and served as Assistant
Secretary of East Asia Defence from 1986 to 1989, National Security
Advisor of US Vice-President from 1991 to 1993, special aide of US
President and Asian National Security Council Director from 1989 to 1991
and US-Thai Economic Council Chairman from 1994 to 2005.

Now he is assistant advisor to the World Bank Chairman and at the same
time conducting research on ‘Culture of Democracy in Asia’. He has been
working in John Hopkins University since 1996.

____________________________________

January 16, Reuters
As poll looms, Myanmar still building parliament – Aung Hla Tun

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar – Military-ruled Myanmar's first parliamentary
elections in 20 years are set for this year, yet construction on its
parliament is not yet complete -- suggesting little chance of a poll in
the next few months.

The military junta has yet to set a date for the election. Some speculate
it could take place in October or earlier.

A rare glimpse of the planned parliament in Myanmar's remote new capital
Naypyitaw shows much work to be done -- from unfinished roads to painting
many of the parliamentary complex's 31 buildings, with pagoda-style roofs
sheathed in scaffolding.

A Reuters correspondent who viewed the construction could not determine
how much work if any was finished inside the buildings.

But the huge development underscores the rapid expansion of Naypyitaw, a
sprawling city built from scratch just four years ago, where the reclusive
military rulers of the former Burma have isolated themselves, some 320 km
(200 miles) from the largest city and former capital, Yangon.

Naypyitaw -- the name translates as "Abode of Kings" -- is a maze of
ministry buildings, government mansions, civil servants' quarters and
unfinished presidential palaces complete with grand Roman-style pillars --
all rising from dusty, arid scrubland.

Bestowed with manicured, heavily watered lawns and forbidding stone walls,
it bears no resemblance to the rest of Myanmar, one of Asia's poorest
countries, or even to nearby villages, where many people live in thatched
wooden huts.

Attractions include five golf courses, seven resort-style hotels,
drinkable tap water, a Western-style shopping mall, a large zoo, a
sprawling "water fountain garden," lavish mansions and 24-hour electricity
in a nation beset by power outages.

A sleek new cinema is in the works along with dozens of buildings in a
frenzy of construction carried out mostly by workers toiling in searing
heat without modern equipment.

Women haul stacks of bricks balanced upon their head at one construction
site, while men clear land with wooden-handled scythes at another.
Ox-drawn carts transport wood on the new military-built highway from
Yangon.

The government declines to disclose Naypyitaw's cost but analysts and
diplomatic sources say it must have cost billions of dollars, drawing
criticism from aid groups over the priorities of a country facing chronic
poverty and crumbling infrastructure.

But its rise reflects the strengthening diplomatic and financial muscle of
Myanmar's rulers as Southeast Asia and China tap its rich natural
resources, from timber and natural gas to precious Burmese gems, despite
Western sanctions imposed in response to rights abuses.

MISSING PULSE

A Western diplomat in Yangon expressed amazement at the scale of
Naypyitaw, questioning how the government would occupy parliament's 31
buildings, which are in addition to ministerial offices and three
presidential palaces spread around the city.

"It's astonishing how fast it is being built," he said.

But one critical element is missing -- a pulse. There's no lively city
center thronged with people, even four years after the government moved
nearly all its workers there.

Though officials put its population at about 1 million, this is ballooned
by four surrounding townships. And while a ban on foreigners has lifted
and tourists are welcome, Naypyitaw itself feels like a high-end ghost
town.

Its roads are puzzlingly wide, including one 20-lane boulevard, but they
are largely empty. Civilian cars are rare. Its city center, a roundabout
where five roads meet, is populated only by palm trees and potted flowers.

Restaurants are busy at night, but the city's amenities -- from parks to a
double-tiered, fully lit golf driving range -- are eerily empty. It's
possible to drive hours on the new highway from Yangon and see just a half
a dozen cars.

One person they're surely happy to leave in Yangon is opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate whose house arrest was extended in
August.

Some experts say she may be released ahead of elections, but even then she
is not expected to be allowed to play a significant role in politics after
leading her National League for Democracy to a landslide victory in the
last election in 1990, a poll the junta never recognized.

(Editing by Bill Tarrant)

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

January 19, Times of India
India will ask Myanmar to launch intensive search for Paresh Baruah

New Delhi – India will ask Myanmar to launch a thorough search in its
Kachin province area where ULFA `commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah is
hiding. It will also seek the neighbouring country's help in flushing out
other north-east insurgents from its territory.

The matter along with the issue of smuggling of Chinese arms through
Myanmar will come up for discussion during three-day home secretary-level
talks between the two countries, beginning in Nay Pay Taw on Tuesday.

Besides ULFA, NSCN(I-M), NSCN(K), PLA and UNLF too have their camps within
Myanmar territory. While ULFA has camps in the Kachin province bordering
China, the other outfits have been operating from areas bordering India.

The 10-member Indian delegation for the talks will be led by Union home
secretary G K Pillai.

Sources in the home ministry said that besides talks on action against
Indian insurgents hiding there and smuggling of Chinese arms through
Myanmar, the Indian side will also pitch for setting up a number of
`police liaison posts' at the border for constant infomation sharing
between the two countries over criminals and smugglers.

The posts will provide a platform of daily interaction and joint
interrogation of persons arrested for drugs/arms smuggling and for
insurgency related activities.

Issues like border security, smuggling of narcotic drugs, effective border
management and border trade will also be discussed during the talks.
____________________________________

January 19, Khonumthung News
Chin students union to observe conference

The Chin Students Union of Kale University in Sagaing division, Burma,
also known as Lai Sianghleirun Sianghngakchia (LSS), will observe its
conference on January 23 at the Salem Baptist Church in Tahan.

Joseph Bawi (LSS functionary) told Khonumthung News that about 500 Chin
students will participate and preparations are on. During the meeting 23
students will be selected as office bearers of the LSS for the year 2010.
The meeting will then go over the union’s future plans.

Besides, the LSS is observing its anniversary to foster unity among Chin
nationals, to hold on to Chin culture and tradition, and to find new
leaders among the Chin people for the future and to promote education.

“Although Chin people have their own land and tribes, the present military
junta discriminates against them on different issues. The people suffer
like slaves under the regime. Therefore, they have to try to get back the
right of self-determination and to think of their future,” he said.

Chin people have to understand how threatened their lives are by the junta
and they have to work for their rights and have it accepted by the
international community.
The Chin students’ Union was established in 1993 as the Hakha-Thantlang
University Association, but in 1996 it was renamed the Lai Sianghleirun
Sianghngakchia (LSS).

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 19, Vietnam News Agency
Vietnam boosts investment in Myanmar

Hanoi –A delegation of representatives of Vietnamese ministries and
businesses visited Myanmar [Burma] from January 14-16 to survey investment
opportunities in this country.

The delegation, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Doan Xuan Hung, paid a
courtesy visit to Prime Minister Thein Sein and held a working session
with the Myanmar Ministry of Economic Development and State Planning at
Myanmar 's administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw.

At the meetings, the Myanmar side spoke highly of the Vietnamese
delegation's visit, affirming that Myanmar values the traditional
relationship between the two countries.

The Myanmar officials said they were pleased with the continuously
developing friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Myanmar , both
bilaterally and multilaterally.

They also affirmed that they would create favourable conditions for
Vietnamese businesses to invest in areas that benefit both sides and meet
Myanmar 's demand for development.

On January 15 and 16, the Vietnamese delegation joined Myanmar's Ministry
of Economic Development and State Planning and Union of Myanmar Federation
of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to hold two seminars in Nay Pyi Taw
and Yangon which aimed to seek solutions to boost Vietnam's investment in
Myanmar as well as bilateral trade cooperation.

According to the Myanmar statistics, by the end of September 2009, Vietnam
had invested 23.4 million USD in Myanmar. Investment activities between
the two countries started in late 1988.

Vietnam is Myanmar 's 16th largest export market. The country imports
agro-forest, seafood products and electronic components from Myanmar while
exporting steel, electronic items, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods,
chemicals, computers and computer's spare parts.

The two countries are looking towards launching a direct air route to
promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

January 18, Democratic Voice of Burma
Japan calls for Suu Kyi’s release

Japan’s foreign minister has urged Burma’s military rulers to release
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, adding that aid could be
stepped up if elections this year are free.

Katsuya Okada met with his Burmese counterpart, Nyan Win, on Sunday on the
sidelines of a gathering of foreign ministers from Asia and Latin America.

According to the Japanese foreign ministry website, Okada said that Suu
Kyi and Burma’s 2,100 political prisoners should be released prior to the
elections, although the Burmese junta is yet to announce a date.

Japanese aid to Burma was halted in 2007 following the shooting by Burmese
police of Japanese reporter Kenji Nagai, who was covering the September
2007 monk-led uprising.

It was resumed however following cyclone Nargis in May 2008, and Japan
that year provided more than $US30 million in aid and technical assistance
to Burma.

Tokyo has since maintained close ties with the ruling State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), despite issuing sporadic calls for it to pay
greater attention to human rights.

Nyan Win replied that elections would be free and fair, and that he
expected Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party to
participate, the foreign ministry said.

The NLD spokesperson, also called Nyan Win, told DVB that the party agrees
with Japan’s stance.

“[Aung San Suu Kyi] is the most important person in our country and has
won support from the international community,” he said. “If a person like
this is to be locked away when elections are held, then the elections will
never be justified as fair.”

Suu Kyi’s sentencing in August last year to 18 months under house arrest
was greeted by critics of the junta as a ploy to keep her out of the
political arena until the elections had passed.

Even if she were released before the elections, a clause in the 2008
constitution that prohibits former prisoners from participating looks set
to ensure she will play no role.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 18, Irrawaddy
Dark signs of things to come – Kyaw Zwa Moe

Burma's year is off to a grim start, thanks to the country's ruling junta.

In a year that is supposed to mark a major political transition, the
regime has moved quickly to snuff out any glimmer of hope for real change.
We now know what to expect in 2010: harsh punishment for those who cross
the generals, and rich rewards for those who work with them to keep the
country under their control. In other words—more of the same.

On Jan. 6, a court in Insein Prison sentenced ex-major Win Naing Kyaw, a
former aide to Lt-Gen Tin Oo, the junta's late Secretary Two, and Thura
Kyaw, of the foreign affairs department, to death under Section 3 of the
State Emergency Act. At the same time, it sentenced a clerk from the
foreign affairs department to 15 years imprisonment for violation of the
Electronics Act, which prohibits sending information, photos and videos
damaging to the government via the Internet.

Their crime was leaking military secrets to the exiled media.
Specifically, they were found guilty of sending information and photos
about a secret trip to North Korea by Gen Shwe Mann, the third most
powerful general in the regime. The trip, which took place in late 2008,
involved arms procurement and  an agreement with Pyongyang for technical
assistance in the construction of secret tunnels in remote regions of
Burma.

Earlier, it was learned that 25-year-old video journalist Hla Hla Win and
her assistant were thrown behind bars for 26 years for attempting to
smuggle video footage of the country's situation to the Norway-based
Democratic Voice of Burma.

Meanwhile, there have also been reports of continuing cronyism in Burma.
The state-run newspaper Myanmar Ahlin reported that the government had
awarded a major contract for construction of two hydro-power plants to the
Htoo Trading Company, owned by Tay Za, a close associate of junta leader
Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his family.

These are inauspicious signs, indeed. With an election expected to take
place later this year, we are all still very much in the dark about the
country's political situation. The junta has set no date for the election,
nor has it promulgated any law allowing political parties to form. No one
has any idea when the campaign will begin or who will be permitted to run.

“The current political situation is like the blind groping in the
darkness,” said Khin Maung Swe, a spokesperson for the National League for
Democracy (NLD), speaking by phone from the party's headquarters in
Rangoon's Shwegondaing Township.

His words hold true not just for dissidents and political groups, but also
for the majority of people in Burma. Only the generals themselves have any
idea what the junta's plans are.

All we can say for certain is that the regime sees the 2010 election more
than just part of an exit strategy. It also intends to use it to lay the
foundation for the military's long-term domination of Burma's political
system. After the election, the 2008 Constitution will come into force,
ensuring the military a 25 percent share of the seats in parliament.

On Jan. 4, in his speech to mark the country’s Independence Day, Than Shwe
stated: “Plans are underway to hold elections in a systematic way this
year.”

“The entire population has to make the correct choice,” he added, offering
no guarantee that the election would be free, fair and open, as the
international community has demanded.

As for the NLD, it remains firmly committed to its Shwegondaing
declaration, which calls for a review of the Constitution, political
dialogue between the junta and opposition groups, and the release of more
than 2,000 political prisoners, including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
who has been detained for more than 14 of the past 20 years.

The current dark cloud in politics has left several main ethnic groups
wondering whether they should  even consider forming political parties to
participate in the upcoming election.

“We will not found a political party, much less take part in the election,
if the government doesn't review the 2008 Constitution,” said 76-year-old
veteran journalist and politician Thar Ban, the acting chairman of the
Arakan League for Democracy, which won 11 seats in western Arakan State in
the 1990 election and was later abolished.

“We were cheated once. We don't want to be cheated again,” said Thar Ban,
who was put in jail twice, for a total of 12 years.

Leaders from a coalition of 12 ethnic parties based inside Burma have
stood together with Thar Ban. The ethnic coalition, known as the United
Nationalities Alliance, won 67 seats in the 1990 election. What they
complain about mainly is the lack of equality and autonomy for ethnic
people in the 2008 Constitution.

Although most political groups in Burma agree that the regime's political
process is too flawed to participate in, there is a small minority who
take a different view.

Even in the absence of electoral laws and an election date, a small group
of dissidents has decided that the election is the only game in town. A
few months ago, veteran politician Thu Wai formed the Democratic Party.
However, the party has not yet been registered.

“Anyone expecting to contest the election is not allowed to do anything
yet,” he said. His party is supported by the daughter of former Prime
Minister U Nu.

Thu Wai, who was also put in jail in the mid-1990s for his political
activities, sees demanding dialogue with the junta as just a waste of
time.

“If discussions are possible, it is good. But if they are not possible,
why should we be wasting time?” Thu Wai told The Irrawaddy in a recent
interview. “Only in a legal parliament can we secure the right to
criticize what we don't like and to engage in politics.”

The crucial problem is that the game is never fair, not even to a minimal
degree. Players—even those who view the election positively—are never
allowed to participate in the whole process. Undemocratic and irregular
rules drive them out of the game.

This is supposed to be a year in which great things will happen. Yet we
haven't seen any movement in a positive direction. Like it or not,
however, this is the country's political process.

Even developments from last year, such as the meetings between US
officials and the junta and meetings between Suu Kyi and Than Shwe's
liaison officer and Western diplomats, are losing momentum.

The news over the past couple of weeks is an indication of what kind of
result we can expect from the election.

The ethnic leader Thar Ban concluded his interview with The Irrawaddy by
saying: “We are in the middle of a storm far from shore. The election will
be just like lightning: It won't provide enough light to help us find our
way.”

____________________________________

January 18, Wall Street Journal
India can move the needle on Burma – Kelly Currie

Delhi should be more clever about using its own values and role as a
regional leader to press for political reform.

Burma is back in the news amid reports that the ruling military junta has
set its upcoming "elections" for October 2010 and is making serious
efforts to secure short-range ballistic missiles. Taken with the lack of
results from the Obama administration's attempted engagement with the
junta, these developments highlight the need for stepped-up regional
activism in favor of democracy in Burma, especially from its democratic
neighbors.

India in particular faces an increasingly untenable balancing act in
maintaining its current accommodation of the junta, and will be under
growing pressure this year to move toward a policy that better aligns its
values and interests. Such a shift would be a boon to those supporting
democratic reforms in Burma, as well as to India's own interests and its
regional leadership aspirations.

Since 1993, India has steadily deepened its engagement with the Burmese
junta, setting aside ties to Burma's democratic past and moral qualms
about this odious regime. Indian foreign policy elites defend this
unprincipled policy by pointing to cooperation between the Indian and
Burmese militaries on their restive common border, and the growth in trade
between the two countries. They also claim that the relationship is an
important strategic counterweight to the junta's close relationship with
authoritarian China.

But in reality India's benefits from cooperation with the junta have been
disappointingly small on both the economic and security fronts. The
Burmese regime plays India and China off of each other, protecting its own
interests above all. But when forced to choose, the Burmese junta
invariably favors Beijing.

A case in point was the 2005 decision to award China a 30-year contract to
develop the most valuable blocks of the Shwe natural gas fields despite
India putting in a higher bid. Senior General Than Shwe and his ilk may
dislike and fear Chinese hegemony, but they know Beijing will suffer no
attacks of conscience or domestic political pressure over the junta's
human-rights abuses.

Recent security-related developments should give India's "realists"
further pause. Last week, Australia's Lowy Institute published a report by
Burma expert Andrew Selth on the junta's alleged long-running efforts to
secure Scud-type short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from North Korea
and other sources. Mr. Selth writes that the junta is more interested in
obtaining SRBMs than nuclear weapons technology and posits that much of
the evidence cited in media and intelligence community reporting about
Burma's nuclear ambitions is more likely attributable to its pursuit of
SRBMs.

If Burma's generals get SRBMs, which have a range of 700 miles, India is a
potential target. In light of the junta's closer relationship with
Beijing, and the links the Chinese have endeavored to build between the
Burmese and Pakistani militaries, Indian defense planners are unlikely to
be comforted by Mr. Selth's prediction that Burmese missiles would be
pointed at Thailand.

The regime's planned elections this year provide a fitting opportunity for
India to change its approach. Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper and the
Democratic Voice of Burma radio service have reported that junta officials
have scheduled the elections for Oct. 10, 2010 (a date consistent with
their penchant for numerology). The regime reportedly plans to permit the
National League for Democracy to compete in the elections, even though NLD
leader Aung San Suu Kyi will likely be prohibited from participating and
many party activists will remain in prison. These polls will take place
against a backdrop of fear and repression under a constitution designed to
institutionalize military rule, thus ensuring they fall far short of any
standard for a credible election.

Such a blatantly manipulated election presents a serious policy challenge
for India. China's unelected leadership can pronounce the Burmese junta's
most deeply cynical electoral efforts to be a triumph of democracy with a
straight face, but Indian leaders will and should be held to a higher
standard. Giving their stamp of approval to a farcical election would
undermine the ideals that animate Indian national identity.

New Delhi should be more clever about using its own values and role as a
leader within Asia to change the regional calculus on Burma. This means
working with fellow democracies in the region such as Indonesia, Japan and
Thailand to press for political reform and improvement on human-rights,
economic and internal security issues that have external consequences for
the region.

These democratic countries occupy a privileged position that gives them
unique prerogative to address the quality of Burma's electoral processes,
and they should use their status to full effect in the coming months. The
additional weight of India's voice to this group, particularly if raised
through Asian venues such as the Bali Democracy Forum, would undoubtedly
move the center of gravity within Asia. China would be forced to adapt or
find itself outside the regional consensus.

By embracing its values and the leadership role that naturally follows,
India can better protect its interests, while undermining China's present
advantage in Burma. Unlike India's present failing approach, such a policy
has the advantage of being smart—and the right thing to do.

Ms. Currie is a fellow with the Project 2049 Institute, a think tank in
Washington.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

January 18, Burma Campaign UK
Kachin farmer murdered by Burmese Army soldiers - authorities take no action

Burma Campaign UK sources have confirmed that Burmese army soldiers
brutally killed a farmer in his local church in Kachin State.  However,
there has been no proper investigation and no one has been arrested for
the murder. Instead, the family members of the victim have been offered
around £300 for the murder.

According to local sources, the attack happened at 8:45pm local time on
19th December in Nawng Mi Village, Hpakant District, Kachin State,
northern Burma. A group of soldiers led by Sgt. Kyaw Myint from village
based Burmese Army Artillery Battalion No. 298 came into the church in
Nawng Mi quite inebriated and began to yell insults to the church members,
who were watching Sunday school children rehearsing and preparing for
Christmas. A youth leader, Lama Brang, pleaded with the soldiers to calm
things down but was attacked and beaten by Sgt. Kyaw Myint. He was injured
on his face, and lost one tooth. Later, Sgt. Kyaw Myint attacked another
villager, Lama Seng Naw, and stabbed him in the chest and thigh, causing
serious wounds.

Lahpai Naw Seng, a local farmer, was among the crowd. He was stabbed in
his chest and died after 15 minutes. The chairman of village State Peace
and Development Council arrived at 11:00pm and notified the neighboring
police, who came at 2:00 pm the next day. However, the police authorities
refused to take action because the Burmese Army soldiers were involved in
the case.

On 20th December, Col. Aung Kyaw Htun, a Deputy Commander of Danai
Military Region, came to investigate the case. Although Sgt. Kyaw Myint
confessed to the murder under interrogation, no action has been taken
either to arrest or charge him. Instead, Col. Aung Kyaw Htun offered
500,000 kyats to family members as compensation for the murder.

A villager said, “This is not the first time. There are many other
violations committed by the Burmese soldiers in our village, like brutal
assaults, attacks to our civilians, who were left unconscious on the
streets. They come into the village and threaten the civilians. I want to
say one thing
 it is totally not true when they say “Burmese Army is
Mother and Burmese Army is Father”. They are just terrorists and enjoy
committing human rights abuses against us”.

There are more than 300 households living in Nawng Mi village and all of
them are ethnic Kachin farmers. In the first week of January, the
villagers, including church leaders, wrote a letter to Northern Regional
Commander, Maj. Gen Soe Win expressing how they live in fear under the
military, the continuous assault of the military, and appealing for action
on the case. So far, there has been no response at all regarding the
letter.

Last June, around 15 schoolchildren and young men were attacked, beaten
and severely injured by a group of Burmese Army soldiers in Mayan village
in Moegawng district, Kachin State but no action was taken by the
authorities.

“This is another example of impunity, where no action is taken against
Burmese military soldiers who commit human rights violations. It is
shameful that the international community is still silent and has failed
to take action on widespread and systematic human rights violations in
Burma”, said Nang Seng, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK.

This month, more than 140 Members of Parliament from the British
Parliament have been calling on UK government to urge the UN to establish
a Commission of Inquiry for crimes committed by the military regime in
Burma.

For more information contact Nang Seng on +44 788 983 2485.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

January 16, New York Open Center
New York Open Center hosts its first exhibition on contemporary Burmese
art organized and curated by Burmese artists from the tri-state area

The New York Open Center announces a contemporary art exhibition focusing
on the talent and creative motivations of the Burmese diaspora.  In a show
organized and curated by the artists themselves, “Contemporary Burmese
Art: Ideas and Ideals” will explore the modern landscape in which Burmese
diaspora artists find themselves today.  The artwork, and their creators,
will bridge the gap between tradition and creativity, between one homeland
and another.  A roster of sixteen Burmese artists from across the United
States have come together to jump-start a dialogue on creativity,
censorship, tradition, modernity, “stranger-hood,” identity, and the
irreverent boundary-shattering power of art.

“Contemporary Burmese Art: Ideas & Ideals” will delve into the complexity
of the Burmese creative spirit while examining what it means to be a
Burmese artist in the U.S.  Drawing from a rich and nostalgic tradition,
how do these artists define their creative identities and as artists in
limbo, between one homeland and another, what are their values and their
inspirations?

One of the show’s artists, Chaw Ei Thein reveals that “Burmese artists
used to do self-censorship on ourselves whenever we create our art while
we were in Burma to show the public.  The question becomes, are we
continuing this self-censorship once away from Burma?  Do we change,
adapt, or remain the same.  During this exhibition, can an audience see or
feel the sensitivity to this dilemma through our artwork?”

Join Burmese artists and the Open Center February 6th through February
10th 2010 as they take a view into this creative diaspora and contemplate
the ideas and ideals that breathe life into Burmese contemporary art
today.

Show Times:

New York Open Center Inc
22 E 30th St, New York, NY 10016(212) 219-2527‎
opencenter.org

February 6       8:00pm   	    Opening Fees Members: $18 / Non-Members: $20
February 7       6:30 - 9:00 pm         Free
February 8       10:00 - 6:00 pm       Free
February 9       10:00 - 5:00 pm       Free