From editor at burmanet.org Wed Jan 20 15:45:17 2010 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:45:17 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News, January 20, 2010 Message-ID: <31335.63.173.78.131.1264020317.squirrel@webmail2.pair.com> January 20, 2010, Issue #3879 INSIDE BURMA Irrawaddy: New anti-terrorism law a threat to the opposition? VOA: ILO extends agreement to monitor labor rights in Burma AFP: Punk's not dead in military-ruled Myanmar DVB: Election ?preparation? barred from media New Light of Myanmar: Labour Minister receives Executive Director of ILO ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy: Tak Gov. issues warning to humanitarian workers Mizzima News: Uneasy calm prevails between junta and ceasefire groups Shanghai Daily: Sold in Shanghai: Myanmar bride rescued BUSINESS / TRADE Kachin News: Farmers ordered to sell paddy to army in northern Burma INTERNATIONAL Reuters: U.S. to press Myanmar on reform: report OPINION / OTHER Refugees International: Burma: Rohingya a year later INTERVIEW Mizzima News: A conversation with U Win Tin ? Elke Kuijper ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA January 20, Irrawaddy New anti-terrorism law a threat to the opposition? ? Saw Yan Naing Burmese authorities have drafted and plan to introduce a new anti-terrorism law this year, according to a report in this month's journal of the Myanmar Times. Based on statements made on Dec 18 by Pol Col Sit Aye, the head of the Burmese police's Department of Transnational Crime, the report said the Ministry of Home Affairs cooperated with several departments to implement the law. ?Action will be taken against those who offer financial or material support to terrorism. This is a very important step for the security of the people,? Sit Aye was qoted as saying. Observers and lawyers contacted by The Irrawaddy on Wednesday are concerned the law will be used by the Burmese military government as a tool to control anti-government activities. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, a Burmese lawyer who fled into Thailand after the Buddhist monk-led protest in Sep. 2007 said the law only seemed to benefit the government. ?If this law is promulgated, it will be used as a tool to entrench the rule of the military dictatorship,? he said. ?Causing death and injury through bombings and shootings can be called terrorism, but not providing financial and material support to opposition and political organizations striving for democratic reform through non-violent means,? he said. It is another story if an organization or individual receives support from a group that conducts armed operations, however, said a Rangoon-based Burmese lawyer on Wednesday. ?It all depends on how the Burmese government defines terrorism,? he said. The lawyer also said the regime regularly denounced illegal groups and named armed groups as terrorists in its newspapers, but it has yet to officially announce terrorist groups and the anti-terrorism law. ?Perhaps the regime will officially announce the anti-terrorism law when they are ready to enforce it,? he added. The Myanmar Times report accused armed groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front of involvement in terrorism and that financial support and training provided by these groups are recognized as acts of terrorism. However, some observers said the anti-terrorism law may be aimed at dissident groups or individual activists who contact opposition groups in exile. Some suggest the regime intends to use the law during the election period in 2010 to prevent any anti-government opposition including public gatherings and other forms of ?social unrest.? Zipporah Sein, general-secretary of the KNU, said the government's anti-terrorism law intends to restrict dissident activities and prevent opposition supporters and democracy activists from participating in political activities in the run up to the election. In Burma, any individual or organization who is contacted by or receives support from illegal groups such as dissident and armed groups can be charged under the Section 17/1 of the Illegal Organization Act. Violators can be sentenced to 3 to 5 years in prison, according to lawyers. ____________________________________ January 20, Voice of America ILO extends agreement to monitor labor rights in Burma Burma's military government has renewed for a year an agreement allowing the United Nations to monitor complaints of forced labor. Burmese state-controlled media report the agreement was reached Tuesday during a visit by a group of International Labor Organization officials. A state-television report said the ILO delegation, led by the U.N. agency's executive director Kari Tapiola, met with Burma's Minister of Labor U Aung Kyi. Norway-based rights group, the Democratic Voice of Burma, says the ILO delegation will also meet with labor advocacy groups during its week-long stay in the country. The Geneva-based ILO first signed an agreement with Burma in 2007 with the goal of curbing forced labor, based on the country's existing laws. Burma has agreed not to punish those who complain of forced labor. In November, the U.N. agency reported that the military authorities still use forced labor in infrastructure projects, such as oil and gas pipelines. The report said the number of complaints of forced labor is increasing. Burma's government insists authorities are making efforts to eliminate forced labor, and also recognize the right of people to protest the practice. ____________________________________ January 20, Agence France Presse Punk's not dead in military-ruled Myanmar Yangon ? The singer smashes his guitar to pieces on the stage as thousands of spiky-haired punk fans cheer loudly -- a rare display of countercultural exuberance in military-ruled Myanmar. At this concert in a land where all song lyrics must be submitted to the regime's censors, there are no openly anti-establishment messages from either the musicians or the crowd with their dyed blond, blue and red locks. But as the band launches into the next number, a raw release entitled "I Want To Kill You!", fans moshing at the open-air park in the former capital Yangon say they want the freedom to express themselves. "As a punk, I do whatever I want!" says 16-year-old Ko Pyae, dressed head-to-toe in black and sporting smeared black eye shadow -- the unofficial uniform of punks and goths all around the world. "At home I don't care about anyone. I don't care about my neighbours." Yangon's vibrant youth music scene is unexpected in a city where the streets ran with blood less than three years ago as the ruling junta crushed massive pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. But the regime's thought police still exert their control -- even when most bands would rather sing about vague themes of fun, teenage rebellion and relationships than anything political. Heavy rock group Outsider are in a dingy studio on the outskirts of Yangon working on their first album -- and must submit all their song lyrics to the censors. "If I want to write something about freedom, if I want to write about the things I want, I can't write it directly," says drummer and songwriter Thar Nge, stepping over the blankets next to his drum kit that serve as his bed. "If I want to show something that represents the Myanmar people, not just me personally, there's no way I can do it. If I write that, it becomes political," he adds. The censors do not stop at politics, he says. Any mention of alcohol, cigarettes or anything else deemed not to conform to the Buddhist nation's values is struck out. Bands like Outsider learn to sing in analogies and become masters of euphemism -- even though they say they are no trailblazers for democracy and don't want their music to have any overtly political message. "We do as much as we can," says Thar, "but we don't try to change politics. In our heads, we are musicians." Debbie Stothard, a Bangkok-based pro-democracy campaigner and coordinator of the ALTSEAN-Burma network, said the reluctance of some of Myanmar's young musicians to play at politics was a legacy of the system. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962 and the regime has cracked down on protesters not only in 2007 but also in 1988, besides locking up hundreds of dissidents. They include Nobel Peace Prize winner and author Aung San Suu Kyi. "Young people have been brought up to believe that politics is dangerous and, by being political, they are asking to be locked up, they are asking to lose their job opportunities, they are asking to be tortured and killed," Stothard said. "But, eventually, everyone gets to a point where they have to sing what they're thinking." Music is not the only way of getting a point across in Myanmar. Aung is a successful painter whose commercial works sell for hundreds of dollars each, a big sum in this impoverished nation, but he says his real interest lies in conceptual art. "I live by selling paintings but there's less freedom with paintings. I make videos and do performance art to express myself. That gives me a sense of satisfaction afterwards," says Aung, not his real name. One of his videos shows a goldfish swimming in a small glass of water. A hand drops in a tablet that fizzes and sends the fish into a frenzy -- when the froth clears it lies floating dead on the surface. An apparent commentary on the junta's handling of the 2007 protests -- known as the Saffron Revolution after the colour of the monks' robes -- he says that he has drawn fire for cruelty to the fish. "People have criticised this video because a fish is killed. What about all the people killed here in Myanmar? Why don't they speak up about that?" he says. Meanwhile at the end of the punk concert in Yangon unrest brews, fuelled by cheap beer vendors, as fans throw bottles, try to tear apart the stage and stamp -- then urinate -- on concert posters. But there is no sign of any security forces moving in and no chants of political activism -- the marauding punks are angry that the band didn't play an encore. ____________________________________ January 20, Democratic Voice of Burma Election ?preparation? barred from media ? Ahunt Phone Myat Burmese media has been banned from publishing material covering political groups? preparations for the elections this year, while news of the elections themselves is allowed. The censoring has targeted parties belonging to the ?third force? in Burmese politics; those neither aligned to the incumbent nor opposition groups, said potential runner Phyo Min Thein, who recently organized a discussion forum on Burmese politics in Rangoon. ?Basically, [the junta] is blocking its opponents from exercising their rights and is looking to manipulate the [political] playground for itself,? he said. A veteran news editor in Rangoon said that reporting on activities to do with the elections is not likely to be allowed until the elections laws and laws regarding the formation of political organisations are announced. He added however that even when laws are announced, the media will be allowed only limited scope to report on the events. His comments were echoed by the secretary of the Burma Media Association, San Moe Wei, who said that the delay in announcing the elections laws and date was deliberate, and will give the media ?limited freedom to report on events?. ?[The government] was once defeated in the 1990 elections, so it seems like they will be very careful not to make the same mistakes this time,? he added. Other political activists in Rangoon speculated that media reports on the elections were not yet allowed because the government was still working to persuade credible and influential political figures, who are not government-backed, to join the elections as individual parliamentary representatives. Veteran Burmese politician and former ambassador to China, Thakin Chan Htun, said that Burma should model its elections on that of neighbouring countries. ?I would like to urge leaders of the [army] to hold the elections the way Bangladesh did, where the country?s polls were praised by the international community as free and fair,? he said. ____________________________________ January 20, New Light of Myanmar Labour Minister receives Executive Director of ILO Nay Pyi Taw ? Minister for Labour U Aung Kyi received a party led by Executive Director Mr Kari Tapiola of International Labour Organization at the ministry here on 18 January. The meeting focused on works between the government of the Union of Myanmar and ILO. It was also attended by Deputy Minister Brig-Gen Tin Tun Aung, Director-General U Chit Shein, Deputy Director Ms Karen Curtis of Labour Standards Department, Law Officer Mr Drazen Petrovic and Liaison Officer Mr Steve Marshall. The government of the Union of Myanmar and ILO agreed on extension of appendix MoU for next 12 months to carry out arrangement for complaints against forced labour. ? MNA ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER January 20, Irrawaddy Tak Gov. issues warning to humanitarian workers ? Lawi Weng The governor of Tak Province warned Burmese humanitarian workers in Mae Sot on Tuesday that if they become involved in Burmese political affairs they could be deported, according to Burmese sources in Mae Sot. Gov. Samart Loyfa told at a press conference on Tuesday, ?There are humanitarian workers involved in politics and [they have] formed organizations illegally. We need to investigate. If we find any violations of law, we have to kick them out of the country.? Burmese sources in Mae Sot said they believe the statement is a result of improved bilateral trade on the Thai-Burma border. Meanwhile, Thailand has agreed with the Burmese regime to build another friendship bridge and create a second trade zone between Mae Sot and Myawaddy Township. Moe Swe, the head of Mae Sot-based Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association, said, ?Many civil society groups are now in Mae Sot. The Burmese government doesn't like it, and it is worried about their activities.? ?But, the Thai government should understand that we help Thailand solve social problems with Burmese migrants such as education and health care,? he said. According to the workers association, there are more than 20 humanitarian organizations that help Burmese migrant workers in Mae Sot. The Burmese government has asked Thailand to not allow its soil to be used for anti-Burma political or military activities. About 150,000 Burmese migrant workers live in Mae Sot. Many migrant workers rely on humanitarian organizations for health, education and other needs. Moe Swe said he believed some pressure might be coming from Thai businessmen also, because Burmese migrant workers have taken part in several demonstrations in Mae Sot recently. Mahn Bala Sein, a director of the Kwe Ka Baung School based in Mae Sot, said, ?I don't think they [Thai authorities] will put a lot of pressure on us because we only help students in education. But, because they want to build the bridge, they have to say something to us because the Burmese government requested it.? In Mae Sot, some humanitarian organizations are staffed by Burmese pro-democracy activists who fled Burma after the 1988 uprising. The Burmese regime recognizes some of the groups as political activists who oppose the ruling regime. The Thai government recently warned members of the Karen National Union in Mae Sot not to engage in political or military activities on Thai soil. ____________________________________ January 20, Mizzima News Uneasy calm prevails between junta and ceasefire groups ? Salai Han Thar San New Delhi ? Despite the refusal of armed ceasefire groups to favorably respond to the junta?s proposal to transform their armies into Border Guard Forces, the situation is tense but calm, according to observers. Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burmese border-based military analyst, told Mizzima on Tuesday that though there are no visible tensions between the junta and armed ceasefire groups, the junta continues to secretly prepare for their next move. Caption: Ousted Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and UWSA supreme leader Pau Yu Chang?They [junta] is currently silent. They are rethinking their strategy on how to break the ceasefire groups as it is not as easy as they initially thought,? Aung Kyaw Zaw speculated. Burma?s military rulers, in April 2009, proposed that all seventeen armed ceasefire groups transform their armies into Border Guard Forces administered by the junta. Though a few groups including the New Democratic Army ? Kachin (NDA-K) accepted the proposal, bigger armed groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) have rejected the proposal, leaving the junta?s plan stalled. The junta earlier set a deadline of October 2009 for all ceasefire groups to make the necessary change, but following the rejection of numerous groups were forced to extend the deadline to the end of 2009. ?They [junta] are taking time to rethink their strategy as they know they cannot just use brute force to attack the groups,? Aung Kyaw Zaw said. Despite the deadline having expired, the situation between the junta and armed ceasefire groups, according to Sein Kyi, editor of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), is calm with no signs of enhanced security from any of the actors. ?I don?t think the junta is giving up but it seems to me that they are stepping back in order to take a step ahead,? Sein Kyi said. He said though the junta might not conduct a major military campaign against the ceasefire groups, the junta?s most obvious strategy will be to try and separate the groups so they can more easily be won over. In August of last year, Burmese troops attacked the Peng Jiasheng-led Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, after successfully dividing the group into two ? a Peng Jiasheng-led faction and a Bai Souqian-led faction. The junta then promoted Bai Souqian as the new leader for Kokang and termed Peng and his group fugitives. Observers said the incident was a typical Burmese junta tactic to bring down ethnic armed groups. Following the incident, the junta was reported to be moving a number of its troops near UWSA controlled territory in northern Shan State, providing speculation that a massive war between the junta?s troops and the UWSA, the largest armed ceasefire group, would soon break out. However, despite the preparations for war by both sides and the Border Guard Force issue left unresolved, the junta has not shown any signs of a military campaign against the UWSA or other ceasefire groups, Sein Kyi said. ?I think it is unlikely the junta will launch intensive attacks on armed ceasefire groups, as they are busy preparing for the 2010 general election. And they might want to deal with the ceasefire groups later, after they have completed forming a new government,? he added. Similarly, Naw Din, editor of the Thailand-based Kachin News Group, said though the KIO has refused the junta?s Border Guard Force proposal, there are no signs of any impending war between the two. ?A military campaign would be the last option for the junta, as they are now busy preparing for the election. I think the junta wants to shelf it for later,? Naw Din explained. But the junta is definitely not giving up on the ceasefire groups and will sooner or later resume tactics directed at imposing their authority, he added. But on the other side, he continued, it will be difficult for armed ceasefire groups, particularly the KIO, to accept the proposal, as it would mean giving up on the cause of their decades-old struggle. The junta?s proposal of a Border Guard Force would have 326 soldiers per battalion, including 30 Burmese soldiers, and would fall under the administration of the Burmese Army, with all remuneration for troops paid by the central government. Editing by Mungpi ____________________________________ January 20, Shanghai Daily Sold in Shanghai: Myanmar bride rescued ? Jane Chen A MYANMAR girl has been rescued in Shanghai after being smuggled to the city by a human trafficker and sold to marry a local man. Police have sent the 17-year-old girl back home to Myanmar and caught the suspected trafficker surnamed Xie, reported today's Shanghai Oriental Morning Post. Xie allegedly smuggled the girl to Shanghai last June after promising her a good job in China. When she arrived, he told her there were no jobs and forced her to marry a man surnamed Zhu, police told the newspaper. Xie took 25,000 yuan (US$3,662) from Zhu, the report said. The girl was since then locked in the man's home until the end of the year. When she managed to escape through a window, she contacted police. ____________________________________ BUSINESS / TRADE January 20, Kachin News Farmers ordered to sell paddy to army in northern Burma Farmers in Kachin State in northern Burma are in a spot for they have been ordered to sell paddy to the Burmese Army as of late December last year at prices lower than market rates, local farmers told Kachin News Group. The order by the administrative office of Dawhpumyang branch-township in Bhamo district on December 21 says every farmer was directed to sell one Tin (Burma's standard unit of measurement of rice is 1 Tin = 10.5 kg) per acre to the local Burmese Army base in Myothit--- Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 387. The total amount of paddy to the tune of 5,400 Tin (56700 kg) has to be sold to the Burmese military base at Kyat 3,000 (US$3.1) per Tin, a farmer in Dawhpumyang said. At the prevailing prices, farmers can sell a Tin of paddy for between 3,500 Kyat (US$3.6) and 4,000 Kyat (US$4.2) in the open market and the China border markets in Kachin State, said a farmer in the branch-township. ?The fact is I don?t want to sell paddy to the military because of the low price. But, it is an order and therefore compulsory,? he said. Some farmers living at a distance from the LIB 387 have decided to provide the cash equivalent for the paddy, according to farmers in remote areas of the branch-township. There are two main reasons for farmers, who want no further loss --- farmers have to transport the total paddy asked for to the military base at their-own cost and they dislike the military scale which is larger than the standard scale, said farmers in those areas. Every year, come the post harvest season starting December, farmers in Kachin State are ordered to sell large amounts of paddy to local Burmese military bases at a fixed price, said sources among local farmers. The military rulers claim that Kachin State is the fourth largest rice bowl of the country but they do not provide any subsidy to farmers, according to farmers in the State. Every year, farmers have to sell the paddy demanded, to the military at a loss, added local farmers. ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL January 20, Reuters U.S. to press Myanmar on reform: report Washington ? The United States plans to meet officials from Myanmar soon and will seek more evidence it is ready to enact political reforms in return for broader dialogue with Washington, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday. World Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who in November led a U.S. team to Yangon for the highest level talks in 14 years, said Washington had seen a "mixed bag" of results from overtures to the military junta in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. "We have had some follow-on direct interactions with (the) Burmese authorities, and I think we're going to be looking at a subsequent set of discussions in the near future," Campbell told a news briefing. Washington last year said it would pursue deeper engagement with Myanmar's military rulers to try to spur democratic reform but would not ease economic sanctions for now. Campbell noted some progress, including higher level contacts between the government and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been in various forms of detention for 14 of the last 20 years. But he said there were also problems, including Myanmar's treatment of ethnic minority groups and other issues, and that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her team would be "looking for greater clarity in the coming weeks." "We went into this ... with a very clear understanding of the challenges," Campbell told a news briefing. "But it is also the case that we're not unendingly patient. We will need some clear steps in due course." The State Department has already voiced concern over Myanmar's plan to hold general elections this year -- the first since 1990, when the junta ignored the results and instead jailed more than 2,000 activists and political opponents, many for minor offenses. Myanmar's leaders have as yet given no schedule for the vote, which activists say could simply entrench more than five decades of military rule by yielding a legislature dominated by the military and its civilian allies. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn; editing by Vicki Allen) ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER January 20, Refugees International Burma: Rohingya a year later One year ago, the travails of Rohingya from Burma shocked people around the world. Boat after boat of refugees, fleeing abuse and oppression in Burma, were intercepted at sea by the Thai army, who then proceeded to detain them without trial. After days in outdoor detention, the Rohingya refugees were loaded back on to their boats, and the Thai army proceeded to tow them out to sea where they were abandoned with little food or water and no motors to power their boats. Over 500 people died in the few weeks that the Thais carried out the operation, and one year later, 500 more remain in detention in India, Indonesia and Thailand. International outcry ended the Thai military?s operations against the Rohingya. It also led to pledges by governments throughout the region to develop long-term solutions to the plight of the Rohingya. The issue was raised at summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and at meetings of the Bali process. Fingers were pointed at Burma for its abuse of the population at home, at Bangladesh for allowing Rohingya to transit there on their way to sea, at Thailand for their abusive policies, and even at Malaysia, whose economy is a pull factor for Rohingya seeking safety. In the end, there were no decisions made about the Rohingya, and with the summer monsoons putting an end to sailing season, the issue soon faded away, back into the obscurity that the Rohingya have endured for decades. One year later, the sailing season is again underway. While smugglers and the Rohingya alike have been hesitant to resume the voyage, indications are that once again boats have begun sailing with passengers destined for Malaysia. And as a safeguard, the Rohingya are now attempting to fly to Kuala Lumpur via Dhaka and then making the arduous overland journey by foot. For most though, boats remain the most affordable, if dangerous, option for a better life, and they will continue to sail. A new twist on the Rohingya migration is a push to reach Australia by boat via Indonesia. While this may be an indication that slowing economies have created fewer opportunities for new refugees seeking work, it may also be a sign that the Rohingya are hoping to move further from the Southeast Asian countries that refuse to provide any real refuge. If anything, this shows the growing reach of the problem, rather than any real solution to the Rohingya?s plight. The anniversary of the Rohingya boat crisis highlights the lack of action by the region?s governments, but it also draws attention to the problems that arise when there is no legal framework for refugees. Policies that target people solely as economic migrants and ignore the persecution, abuse and violation of human rights they face, whether in Burma or elsewhere, will never be able to address the causes of their displacement. The countries of South and Southeast Asia need to recognize the fact that the Rohingya will continue to leave Burma, and that their policies to deal with this reality are inadequate. On the anniversary of last year?s tragedy, policymakers in the region should look with a renewed eye towards finally creating humane policies to ensure that the Rohingya do not continue to face abuse after abuse in their search for safety. ____________________________________ INTERVIEW January 20, Mizzima News A conversation with U Win Tin ? Elke Kuijper In 1989 he was sentenced to prison, without any proof of having committed a crime. He was released almost 20 years later, in September 2008, though he does not see it that way himself. He did not want to be released out of pity for his old age, but only on the basis of the charges against him. This is one of the reasons why he still wears his blue prison shirt. He may be outside the prison walls, but he still is not free to do as he wants in his country. U Win Tin is one of Burma's most well-known journalists, an opposition leader and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's right hand man. Famous both inside and outside of Burma, many people campaigned for his release. He is known as Burma's longest serving political prisoner, though he says, ?There are many young people who spend more than twenty years in jail and who are hardly known by the people.? He spent almost twenty years in one of Burma's most notorious prisons, Insein in Rangoon. For long periods of time he was kept in isolation and even in former dog cells. He kept himself sane by writing poetry and solving mathematical problems. He is now 80 years old and his health is starting to fail. Because of a lack of medical care during his incarceration, existing medical conditions worsened. He suffers badly from asthma, underwent a heart operation last August, suffers from spondylitis of his spine and has failing eyesight. But from the moment he was released he resumed his old duties for the opposition party NLD (National League for Democracy). In his own words: ?I am not bedridden so I can walk. But anyhow, I work everyday and I meet people and I talk with the media. Sometimes I am tired. But I continue.? wintin1 A brave man with a vision and a dream of a free Burma; a comparison with South Africa's anti-apartheid hero and former president Nelson Mandela comes to mind. U Win Tin's struggle is purely non-violent. He believes this is also a part of the character of the Burmese people. I asked him whether he thinks that maybe at some point, violence will be necessary to create change in Burma. U Win Tin: I do not think it is necessary to use violence because people in Burma are really ? because of their religion ? mild and very docile. Their will, their desire, is not to use a violent way. Even to use a violent word is frowned upon in Burmese society. The people like to be very polite and very quiet and they do not express their will in a violent way. I think the nonviolent way is possible, though there might be some violence, or a violent phase in our struggle. Of course the ruling power in the country is too big. There is a very strong army and they have modernized and spent a lot of money on the military. They have built up their military power over the years. One army regiment is like 1,000 people or something like that. They are very modernized, live in big houses, own plantations and inside their compounds there might even be some factories. So they are very strong, you see, among the people. Of course the soldiers themselves are suffering too. But they are suffering much less than the ordinary people. They earn more money and they have more facilities. We are nonviolent all the time. We go out on the streets but we never use violence. I just think it is not in the Burmese people's will to use violence. It is not their style of expressing their will, political thinking and opinions. People are very nonviolent now. But maybe tomorrow, I don't know. He then elaborated on the violent suppression of the 2007 Saffron Revolution. U Win Tin: The military is very strong and suddenly they will shoot, even the monks. All the people are giving homage to the monks, but they shoot them. In 2007, monks were shot for no reason. Even in the time of colonial rule there was political movement by the monks, political demonstrations and so on. But nowadays, say for instance in 2007, the monks are nonviolently and nonpolitically rallying against the government by just reciting the metta suttra, which is about loving kindness. And still they were shot. They are still unsure how many monks were killed. People believe more than 100 were killed. People are shocked by this and do not like it. When I do get hold of him ? I am referred to a different number a few times, as he has no permanent place of residence due to the junta repossessing his house during his detention and pressure placed on landlords not to rent to him ? I am surprised by his eloquent and energetic sounding voice. He is witty and sharp and talks a lot. He has no fear that conversations like ours might cause him danger. U Win Tin: You see, if you speak like this in Burma, some action or something you have done cannot bring danger for you at the present time, but it might be dangerous for you at a later time. They keep a record of your actions, and then when you are sent for trial these things will become evidence of you being guilty. But I do not mind. I am always talking to the media: VOA, BBC, DVB, Irrawaddy. I am very outspoken and I have no restraints about my opinions. Recently, I was telling everybody that Burma at this moment is like a jail, like a prison. The whole country is a prison and people are suffering. We talk about human rights violations and about the 2,000 political prisoners in jail now, but all people are prisoners. They are prisoners in their own country, in their own towns and homes. Whenever I go to my office or to a friend's house or even to a funeral, you see, there are some two or three motorcycles following me. It is almost impossible to see a free man in Burma at this moment. When asked about his opinion on the recently announced alms boycott and whether he thinks it is effective, his answer is long and passionate, it is obvious he admires the monks and is a devout Buddhist. U Win Tin: This pattanikkujjana (alms boycott) is very effective. For a Buddhist, when you are under a pattanikkujjana you are no longer a Buddhist. For the government it is very effective. They are Buddhist ? nominally of course ? and the pattanikkujjana has a very bad effect on them. As Buddhists, they play the religion card. They assume they are the guardians of the religion. They are the promoters of the religion. They put up big pagodas and give support to the monasteries. But, although it is effective, in order to have a pronounced change more is needed. The monks, according to Buddhist teachings, do not act as politicians. Burmese monks are always out of politics because they are the religious people, so they are not concerned with voting. Anyhow, they have a very strong tradition of political activity and leadership, even as far back as the colonial days. Although the government promotes religion so that people will regard them as the guardians of the religion, they try too hard. So you see, this pattannikujjana action happened and they were very shocked. In a situation like this, the monks could make a movement if they were a political party, but they are not. They are not a political party, so they have to wait and just provide people with information and tell people that this government really has no authority and that the monks are suppressed. Things have not changed for the better since the peaceful demonstrations by the monks were violently stopped in 2007. U Win Tin: Every week we hear news about monks being arrested and taken from their monasteries. Even, for instance, if I want to ask a monk to give some offering at my house, his monastery will be asked not to go to my house. The government's suppression of religious people will not go unnoticed, because in the foreign press and media people are reporting these incidents. So, although there is not so much activity by the monks as a political force, they are still there. The force is going on everyday and they work everyday. Because they have to collect their meals, they go around and talk to the people. They are in contact with the people. In that way they are more political than us, because we do not go to people's houses everyday. They have to go out and collect their meals early in the morning or in the daytime. They are in close contact with the people and can exchange ideas and opinions. Their influence on the people is very high, because they are their friends. And in those talks there might be some political matters or talk about suffering. We talk about the United States' recent policy of dealing with the Burmese junta: engagement coupled with sanctions. How does U Win Tin feel about this new approach? According to him, a lot of the sanctions are not very effective, but he feels engagement with the military regime will not be very effective either. U Win Tin: It has been proven that sanctions are not effective and they know that. But they will keep them as long as there is no improvement in the current situation. Engagement is not effective either, as it has already been tried by other countries such as Russia. Nowadays the US government uses this engagement and sanctions approach together. They are attacking with one gun that is not very effective and now they are using another gun that is also not very effective. Whether they have one gun or two guns it does not matter. Although I do not think this American action of engagement and sanctions will be very effective, we are still hopeful. At least now there are two weapons and they are engaging in Burma, so people in political parties and political forces are encouraged and we are rather hoping for something. He switches to the subject of the upcoming elections in 2010. U Win Tin: Without political dialogue the upcoming elections will be nothing. They will be a sham. This election is built upon the framework of the 2008 constitution, which will be enacted after this election. This constitution will prolong military rule for many years. There are no peoples? rights, no democratic rights, nothing at all. For instance, according to this constitution (article 6), the military is the leader of politics. I cannot agree with that. Another difficulty is that there is no political will on the part of the junta. They have no idea of the country's problems and are only thinking of their own will, which is to prolong their rule. They have no plans at all to make any contact, to make any dialogue, with political forces or ethnic nationalities. So, we use this American initiative as a tool to move and go through the election. The election is a sham without the participation of the ethnic nationalities and opposition parties. We need to have political dialogue before the election; with nationalities, with ourselves and with opposition forces. That will be the only way. One of the demands of the United States government and also one of the conditions for the NLD to partake in the upcoming elections is the release of all political prisoners. Amnesty International estimates there are currently more than 2,000 political prisoners languishing in Burma's prisons. Many of them were involved in the 1988 uprising and the 2007 Saffron Revolution. Nearly 200 monks and nuns are believed imprisoned. U Win Tin feels the US might have some influence on the release of these prisoners. U Win Tin: If the US shows some positive thinking and initiative, the military will know how to react to this. One of these reactions can be the release of political prisoners. As a sign of goodwill they might release some students but they will not release all political prisoners. They will keep some as hostages. They want to show the world that they are not that bad, by releasing prisoners. When I was released in September 2008, they released many prisoners, most of whom were criminals and not political prisoners. U Win Tin believes the junta is not interested in the political process. A person with ties to a foreign country cannot participate in the election. This was invented to prevent Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose husband was British and sons live abroad, from playing a legitimate role in politics. U Win Tin: The government has no intention to give her a role to play in Burmese politics. She is a very good leader. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has many activities and much influence, but still she is restricted. She can do a lot and she can assert her experiences on the people. But, if she is not allowed to go outside of Rangoon or to meet the press or something, then it is almost impossible for her to play a very big role in politics.