From editor at burmanet.org Thu Jan 21 14:25:30 2010 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:25:30 -0500 (EST) Subject: BurmaNet News, January 21, 2010 Message-ID: <14544.63.173.78.131.1264101930.squirrel@webmail2.pair.com> January 21, 2010, Issue #3880 INSIDE BURMA DVB: State-backed attacks on activists grow DVB: Eight charged for Sept 2007 activities ON THE BORDER Kachin News Group: KDA transformed to militia groups by Burma junta The Telegraph (India): Possibility of border seal remote BUSINESS / TRADE Irrawaddy: Kyat falls on talk of trade liberalization ASEAN Irrawaddy: Burma strengthens relations with Asean chair Vietnam People's Daily Online: CLMV senior officials prepare for culture-related roundtable in Myanmar REGIONAL New Light of Myanmar: GMS region, not Safe Haven for human traffickers INTERNATIONAL Irrawaddy: Human Rights 'deteriorating' in Burma: HRW Mizzima News: Rally at ?Nuclear Security? seminar to protest Burma?s presence ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA January 21, Democratic Voice of Burma State-backed attacks on activists grow ? Francis Wade A leading rights watchdog has reported a global rise in the number of state-sanctioned abuses against ?rights defenders?, fueled in part by the inability of the rights movement to protect victims. The annual report, by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that attacks on human rights monitors ?are not limited to authoritarian governments like Burma and China?, but are now rampant in countries such as Russia, Sri Lanka, Burundi and Afghanistan. In the case of Burma, despite growing calls for the ruling junta to be investigated for war crimes and crimes against humanity in 2009, ?no government has yet taken the lead in either initiative at the UN?, HRW said. The report also expressed concern about the regime?s refusal to allow prison access to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), amid reports that detained US citizen Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a prominent exiled Burmese rights campaigner, was being tortured. According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), the junta imprisoned 231 activists, lawyers, journalists and politicians in 2009, many of whom were sentenced on or around the two-year anniversary of the September 2007 monk-led uprising. Kenneth Roth, executive director of HRW, said that the attacks ?might be seen as a perverse tribute to the human rights movement, but that doesn't mitigate the danger. Under various pretexts, abusive governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement." He went on to criticize US president Barrack Obama?s ?incomplete translation? of improved rhetoric ?into policy and practice?. The US last year attacked the deteriorating political situation in Burma by announcing that it would begin dialogue with the junta after years of isolation, although earlier this week it signaled its impatience over the lack of progress toward democratic reform in the country. Despite increasing attention from Washington, Burma has however been labeled a ?boutique issue? for the US, which is under heavy pressure to transform its image in the Middle East, whilst Obama deflects growing discontentment over his domestic performance. ____________________________________ January 21, Democratic Voice Burma Eight charged for Sept 2007 activities ? Khin Hnin Htet Eight activists have been charged for their role in the September 2007 uprising, more than two years after police in Burma launched a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests. The eight men, who include four monk and a school teacher, were arrested last year during a crackdown that coincided with the two-year anniversary of the so-called Saffron Revolution. Lawyer Kyaw Ho, who is representing two of the men, Thandar Htun and Ko Nyo, said that all eight were charged under the Unlawful Associations Act and the Immigration Act, which together carry a maximum seven-year sentence. The other defendants are Ye Myint, U Yaywata, U Kawthita, U Withudi, U Waryama and Kyaw Khin. ?They were [accused] of having contacts with the All Burma Monks Association and the Generation Wave [activist groups], and also charged under the Immigration Act for illegally crossing border to meet with those groups,? said Kyaw Ho. He added there was ?no legitimacy? in making his clients, who were arrested in their hometown of Mandalay, stand trial in Rangoon. Five of the men reportedly do not have lawyer assistance, while Kyaw Ho said that relatives of the eight had been barred from visiting them since their arrest. The Burmese government in September last year launched a crackdown on people suspected of involvement in fomenting the 2007 uprising, in which thousands of civilians, led by monks, took to the streets of Burma initially to protest against a hike in fuel prices. The demonstrations quickly became a show of force against the military regime, which responded by firing into crowds and killings hundreds. Burma?s revered monk community was targeted in the crackdown. According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), more than 250 monks are currently held in Burmese prisons. ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER January 21, Kachin News Group KDA transformed to militia groups by Burma junta The Burmese military junta is keeping up its relentless pressure and has forced yet another ethnic Kachin armed group in Northeastern Burma to transform to smaller militias under the Burmese Army early this month, said sources in the armed group. The Kachin Defense Army (KDA), which split from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and is based in Kawnghka in Northeast Shan State was forced to change to two smaller local militia groups after the group?s leader Mahtu Naw recovered from serious illness in mid-December last year, KDA sources told Kachin News Group today. The KDA, formerly part of the KIO?s 4th brigade was instructed today to surrender its big guns and mortars to Lashio-based Northeastern Regional Command Headquarters (Ya-Ma-Kha) of the Burmese military by the regional commander Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut, KDA sources said. The KDA was also ordered to change to two militia groups today by changing its KDA military uniform to that of the militia by Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut, the sources added. The junta has said that the militia can keep only small arms so the KDA is surrendering all its big guns to the Burmese Army, KDA sources added. The KDA has several mortars made in China such as the 50 mm, 60 mm, 75 mm, 82 mm and 120 mm and other big guns. Earlier, the KDA had requested the junta that it would like to transform to the Border Guard Force, meant for ethnic armed groups proposed by the regime, which can accommodate a larger number of troops compared to the militia, said sources close to KDA leaders. The request was rejected by the junta because the current territories of the KDA are not in the border areas close to China, added sources among KDA leaders. Currently, the KDA has two army brigades with about 1,500 troops in Northeast Shan State. It has been ordered to convert to two militia groups with about 100 troops, said KDA sources. Local military analysts said the KDA stripped of arms will mean more pressure to KIO?s 4th brigade based in Loikang near the KDA?s headquarters in Kawnghka to transform to militia groups or surrender. The 4th brigade has been under increasing pressure to transform to two smaller militia groups or withdraw all its troops to KIO?s main military bases in Kachin State by the junta since last year. Part of the former KIO?s 4th brigade led by Mahtu Naw split from the mother unit in 1990 and signed a permanent ceasefire agreement with the Burmese junta and formed the KDA in 1991. The KDA backed the junta-led National Convention for drafting the country?s constitution from 1993 to 2007. It also approved the junta-centric 2008 constitution. Now the KDA?s junior officers and soldiers are reluctant to accept the junta-proposed militia but have no choice and cannot flout the order of their leader Mahtu Naw, said sources close to KDA soldiers. In Kachin State late last year, the junta forced the transformation of two KIO split groups under its control. They are the Lawa Yang-based Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group to two local militia groups in October and Pangwah-based New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) to three battalions of the Border Guard Force in November. ____________________________________ January 21, The Telegraph (India) Possibility of border seal remote Itanagar, India ? The Centre is unlikely to seal the Indo-Myanmar border though the government is aware that the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar, is often used as a haven by militants operating in the region, minister of state for defence M.M. Pallam Raju said today. He said though the ministry had to deal with militant groups operating in Changlang, the possibility of the Centre sealing the Indo-Myanmar border was remote. ?Any physical boundary, which may act as a bar on frequent exchange of commodities among the people of the two countries, cannot be made. I see a distant possibility of the Indo-Myanmar border being sealed,? he told reporters here this evening. On the opening of the Stilwell Road, connecting Ledo in Assam to Khunming in China, he said he was not aware of the move. The efforts of the Border Roads Organisation in constructing roads in Arunachal Pradesh has met with impediments like staff shortage, non-allotment of land and delay in getting approval of the ministry of forests and environment, he said. ?The BRO is grappling with constraints like lack of manpower and efforts in lifting men, machine and materials to the far-flung border areas. Another major constraint is getting clearances,? Raju said. ?There has been some headway in the meeting between the BRO and the ministry of forests and environment and 40 cases have been disposed of,? he added. He said Rs 1,000 crore had been allocated for building infrastructure. ____________________________________ BUSINESS / TRADE January 21, Irrawaddy Kyat falls on talk of trade liberalization Reports that the Burmese junta is planning to relax restrictions on the import of cars, buses and heavy equipment has created strong demand for US dollars and dollar-denominated foreign exchange certificates (FECs), putting pressure on the national currency, the kyat. According to business sources in Rangoon, the black market exchange rate for the dollar has risen to 1,040 kyat, up from 1,015 yesterday, on news that the Ministry of Commerce has a plan to deregulate the import of cars following an announcement last week that it would allow private sector imports of buses and heavy equipment. Normally, Burma's regime allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year through the junta- controlled Union of Myanmar Economic Holding Limited (UMEHL) and businessmen close to the ruling generals. Currently, import restrictions have skewed the prices of cars?whether new or used?to levels that would be considered absurd in neighboring countries. Only the two highest-ranking members of the junta?Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye?can grant import licenses. Meanwhile, business sources in Rangoon said that Htoo Trading Co Ltd, owned by Tay Za, a crony of the ruling junta and target of US sanctions, has been awarded a contract to operate state-owned gas stations in Upper Burma. The sources added that the regime has been licensing private enterprises and individuals to import diesel since December. Recent changes in economic policy have also boosted the value of the FEC. On Thursday, the FEC traded for 1,062 kyat on the black market, up from 1,050 kyat the previous day. The FEC is technically equal in value to the US dollar, although the two units often differ substantially on the black market in kyat terms. The FEC is currently worth more than the dollar because it is widely used for fuel purchases. Since August 2008, the Ministry of Energy has allowed petrol stations to sell large quantities of fuel to holders of FECs. Purchases made using the kyat are still limited to two gallons per day. ____________________________________ ASEAN January 21, Irrawaddy Burma strengthens relations with Asean chair Vietnam ? Wai Moe The Burmese military junta has recently stepped up military, trading and social relations with Vietnam, Asean's current chair. State-run newspapers ran stories about the relationship over the weekend, highlighting Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein's meeting on Jan. 15 with Vietnamese deputy ministers of foreign affairs and defense in Naypyidaw. Few details were given, but observers said it was likely that economic and military ties were discussed. During the Vietnamese delegation?s visit, officials also held an investment seminar in Napyidaw. Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited Vietnam on Jan.13-14 to attend a ministerial meeting of the Asean Political Security Community (APSC), which was the first Asean meeting after Vietnam became Asean chair for 2010. Nyan Win told his Asean counterparts that this year's Burmese election would be free and fair. In recent years, the Burmese military junta has increase relations with the Vietnamese government, signing bilateral agreements involving the military and economic affairs. The No. 3 ranking general in Burma, Gen Shwe Mann, the joint chief of staff (army, navy, air force) visited Vietnam in October to boost military ties between the two countries. He met with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet in Hanoi, and, according to the Vietnamese News Agency, signed an agreement as a step toward increasing military cooperation. Apart from military and economic ties, the two countries have increased cooperation in social areas. Maung Myint, Burma?s minster for religious affairs, made an official visit to Vietnam in December and signed the first bilateral agreement of two Southeast Asian Nations on religious matters. On Wednesday, reports from Hanoi said that a Vietnamese businessman was behind an effort to carve the largest jade Buddha sculpture in the world, using a 35-ton stone purchased in Burma. Vietnamese President Triet attended the ceremony unveiling the stone. Of special interest to Burma is Vietnam's role in international politics. Vietnam is also a member of the ?Group of Friends of the UN Secretary-General on Burma.? The Vietnamese foreign ministry said on its Web site that Vietnam supports Burma?s regional and international integration. When Vietnam was a member of the UN Security Council in 2008-09, the Vietnamese delegate supported a non-interference policy on Burma's domestic affairs. ____________________________________ January 21, People's Daily Online CLMV senior officials prepare for culture-related roundtable in Myanmar Culture-related senior officials of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) held preliminary coordination meeting in Myanmar's ancient city of Bagan to prepare report for a ministerial-level roundtable scheduled for Saturday in Nay Pyi Taw, an official daily reported Thursday. The meeting on Wednesday discussed matters on enhancing cultural cooperation among and boosting tourism in the CLMV member countries, the daily New Light of Myanmar said, adding that a Nay Pyi Taw declaration-2010 will be issued at the end of the ministerial roundtable meeting. Taking part in the roundtable will be visiting Cambodian Minister of Culture and Arts Him Chhem, Laotian Minister of Culture and Information Mounkeo Oraboun, Myanmar Minister of Culture Major-General Khin Aung Myint and Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh representing respective countries. The meeting aims to strengthen friendship among CLMV countries, uplift good neighboring spirit, ensure cooperation among member countries, hold culture exchange, enhance cultural preservation and boost tourism sector through cultural cooperation. In January 2008, a meeting of culture- and arts-related ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in Nay Pyi Taw, in which the ministers agreed to enhance the regional cooperation in the areas of culture and arts, The areas of cooperation cover human resources development, protection, preservation and promotion of ASEAN cultural heritage, and development of small and medium cultural enterprises. The ASEAN ministers of culture and arts (AMCA) also endorsed the work plan of the working groups set up by related ASEAN senior officials, agreeing that funding for cultural cooperation activities be streamed and broadened. The regional ministers resolved to enhance the cultural profile of ASEAN among the member states and internationally. The AMCA met to promote a deeper understanding of the region's civilization, arts and culture, and was aimed at contributing towards the emergence of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community by 2015. The roadmap for the community called for preservation and promotion of the region's cultural heritage and cultural identity. ____________________________________ REGIONAL January 21, New Light of Myanmar GMS region, not Safe Haven for human traffickers Nay Pyi Taw ? The opening ceremony of the 7th Senior Officials Meeting for Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking (COMMIT) was held at Golden Palace Hotel in Bagan this morning. It was attended by delegates of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, observers from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, UN agencies, the rapporteur from the UN Security Council on trafficking in women and children, donor organizations, the ASEAN Secretariat and representatives from INGOs totalling 135. Before the opening ceremony, the leaders of the delegations from respective countries called on Chairman of Central Committee for Prevention Against Trafficking in Persons Minister for Home Affairs Maj- Gen Maung Oo. At the opening ceremony, the Chairman of the Central Committee explained the emergence of the COMMIT and delivered an address, saying that six countries of Greater Mekong Sub-region have been implementing the plan for combating the human trafficking problem for five years. The laws on antihuman trafficking have been enacted in almost all the member countries. The gangs of human traffickers established the networks in committing the human trafficking offences. As the GMS member countries systematically combated the offences of the human trafficker gangs, the GMS region is not Safe Haven any more for the human traffickers. It is important that the present meeting will review the undertakings of the COMMIT for one year and adopt the future plans. The chairman also explained the anti-human trafficking programmes of Myanmar. In his address, Resident Coordinator of UN agencies Mr Bishow B Parajuli said that much progress can be seen in the anti-human trafficking policy, preventive measures, punishment and looking after of human trafficking victims in Myanmar. For example, Myanmar is the first of all GMS countries in enacting the Anti-Trafficking Law in accord with the Palermo Protocol by meeting international set standards. Moreover, Myanmar is the first in formation of the special police squads for combating human trafficking. Today's meeting is to review the undertakings in 2009 and find out the challenges for prevention against human trafficking, he said. He stressed the need for holding talks for future tasks, and expressed pleasure to welcome UN special rapporteur on trafficking in women and children Ms. Joy Ngozi Ezeilo. He continued to say that every year, thousands of men and women fall into victims of trafficking while the world has seen exploitation of girls for prostitution and exploitation of children for begging. He called for stepping up the cooperation among governments, UN agencies and INGOs. Afterwards, Secretary of the Central Committee for Prevention Against Trafficking in Persons Chief of Myanmar Police Force Brig-Gen Khin Yi acted as MC of the meeting, and UNIAP reported on measures taken for 2009, implementation of the resolutions of the 6th meeting, representatives from Cambodia, China and Laos on control measures at their respective borders and a representative from Laos on achievements of Laos in preventing against trafficking in persons. Countries in the greater Mekong sub-region Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signed COMMIT MoU in Yangon on 29 Oct 2004. The 7th meeting is the COMMIT Process of the MoU and will end on 22 January. - MNA ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL January 21, Irrawaddy Human Rights 'deteriorating' in Burma: HRW ? Arkar Moe Burma's human rights record continued to deteriorate in 2009 ahead of a scheduled elections in 2010, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). In its 612-page World Report 2010, the New York-based NGO said, "The Burmese military junta systematically denies citizens basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association and assembly.? Dozens of prominent political activists, Buddhist monks, labor activists, journalists and artists were arrested in Burma in 2009 and sentenced to draconian prison terms after unfair trials, the organization said, noting that the military government's human rights record continued to deteriorate last year ahead of an election announced for 2010. In its 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, HRW summarized major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide. It said attacks on rights monitors were not limited to authoritarian countries such as Burma and China. "Attacks on rights defenders might be seen as a perverse tribute to the human rights movement, but that doesn't mitigate the danger," Executive Director Kenneth Roth wrote in the introduction to the World Report 2010. "Under various pretexts, abusive governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement." Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Myo Min, the director of Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, said, ?The Burmese military junta commits systematic human rights abuses and crimes against humanity every year.? Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, pointed the finger at Russia and China, saying the two countries "supported Burma and other regimes that are committing human rights abuses.? He added: "The United Nations has many weaknesses because it cannot take action against abusers of human rights. It should revise and amend its policies and mechanisms on human rights.? Of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi?s trial last year, the report said, "The trial dragged on for three months, with frequent delays and with international fair trial standards lacking.? It said that ?an estimated 2,100 political prisoners remain incarcerated for their peaceful activities in Burma. More than 230 Buddhist monks involved in the 2007 protests remain in prison.? In 2009, international calls increased for an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and for a UN arms embargo to be imposed,? the report said. "But China, Russia and North Korea still sell arms to the Burmese military junta.? The report also criticized the Burmese armed forces. ?The Burmese military continues to perpetrate violations against civilians in ethnic conflict areas, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and sexual violence,? it said, expressing concern about internally displaced people, refugees and child soldiers. HRW said that despite the growth in the human rights movement, human rights defenders remain vulnerable and greatly in need of support by rights-respecting governments. "Governments that consider themselves human rights supporters often keep silent in the face of these abuses by allies, citing diplomatic or economic priorities," Roth said. "But that silence makes them complicit in the abuse. The only proper response to serious human rights violations is to turn up the heat on the abusers." ?There is no country in the world which fully respects human rights," said Aung Myo Min. "Most world powers, including the US, China and Russia, have cooperated with human rights abusers in their national interests or as an act of economic or foreign policy.? The report said human rights monitors had been killed in Russia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Burundi and Afghanistan, while Sudan and China routinely shut down human rights groups. ____________________________________ January 21, Mizzima News Rally at ?Nuclear Security? seminar to protest Burma?s presence ? Mungpi New Delhi ? With Burma nurturing nuclear ambitions, the country?s pro-democracy activists in Japan are gearing up to hold a protest rally on Friday, as representatives from Asian countries including Burma assemble in Tokyo to attend a seminar on ?Nuclear Security? with officials of the IAEA. A Burmese woman activist in Tokyo told Mizzima on Thursday that the protest is aimed at highlighting the Burmese peoples? plight under the military dispensation and to draw attention to the junta?s planned nuclear project. ?It is our duty to protest and highlight what is happening in Burma to the world. Besides, we want the international community to pay attention to the junta?s nuclear ambitions,? she said. According to a Japanese Foreign Ministry release, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Japanese Foreign Ministry are jointly holding the seminar titled ?Seminar on Strengthening Nuclear Security in Asia?. Representatives of 17 Asian countries ? the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, plus China, Japan, the ROK, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan ? will attend the seminar to be chaired by Mr. Kaoru Naito, President of the Nuclear Material Control Center (NMCC). The event is a follow-up of the previous seminar held in 2006. During the seminar participating countries will conduct a review of measures to strengthen nuclear security, which were implemented after the 2006 seminar, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Military-ruled Burma came under media spotlight, when a United States naval vessel in June 2009 detected a North Korean vessel, suspected of carrying illegal weapons, believed to be heading towards Burma. While some speculate that Burma might be nurturing a nuclear weapons ambition, evidence till date has failed to reveal any sign of the Burmese junta going in for a nuclear programme. Russia, one of the few countries having a good rapport with the Burmese regime, announced in 2007 that it is helping Burma in developing a nuclear research reactor. The centre will have a 10 megawatt light water nuclear reactor with low enriched uranium consisting of less than 20 per cent uranium-235.