BurmaNet News, March 6 - 8, 2010

[Editor]

March 6 – 8, 2010, Issue #3911


INSIDE BURMA
New York Times: Details near on long-awaited Burmese election
AP: Cameroon footballer jailed in Myanmar for forgery

ON THE BORDER
VOA: Rights group wants Thai investigation into shootings of Burmese children

BUSINESS / TRADE
New York Times: Myanmar’s ruling junta is selling state’s assets
Irrawaddy: 4,000 workers go on strike in Rangoon

DRUGS
VOA: Burma police killed on drug patrol

REGIONAL
DPA: Burma hopes to host South-East Asian Games in 2013

INTERNATIONAL
Reuters: U.N. chief told Myanmar supremo of worries about vote
Christian Science Monitor: 'Burma VJ,' harrowing tale of Burma protests,
is Oscar contender

OPINION / OTHER
Sydney Morning Herald: UN must step up for the women of Burma – Lucy Turnbull
Irrawaddy: Equality in repression – Editorial
Third Burma Forum Canada: Saskatoon declaration

INTERVIEW
DVB: Kurt Campbell: ‘No change in Burma’

PRESS RELEASE
ASEAN Secretariat: ASEAN to accelerate aid delivery to Cylone-Nargis
affected population




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 8, New York Times
Details near on long-awaited Burmese election

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar said Monday that a long-awaited election law was
complete, paving the way for the country’s first elections in two decades,
a major step toward what the junta bills as its route toward democratic
rule.

The military has vowed to hold the vote this year, but state media did not
announce a date, saying details of the law would be made public on
Tuesday.

Analysts said one major question is whether votes will be tallied locally,
or centrally in the new capital, Naypyidaw. Counting the votes in local
constituencies could reduce the chances of cheating by the military, they
say. In the national referendum on a new constitution in 2008, the
government reported 90 percent approval, even in ethnic minority areas
where antigovernment feelings run deep.

Diplomats say the military has rejected an offer from Indonesia to lead a
mission of election observers. Articles describing the election process
have been censored from publications, said the journalists who wrote them.
And the popular and charismatic leader of the country’s democracy
movement, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is under house arrest and not due to be
released until October at the earliest. The government has not announced
whether she will be allowed to run.

Still, after 48 years of nearly continuous military rule, many here see
the election as their best hope for a new political system that will
ultimately lead to a less-repressive society. The new constitution will
take effect after the elections.

The party of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, won
the last elections, in 1990, but the results were ignored by the military.
The last time a Parliament session was held in Myanmar, formerly known as
Burma, was in 1962.

The party is split over whether to take part in the elections; the
decision may hinge on some of the details released on Tuesday.

Preparations for elections come amid many other uncertainties in the
impoverished and fractured country, from privatizations of state assets to
a tense military standoff with ethnic groups.

The military, in a kind of charm offensive toward voters, has announced a
raft of new infrastructure and farming projects, as well as proposing laws
that allow for more economic and political freedoms, including one that
would lift a ban on labor unions.

The junta has also embarked on a large-scale sell-off of state assets in
what appears to be an effort to build up cash for the election campaign
but which could also have far broader consequences, remaking the economic
system for better or worse.

In the northern reaches of the country the military has reportedly issued
an ultimatum to the heavily armed ethnic groups arrayed along the border
with China, ordering them to give up most of their autonomy and become
border guards under command of the central government.

The two largest groups, the Wa and Kachin, who have armies that total at
least 30,000 soldiers, have rejected the government’s orders during
several rounds of negotiations.

“If you don’t solve these conflicts you can’t have democracy,” said Tom
Kramer, an expert on Myanmar’s minority groups and an analyst at the
Transnational Institute, based in the Netherlands. “You’ll have no peace
and no development.”

____________________________________

March 8, Associated Press
Cameroon footballer jailed in Myanmar for forgery

Yangon, Myanmar — A Cameroon football player who sought refuge at the
French Embassy in Myanmar's main city has been sentenced to nine years in
prison on charges of forging U.S. currency, a newspaper said Monday.

A court in Yangon also sentenced another Cameroon man to seven years last
Thursday, also on charges of counterfeiting U.S. dollar notes, the
privately owned Weekly News Journal said. The journal did not give the
names of the two African men.

The two men had come to Myanmar to play with local football clubs. After
failing to secure contracts, they lived in a downtown hotel where they
were allegedly counterfeiting U.S. currency, the report said. They were
arrested after the hotel manager informed local authorities.

One of the men fled to the French Embassy in Yangon on Feb. 23 when he was
being taken to court by police. He surrendered to authorities after a
brief stay at the embassy.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 6, Voice of America
Rights group wants Thai investigation into shootings of Burmese children

A rights group has called on Thailand to investigate the use of lethal
force by Thai soldiers against Burmese migrants, allegedly resulting in
the deaths of three children.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a press release Friday that Thai
soldiers fired on a truck carrying 13 undocumented migrant workers from
Burma on February 25 after the driver failed to stop for inspection.

The rights group said it had obtained photos showing the truck riddled
with bullet holes.

Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW, said the soldiers who fired into the
truck, apparently without concern for who could be killed or wounded, need
to face the consequences.

HRW also called on the Thai government to provide access for investigators
and to ensure none of the survivors are deported to Burma while
investigations are conducted.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

March 7, New York Times
Myanmar’s ruling junta is selling state’s assets

Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military government has quietly begun the
largest sell-off of state assets in the country’s history, including more
than 100 government buildings, port facilities and a large stake in the
national airline, diplomats and businessmen here say.

The sell-off, analysts say, appears to be part of a political transition
as the government introduces elections for the first time in 20 years and
a new Constitution under which the military seems likely to perpetuate its
rule, though more from behind the scenes.

Diplomats and businessmen say that the sales may allow ruling generals to
build up cash for election campaigns to the new Parliament, where they
will hold 25 percent of seats, or to pay for salary increases for civil
servants and other populist measures. Many of the assets are being sold to
businessmen allied with the military, reinforcing the strength of a class
of oligarchs and military cronies.

But the privatizations could also have the effect of injecting some
competition into what is an almost Soviet-style economic system, and some
analysts here say they may herald a shift in direction. Reformers in the
government, they say, may be hoping to follow a path similar to that of
China or Vietnam, where the economies have been liberalized but the ruling
party has remained firmly in charge and has tolerated little dissent.

Myanmar’s military junta nationalized most industries when it took power
in a 1962 coup and has controlled the lion’s share of the economy since.

For years, Myanmar shunned the path of its thriving neighbors. Most major
industries, like the telecommunications business, power plants, fuel
distribution and health care, remained in the hands of the state.

But today the sell-off of assets is so sweeping that some analysts compare
it to the widespread privatizations in Russia after the Communist era.
“There’s something of a grab going on,” said one diplomat who declined to
be identified because he wanted to avoid publicly criticizing the junta.
“There’s a sense that it may not be done for the right reasons, but it
could have a beneficial effect.”

The assets being sold include the country’s fuel import and distribution
network, gem and tin mines, farmland, and factories, according to
businessmen who have seen announcements of the sales. Most of the
announcements have been made to small groups of businessmen and then
spread by word of mouth.

The government has put out word that it is selling factories producing
soft drinks, cigarettes and bicycles, among other commercial goods,
according to U Phone Win, the head of a nonprofit organization that
assists people in rural areas.

It is also opening the health care and education sectors to private
enterprise, Mr. Phone Win said, issuing licenses for the first time for
private hospitals and schools. “There are opportunities here for the
international business community,” he said.

For a people accustomed to more gradual change under military rule, the
scale of the sales is raising apprehension that it will strengthen the
hand of military cronies. One businessman in particular, U Tay Za, owns an
airline and a soccer team and has interests in the teak, tourism,
telecommunications and construction businesses. He has now been appointed
the head of a new petroleum association and appears to be expanding his
holdings.

In recent days, the country’s Privatization Commission produced a list of
176 assets in Yangon, the main city, to be auctioned off sometime over the
next few weeks. The 18-page list, which was shown to prospective buyers,
includes a wide-ranging roster of buildings in Yangon worth hundreds of
millions of dollars.

The list, which covers only part of the privatization plan, features many
former government offices, notably the lakeside office of the attorney
general, the national archives, the auditor general’s headquarters, the
archaeology department and the Ministry of Industry.

The buildings were abandoned when the capital was moved to the more remote
location of Naypyidaw in 2005, and their sale would seem to ensure that
the move was irreversible.

The businessman said it was likely that dozens of colonial-era buildings
would be torn down. “I feel like I’m bleeding,” he said.

The businessman said the military had compiled a separate list of assets
for auction that he had not seen; other buildings may also be auctioned
independently, he said.

Although most of the major sales have not been mentioned in the state-run
media here, residents are already feeling the effects of some of the
changes.

Over the past six months, the government has sold tens of thousands of
cars it seized in recent years because they had been imported illegally.
Car prices, which for years were highly inflated because of tight import
restrictions, have now fallen by as much as 50 percent, though they are
still higher than in neighboring countries.

A ban on motorcycle imports has also been lifted, a move that is likely to
transform the lives of thousands of people in towns and cities.
Motorcycles remain barred from Yangon.

The mastermind of the privatization is widely believed to be the junta
leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. Despite the changes, the military seems
likely to retain its place of power, even if behind a semblance of
civilian governance.

In addition to the 25 percent of seats reserved for the military in the
new Parliament, amending the Constitution will require more than 75
percent of representatives’ votes.

With the leader of the opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, under house
arrest and 2,100 political prisoners in jails scattered around the
country, the elections are being criticized as a sham by many Burmese
exile groups.

“For these elections to be considered credible and legitimate, it’s
absolutely essential that the government release the prisoners of
conscience currently being held and allow those who wish to participate in
the elections to do so,” said Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador here.

But the changes are nonetheless seen as important. The last time
Parliament met in Myanmar was 1962. Laws that today are passed by military
orders would be replaced by legislation in Parliament.

In recent weeks, the local news media have been allowed to publish
articles condemning child labor and forced labor, both of which are
illegal but persistent, especially in rural areas. The government is
working with the International Labor Organization to crack down on the
practice by local commanders of hiring child soldiers.

“It’s a completely different environment from a few years ago,” said Steve
Marshall, the head of the International Labor Organization office here.
“There is very much more acceptance for the need to work together. They
want to be seen as a professional military.”

____________________________________

March 8, Irrawaddy
4,000 workers go on strike in Rangoon – Ba Kaung

In the latest escalation of labor tensions in Burma, around 4,000 factory
workers at an industrial estate  on the outskirts of Rangoon staged a
sit-in on Saturday to demand better pay, according to sources in the area.

Workers at two garment factories in South Dagon Township's No. 2
Industrial Zone began their strike at around 8 am, the sources said.

“When the workers got out of the company bus this morning, they refused to
enter the factory compound,” said an eyewitness, adding that riot police
arrived at the scene soon after the strike began.

The factories are owned by a company called SGI.

“The factory owner said he would comply with the workers' demands, but he
forced them to go home,”  said another person who witnessed this latest
mass action by Burmese workers.

In recent months, workers employed by factories in Burma's commercial
capital have shown growing dissatisfaction with stagnant wages, as
inflation continues to erode the value of their earnings, most of which
are spent on the purchase of basic commodities.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that several thousand factory workers
in Shwepyithar Township, on the western outskirts of Rangoon, also staged
a sit-in on Friday to demand higher wages and better working conditions.

Labor Ministry representatives were involved in negotiations between the
workers and the factory management, the reports said.

According to a senior official from the Union of Myanmar Federation of
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), the unrest is related to
recent pay hikes for government employees. Public servants' monthly
salaries were raised by a flat rate of 20,000 kyat ($20) in January.

The UMFCCI senior official said that the wages of garment factory workers
are significantly lower than that of workers in Cambodia and Vietnam.

“The basic monthly salary of workers here is US $30-50, while workers in
Cambodia and Vietnam are earning at least $120 a month,” he said.

____________________________________
DRUGS

March 6, Voice of America
Burma police killed on drug patrol

Burma's official media reported Saturday that troops confiscated grenades
and other weapons from a border hide-out used by suspected drug
traffickers, after an earlier gunbattle killed 13 policemen and members of
their patrol.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar said the shoot-out took place February
20 near the northeastern town of Tachileik, which borders Thailand.

The report said an anti-drug squad was patrolling the Mekong river near
Tachileik when it encountered drug traffickers and a gunbattle broke out. 
Eight policemen were killed, along with two local militia members and
three police boat drivers.  Two police officers were wounded.

The paper said that police, acting on a tip, found 15 tents several days
later on an island in the Mekong.  Authorities seized grenades, rifles,
ammunition and blocks of caffeine - an ingredient of methamphetamine
tablets.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

March 8, Deustche Presse Agentur
Burma hopes to host South-East Asian Games in 2013

Rangoon – Burma has put in a bid to host the South-East Asian Games (SEA
Games) of 2013 at the military's new capital of Naypyitaw, media reports
said Monday.

"The Sports Minister has confirmed that the government has decided to host
the 2013 SEA Games," Sai San Tun, a member of SEA Games preparation
committee, told local journalists over the weekend.

"We have started discussions with other sports federations here in
preparation for the games," he said.

The SEA Games are held every two years. Laos hosted the regional event in
2009, and Indonesia is slated to host the games in 2011.

According to official sources, the Burmese ruling junta wants the SEAGames
to be held in Naypyitaw, the country's capital since late 2005. Naypyitaw
is situated about 350 kilometres north of Rangoon.

Burma, which has been under military dictatorships since 1962, was one of
the founding countries of the SEA Games.

The country first hosted the regional sports event, then called the
South-East Asian Peninsular Games, in 1961, and was again host in 1969. It
has not hosted the event since.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 8, Reuters
U.N. chief told Myanmar supremo of worries about vote – Louis Charbonneau

United Nation – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday he sent
a letter to Myanmar's junta chief to voice concern about the credibility
of this year's nationwide election, the country's first in 20 years.

Ban said he wrote to Senior General Than Shwe 10 days ago "expressing my
concern about this lack of progress" on democratic reforms and emphasizing
the importance of ensuring that this year's vote is "most credible,
inclusive and transparent."

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has long been the focus of global
pressure for detaining pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Human rights
groups say there are more than 2,000 political prisoners in Myanmar, but
the military junta says those held are common criminals.

Myanmar's rulers have also been accused of persecuting the country's
ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. Some 140,000 refugees
live in camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to a U.N. refugee
agency.

Ban urged the junta to empty the country's jails of political dissidents
so they can take part in a nationwide election planned for this year.

"All the political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, (should be)
released as soon as possible, so that all of them can participate," he
told reporters in New York. "That will make the election an inclusive and
credible one."

DOUBTS ABOUT ELECTION

The election, a date for which has yet to be revealed, has been widely
derided as an attempt by the junta to make the country appear democratic,
with the military pulling the strings behind a civilian-fronted
government.

The secretary-general was asked about official Myanmar news reports that
the southeast Asia country had finally adopted a long-awaited election
law. Ban said only that he "took note" of the announcement and was seeking
details.

"Without participation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all key political
prisoners this election will not be an inclusive one," Ban said.

Myanmar's Supreme Court last month rejected an appeal by pro-democracy
leader Suu Kyi against her house arrest, a ruling that U.N. officials said
privately only cast further doubt on the legitimacy of the planned
election.

Suu Kyi, detained for 15 of the past 21 years, was sentenced to a further
18 months of house arrest in August 2009 for allowing an uninvited
American to stay in her lakeside home after he swam over to see her.

Ban said at the time that he was "disappointed" that the appeal of the
Nobel Peace Prize laureate had been rejected.

Suu Kyi won the country's last election in 1990, but the junta leaders
ignored the results.

Last week a group of Nobel Peace Prize winners and rights campaigners said
they were urging the U.N. chief to push for Myanmar's leaders to be
referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes
against humanity.

Ban cannot make such a referral himself. That would have to be done by the
U.N. Security Council, a body that diplomats say has been unable to take a
strong stance on Myanmar because China, a veto-wielding permanent member,
is determined to avoid damaging its lucrative commercial ties with its
neighbor.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

____________________________________

March 6, Christian Science Monitor
'Burma VJ,' harrowing tale of Burma protests, is Oscar contender – Howard
LaFranchi

Washington — When Aye Chan attends the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on
Sunday, it will be for his role as a director – not of a movie but of the
exiled Burmese news agency that is the subject of one of this year’s Best
Documentary nominees.

Mr. Chan is executive director and chief editor at Democratic Voice of
Burma, the Oslo-based news organization that disseminates news and images
of Burma provided by underground journalist-citizens it trains to use
small, hand-held video cameras.

"Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country" is the story of DVB
journalists who risked their lives to show the world the brutal repression
wrought by the ruling generals during the uprising of September 2007.

In a broader sense, the documentary by Danish film director Anders
Ostergaard shows how new technologies – from cellphones and video cameras
to wireless communications and satellites – have transformed not only the
act of newsgathering, but also the age-old confrontation between the
politically oppressed and their oppressors.

Chan, who now lives in Norway, is the embodiment of an evolving political
opposition movement in Burma (also known as Myanmar). First a student
protester while studying dentistry, Chan went underground and briefly
became a guerrilla fighter before switching permanently to “showing the
world the truth of what is happening in Burma,” as he says.
Parallels to Iran?

Currently in the US to tell DVB’s story – and then to attend the Oscar
presentations – Chan says anyone who views “Burma VJ” will see parallels
to Iran, where government opposition has blossomed since last June's
disputed presidential elections.

Actor Richard Gere, in a Web video in which he encourages Britons to view
the documentary at a series of British screenings, calls "Burma VJ" a
"very important" movie with timely echoes in Iran. Indeed, those fresh
parallels may be one reason the documentary is considered a favorite to
win its category Sunday night. (Read about the lineup of Academy Award
nominees here.)

“This film is about journalists, but it is also about people just trying
to get information out when the military is determined to stop them from
doing that,” Chan says. “In that sense, it’s not just the story of Burma
but of other countries, too. We’ve seen it recently in Iran,” he adds,
“with students and other protesters using cellphones to get the
information out.”

Just as Iranian protesters and opposition figures have been arrested – and
some killed – several of DVB’s journalists were arrested and face long
prison terms. Iran’s demonstrations followed alleged election
irregularities; in Burma, Buddhist monks sparked what became a broader
challenge to the ruling junta. But in both cases, the protesters took the
same risk: informing the outside world of the regime’s brutal repression.

“Burma VJ” relies heavily on the shaky, jumbled, occasionally obscured
footage of the amateur journalists. It includes a horrifying scene of a
Japanese journalist shot and killed point blank as he records the
demonstration unraveling around him.

“That scene that records how the first person being killed [in the 2007
protests] was a Japanese journalist, it tells you what the military is
most frightened about,” Chan says. “They target how the information is
getting out.”

DVB started in 1992 as an exile shortwave radio station. The Norwegian
government hosted the station – perhaps recalling how Norway’s king and
queen, exiled to London during World War II, had set up a radio broadcast
to reach their Nazi-occupied homeland. Additional funding followed from
other foreign sources, including the National Endowment for Democracy, a
congressionally funded pro-democracy foundation in Washington.
The power of video

In 2005 DVB moved into video transmission. “We realized in 2005 that there
are a lot of satellite dishes in Burma, maybe 1.5 [million] to 2 million,”
says Chan. “If you figure about 10 people per dish, we knew we’d have good
coverage with images.” Burma's population is about 50 million.

To train its radio journalists in Burma to use video, DVB clandestinely
transferred them outside the country, generally into Thailand. Two years
later, the hand-held cameras were ready when Burma’s generals suddenly
quintupled gasoline prices and set the stage for 2007’s protests.

"Burma VJ" pays homage to Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, with
brief, grainy footage of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate appearing to
bless the protesters from the gate of the home where she has been under
house arrest almost permanently since the 1988 elections. (To read a
Monitor editorial on how to free Aung San Suu Kyi, click here.)

Chan says he, too, cannot help but be a pro-democracy activist, though he
strives for objectivity as DVB’s director. At this stage in Burma’s
struggle, he says, his work requires him to do both.

“We’re not saying we’re not working for democracy and human rights in
Burma, we are,” Chan says. “We want press freedom in Burma.” But he also
recognizes that DVB’s power lies in its credibility – with the Burmese
people, the outside world, and the ruling junta.

“We think that’s our survival, to be credible in the eyes of the people
and in the eyes of the regime,” Chan says. “We can be objective while also
supporting changes in Burma at the same time. That’s our role in the
country.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

March 8, Sydney Morning Herald
UN must step up for the women of Burma – Lucy Turnbull

Australian women should never settle for anything less than full equality
and equal pay for equal work.

On International Women's Day, we should also cast our minds to the
unsatisfactory fact that there are not nearly enough senior women
managers, chief executives or directors of our large corporations.

But we should also look beyond our shores. All Australians should reflect
on the lives of women who are permanently marked by deep and deepening
tragedy and injustice — women such as Aung San Suu Kyi and countless
thousands of Burmese women.

For decades Suu Kyi, her Burmese sisters and ethnic minorities have
undergone systematic cruelty — political persecution and imprisonment in
her case, and in the case of her Burmese sisters, acts of criminal
brutality: torture, rape, and displacement at the hands of the military
dictatorship.

There will be ''elections'' in Burma this year. But we should not be
fooled into believing they will be free or fair. They will be a sham and
will further entrench the military at the heart of power. The new
constitution is harsh and one of the most unfair anywhere. For this reason
the elections will be boycotted by those who oppose the military regime.

The constitution entrenches permanent military (male) rule, putting the
(male) commander-in-chief of Defence Services at the centre of power — not
the president, who will serve at the pleasure of the military. A
significant proportion of Burma's elected parliament will be (male)
military officers.

It wipes the the slate clean for the military; those behind criminal acts
including rape, violence and torture are given amnesty. But there is no
amnesty for their opponents.

This will put beyond sanction the military's ''four cuts'' policy, first
introduced in the 1960s, to deprive political opponents and ethnic
minorities of food, resources and capacity to operate through the
destruction and appropriation of property and dispersal of the population.

Military experience is a prerequisite for eligibility to become president.
Women are, in effect, excluded. In case the message for Suu Kyi was not
clear enough, anyone who has a spouse or children who are not Burmese
citizens is ineligible: her late husband was British, as are their
children.

Whoever is appointed president will be a military puppet.

What can we do? We can do what diplomats always do: urge parties in
dispute to have further dialogue. That is good but it has not worked to
date. What else? We can seek action from the United Nations Security
Council. It can refer the situation in Burma to the International Criminal
Court, as the Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi from Iran and Jody Williams
from the US called for last week.

Or there can be the intermediate step of seeking the Security Council to
establish a commission of inquiry to determine whether the crimes reported
to the UN constitute a breach of international law and pose a threat to
the peace and justify referral to the ICC. The Security Council took
similar steps in Sudan and the former Yugoslavia.

The rhetoric about Burma has slowly ramped up in the General Assembly. In
2004 a resolution ''strongly urged'' Burmese authorities to take steps to
prevent further human rights violations. In 2005 it ''called upon'' the
authorities to take action. In 2006 it ''strongly called upon them''. That
year the situation in Burma was placed on the Security Council's permanent
agenda.

All these steps have been to little avail. From June 2004 to the end of
2008 the number of political prisoners in Burma doubled to 2100, including
Buddhist monks who took part in the so called Saffron Revolution of 2007.

Since 2008 UN rapporteurs have noted an escalation of the level of human
displacement through the destruction of villages and relocation of the
population, mostly in the east.

What usually follows displacement is violence. It is estimated that more
villages have been displaced in Burma than during the Darfur conflict.

Not to refer the conduct of the Burmese dictatorship to a higher authority
will amount to the world standing by and wringing its hands, even as the
regime continues on its dictatorial and brutal way. There is nothing to
say that that brutality will not continue for decades to come.

Lucy Turnbull, as lord mayor of Sydney, awarded Aung San Suu Kyi the keys
to the city in 2003.

____________________________________

March 8, Irrawaddy
Equality in repression – Editorial

On the occasion of Monday's International Women's Day, it's perhaps timely
to ask whether any of Burma's governments has ever respected the right of
women to participate in the country's affairs, especially in politics and
governments. The answer is “no.”

Since independence, for instance, there has been no woman minister, prime
minister or president in Burma, either in democratic, socialist or
military administrations.

The absence of women in positions of political authority can be ascribed
mainly to the influence of the military, which has been the key
institution regaining national independence and legitimatizing itself as a
nation-building force.

However, when the military's domination of Burma's politics was challenged
by the people in 1988, women were to be found in the front line of
politics—most notably,  Aung San Suu Kyi.

When her party, the  National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide
victory in the 1990 election, Burma could have had—and should have had— a
democratic government under a woman leader. But, of course, that never
came about.
At that time, the misogynist generals could be heard citing a Burmese
proverb that translates as: "There can be no rosy dawn if the hen crows!”

Since 1997, Burma has been a party to the 1981 United Nations Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Its signature on the document was just a pro forma act, however, by a
regime that had no intention of following its precepts.

There is no lack of evidence that the junta represses and discriminates
against women.

The country's political prisoners include 177 women, aged between 21 and
68, according to an International Women's Day statement issued by the
Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

The most prominent women prisoner is Suu Kyi, whose staunch democratic
ideals have kept her in detention for a total of 15 years.

Article 3 of CEDAW reads: “State Parties shall take in all fields, in
particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all
appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full
development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them
the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a
basis of equality with men.”

However, this article has never come into effect in Burma.

“Traditionally the home is the domain of the woman,” said Suu Kyi in her
keynote speech to a Women's Forum in Beijing in August, 1995. “But there
has never been a guarantee that she can live out her life there safe and
unmolested.”

She is right and her words are a true reflection of the situation of women
in Burma.
____________________________________

March 7, Third Burma Forum Canada
Saskatoon declaration

Saskatoon, Canada – The 3rd Burma Forum Canada was successfully held from
March 6 to 7, 2010 in Saskatoon, Canada. More than 50 Burmese
organizational representatives including ethnic nationalities across
Canada and representatives from National Coalition Government of Union of
Burma (NCGUB), the Burmese government in exile, Ethnic Nationalities
Council (ENC) and Euro-Burma Office (EBO) participated. A wide range of
Burma-related issues such as international polices towards Burma, analysis
on 2010 elections and possible scenarios, and the role of ethnic
nationalities in the political process in Burma were discussed. The Forum
participants unanimously agreed to announce the following:


Current Situations & Concerns in Burma

The Forum is increasingly concerned that the military junta continues to
ignore calls by Canada and the larger international community to show
concrete commitments to political reforms. The Forum is also concerned by
the ongoing military offensives, and other forms of atrocities including
displacement, religious persecution, politically motivated and arbitrary
arrests in the context of the elections planned for later this year.


Appreciations:

1)      The Forum wholeheartedly welcomes and appreciates the official
announcement made at the Forum by Ms. Kelly Block (MP-
Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar) on behalf of the Honourable Beverley J. Oda,
Minister of International Cooperation that the Government of Canada would
continue support for Burmese refugees and displaced persons living in
Burma's border areas in the amount of $15.9 million over five years;
2)      The Forum would also like to express the deepest appreciation on
strong political and financial support provided by Canadian Friends of
Burma (CFOB), Canadian NGO Committee (CNC), Saskatoon Burmese Community,
and Euro-Burma Office (EBO), as well as other organizations and
individuals who helped make this important Forum happen;
3)      The Forum also thanks the Government of Canada for strong and
consistent support for national reconciliation and democracy in Burma
including political and economic measures against Burmese military junta
in November, 2007 and conferring the Canadian Honorary Citizenship Award
to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in May, 2008.


Policy issues:

The Forum strongly believes that:

a)     The 2010 elections is not a solution and will not bring democracy
to Burma;
b)     The deteriorating political and human rights conditions in Burma
are not favorable to hold a multi-party election. This is the time to work
to resolve existing problems through a proper consultation with all the
stake-holders in the nation.
c)      If SPDC forcibly continues to go ahead without having meaningful
and inclusive dialogue with democratic and ethnic leaders inside the
country, the election will not be internationally acceptable and credible;
d)     All prisoners of conscience including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi must be
freed unconditionally, and all Burmese citizens must be able to freely
participate in the political process so that the elections can be
considered credible, free and fair.
e)     Military offensives, gross human rights violations and all kinds of
atrocities, especially in the ethnic nationalities areas must be ceased;
f)       Only the people and their trusted leaders inside the country have
the legitimate mandate to decide whether or not they should take part in
the elections. The Forum will respect their decision.


The Forum also strongly believes that:

a)     Recognition to the crucial role and active participation of ethnic
nationalities in the national political process is essential for
long-lasting peace and prosperity in Burma. A tripartite dialogue remains
the best viable means towards achieving these goals.
b)     Federalism and democratic governance is the only path towards a
united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
c)      Any dialogue between the military junta and the opposition should
be pursued within a time-bound framework.
d)     Respect for the rights of women and their active participation in
the national political process are essential to the democratic governance
and social harmony.


The Forum calls upon the Government of Canada:

a)     To maintain the existing political and economic measures towards
Burma until all the concerns of the Canadian government and people are
adequately met by the Burmese authorities.
b)     Express concerns over Burma’s obvious nuclear ambition and
questionable relations with the North Korean regime, and to put pressure
on the military junta to comply with the international non-proliferation
treaty especially with regards to UN Security Council Resolutions 1874 and
1718.
c)      To reiterate the importance of having a direct and meaningful
dialogue between Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, which
will lead to a level of national dialogue participated by all key
stakeholders, including the ethnic nationalities.
d)      To extend Canadian government’s effort and support at the
multilateral level including an UN ‘Commission on Inquiry’ of Crimes
against Humanity in Burma;
e)     To have active coordination with its international partners for the
emergence of “International Forum on Burma” in Asia as soon as possible;
f)       To demand that the military junta immediately stop ongoing
attacks on civilians in eastern Burma, including the renewed attacks on
Karen civilians in recent months.
g)     To demand that the junta cease the unjustified pressures being
exerted on the ethnic cease-fire groups to become the “Border Guard Force”
ahead of the elections.
h)     To substantially expand its resettlement program for the vulnerable
Burmese refugees including political dissidents.
i)        To ensure all humanitarian assistance package provided by
Canadian government to the targeted groups and people in need.

In conclusion, the Forum participants reaffirm their commitment to
continue to work together,  and call upon diverse Burmese community across
the globe to stand united until the people of Burma overcome the existing
political, socio-economic and humanitarian crises and able to freely enjoy
their full democratic and human rights in the Union of Burma.

3rd Burma Forum Canada

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

March 8, Democratic Voice of Burma
Kurt Campbell: ‘No change in Burma’ – Aye Chan Naing

US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, Kurt
Campbell, has spearheaded the US government’s shift towards engagement
with the Burmese regime, and is one of only a handful of foreign diplomats
to have met with Aung San Suu Kyi since 2003.

He talks to DVB about Washington’s dissatisfaction with the lack of
progress made by the Burmese junta since the policy shift was announced,
but  says that Suu Kyi’s “enormous poise, confidence and commitment” is
one of a number of signs of hope in the country.

Since your last visit to Burma in November 2009, have there been any
developments regarding engagement with the junta?

We had an exploratory visit in November and had the opportunity, as you
suggest, to meet with a broad group of political, military, and civil
society players inside the country.  We presented some ideas directly to
the junta; we discussed these with a variety of players. We have spent the
last couple of months talking to some of the key players in the region –
China and India, for example, and we are in the process of looking at our
immediate next steps. We wanted to give the government a chance to reflect
on some of the ideas and suggestions that we put forward and we are
attempting to demonstrate patience but at the same time I think we all
recognise that it is going to be important for the government in Naypyitaw
to give an indication of their direction moving forward.

Since November have you had any response or any positive sign that it is
changing in the direction that you wanted.

I would have to say no, not at this juncture.  In fact if anything we have
seen some signs that concern us.  We’ve seen some actions along the border
areas against some of the ethnic groups that I think raise some concerns. 
There have been some arrests and there have been some actions that we
think are antithetical to trying to create an internal dialogue about the
way forward and the upcoming election.  So if I had to characterise this I
think there are a few areas [in which] we have seen some very modest steps
forward, a few releases of some senior players, but at the same time there
have also been some steps that cause us very real concern.

Before you started this engagement you said it was going to be a long,
painful, step-by-step process.  Do you feel it is going to be longer than
you had thought?

No, this is about what I had anticipated. I think the key for the United
States is we have got to be committed: committed to our principles,
committed to our values, to our friends, and we have to be consistent and
we do have to demonstrate some patience in the process.  This is not a set
of circumstances that are going to change overnight. And it will have to
be through a strategic and cunning approach on the part of Western friends
and others to see a more positive way forward.  So I stand by my early
statement: painful, difficult and challenging, and it will take longer
than people had hoped or anticipated.

How long do you think you will wait till you see positive changes in the
country?

I don’t know. I think one of the advantages of certain kinds of engagement
is that you get more feedback and a greater sense of what your
interlocutor is thinking. We have had such limited contact with the
government for such a long period of time that it’s difficult to get a
sense for what they anticipate in terms of next steps. We have been able
to pass I think rather consequential messages on some proliferation
concerns: for instance, about their relationship with North Korea. We have
been able to lay out what we would think to be a reasonable way forward in
terms of an internal dialogue, designed to bring parties to the table to
discuss the road ahead inside the country and we think we have also been
able to lay out what are some of the advantages that potentially could be
in store should the government take up this opportunity to interact with
the United States more positively. But we are going to need some signals
and indication of the way forward.

You’ve said that the way forward will be closely tied to the elections his
year. Can you elaborate on this?

I don’t want to get into great details but I would say that we have some
obvious expectations about creating an atmosphere for more domestic
dialogue among the players. Clearly some of the actions that are taking
place along the border areas raise concerns for us. We believe that in
this new environment ethnic groups and their representatives have to play
a more significant role in the overall political dialogue inside the
country and there are a host of other issues that need to be addressed
from economic issues to questions associated with political prisoners but
the truth is, this extraordinarily long journey has to begin with some
very basic steps and we are hoping that, in a consistent manner bringing
together a group of other nations, we will be able to make a very clear
pitch about why this is the right way forward.

US plans for engagement with the junta have caused some worry among
Burmese opposition groups. What would you tell them?

First of all what’s been very important is that we have not in any way
adjusted our sanctions policy and our principles stand on a variety of
issues at the United Nations and elsewhere, so we’ve been very consistent
and we have raised these issues at the highest levels in all of our
meetings with the representatives of the government. Number two, I must
say that in our discussions with Aung San Suu Kyi she welcomed this
initiative and thought it was the right approach and was realistic about
its prospects, but thought that at this juncture it was the right thing to
do and so we felt heartened by that vote of confidence and some of the
other players that we met, either from third way groups or ethnic groups
or even the National League for Democracy (NLD). The NLD did raise,
occasionally some concerns about this or that but the truth is that
ultimately we need to consult, we need to listen carefully, but we need to
make our own judgements about the way forward and we think given previous
experience that this is the right time to try this approach.

What is the US position on the election?

We have been very clear on that in the current environment without further
steps you know we have very real doubts whether this election can in any
way at this juncture play a productive role inside the country. Clearly
the government is not going to start from scratch and a lot of people say
the referendum and the whole enterprise is illegitimate. We understand
those concerns but at the same time we think that at the very least we
need to see a form of internal dialogue that brings the key parties
together and we think that is in the best interest of all concerned and
that the government should have the confidence to be able to embark on
such a path moving forward.

You met Aung San Suu Kyi for two hours when you were in Rangoon. What did
you discuss with her?

I don’t think it would be appropriate to go into great detail, but I will
say that she is one of the most impressive people I have interacted with
in some time. She has enormous poise and confidence and commitment. She is
very inspirational in that regard, but what I was struck by more than
anything else was not just her knowledge of Burma, which is encyclopaedic,
nor her awareness of the global environment, which is incredible given her
isolation, but her deep sense of empathy and understanding for her
captors. She really did have a sense of humanity for the men, the
generals, who had put her away – it reminded me in many respects of the
kind of grace that Nelson Mandela displayed for his captors on Robben
Island and the apartheid government. And so in her very unique way she
demonstrated both the strength of her character but also her
vulnerability. The combination together was both inspirational and quite
appealing.

Are you looking forward to working with her one day?

Oh yes, but I must also say there is a recognition that the road ahead is
going to be complicated and challenging, and I must also say that I look
forward to working with her and her colleagues but I will also be prepared
to work with others inside the government as well.

What kind of information do you have about the relationship between Burma
and North Korea?

Some of it is sensitive so really can’t be discussed in great detail but I
will say we have seen enough to cause us some anxiety about certain kinds
of military and other kinds of relationships between North Korea and
Burma. We have been very clear with the authorities about what our red
lines are and anxieties are.

Do you worry about nuclear proliferation?

We always worry about nuclear proliferation and there some signs that
there have been some flirtation around these matters and perhaps even more
and we will be highly attentive to this moving forward.

What kind of relationship do you have with China and India when it comes
to Burma?

I would say there are several key countries that are associated with Burma
and we seek to have deep dialogue and discussion with all of them. China,
Thailand, Singapore and India I think are the key players when it comes to
direct involvement inside the country, but most specifically it’s China
and India. We have had dialogues and discussions with both countries at a
high level. Our Chinese friends have actually been very encouraging of
this dialogue. I don’t think they want to see instability on their own
borders and I think they’d like to see a peaceful process of reform moving
forward inside the country.

What kind of demands do you have for US citizen Nyi Nyi Aung who has been
tortured and imprisoned in Burma?

Firstly I have met with his fiancé [Wa Wa Kyaw] and with his lawyer, and
we’ve had very substantial discussions about this case. She has authored
an Op-Ed about it and has spoken out about this. I have no problem with
someone who says, ‘Look, I think your approach on this is wrong and I
think you know that seeking to try this strategy is a better way’. But the
truth is that this has been an issue that has received an enormous amount
of attention inside the US government, and the allegation that we have not
been involved directly, when I myself have met with her and others, I take
issue with. We are committed to seeking his release; we may have a
slightly different strategy about how to go forward with that but we are
not going to rest until he is released. We take the conditions of his
plight, his arrest his imprisonment, court case very seriously and I will
be meeting with [Wa Wa Kyaw] tomorrow in Washington when she comes to my
office.

Lastly, what is your message to the people of Burma?

Don’t lose hope. When I talked with [secretary of state Hillary] Clinton
about this I was very inspired by her commitment to press ahead. And Aung
San Suu Kyi’s discipline and commitment to her cause is profoundly
inspirational. In a small way, in an inadequate way, I will try to do my
best.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 8, ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN to accelerate aid delivery to Cylone-Nargis affected population

Ha Noi – ASEAN will accelerate aid delivery to Myanmar’s Cyclone-Nargis
affected population and hand over the coordination structure for
post-Nargis recovery efforts to the Government of Myanmar as it prepares
to complete its humanitarian operations in the country in July 2010. The
decision was made at the 7th Meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force
(AHTF) held in Ha Noi today.

In his opening statement, Secretary-General of ASEAN and Chairman of the
AHTF, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, said, “While the AHTF will end its operations in
Myanmar in July 2010, the recovery process for many survivors of Cyclone
Nargis will take many years. The newly-launched Periodic Review III
observes that many gaps are still not met, in sectors such as shelter,
livelihoods, and water and sanitation. It is, therefore, critical that
ASEAN accelerates the delivery of assistance to quickly address the
pressing needs of the people.”

“At the same time, we must prepare to transfer the coordinating role of
assistance to the relevant ministries of Myanmar to ensure sustainability
of recovery as AHTF will end in July 2010,” he added.

In November 2009, ASEAN, together with the humanitarian community,
appealed for additional USD 103 million to address the pressing needs
faced by Cyclone Nargis survivors. As of 28 February 2010, the total
pledges had increased to USD 91.3 million, and a total of USD 38.57
million had been received by either trust fund mechanism or implementing
partners.

Included in the transfer of coordination function are post-Nargis data on
funding, expenditure, status of programme activities, and monitoring tools
such as the Periodic Review and Social Impacts Monitoring. At the same
time, ASEAN will continue supporting Myanmar to implement the Myanmar
Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR).

Dr Surin also stressed the need to document the lessons learnt from its
humanitarian operation in Myanmar and to continue its coordination role
between now and July 2010 to alleviate the suffering of Nargis-affected
communities and ensure a smooth handing over to Myanmar.

“ASEAN’s post-Nargis experience can be replicated elsewhere in the ASEAN
region and be disseminated to strengthen the implementation of ASEAN
Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and the
establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance
on Disaster Management (AHA Centre),” he further said.

-------------------------------
The ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis was
established by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers of ASEAN on 19 May 2008. The
Task Force consists of senior-level representatives from the ten ASEAN
countries. Under this ASEAN-led mechanism, a Yangon-based Tripartite Core
Group comprising representatives from the Government of Myanmar, ASEAN and
the United Nations was set up on 31 May 2008. The Task Force also has an
Advisory Group consisting of representatives from neighbouring countries
to Myanmar, the United Nations, the international community, Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement, the INGOs, World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank.
The Tripartite Core Group (TCG) was officially established on 31 May 2008.
It comprises high-level representatives from the United Nations,
Government of the Union of Myanmar and the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.
--------------------------

Contact details:
Mai Phuong Tang
Communication Officer and Stakeholder Relations Coordinator
ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force
Coordinating Office in Yangon
Tel: +95 950 999 78
mai.aseanhtf at gmail.com