BurmaNet News, March 26, 2010

[Editor]

March 26, 2010, Issue #3925

INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar junta prepares for final salute
Irrawaddy: NLD youths reject party registration
AP: Myanmar orders CNN correspondent deported

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Human trafficking increases on Sino-Burma border
DVB: India looks east, prepares to arm junta navy

INTERNATIONAL
Guardian (UK): UK backs move to refer Burma's leaders to war crimes tribunal
Reuters: U.N. rights forum condemns Myanmar, extends probe

STATEMENT
NLD: Special announcement 2/03/10 (unofficial translation)

PRESS RELEASE
HRW: G8 Summit should tackle Burma rights crisis





____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

March 26, Reuters
Myanmar junta prepares for final salute – Martin Perry

An ostentatious parade by Myanmar's ruling generals on Saturday is being
cast by the junta as a swansong, but the military looks set to remain the
dominant political force even after handing power to a civilian government
after elections later this year.

WORLD

The annual Army Day parade in the new capital of Naypyitaw will no doubt
feature nationalist speeches on economic potential and democratic rule in
the former Burma, but analysts say the generals have a far more important
message to deliver.

"They will talk about ideology, policy and the steps they've taken toward
democracy," said Aung Naing Oo, a Harvard-educated Burmese academic based
in Thailand.

"More symbolic is their attempt to show everyone at home and abroad that
the military will not, and must not, be discounted."

The generals hope that a veneer of democracy may lead Western powers into
easing sanctions, but critics have already dismissed forthcoming elections
as a sham.

If the incoming government cannot win legitimacy, it will struggle to fix
an economy in ruins after decades of military rule.

Despite growing trade with China and Asia, its sanctions-hit banks, for
instance, remain largely shut off from the world, posing a major challenge
for the next generation of leaders.

The isolated country of 48 million people, with its rich natural resources
from natural gas to timber and gems, is strategically nestled between
Asia's rising powers of China and India, with a port in Southeast Asia.

Undeterred by Western sanctions, those three players are racing to tap
Myanmar's economy, but with few experienced technocrats in the country,
corruption, cronyism and clumsy fiscal management look set to continue.

DEMOCRATIC FACADE

A glance at the army-drafted constitution of 2008 shows critics have good
reason to doubt the generals' sincerity. The new, "democratic" Myanmar
will effectively remain a military dictatorship, even if the polls are
free and fair, as promised.

The armed forces chief will be more senior than an elected president, the
military will retain control over key ministries and a quarter of
parliamentary seats will be set aside for the men in green.

Other seats are likely to be taken by junta cronies and their proxies in
civilian-led parties.

Detained opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday
said she wouldn't dream of entering her party in the polls, although she
said fellow members would have the final say. The generals have spent
billions of dollars in Naypyitaw building lavish mansions, a parliament,
senate and dozens of new ministries, determined to push ahead with their
polls, but trouble looms in the mountains beyond.

Powerful ethnic armies along Myanmar's borders with China and Thailand,
which have enjoyed de facto autonomy for decades, are refusing to accept
the junta's "offer" to disarm and join the political process, riling
Burmese generals determined to take full control of the ethnically diverse
country.

War between these groups and government troops could be imminent in the
rebellious Shan and Kachin states.

WHITHER THE GENERALS?

Most people in Myanmar privately express deep cynicism toward the election
but are reluctant to criticize it publicly for fear of repercussions in a
country that routinely jails critics.

Many are anyway more focused on pocketbook issues -- from the high cost of
fuel to climbing food prices -- in the teeth of rampant inflation blamed
on years of neglect and economic mismanagement by the military junta.

So what will happen to the top generals?

Despite speculation 77-year-old junta supremo Than Shwe could become
president, Myanmar experts believe he and number two, Maung Aye, will
retire and hand over power to loyal army proteges, perhaps pulling some
strings from behind the scenes.

Junta number three Thura Shwe Mann, 62, is widely tipped to take the top
job of armed forces supreme commander, who can assume power at a time of
crisis, according to the constitution.

Although the polls have already been written off, many believe a
transition to full civilian rule, albeit drawn out and gradual, will
eventually transpire.

"They're committed to this process so there's the potential of some
devolution of power, a half-way house," said Christopher Roberts, an
author and Myanmar specialist at the University of Canberra.

"For now, the generals want to show they're still in control, but that
might not necessarily be the case in another 10 years."

____________________________________

March 26, Irrawaddy
NLD youths reject party registration – Kyaw Thein Kha

National League for Democracy (NLD) youth leaders decided today to reject
party registration for this year's planned election, according to members
of the NLD's youth wing who attended a meeting at the party's headquarters
in Rangoon on Friday.

“Today we all decided not to register to contest the election. This was
the main topic of discussion at our meeting, and we came to a unanimous
decision,” said Nay Myo Kyaw, an NLD youth leader from Magway Division.


Youth members of National League for Democracy line up to welcome guests
during the party's 21st founding anniversary celebration at the party's
headquarters in Rangoon last year. (Photo: AP)
He said that all 51 NLD youth leaders who attended the meeting agreed to
continue their peaceful struggle for democracy together with the public.

“Even if the party decides to contest the election, we have already
decided against it,” said Myo Min Soe, a youth leader from Rangoon
Division.

If the party is dissolved, the NLD youths will find another way to pursue
their political goals, he said, without providing any further details.

The youth leaders also decided to uphold the NLD's Shwegondaing
Declaration, which calls on the Burmese junta to review the 2008
Constitution, and expressed support for Aung San Suu Kyi, the party's
detained leader.

They vowed to follow the decisions of Suu Kyi and other NLD executive
members, and asked Tin Oo, the party's vice chairman, to lead the NLD
youth until Suu Kyi's release.

They also called on the NLD Central Executive Committee to choose five NLD
youth representatives to join the party's highest decision-making body.

In October 2008, more than 100 youth members of the NLD resigned from the
party, complaining that they were not allowed to participate in
decision-making. The mass resignation came soon after NLD Chairman Aung
Shwe announced the appointment of six new youth advisers and a plan to
assign ten others to lead youth activities.

The NLD Central Executive Committee and more than 100 party leaders from
around the country will gather at the party's headquarters on March 29 to
decide whether the party will register or not.

Suu Kyi, who has been legally banned from taking part in the election,
recently spoke out against registration, but said she would leave it to
the party to decide for itself what it wants to do.
____________________________________

March 26, Associated Press
Myanmar orders CNN correspondent deported

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar — A reporter for the U.S. television network CNN has
been ordered deported from Myanmar for the second time in two years.

Dan Rivers, who was in the capital city Naypyitaw to cover Armed Forces
Day — one of the few events which the ruling junta invites foreign
journalists to cover — will be deported because he is on a blacklist for
illicitly reporting from the country in May 2008, an Information Ministry
official said Friday.

Rivers was one of the few Western journalists to openly report on the
aftermath of Cyclone Nargis — which left 138,000 people dead or missing —
and was kicked out after several days.

The official, who spoke on connection of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to the press, said Rivers was accidentally allowed in
again this month because of a mistake by Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok,
Thailand, where the CNN correspondent is based.

The official said Rivers was sent from Naypyitaw, to Yangon, the country's
commercial hub, from where he would be expelled. He was unsure when the
deportation would be carried out.
A CNN spokesman in Hong Kong declined to comment.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

March 26, Irrawaddy
Human trafficking increases on Sino-Burma border – Alex Ellgee

Ruili, China —Thi Thi Win reminisces about a time when she wore
traditional Burmese clothes and walked around her village at sunset. For
the best part of her childhood, she considered herself to be lucky—she had
two loving parents and food was plentiful.

Until one day when her family was pushed out of their farm by the Burmese
army to make way for a highway. One of eight siblings, she knew she had to
find work to help her family.

While she was selling some of her families clothes in the local bus
station, a man approached her saying he could find her a “factory job” in
China. With high hopes, she packed her bags and left for Burma’s booming
neighbor.

“He told me I would no longer have to sell my family’s belongings and
could buy presents for them within a month,” said Thi Thi Win, who asked
that The Irrawaddy not use her real name.

She said her trip to the border was full of excitement. As she looked out
the bus window, paddy fields flew past ,and she dreamed of her new life in
China. At the bus station, she was greeted by a Chinese man who took her
to a teashop where she was given noodles, which she quickly ate.

“The next thing I remember I was in a small room with Burmese girls—they
had drugged me,” she said.

“The next couple of hours I spent chatting with the other girls, and they
all had the same story. Then they led us out into a room, in front of lot
of Chinese men —one man pointed at me.”

That was the moment that the man “bought” her, and without delay or
discussion, she was taken to his farm in rural China to be his wife. At
first, she refused, and his family was furious. They beat her until she
couldn’t take the suffering anymore, and finally gave in.

Like thousands of girls who are trafficked from Burma to China each year,
what followed her forced marriage was a life of hardship. The family
forbade her to leave the house, and her days were spent housekeeping and
cooking, as a way to “repay” the fee they had paid for her.

One day, after a year with the family—what she says felt like a
lifetime—the police came to the home and took her into custody. Treated as
an illegal immigrant, she was thrown in prison for three months, without
an interview or assessment.

Treatment of trafficking victims is a major concern for NGOs that work in
the region. They say that China is not doing enough to identify foreign
women who have been forced into marriage. Lacking interpreters and proper
screening processes, many trafficking victims end up in jail.

Despite the lack of attention to foreign victims, more work has been done
to curb domestic trafficking in China.

With most of the trafficking is related to urban migration, the government
has spent large sums educating farmers about the dangers of trafficking.
China has a total of 1,351 Relief Administrative Centers located at
provincial, county and city levels which work with trafficking victims.

Various counter-trafficking training courses have been held for media,
trainers, police and key government officials in collaboration with UN
agencies and international NGOs. Legal aid for victims has increased with
more centers being opened across the country, and China is attempting to
improve its prosecution procedure.

Last year, the public security ministry launched a special crackdown.
Police across the country rescued 3,455 children and 7,365 women from
April to the end of December last year. A total of 1,684 human-trafficking
groups were identified and 2,895 trafficking cases were solved with 19 out
of 20 suspects arrested.

In March, China's police chief, Meng Jianzhu, called for greater effort in
halting trafficking of women and children, saying the crime "grossly
violates human rights." Meng vowed zero tolerance for trafficking cases,
asking local governments to address economic and social problems that are
at the root of rampant human trafficking.

Unfortunately, all this has done little to stop the flow of Burmese women
being sold for between 10,000 and 40,000 yuan (US $1,500 to $6,000) into
forced marriage. Local grassroots organizations working along the
Sino-Burma border believe that more and more women are trafficked across
the border each week.

With increasing cases of land confiscation and what the Kachin Woman’s
Organization in Thailand calls the Burmese regime's “mismanagement of the
economy,” more and more women are leaving for China to survive.

“They have to work so hard in Burma and make very little. When people tell
them about jobs in China they are ready to leave the next day,” one KWA
worker based on the Sino-Burma border told The Irrawaddy.

Also to blame is China’s one-child policy which has left many of the rural
areas with an overwhelming proportion of men. Faced with a life alone,
many men jump at the opportunity to buy a Burmese wife and fulfill their
dreams of having a child.

Woman support groups report that in many cases the Chinese men only see
their newly acquired Burmese wives as a means to continue their family
line. The coordinator of one underground woman’s group told The Irrawaddy
that once a women gives birth they are often “passed on.”

“All Chinese men want is to have a baby, once the girl has given birth she
is often neglected, and we’ve heard many cases where she is sold on to
another husband for the same reason,” she said. “Sometimes they are sold
on three of four times.”

It’s still very hard for the NGOs to work on the border and most do so
clandestinely, especially at this moment of increasing pressure by local
authorities.

A US trafficiking reported stated: “Factors that continue to impede
progress in anti-trafficking efforts include tight controls over civil
society organizations, restricted access of foreign anti-trafficking
organizations and the government’s systemic lack of transparency.”

Working underground, NGO workers receive countless calls from parents
asking them to find their daughters or from the victims themselves, who
are often impossible to reach.

There have been public attempts by the Chinese authorities to work with
Burma to prevent trafficking. In line with a bilateral framework agreement
signed in Kunming, liason offices have been set up along the border at
Ruili and Zhangfeng.

When the Chinese authorities correctly identify a woman to be a
trafficking victim, their treatment is reported to be good. However, women
are normally returned without rehabilitation and problems often arise when
they ask the Burmese border officials to pay for transportation home.

Burma has made some efforts with the passage of the Prevention of
Trafficking in Persons Law in 2005. Burma is also in the process of
drafting a national-level five-year plan of eliminating human trafficking.
Burma signed a memorandum of understanding involving the six-member
Greater Mekong Sub region against trafficking in persons in 2004.

Julia Matrip, the head of the Kachin Woman's Association in Thailand,
believes the regime is mainly involved in pleasing the international
community rather than actually dealing with the problem.

“The number of girls coming across is increasing and if the SPDC really
cares, they need to address the root causes of this problem which is
economic desperation as a result of their poor management of Burma’s
economy,” she said.

To curb the number of girls being trafficked into China, the Burmese
authorities have restricted under-18 girls from travelling unaccompanied.
However, walking around Ruili’s many massage parlors its clear that many
children work in the premises. The women's group recent report titled
“Eastward bound” says that 25 percent of trafficking victims are under 18.

Many of the women and children are never heard from again and may never be
found as they slowly accept a life of solitude and are unable to
communicate with anyone. Those who are rescued risk going back to a life
of shame in their villages where their forced marriage in China makes them
undesirable as wives.

For Thi Thi Win, she knew she couldn’t return to Burma, because she
couldn’t face her village again. Instead, she remains in limbo on the
border working as a sex worker to fuel her methamphetamine addiction.

Thi Thi Win picked up a wedding album of probably the most depressing
wedding photos ever taken. A Burmese girl, lost and scared, standing with
a stunned gaze next to her Chinese “husband.”

“Whatever happens after we escape, we all suffer inside for the rest of
our lives,” she said, as she turned the pages of a wedding album of a
forced marriage.

____________________________________

March 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
India looks east, prepares to arm junta navy – Joseph Allchin

As western governments gathered to condemn the junta’s election at the UN,
India undeterred welcomes Lt Gen Thar Aye to the eastern city of Kolkata.

He will visit India’s ‘eastern command headquarters’, this comes amidst a
claim by the city’s Telegraph newspaper that India is preparing to sell
Burma new patrol boats.

Lt Gen Thar Aye is the junta’s head of the bureau of special operations
and will no doubt discuss India’s insurgent worries along the shared
border.

India’s north eastern states are riddled with separatist movements, whom
the Indian’s allege take shelter over the border in Burma. The Indian
government has been keen to engage their junta counterparts with a view to
joint operations to stamp out the rebel groups. This predicament analysts
believe has been occurring for years with limited results.

Of particular concern is the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).
Captured ULFA soldiers have made the claim that they operate bases in
Burma and have links with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Thar Aye is on most western sanctions lists and holds the position of
chief of the Bureau of Special Operations 1 (BSO1), which makes him
effectively the ‘field commander’ for the north, north west and central
commands, a higher rank than regional ‘commanders’.

He was promoted to the said position in 2008 and was previously the
regional commander of western Sagaing division. Now he oversees a larger
area including Sagaing, but the region is believed to shelter Indian
separatist rebels.

He is scheduled to meet Indian Lt Gen Bikram Singh, in early April, who
will take over as chief of India’s eastern command later this year.

The naval deal was believed to have been signed in February when
Vice-Admiral Nyan Tun also visited India.

India has consistently sought closer ties with the junta since the late
90’s when the government seemingly made a U turn on previous support of
the Burmese democracy movements. This U turn was epitomised by the
controversial Operation Leech, in which a number of Burmese opposition
activists were lured to Indian territory only to be killed or arrested.

The reasoning seems to be the increased energy needs of India and a
competitive geo-political rivalry with China for influence over the
region.

India has a number of business and military deals with the junta; ranging
from the recent inception of a Tata truck factory to military training and
importantly, Indian state owned gas companies operating in Burma’s
lucrative Bay of Bengal gas fields

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

March 26, Guardian (UK)
UK backs move to refer Burma's leaders to war crimes tribunal – Simon Tisdall

Britain is backing moves to refer Burma's military leaders to the
international criminal court for investigation into war crimes and crimes
against humanity. The move is part of a heightened campaign to force the
junta to embrace genuine democratic reforms, diplomatic and government
sources told the Guardian today.

In a tough démarche that will increase pressure on the isolated regime
ahead of planned elections this autumn, Britain's ambassador to the UN
said the UK supported a recommendation by the UN special rapporteur on
human rights in Burma that The Hague-based international court opens a war
crimes investigation.

Speaking after a security council meeting, Sir Mark Lyall Grant said the
council's five permanent members were "not sufficiently unanimous" in
their views to allow an ICC referral to happen immediately. But if such a
proposal were tabled, he said, Britain would support it. Nearly 200 MPs
have backed the referral campaign.

Britain, the former colonial power, is keen to use the threat of security
council action to press the junta into dropping new rules that exclude
political prisoners, past and present, from standing for election or
belonging to political parties.

"Our number one objective is to increase pressure on the regime to clarify
the election rules and hold free and fair elections," a British official
said. The UK was pursuing the issue "robustly" with the US, France and
other like-minded states at the UN and in other forums, such as the Human
Rights Council in Geneva, the official added.

If Burma's junta refuses to change the election rules and opposition
parties are forced into a boycott, Britain is understood to be ready to
propose a tough range of EU economic sanctions. Any decision on proposing
such sanctions would be made by Gordon Brown, who has taken a personal
interest in the plight of the Burmese people, and could come as early next
week.

A government source said the election rules were "clearly taking the piss"
and were not a serious effort to democratise the country, a view that was
increasingly shared by Burma's neighbours in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations.

An announcement of an election date could come within the next few days,
the source said. "This will clearly be a big moment for the regime and
there is no sign they will change course. So all our efforts will be
focused on trying to make sure there is a chorus of condemnation and
making clear that they [the polls] won't do anything to legitimise the
regime.

Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD), the largest opposition party
led by the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, is
expected to announce on Monday whether it will register to participate in
the elections. As matters stand, she and many of the NLD's other leading
figures would be automatically disqualified because they have served, or
are serving jail terms.

"If [Aung San] Suu Kyi decides to pull out, that will be the death knell
for the elections," the British source said.

Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted this week by her lawyer as saying she opposed
the NLD's participation, but that the decision was not hers alone.
"Personally I would not dream of registering the NLD under such an unjust
and one-sidedly drawn-up state constitution," she said.

The junta's decision to hold elections, the first since 1990 when the NLD
won in a landslide, is widely seen as an effort to gain international
respectability for the regime and end US and EU sanctions. But activists
and human rights groups have already denounced the rules of the poll.

Welcoming Britain's backing for an ICC referral, Anna Roberts, the
director of Burma Campaign UK, said: "The generals in Burma will never
allow justice and democracy ... Rather than engaging with the fake
elections, the international community should focus on putting the
generals in jail, where they belong."

The campaign to bring war crimes charges against junta members, including
General Than Shwe, Burma's de facto head of state, received a boost this
month when the UN's special rapporteur, Tomás Ojea Quintana, described "a
pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" of Burmese
civilians. The abuses, including killings, rape, torture, ethnic cleansing
and forced labour, were the result of long-standing state policy, he said.

____________________________________

March 26, Reuters
U.N. rights forum condemns Myanmar, extends probe – Stephanie Nebehay

Geneva – The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned Friday widespread
violations in Myanmar and called on its generals to release 2,100
political prisoners ahead of an election this year, saying the vote must
be free and fair.

WORLD

It adopted by consensus a resolution, presented by the European Union,
which also extended by one year the mandate of the Council's special
investigator on the former Burma.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar,
called in a report this month for an international inquiry into possible
war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the ruling junta.

The Council condemned "systematic violations," including disappearances,
arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and
recruitment of child soldiers.

It urged Myanmar's government to "ensure a free, transparent, fair
electoral process which allows for the participation of all voters, all
political parties."

This included the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which
won the 1990 poll in a landslide, a result the regime ignored and recently
annulled.

The Council voiced concern at the "continued arbitrary house arrest" of
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the NLD party, who has been
detained for 15 of the past 21 years. She was sentenced to a further 18
months of house arrest last August.

Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Wunna Maung Lwin, rejected the
EU resolution as being "politically motivated" and infringing on his
country's internal affairs.

Resource-rich Myanmar, crippled by sanctions, has promised to hand over
power to an elected civilian government, although few people believe the
military will really transfer power.

Spain's ambassador Javier Garrigues, presenting the EU resolution, told
the Council: "We reaffirm the essential importance of inclusive political
dialogue with a view to national reconciliation and of the release of all
political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration on Thursday at
slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, where planned elections have
been derided in the West as a sham.

Ban spoke after discussing Myanmar with a group of countries, but
diplomats said any Security Council action was blocked by objections from
China and Russia to what they see as interference in the Asian country's
internal affairs.

In Geneva, Chinese diplomat Ke Yousheng told the Council his country
regretted that the EU resolution was "sharp in words" and failed to
reflect efforts by Myanmar's rulers.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

March 23, National League for Democracy
Special announcement 2/03/10 (unofficial translation)

On 8 March 2010, the State Peace and Development Council announced the
Union Election
Commission Law, Political Parties Registration Law, Pyithu Hluttaw ((Lower
House)) Election
Law, the Amyotha Hluttaw ((Upper House)) Election Law, and the Region or
State Hluttaw
Election Law.

If these laws are studied, it becomes clearly evident that they are
against democratic practices and there is nothing fair, free, about them. 
Some key examples to cite here are:

(1)  Under Section 8(K) of the Union Election Commission Law, the
Commission is given the authority to "Supervise, facilitate the
supervision of, and guide political parties to act according to the Law". 
This means that the Commission is restricting the right of the political
parties to freely organize, form, assembly, hold meeting, and carry out
other activities in accordance with the practices of democracy.

(2)  Under Section 4(E) of the Political Parties Registration Law, those
who wish to establish political parties "must not be people being
imprisoned".  This amounts to rejecting the rights of a political party
and also contravenes the practices of democracy.  It also contradicts the
provisions of "Formation of Political Parties" and "The right of
Non-Existence of Political Parties" prescribed under Chapter X of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Burma.

Article 449 declares that "The Constitution is the Basic Law of all the
laws of the Union."
Hence, a law that contradicts the Constitution should not be enacted. 
Furthermore, the said law was enforced retroactively.  A law can only come
into force on the day it is enacted.  Article 453 of the Constitution
states, "In interpretation of expressions contained in this Constitution
reference shall be made to the existing Interpretation Law".  But, Section
3(C) of that Interpretation Law clearly stipulates that "Unless
retroactivity of a law is specifically prescribed, that law shall not be
retroactively enforced".  It amounts to penalizing a person in prison once
again.

3.  The Election Commission is excessively intrusive in encroaching the
rights of a political party with Section 10 of the Political Parties
Registration Law stating that a political party can only recruit members
with certain qualifications; Section 23 of that same law prescribes that
"The
Commission is authorized to direct parties to act in accordance with
existing laws, rules, procedures, notifications, orders, and directives. 
It can delegate its authority to its sub- commissions at different
levels"; and Section 24(B) states "Should the Commission receive a
complaint about intra-party matters, it shall conduct necessary
investigations and, in the interest of the nation, guide that party to
follow its directive within the timeframe it has allocated."

4. Section 4 (D) of the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law refers to "A Hluttaw
representative being convicted under any prevailing law after being
elected" which shows that the wish of the people is being ignored. 
Similar stipulations are also included in the Amyotha Hluttaw and the
Region or State Election Laws.

5.  Section 82 of the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law only generally states
that "Any person discharging duties in connection with the election
including the Sub-Commission at different levels shall abide by the
following provisions:" but it does not state what sort of penalty that
said person would face if he / she does not adhere to the provisions. 
Section 87 even prescribed that
"No civil or criminal action shall be taken against the Commission and
members of the
Commission, Sub-Commissions at various levels and their members, Election
Tribunals and members of the Election Tribunals, members of the polling
booth teams including polling booth officers, who discharge their duties
according to law in good faith and to the best of their ability."  This
means that the authorities are giving protection to the people they would
choose and do anything they like to make the election neither free nor
fair.  Similar stipulations are also included in the Amyotha Hluttaw and
the Region or State Election Laws.

6.  Section 91 (A) of the Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law declares that "The
Pyithu Hluttaw
Election Law ((of 1989)) (The State Law and Order Restoration Council Law
No 14/89) is repealed by this Law" and Section 91 (B) says, "The
Multiparty Democracy General Elections held in accordance with the law
repealed by this law is not relevant anymore with the
Constitution and the results of the elections shall be considered
automatically void."  Both these stipulations totally contradict the Law. 
Article 446 of the Constitution stipulates that "Existing laws shall
remain in operation in so far as they are not contrary to this
Constitution until andunless they are repealed or amended by the
Pyidaungsu ((Union)) Hluttaw."  Therefore, the
Pyithu Hluttaw Law ((1989)) -- Law No 14/89, and the Political Parties
Registration Law
((1988)) -- Law No 4/88, are not repealed by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw that
will be established under the Constitution but by violators of the law who
enacted the law and that is totally illegal.
The Multiparty Democracy General Elections of 1990 was declared openly as
fair and free and the Union of Burma Gazette officially published the
names of the elected people's representatives.  Since the Pyithu Hluttaw
has not yet been convened in accord with Section 3 of the Pyithu Hluttaw
Election Law, the results of the 1990 elections cannot be voided
automatically.

7.  The drafts of the Union Election Commission Law, the Political Parties
Registration Law, the
Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law, the Amyotha Hluttaw Election Law, and the
Region and State
Hluttaw Election Laws were not shown or explained to the people nor were
their opinions and suggestions sought.  The authorities had written them
unilaterally and according to their own liking.  It is, therefore, unfair.

Hence, in accordance with the decisions made at the meeting of the
National League for
Democracy Central Executive Committee, the chairman of the National League
for Democracy filed a suit against the chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council under Sections
5(A), (G) and (I) of the Code of Civil Procedure of 2000 and Sections 45
and 54 of the Specific
Relief Act of 1887 at the Rangoon High Court on 23 March 2010.

We hereby announce that our case file was returned to us at 1230 when the
person in charge at the Court said, "We do not have the authority to rule
on the case."

As per the decision made at the Central Executive Committee meeting on 22
March 2010

Rangoon
Central Executive Committee
National League for Democracy

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

March 26, Human Rights Watch
G8 Summit should tackle Burma rights crisis

New York – Members of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations
should put Burma on the agenda of the G8 Summit in Toronto in June, Human
Rights Watch said in a letter to foreign ministers of G8 countries today.
The foreign ministers of G8 countries are meeting March 29 and 30, 2010,
in Gatineau, Quebec to discuss major issues affecting international
security and finalize the summit’s agenda.

Human Rights Watch urged the G8 nations to support a United Nations
commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes in Burma, to better
coordinate targeted sanctions against the ruling military junta, and to
collectively press for reforms in Burma that would make planned 2010
elections credible.

“High-profile leadership from the G8 is urgently needed to convince
Burma’s military government to protect the rights of its people,” said
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The G8 summit
should take up accountability for war crimes, as well as targeted
sanctions. G8 leaders should also press for credible elections to be held
this year.”

The G8 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the
United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the letter, Human Rights Watch calls on G8 nations to support the March
8, 2010 report of UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar. The report asks the UN to consider
establishing a commission of inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Burma. The UN has long documented patterns of
systematic and widespread human rights abuses committed with impunity in
Burma, including relocation of the civilian population, sexual violence
against women and girls, forcible recruitment and use of child soldiers,
and the widespread use of torture and extrajudicial killings in conflict
zones.

“For too long Burma’s military has committed serious abuses against ethnic
minorities without any accountability,” said Pearson. “The G8 should act
on the findings of the UN’s independent expert on Burma, and should back
an independent inquiry into crimes by all sides.”

Human Rights Watch pointed out that several G8 countries have targeted
sanctions in place against Burma’s military government, but that poor
coordination and implementation has made these ineffective. Human Rights
Watch urged G8 leaders to increase coordination on targeted financial
sanctions against the military leadership and their close business
associates. The G8 should also back the imposition of a UN Security
Council arms embargo on Burma. An arms embargo would limit the military
government’s access to weapons technology and infrastructure, and
circumscribe Burma’s growing military relationship with North Korea and
other arms suppliers.

Human Rights Watch said that elections scheduled for this year in Burma
are unlikely to be free, fair, and open, or to bring democratic change
without concerted international pressure for reform. The 2008 Burmese
Constitution contains provisions designed to ensure military dominance in
any civilian administration, with reserved seats for serving military
officers and reservation of key ministerial portfolios. Electoral laws
released in recent weeks are also designed to limit the participation of
longstanding opponents of military rule by forcing political parties to
expel any members currently serving prison sentences or face
de-registration. There are more than 2,100 prisoners currently behind bars
in Burma on politically motivated charges.

“G8 leaders should take a collective stand in coordinating sanctions
against Burma so they are more effective,” said Pearson. “With elections
this year, the timing is crucial for the G8 to send a clear message what
the military government needs to do to make them credible.”