BurmaNet News, April 3 - 5, 2010

[Editor]

April 3 – 5, 2010, Issue #3932


INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Food imports to Wa state ‘blocked’
Irrawaddy: 'The regime is a political rapist': Win Tin
SHAN: Ethnic council opposes junta electoral laws

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Junta’s ultimatum to ceasefire groups on BGF
Bangkok Post: Thai, Burma border trade gets a boost

BUSINESS / TRADE
Vietnam News Agency: Vietnamese PM discusses cooperation with Burmese leader

ASEAN
Irrawaddy: Thein Sein to attend Asean Summit in Hanoi
Jakarta Post: RI to focus on Myanmar elections at summit

OPINION / OTHER
Washington Post: Leverage with Burma – Editorial



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
Food imports to Wa state ‘blocked’ – Ko Thet

Burma’s ruling junta has reportedly blocked the flow of food into the
country’s volatile Wa state in a possible sign of looming hostilities
against an ethnic army there.

Tension has been high recently between the Burmese army and United Wa
State Army (UWSA), Burma’s largest ceasefire group. The two are currently
in talks over the transformation of the UWSA into a Border Guard Force.

The 30,000-strong Wa army has so far refused to transform, raising
concerns about the future of the already tenuous ceasefire it holds with
the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The transformation
would see it reduce troop numbers and come under direct government
control.

UWSA spokesperson Aung Myint said that the army “would accept” the
transformation if certain conditions were altered, although did not
elaborate on what these are.

The two sides met on 1 April, where the UWSA was asked by Burma’s military
security chief, Ye Myint, to submit a proposal regarding the
transformation, to be enacted on 28 April.

“It is hard to say whether there will be fighting right after 29 April or
just later,” said Aung Myint. “Now the SPDC has blocked imports of food
into the Wa state.”

“There is no food shortage yet in the Wa state but it won’t be good for
long if the blockade continues.”

China has expressed concern about possible outbreaks of fighting in the Wa
region, which is located in Burma’s northeastern Shan state and borders
China. Last year, fighting between Burmese troops and a nearby ethnic
Kokang army forced some 37,000 refugees across the border into China.

“China is worried about a refugee influx and weapons smuggling problems on
their side if fighting breaks out, and has expressed a wish to maintain
peace and stability and see development on the China-Burma border,” Aung
Myint said.

The Wa army is predominantly made up of ethnic Chinese and is rumoured to
receive financial and military support from Beijing. It is one of nearly
20 ethnic armies to have signed a ceasefire with the Burmese junta,
although many of these now look increasingly fragile.

The junta has threatened to use force against the UWSA if it finally
rejects the offer, and the Wa told DVB recently that it was “preparing for
the worst” should it shun the proposal.

____________________________________

April 4, Irrawaddy
'The regime is a political rapist': Win Tin

Win Tin, a leading member of Burma's main opposition party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), likened the country's ruling regime to “a
political rapist” intent on destroying the party that has led the
pro-democracy movement for the past two decades.

“They want to strip us of our 1990 election victory so that we are like a
20-year-old girl, naked and exposed. We cannot allow ourselves to be
raped,” he said in an interview with The Irrawaddy, explaining why the
party chose not to contest this year's election.
Win Tin, a senior leader of NLD, attends the party's central committee
meeting at its headquarters in March 29. (Photo: AP)

The outspoken critic of the junta said that the NLD wanted the regime to
re-open a dialogue with detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and review the
Constitution. But he added that the chances of this happening were very
slim.

He also admitted that he and several other NLD leaders were naive to
believe that the regime would   introduce election laws that were flexible
enough to allow the party to participate in the new polls.

“The election laws made it very clear that the regime doesn’t want Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi or the NLD to have any part in the election,” he said.

The NLD decided last Monday that it would not participate in the election
because it was required under a new party registration law to expel Suu
Kyi and other members serving prison sentences. The party now faces
dissolution for refusing to register for the election.

Win Tin said that the NLD leaders will ponder their next move at a meeting
next Monday. He also stressed that the party is counting on the
international community to send a strong message to the regime that its
handling of the election is unacceptable.

“We know that they have limited power [to influence Burma’s political
situation], but we want them to react and show that they know what’s
really happening here,” he said.

The US and the UN expressed regret last week that the NLD was forced to
make a decision that now jeopardizes the party's continued existence, but
blamed the move on the Burmese regime's draconian election laws.

Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said earlier this week that
“[the NLD] have every freedom to decide on their own affairs. So I honor
and I respect [their] decision.”

On Wednesday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa visited Burma
and told his Burmese counterpart in Naypyidaw that Jakarta expected the
regime to “uphold its commitment to have an election that allows all
parties to take part.”

Win Tin said that NLD leaders wanted to see more reaction from the region
and beyond. “We want China, India and the European nations to speak up,”
he said.

____________________________________

April 1, Shan Herald Agency for News
Ethnic council opposes junta electoral laws – Hseng Khio Fah

The Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC-Union of Burma), a coalition of
ethnic political organizations, announced yesterday that the council would
not accept the Burma’s electoral laws as they were patently one sided laws
drawn by the military junta for itself.

The announcement was made after its five-day long meeting held from 27 to
31 March at an undisclosed place on the Thai-Burma border. It was attended
by 35 representatives from 7 ethnic states: Kachin, Karen, Karenni,
Arakan, Chin, Mon and Shan states.

According to the council resolutions, the group will oppose not only the
electoral laws, but also the military junta’s 2008 constitution which it
says is undemocratic. At the same time, the group expressed its support
for the National League for Democracy (NLD) on its decision on 29 March
not to re-register as a political party.

On the other hand, the council will not oppose or condemn ethnic
organizations and individuals planning to contest in the forthcoming
elections, or the people who will vote in the elections even though its
position does not support the elections.

The newly elected Chairman Tu Tu Lay urged all state representatives to
prevent discord among those who are participating in the elections and
those against the elections.

According to a participant at the meeting, there are people, even though
they are against the 2008 constitution, who has decided to contest
elections.

One of them is veteran Shan politician Shwe Ohn, who formed a new party;
Union Democratic Alliance Organization (UDAO), last year saying if there
are no opposition parties, the military junta’s candidates will win by
acclamation.

A former member of the defunct Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), who
also shared the same view, said, “The military’s door is opening a little
bit. We must try to pry it open wide with a few seats that we can win.”

A former resistance leader said that ethnic people have been fighting
against the junta for more than half a century, but they have yet to win,
it is because they are fighting from the exterior lines. “It is high time
we fought them in the interior lines.”

The ENC was established in August 2001 as Ethnic Nationalities Solidarity
and Cooperation Committee (ENSCC).  In 2004 it became ENC, a state based
organization. Another ethnic alliance is the National Democratic Front
(NDF), formed in 1976, by armed ethnic movements.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 5, Mizzima News
Junta’s ultimatum to ceasefire groups on BGF – Phanida

Chiang Mai – Three ethnic armed ceasefire groups have been issued a fresh
deadline by the Burmese military junta to convert their armed wings to the
Border Guard Force (BGF) by this month.

The regime's representative from Naypyidaw, Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, has told
the Shan State Army (North) (SSA-N), United Wa State Army (UWSA) and
Eastern Shan State Special Region 4 or Meng La group to respond not later
than April 22 and 28.

He met the chairman of the 5,000-strong SSA-N, Lwe Mao, on 2 April in
Lashio and told him that the ceasefire group must respond to the regime
not later than 22 April on the BGF issue or else the organization will be
declared an unlawful association.

Similarly Lt. Gen. Ye Myint met representatives of the 30,000-strong UWSA
and 2,000-strong Meng La group separately on 1 April and 28 March
respectively. He directed the ceasefire groups to give details of the
number of their soldiers and the arms they have to the junta or else be
declared as unlawful associations.

Thailand based Burma observer Win Min assumes the negotiations are likely
to continue.

Meanwhile the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Vice-Chairman Gawri
Zau Sai met Lt. Gen. Ye Myint again yesterday. But the imbroglio is yet to
be resolved. The junta wants a meeting yet again and wants KIO to
transform its armed wing into the BGF before 28 April.

____________________________________

April 5, Bangkok Post
Thai, Burma border trade gets a boost

Prachuap Khiri Khan and Kanchanaburi are expected to gain as Thailand and
Burma expand their trade links, the government says.

The two nations have agreed to upgrade the Singkhorn trade checkpoint in
Prachuap Khiri Khan, linking to Myeik province in Burma, to a permanent
crossing.

And in Kanchanaburi, a road is being built linking with Burma's Tavoy deep
sea port.

Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot and his Burmese counterpart
Ong Ong Tun yesterday inspected the Singkhorn trade checkpoint.

It will be upgraded to a permanent crossing, linking the province to
Myeik, the southernmost province of Burma.

The ministers' trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan was part of a four-day joint
trade commission meeting between Thailand and Burma that ends today in Hua
Hin.

Prachuap Khiri Khan Chamber of Commerce vice-chairman Chote Chotiyakorn
said the opening of the Singkhorn permanent crossing would boost trade by
both countries.

Mr Chote said the Singkhorn-Myeik route would cut the cost of transporting
farm and fisheries goods from Burma to Thailand compared to the crossing
point in Ranong now being used.

However, some people are worried the opening of the route would cause a
reduction in trade activities at Ranong.

Investors have been asked to move their investments from Ranong to
Prachuap Khiri Khan which could offer them more opportunities, Mr Chote
said.

On Saturday, Mr Alongkorn and Ong Ong Tun visited Kanchanaburi to inspect
a road project linking the country with Burma's Tavoy deep sea port.

Mr Alongkorn said he expected the 130-kilometre Kanchanaburi-Tavoy route
to expand trade in the Mekong subregion. Construction of the 350 million
baht project would be complete by 2013.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 4, Vietnam News Agency
Vietnamese PM discusses cooperation with Burmese leader

Nay Pyi Taw -Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on April 3 made a courtesy
call on Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council of Myanmar [Burma] in Nay Pyi Taw capital city.

During the meeting, PM Dung thanked the government and people of Myanmar
for their warm welcome and hospitability to his delegation.

The PM said he hoped Myanmar would successfully conduct its roadmap
towards democratisation for the sake of its people and for peace,
stability, cooperation and development in the region.

He said Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to develop its
time-honoured friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Myanmar . The
ongoing visit, he added, is expected to improve bilateral cooperation in
economics, trade and investment.

Senior General Than Shwe warmly welcomed PM Dung's visit to Myanmar,
praising Vietnam for the achievements of its renewal process.

He said he believed the visit would help strengthen the bilateral relations.

Earlier on April 2, leaders of the two sides inked a joint statement on
Vietnam-Myanmar cooperation, agreeing to fully tap available potential for
further expansion of multi-faceted cooperation, especially in economy.

The Vietnamese and Myanmar Prime Ministers agreed on specific measures to
boost bilateral cooperation in agriculture, industrial crops, aquaculture,
banking-finance, aviation, telecommunication, oil and gas, minerals,
production of electrical appliances, automobile assembly, construction, as
well as trade and investment.

In agriculture, the two countries will focus on implementing effectively
the Memorandum of Understanding on Agriculture between the Vietnam
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Myanmar Ministry of
Agriculture and Irrigation.

They will intensify effort to create high-quality varieties of rice,
maize, coffee and tea for commercial use and promote investment in the
field.

Regarding aquaculture, Vietnam and Myanmar agreed to encourage and
facilitate the establishment of fishing and fish farming joint ventures,
entailing the one between the A.S.V Holdings and suitable partners from
Myanmar.

In aviation, the two sides will consider an agreement on granting visa
exemption to flight crews of their airlines and possibilities for the
formation of partnerships to exploit Myanmar's international flight
routes. Vietnam also showed eagerness to partner with Myanmar in
exploiting the latter's domestic flight routes.

In oil and gas cooperation, Myanmar pledged to create mutually-beneficial
conditions for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) to explore and
produce oil and gas offshore Myanmar. The Myanmar side agreed to consider
the A.S.V. Holdings' intention to explore and exploit oil and gas in
Myanmar.

Referring cooperation in minerals, Vietnam praised Myanmar for permitting
the SIMCO Song Da of Vietnam to mine a white marble mine in Patle-in area,
Thabyaw Taung, in Mandalay while Myanmar agreed to offer suitable
conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to conduct minerals exploration and
exploitation there.

The two sides agreed to facilitate bilateral cooperation in commodities
trade and services, encouraging trade promotion and exchanges between
their businesses. Vietnam showed interest in wholesale and retail trade in
Myanmar. The two countries also agreed to negotiate an agreement on mutual
recognition of product quality.

Apart from these fields, the two sides reached consensus on boosting
cooperation in culture, education, sports, tourism, land transport,
forestry, security and defence

Both countries wish an early signing of an agreement on visa exemption for
their ordinary passport holders in conformity with the ASEAN agreement on
visa exemption for citizens holding ordinary passports.

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 5, Irrawaddy
Thein Sein to attend Asean Summit in Hanoi – Wai Moe

Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein will attend the 16th Summit of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Hanoi this week, in
which Burma’s upcoming election  is expected to be a controversial topic.

A state-run-newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Monday that
Thein Sein will attend the meeting by invitation of his Vietnamese
counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung, who ended a  three-day visit to Burma on
Sunday.

The two-day Asean summit on Thursday and Friday is the first since Vietnam
became the annual chair this year.

During Nguyen Than Dung’s visit to Burma, both Burmese and Vietnamese
media  highlighted the two countries bilateral economic ties  from
agriculture to aviation to the oil and gas sectors.

However, the political situation in Burma was also on Dung’s Burma agenda,
and he  raised the issue when he met with the junta’s leader, Snr-Gen Than
Shwe, in Naypyidaw on Friday.

According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site, Dung told
Than Shwe that he hoped Burma would successfully complete its “road map
towards democratization” for the sake of its people and the stability and
development of the region.

The New Light of Myanmar reported on Sunday that Dung encouraged Burma to
“exert further efforts towards a free and fair election” later this year,
during his meeting with Thein Sein, who briefed the Vietnamese delegation
on current political developments including the new election laws and
election commission.

Some analysts have cited Vietnam, ruled by a totalitarin Communist regime,
as a possible model for Burma’s development. Vietnam launched economic and
political reforms in 1986,  two years ahead of the Burmese junta declaring
a market economy following its military coup.

Vietnam’s 2009 foreign direct investment was about US $21.48 billion, with
its largest investment coming from its former adversary, the United
States. According to the Asian Business Council, Vietnam ranked third for
investment among Asian nations in the 2007-2009 period, following China
and India.

Junta officials, including former prime ministers Gen Khin Nyunt, the late
Gen Soe Win and the current prime minister, Thein Sein, have visited
Vietnam to learn about its development.

Vietnamese officials reportedly told Soe Win in April 2005 that they were
working closely with the US, even though it was a former enemy.

Meanwhile, Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa was in Naypyidaw
last week, meeting with both Thein Sein and Foreign Minister Nyan Win.
During the visit, Natalegawa called on the junta to uphold its commitment
to a fair election that would allow the participation of opposition party
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,000 political prisoners.

____________________________________

April 5, Jakarta Post
RI to focus on Myanmar elections at summit – Lilian Budianto

Jakarta – Indonesia will highlight the progress made in Myanmar’s reforms
and the implementation of ASEAN blueprints on economic, political,
security and sociocultural issues at the 16th ASEAN Summit in Vietnam this
week, the Foreign Ministry says.

“Indonesia will address the issue of Myanmar at the summit and voice
concerns over the urgency to ensure that the upcoming elections in Myanmar
will be inclusive,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said
Monday.

Leaders of 10 member states of ASEAN will convene from April 8-9 in Hanoi,
while the senior official- and ministerial-level meetings will run from
April 5-7.

Asia Forum activist Yuyun Wahyuningrum said Indonesia had to bring the
Myanmar elections to the fore as the junta had tried to ban the
participation of Aung San Suu Kyi in the first elections there in two
decades.

“This is a landmark election that can change the ASEAN image in the
international world,” she said.
“Indonesia has to take the lead in pushing for reform in Myanmar. We
should not spoil the chance to bring about change in Myanmar.”

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 4, Washington Post
Leverage with Burma – Editorial

IN ONE SENSE, the farcical election taking shape in Burma, a Southeast
Asian nation of 50 million people, offers good news. Burma's generals
would not go to such lengths to create the appearance of democracy unless
they cared about global opinion. That suggests that outside nations with
an interest in promoting peace and democracy in Burma have more leverage
than is commonly believed. On the other hand, this is good news only if
those nations are willing to use that leverage in a constructive way. On
that front, there's a long way to go.

Last week, Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD) formally decided
not to take part in elections planned for some time this year. The
decision had been almost inevitable since the ruling generals promulgated
an election law that said parties could register only if they expel any
members who are political prisoners. Many of the nation's most eminent
citizens, including a sizable number of NLD leaders, are among Burma's
2,000-plus political prisoners. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize
laureate who heads the party, is under house arrest. "Without them, our
party would be nothing," party leader U Win Tin, himself recently released
from prison, wrote in the Post on Tuesday. "They are in prison because of
their belief in democracy and the rule of law. Their immediate release and
participation in Burma's political process are necessary for a credible
democratic process."

The generals can be expected to go ahead with their election anyhow. After
all, a cataclysmic cyclone that left much of their population underwater
in 2008 didn't stop them from holding a staged referendum on the
constitution. The charter itself guarantees enough legislative seats to
the military to reassure the junta that its power won't be wrested away by
something as trifling as the popular will. And, just to make sure, the
junta wrote the rules so that the NLD -- which overwhelmingly won the last
real election, in 1990, but was never permitted to govern -- can't take
part.

So why go through the charade at all? It must be that the generals would
like to shed their reputation as one of the more repressive regimes in the
world. They would like to be free of the financial and trade sanctions
that the United States and other nations have imposed. They would like to
be treated with respect.

Other nations should make clear that Burma would indeed be welcomed back
-- but only if it frees all political prisoners and ceases its war crimes
against national minorities. Some democratic nations (Indonesia,
Australia, the Czech Republic and the United States, to name a few) have
been stalwart in advocating democratic reform. Others, such as India and
quasi-democratic Singapore, have not. Together, these nations could exert
real influence. They could tighten financial sanctions to really pinch top
leaders and the entities they control; they could push the machinery of
the United Nations to investigate the regime's crimes, such as forced
labor and mass rape. Now would be a good moment, in other words, to unite
and use the leverage that is lying unused on the table.