BurmaNet News, April 7, 2010

[Editor]

April 7, 2010, Issue #3934


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Burma's Suu Kyi 'welcomes party boycott of polls'
Irrawaddy: NLD Mandalay office closed
Mizzima News: Aung San Oo loses case to stop Suu Kyi’s house repairs

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Child displacement in Burma documented
SHAN: Burma Army setting up more barriers against Wa

BUSINESS / TRADE
Belapan (Belarus): Belarusian delegation discusses military cooperation in
Burma

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN MPs tell leaders to consider expelling Myanmar
AFP: Indonesia calls on Myanmar to live up to election promises
Jakarta Globe: Activists chide Asean Human Rights Body over failure to
establish working guidelines
The Nation (Thailand): Thai FM expects briefing from Burma

REGIONAL
Malaysia Star: Burma Refugee Organisation provides shelter, education and
more for group

INTERNATIONAL
DVB: US agency accused of sanctions busting

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Is this a dagger which I see before me? – Aung Zaw

PRESS RELEASE
Amnesty International (UK): Burma: ASEAN leaders should act over Burma's
appalling record



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 7, Agence France Presse
Burma's Suu Kyi 'welcomes party boycott of polls'

Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes her
party's decision to boycott upcoming elections in the military-ruled
nation, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Senior members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) agreed last week
not to register for the first polls to be held in two decades, after the
ruling generals introduced a controversial new election law.

The party would have been forced to oust its iconic leader and recognise
the junta's constitution if it had signed up, but now faces dissolution in
less than six weeks for failing to do so under new legislation for the
polls.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she was very glad about the NLD's decision,"
said her lawyer and NLD spokesman Nyan Win after he met with the
64-year-old at her lakeside house. Daw is a term of respect in Burma.

Under election laws dismissed as a sham by international critics, if the
party had registered for the polls, due before the end of November, it
would have been forced to part with Suu Kyi because she is serving a
prison term.

The Nobel peace laureate, who has been locked up for 14 of the last 20
years, had already told the party she was opposed to such a move.

Suu Kyi also supported the party's apology Tuesday for failing in its
struggle for democracy and national reconciliation, Nyan Win said.

In that statement, the NLD blamed the authorities' crackdown and promised
to continue peacefully in its fight for democracy.

"We will firmly stand by our decision. We have our future tasks. But we
cannot reveal them at this moment because of our country's situation,"
Nyan Win told reporters, adding that the party would work within the law.

Burma's election law nullifies the result of the last polls held in 1990
that were won by the NLD by a landslide but never recognised by the junta,
which has ruled the country since 1962.

The United States, which has led international criticism of the new
election law, blamed the junta for the opposition's decision to boycott,
saying the regime had missed an opportunity.

Amnesty International said Wednesday that Burma's flawed election plans
and "appalling" human rights record should dominate a summit of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this week in Hanoi.

The London-based group said Burma was violating Asean's own charter
enacted in December 2008 which commits members to ideals of democracy and
human rights.

____________________________________

April 7, Irrawaddy
NLD Mandalay office closed – Kyaw Thein Kha

The National League for Democracy (NLD) Mandalay Division office closed on
Saturday after local authorities applied pressure on the landlord, a
member of the division's organizing committee said on Wednesday.

He told The Irrawaddy that the pressure to close the office began after
the March 29 decision by the NLD not to register as a political party, and
thereby face dissolution.

“The authorities put pressure on our landlord not to provide her
three-story house anymore, and they asked her to comply as soon as
possible,” said Myo Naing, a member of the Mandalay organizing committee.

All NLD offices across the country were closed by the authorities after
the Depayin massacre in May 2003. The officies were only allowed to reopen
on March 10, in preparation for the 2010 election, but only weeks later
NLD members voted to not take part in the national election, citing its
lack of fairness and inclusiveness, and saying that barring of party
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners from party
membership and voting was undemocratic.

Myo Naing said the Mandalay office first opened in 2002 and the contents
of the office have been moved to the home of a NLD member, who is also now
under pressure from authorities.

On Monday, the NLD executive committee in Rangoon organized a 17-member
management committee to handle arrangements for the party's possessions
after it is dissolved, said Tin Oo, the NLD vice-chairman.

According to the new electoral and party registration laws, political
parties that fail to register before the 60-day deadline will be
dissolved.

____________________________________

April 7, Mizzima News
Aung San Oo loses case to stop Suu Kyi’s house repairs – Phanida

Chiang Mai – The lawsuit filed by a brother of Aung San Suu Kyi to stop
her continuing repairs on her crumbling two-storey villa was rejected by a
court in Rangoon on Tuesday, a lawyer for the pro-democracy leader said.

Elder brother Aung San Oo, a US citizen, had through his lawyer Han Toe,
sought an injunction from the Rangoon Division Court on January 21 to halt
renovations that included fixing the leaking roof of the house on
University Avenue Road. The lawsuit was rejected, Nyan Win, a lawyer for
Aung San Suu Kyi, said.

With the approval of the Rangoon City Development Committee, lawyers for
Aung San Suu Kyi had filed a counterclaim on February 4. They had
submitted that the renovation would not cause damage to the property, the
ownership of which is under dispute, so her brother could not object to
the repairs, he said.

“The lawsuit of Aung San Oo was rejected at noon on April 6, because it
lacked sufficient basis. So, we have won in court,” Nyan Win said.
“Renovations to her residence can resume on April 8 after a copy of the
order of the Rangoon Division Court is submitted to the Rangoon City
Development Committee.”

In its verdict, the court cited general principles of safety and
maintenance as reasons for deciding against Aung San Oo, he said.

Although the Rangoon City Development Committee approved last November the
start of repairs in recognition that the building had become dangerous,
they were put on hold on December 23 after lawyers for Aung San Oo
obtained an injunction, citing his claim on the property.

Dr. Suu Kyi’s house arrest was prolonged 18 months for breaching the terms
of her detention after the uninvited American, John Yettaw, swam across
Inya Lake in May and stayed in her house for two days before authorities
arrested him.

The Independent of London reported in February that the row over the house
started in 2000 when Aung San Oo, who had become a US citizen, sued his
sister in Rangoon High Court for a share in the family home. She has been
detained for more than 14 years. The report said, her lawyers won but in
2001 her brother filed another suit and that the matter was still pending.

Hla Oo, from the Burmese democratic government in exile, commented on the
legality of Aung San Oo’s claims to the house. In a post on the Australian
National University’s Southeast Asian affairs blog, New Mandala, he said:
“The property ownership is the massively grey area in Burmese legal system
for the Burmese with dual citizenship.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 7, Democratic Voice of Burma
Child displacement in Burma documented – Lawi Weng

In the ongoing military conflict in eastern Burma, children's lives are
scarred by death, destruction, loss and neglect at the hands of Burmese
junta troops, according to a joint report by the Free Burma Rangers and
Partners released on Wednesday.

Based on the Thai-Burmese border, the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) and
Partners released its findings in a report titled “Displaced Childhoods,”
which chronicles conflict areas in eastern Burma
A displaced family flees from Burmese government forces in Karen State.
(Photo: www.partnersworld.org)

According to the report, in 2009 alone there were about 112,000 villages
in eastern Burma displaced due to direct or indirect actions by the
Burmese regime. Children are particularly at risk in displacement,
according to the report.


>From 2002 to the end of 2009, the report said that more than 580,000

civilians including more than 190,000 children have been forcibly
displaced from their homes in eastern Burma. An estimated one to three
million people live as internally displaced persons (IDPs) throughout
Burma. A third of these are children.

The report documents how childhood is disrupted by violence, insecurity
and poverty. Children are witnesses of and subject to arbitrary and
extrajudicial killings, torture and mistreatment, arbitrary arrest and
detention, rape and sexual violence, forced labor and conscription as
porters, recruitment as child soldiers and restrictions on basic and
fundamental freedoms.

Richard Chilvers, a FBR spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “We
want to send a strong message that Burma must observe the rights for
children because children are venerable in Burma. Particularly, children
who are internally displaced.”

He said that the international community must put pressure on the regime
and on the United Nations to enforce international standards of human
rights inside Burma.

Saw Monkey, a videographer for FBR, said, “There is no peace, freedom and
development in Karen State because of oppression.” He said that two
children were shot dead and their mother was wounded in March in Ler Doh
Township, Nyaunglebin District, in western Karen State.

He said the woman was returning home with her two children when Burmese
troops in Light Infantry Battalion 369 shot her 5-year-old daughter at her
side and her 5-month-old, who she carried on her back.

“The people live with fear all the time. Their life is always uncertain.
Sometimes, when the army comes to a village, they have to run away. For
children, they have to abandon their classes.”

The Partners and FBR teams collected information from 200 people affected
by displacement in Burma through community-based surveys and border
interviews and conducted 82 in-depth interviews along the Thai-Burmese
border between June and December 2009.

The interviews included parents and grandparents as well as children from
Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Shan states while living in
junta-designated relocation sites, in cease-fire areas and in hiding. The
FBR team  surveyed more than 93 people from ethnic Karen and Shan
communities, including 38 women and 46 children between July 2009 and
January 2010.

David Eubank, the FBR director, said, “The dictators have committed their
lives, fortune and honor to keeping power. If we want to be a part of
freedom in Burma by resisting the power of hate with love, we can do no
less. We love the people of Burma and stand with them, this is our heart.
We believed that oppression is morally wrong, this is our mind.”

IDPs are typically forced to leave their villages, homes, farms and
livelihoods with little advanced warning. The people find themselves in
precariously unstable circumstances, lacking protection from human rights
violations committed by the junta troops and in danger of further
displacement with little access to the most basic necessities including
adequate and sustainable food sources, clean drinking water, stable
shelters, schools and healthcare facilities, according to the report.

The Partners and FBR have called for a formal investigation through a UN
Commission of inquiry to evaluate all allegations of international crimes
committed against the civilian population in Burma, including crimes
against humanity and war crimes.

The groups said in a statement that according to the UN Guiding Principles
on Internal Displacement, national authorities are responsible to prevent
and avoid conditions that might lead to displacement of persons. Far from
the fulfilling its obligations under international law, the actions of the
Burmese regime have led to violent attacks on civilians, irresponsible
development projects and widespread human rights abuses which have
resulted in new instances of displacement throughout the country,
according to the statement.
____________________________________

April 7, Shan Herald Agency for News
Burma Army setting up more barriers against Wa – Hseng Khio Fah

Burma’ ruling military junta has reportedly been erecting barriers more
densely than ever against ethnic ceasefire groups, especially in the
United Wa State Army (UWSA) as the latest deadline 22 April draws near,
according to local sources from the Thai-Burma border.

The activities reportedly started on 27 March, Armed Forces Day. Between
Tachilek and Monghsat, a distance of 63 miles, there are no less than 20
Burma Army checkpoints, a local source in Monghsat said. “It is to monitor
Wa’s movements.”
[Burma Army checkpoint near Tachilek]

At the same time, Tachilek authorities are also vigorously conducting
inspection of the people in the town for a week. They have been checking
from house to house including hotels and apartments from 22:00 until dawn,
said a Tachilek resident.

“They asked many questions. They checked our ID cards and questioned
whether our cards are real or not. Some people staying in apartments got
thorough inspection including their bedrooms.” she said. “We don’t’ know
why they are so serious.”

In addition, rumor is around that Naypyitaw is deploying three more Light
Infantry Divisions (LIDs): Kalaw based LID #55, Pegu based LID #77 and
Pa-an based LID#22 to the areas very soon. Tachilek area commander Colonel
Khin Maung Soe himself was reported to have left the town to oversee the
preparations.

The situation seems if the Wa is still standing defiant to the Naypyitaw’s
Border Guard Force program, a breakout of hostilities after 28 April is
possible, a border watcher said.

The UWSA and other ceasefire groups have been given a 22 April deadline to
accept the Burma Army’s demand, and to face the consequences of their
continued defiance by 28 April, when they would be declared as illegal
organizations.

According to a source close to the UWSA southern military region, the
ruling military junta should accept the Wa’s latest counter proposal
submitted on 1 April.

“In the past, we said there should be no junta officers at the battalion
level,” he said. “But now we are allowing it to have one officer to serve
either as a commander or deputy commander at the battalion level.”

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 7, Belapan (Belarus)
Belarusian delegation discusses military cooperation in Burma

Minsk – A Belarusian delegation led by Raman Halowchanka, first deputy
head of the state military and technical committee, is staying in Burma
(Myanmar), a committee spokesman said on Wednesday [7 April].

The delegation arrived in the Southeastern Asian country on 5 April on a
four-day visit to participate in the second meeting of a Belarus-Myanmar
commission on military and technical cooperation, committee spokesman
Uladzimir Lawranyuk told Belapan.

The delegations discussed the progress under agreements that were reached
in Minsk last June, as well as "promising cooperation projects and
conditions for carrying out them as part of preparations for new
contracts," Lawranyuk said.

Belarus's defence industry aims to take into account all wishes of clients
and take an individual approach to each contract to remain competitive, he
said.

"Myanmar is among the countries with which Belarus has established
military and technical ties in recent years," the spokesman said. "And
although foreign currency revenues from contracts with this state remain
insignificant, there are certain prospects for the development of
cooperation in the military and technical sphere."

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 7, Agence France Presse
ASEAN MPs tell leaders to consider expelling Myanmar

Hanoi – More than 100 ASEAN lawmakers on Wednesday urged leaders meeting
in Vietnam this week to impose sanctions on Myanmar and consider its
expulsion for ignoring calls for free and fair elections.

The legislators said leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) at their annual summit Thursday and Friday should "urgently
discuss" the election due to be held in Myanmar later this year.

In a petition to the leaders, the parliamentarians condemned election laws
unveiled by Myanmar's junta which have been criticised as undermining the
credibility of the vote, the first to be held in the country for two
decades.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League
for Demoracy, has boycotted the poll over the laws, which would have
forced it to exclude her from the party if it wanted to take part.

"With the promulgation of these apparently biased laws... the regime has
forfeited its best opportunity to show willingness to engage in an
inclusive process of national reconciliation," the petition said.

The petition, endorsed by 105 members of parliament from Cambodia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, was sent to leaders by
the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), which lobbies for
democratic reforms in the former Burma.

"As Myanmar has thus far ignored ASEAN's calls to reform... a new and more
decisive course of action must be undertaken," the MPs said.

"ASEAN should immediately enact strict and targetted economic sanctions
against Myanmar's military government."

Myanmar should also be "immediately suspended from the grouping and its
permanent expulsion earnestly considered" because it has failed to adhere
to principles enshrined in the new ASEAN Charter, they said.

Myanmar has in the past escaped collective censure by ASEAN because of the
group's policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs.

However, some ASEAN members have separately criticised Myanmar's military
regime and called for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

____________________________________

April 7, Agence France Presse
Indonesia calls on Myanmar to live up to election promises

Hanoi – Military-ruled Myanmar should live up to its commitments that
elections planned for later this year would be free and democratic,
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Wednesday.

"We see this as a potentially extremely important election," he told
reporters after a dinner with his regional counterparts on the eve of an
ASEAN summit.

"We've made references to the commitment by Myanmar that this will be an
open, free, democratic and credible elections and we would like to see
those kind of commitments realised," he added.

Natalegawa said discussions at the dinner were private and he was
commenting on Indonesia's position in general.

Myanmar's opposition party, the National League for Democracy which is led
by Aung San Suu Kyi, said last week it would boycott the ballot -- the
first in two decades -- expected to be held later this year.

Under new electoral laws, the party would have to expel Suu Kyi if it
wanted to participate because she is serving a prison term. The Nobel
peace laureate has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years.

Japan, Australia and Britain have said that without her, the vote cannot
be free and fair. The United States blamed the ruling junta for the
opposition boycott, saying the regime had missed an opportunity to move
forward.

ASEAN members have become divided on how to respond to Myanmar -- which is
under European Union and United States sanctions -- but it has always
escaped formal censure by the bloc which adheres to a principle of
non-interference in internal affairs of its members.

Natalegawa said Indonesia, ASEAN's largest member, has always felt that
Suu Kyi should be released from detention.

ASEAN's secretary general Surin Pitsuwan said Myanmar was discussed at the
ministers' dinner, but only to encourage it to follow through on its
promised "roadmap to democracy".

More than 100 ASEAN lawmakers on Wednesday criticised Myanmar's election
laws and urged leaders at the Vietnam summit to impose sanctions on the
country and consider expelling it from the grouping.

____________________________________

April 7, Jakarta Globe
Activists chide Asean Human Rights Body over failure to establish working
guidelines

Human rights activists on Sunday criticized last week’s inaugural meeting
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ human rights body in
Jakarta for failing to produce a draft of organizational procedures that
would determine its operations — and whether the commission would have any
real clout.

Rafendi Djamin, Indonesia’s representative to the Asean Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), said over the weekend that there was
not enough time to cover all the scheduled agenda items during the body’s
three-and-a-half-day meeting.

He said the AICHR’s procedures and working plan were discussed, although
they were not finalized because “we had to do a lot of adjustments.”

The AICHR was inaugurated with great fanfare in Thailand last October.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called it “a significant milestone”
because it was the first human rights watchdog in Asean’s 42-year history.

The majority of Asean’s 10 member nations still lack many basic human
rights protections. Burma, for example, is a human rights pariah, while
other nations lack a free press or important political rights.

Activists criticized the AICHR at the time of its founding as toothless
because it focused on promoting, rather than protecting, human rights and
lacked authority to impose punishments for rights violations.

Papang Hidayat, the head of research at Indonesia’s Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the AICHR’s failure to
draft its organizational procedures “gives the impression that some Asean
member countries that have serious records on human rights violations are
trying to delay the process.”

He said the failure to draft the procedures, which could have been copied
from other international human rights bodies, demonstrated that the AICHR
was “not serious.”

He added that it could be “very difficult for a rights body to reach a
consensus in a regional bloc whose member states have very bad records on
human rights.”

Atnike Nova Sigiro, a human rights campaigner with the Institute for
Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), told the Jakarta Globe that the
meeting should have resulted in a mechanism for protecting human rights in
the region.

“They could have at least done that, since they could not come up with a
mechanism for [human rights abuse] settlement,” she said.

Atnike added that the mechanism would be significant to guarantee human
rights protection for refugees and migrant workers, for example, and to
promote freedom of expression and other civil and political rights in
Southeast Asia.

She said she also regretted that the rights body ended its meeting without
communicating its results to the public, other than a three-paragraph
statement.

“The AICHR could have garnered more support if its meeting results were
made available to the public,” Atnike said.

Rafendi said the rights body has formed a task force that will come up
with an initial draft by the end of April.

____________________________________

April 7, The Nation (Thailand)
Thai FM expects briefing from Burma

Hanoi - Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya expected Burma to brief the Asean
leaders on the current situation there especially the upcoming election.

Kasit said here this morning that the planned election should be free,
fair and inclusive. He added that the election laws must provide an
enabling environment for such outcome.

The Asean leaders are scheduled to meet informally tomorrow's night ahead
of the summit. The Burmese issue is featured high along with the South
China Sea. Both are sensitive topics which are not listed in the official
agenda.

Earlier today, the Asean foreign ministers launched the Asean Commission
for Protection of Woman and Child (ACWC). ACWC still has yet out ways to
align with the Asean Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights
(AICHR).

An informed Asean source said that the Philippines wants ACWC to come
under AICHR. Thailand has been consistent in saying that ACWC can
complement the AICHR activities in promoting and protecting human rights.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

April 7, Malaysia Star
Burma Refugee Organisation provides shelter, education and more for group
– Tho Xin Yi

FAR away from their politically unstable motherland, Myanmars are seeking
refuge on our shores.

The records of the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) show that
there are 82,400 refugee and asylum seekers in Malaysia as of February
this year.

About 76,200 of them are from Myanmar, comprising some 37,600 Chins,
18,200 Rohingyas, 5,100 Myanmar Muslims, 3,500 Mon, 3,200 Kachins and
other ethnic minorities including Burmese.

Bearing the scars of oppression, they have settled down in different parts
of the country.

A group of Myanmar nationals are calling a township 30 minutes away from
Kuala Lumpur their home, until it is safe to return to the homeland.

Most of them rent units above shoplots and work in factories, shops and
restaurants nearby to feed themselves.

We climbed two flights of stairs in a commercial lot and arrived at a unit
with three letters — BRO — attached to the door.

Behind the door, a few men were gathered in front of a small television
while two teenagers surfed the Internet in an unlit room.

On the wall was a collage of photos showing Myanmar refugees attending
talks, cultural and religious activities, and also, startlingly, photos of
the deceased lying in coffins.

BRO, which stands for Burma Refugee Organisation, was started on Jan 1,
2006, by U Maung Hla.

The 58-year-old fled his country and arrived in Malaysia in 1997.

After being jailed three times for taking part in a demonstration in front
of the Myanmar embassy, he established the organisation to help his fellow
countrymen.

“There were many groups for the other ethnics, like Chin, Kachin and Shan,
but there was none for the Burmese (also one of the ethnics). I had no one
to turn to for help.

“When I set up BRO, I made sure that I did not discriminate based on
ethnic groups and religion. My door is open to all who need help,” he
said.

Now in its fifth year of operation, BRO has some 17,000 members in
Peninsular Malaysia.

Maung Hla said he worked closely with the UNHCR to help the Myanmar
refugees in Malaysia.

“I respond to calls from police stations and hospitals, when Myanmar
nationals are being detained or sent to hospitals for treatment.

“I will then work with UNHCR to have the detainees released and sometimes,
I have to make funeral arrangements for those who have died,” he said.

Maung Hla travels twice a month to meet BRO members in other states. When
he hits the road, he brings along small containers of fried beef pickle,
fried prawns pickle, fried dried fish with him to sell to those who yearn
for a taste of home.

These products are made by the women members in another unit, which also
doubled as their home.

Maung Hla’s wife, Moe Moe Khing, 39, who is in charge of the women’s and
children’s section, said BRO obtained funds from UNHCR to start this small
project.

“The women have something to do to occupy their time while the profits
earned are channelled back to the health and education fund,” she said.

In this unit adorned with posters and calendars bearing the portraits of
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the residents prepare meals for
some 50 students studying in the opposite unit on the same floor.

The children, aged between five and 17, do not have an open field to play
or a canteen to buy titbits and fried chicken.

This small unit, equipped with basic furniture, is where they learn
English, Mathematics, Science and Computer skills for a monthly fee of
RM40.

After four years in the township, Maung Hla said BRO had established
amicable ties with the locals.

“I explained our situation to them and they understand. Some of them even
asked us to keep an eye on their shops when they are away,” he said.

At the same time, BRO members are told to respect the local customs and
abstain from vices.

Moe Moe added: “I told them we are in a foreign land together so don’t
fight each other.”

The Myanmar nationals only hold BRO member cards temporarily until they
register with UNHCR and obtain refugee identity cards.

Maung Hla said he had stopped harping on political issues and focused
strictly on social welfare.

“Every day when I open my eyes, I think of how to help the people,” he said.

____________________________________

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 5, Democratic Voice of Burma
US agency accused of sanctions busting – Francis Wade

The US government aid agency USAID has denied charges levelled by a Burma
campaign group that it is breaching US sanctions on the military-ruled
country.

The prominent Washington-based US Campaign for Burma (USCB) said in March
that USAID funding of the ASEAN Competitive Enhancement (ACE) project,
which looks to promote the tourism and textiles industries of Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, was “not in line with
US-Burma policy”.

Burma is a member of ASEAN, but is subject to strict US trade and
financial sanctions. A campaign to boycott tourism in Burma has received
strong backing from various campaign groups, although this has not been
factored into the US sanctions package.

But USAID’s funding of the ACE remains a “violation” of US policy and
should be challenged by Congress, USCB advocacy director Jennifer Quigley
has told TTR Weekly travel website.

“The spirit of [US Burma sanctions] was to keep American dollars out of
the hands of the Burmese regime,” she said. “The way the Burmese tourism
economy is structured, it is not a stretch to assume the regime would
benefit financially.”

USAID communications director, Hal Lipper, defended the charges by saying
that ASEAN had requested funding to Southeast Asia “as a region”.

One of the main arguments against tourism in Burma is that, with the
majority of property and services owned by the ruling regime, tourist
money would eventually find its way into government coffers. Moreover,
rights groups have said that many tourist resorts and services were built
using forced labour.

Detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had previously urged
tourists to stay away from the country whilst it remains under military
rule, although this stance appears have softened in line with growing
international engagement with the junta.

The pro-tourism lobby argues however that interaction with locals,
although often highly restricted by the government, can contribute towards
pulling the country out of decades of isolation.

Tourism currently only contributes to around 0.7 percent of Burma’s GDP,
meaning that the boycott is largely symbolic and would have little
tangible effect on the country’s economy. The impact of sanctions has also
been lessened by Burma’s growing trade with ASEAN countries, as well as
China and India.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 7, Irrawaddy
Is this a dagger which I see before me? – Aung Zaw

Several guests who attended the Armed Forces Day reception in Naypyidaw on
March 27 told me that when they met with Snr-Gen Than Shwe at the palatial
new reception center, his handshake was firm and his look confident.

Senior army leaders reportedly whispered to guests that this was to be his
last official reception––the Burmese dictator was readying to take a back
seat.

A few hours earlier, Than Shwe had observed a military parade where he
delivered a short speech. Although the senior general did not say he was
planning to retire, sources told me the message was right there between
the lines.

“Our armed forces were originally formed by patriotic heroes to fight for
independence,” he said.

“The leaders of the armed forces turned from politicians into patriotic
Tatmadaw-men when the armed struggle for independence was necessary, and
they turned back into politicians engaged in national politics when the
time came for political struggle,” he continued. “In this way, our armed
forces has had a brilliant history of achievement both in political and in
military affairs.”

I take this as a clear indication that the military is not going to quit
politics, but intends to stay in the arena where it will continue to  play
its dual role.

Than Shwe apparently said the armed forces should have three
“capabilities”: military capability, organizational capability and
administrative capability.

He also said the army had a duty to assist the “gentle transition.”

Indeed, not only is a gentle transition important for the junta chief's
piece of mind, but so too is a safe exit strategy for his family and
himself––they are almost universally despised around the country, after
all.

Mark my words, if Than Shwe opts to vacate the throne, he will make sure
his most trusted lieutenants take over the reins of both the new
government and the armed forces.

It's not Aung San Suu Kyi who keeps Than Shwe awake at night, but the
worry of how much he can trust his subordinates and who he can entrust his
family's security to.

I think the enemy is within. Than Shwe knows this; he himself played a
Machiavellian hand when he purged feared spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt and
betrayed his mentor, Gen Ne Win, who died while under house arrest in
2002.

Like Shakespeare's Macbeth, the junta chief may spend insomniac nights
wracked by visions of daggers and the paranoid certainty that the ghosts
of his past will return to seek revenge.

Than Shwe knows that several retired army officers who are loyal to
different factions within the armed forces could become potential enemies.
As the winds of change blow, some will most likely switch sides.

Aye Ne Win, one of Ne Win's grandsons who is now serving a life sentence,
once told veteran NLD politician Win Tin when they met in Insein prison
compound that he wanted to see Suu Kyi and student leader Min Ko Naing
released, according to Win Tin's recently released book.

Within the establishment, there are several other powerful and influential
people who would enjoy seeing Than Shwe overthrown and humiliated.

Knowing that he could also face the same karma as Ne Win or Khin Nyunt,
the former postal clerk has diligently handpicked several of his former
aides and staff officers to serve in key positions.

Loyal servants include: Gen “Thura” Shwe Mann, the coordinator of Special
Operations, the army, navy and air force; Lt-Gen Myint Swe, the head of
the Bureau of Special Operations (5); Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein; and
Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Maj-Gen Htay Oo, who is also
Secretary-General of the Union Solidarity Development Association.

Than Shwe has also promoted young officers who have served him in the
past. They include Lt-Gen Hla Htay Win, Maj-Gen Tin Ngwe, Maj-Gen Kyaw Swe
and Maj-Gen Wai Lwin, who is now commander of the Naypyidaw region.

They are, in effect, Team Than Shwe, his faithful clansmen.

Perhaps, over the coming decade, these officers will play a key role in
reshaping Burma. Their roles will change over the years––some will
transfer between the armed forces and the Parliament and vice versa; some
will move up in the hierarchy and some will lose favor.

Than Shwe knows how the mighty can fall; he has seen it with his own eyes.
His message during Armed Forces Day to his officers that they will play
key role in politics "whenever the need arises" is a cowardly cry for
help.


Aung Zaw is founder and editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be
reached at aungzaw at irrawaddy.org.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 7, Amnesty International (UK)
Burma: ASEAN leaders should act over Burma's appalling record

ASEAN’s reputation under threat over its inaction

Burma’s appalling human rights record is a serious breach of the
Association of South Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) charter and should top
the agenda for the organisation’s summit which starts in Ha Noi, Vietnam,
tomorrow (8 April), Amnesty International said today.

Donna Guest, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Programme Director, said:
“It is clear that Burma has been seriously and systematically breaching
the ASEAN charter’s human rights provisions. It is now up to the summit,
under its new chair Vietnam, to address this breach as a matter of
urgency.

“ASEAN’s reputation as a meaningful regional forum will suffer if it does
not call for Burma to respect freedom of expression, assembly and
association in the lead-up to the election.

“This summit is an opportunity for Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore and Malaysia to continue their demands for Burma to improve its
human rights record.

The ASEAN summit’s final statement should include a clear condemnation of
Burma’s human rights record. “The 10 members of ASEAN should also continue
to press Burma to halt the increasing repression of activists,
particularly from the country’s large ethnic minority community.”

ASEAN has urged Burma’s military government to free all political
prisoners and deliver free, fair and inclusive election in 2010.

However, in recent weeks, Burma’s government has introduced election laws
that have exacerbated the problem – barring hundreds of thousands of
people, including at least 2,200 political prisoners, from meaningfully
participating in the election.

The new election laws have drawn criticism from the governments of
Indonesia and the Philippines, and resulted in an election boycott by the
National League for Democracy, the main Burma opposition party headed by
Aung San Suu Kyi.