BurmaNet News, April 24 - 26, 2010

[Editor]

April 24 – 26, 2010, Issue #3948


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi’s lawyer clarifies her comment on Thai politics
DPA: Myanmar ministers resign military posts, source says

ON THE BORDER
DVB: Mon and Wa refugees flee to Thailand

BUSINESS / TRADE
Bangkok Post: Burma niche beckons developers
New Light of Myanmar: Myanmar finance delegation arrives back from Spain

ASEAN
AFP: ASEAN chief says bloc not 'magic wand' for region's problems

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: EU extends sanctions against Myanmar

OPINION / OTHER
The Australian: Time to bring Burma's brutal generals to justice –
Benedict Rogers
Rediff.com (India): What India must do in Myanmar and how – Brigadier S K
Chatterji
Independent (UK): The voice they cannot silence: The freedom fighter who
dares to defy the Burmese regime – Andrew Buncombe
National Democratic Front: St. Nr. 08/16/Front-10

PRESS RELEASE
Burma Campaign UK: European Union extends Burma sanctions and calls on
regime to stop breaking International Law



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

April 26, Irrawaddy
Suu Kyi’s lawyer clarifies her comment on Thai politics – Wai Moe

Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer tried to clarify a controversial remark over the
weekend by Burmese pro-democracy leader on the Thai political situation,
saying it was a general conversation, not a policy comment.

“She made the remark during a short, general conversation,” said Nyan Win,
her long-time lawyer. “If I recall her conversation, she said the 2008
Constitution [in Burma] was written by the military. There is also a
Constitution, written by the military, in Thailand. Now it causes unrest
[in Thailand]. So if the military writes constitutions, it could be a
concern for a nation's stability.”

Nyan Win also said Suu Kyi did not mention Thailand's former Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during the conversation, as reported by Agence
France-Presse on Saturday. A quotation by the news agency alleged that Suu
Kyi said : “Thaksin was an elected person. The military seized power from
an elected person. The Constitution was drawn up by the military.”

“I did not say that she mentioned the name [Thaksin],” said Nyan Win.
“What I said is that she said a military coup ousted an elected government
and wrote a Constitution. Now the ruling under the Constitution affects
unrest [in Thailand],” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

He said that Suu Kyi’s comments were casual remarks, not a policy
statement on the Thai political scene.

No media has had access to Suu Kyi while she has been under detention, and
media reports on her thoughts and observations are gleaned from comments
made her lawyer Nyan Win, who is allowed to meet with her regularly.

Nyan Win's recent summary of their conversations stirred up a wide range
of reactions among the Thai media, Thai politicians and intellectuals.

“I feel very disappointed. Aung San Suu Kyi should understand Thailand
better than this,” said Thai Sen. Prasong Nuluck, quoted in the
Thai-language Matichon newspaper in Bangkok. He called for an
investigation into Suu Kyi’s financial assets to determine if she received
“any money from any person,” presumably a reference to ousted premier
Thaksin Shinawatra.

The senator said Suu Kyi’s comments would cause damage to Thailand’s image
in the international community.

Matichon quoted Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn as saying
that Suu Kyi could not be uninformed about Thailand's political situation:
“Some countries might not get enough information because of the language
or because the methods of communication are systematically blocked. Thus,
the news may not be complete.”

During her detention, Suu Kyi keeps up with Burmese politics and
international affairs through a shortwave radio receiver, listening to
foreign-based broadcasts in the Burmese language as well as BBC World
Service.

Thai intellectuals who sympathize with Burma’s pro-democracy movement also
questioned Suu Kyi’s comments, with some reacting to her comments on
Facebook and blogs.

One Thai expert on Burma questioned on her Facebook page whether it was
really Suu Kyi’s comments.

“Politics and the military in Thailand are very different from those in
Burma. It is surprising to learn that Suu Kyi compared the Burmese junta’s
Constitution to Thailand’s,” she wrote. “Both were written under the
military, however, under far different political contexts. We shouldn't
have a stereotypical image of the so-called 'military,'” she said.

Although Thailand’s Democrat Party has supported the democracy movement in
Burma during the past two decades, Suu Kyi’s comment could harm relations
between the Burmese opposition and the Democrat Party in Thailand, some
analysts said.

Last year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has supported Thaksin
after his ouster, said their were similarities to Thaksin's plight and Suu
Kyi's, which angered many Burmese at home and aboard.

“Many people talk about Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, so why not talk about
Thaksin? That cannot be referred to as interfering [in Thailand's
affairs],” Hun Sen said at the Asean summit in the Thai resort of Hua Hin
in October 2009.

____________________________________

April 26, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Myanmar ministers resign military posts, source says

Yangon – Myanmar's prime minister and at least 17 other ministers and
deputy ministers on Monday resigned their military posts in what appears
to be a step towards contesting upcoming polls, military sources said.

"Prime Minister Thein Sein has resigned his post as General in the army,
so he is now just U (Mr)
Thein Sein," said a source, who asked to remain anonymous.

Myanmar state-run media did not immediately confirm the mass resignation,
which appears to be in preparation for ex-military men to contest an
upcoming election this year at a still unspecified date.

Myanmar's ruling junta has promised polls some time this year as part of
their "seven-step roadmap to democracy."

Regulations on party registrations to contest the election were issued in
March, which effectively forced the main opposition party the National
League for Democracy (NLD) to choose between dropping their leader, Nobel
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, from their ranks or not contesting the polls.

The NLD chose not to contest. The regulations bar any person currently
serving a prison term for being a political party member, a clause which
seems aimed at Suu Kyi , who is serving an 18-month house detention
sentence.

The junta is expected to register its own party soon which will be led by
ex-military men.

Persons holding military positions are not permitted to contest the election.

Observers believe the polls will bring a pro-military "elected" government
to power that will assure the generals' stranglehold on the country, which
has been ruled by military dictatorships since
1962.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

April 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
Mon and Wa refugees flee to Thailand – Maung Too

Hundreds of Mon refugees are fleeing into Thailand as the possibility of
fighting increases after the New Mon State Party (MNSP) last week rejected
proposals to become a Border Guard Force.

Escalating tension in Burma’s northeastern Shan state following a similar
rejection by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) has also forced dozens across
the border into Thailand’s northern Chiang Mai province, Wa locals say.

Demands by the Burmese government that all ceasefire groups transform into
border militias have been largely rejected, despite threats of military
action by the Burmese army.

Additional troops have reportedly been sent to Burma’s central Mon state,
close to Ye township. An NMSP representative told DVB that hundreds of
people had arrived at the Halockhani refugee camp in eastern Thailand in
recent days.

“Many people from areas deep inside Burma are fleeing to Halockhani camp,”
said Nai Chay Mon. “We were able to provide temporary shelter for 225
mothers and children at a middle school inside Halockhani camp. That was
all we can do.”

More are reported to be arriving at the camp. The NMSP said on Friday last
week that it would not meet the junta’s demands, which would see it forced
to reduce troop numbers and subordinated to the Burmese army.

Nai Chay Mon added that NMSP and government troops are “vigilantly
watching each other” and that some of the group’s offices have been closed
down.

The border guard issue looks set to further destabilise Burma’s already
volatile ethnic states, the majority of which lie along Burma’s borders
with Thailand, China and India.

China has already warned against unrest along its border, following an
outbreak of fighting last year between Burmese troops and an ethnic Kokang
group in Shan state which had refused the transformation. The fighting
forced more than 30,000 refugees into China.

The junta is looking to consolidate its support base prior to elections
this year, but decades-old ceasefire agreements with nearly 20 ethnic
armies are looking increasingly tenuous. Ethnic strife has plagued the
military government since it came to power in 1962 and has since
underpinned much of the country’s political turmoil.

The UWSA said last month that Burmese troops had blocked the flow of food
into Wa state, a ‘special region’ of Shan state, in a sign of looming
hostilities.

Similarly, troops have moved closer to the headquarters of the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), one of Burma’s main ceasefire groups, which is
also resisting the demands to transform.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

April 26, Bangkok Post
Burma niche beckons developers

The property market in Burma has high growth potential, especially after
general elections are held and with the support of new economic networks
in the region, according to the Bangkok-based developer Fragrant Property.

James Duan, CEO of Fragrant Group, a developer of The Prime 11 and Circle
condominiums in Bangkok, acknowledged that the market in Burma was not
typical of the region. He said it was not driven by income growth among a
large group of people but by high-income investors making up only around
2% of total population.

Also helping the market, he said, was the limitation of investment choices
in Burma, mainly gold and land.

However, Mr Duan said regional free trade would become a factor as
property is a fundamental industry for economic development, especially in
the service sector, led by tourism.

"Co-operation in Asean is expected to generate a higher number of new
investors to enter the property sector in Burma. Thus residential property
for medium and low-end consumers should generate higher demand," he said.
"This is also helped by the lack of supply. . . . It's a good opportunity
for foreign developers including Thais to start research there for
business expansion."
Currently, foreigners are not allowed to own land in Burma but can join
with local and private investors or the government in
build-operate-transfer agreements. These allow private investors to raise
funds and handle design, construction and operations before transferring
the property to the government.

Total foreign shareholdings must be at least 35% of a venture's total
value while the minimum investment is US$500,000 for the industrial sector
and $300,000 in the service sector.

Mr Duan also acknowledged that investors in Burma should be concerned
about the political factor. In the past, he said, foreign investors faced
a relatively low risk in Burma's real estate market when compared to other
sectors controlled by the military regime.

Meanwhile, his company is continuing its promotion of Thailand as well.

"Fragrant will continue to stage roadshows under the concept, 'Bangkok
Your Second Home' in various countries in Asean and the Asian region to
draw foreign investors to the Kingdom," he said.

The company held its first roadshow in Burma at the end of last year and
received a great deal of attention. "We are considering another roadshow
in the country and the plan is expected to be finalised soon."
____________________________________

April 24, New Light of Myanmar
Myanmar finance delegation arrives back from Spain

Nay Pyi Taw – A Myanmar delegation led by Deputy Minister for Finance and
Revenue Col Hla Thein Swe arrived back here on 21 April after
participating in the Ninth Ministers of Finance Meeting of the Asia-Europe
Meeting (9th ASEM-FMM) in Madrid, Spain, on April 17 and 18.

During the first day of the meeting, participants of the meeting discussed
drafted the report to the meeting, released reports and Multilateral
Organization and European Institution openly discussed financial situation
and reforms.

The global economy, challenges following the global economic crisis,
financial strategies for overcoming the challenges and exchanged
experiences of Europe and Asia in hope of overcoming the challenges for
development of the global economy.

Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar U Nay Aye also arrived back
on the same flight. – MNA

____________________________________
ASEAN

April 26, Agence France Presse
ASEAN chief says bloc not 'magic wand' for region's problems

Hong Kong – T he Association of Southeast Asian Nations is not a "magic
wand" for the region's problems and could not ensure free elections in
military-ruled Myanmar, the 10-member bloc's chief said on Monday.

Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN's secretary-general, said that a decision by
opposition parties not to participate in upcoming polls in Myanmar was a
problem.

The elections, expected to be held by early November, have been widely
criticised as lacking credibility because of laws that effectively bar
opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from taking
part.

"It is a problem, everybody knows it," Surin told the International Media
Conference in Hong Kong.

"But we're not a magic wand that can deliver a miracle in every issue."

Defending the regional grouping, which is sometimes criticised as
toothless, Surin said ASEAN had kept Southeast Asia peaceful and boosted
economic growth.

"We've been able to maintain peace and growth" in the region, he said.

Movement on human rights would take time, Surin said, but added that
members "are talking to each other much more openly and much more candidly
now."

ASEAN's growing international influence meant it can be an effective
buffer in any regional power struggle between China and the United States,
he added.

"ASEAN can be helpful in the US-China relationship," Surin said.

The group's membership ranges from communist Vietnam and Laos -- one of
Asia's poorest nations -- to Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

Other members are Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

April 27, Agence France Presse
EU extends sanctions against Myanmar

Luxembourg – EU foreign ministers on Monday extended European Union
sanctions against Myanmar for another year, but said they were ready to
ease them and hold talks if there was democratic progress.

The council of 27 EU member states "deems it necessary to extend the
current EU common position by another year, including the restrictive
measures," foreign ministers said in a statement agreed at a meeting in
Luxembourg.

The EU "underlines its readiness to revise, amend or reinforce the
measures it has already adopted in light of developments on the ground,"
the statement added.

The EU nations also renewed their call for the immediate release of all
political prisoners -- such as opposition leader and Nobel prize winner
Aung San Suu Kyi -- and for a peaceful transition to civilian rule.

The Myanmar military seized power in 1962 and maintains virtually total
control on every aspect of life in the nation formerly known as Burma.

EU sanctions against the regime -- in place since 2006 -- include a travel
ban and the freezing of assets of Myanmar's leaders and their relatives,
as well as an embargo on arms exports there.

The sanctions also limit diplomatic relations between the South East Asian
nation and the European bloc.

The decision to renew the sanctions put paid to any lingering hopes of a
rapprochement in the short term.

Last month the EU's senior Myanmar envoy had said the EU might consider
easing its sanctions in April if it sees democratic progress.

Those sanctions were increased in 2007, after the military cracked down on
Buddhist protests.

The expanded sanctions covered a ban on timber, metals, minerals, precious
stones from Myanmar and a ban on new investment in Myanmar companies
operating in these sectors.

European and other nations are now looking to a general election due in in
Myanmar next year to see if the junta eases its grip on power.

However the Myanmar authorities "have still to take the steps necessary to
make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive
process based on international standards," the EU document said.

The ministers stressed that "the EU stands ready to respond positively to
genuine progress in Burma/Myanmar."

It held out the possibility of ministerial-level dialogue on the margins
of an Asia Europe (ASEM) foreign ministers meeting in Hanoi next month.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

April 26, The Australian
Time to bring Burma's brutal generals to justice – Benedict Rogers

THE UN and the world must protest against a sham poll held by a criminal
regime.

Frightened, vulnerable and with a tone of despair, a man with no legs and
five children sat in the darkness under a tarpaulin and whispered: "When I
had two legs, I could earn money for the whole family and I could give my
children money for snacks. Now I cannot provide for them. It is not a
normal life. I had to flee the Burma army many times. I did portering for
the Burma army many times."

His legs had been blown off by a landmine that he stepped on in the jungle
while looking for vegetables, he said. His story was typical of many of
the refugees along the Thai-Burma border who were subjected to forced
labour by the military regime, and his conclusion summed up his people's
struggle: "Run and run and run until now -- this is my life."

Since January, the refugees have been facing constant harassment from the
Thai military, and in February the Thai authorities were ready to deport
them to Burma. The deportations were averted at the last moment after
international pressure, but the harassment continued. Most of the refugees
have since given in to the grinding intimidation and fled the camp. Some
have returned to a life on the run in the jungle; others may have
attempted to disperse in Thailand as illegal immigrants. Those who have
gone back to their villages have walked into a death trap, in an area full
of landmines, controlled by the Burmese army, where they would almost
certainly be subjected to forced labour and torture.

More than 3500 villages in eastern Burma have been destroyed since 1996,
and at least a million people displaced. Forced labour, rape and torture
are widespread and systematic. I met one refugee who said she had been
forced to dig her own grave, and another whose parents were killed when he
was a boy and whose wife and children were later shot dead.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma concluded last month
that this "pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" was
"the result of a state policy that involves authorities in the executive,
military and judiciary at all levels". The rapporteur argues that the
Burmese regime may be guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes,
and says the UN should establish a commission of inquiry to investigate.

Australia, Britain and the Czech Republic have agreed in principle with
the rapporteur's call for an investigation. Now they need to work to
achieve it.

However, many in the international community refuse to accept the truth:
that Burma's military regime is illegitimate and criminal. When the regime
published its election laws recently, the reaction was muted. Yet the
election laws show more blatantly than ever what a sham the regime's
planned election will be.

No wonder the National League for Democracy has decided to boycott the
sham poll.

The new laws ban political prisoners from belonging to a political party,
which means the NLD would have to abandon its leader, Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, and hundreds of its members.

Political parties are required to support the new constitution, pushed
through in a sham referendum two years ago, which gives the military a
quarter of the parliamentary seats and bans Suu Kyi from seeking election.

The NLD, which won the last elections in 1990 with 82 per cent of the
seats, is fighting for its existence and will probably be deemed illegal
by the regime after May 7. Yet all US Assistant Secretary of State Philip
Crowley said was: "This is not what we had suggested to the Burmese
government."

However, some countries appear to have had enough. Burma's neighbours are
increasingly frustrated. The Philippines Foreign Minister has described
the elections as "a complete farce".

In Burma, opinion is divided. Some people intend to take part, in the hope
of prising open some space for the future. Others argue that the polls
should be boycotted. Both positions are understandable, and the choice is
tough.

But for the international community, the choice is clear. It must not give
the election any credibility. Instead, the UN must insist no process that
so blatantly excludes Suu Kyi and the NLD can be acceptable. A Security
Council resolution should call on the regime to engage in dialogue with
the NLD and ethnic groups, and spell out benchmarks that are required to
measure progress. It is time for the UN to do the right thing: reject the
election, investigate the war crimes claims and bring the generals to
justice. Only then is there a chance of real change for Burma.

Benedict Rogers is a human rights advocate with Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, based in London, and the author of a new biography of Burma's
dictator, Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma's Tyrant, to be published next month
by Silkworm Books

____________________________________

April 26, Rediff.com (India)
What India must do in Myanmar and how – Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd)

The best course of action for India [ Images ] remains to work within the
space it has created in Myanmar and not make the junta too apprehensive,
while still trying to nudge for greater political reforms, writes
Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd)

Come October, the Myanmarese people have a date with a supposedly profound
event in their lives. The ruling military junta has promised to hold
elections for a parliament where it has already reserved 25 percent of the
seats for itself. Notwithstanding such a glaring departure from democratic
norms, this is the first election (promised) after 1990, when the
incarcerated Aung San Suu Kyi's [ Images ] party National League for
Democracy won a majority that the ruling junta then, did not honour.

Myanmar is strategically situated to generate ample interest in the two
Asian giants that share its borders, India and China. It provides the land
bridge between south, southeast Asia and China. Its southern shores,
jutting into the Andaman Sea, provide the western province of Yunnan,
China a much required outlet to the seas. China also gains direct access
to Bay of Bengal, bypassing the narrow Strait of Malacca.

For India, Myanmar provides an outlet to the sea for the seven land-locked
northeastern states. Trade and commerce with Myanmar provides a market to
this region, just as it holds out a similar option for Yunnan. Besides,
some of our northeast insurgency movements have found safe sanctuaries in
Myanmar, in the past.

The Myanmarese military junta initiated the march to democracy with a
referendum to have its draft constitution approved in 2008. The referendum
had coincided with Cyclone Nargis [ Images ] that left a trail of
devastation and loss of life in its wake. However, the military junta
carried on with the referendum in spite of calls for postponement by a lot
of countries. The results of the referendum were as surprising as the
elusive logic for its conduct under the circumstances; 92 percent voters,
presumably, voted for the new constitution.

Obviously, the exercise in fudging was undertaken without any concern for
international opinion or domestic concerns.

Indian response to events in Myanmar over the decades, have graduated from
idealistic to hardnosed pragmatic. While we were fairly strident in our
condemnation when General Ne Win usurped power in a military coup in 1968,
have called for the release of opposition leader and NLD chairperson Aung
San Suu Kyi's release, periodically, conferred the Jawaharlal Nehru [
Images ] Award for International Understanding on her in 1995, the current
approach is more a hands off attitude best expressed by our foreign
minister during his visit in 2007, "... we would like democracy to
flourish everywhere. But this is for every country to decide for itself."

The pragmatism apparent in the Indian policy has been spurred by the fact
of our losing ground in Yangon to China over the years. The relationship
between the Chinese and Myanmarese has improved steadily since 1988, after
General Ne Win's days. They have invested heavily enough in Myanmar to
have replaced Thailand as that country's major trading partner. The
pipeline project currently being pursued will provide gas to China's
western provinces by 2015; not only making cheaper energy available, but
also providing the Myanmar junta much needed cash flows, having been
denied any World Bank aid since 1990, post sanctions imposed on it by
certain western countries.

The new roads, rails, bridges have also led to massive influx of Chinese
into Myanmar. Of strategic significance are roads along the Irrawaddy
river that lead south to the coast. Also, of strategic dimensions is the
increase of Chinese settlers in Myanmar.

Chinese involvement in Myanmar's military buildup and ports is also of
concern. The famous String of Pearls that China is creating to limit
India's sea power in the Indian Ocean, includes the Sittwe Port in
Myanmar. This string's pearls include China's southernmost province Hainan
Islands; Sittwe, Coco Islands and certain other port facilities in
Myanmar; Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota in Sri Lanka [ Images ],
Gwadhar in Pakistan, and Nepal.

The ban imposed by western nations and a rather idealistic stance of our
foreign policy, were the primers that the Chinese used to entrench their
interests in Myanmar. Sittwe would be able to reduce Chinese Navy's voyage
to Indian Ocean by 3,000 km by not passing through the Strait of Malacca
to reach the Bay of Bengal

Indian investments in Myanmar include the 160 km Tamu-Kalewa-Kalemyo road
in Myanmar, originating from Manipur border. The trilateral highway
project to connect Moreh in Manipur to Bagan in Myanmar and further to Mae
Sot, Thailand, has received Indian assistance. The Kaladan multi-modal
transit transport project would ease connectivity of north-eastern states
from the Mizoram border to Sittwe Port in Myanmar.

Amongst the hurdles that the junta has to cope with are Myanmar's history
of ethnic insurgencies and warlords fighting to retain control of poppy
cultivation. However, currently none of the insurgencies are strong enough
to destabilise the junta.

In the absence of any greater effort from outside to usher political
changes, as also the low combat capabilities of the insurgencies, there
are two key domestic constituencies that could create difficult conditions
for the military junta. These are, first, the Buddhist monks. The
military's repeated heavy handed approach to protests by the monks, has
alienated the largely Buddhist population. They have the capability to
engineer nationwide protests, albeit non-violent. A popular mass movement
could find elements in the armed forces sympathetic to it. However,
without outside support and faced with a military that is 4 lakh strong,
such an eventuality is remote. There have been mass movements in Myanmar
in 1988 and 2007. Such movements are not new in Southeast Asia, the latest
being in Thailand

The next lot is the NLD party of Suu Kyi. The party has decided not to
participate in the elections. In any case the rules governing the
elections would not allow Su Kyi to contest. The election laws also
require all parties to register. The pro-junta political parties including
the National Unity Party and the Union Solidarity Development Association
are ready to register. However, NLD and a host of ethnic parties have
decided not to do so. If these parties are derecognised, their workers may
go underground and initiate a more cohesive armed resistance.

The best course of action for India remains to work within the space it
has created in Myanmar and not make the junta too apprehensive, while
still trying to nudge for greater political reforms.

Myanmar has traditionally been a neutral state, a stance that we need to
strengthen, and avoid possibilities of the Chinese navy garnering huge
strategic advantages. It is also important to keep Myanmar out of a
possible Chinese economic trap. In fact, the inclusion of Myanmar in ASEAN
in 1997, primarily steered by Thailand, is both in our and southeast
Asia's interests. Myanmar is pivotal to our 'Look East' policy.

Myanmar and our northeast states must benefit from liberalised economic
policies. The Kaladan project provides a great opportunity and gives us
access right up to Sittwe Port, including its development. As Myanmar
progresses economically, political changes would be required to sustain
its growth, and it may be possible to switch to more democratic governance
as a win-win model for all stake holders in Myanmar, at that stage.

The immediate challenge remains the conduct of free elections and
amendment to the election laws. The best forum to pursue these missions is
the UN and the 14 member 'Friends of Myanmar' group that includes China
and India.

____________________________________

April 24, Independent (UK)
The voice they cannot silence: The freedom fighter who dares to defy the
Burmese regime – Andrew Buncombe

For more than 20 years, the plight of Burma's political prisoners has
shocked the world. Now, their struggle for freedom has been documented in
a brave new project

For some of the political prisoners held in Burma's wretched jails, the
hardest thing to bear is the pain and horror of being physically tortured.
For others, held away from fellow inmates, it is the isolation and the
creeping sense of despair. Some think about their families, others about
the seemingly hopeless cause for which they fought. For the relatives and
friends of those incarcerated, there is the struggle of trying to make
regular visits and the constant, aching worry as to whether a loved one
will ever be freed.

Win Tin, a senior colleague of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, served more than 19 years in jail – almost all of them in solitary
confinement – before being released in 2008. "The hardest thing was the
separation from other people," says the lively 80-year-old, speaking from
his home in Rangoon. The former journalist was routinely beaten, kept in a
dog kennel and on one occasion interrogated for five days straight. And
yet it was the separation from other people that he now remembers as
causing him the greatest distress. He recalls: "Even when I was in
hospital I was put in a different room ... You long to have a discussion
with your friends. You feel as if you are losing your mind."

Burma's jails are awash with political prisoners. The military authorities
that seized power in 1962 dealt harshly with dissidents, but the current
junta, which took power in 1988, has jailed increasing numbers of
opponents. It has done so when it felt most threatened, most notably after
a pro-democracy uprising in 1988 and a democratic election in 1990 – the
results of which the junta ignored – and most recently following the
so-called Saffron Revolution of September 2007, when tens of thousands of
Buddhist monks and demonstrators filled the streets of Burma's cities to
demand change. It is impossible to know how many such prisoners are being
held, but activists say they currently have details of 2,186.

The story of the most famous, Aung San Suu Kyi, the enduring 64-year-old
Nobel laureate who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, is of
course well known. Some have also heard of Min Ko Naing, the "conqueror of
kings", a student leader jailed in 1989 for 15 years only to be sentenced
to 65 years after being arrested again in 2007. The jailing of U Gambira,
a Buddhist monk sentenced to 68 years for helping organise the Saffron
Revolution, likewise received considerable coverage.

Yet the stories of the vast majority are rarely told. "The number of
political prisoners has almost doubled to 2,200 – the highest in the past
20 years – since the uprising of 2007," says Haider Kikabhoy, a Burma
expert with Amnesty International. "But behind every prisoner, there's a
story – these brave individuals represent a collective struggle for
freedom for the people of Myanmar."

It was this that motivated James Mackay to embark on the extraordinary,
ongoing project that is Even Though I'm Free I am Not. The British
activist and documentary photographer has set out to photograph and
interview scores of former political prisoners from Burma's jails and, in
doing so, draw attention to those still behind bars.

"The idea first developed in my mind while I was in Burma working
undercover several months after the Saffron Revolution," says Mackay. The
results of his work are nothing less than remarkable. Travelling across
Asia, the US, Canada, Japan and Europe, as well as having made several
secret trips inside Burma, Mackay is steadily putting together a
compelling collection of portraits and testimonies from those who have
suffered in the as-yet-unrealised struggle for political freedom. Some of
the portraits are simple, others more complex as a result of their
composition or backdrop, such as that of Phone Myint Tun, who spent four
years in Rangoon's deadly Insein jail and who Mackay photographed standing
in front of a crowd of activists demonstrating outside the Burmese Embassy
in Tokyo, where the former political prisoner now lives.

So far he has photographed more than 160 former prisoners. What they all
share – and which gives the project its title – is an inability to forget
either what happened to them, or what is currently happening to those
still in jail. To highlight this, Mackay chooses to photograph each of his
subjects holding up their right hand and showing their palm – a gesture
known in Buddhism as the Abhaya Mudra and done to symbolise fearlessness.
On the palm of their hand, each of Mackay's subjects writes the name of a
prisoner still being held.

One of the most powerful images – and one which the junta will find
incendiary – is that of Win Tin holding up his palm on which has been
carefully inscribed the name of Aung San Suu Kyi. The slightly-built,
grey-haired man is well aware of the danger he is in for allowing such a
photograph to be taken, yet despite spending almost two decades in jail,
Win Tin remains the most outspoken critic of the government still at large
in Burma. He says he is constantly followed by informers and government
agents. For Mackay, slipping into Burma, taking that photograph and
evading the security authorities is the high-mark of his career to date.

I first encountered Mackay in January 2009. I was at Bangkok's main bus
station catching a ride up to Mae Sot, a town on the border with Burma
which has become a centre for many exiled Burmese and activists. It is
also the location of many of the refugee camps in which 160,000 Burmese
now live. I was going to one of the camps to interview elderly ethnic
Karen refugees who had fought for the British against Japan.

Initially, I assumed the tall Westerner asleep in the seat next to mine
was a backpacker. But on the eight-hour journey up to Mae Sot, stopping
off at a roadside canteen to eat bowls of noodle soup, he detailed his
activist work, as well as his efforts to photograph former prisoners.

"The former prisoners have suffered unimaginably horrendous experiences in
jail in Burma, yet their resolve, their will and their beliefs cannot be
broken no matter what has been thrown at them or is currently being thrown
at their colleagues in jail right now," says Mackay. "My inspiration for
much of what I now do in my life comes from meeting each and every one of
them."

Among the former prisoners he has photographed is Khun Saing, a
59-year-old who now lives in Sheffield, having fled from Burma in 2006 and
secured asylum. A former medical student, Khun Saing was jailed on three
different occasions for his political activism, serving a total of 13
years. Working in a bakery to support himself, he is still waiting for his
wife (who he met and married in a refugee camp in Thailand) and child to
join him.

Recalling his seizure, he says, "At the time I was arrested and
interrogated I was tortured. That period was very hard. I had to answer so
many questions. The problem was that if I said the wrong thing my
colleagues on the outside would be in danger. Also, some of the torture
was so painful. It's not so much about the pain but some of it was very
degrading and inhumane."

Khun Saing says he eventually left Burma at the pleading of his mother,
who had struggled to visit him every month in jail. (It is common practice
for the Burmese authorities to hold political prisoners in jails far from
their homes, making it harder for relatives to visit.) "She said if you
cannot stay away from politics, please leave the country. I will at least
have peace of mind."

Bo Kyi, another former prisoner who now lives in Thailand, was jailed
twice – firstly for demonstrating for the release of jailed students and
the second time after he refused the junta's "offer" to become an
informer. He remembers being shackled in chains. The guards then ordered
him to exercise. Barely able to move, he was then beaten for failing to
perform their demands.

Jailed for a total of seven years, Bo Kyi taught himself to speak and
write English, hiding his furtively secured paper and pencil from the
guards. After escaping to Thailand, he now runs the Assistance Association
of Political Prisoners, which helps those who have served time in jail and
campaigns for those still behind bars.

He remains insistent that Burma cannot have a peaceful future until those
prisoners have secured their freedom. He says an election planned for
later this year and condemned by campaigners as simply a means of further
cementing the military's position will not help. "The election has no
credibility without Aung San Suu Kyi and the release of all the political
prisoners," he says. "The people in Burma want to choose their own
leaders."

The junta has tried to pitch the election to the international community
as a step on the path towards full democracy. But the National League for
Democracy (NLD), the main opposition party headed by Aung San Suu Kyi and
of which Win Tin is a senior leader, has decided to boycott the polls.
There is mounting consensus that no fair election can take place with so
many prisoners remaining behind bars.

One of those still in jail is Win Htein. An NLD leader, the 70-year-old
was first jailed in 1996 for speaking out against torture to foreign
journalists. He was released in September 2008, on the same day that Win
Tin and six other prisoners were set free. Yet just one day later, Win
Htein was re-arrested and taken back to jail. His son, Hsan Htein, who
lives in California, believes his father's mistake was to speak to a
dissident radio station about the conditions in prison.

Speaking from San Francisco, Hsan Htein, who himself fled Burma more than
a decade ago at the insistence of his mother, said his father was being
held in Katha jail, hundreds of miles from the family home in Rangoon.
Every month, his 59-year-old mother, who is not in good health, embarks on
a 24-hour journey each way using train, boat and bus, to visit.

Hsan Htein communicates with his father by letter, though they are not
able to talk about the conditions in prison. "He is quite aware of what is
happening around Burma," he says of his father. "He is getting the news."

As to the future, Hsan Htein can simply hope against the odds that
something will bring about a change in Burma, something that will secure
his father's freedom. For all of the country's political prisoners,
someone, somewhere is wishing for the same.
____________________________________

April 25, National Democratic Front
St. Nr. 08/16/Front-10

1. At a time when the political emergency is at a high point, the National
Democratic Front (NDF) successfully held its Central Presidium Meeting of
the 7th NDF Congress, at a certain place in the liberated area, for 2 days
from April 23 to 24. Eighteen presidium members from 7 NDF member
organizations, out of eight, attended the meeting and participated in
frank and cordial discussions.

2. At the meeting, the participants discussed thoroughly the political
report consisting of a review on current situation of the ethnic
nationality organizations, the revolutionary forces at home and abroad,
SPDC military clique, the NDF etc., - the NDF activity report and the
financial report. After that, the participants discussed for forging
greater unity and cooperation among the oppressed ethnic nationalities in
the struggle to regain their rights that have been lost, and laid down
future work programs.

3. In addition to work programs to solidify and strengthen the NDF and
raise the role of NDF, which is the main pillar of strength in the NCUB,
the meeting participants laid down and adopted work program for closer
cooperation with fellow fraternal ceasefire organizations, which the PDC
has been putting under pressure. Moreover, the meeting laid down work
programs for explicitly opposing and protesting against the military
clique’s 2008 constitution and the 2010 elections that will perpetuate
rule of the military dictatorship.

4. The meeting decided on continuing the NDF’s full support for position
of the ethnic nationality ceasefire forces rejecting the SPDC proposal to
transform them to BGF and urge them to resist the SPDC’s pressure by
various means, with coordinated and united response. In addition, we, the
NDF Presidium Meeting earnestly welcome and support the clear-cut
opposition, today, against the military dictatorship and the peaceful
struggle for democracy by the NLD, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, since they
are a fair and just struggle.

5. We seriously call on the SPDC military clique to cease immediately its
military operations in regions of the ethnic nationalities and its attempt
to intimidate the ceasefire organizations militarily. It is our sincere
warning to the SPDC that it shall be held responsible totally for all the
consequences emanating from its irrational acts. In conclusion, we, the
NDF Central Presidium Meeting, would like to affirm that we will raise
momentum of the armed revolutionary resistance, together with the struggle
for liberation by the ethnic nationalities and the people, until the time
when the criminal military dictatorship has to totally relinquish the
State power.

“Victory through Alliance”
Central Presidium
National Democratic Front (NDF)
Media Contact: (66) 086 206 4045; (66) 082 885 7963

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

April 26, Burma Campaign UK
European Union extends Burma sanctions and calls on regime to stop
breaking International Law

Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the renewal of European Union (EU)
sanctions against Burma for a further year, and a call by the European
Union for Burma to “end to violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law.” In March the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma called for
a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in
Burma.

The EU has a joint foreign policy on Burma, known as the Common Position.
All 27 EU members are meant to abide by the Common Position, which has to
be renewed each April.   EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg agreed
to maintain existing EU sanctions against Burma.

Key points from EU:

·         Sanctions maintained.
·         Regime must end violations of international human rights and
humanitarian law
·         Elections not credible
·         Regime must enter into dialogue with opposition and ethnic groups.
·         EU willing to enter into high-level dialogue.

The extension of sanctions will disappoint some European governments and
international NGOs. Some have argued for a policy of appeasement towards
Burma’s generals, who are guilty of committing war crimes and crimes
against humanity, calling on the EU to relax sanctions.

Burma’s democracy movement and Burma Campaign UK have argued that relaxing
sanctions would be a green light to the generals to increase human rights
abuses, help finance increased abuses, and give up potential leverage
against the regime. The problem with EU sanctions is that most are not
effectively targeted, have not been used as part of coordinated diplomatic
efforts, and those sanctions which could be effective are being broken, as
there is no monitoring or implementation.  EU ministers did not announce
any steps to make sure existing sanctions are properly enforced.

“The EU is right to maintain existing sanctions in light of the
deteriorating human rights situation in Burma,” said Mark Farmaner,
Director of Burma Campaign UK. “We welcome the EU’s call for the regime to
respect international human rights law, but are disappointed that they
have not explicitly expressed support for the recommendation of the UN
Burma expert that a UN commission of inquiry should be established.”

The fact that the EU has chosen to prioritise in its conclusions the call
for dialogue with opposition and ethnic groups is significant. The Burma
Campaign UK has been calling on the EU to focus on this rather than
continuous efforts to reform the general’s so-called roadmap to democracy,
all of which have failed. The UN Security Council, UN General Assembly and
UN Secretary General have all said this kind of tri-partite dialogue is
the proper mechanism that should be used for solving the problems in
Burma.

“We strongly welcome the call for the regime to enter into dialogue with
the opposition and ethnic groups,” said Mark Farmaner. “We call on the EU
to make this the main focus of diplomatic efforts, rather than trying to
tinker with laws relating to fake elections later this year.  The EU and
UN says this kind of dialogue is the way forward.  It is time they started
to work to make it happen.”

The EU Council Conclusions can be accessed at:

http://www.eu2010.es/export/sites/presidencia/comun/descargas/burma.pdf


For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 07941239640.