BurmaNet News, August 20, 2010

[Editor]

August 12, 2010 Issue #4024

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “As long as the government and its cronies are
controlling the country's economy we will face the same economic situation
even in the year 3010.”
-Dr. U Myint, Economist, quoted in the Irrawaddy News Magazine

INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Nargis-related visas halted ahead of election
Irrawaddy: Burma's economy stalled under Junta, cronies
DVB: PM’s party opens offices to roars of support
SMH: Tigers tiptoeing around the generals' might

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Wa, Mongla meet Naypyitaw’s negotiators

BUSINESS / TRADE
WP: Judge decries lenient treatment of banks

REGIONAL
Xinhua: India, Myanmar focus on transport projects
AFP: E.Timor seeks 'strong' commercial ties with Myanmar
Mizzima: Burmese at Thai prawn plant strike against overtime change

ASEAN
Jakarta Post: UN Myanmar probe gains RI support

INTERNATIONAL
Globe and Mail: Burma poll holds little promise

OPINION / OTHER
WP: Why a U.N. probe of Burma is a crucial step (Editorial)
IRSN: US Disengages from Burma - Simon Roughneen
The Nation (Thailand): Southeast Asia has its own 'blood stone' tyranny
(Editorial)


____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 20, Irrawaddy News
Nargis-related Visas Halted Ahead of Election

The Burmese government has banned Nargis-related visas for humanitarian
relief workers ahead the general election, according to relief news
agency.

The move has surprised the international aid community because the
three-year program, called the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan,
was approved by the government and has only reached its halfway mark,
according to NGO workers in Rangoon.

Bishow Parajuli, the UN resident coordinator in Burma, told a relief news
network, Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN), “It comes as a
surprise, but we are appealing for an interim period with extensions of
agreements and visas, during which the agencies can apply for their new
memorandums of understanding.”

According to a report by the IRIN, a project of the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on Friday, Burma’s Ministry of
Social Welfare Relief and Resettlement told international NGOs and UN
agencies on Aug. 16 that the post-Nargis delta recovery effort should be
“mainstreamed into development programmes.”

The ministry said: “The responsibility of coordinating those activities
will therefore no longer fall to the Ministry of Social Welfare Relief and
Resettlement, but the respective line ministries and will therefore
require new memorandums of understanding.”

No Nargis-related visas would be extended, and no new visas would be
granted under the old arrangement which allowed humanitarian aid workers
fairly easy access to the affected areas, according to the report.
The report also said that more than 90 humanitarian workers with
international nongovernmental organizations or UN agencies in Burma now
have uncertain visa status.

“With the election period coming up, we know everyone will be very busy,
so we are concerned that it might take too long to get new memorandums of
understanding and assistance might be interrupted, which would have
negative consequences for the people in need of continued assistance,”
Parajuli was quoted by IRIN as saying.

According to recent assessments conducted in the delta by relief agencies,
hard-hit areas such as Labutta and Bogalay townships are still in an
emergency state two years after the disaster in May 2008, in which 138,000
people died and 2.4 million people were affected.

An NGO worker in Kamaryut Township in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that the
government banned international NGO visas, especially for Westerners,
because it fears that foreigners may enter Burma to observe the upcoming
general election on Nov. 7.

According to the Rangoon-based Eleven Media Group, Mandalay International
Airport and Yangon International Airport will stop issuing visas on
arrival to tourists on Sept. 1.

____________________________________

August 20, Irrawaddy
Burma's Economy Stalled under Junta, Cronies

Rangoon - Burma's military regime cannot improve the country's economy by
favoring people who have close ties with the generals and who monopolize
businesses, according to respected Burmese economist Dr U Myint.

“As long as the government and its cronies are controlling the country's
economy we will face the same economic situation even in the year 3010,” U
Myint said.

The economist raised criticism against the government's economic policy in
a speech “The Role of the Private Sector in the Changing Political Economy
beyond 2010,” during a seminar that was organized in Rangoon by the Union
of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) on
Aug. 14.

U Myint was a lecturer and dean at the Institute of Economics and
Institute of Education in Rangoon. He also served as the director of the
economic section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later, he headed the
research section at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific. He is currently a member of the Myanmar Academy of
Arts and Science.

Stressing the importance of the role of entrepreneurs in economics, U
Myint said that Burmese businessmen have the abilities and skills to make
profit, but he asked, “How are they going to change their intention to
make the benefit of the public sector? How can they make the private
sector stronger?”

This year, the regime has handed over numerous state-owned enterprises to
businessmen close to the generals under the pretext of “privatization.”

However, U Myint said such transfers can lead to “pocketization” instead
of privatization.

During the seminar, retired ambassador Hla Maung suggested that Burma
should follow the economic reforms of Asian countries such as Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan, China and Vietnam, which have transferred businesses to the
private sectors focused on exports.
According to observers of the Burmese business community, domestic
investors  hope that economic policies will be relaxed in the post-2010
election period, creating conditions conducive to proper investments.

“Everyone lives with hope,” said UMFCCI General-Secretary Dr. Maung Maung
Lay.

Businessmen close to the regime include Tay Za, Zaw Zaw, Aung Ko Win and
Nay Aung, who have received control of lucrative businesses in banking,
air line, electric energy, construction and other areas.

An engineer close to IGE, a company owned by Nay Aung, the son of Aung
Thaung, Minister for Industry No 1 who is protege of Burma's junta chief
Snr-Gen Than Shwe, said businessmen who have acquired state-owned
enterprises focus on their own profits rather than the national interest.

“They have to cut the trees when they see green forests. Otherwise,
someone else will take it. That’s the only thought they have. Currently
they are rushing into signing big projects, which they have been granted
already, before the election takes place. No one knows what will happen
after the election,” he said.

____________________________________

August 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
PM’s party opens offices to roars of support – Joseph Allchin

The pro-government Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) today
opened offices across the country, with hundreds of supporters seen
chanting and waving flags.

Footage captured by DVB journalists at the opening of the Mandalay office
showed supporters decked out in USDP regalia and shouting victory slogans,
as well as lauding the “multi-party elections” in a responsorial style led
by a master of ceremonies on a nearby stage.

The USDP is led by Burma’s prime minister, Thein Sein, and is widely
tipped to win the first elections to be held in the country in two
decades.

The 200-strong ceremony appeared to edge close to violating restrictive
campaigning laws announced by the Election Commission that include a ban
on the chanting of slogans and waving of flags “in processions”.

Individuals deemed guilty of breaking these laws, that state-run media has
said will guarantee free and fair elections but which have received
international condemnation, can land the perpetrator with a one-year
prison sentence.

The laws are typically vague and malleable: another regulation includes
applying a week in advance of holding a public gathering, whilst speeches
or slogans that apparently tarnish the image of the military are also
banned.

The USDP has recently been the subject of numerous accusations of election
irregularities, while competing candidates have claimed that it is
receiving preferential treatment.

The party evolved from the so-called mass organisation, the Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which until it was recently
disbanded had held Senior General Than Shwe as one of its patrons.

The organisation was implicated in the 2003 Depayin massacre, in which
some 70 opposition supporters were killed, and has been employed by the
government to harass and intimidate pro-democracy activists.

____________________________________


August 21, Sydney Morning Herald
Tigers tiptoeing around the generals' might – Jack Davies*

An all-girl band is finding delicate but deliberate ways to embolden young
Burmese women

The four singers are launching into the chorus when the music goes dead.
The power has cut out, as it does a couple of times a day in Burma's
crumbling former capital, taking with it their backing tracks, lights and
air-conditioning. The girls sing on, undeterred by the sweltering heat of
the boxy rehearsal studio or the noisy city outside.

The Spice Girls never had to deal with this - but the Spice Girls never
had to have their song lyrics approved by military censors, either.
Advertisement: Story continues below

The Tiger Girls are Burma's answer to the '90s British girl band. Each
Tiger has been assigned a stage name and persona - so Tricky, Chilli,
Electro, Missy and Baby hope to bring to Burma some of what Posh, Scary,
Sporty, Ginger and Baby foisted upon the world some 15 years ago.

The group's mentor - dance tutor, singing coach, co-songwriter and manager
- is Australian dancer Nicole May, who was teaching in Rangoon orphanages
when she saw ''a gap'' in Burma's music scene: the need for a girl band.

''There is so much natural music flowing through people's veins here, but
the music industry is undeveloped,'' she says. ''Girls have more to sing
about than sad love songs or tough hip-hop tracks.''

A call for auditions brought 100 hopefuls, and five were chosen. As
Burma's first all-girl band, the Tiger Girls are an unknown quantity in a
country ruled by a military junta resistant to outside influence.

At their first gigs last February, audiences were stunned. ''People were
quiet, they did not know what to think, they hadn't seen anything like us
before,'' says Htike Htike - Electro Tiger. ''But by the second day, they
really liked us, they were clapping and calling for more.''

Musically, the Tigers are going their own way. The fashion is to sing
''copy tracks'' - western pop songs rewritten in Burmese. But the Tigers
have a message. They want their fans to be ''confident, to be strong and
bold,'' says Ah Moon - Baby Tiger. ''Girls can do anything that they want.
We have enough energy and ability to do what we want to do.''

Burma's ruling military junta requires all musicians to submit lyrics to
its censorship board before they can be performed or recorded. Anything
even vaguely anti-authoritarian is usually outlawed but the censors are
inconsistent and unpredictable.

The Tigers' lyric ''Is this Yangon (Rangoon) or is this the jungle?'',
judged to be about the constant electricity failures, had to be changed.
They got away with the more positive: ''I see you, you see me, but I'm
gonna dance, because I'm free.''

Their short skirts, risque dance moves and showbiz make-up are political
enough. Burma expects women to be demure and subservient, May says.
''These girls don't need to be overtly political, just being who they are,
five beautiful girls who sing, who dance and who are confident, that's a
big deal in Myanmar [Burma]. And if we were too political, people would be
scared to like us.''

The country holds its first election in two decades on November 7,
although the poll is expected to be rigged to consolidate military rule.
Regardless, a mood for change exists.

''The country is hungry for something new, but whether it is ready for the
Tiger Girls, I don't know,'' says May.

Jack Davies is a Guardian journalist writing under a pseudonym.


____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 20, Shan Herald Agency for News
Wa, Mongla meet Naypyitaw’s negotiators - Hseng Khio Fah

Two of Burma’s ethnic ceasefire groups: United Wa State Army (UWSA) and
National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) better known as Mongla group,
that have refused to transform themselves into Naypyitaw’s border guard
force (BGF) program are scheduled to meet military officials today, local
sources from the Sino-Burma border reported.

On 17 August, Naypyitaw invited UWSA and NDAA to meet its negotiators
Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security (MAS) and Maj-Gen Kyaw
Phyoe, Commander of Golden Triangle Region Command on 20 August. “But the
two have to meet separately,” said an informed source.

Bo Lakham, Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference
The UWSA including its supreme leader Bao Youxiang was asked to meet
Lt-Gen Ye Myint at Tangyan, 83 miles southwest of Shan State North’s
capital Lashio and NDAA is to meet Maj-Gen Kyaw Phyoe at Shan State East’s
capital Kengtung. No reason for the meeting was given to the groups.
In addition, the UWSA was told to arrive at the venue by 10:00 today, but
details for Mongla group is unknown. However, both UWSA and NDAA are
expected to be meeting with the military officials by the time of this
reporting.

“The Wa left Panghsang yesterday. The group has 8 members. Mongla is
leaving this morning,” he said.

Panghsang group was led by Bo La kham, Chairman of the Political
Consultative Conference, a source said. “Bao Youxiang could not attend the
meeting because he is not in Panghsang,” he said. “His chief interpreter U
Aung Myint (aka Li Julieh) is also away.”

The Wa authorities said it did not seem to matter though without their
leader’s participation. On the other hand, the group “will be there only
to listen’ as they have nothing new to inform the military officials; a
source quoted one of the Wa leaders as saying.

Nevertheless, with regards to the meeting, many border watchers commented
that it may at least concern with the upcoming elections because the junta
has announced that both Mongla and Wa areas are recognized as
constituencies despite the two’s announcement that any political parties
are banned from campaigning in their controlled areas.

In early August, Union Election Commission announced that all 55 townships
in Shan State will be constituencies. In addition, the 2008 constitution
designated that Wa, Danu, Palaung, Pa-O and Kokang were granted
Self-Administered Areas/Zones. They are:
* Danu Self-Administered Zone: Pindaya and Ywa-ngan townships
* Kokang Self-Administered Zone: Laogai and Kungjang townships
* Palaung Self-Administered Zone: Namhsan and Mantong townships
* Pa-O Self-Administered Zone: Faikhun (Pekhon), Hopong and Hsihseng
townships
* Wa Self-Administered Region: Hopang, Mongmai, Pangwai, Napharn,
Panghsang and Markmang (Metman) townships


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 19, Washington Post
Judge decries lenient treatment of banks but approves Barclays deal -
Spencer S. Hsu

A federal judge Wednesday denounced the Obama administration's treatment
of major global banks accused of violating U.S. laws, saying the
government lets them off easy by declining criminal prosecution in
exchange for payments of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"The public looks at this and says: 'They get a free ride here. They are
paying for their justice. . . . They don't have to plead guilty,' " said
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District, who nevertheless
approved a $298 million forfeiture by Barclays Bank to settle criminal
charges of violating U.S. financial sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Libya,
Sudan and Burma. "Shareholders pay. The bank doesn't suffer."

In questioning the Barclays deal, Sullivan became the latest federal judge
to criticize the Obama administration for being too lenient with giant
banks. In recent months U.S. District Judges Ellen S. Huvelle of the
District and Jed S. Rakoff of New York have balked at initial plans by the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that Citigroup
and Bank of America misled investors leading up to the 2008 financial
crisis.

Sullivan objected to the use of deferred prosecution agreements to settle
criminal charges against those accused of violating the Trading With the
Enemy Act, which bars transactions with Cuba, and the International
Economic Powers Act, which covers other countries.

Under the agreement, the government will defer prosecution of Barclays for
two years. Charges will be dismissed if the bank meets its obligations,
including training employees.

Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer defended the department's
treatment of Barclays saying, "This serious conduct has now resulted in a
serious sanction -- forfeiture of $298 million, a public admission of its
illegal acts, and the implementation of stringent compliance measures."

Since January 2009, the U.S. government has agreed to settle similar
criminal charges against a unit of Lloyds Bank for $350 million, Credit
Suisse $536 million, and ABN Amro, which was purchased by the Royal Bank
of Scotland, $500 million.

Sullivan called it "shocking" that neither Barclays nor the government
identified any individual guilty of a crime.

Under the agreement Barclays acknowledged stripping identifying
information at the request of banks in sanctioned countries and processing
more than $500 million of their transactions with U.S. entities between
1995 and 2006 that were prohibited by the Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign Assets Control.

Senior officials at Barclays disclosed to OFAC four transactions that
violated the sanctions in May 2006 and reported spending $250 million on a
subsequent investigation of transactions between 2000 and July 2007 and
system improvements.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 20, Xinhua via People’s Daily Online
India, Myanmar focus on transport projects

India is coordinating with Myanmar on some road projects under the two
countries' agreements and the coordination was made between Myanmar's
Construction Ministry and India's project coordinator, IWAI Co, in Nay Pyi
Taw over the last two days.

The meeting focused on construction of the road from Paletwa to Meikwa
planning in Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, maintenance of
Kyekon-Kalewa road section on Kale-Tamu road and upgrading of Reed-Tiddim
road, according to Friday's official report.

Myanmar and India have been cooperating in transport and the upgradation
work of a Myanmar-India border road stretching as Kalewa-Kale-Tamu on the
Myanmar side is targeted to complete by this year.

The 160-kilometer Myanmar-India Friendship Road, built in 1999 by India's
border road task force in cooperation with Myanmar and opened in February
2001, is being upgraded by Myanmar engineers and skilled workers of the
two countries as some sections have been damaged.

The border road, which forms an important link from the India- Myanmar
border to central Myanmar and the commercial and cultural center of
Mandalay, also constitutes part of the Asian highway and plays an
important role for Myanmar in trading with India and member countries of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN).

During the World War-II, the border road extending from India was part of
a highway known as the Burma Road crossing into Myanmar's Tamu from
India's Moreh and from Tamu the road leads to Monywa and Mandalay through
Kalewa and Kale respectively.

In addition, India is helping Myanmar upgrade the country's western port
of Sittway in Rakhine state under a revised system of Build, Transfer, Use
(BTU) instead of that of Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) of a multi-modal
Kaladan river transport project.

During a visit to New Delhi of Vice-Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace
and Development Council Vice Senior-General Maung Aye in April last year,
India and Myanmar signed a framework agreement along with two other
documents on the construction and operation of a 120-million-USD
multi-modal transit and transport facility on the Kaladan River connecting
the Sittway Port in Myanmar with the Indian state of Mizoram.

The framework agreement includes upgrading of Sittway Port of Myanmar,
improvement tasks for running of vessels along the route of Kaladan from
Sittway Port to Sitpyitpyin and construction of roads from Sitpyitpyin to
the border region.

Specifically, the project will cover upgrading of both motor roads and
waterways in those parts in northwestern Chin state to enable Indian cargo
vessels along the Kaladan river in Sittway's eastern bank to berth at
Paletwa where a high-standard port is to be built through which a highway
will also be built to enable access to the border area of Myeikwa in the
state for commodity flow to India's Mizoram state.

Meanwhile, proposed by India, Myanmar is also making feasibility study to
build a deep-sea port in the country's southern coastal Tanintharyi
division to facilitate maritime trade with neighboring countries.

The prospective Dawei deep-sea port project stands one of the priorities
among future programs of the seven-member Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation ( BIMSTEC) which now
comprises Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and
Nepal.

Moreover, Myanmar is also conducting survey to build still another
deep-sea port on the Maday Island in Kyaukphyu, western coastal Rakhine
state, to serve as a transit trade center for goods destined to port
cities of Chittagong, Yangon and Calcutta.

According to official statistics, Myanmar-India bilateral trade reached
1.19 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year of 2009-10, increasing by
26.1 percent from the previous year and standing as Myanmar's fourth
largest trading partner after Thailand, China and Singapore.

Of the total, Myanmar's export to India amounted to 1 billion U. S.
dollars, while its import from India was valued at 194 million dollars,
the Central Statistical Organization said.

Agricultural produces and forestry products led in Myanmar's exports to
India whereas medicines and pharmacutical products topped its imports from
India.

Myanmar has opened two border trade points with India, the first one
opened was Tamu in April 1995, while the second was Reedkhawdhar in
January 2004.

Meanwhile, India's contracted investment in Myanmar reached 189 million
U.S. dollars as of May 2010 since the government opened to foreign
investment in 1988, of which 137 million U.S. dollars were drawn into the
oil and gas sector in September 2007, the statistics show.

____________________________________


August 20, Agence France Presse
E.Timor seeks 'strong' commercial ties with Myanmar

Dili — East Timor's president said Friday his country is seeking to
improve relations with Myanmar, including commercial ties.

"We want to increase our relations," President Jose Ramos-Horta said after
meeting Myanmar's foreign minister during a visit that drew protests over
human rights abuses in military-ruled Myanmar.

"This is in accordance with Timor-Leste policy, which aims to improve
relations with neighbouring countries," Ramos-Horta said, referring to his
country by its official name.

"And in order to improve commercial ties, Timor-Leste Foreign Minister
Zacarias Da Costa will visit Myanmar with a business representative soon.
The aim is to start a strong commercial relationship with Myanmar," he
said.

Ramos-Horta said East Timor had also urged Myanmar's military regime to
open a dialogue with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"Timor-Leste's position, and also that of the international community and
ASEAN, is that if the dialogue occurs, then it should aim to free her to
become a regular citizen," he said.

The visit by Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win was marked by protests,
with clashes breaking out between police and human rights activists
demanding Suu Kyi's release.

Dozens of protesters gathered at Dili airport as Nyan Win arrived Friday
to meet with Ramos-Horta and other senior officials, protest organisers
said.

Scuffles broke out as police seized banners and other written material
condemning human rights abuses in Myanmar, where Nobel laureate and
democracy leader Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for years.

"We are here to bring support to our friends in Burma in their struggle to
release political prisoners and to stop continuous human rights violations
there," rally coordinator Carolino Marques said, using Myanmar's old name.

"Aung San Suu Kyi must be released immediately and the military junta must
be toppled as soon as possible."

A tightly controlled election scheduled in Myanmar on November 7 has been
been condemned by activists and the West as a sham aimed at cementing
decades of military rule.

Suu Kyi, who has spent much of the past 20 years in detention, is barred
as a serving prisoner from standing in the election.

Her National League for Democracy -- which won the last election in 1990
but was not allowed to take power -- it is boycotting the vote.

Nyan Win is expected to leave East Timor on Sunday.

____________________________________

August 21, Mizzima News
Burmese at Thai prawn plant strike against overtime change

Chiang Mai – Burmese migrant workers held a demonstration this morning at
a prawn-processing plant to the south of Bangkok, Thailand over changes in
their overtime-pay arrangements. One of the protesters said Thai police
detained eight strikers.
About 300 migrant workers from Asian Seafood in Maha Chaing, south of
Bangkok, staged the strike at about 10 a.m. Thai authorities reached the
factory in the evening and took eight of them away in a prison van.

“The agreed payment is 205 baht (US$5) for an eight-hour shift. The
overtime payment for each hour over eight hours should be 38 baht,” San
Aye, who has worked at this factory for about 10 years, said.

“But then they [managers] changed this agreement and said that they could
pay by the kilogram instead of the agreed hourly basis. They told us to
take it or leave it so we went on strike,” he said.

The arrested workers were reportedly taken to Tha Chalone police station
and Thai authorities forced them to sign a statement in Thai that the
workers could not understand, Tin Ko Thet, close to the strike, said.

Asian Seafood was deliberating with officials from the Ministry of Labour
and it was unlikely they would change the terms, protester San Aye said.

Near the coast south of Bangkok, the many fish- and shrimp-processing
plants of Maha Chaing employed up to 300,000 migrant workers, National
Coalition Government of Union of Burma migrant workers’ department head
Thet Khaing said.

More than 2.5 million Burmese migrants work in Thailand, whose National
Security Council is now considering giving permanent-resident status to
those who have been working in Thailand for more than 20 years.

____________________________________
ASEAN

August 20, The Jakarta Post
UN Myanmar probe gains RI support - Lilian Budianto

Several local Myanmar watchers, including academics and a House
legislator, have thrown weight behind the US in its push for the UN to
investigate crimes against humanity in the country.

House of Representatives Myanmar caucus head Eva K. Sundari said the
Indonesian government should support the proposal since all other options
have been exhausted to democratize the restive country.

“The US approached Myanmar during a visit by its special envoy, Kurt
Campbell, last year. However, [its] soft approach did not bring much
change and it is high time we change strategy to ensure that Myanmar
carries out democratization,” he said.

The Associated Press reported that Myanmar’s pro-democracy parties praised
the US’ decision to support a UN war crimes commission as a milestone but
cautioned it was too soon for optimism.

“We support and welcome the decision by the United States. However, this
is just the first step and several more steps have to be taken before it
is actually implemented,” said Tin Oo, vice chairman of Aung San Suu Kyi’s
recently disbanded opposition party, the National League for Democracy, as
quoted by the Associated Press.

The US said Wednesday it would support the creation of a UN commission to
look into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Myanmar. There
has been no decision whether the commission mandate would come under the
UN’s Security Council, Human Rights Council or its secretary-general.

A source closely connected to ASEAN issues in Indonesia said the proposed
commission would have the most power if its mandate came from the Security
Council. The source, who declined to be identified, said, however, China
would possibly veto any plan submitted to the Security Council due to its
close economic relations with Myanmar.

“The concern is that ASEAN will have no role in the commission, despite
that we have worked out ways to engage the country democratically,” the
source said.

Jakarta is a strong advocate for democratization in Myanmar, although it
has rejected sanctions and refrained from intervening in Myanmar’s
domestic politics.

“We have been very soft so far. Our so-called constructive engagement has
failed to bear any fruit,” said Eva, adding that she was optimistic
Jakarta would be tougher on Myanmar after assuming ASEAN’s rotating
chairmanship next year.

University of Sanata Dharma history professor Baskara T. Wardaya said a UN
inquiry would pressure Myanmar ahead of elections on Nov. 7, the nation’s
first in two decades.

“We have to support the UN inquiry because we cannot ignore the injustices
and the crimes occurring in Myanmar,” he said.

He said the inquiry should be carried out before the election so that the
junta could not exploit the poll to legitimize a new “elected” government.

“The military may use the election as false legitimation to block any
foreign pressure. It will be more effective if the inquiry can start
before the elections,” he said.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 20, Globe and Mail
Burma poll holds little promise – Ben Doherty

Burma will hold its first elections in two decades on November 7, the
ruling military junta has announced, amid widespread international
expectations that the poll will be neither free nor fair.

New electoral laws exclude iconic democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi by
barring anybody serving a ­custodial sentence.

In protest her National League for Democracy (NDL) is boycotting the
election and urging other groups not to participate, to avoid legitimising
military rule.

The elections will also enact a controversial new Constitution that
guarantees 25% of the seats in Parliament and reserves key ministries for
the military.

The poll presents a massive logistical challenge for the authorities, who
have less than three months to organise an election during Burma's wet
season in a country of more than 50-million people, separated by
mountains, poor roads and resistance armies.

Nearly 40 parties have registered, though 11 are regime or proxy-regime
organisations. Finding support for parties opposed to the ruling junta is
difficult, democracy activists say.

Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein is one of "Burma's princesses", daughters of former
prime ministers who lead the newly formed Democratic Party.

"People 
 don't want to come near us. They say it's safer to stay away
from the politicians because otherwise the government will bully them,"
she said.

Most opposition parties are targeting only a few seats, while the 26
parties representing ethnic minorities will contest only seats where they
have substantial populations. The military will contest every seat.

The international community has grown increasingly frustrated by the
secrecy surrounding Burma's election preparations and the country's
draconian new electoral laws.

"A lack of cooperation at this critical moment represents 
 a lost
opportunity," the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, said this week.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 20, Washington Post
Why a U.N. probe of Burma is a crucial step – Editorial

The evidence against Burma's junta has been piling up for many years.
Thousands upon thousands of girls and women raped as a tactic of war by
the Burmese army; children press-ganged to serve as porters; 3,500
villages burned to the ground in recent years; millions of people forced
from their homes -- these are some of the crimes against humanity
sponsored by the generals who rule their Southeast Asian nation of 50
million people.

Now, by deciding to support a United Nations commission of inquiry into
these misdeeds, the Obama administration has acknowledged the weight of
the evidence and has testified to the urgency of holding criminals
accountable for their crimes. It is a major step forward. The U.N. special
envoy for Burma (also known as Myanmar), Tomas Ojea Quintana, has called
for such an inquiry, citing the "the gross and systematic nature of human
rights violations in Myanmar over a period of many years." In Congress
there is strong bipartisan backing for such an inquiry. Most important,
Burmese human rights activists and dissidents both inside and outside the
country have supported such an inquiry, sometimes at great personal risk.

Backing a U.N. commission does not supplant previous U.S. policy. It's not
a substitute for economic sanctions, which should be extended and targeted
more precisely at the nation's leaders. Nor does it replace the
administration's policy of engagement, which has yet to bear fruit but
need not be discarded. Had Burmese leader Than Shwe responded more
positively to administration outreach, investigation into his crimes would
nonetheless have been appropriate. Conversely, an inquiry need not
discourage the administration from reaching out in a pragmatic way.

What an inquiry can do, however, is signal to the younger officers around
Than Shwe, 77, that their futures may be brighter if they do not hitch
themselves to his policies of mass rape and ethnic cleansing (not to
mention his deepening ties with North Korea). It can provide a ray of hope
and moral support to the unimaginably brave fighters for democracy inside
Burma, who will carry on their struggle with or without such
encouragement. And it can signal to the most offensive dictators around
the world that they cannot escape justice by selling off their nations'
timber and natural gas, or by scheduling (as has Than Shwe) fraudulent
elections aimed at civilianizing their authoritarian regimes.

If its support of a commission of inquiry is to be more than a gesture,
the Obama administration now must engage in hard-headed diplomacy. That
means making clear to China, the European Union, Canada, India, U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and others that justice for Burma is a
priority and not an afterthought. It will take work. But, as President
Obama said when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, "When there is genocide
in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma -- there must
be consequences. . . . And the closer we stand together, the less likely
we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity
in oppression."

____________________________________

August 20, International Relations and Security Network
US Disengages from Burma - Simon Roughneen (Opinion)

When the US lined up as the fifth country to back a Commission of Inquiry
into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma earlier this week, it
did more than just back the surprise March recommendation, Simon Roughneen
comments for ISN Security Watch.

The move marks an about-turn on Washington’s Burma policy, which had, for
a few months at least, been predicated on the hope that the junta would
defy all historic precedent and respond to foreign coaxing.

The first move came from Burma in February 2009, according to US
officials. Afterwards, months were spent in Washington devising a new
policy on Burma, which when announced, did not change that much in
practice, as it retained sanctions. However, the US suggested that these
measures could be relaxed, pending reforms in Burma.

To this end, Barack Obama became the first US president to meet with a
representative of the Burmese government when he sat four seats away from
the junta prime minister in Singapore in November 2009 at the inaugural
US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

However, the overtures were rebuffed or ignored, leaving the Americans
looking somewhat naive as they were strung along by Burma's military
dictator, Senior-General Than Shwe. In what might have been a final straw
for the US, the junta last week announced a 7 November date for the
country's first election in 20 years, but it has ignored appeals to
release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other
political prisoners. The electoral laws were criticized for their
restrictive nature, prompting Suu Kyi to boycott the polls.

The junta front party known as the Union Solidarity and Development Party
(USDP) benefits from state resources, and is thought likely to win easily
- similar to the last elections in 1990 when the military party was deemed
a shoe-in, only to be resoundingly beaten by Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy, a result which the junta promptly ignored.

This time around it is thought that the military leaders will not take
their eye off the ball. The 7 November date comes a week before Suu Kyi's
house arrest is up, meaning that she will be locked up at home when the
election takes place.

Burmese exiles and opposition groups let it be known that they were
skeptical about the US overtures to the junta, which other ASEAN
member-states spun as vindication of their own long-standing but fruitless
'engagement' with the Burmese rulers, which garnered plenty of lucrative
natural resource contracts but little in the way of democratic reform.

The reality is that the US was and is seeking to curb China's growing
influence around Southeast Asia, and that Burma is a minor part of this
bigger issue.

Despite Burma being a source for hundreds of thousands of refugees and
millions of migrant workers - many illegal - fleeing economic stagnation
and repression at home, neighboring countries appear to be happy with the
status quo. Allegations that the Burmese junta is working with North Korea
on a nuclear weapons program and is in breach of UN Security Council
resolutions against Pyongyang doubtless contributed to the US decision to
back the inquiry.

However, despite the security implications for neighbors such as Thailand,
there seems to be little apparent concern in or pressure coming from
Southeast Asian capitals, aside from occasional exasperated-sounding
remarks from the foreign ministries in Jakarta and Manila.

If the war crimes probe goes ahead, it will likely come after a UN General
Assembly resolution later this year. The matter can then be referred to
the UN Security Council, where as things stand, China and Russia would
likely oppose the motion. But if the US is seriously backing the
commission, then the first stop is possibly for a resolution to be
introduced at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where Thailand
currently holds the rotating presidency, in September when that body next
convenes.

The US is likely now to seek broader support for the commission, so far
backed by Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the UK. The first
port of call is likely to be Ottawa, followed by various EU capitals, to
seek a common EU position on the commission of inquiry. The latter may
prove difficult, as European countries differ on their position vis-a-vis
the junta.

Less-tangibly, it is unclear how this latest US move fits in with recent
assertiveness with junta ally China, with Washington forging new links
with countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia to hedge against
the surging economic power of Beijing. Earlier, at the start of his
administration, President Obama pledged an open hand to 'rogue' states and
erstwhile enemies. Whether or not the Burma about-turn presages similar
moves elsewhere remains to be seen.

Simon Roughneen is an ISN Security Watch senior correspondent, currently
in Southeast Asia. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of
the author only, not the International Relations and Security Network
____________________________________

August 19, The Nation (Thailand)
Southeast Asia has its own 'blood stone' tyranny (Editorial)

The world now knows about African 'blood diamonds', but the gem trade is
also propping up the Burmese junta

In the 1990s, the African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Angola and
the Democratic Republic of Congo erupted into civil war. Combatants in
these conflicts raped, murdered and committed all kinds of atrocities
against unarmed civilians, as well as against one another. While these
conflicts had their own root causes, what linked them was the currency the
combatants used to finance their campaigns - diamonds, or more
specifically, blood diamonds.

It is difficult to account for the exact human toll that blood diamonds
have taken in Africa, but the figure runs into millions upon millions. In
the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, the number is around four million.

The issue of blood diamonds, or "conflict diamonds" as some call them, is
once again at the centre of world attention. Deposed Liberian leader
Charles Taylor is on trial at The Hague for his alleged role in financing
the conflict in Sierra Leone through the sales of these diamonds. Taylor
is accused of authorising atrocities that include the conscription of
children to hack the limbs off civilians.

Sad to say, the case probably wouldn't have received this much global
attention if it weren't for British supermodel Naomi Campbell, who is
alleged to have received blood diamonds from Taylor in 1997. She has said
she recalled receiving "little dirty stones" from the former African
leader, but not much more.

In 2003, the Kimberley Process was established by the United Nations to
certify the origin of rough diamonds. The idea was to prevent diamond
sales from financing wars, and to assure consumers they were not
contributing to human rights abuses or the financing of conflicts. But if
we were to use to same logic behind the Kimberley Process, perhaps it is
worth noting that something very similar to the African situation is
happening here in Southeast Asia.

Military-run Burma has vast deposits of gems, particularly rubies. Indeed,
gemstones are the country's third largest earner of foreign exchange after
the state-run petroleum and timber companies, Myanmar Oil and Gas
Enterprise, and the Myanmar Timber Enterprise. The gem industry is
continuing to feed one of the most ruthless military regimes in the world,
often accused of committing crimes against humanity. And increasingly, the
Burmese junta is relying on hard currency from the sale of gems.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for a complete ban
on the purchase of gemstones from Burma, citing more or less the same
reasons as the Kimberley Process did for diamonds seven years ago.

About 90 per cent of the world's rubies come from Burma. In 2003, the US
banned gem imports from Burma. The European Union has imposed a similar
sanction since late 2007. But the embargoes have been hard to enforce and
have barely had any effect, partly because countries like Thailand, China
and India continue to buy up the junta's gems.

These stones are prized for their beauty, but the ugly truth is that they
are helping to fund the suppression of the people of Burma and atrocities
against ethnic minorities.

Like the situation in Africa, conditions at the mining sites in Burma are
said to be deplorable. According to HRW: "Access to the mining tracks is
strictly limited, especially to foreigners, but reports from
non-governmental groups suggest that land confiscation, extortion, forced
labour, child labour, environmental pollution and unsafe working
conditions for miners are rampant." Moreover, the absence of healthcare
and education services has accelerated the spread of HIV/Aids and
drug-resistant malaria and tuberculosis in mining areas.

Thailand is not out of the loop because the gems are often traded through
Bangkok, often smuggled via the porous border between the two countries.
Thailand is also one of the region's main centres for the cutting and
polishing of gemstones, many varieties of which come from Burma.

It's unconscionable for gem-traders to help the junta sell off the
country's natural resources while the ordinary people continue to be
deprived of their basic human rights. It's high time that the world looked
at the gem trade in Burma, as it has done in Africa.