BurmaNet News, August 26, 2010

[Editor]

August 26, 2010 Issue #4028


INSIDE BURMA
Reuters: Myanmar opposition in disarray as polls approach
DVB: UDP blasts ‘stubborn’ election authority
Mizzima: NUP lodges complaint against USDP
Mizzima: Junta threatens Wa army with ‘unlawful association’
Independent (UK): Plantation linked to junta is 'destroying' Burmese tiger
reserve
Irrawaddy: Regime unveils Burma's first national web portal

BUSINESS / TRADE
Reuters: China to build 3 pipelines to deliver Myanmar oil-report
Irrawaddy: Tay Za launches broadband service in Rangoon
National (UAE): Myanmar steps out to woo another Asian giant

REGIONAL
AFP: India 'monitoring' Myanmar after nuclear reports

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Six reasons to welcome US support for war crimes probe – Dr. Zarni
Deccan Herald (India): Nudging Myanmar towards democracy – Seshadri Chari

PRESS RELEASE
National Union of Public and General Employees (Canada): NUPGE presses
Ottawa on Burma rights campaign
Burma Justice Committee: Burmese political leader’s case taken to
International Court
Press Information Bureau (India): Status of Kaladan Project
ASEAN Secretariat: ASEAN SG welcomes news of Myanmar elections




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 26, Reuters
Myanmar opposition in disarray as polls approach – Aung Hla Tun

Yangon – Boycotts, draconian election laws and resignations of opposition
figures have put Myanmar's ruling generals within easy grasp to sweep the
first polls in two decades, just two weeks after setting an election date.

Myanmar's politically marginalised opposition appears in total disarray in
the run up to the much-criticised Nov. 7 polls, experts say, playing into
the hands of a military regime with no intention to give up its 48-year
grip on power.

The leader of the National Democratic Force (NDF) party, Khin Muang Swe,
said late on Thursday he would not run for a parliamentary seat, while
influential Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday called on
members of her now-defunct National League for Democracy (NLD) party to
abstain from voting.

The moves, whether tactical or retaliatory, come as parties grapple with
huge registration fees, strict campaign rules, intimidation by military
agents and barely any time to recruit enough members to contest the
election.

According to rules announced last week, campaign gatherings and
publications will require official approval, criticism of the military is
outlawed and election authorities are empowered to ban acts of "holding
flags and chanting slogans".

"This is just what the regime wants and has planned all along," said Aung
Naing Oo, a Burmese academic based in neighbouring Thailand.

"(Junta leader) Than Shwe's only political strategy is divide and rule and
a weakened opposition is just what he needs."

Most analysts and opposition parties say the military has formed its own
proxy party that is sure to win most seats in a parliament packed with
army appointees, because of its big budget and sheer size and span of its
representation.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is comprised of
incumbent army-picked ministers recently retired from the military and
critics say it enjoys the backing of the powerful business elite.

OPPOSITION AT ODDS

Even if unpopular with mainstream Myanmar people, who voted overwhelmingly
in favour of Suu Kyi's NLD in the annulled 1990 poll, an overall USDP
victory appears almost guaranteed against an under-funded opposition
unable to campaign freely or come up with enough money to field candidates
in all constituencies.

Moreover, analysts say, the opposition appears to be struggling to forge a
common stance unlike the last polls.

The Union Democratic Party (UDP) last week said it would boycott the
election if it believed it would not be free and fair. Its leader, Phyo
Min Thein, seen as one of the biggest hopes for democracy, quit on Aug 15
and said fair polls were impossible.

Thu Wai, chairman of Democratic Party (Myanmar) and a former political
prisoner, disagrees and says a boycott would play into the hands of the
military junta and give it legitimacy.

Election laws were so tight, he added, the junta-backed USDP did not need
to cheat to win.

"These parties are divided over what's the lesser evil," said Christopher
Roberts, a Myanmar expert at the University of Canberra.

"Do they enter a less-than-perfect process that's better than nothing or
take a principled stance and boycott to push for a better model of
democracy? Either way, it doesn't look like the generals and their proxies
will face much of a challenge."

(Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Jason Szep)
____________________________________

August 26, Democratic Voice of Burma
UDP blasts ‘stubborn’ election authority – Ahunt Phone Myat

Burma’s supreme election body is unyielding and does not care about the
people, the chairman of the Union Democratic Party (UDP) has said.

The comments came in response to apparent intransigence by the Election
Commission (EC), which has refused to bow to requests by UDP leaders to
ease repressive election laws and create dialogue with the opposition by
25 August, six weeks prior to the 7 November election date.

“They have never responded to any of our demands. Our responsibility is to
keep the people informed – we will do whatever is necessary to the extent
that is possible,” UDP chairman Thein Htay said.

He added that myriad controls were being implemented by the
government-appointed commission at a time when the “political system
needs
to be changed”.

The UDP, one of the more prominent parties featuring in Burma’s first
elections in 20 years, belongs to the so-called ‘third force’ in Burmese
politics, outwardly allied to neither the opposition nor incumbent.

Thein Htay said that due to frustration at the election laws, which ban
former prisoners from running and which severely curtail parties’ ability
to campaign effectively, the UDP had decided to field only three
candidates, one in Bago division and two in Rangoon division.

Included in the raft of election campaigning laws is a ban on the chanting
of slogans and waving of flags during processions, as well as a
requirement that parties give at least a week’s notice before holding any
public gathering.

Earlier this month UDP leader Phyo Min Thein quit his post, also in
protest at lack of election law reform. He had sent a letter to party
colleagues announcing his resignation and lamenting the fact that
increasingly repressive election laws were being rolled out by the Burmese
government.

The UDP was founded earlier this year and quickly became one of the more
vocal parties. Out of the 49 parties that have registered for elections,
41 have so far been approved by the Election Commission.

____________________________________

August 26, Mizzima News
NUP lodges complaint against USDP – Phanida

Chiang Mai – Allegations of violations of electoral laws continue to be
leveled against the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), with
the National Union Party (NUP) the latest to cry foul.

The dispute arose in regard to campaign tactics in Pegu, where USDP
members chanted slogans such as, ‘USDP will win’, prompting the NUP to
file a complaint with the Pegu District Election Commission that electoral
laws had been violated.

Some believe the USDP and NUP are working in alliance toward the November
polling date.

“The Township Election Commission must tell them not to act like that and
that they should act in accordance with the law. We shall inform them
today. Taking action or not depends on them only. We won’t say the USDP
violated the electoral law. This must be said by Election Commission,” NUP
Pegu Division Secretary Hla Myint told Mizzima.

In an announcement issued by Union Election Commission (UEC) dated 21st
June, political parties are forbidden from chanting slogans, marching in
procession and making noises and disturbances at religious buildings.

“They chanted slogans of ‘Vote for USDP’, ‘USDP will win’ and ‘We shall
win, We shall win’,” according to Pegu residents.

“We will point out the violation of law by any party. The remaining part
is to be done by the authority concerned. If they do not take action, we
will note down it,” Hla Myint added.

The Pegu Election Commission was not available for comment when contacted
by Mizzima.

The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), established by General Ne Win,
was converted into the NUP in 1988 and contested the 1990 multi-party
general election, winning ten seats. It is the third largest party in the
2010 election.

The USDP is led by Prime Minister Thein Sein and is widely understood to
be the proxy party of the current military government. Under their plans,
ten Lieutenant Generals will resign from their military posts this coming
Friday, a Defence Ministry source told Mizzima.

In its policy statement, the USDP says it will build an efficient and
strong military comprising over 400,000 troops.

Currently confirmed USDP candidates and their constituencies:
____________________________________

August 26, Mizzima
Junta threatens Wa army with ‘unlawful association’ – Ko Wild

Chiang Mai – The Burmese junta’s chief negotiator with armed ceasefire
groups has threatened the Wa army with unlawful association charges and
military force, a Wa leader says.

wa-controll-area-shanLieutenant General Ye Myint, the head of Military
Affairs Security (MAS), the junta’s military intelligence wing, said the
United Wa State Army (UWSA) would be declared in breach of laws governing
unlawful association and that the State Peace and Development Council (the
junta) would deploy its army units to effect those charges against them
next month.

His comments came during a meeting with UWSA representative and political
consultative committee chairman Lai Kham at Tanyan in northern Shan State
last Friday. He was there to coax the group into the SPDC’s Border Guard
Force (BGF), which would bring the Wa troops under junta commanders.

Naypyidaw appeared angry with the Wa over its refusal to accept the BGF
“offer” and also said it would deploy administrative units to the
Wa-controlled areas on the eastern bank of the Salween River in Pansang,
Mengmao, Panwai and Naphan townships, a Wa leader present at the talks
said.

The 20,000-strong Wa army did not seem to take the association threat
seriously as Ye Myint had made given such ultimatums before, but a Wa
leader said that his army would refrain from making the first move against
junta troops.

“The Wa stand only for negotiations. [Whether we] fight or not depends
only on them [the SPDC], but all of us must defend our territory, our
compounds and our homes if they are attacked. We can say that the
situation is tense”, the Wa leader told Mizzima.
The Wa decided to allow polling for the elections on November 7 only in
two of the six townships designated as their “Wa Self-Administered
Division”, outlined in the 2008 constitution. The permitted townships are
Hopang and Metman (Mawpha). The organisation banned polling in Mengmao,
Panwai, Naphang and Pansang.

Hopang and Metman are controlled by junta troops and the other four are
controlled by Wa troops. In a notification issued by the Union Election
Commission on August 11, the four townships are mentioned as Pyithu
Hluttaw (Lower House) constituencies and Hopan and Metman are mentioned as
State Assembly constituencies.

The area under dispute is Mai Pauk District, which contains Mengphang,
Mantmein, Mai Pauk, Hotaung, Monyin townships. The Wa army claimed it as
its territory but the junta refused to recognise the Wa claim. Monyin is
reportedly designated a no-man’s-land.
“Now they [the junta] say they’ll hold elections but there are no
[voter-]education campaigns 
 The people don’t even know what an election
is. Not only in Wa State, the entire population [of Burma] cried out that
the 2008 constitutional referendum was a farce 
 Most of the people did
not know about it. There weren’t even any interpreters for that
referendum”, a Wa villager said.

After meeting the Wa delegation, Ye Myint on the same day met delegates
from the Eastern Shan State Special Region No. 4, or the Mengla
organisation, led by San Leun, at the Triangle Command headquarters based
in Kengtung. He urged them also to bring its troops into the
junta-controlled BGF, a Mengla source said.

The Mengla group again rejected the junta’s BGF offer, and polling in its
territory, the source said.

Mengla Township was designated a State Assembly constituency by the Union
Election Commission.

____________________________________

August 26, Independent (UK)
Plantation linked to junta is 'destroying' Burmese tiger reserve – Peter
Popham

The world's largest tiger reserve, in the wilds of northern Burma, is
being rapidly eroded as a businessman with links to the junta replaces
trees with cash crops, according to a report published yesterday.

The Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve in Kachin State was created in 2001 with
the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society. When it was expanded in
2004, the society hailed it as "the biggest tiger reserve in the world".

"In the northernmost stretches of Myanmar [Burma]," the society's latest
newsletter reported earlier this month, "a valley exists where tigers can
just be tigers. Country officials have declared the entire Hukaung Valley
a protected tiger area. With 8,452 square miles in which to roam, hunt and
hopefully breed, the region's remaining tigers have a chance too few of
their kind currently enjoy".

But according to a report by the Kachin Development Networking Group,
there has been wholesale destruction of large areas of forest for
mono-crop development. Yuzana, a company owned by U Htay Myint, a wealthy
businessman close to Burma's ruling generals, has taken over 200,000 acres
in the south of the reserve. The Yuzana Integrated Agricultural Project
began in 2007 with the junta's blessing.

The company is building a "green zone" enclave, within the project area,
containing workers' barracks, a factory and a supermarket and surrounded
by two metre-high concrete wall. Clashes have broken out between the
company and villagers within the project area, and more than 160 families
have been forced to move, the report said. It said with the villagers out
of the way, the forest greenery was killed off with herbicide. Then
Yuzana's bulldozers and excavators dug out and hauled away the debris,
leaving large swathes of flattened and denuded land.

Only the tiger reserve's signposts remained in the cleared areas. "When
there are many forests, it is a hot-spot for biodiversity," reads one of
the signs. Another sign said: "Mountains and forests are deep; the animals
have a good home and food."

The machines then carved deep irrigation canals between the eviscerated
blocks of land, allegedly bisecting all but one of the tiger corridors
running through the park which are meant to allow tigers and other wild
animals to roam and hunt. The threat to the reserve has not gone
unnoticed.

In 2007 BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation
organisations, reported on Yuzana's incursions. In March 2008 the
organisation said that a strip of forest up to 1.5mile-wide that ran for
50 miles had been almost completely felled and re-planted with sugar cane
and jatropha biofuel plantations. The authors of the new report say that
"as of February 2010 [we] were unable to see any remaining forests in
animal corridor areas [within the agricultural zone]. Only the signboards
of the forest department and the Wildlife Conservation Society were left
standing."

Ah Nan, spokesperson for KDNG, said: "The destruction in Hukaung makes a
mockery of the tiger reserve. Yuzana is doing whatever it likes with the
aid of the generals and the silence of the conservationists."

In plans to be submitted to next month's Global Tiger Summit in St
Petersburg, Burma's military regime boasts that it will double the
country's tiger population by 2022. But last October WCS said that there
were fewer than 100 tigers left in the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve, a
decline from the previous figure of 150.

WCS was not available for comment.
____________________________________

August 26, Irrawaddy
Regime unveils Burma's first national web portal – Htet Aung

The Burmese regime plans to launch the country's first ever national web
portal in September, two months ahead of the election, according to
sources close to Yatanarpon Teleport Co. Ltd. (YTP), based in the new
Yatanarpon Cyber City in Pyin Oo Lwin Township.

The national web portal called “Yatanarpon News” with the address
www.yatanarpon.com.mm, used only the Burmese language but will now have a
Beta version in which search engines can be employed in English as well.

The sources said the regime built the web portal with three goals: To
provide a modern, comprehensive online service for Burmese citizens at
home and abroad, to publicize and make products of the business sector
quickly available; and to become a national-level data bank to store
knowledge and information from various fields.

“Currently, 14 content providers worldwide have offered to cooperate with
the YTP,” a YTP official involved in the project told The Irrawaddy, on
condition of anonymity. “But I have no authority to expose who they are.”

A sample Yatanarpon News home page obtained by The Irrawaddy indicates its
main features are news, sports, entertainment, technology, economics, life
style and politics.

The web portal will also allow users to open free e-mail and messenger
services, like Yahoo Mail and Messenger. It will also include a social
network in which users can open their own blogs and forums. Other services
will include online shopping and banking.

In Burma, e-mail accounts of  citizens are often intercepted by the regime
in an attempt to trace dissidents and political activists.

Asked how the Yatanarpon Mail and Messenger will try to win users'
confidence on the sensitive issue of e-mail security, the YTP official
said: “Until now, a person responsible for that [e-mail security] has not
been appointed nor are we trained on this matter. Also, we haven't yet
decided whether the size of the e-mail should be 1 GB or 512 MB.”

However, a Burmese web master in exile said that, given the nature of the
web portal backed by the regime, the intention could be to create its own
intranet network, rather than the internet, in which it would try to
attract people to use its network services, reducing reliance on outside
services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, MSN and many free blogs and forums.

The web master said: “because of the government's support, the web portal
can become the biggest in Burma, but whether it can take over a very
popular Burmese web site called www.planet.com.mm  remains to be seen.”

The Yatanarpon News will be launched while the regime blocks access to
several other world news web sites. Observers say the possibility that the
regime can reopen banned web sites after the launch of its own national
web portal remains remote.

Asked about the credibility of the site in this situation, the YTP
official said: “We are trying to tell our superiors not to open our web
site alone while blocking other web sites. The main intention to build
this web portal is to reduce these matters—the internet speed, for
example.”

The official confirmed that Yatanarpon News planned to reach agreements
with world news agencies, such as AP, AFP and ABC, to upload international
news on its web site. At the outset, however, there would be no such
agreements, he said.

This week, Yatanarpon Teleport introduced Yatanarpon News Web Portal and
its services to the public at a four-day exhibition titled “Lifestyle &
Car Expo 2010,” in Rangoon's Tatmadaw [Military] Hall.

The National Web Portal is currently controlled by the Ministry of
Communications, Posts and Telegraphs (MPT), which owns 40 percent of all
Yatanarpon City projects. The other 60 percent is privately owned.

One of the key private investors in Yatanarpon City is E-lite Tech, which
is owned by Tay Za, one of Burma's wealthiest business tycoons who is
close to  junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his family.

Yatanarpon Teleport has recruited many local young IT software and
hardware technicians who graduated from various Burmese computer and
technology colleges. They are now working in seven buildings of the
teleport, namely “Incubation Centers” or “IC.”

According to some sources, Yatanarpon Teleport developed its hardware and
software infrastructure with the help of a Malaysian teleology company.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 26, Reuters
China to build 3 pipelines to deliver Myanmar oil-report

Beijing – China is planning three oil product pipelines in the
southwestern border province of Yunnan as it prepares to receive crude oil
from its neighbour, Myanmar, local reports said on Thursday.

The Yunnan Information Daily said the local branch company of the China
National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) had already drawn up environmental
impact assessments for a network of three product oil pipelines connecting
the provincial capital, Kunming, with the cities of Anning, Quqing,
Chuxiong, Dali, Yuxi and Baoshan.

Citing a local company official, the report said construction of the
pipelines was likely to begin next year and be completed within three
years.

CNPC, the parent of PetroChina (0857.HK)(601857.SS)(PTR.N), is also
building a 200,000 bpd refinery in the city of Anning that is designed to
process crude delivered via Myanmar. It will be completed within three
years.

It is also building 16 oil storage facilities throughout Yunnan, the
report said.

CNPC began building a crude oil port on Maday island on Myanmar's western
coast in November 2009. It launched the construction of a crude oil
pipeline connecting the port with the Chinese border town of Ruili in June
this year.

The pipeline, scheduled to be completed in 2012, is designed to carry 12
million tonnes of crude oil a year into China.

The project is part of China's efforts to diversify its sources of supply
as well as to bypass the congested Malacca Strait, a vulnerable chokepoint
between Malaysia and Indonesia through which about 80 percent of China's
imports now pass.

Another pipeline delivering 12 billion cubic metres of natural gas will
also be built.

For a factbox on the China-Myanmar pipelines, click [ID:nTOE60S06Z]

(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Ken Wills)

____________________________________

August 26, Irrawaddy
Tay Za launches broadband service in Rangoon

Rangoon — Burmese businessman Tay Za's E-Lite company has been granted a
license for an optical fiber broadband network service, called FTTx, which
will offer high speed access to Internet, television and telephone
communication, according to the company staff.

While Tay Za's company has reportedly been granted access to sell FTTx
services in Rangoon with  the special permission of Thein Zaw, the
Minister of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, the broadband concession
in Mandalay has been obtained by Red Link and Fortune International
companies.

“We are working to launch the FTTx service in Rangoon. The public can
access it soon,” said an E-Lite company staff member.

He said those who apply for the broadband service will have access to
high-speed Internet, multiple television channels—movies, sports, music,
news—and telephonic services through a telephone line connection.

“TV channels will include both free and paid ones. The Internet speed is
30 Mbps, so it will be much faster that the current limit. As for the
telephone, it is clear and similar to a land line worth about two millions
kyat (US $2,051),” said a staff member.

E-Lite has yet to announce the cost of the broadband service.

The Voice Weekly journal reported on Saturday that the Red Link and
Fortune International companies will charge a 900,000 kyat ($923)
installation fee and 30,000 to 100,000 kyat monthly, depending on the
choice of services.

Red Link and Fortune International companies reportedly expect to sell
6,000 broadband connections in Mandalay.

The FTTx service was introduced in an IT and car exhibition held in
Rangoon on Saturday through Monday. A total of 40 IT and car companies
joined the exhibition.

A Rangoon-based IT technician said online services in Burma are much less
developed compare to neighboring countries. The military regime's frequent
attempt to cut off Internet connections under the  pretext of political
instability is one of the reasons that hinders the development of online
services in the country, he said.

“Whoever does  it, I welcome the improvement of online services in Burma.
The more competition companies have, the cheaper service fees we will pay.
I want the online services to reach a level with  fees that everyone can
access,” said the technician.

Apart from the FTTx service, E-Lite company has been cooperating with the
Myanma Posts and Telecommunications in offering IT-related products,
producing and selling mobile phones, and selling CDMA (Code Division
Multiple Access) phones for 500,000 kyat ($512) with pre-paid cards.

Tay Za is well known for his business ties with the regime which has
provided him with opportunities in the areas of banking, airlines and
other key enterprises. He is listed on the US and Western sanctions
because of his involvement with the military junta.

____________________________________

August 26, The National (United Arab Emirates)
Myanmar steps out to woo another Asian giant

A packed train leaves Myanmar’s Taungbyone station. The isolated country
could enjoy easy connectivity to India.

Until 1937, Britain ruled Myanmar as part of British India and some of the
richest merchants in Myanmar were Indians. That was then. Now Myanmar is
independent and isolated, and the rich Indian merchants are no more,
although nearly a million people of Indian origin still live in Myanmar.

The economic relations between the Myanmar and India are now starting to
improve again, but from a different base and for different reasons. The
weak link in India’s “Look East” policy always has been the lack of
physical infrastructure linking India with its South East Asian
neighbours. Of all the South East Asian countries only Myanmar shares a
land border with India, but unfortunately Myanmar is also one of the
poorest countries in the region, and it suffers from appalling
infrastructure.

But with economic and business relations between Myanmar and India
improving and both countries engaging in the development of ports, roads
and railways connecting the two countries, Myanmar may soon be able to
resume its historical role as the “bridge” between India and South East
Asia.

General Than Shwe, Myanmar’s head of state, recently made his second visit
to India in six years. A number of trade and loan agreements were signed
which, when developed in a few years, have the potential to dramatically
increase the flow of trade and investment between the two countries, which
now amount to about a US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) a year.

Aung San Suu Kyi, perhaps the world’s most famous political prisoner, is
still in custody in Myanmar and she has many supporters in India where she
did part of her studies. But the Indian government policy now is to
improve the state-to-state relations regardless of what the domestic
political situation in Myanmar might be.

Elections are scheduled in Myanmar later this year and, depending on how
fairly they are conducted, may well mark a turning point in its relations
with the rest of the world. Right now the US and EU have imposed economic
sanctions and this makes business and investment in Myanmar, especially in
sectors such as gas and petroleum, difficult for foreign investors.

More than trade is at stake for India as it improves its relations with
Myanmar. A look at the map of India will show that north-eastern states
such as Assam and Mizoram are connected only by a thin strip of land to
mainland India and suffer from poor connectivity to the rest of the
country. In fact, the nearest ports are in Myanmar.

Isolated by the US and EU, Myanmar has developed good trade, political and
investment relations with China. However, it is notoriously sensitive
about retaining its sovereignty and independence and seems to be getting
worried about being too reliant on China. That is another factor
motivating Myanmar to develop better relations with its other giant
neighbour – India.

Bangladesh, which sits between India and its north-eastern states, has
until recently refused transit rights to Indian road and rail transport.
But Bangladesh has also now agreed to transit rights with India. This,
together with the opening up of Indian diplomatic relations with Myanmar,
has the potential to transform the economic development of the poorer
north east of India. India’s north-eastern states have fertile soils and
receive good rainfall – in fact the place with the most rainfall in the
world, Cherrapunji, is situated there – but have remained economically
undeveloped because of lack of access to developed markets and even
mainland India.

Myanmar is also reported to have one of the world’s biggest gas reserves,
which are estimated to be more than 90 trillion cubic feet. Energy-hungry
India is interested in that. The Indian government-owned Oil and Natural
Gas Commission and the Gas Authority of India hold a 30 per cent stake in
the exploration and production of gas in Myanmar’s offshore blocks,
located in the Sittwe area of Arakan state.

business at thenational.ae

____________________________________
REGIONAL

August 26, Agence France Presse
India 'monitoring' Myanmar after nuclear reports

New Delhi – India is keeping an eye on neighbouring Myanmar after recent
reports about an alleged nuclear weapons programme in the military-run
country, Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said Thursday.

"The government is trying to gather information about such peripheral
activities. We monitor such activities closely as we are concerned about
security of the country (India)," he told the upper house of parliament.

Recent media reports and a documentary by the Norwegian-based news group
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) have alleged that Myanmar is attempting to
build an atomic bomb with North Korean help.

Myanmar's ruling junta has dismissed the reports as baseless.

"If a country like Myanmar with which India has bilateral relations,
asserts a denial, then India will have to believe," Krishna added.

Myanmar, which has been ruled with an iron fist for nearly 50 years, has
promised to hold first elections since 1990 later this year.

Myanmar's military ruler Than Shwe visited India in July to strengthen
bilateral ties and trade relations between the countries.

India began engaging the junta in the mid-1990s as security, energy and
strategic priorities came to the fore.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 26, Irrawaddy
Six reasons to welcome US support for war crimes probe – Dr. Zarni

On 24 Aug, the United States officially confirmed that it is "exploring
how best to proceed" on the initiative to push for "a properly structured
international commission of inquiry that would examine allegations of
serious violations of international law in Burma".

My old college mate from Mandalay University would not welcome this move. 
In the 1980s, he confessed to me that he had raped a young Shan village
woman at gun point as she was preparing to bathe in the Salween river.  He
was at that time a young private on patrol in Eastern Shan State.

In a matter-of-fact manner, he told me he was encouraged to rape the woman
by his immediate superior, a battle-seasoned sergeant in his company who,
I presume, had himself committed such crimes in ethnic minority
territories where he had served.

Only rapists encourage and condone other rapists.

My former friend later deserted the Tatmadaw or Burma’s armed forces. He
would have been court-martialed and punished not for the rape but for
desertion, if it weren’t for the fact that his uncle was one of Ne Win’s
top deputies.

The Obama Administration’s bold move now to help bring rapists and others
guilty of severe human rights abuses to justice has been widely hailed by
leading dissidents from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy
to political exiles.

The news is also highly welcome among the bulk of the Burmese population,
who seethe with anger and hatred of a military regime that—in the words of
long-time political prisoner Win Tin, a veteran leader of the NLD—has
created a “hell on earth” in Burma.

In fact, hardly ever has a Burmese government policy decision been greeted
with such widespread approval by the targeted beneficiaries.
Contrastingly, prolonged economic sanctions and the US engagement policy
have not enjoyed universal appeal among the Burmese. Here, even people
with shared visions and normative ideas differ while moralizing their own
policy preferences and antagonizing those who disagree.

The opposition and the public in Burma are fully aware of the apparent
hypocrisy inherent in Washington’s decision to make the Burmese military
junta answerable to the international system of justice, a system which
the United States itself has not agreed to abide by or observe.

Living amongst predatory Asian neighbors, Burmese peoples know the world
however, doesn’t exist in a state of moral purity.  Pragmatism must
include coming to terms with the flawed international relations and trying
to make the best of a difficult situation.

Furthermore, the Burmese public and the opposition have solid reasons to
overlook US double standards and welcome Washington’s decision to inject
the idea of justice into its Burma policy, a move which the silent
majority in Burma view as long-overdue.

There will, of course, be a category of Burmese who oppose the US decision
to move its Burma policy towards a prosecutorial path—those who committed
war crimes and the leaders who tacitly condone them.

I know my former college friend’s unsettled feeling would have been shared
by my late uncle, then a young infantry officer, whose liberal use of
torture during interrogation killed an ethnic minority rebel captured
during a military operation which he led.

It is only human that these men—a former friend and a close relative—who
had horribly wronged their fellow country-people while on active duty
would find even the abstract idea unpalatable, not to mention being scared
of the reality of being held accountable for their violations of the
Geneva conventions.

When armed men find themselves in the service of a military leadership
that more or less encourages all manner of abuses against those deemed
“destructive elements”, “enemies of the State” or “insurgents” (and, by
extension, their communities) all hell breaks loose.  And that is what has
been going on in our country since the start of military rule in 1962.  A
move towards ending these war crimes must be made. It must start
somewhere.

The military’s top leadership not only condones these heinous crimes
against humanity but in many crucial instances they issue direct orders. 
Ex-Major Aung Lynn Htut, former acting Chief of Mission to the US,
disclosed that Than Shwe had direct involvement in the massacre of about
80 villagers on Christie Island off the southern coast of Burma, including
children and women, as well as Thai fishermen who strayed into Burma’s
territorial waters (“Than Shwe 'ordered troops to execute villagers,” The
Times, 7 June 2008 at
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4083370.ece  ).

Some of the field commanders immediately responsible for the massacre— Col
Thein Zaw, for instance—have since been rewarded with ministerial and
other influential posts (for instance, Minister for Electric Power I and
Joint General Secretary of the junta’s Union Solidarity and Development
Party, the USDP).

A regime contact once told me that the senior military leadership actively
shields military officers whose names appear in the opposition media as
“human rights abusers.”

The impunity offered by the highest level of authorities and their
issuance of direct verbal orders have created an institutional culture
within the Tatmadaw where both the officer corps and the rank and file
feel they can do no wrong; they justify crimes against humanity in
operational terms.

More than enough ink has been spilled on the subject of the junta’s war
crimes and crimes against humanity, alleged or real.  Over the past 10
years, numerous instances of killings, torture, rape and pillage have been
exposed by a wide range of sources, including UN Human Rights Special
Rapporteurs on Burma, who have no ax to grind against the Burmese
generals, a Harvard Law School’s objective report entitled “Crimes in
Burma”
(http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/hrp/documents/Crimes-in-Burma.pdf),
ethnic women's organizations (for instance, the Shan Women Action Network
and the Karen Women Organization), human rights documentation units of the
Burmese opposition and countless Burmese Army defectors.

Curiously, some Burma experts and western diplomats, particularly in
Rangoon, have questioned the timing of Washington’s war crimes move.   In
a recent editorial (The Washington Post, 21 Aug), misleadingly entitled
“Is Burma on the verge of transformation?”  
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/20/AR2010082005021.html),
Prof David Steinberg of Georgetown University described the US decision
merely as a public expression of “moral outrage.”

Critics of the US Administration's move obviously prefer that the US waits
until after the Nov. 7 election to decide whether to support a UN war
crimes inquiry.  They argue that the move is likely to unite the Tatmadaw
officer corps behind the junta senior leadership.

While these criticisms are valid on the surface, the positive aspects of
the US expression of moral outrage at the Burmese regime’s intransigence,
human rights atrocities and unfolding political repression far outweigh
the negative ones. At least six positive effects can be counted.

First, the US approach re-injects into Burma policy discourses both a
much-needed idea of a local justice and a long-overdue sense of
responsibility on the part the United Nations system.

Second, it has most certainly boosted the morale of the Burmese
dissidents, both inside the country and in exile, who have become
concerned that Washington, their greatest supporter since the 1988 popular
uprisings, might sell the Burmese opposition down the river, precisely in
the crucial hour of their need for solidarity, in the name of political
pragmatism against a background of deepening Chinese involvement in Burma.

For the oppressed and the downtrodden of Burma, moral and psychological
components of a policy are no less important than rational and strategic
calculations.  Historically and contemporaneously, it is the non-rational
elements — desire for justice and accountability and outrage against
exploitation and governmental crimes — that drive and sustain social
movements, from abolitionist movements to violent struggles against
imperialisms, from anti-dictatorship movements to the anti-apartheid
struggle.

One reason why rational minds keep getting the Burma question wrong is
that they falsely believe in the a-historical separation of moral from
strategic, emotional from rational.  Artificial separation between brain
and heart is social science’s cardinal intellectual fallacy.

Third, the US insistence that its war crime inquiry push is consistent
with its policy of strategic engagement may be read as a clear signal that
Washington has come to terms with the futility of engagement with the
regime’s current senior leadership.

Those who care to look will notice that Naypyidaw, or “the Abode of 
Kings”, has become Than Shwe’s royal graveyard for all international
“engagers” – from UN chief Ban Ki-moon and his former special envoy on
Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, to Prof Joseph Stiglitz and US Senator Jim Webb.

Similarly, the characterization of Washington’s pro- UN inquiry decision
as still a part of its new engagement policy on Burma can be viewed as a
US commitment to remain engaged with the country’s non-state entities such
as local organizations and communities, as well as the opposition groups,
including the National League for Democracy and ethnic resistance
organizations.

No government or local or external actor can claim to support genuine
democratic change while disengaging from dissidents at best and quietly
undermining them at worst.

It is, however, dissidents—monks, civilians, student activists, labor
activists, ex-army men, ethnic resistance fighters and so on—who have
risked life and limb to keep their uphill battle for real change going
against all odds and pressurize the paranoid regime by their mere
existence and their refusal to capitulate.

If dissidents didn’t matter why would the regime keep several thousands of
these citizens locked up and push thousands more into permanent exile?

Building the capacity of Burma's so-called civil society and the presence
of humanitarian INGOs are valuable and to be welcomed, but neither is a
substitute for a political struggle.

Lest we forget, it is the Burmese opposition from Suu Kyi down, not the
regime proxies who masquerade themselves as “democracy strategists” or
“generals’ gurus,” which sowed the seeds of empowerment initiatives  long
before ‘capacity building’ came in vogue with “donor” agencies. Many
dissidents continue with their various in-country-under-the-radar and
cross-border programs that successfully build the capacity of local
communities.

Fourth, Washington’s new policy move will serve as a powerful deterrent
against the sadistic social-psychological tendencies within the Tatmadaw.
The possibility, however distant, of being held internationally
accountable for local acts of rape, slaughter, torture and pillage is
bound to have impact on the troops. Burmese language radio broadcasts from
abroad amplify important policy moves internationally, and their programs
are widely listened to, even within the Burmese army rank and file.

Fifth, whether or not the US decision to support an investigation of the
junta’s war crimes will propel the Burmese officer corps to rally behind
the senior military leadership largely depends on how the message is
articulated.

My in-depth interviews with defecting military officers from the Tatmadaw,
as well as my first-hand engagement with regime officials, have afforded
me a glimpse of the reality on the ground- today’s officer corps, by and
large, share widespread discontent, unhappiness and profound disrespect
toward the regime leadership.  For they too are aware of how morally
bankrupt and economically corrupt their top leadership is while the rank
and file members struggle to feed their army families.

Many of the officers, including even those who have held powerful
positions themselves, deeply resent the fact that the top leadership
demands from them nothing less than “total obedience,” an order that they
consider feudal and anachronistic. These officers keep their heads down
and continue to execute orders simply out of “fear of the nearest sword.”

The more concrete the international support for real change is in Burma,
the more likely the officer corps is to switch allegiance from their
reviled leadership to the oppressed masses. This likelihood will increase
when the officer corps is made aware that a war crimes inquiry on Burma is
meant and designed to hold the top leadership accountable, not
subordinates following orders from above.

Sixth, the possibility of a war crimes inquiry, both as an expression of
moral outrage and of a strategic initiative, has already strengthened the
voices of the NLD and other opposition groups that campaign against the
sham election.  Suu Kyi and the popular opposition have called for a
categorical rejection of the “generals’ election,” which they say will not
only be “unfree, unfair and non-inclusive”, but more importantly will
constitutionalize the existing military rule.

Holding the command-issuing leadership accountable for their war crimes
and crimes against humanity is a mark of genuine progressive change in
Burma.  In a one-man dictatorship, this is manageable.  But as for
thousands of Tatmadaw men (such as my former college friend, my late
torturer relative and the likes of them), a nationwide grassroots
movement, as opposed to a donor-driven project, toward truth-telling and
reconciliation, whereby people come to terms with their own past, as both
victims and oppressors, is long overdue.

Such a movement towards reconciliation among Burma’s communities is as
crucial as a UN-led credible commission on alleged war crimes and crimes
against humanity. For no self-respecting and healthy society can progress
without some institutionalized idea of justice and reconciliation.

Washington’s latest move to lead a push for a UN inquiry on war crimes in
Than Shwe’s Burma will contribute to the strengthening of Burmese civil
society.  The version of civil society that is conducive to genuine
democratization and citizen empowerment is sensitive to issues of justice
and reconciliation, unlike the emergent version which has been primed for
commercialization and privatization by regime cronies, external western
business and ‘non-profit’ interests and bogus civil society actors in
Burma.
Dr Zarni is a columnist for The Irrawaddy and a research fellow on Burma
at LSE Global Governance.  He can be reached at m.zarni at lse.ac.uk

____________________________________

August 26, Deccan Herald (India)
Nudging Myanmar towards democracy – Seshadri Chari

The military junta has entered into ceasefire agreements with 17 ethnic
rebel groups.

Myanmar’s forthcoming election, the fifth step of the so-called roadmap to
democracy introduced in 2003, has of late generated much cautious
optimism. The elections are likely to throw up a ‘disciplined democracy.’
Shorn of rhetoric, this implies likely space for a civilian government and
national reconciliation as the Constitution 2008 will come into effect
once the new parliament is in place after the elections.

Another reason for optimism is that this year’s elections could pave way
for a foothold for democratic forces, a few seats in parliament, and a
platform to gain valuable experience and wrest more power by 2015. In the
words of one opposition leader: “Why don’t we as a people take this
opportunity to help (military ruler Than Shwe) make a graceful exit and
gain democracy in the process?”

Myanmar looks with hope to the South Korean precedent, whose presidential
and National Assembly elections in 1987 and 1988, though hardly considered
free and fair, gave opposition parties and candidates a legitimate
platform to develop their voices, attract supporters, learn the political
process, and oppose the ruling party.

Myanmar’s military junta has entered into ceasefire agreements with 17
ethnic rebel groups between 1989-94, who form 40 per cent of population
and control sizeable land mass around the periphery, allowing them to
retain their arms and control some of the territories occupied. The 1990
elections had seen most ethnic groups join hands and fare well.

Smooth election

As a prelude to a smooth election the military junta has been pressurising
the ethnic groups, to transform into border guards under the army and form
their own political parties and contest the forthcoming elections, or in
the least lay down their weapons, all demands refused by most ethnic
groups.

After the 2010 elections, ethnic minorities will lose their rights and
privileges as the Constitution sets out a ‘self administered division’ for
Wa and UWSA (the biggest of the ethnic minorities with 15,000-20,000
fighters) and to create 14 assemblies in areas home to the major ethnic
groups, making the first offer of political space to the non-Myanmarese.
However, these regional assemblies will be under the junta, which has the
power to appoint a fourth of the members and the chief minister of the
region.

These provisions could lead to ethnic groups losing their right to choose
their chiefs and to self determination rights and thus, dissent. This
could provide impetus to the eruption anew of the six-decade old civil
war, currently in its ebb, if the military junta is unable to settle the
issue before the election. Thus, it would also become incumbent on the
ethnic minorities to come together and pose a united front even if some
semblance of autonomy is to be achieved in their areas.

National identity

Another area of interest is Buddhism, identified with Burmese national
identity. The junta has used Buddhist authority or ‘Buddhification’ to
rally nationalist sentiments in the army and among the general population,
to foster an ideological Buddhist nationalism, perhaps more significantly,
to deflect public attention away from other crises, including agricultural
shortages, economic failures and imminent anti-government demonstrations.

The present preparations project that Myanmar could see a well organised
election with all the drawbacks of a managed electoral process but with
some sort of endorsement by ASEAN, India and China. This scenario could
draw Myanmar out of its current isolation and enhance western and regional
engagement.

If the present regime fails to ensure a violence free-election and
engineers a landslide victory of USDP by naked interference in the
post-electoral process, coupled with strife between the army and ethnic
groups, deteriorating law and order could drive Myanmar into Beijing’s
arms.

A reasonably stable Myanmar with its western region secure is an ideal
scenario for India reining in insurgents along Indo–Myanmar border and
prodding insurgent kingpins to talk with the new regime, given its softer
semi-civilian face. Greater Indian investment in Myanmar, preferably
through private sector and the spread of information technology and
broadband connectivity there would enhance our ties and tilt the balance
in our favour, resulting in a possible slowdown of Sino–Myanmar relations.

 Myanmar’s importance for India as a ‘land bridge’ for CLMV countries and
the rest of South East Asia and her dangerously close liaison with China
has prompted us to reinvent the political, security, economic and
strategic significance of our relationship.

The elections will definitely democratise Myanmar far more than it is
today. In due course, it may be possible to amend the Constitution and
electoral laws, as India keeps nudging its important eastern neighbour in
that direction.

(The writer is a political analyst and former editor of Organiser)

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

August 26, National Union of Public and General Employees (Canada)
NUPGE presses Ottawa on Burma rights campaign

'The record of horrific human rights abuses by the military government of
Burma is lengthy.' - James Clancy.

James Clancy, president of the National Union of Public and General
Employees (NUPGE)Ottawa (26 Aug. 2010) - The National Union of Public and
General Employees (NUPGE) is urging the Harper government to support the
call for a United Nations (UN)  commission of inquiry into war crimes and
crimes against humanity in Burma.

"The record of horrific human rights abuses by the military government of
Burma is lengthy," NUPGE president James Clancy says in a letter to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper.

"It includes the targeting of civilians, the destruction of more than
3,500 villages in Eastern Burma over the past 15 years, the use of rape as
a weapon of war, torture and mutilations, arbitrary executions and slave
labour."

Last March, the UN's special rapporteur on Burma reported the existence of
"gross and systematic" abuses and a lack of action to stop them – "a state
policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary
at all levels."

"... the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may
entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms
of the Statute of the International Criminal Court," the report said. "UN
institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of
inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the question of
international crimes."

"Canada has historically taken a strong stand in support of promoting
human rights and democracy in Burma," Clancy wrote to Harper.

"In addition, Canada enjoys a reputation for taking principled positions
internationally in defense of human rights and humanitarian law. But, we
note that it has been five months since the UN special rapporteur issued
this report and Canada has yet to join the call for a UN inquiry."

Clancy says there is obviously "a great need" for as many countries as
possible to call publicly for an inquiry and that Canada has an even
greater obligation than most.

"I urge the Canadian government to do what is right and join Australia,
the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia in supporting a UN Commission of Inquiry," Clancy adds.

Meanwhile, Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) says 80 Canadian
parliamentarians have given their support to petition calling for a
commission of inquiry.
Canadian Friends of Burma Website [1]

"This is an unprecedented level of support from Canadian parliamentarians
and is far greater than any petitions on Burma in the past," the group
says.

Canada is under growing pressure from other countries to take a clear
public stand.

"In Europe, Burma Campaign UK and other concerned groups are planning to
gather at Canadian Embassies to repeat their call.... It is quite
uncomfortable to see Canada is lagging behind and dragging its feet on
this issue despite the fact that it (is in) the position to play a leading
role," the CFOB says.

The group is urging Canadians who have not already done so to contact the
prime minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to urge them
to take an official stand on behalf of the Canadian government.

NUPGE strongly supports the CFOB and is calling its members and the public
to add their voices by e-mailing both Harper and Cannon:

    * E-mail Prime Minister Stephen Harper: pm at pm.gc.ca [2]
    * Call Prime Minister Harper's office: 613-992-4211
    * E-mail Lawrence Cannon: Cannon.L at parl.gc.ca [3]

MPs and senators who have not signed the list are being urged to get in
touch with CFOB directly and add their names to the list.

    * Contact: The Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB), Suite 206, 145 Spruce
St., Ottawa, K1R 6P1; Tel: 613.237.8056; E-mail: fob at cfob.org; Web:
www.cfob.org [4]

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of
Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our
mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a
stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good.
NUPGE

____________________________________

August 26, Burma Justice Committee
Burmese political leader’s case taken to International Court

The case of Ko Mya Aye, a leading pro-democracy leader incarcerated in
Burma, now calling itself Myanmar, has been taken to court at the United
Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention by the Burma Justice
Committee. The case is being pleaded by Sappho Dias and Adam Zellick,
Chairman and Vice-chairman respectively of the Burma Justice Committee,
which comprises some of the leading lawyers at the English Bar.

Ko Mya Aye is a leading pro-democracy activist in Burma and was prominent
in the 88 Generation Movement. He has campaigned tirelessly for the return
of democracy to Burma and has consistently and peacefully urged the
military rulers of Burma to enter into talks with the leaders of the
democracy movement. Following the killing of the peacefully protesting
monks in September 2007, in what has become known as the Sandal
Revolution, Ko Mya Aye was arrested at his home and sentenced to
imprisonment for 65 years and 6 months.

"We at the Burma Justice Committee are taking his case to court" said
Timothy Dutton QC, Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales 2008, "because
we believe his imprisonment is unlawful. He is being held in inhumane
circumstances in a prison which his family cannot visit regularly because
of its remoteness and we are reliably informed that he is very ill and not
receiving adequate medical treatment".

For more information contact Sappho Dias: 07881-826373.

____________________________________

August 26, Press Information Bureau (India)
Status of Kaladan Project

The Kaladan Multi–Modal Transit Transport Facility envisages connectivity
between Indian Ports on the eastern seaboard and Sittwe Port in Myanmar
and then through riverine transport and by road to Mizoram . The Kaladan
Multi – Modal Transit Transaport Project envisages a timeline of five
years from the date of the signing of the agreement. The Framework
Agreement and Protocols were signed in April, 2008. The Project is being
implemented as per schedule.

The Kaladan Multi–Modal Transit Transport Project is being developed to
provide a route for transport of goods to North – East India. The project
is not linked to transit facilities provided through Bangladesh.

This information was given by Shri S.M. Krishna, Minister of External
Affairs, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

YSK:PM
____________________________________

August 26, ASEAN Secretariat
ASEAN SG welcomes news of Myanmar elections

The Secretary-General of ASEAN has welcomed the news that Myanmar would
hold its general elections on 7 November 2010. "It is certainly a welcome
relief in the sense that the date is now definite. Not only has ASEAN has
been anxious about the preparations for the general elections in Myanmar,
but the entire global community has been concerned that it would not be
free, fair and effective as a mechanism of national reconciliation."

"I hope that Myanmar will prove the sceptics wrong and Myanmar will
respond positively to appeal for freedom of mobility and expression during
the lead up to the elections scheduled for 7 November," said Dr Surin
Pitsuwan in Da Nang, Viet Nam, in response to media queries. Dr Surin is
in Da Nang to attend the 42nd ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting.

Dr Surin’s comments followed a statement issued recently by the Foreign
Minister of Viet Nam, as the ASEAN Chair. Welcoming the decision by
Myanmar on the date of the elections, the statement said that the region
“encourages Myanmar to further accelerate progress in the implementation
of the Roadmap for National Reconciliation and Democracy, including in
preparations for the [scheduled] elections leading to a constitutional
Government in [the country].”

ASEAN, the statement went on to say, underscores the importance of
national reconciliation in Myanmar and the holding of the general
elections in a free, fair and inclusive manner, thus contributing to
Myanmar’s stability and development.

The statement also stressed the need for Myanmar to continue to work with
ASEAN and the United Nations in this process. “For its part, ASEAN
expresses its readiness to render assistance as deemed appropriate by
Myanmar and in accordance with the ASEAN Charter. ASEAN will keep close
consultations with Myanmar in this regard.”