BurmaNet News, August 28 - 30, 2010

[Editor]

August 28 – 30, 2010 Issue #4030


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Democracy groups struggle to challenge Myanmar's junta
SHAN: Election Commission member resigns to contest polls
DPA: Chinese warships pay visit to Myanmar

ON THE BORDER
Bangkok Post: Burma's vote to nowhere

BUSINESS / TRADE
DVB: Oil workers ‘punched, kicked’ by police

ASEAN
DPA: ASEAN and UN discuss Myanmar cyclone, stress importance of rapid aid
Business Mirror (Philippines): RP, Burma: Asean problem spots

INTERNATIONAL
Seattle Times (US): Refugees face homelessness all over again in U.S.
Fayette Observer (US): Myanmar refugees face cultural and language
barriers in Robeson County

OPINION / OTHER
The Nation (Thailand): Burma poll will only entrench those in power –
Editorial
Irrawaddy: Junta's strategic election moves – Htet Aung

ANNOUNCEMENT
ND-Burma: Launch of ND-Burma’s report “The Hidden Impact of Burma’s
Arbitrary and Corrupt Taxation”



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

August 30, Agence France Presse
Democracy groups struggle to challenge Myanmar's junta

Yangon – Myanmar's two biggest pro-democracy parties running in the
upcoming election said Monday they had managed to field just a tenth of
the number of candidates put up by the main pro-junta parties.

As Monday's deadline for registering candidates arrived, opposition
parties failed to find enough people to seriously challenge the military
government.

Opposition parties said would-be politicians faced formidable hurdles,
including a fee of 500 dollars per candidate -- the equivalent of several
months' wages for most people -- and a tight timetable to register to
stand.

With fewer financial woes, the government's proxy Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) told AFP it would put forward more than 1,000
candidates in the country's first poll in 20 years.

And the pro-junta National Unity Party said it would have more than 990
candidates. "So we think the USDP will be our main rival," said spokesman
Han Shwe.

In comparison the National Democratic Force (NDF) and the Democratic Party
(Myanmar), the largest pro-democracy groups, said they would field only
about 200 candidates between them for the November 7 vote for some 1,200
national and regional seats.

Thu Wai, chairman of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), said his group would
put forward about 60 candidates.

"We are still waiting for the candidate list from the regions, but we will
not get as many as we estimated lately," he said.

NDF chairman Than Nyein said the party, which is made up of former members
of detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's party, had about 140
candidates.

More than 40 political parties have been given permission to stand in the
polls, but some have expressed concerns over the problems they face,
including alleged intimidation of members.

The polls have been widely dismissed by critics as a charade to entrench
military power. The junta recently conducted a major reshuffle within
military ranks and several top members retired to contest the elections as
USDP members.

A quarter of the legislature is reserved for serving military, in addition
to army retirees who win positions as junta-backed civilians.

The government-favoured USDP has merged with the Union Solidarity and
Development Association, a rich pro-junta group with up to 27 million
members, including civil servants compelled to join for the good of their
careers.

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, who has been detained for much of the past
20 years, won the country's last election in 1990 by a landslide but was
denied office by the junta.

She is barred from running this year because she is a serving prisoner and
her National League for Democracy -- which would have been the greatest
threat to the junta -- is boycotting the poll on grounds that the rules
are unfair.

The party has subsequently been disbanded by the ruling generals, and no
other opposition group has managed to garner the same level of support and
recognition among the public.

____________________________________

August 30, Shan Herald Agency for News
Election Commission member resigns to contest polls – Hseng Khio Fah

Dr. Sai Kham Leng (63) one of the 17 appointed members of Burma's Union
Election Commission (UEC) has reportedly resigned from his position
recently and is planning to contest the elections for the military regime
backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to sources
from Shan State and Rangoon.

But the exact date of his resignation is not known and there has also been
no official statement from the UEC, according to sources from Rangoon.

“The news leaked about two weeks ago. But the authorities did not announce
it,” an informed source from Rangoon said.

Khun Okker, an executive board member of Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC) said
UEC members shall be independent and shall have no relation with any
political parties. And the UEC Chairman shall make an official
announcement if there are changes in UEC members.

“If some UEC members resign or intend to participate in the elections
without announcement by the UEC Chairman, then it means that the rules are
being broken.”

In mid August, Dr. Sai Kham Leng was reported to have been asked by the
USDP to be a candidate of Shan State South’s Kunhing Township for the
party. He was nominated by the USDP to contest for the lower house,
according to an informed source from Shan State South. “He submitted his
application at Loilem District on 24 August.”

Dr. Sai Kham Leng is a retired Head of State Health Department. He is a
Shan national from Kenglom village in Kunhing Township and graduated with
a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Rangoon. He is
also a cousin of Dr. Sai Naw, a candidate of Shan Nationalities Democratic
Party (SNDP) and is an uncle of Nang Wa Nu, an SNDP Kunhing candidate who
will also contest for the same house [lower house].

“The two [uncle and niece] will be contesting against each other,” a local
villager in Kunhing said. “Nang Wa Nu is a daughter of Dr. Kham Leng’s
younger sister.”

Rumours in circulation in Rangoon say ‘the USDP also promised Dr. Sai Kham
Leng that if he wins a majority of seats in Shan State for their party, he
will be appointed Chief Minister of Shan State government.’

But with regard to the formation of UEC in the junta drawn 2008
constitution, to appoint a Chief Minister of a Region or State concerned,
he/she must be selected from the State Legislature.

In addition, the constitution also states that UEC members shall not be
members of a political party and shall not be a Parliament representative.

With regard to Dr. Sai Kham Leng’s resignation from the UEC, it is clear
that the military regime itself is violating its own laws, according to
Sai Lake, spokesperson for the defunct Shan Nationalities League for
Democracy (SNLD) that won the 1990 elections in Shan State.

“The military regime said that elected UEC members are not allowed to
participate in the elections. They make the rules and they themselves
break the rules,” Sai Lake commented. “Therefore, I cannot say that the
forthcoming elections will be free and fair.”

____________________________________

August 30, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Chinese warships pay visit to Myanmar

Yangon – Two Chinese warships arrived at Myanmar's Yangon port over the
weekend on a "friendly visit," marking the first such port call in recent
history, diplomatic sources confirmed Monday.

"These two navy destroyers arrived at Yangon's Thilawa port on Sunday to
promote relations between the two militaries," a Chinese diplomat said.
"The ships, the Guanhzhou and Chaohu, are equipped with modern
technology," said the diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous.

It was the first such visit since the current military regime came to
power in 1988.

After completing escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off the
Somali coast, the two warships visited Egypt, Italy and Greece.

Myanmar, where they are due to dock for five days, was their final
destination, the source said.

The ships were welcomed Sunday by Major Han Sein, commander of the Myanmar
Navy base, Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ye Dabo, embassy officials and
about 200 Chinese expatriates, according to Chinese officials.

Sino-Myanmar diplomatic ties have deepened over the past two decades,
while military-run Myanmar has achieved pariah status among most Western
democracies and been the target of economic sanctions.

Western countries have shunned investment in Myanmar, but China has filled
the breach, especially in energy-related projects.

According to Myanmar news reports, Chinese investors recently won approval
for two hydroelectric dams in Myanmar's Kachin state, valued at 5 billion
dollars; oil and gas pipelines from Rakhine state to Yunnan, China, worth
2.15 billion dollars; and a copper mine in Monywa costing 997 million
dollars.

China has repeatedly defended Myanmar's poor human rights record and
failure to promote democracy at meetings of the United Nations General
Assembly, keeping the country's problems off the Security Council's annual
agenda.

Most US and European firms are barred from investing in Myanmar's energy
sector by economic sanctions imposed on the ruling junta.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

August 29, Bangkok Post
Burma's vote to nowhere

Political opposition groups say the country's first national elections in
20 years are nothing more than an elaborate pretence designed to ease
power from the ruling military dictatorship to its civilian proxy, the
Union Solidarity Development Party.

In the lead-up to the 2010 elections, the regime has jailed hundreds of
political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. It has also introduced a
series of electoral laws and campaign restrictions to stifle the
opposition, all while claiming the measures are to make sure the elections
are "free and fair".

Moe Zaw Oo, joint secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in
exile, says the international community's initial insistence that the
opposition should accept the regime's election unconditionally despite the
restrictions was destructive, naive and at best misplaced.

Speaking from the Thai-Burma border last week, Moe Zaw said the warning
signs that the regime was not acting in the best interests of the Burmese
people were there for all to see.

"There's not an opposition politician in any democratic society who would
accept the military regime's conditions for the [Nov 7] election. Nobody
should be surprised the election is rigged _ look at the electoral laws.
Look at the Electoral Commission. Look at the 2008 constitution. It's all
part of a long-term strategy to transfer and consolidate the military's
power to a hand-picked civilian-based political organisation."

Moe Zaw is scathing in his assessment of international academics,
political analysts, international think tanks and long-time Burma
watchers, who he says in their stampede to get a foot in Burma's
barely-opening door were prepared to sweep aside the corruption, lies,
deceit, electoral fraud and the regime's appalling track record on human
rights.

"So many of these groups got it wrong. These [Western and Asean] countries
need to take a close look at what they pay their so-called 'experts' and
assess what they're getting for their dollar. Their track record on what
is happening in Burma is dismal. They treat Burma as if it's an
intellectual exercise for their amusement. They [the international
community] should have been listening and acting on what Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi and what the NLD was telling them from the beginning."

Speaking on Australia's ABC radio, Michael Maley, an expert on electoral
reform, said those who regard compromise as an acceptable election option
should reconsider what they want from a free and fair poll in Burma.

Mr Maley lists a series of checks and tests to assess if an election is
free and fair: "The need for impartial administration of the vote,
transparency, secret voting, no vote buying or multiple voting, an absence
of intimidation and the ability to count ballots accurately."

Mr Maley told the ABC's Linda Mottram he disagreed with the line that any
election is better than none, and said "a crooked election sold as a valid
exercise is a blasphemy".

Moe Zaw says nobody, least of all the international community, should be
surprised that the regime's carefully crafted election was designed to
sideline Burma's biggest opposition party, the NLD. He cites Burma's last
national elections held 20 years ago as proof of the NLD's popularity with
voters.

In 1990, in spite of massive military intimidation, the NLD won a decisive
victory _ 392 seats, 80% of the vote. The people had spoken, but the
generals' response was to jail the NLD leaders, its elected
representatives and its members and supporters. Mrs Suu Kyi, the NLD
leader, has spent 14 of the last 20 years under some form of detention.
The military regime plans to release her later this year, but will
probably wait until after it wins the Nov 7 election.

Moe Zaw says the late announcement of the regime's election laws leaves
little to chance and gives the opposition no space to manoeuvre their
candidates into place or talk to the voters.

One of the electoral laws, the Political Party Registration Law, allows
the committee to reject party applications. It also bans democracy
organisations, armed groups opposed to the regime, groups or individuals
receiving foreign support and about 2,100 political prisoners from taking
part in the elections. This includes Mrs Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, as well as 430 jailed NLD members.

At the time of their announcement the electoral laws drew strong criticism
from Brad Adams, Asia director of New York-based  Human Rights Watch.

"The new laws' assault on opposition groups is sadly predictable. It
continues the sham political process that is aimed at creating the
appearance of civilian rule with a military spine." The electoral laws
also nullify the results of the 1990 election.

David Mathieson, a Burma expert at Human Rights Watch, acknowledged that
the regime's preparations for the election have been carefully
orchestrated. "The regime is leaving nothing to chance in their quest to
guarantee they continue to keep power. They have cynically used the
constitution, the electoral laws, the trial and the jailing of Aung San
Suu Kyi and the imprisonment of 2,100 political opponents to do so." Mr
Mathieson says those who think the election is an opportunity to crack
open an imperfect system are way off the mark.

"Anyone who believes it is going to be a new dawn after the election is
deluding themselves."

CLIMATE OF FEAR

Khun Myint Tun, an exiled Burmese member of parliament, who in 1990 won
the seat of Phaton in Mon State, says the 2010 elections are not the start
of a transition to democracy, but rather another step in the regime's
continuing consolidation of its authority.

"There is no freedom of association, no freedom of assembly and no freedom
of speech.

"How can anyone claim these elections will be free and fair?"

Khun Myint has personal experience of how far the regime is prepared to go
to maintain its climate of fear and oppression over its political
opponents.

"I was jailed for seven years and kept in solitary confinement for having
a booklet about non-violent struggle in my possession. I was denied food
and water, and for five nights and days I was made to sit hooded on a
stool while military intelligence officers interrogated me. My hood was
only removed at meal times and for toilet breaks.  I was not allowed to
sleep."

Khun Myint says it baffles him when international analysts and political
pundits claim Burma is experiencing election fever.

"They are reading into it what's not there. Why not see the reality that
is there, like the regime reserving 25% of seats for serving military
officers _ that's 110 uncontested seats they will automatically get in the
lower house.

"Under the constitution the president has to have military experience, and
the military will control three key ministries; defence, home affairs and
border area administration."

Khun Myint says the international community is only looking at Burma in
the short term and what natural resources can be exploited.

"The long-term ramifications of what this election means for the people of
Burma will be devastating, and we will have to live with that. I regard
countries supporting Burma as in an alliance with the regime. By
association, they aren't free from human right violations. China,
Thailand, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, France and the US all
have companies making lots of money from Burma's natural resources.

"The people of Burma are not seeing any of the benefits."

Indeed, the Burmese people will see little if any of the billions of
dollars earned from the country's natural resources, as the regime moves
the money offshore for its own use. Sean Turnell, an economist from
Macquarie University in Sydney, estimates that Burma receives between $1
billion (31.3 billion baht) and $2 billon a year from its sales of natural
gas to Thailand alone.

THE PEOPLE GET NOTHING

Burma is dirt poor and villagers interviewed for this story said the
election is far from being a priority for them. They say they want a
government that will fix the potholed roads, turn the electricity on,
educate their children and provide health care for them when they are
sick.

Saw Tapaw says his village is about 24 hours from Rangoon and eight hours
from the Thai-Burma border. He laughs when I ask if his village is on the
government's electricity grid.

"We can't even afford candles, never mind electricity. People are not
excited about the election. They are more concerned about having enough
rice to eat, finding building materials to keep the rain out and having
clothes to wear. People have lost hope in the country."

Saw Tapaw says it made him angry when he came to Thailand and realised how
much people in Burma are missing.

"I see what people in Thailand have; refrigerators, clean water, ice,
street vendors selling hot food and every kind of medicine. We have
nothing. Our roads are nothing more than mud tracks. We can't even grow
enough food for ourselves. We don't even have a postal system. Our schools
have to be paid for by us _ the building, the teachers, the books. All we
get from the government is the recognition we have a school."

Saw Tapaw says farmers' work hard, but the military's demands for their
labour leave little time to work on their farms.

"We used to be able to spend all our time on the farm, but now the army
orders us to cut bamboo and build their camps and carry their supplies on
a three-month roster. It leaves us no time for cultivation."

Saw Tapaw is a thin, quiet man who takes each question apart before
answering.

"In our town there are about 2,400 people and about half are eligible to
vote. But most are not interested. They say the military will win like
they always do.

"We didn't vote for them in 1990 or in the 2008 referendum, but the
village vote was taken as a 'yes' for the military. During the referendum
vote the soldiers came to the village and rounded up as many as they could
_ you can't really call it voting, there was nothing secret about it.

"They take the names and registration of those who turn up and go. We
weren't told who we had just voted for."

Saw Tapaw says that aside from knowing that their household registrations
have been taken for the purpose of the Nov 7 election, they have little
information on what parties are contesting, who the candidates will be or
even what constituency they are in.

"Only those who listen to the exile media on the radio know about the
election, but soldiers have asked the headman to make sure a lot of
villagers turn up."

THE FINAL STEP

Khun Myint says the elections are the regime's final step in hijacking
Burma's democratic process for its own profit. He insists the regime's
immediate priority is to transfer and consolidate its military might and
supremacy in a civilian-based, political organisation.

He explains the regime allowed the Union Solidarity and Development
Association (USDA), with an estimated more than 24 million members, to
reinvent itself as the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Hardcore USDA members are not new to politics or shy in using violence to
achieve their objectives. In July, Human Rights Watch highlighted how the
military regime used the group against its opponents.

"Mass demonstrations by USDA members have been conducted throughout the
country since the mid-1990s, where members give speeches denouncing the
political opposition, the United States, the International Labour
Organisation and extolling the virtues of the SPDC."

Human Rights Watch also noted how the USDA used violence against Mrs Suu
Kyi and her supporters and were part of the violent crackdown against
monks and peaceful demonstrators in the 2007 protests.

The USDP leader, Thein Sein, is the military regime's prime minister and a
former senior military officer.

The USDP is one of only two parties that has the capacity to run
candidates in all electoral districts.

Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst, explained in a briefing
paper for the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum that contesting a seat
in the Burmese elections costs a non-refundable $500 fee for each
candidate.

"Few parties have the intention and capacity to run national campaigns. At
this stage, it appears that the national contest will come down to four
main parties: two representing the 'establishment' [the Union Solidarity
and Development Party and the National Unity Party] and two 'democrat'
parties [the National Democratic Force and the Democratic Party]."

With the electoral laws and restrictions on parties and their candidates,
the military regime, while competing in the Nov 7 election to give it
legitimacy, has got its political opponents where it wants them, confused
and on the ropes. They are cash-strapped and unable to move or talk freely
to voters in their districts.

Saw Tapaw believes the outcome of the 2010 election will not be any
different from the outcome of the last election.

"The 2010 election and the 1990 election will be more of the same. During
the previous election, the soldiers came with the NUP and now the soldiers
will come with the USDP. They will use our names, but we won't have a
choice who they are given to."

Saw Tapaw says the USDP was planning and campaigning in rural communities
even before the party officially existed.

Villagers say USDP campaign pre-election activities include promising to
build bridges, put in roads, set up telephone landlines in remote areas
and offering substantial gifts to village heads to ensure the village vote
goes to them.

Unless something drastic happens before polling day, Burmese voters say
there is little hope that the quality of their lives will improve after
the election.


____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

August 30, Democratic Voice of Burma
Oil workers ‘punched, kicked’ by police – Lhin Hnin Htet

Up to 1000 oil workers protesting against alleged duping by an oil company
in northwestern Burma last week were attacked by riot police, with two
left seriously injured.

The protests had been going on since 14 August when workers at the Cherry
Yoma oilfield close to Sagaing division’s Kalay township complained they
were being ripped off by the company, whose name has not been revealed.

Both riot police and company-run security were called by the company’s
owner on 25 August to disperse the crowd.

“The company’s security arrived at the site and started attacking the
protesters apparently to discourage more people from joining them,” said a
Kalay local. “The protesters were punched, kicked and beaten up with
sticks.

“Two people had their eyes badly injured and also went deaf. The
protesters and their leaders fled the scene and their camps and belongings
were destroyed.”

The oilfield in question was being hand-dug by locals under the contract
of a cooperative company formed by business tycoons thought to be close to
the Burmese government.

Burma’s oil capacity is low, and its refining capabilities poor: in terms
of proven oil reserves it ranks 77 in the world, and is a net importer.
But a small sector for informal diggers has emerged, who collect and sell
to companies by the barrel.

The Kalay local said that the protests were sparked by the company’s
decision to increase the size of barrels whilst maintaining the same
buying price.

“The locals have to give the company an extra eight gallons for every
barrel they sell, and a further two bottles for each eight gallons. They
are only giving 50,000 kyat [US$50] per barrel.”

The company has apparently upped to price of purchase since the protests,
but the local said that tension between the company and workers has
remained.

____________________________________
ASEAN

August 30, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
ASEAN and UN discuss Myanmar cyclone, stress importance of rapid aid

Bangkok – The United Nations on Monday stressed the importance of rapid
international reaction to disasters, after the delay in getting help to
Myanmar after a cyclone two years ago was widely condemned.

A UN representative said that "trust has been built" in the two years
since Cyclone Nargis inundated the Irrawaddy Delta on May 2-3 2008, when
bureaucratic difficulties prevented outside aid from reaching those
affected for the critical first days and weeks.

At the conference hosted by Association of South-East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) to discussed lessons learned after Cyclone Nargis, participants
agreed victims should receive aid faster next time.

Relief efforts after Nargis were held up as the Myanmar ruling junta
denied entry visas to aid workers for several months after the disaster,
which left up to 140,000 dead or missing.

An action plan was finally established between the government, United
Nations and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for
emergency and recovery efforts, but the delay drew widespread criticism.

On Monday, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said Myanmar's attitude
to international aid improved in the months following the disaster.

"Myanmar has come to realize there is help out there" from the
international community, Surin said.

But the country's ruling generals have still been criticized for hindering
the aid organizations that have been working for two years to help those
affected by the cyclone.

In her speech at the conference, UN Under Secretary General Dr Noeleen
Heyzer said the organizations involved do have a "sense of
accomplishment."

But "swift support in the immediate aftermath of the disaster could have
saved more lives and reduced the damage," said Dr Heyzer, who is also
Executive Secretary of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific.

Asked about Myanmar's role in the relief efforts, she said "much of the
work has to be done at the local level, and there has to be
accountability," without providing further details.

____________________________________

August 30, Business Mirror (Philippines)
RP, Burma: Asean problem spots – Estrella Torres

Da Nang, Vietnam—A delegation of US companies said corruption and
ineffective governance in the Philippines, and rights abuses in
Burma/Myanmar hamper the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in
creating a single-market economy by 2015.

Alexander Feldman, head of the US-Asean Business Council, also said at the
concluded 42nd Asean Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) that should the bloc
successfully put up its planned single-window policy, it would attract
more investments from American companies.

However, he believes the pace toward a single market is “moving a little
too fast,” so that many members with pressing domestic problems like the
Philippines and Burma find it difficult to join the bandwagon.

Feldman met with Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo at the
sidelines of the AEM meeting and expressed concern. “We wanted to look at
how the new administration of President Aquino will approach the business
sector because the Asean single market offers tremendous potentials to the
Philippines.”

“As the process of Asean economic integration continues, companies will
really be able to take advantage of the sheer size of Asean’s market of
600 million consumers,” he said.

If it expects to attract more investments, the Philippines will have to
attend to pressing issues at home, like transparency in government
dealings with private companies, improvements in the registration of
businesses, and other measures meant to level the playing field.

“Governance is a major problem in the Philippines, and we are hopeful that
the new administration will be able to attend to this,” said Feldman.

Besides the Philippines, he said other Asean members still face
challenges, like the proliferation of nontariff barriers that can negate
some benefits of the Asean free-trade agreements with dialogue partners.
Asean, he said, should continue to focus on increased private-sector input
into the formulation of laws and regulations through the creation of a
“notice and comment” mechanism.

At the same time, Feldman expressed hopes the first democratic elections
in Burma/Myanmar on November 7 will improve the political and social
situation there. “My only wish is for Burma’s government to be more
inclusive and that the elections could be a step in bringing in reforms
there.”

He also said the tragic hostage crisis in Manila that led to the deaths of
eight Hong Kong tourists will have a serious impact on tourism in
the country. “This tragedy looks extremely sorry and doesn’t help tourism
in the Philippines. But these events do happen; we would like to send our
condolences to families and friends of those Hong Kong nationals who
died.”

The US business delegates include top officials from companies like
Caterpillar, FedEX Express, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Monsanto, Philip
Morris, Syngenta and Westinghouse.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

August 30, The Seattle Times (US)
Refugees face homelessness all over again in U.S. – Lornet Turnbull

Every few weeks or so, the family of 10 would pack up and move yet again
— the father and boys finding a bed or space on the floor with family
friends in one part of King County, the mother and girls in another.

Somali refugees who were first resettled in upstate New York before
relocating here last fall, they shuffled between the homes of friends
willing to put them up, sometimes sharing two- or three-bedroom units with
the eight or 10 people who lived there.

Once, the mother recounts, all 10 shared a single bedroom in a home, using
each other as pillows to get through the nights.

Refugee families like this one — displaced people from war-torn parts of
the world — are confronting homelessness all over again in their new
homeland.

As tough to navigate as the homeless-support system can be for growing
numbers of families in the Northwest, it can prove profoundly challenging
for refugees, who may be unfamiliar with how the system works, may have
few if any marketable job skills, often don't speak English and don't
understand the culture here.

Yet despite those obstacles, advocates for refugees lack any real voice or
influence in plans underway to change the homeless-support system.

"We are bringing people from refugee camps to get a new start in the U.S.
only to see them Dumpster-diving somewhere," said Tom Medina, who heads
the state's office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance.

As part of the federal government's commitment to helping displaced and
persecuted people around the world, the U.S. will resettle about 80,000
refugees this year — about half the total number of those that get
resettled across the globe.

Last year, some 2,600 — many of them Iraqis and ethnic minorities from
Myanmar (also known as Burma) and Bhutan — came to Washington. The state
is second only to Minnesota in drawing refugees who were first resettled
in other parts of the U.S.

For many unable to find work, the housing shuffle begins when the
government assistance they were receiving runs out, or their lease expires
and the rent goes up, or the family dynamic changes in a way that they can
no longer cover housing expenses.

In January, King County's most recent annual one-night homeless count
found families of refugees and immigrants that together totaled 978 adults
and children living in shelters or in transitional housing — up from 638
the previous year.

That doesn't account for the untold numbers who bed down in hotels, camp
out in churches or squeeze into the already cramped apartments of friends
or relatives.

Often, families that do have housing struggle to hang on to it.

That's been the case for An Na and three of her children, ethnic Karenni
from Myanmar who resettled in Kent last year from a refugee camp on the
Thai/Burmese border, where the children were born.

A seamstress and farmer in her homeland, the 56-year-old An Na speaks
virtually no English and is illiterate even in her native language. She
has been unable to find work, but with $922 in monthly public assistance
could rent a one-bedroom apartment in Kent for $700 a month.

But when her older son's benefits ran out, their household income dropped
by more than a third, leaving the family scrambling to pay rent and
utilities.

Hoping to help make up the difference, that son moved to North Carolina to
work in a chicken factory.

His younger brother soon dropped out of Kent-Meridian High School to
follow him. Both have since moved to Chicago in hopes of getting jobs in
another chicken factory there.

Now their sister, Oo Meh, a vibrant, outgoing 17-year-old, who in little
more than a year has gained popularity at Kent-Meridian, has accepted a
job with a local nonprofit and decided not to return to high school in the
fall. She plans to attend community college later, using income from her
job to pay much of the household expenses.

"There are a lot of us kids" in the same situation, she said. "We need to
work for the family because our parents don't understand nothing. We need
to support them."

Jobs dry up

As invisible as homeless families are in general, refugee and immigrant
families are even less likely to show up on the streets.

Many are from cultures where people look out for one another, so it's not
uncommon for one family to take in others still trying to get their
footing in the U.S.

Some in their desperation have even chosen shelter over food — using
their food stamps to buy groceries for others in exchange for money to pay
the rent.

Circumstances became so dire for one family that they staked a spot
outside the office of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn before they were
eventually given vouchers to stay in a hotel along Aurora Avenue North.

"It's hard to get a handle on how big the problem is because many of them
have a roof over their heads," said Medina, of the state
refugee-assistance office.

"They surf on to the next family willing to take them, but they can't stay
that way forever. They are still homeless."

Many of them arrived in the U.S. within the past two years. Some lost what
low-paying jobs they had when the economy went sour, while others never
found work to begin with.

Many came here from other states after hearing that the Seattle area is
welcoming and tolerant, that there are jobs and services, that
public-assistance benefit levels are higher and the weather less severe.

But once here, they quickly find high rents and years-long waiting lists
for public and subsidized housing. And for many, jobs don't materialize,
either.

Among the 50 states, Washington has one of the worst job-placement records
for refugees, despite $8.8 million spent last year in state and federal
funds disbursed through a network of community-based organizations charged
with helping refugees learn English and find work.

"They come and they're trying to assimilate into a culture that is
entirely foreign and unfathomable for them," said Tamara Brown, housing
director for Solid Ground, one of the region's largest service providers
for homeless people.

Brown and other homeless-service providers say they sometimes feel
ill-equipped to address the myriad challenges facing refugee families and
believe more resources should be devoted to making sure refugees don't
join the growing ranks of homeless.

"They have so many specialized areas of need — education and serious
medical issues, PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder], they have large
families, we need interpreters to talk to them — the cultural issues are
huge."

Desperate circumstances

The Obama administration is conducting the first major review of the
nation's 30-year-old resettlement program. But even before the findings
are released, the administration is preparing to announce an increase in
the number of refugees it will invite into the country next year.

State Department officials say refugees in camps overseas are told about
the hard realities of the American economy, giving them the option to stay
or go to another country.

But refugees themselves say that's a tough call — that after years in
squalid refugee camps, it's hard to let go of their high hopes about life
in America.

The tall, thin Somali mother of eight arrived in the Seattle area with her
family after 13 years in a refugee camp in Kenya. She'd heard the warnings
but didn't want to believe them. Now, embarrassed to be homeless, she
asked that her name not be used.

"They told us there was a lack of jobs and it will not be like we think
— but better than what we have now — and that there would be benefits
if we have no job," said the woman, dressed in traditional Muslim wear and
speaking through a translator.

In the camp, she said, there were no real options for them to work; their
daily lives were virtually controlled by others.

"I knew it would be better here," she said. "It had to be."

For the last three months, the family of 10 was sheltered in a
five-bedroom house in a former military-housing complex in Kent, run by
the Multi-Service Center, which serves the homeless in South King County.

But after 90 days in the emergency shelter, the family's time was up, and
they are on the move once again, depending on others to take them in.

Temporary help

Together with state and local governments, the federal government invests
heavily in helping refugees settle in.

Across the country, the State Department contracts with 10 agencies known
as "volags" — short for voluntary agencies — to support refugees,
helping them find housing, enroll their children in school, apply for
benefits and look for work.

Separately, the federal government last year gave $4.2 million to
Washington state and the state kicked in $4.6 million more. Washington, in
turn, awards contracts to a network of community-based service providers
to help refugees learn English, and get job training and other services.

In terms of direct financial help, refugees are eligible for cash
assistance and food stamps — $360 per month for up to eight months for
single adults. Families with children under 18 are eligible for Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families, known as TANF.

A family of three is eligible for $562 — higher than in all but 10
states — with the amount increasing about $100 for each additional
eligible person, up to a maximum of $1,320.

Additionally, the federal government provides upfront cash for each
arriving refugee — $1,100 per person.

Officials with the volags say they often use that cash to pay as much of
the family's household expenses as possible in advance before turning over
the balance to the refugees themselves.

The volags are responsible for finding housing for families that's safe
and — based on their TANF levels — also affordable.

But often the numbers don't pencil out.

A family of six gets $866 in monthly TANF benefits, for example, and a
family of five gets $762. But rent alone averages $750 a month for a
two-bedroom apartment in South King County — without utilities.

In the past, when the economy was strong and jobs — even low-wage
positions — plentiful, families struggling to keep up with the rent
could count on one or two people in the household finding work to help
keep everyone afloat.

But without jobs, most families find themselves depending on the kindness
of strangers to help them survive from month to month.

Reaching out

In Kent, An Na and her family have been on both the giving and receiving
end of that support since arriving here last year.

Even when her household income dropped below the cost of her monthly rent,
she reached out to help other Burmese families who were also staving off
homelessness. At one point, a father and son were crashing on their
living-room floor.

Recently, said An Na's daughter, Oo Meh, one of her teachers learned of
their struggles and paid the family's $180 electric bill.

And the Coalition for Refugees from Burma, an all-volunteer organization
of Burmese immigrants, has been scouring the philanthropic landscape
trying to find them financial assistance.

"She needs a job; but realistically, she won't be able to find a job
anytime soon," said Simon Khin, who quit his software-engineering job to
help run that group with his wife and others.

State Department officials acknowledge the current job market is creating
a problem for many refugees but say that, as bad as things are in this
country, conditions in the camps are even worse.

The federal government is studying how it might resettle people in areas
of the U.S. where there are more available jobs. For example, with the
recession coming to Washington later than other parts of the country, this
region might have been one of those places.

But even in good times the community-based groups that contract with the
state to help refugees find work have a poor track record.

In 2007, for example, 48 percent of refugees in the state were placed in
jobs at an average hourly rate of $9.25. Last year, only 28 percent found
work.

Locally, groups that work with homeless refugees and immigrants say that
while their needs are particularly pressing, they are receiving little
attention in plans to change the way homeless families in general get
help.

"The needs of refugees are seen as an afterthought," said Someireh
Amirfaiz, executive director of the Refugee Women's Alliance in Seattle.

Debbi Knowles, a King County program manager who is writing a new plan to
end family homelessness, wants it to reflect the challenges facing
refugees.

But advocates, she said, have yet to provide any real concrete ideas about
how that might be done.

Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull at seattletimes.com

____________________________________

August 29, The Fayette Observer (US)
Myanmar refugees face cultural and language barriers in Robeson County –
Mike Hixenbaugh

Say Reh stared through smudged glass as the rusted yellow school bus
carried him past rolling tobacco fields, hollowed-out farmhouses and rows
of mobile homes. This isn't the America the 25-year-old read about as a
child, growing up in a bamboo hut on the other side of the world.

The suffocating stench of raw meat and sweat mingled in the muggy midday
air. He clutched a pair of rubber work boots and gazed out the window,
watching fields and trees flash by.

Say Reh is one of more than 400 refugees from the Karenni state of Myanmar
who have settled in Robeson County in the past 10months. The bus was
carrying him and about 40 others home after a morning shift at the
Mountaire Farms poultry processing plant in Lumber Bridge.

This existence -- slicing up chickens for next to minimum wage in rural
North Carolina -- isn't what Say Reh imagined almost two years ago when he
boarded a plane in Thailand, bound for a new life in the United States. It
isn't what many of the refugees expected.

"It's different," Say Reh said in choppy English, raising his voice to
speak over the rumbling diesel engine. "But it is good here."

Almost anything is better than the lives the refugees left behind.

The Karenni have been persecuted for more than a half century in the
Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. Most of the refugees now
living in Lumberton lived for between 10 and 20 years in primitive refugee
camps along the west Thai border before fleeing to the United States.

They stayed in small huts made of bamboo and teak hacked from the jungle.
There was no power or running water. Many of the refugees were infected
with malaria and suffered from malnutrition and depression.

In Lumberton, the Karenni have been placed in small apartments and rental
houses scattered throughout the city. They live two to three families to a
home and spend most of their time inside.

Few of the refugees speak any English. Many more are still learning about
how to use electric appliances and must be reminded to watch for traffic
in the street.

Those who are old enough to work are bused 30 minutes to and from the
chicken processing plant each day by an employee management firm under
contract with Mountaire.

The chicken processor has been paying the contractor, Summit Management
Co., per worker to bring the refugees to Lumberton. The agency supplies
the Karenni with housing and transportation at no cost to the workers.

Mountaire officials wouldn't speak with a reporter about the arrangement,
but workers outside the chicken plant said the Karenni refugees have
replaced large numbers of Hispanics at the factory.

Tim Wiley, the owner of Summit Management, said as much.

"There has been a great need for these food processing companies to
replace the undocumented worker," Wiley said. "They're scared to cut
(illegal immigrants) loose because they're not sure they can find someone
to replace them. That's where we come in."

Wiley and his wife opened an office in Lumberton this spring to serve as a
gathering place for the refugees. There, Summit employees and translators
help the Karenni fill out health care documents, get the appropriate
vaccinations and enroll their children in public school.

The firm also offers free English lessons and summer day care for
school-age children. Next month, the agency plans to start teaching
driver's training courses.

"We're not just flying them in here and cutting them loose," Wiley said.
"We're working to prepare them for life here. It's like raising children
all over again."

The Karenni began arriving in Robeson County in small numbers last winter.
The majority of the refugees, though, only moved here within the past few
months.

Many have struggled to adjust to life, both in and outside the plant.

Jobs offer future

Nge Reh sat cross-legged on the floor at the rental house he and his
family have been sharing with a few other refugees in East Lumberton.

His hands were sore and his eyes heavy from long hours at the chicken
plant. He feels isolated living in Robeson County, he says through a
translator, because people in the community can't understand him.

"We cannot communicate," Nge Reh said in his native Karenni language.

A rerun of "Desperate Housewives" buzzed on a small TV across the room as
he spoke. Nge Reh stared blankly at the screen while two of his three
children climbed on him and tugged at his shirt.

His wife was still at work, finishing her morning shift at the chicken
plant. The couple, like many of the married refugees, work opposite hours
to ensure someone is always home with the children.

His new life is a lonely one, the refugee said. But he wouldn't change
anything.

"It is much better here than in the camps," Nge Reh said. "Here, we have
human rights and a future for our children."

Nge Reh and his co-workers are among a growing number of refugees from
Myanmar who have begun moving in droves from major U.S. cities to find
work at slaughterhouses throughout the rural South.

Poultry processing is a harsh way to achieve upward mobility, but that's
exactly what these jobs represent for the Karenni.

The work can be strenuous. At the plant, hundreds of workers stand
elbow-to-elbow at conveyor belts, wearing earplugs and wielding knives or
scissors to debone and slice raw chickens. The tasks, completed at a
hectic pace, can strain arms, wrists and backs.

Mountaire pays the refugees $8.20 an hour, more than twice what the
average Karenni could earn in a day back home. All workers start at the
same salary regardless of race or ethnicity, a plant human resources
officer said.

In many cases, food processing is the only work the refugees can find.

"What happens is, the government brings these refugees to big cities
thinking it will be easier for them to find work and assimilate," Wiley
said. "But there isn't work, and after eight months, the government
benefits stop. Then what?"

The meat packers started turning to refugees -- who are here legally on
temporary visas -- in response to the growing government crackdown on
illegal immigration over the past few years.

The Perdue Farms chicken packing plant in Rockingham has been paying a
nonprofit organization to bring in refugees from Myanmar since 2008,
according to published reports. The Smithfield Foods hog processing plant
in Tar Heel also is said to have hired a number of refugees in recent
years, but a company official declined to comment.

'A whole new world'

Not all the refugee contractors are as committed as Wiley to helping the
workers get settled, he said.

"The way we do it, this isn't a very profitable business," he said.

Each day, three women from the firm travel to the refugees' homes and
teach them how to use household appliances, set the thermostat and operate
TV remote controls.

The company is assisting the Karenni in an effort to establish their own
community at a new mobile home park in town. They want to preserve their
culture, Wiley said.

"That's not something we're required to do, but it's something I think we
must do," he said. "It wouldn't be fair if we didn't. It's a whole new
world out there for them."

It's also a dangerous world.

A few refugee families were relocated to a new home this spring after they
witnessed a Lumberton woman being gunned down in her front yard. They were
terrified, Wiley said, so the contractor agreed to move them.

"We're trying to keep them out of the worst neighborhoods," he said.

Even then, the Karenni face daily hazards.

A 23-year-old refugee, Hso Reh, was killed this spring when a driver ran
him over from behind on his bicycle. He had been in town for less than two
weeks.

Another refugee, said to have been riding on the handlebars, was injured.
Both men were wearing dark clothes and had no reflectors while riding late
at night, according to a police report.

The incident prompted volunteers from Hyde Park Baptist Church to get
involved.

"It just broke my heart," said Carole Allen, an employee with the church.
"I can't imagine being in another country, not knowing the language and
not having anyone there for you. I told our deacon, 'They don't speak our
language. They don't know our culture. This is a huge need for our
community.' "

Hyde Park volunteers started offering lessons on bicycle safety, while
others in the church organized donation drives for the Karenni. Last
month, the church hosted a cultural exchange dinner with the refugees.

"We couldn't really communicate very well, but we shared food, and it was
a good time," Allen said.

The Karenni -- mostly Baptists and Catholics after years of missionary
efforts at the refugee camps -- have begun holding their own Christian
service inside the church gymnasium. They sing American worship songs and
pray for their family members back home.

Last month, Hyde Park started paying the Karenni pastor a salary so he
could quit his job at the chicken plant.

"Whatever we can do to reach out to them and help them," Allen said,
"we're going to do it. We don't have to fly overseas to be missionaries."

Local backlash

Not everyone in Robeson County has been so receptive. Years of confinement
in the refugee camps have, in many ways, left the Karenni ill equipped for
their new lives here. Some residents have begun to push back.

Geneva McIntosh stood on the front stoop outside her home at Carthage
Square apartments on a recent afternoon and pointed to a line of T-shirts
and blue jeans slung over bushes next door.

"It's how they dry their clothes," the 73-year-old woman said. "It's
ridiculous."

More than 40 Karenni refugees have moved into the apartment complex off
Carthage Road in the past six months. At first, McIntosh said, she was
intrigued by the new faces. Then she grew tired of them.

"We don't like it," McIntosh said. "They leave garbage all over the place.
They spit everywhere. They bathe outside. It's a nuisance."

McIntosh said she and other neighbors want to have the refugees evicted.

"Are they even here legally?" McIntosh said. "I think it's unfair to bring
people here from all over the world to take our jobs. There are people
here in Robeson County who need those jobs."

Lumberton city officials and police have fielded a handful of calls from
residents like McIntosh who complain about refugees spitting in public,
piling trash outside their homes and bathing in their backyards.

"We're trying to teach them they can't do that stuff here," Wiley said.
"But it's going to be a process. Some people, no matter what, they just
don't like foreigners."

After a few months in Lumberton, the Karenni still meet hostility on a
near-daily basis, Wendy Jordan said.

Jordan drives a bus for Summit Management and has been helping the Karenni
enroll their children in school. She also takes the refugees shopping on
weekends.

"As Americans, we are the world's worst at accepting new people," she
said. "We could learn a lot from them if we let them."

Thay Law has made it his goal to enlighten those who look down on his people.

The 33-year-old is among the Karenni refugees who have settled in
Lumberton. He speaks near-fluent English and drives a car.

Thay Law works for the management company to help his people adjust to
their new lives. He also hopes to educate Robeson County residents about
his people's true aspirations, he said.

"We have come here legally," Thay Law said. "We came to work and be free.
We are eligible for (government) benefits, but our people want to work."

The Karenni arrived in the United States as permanent residents. After a
year, they can apply for a green card, which puts them on the road to
citizenship within five to seven years.

More than 120 Karenni children started at public schools throughout
Lumberton last week. Most of them already speak better English than their
parents.

"That generation will be fine," said Thay Law, himself a father of three.
"They will learn and have a good life."

As for the adults, nobody wants to slice a chicken for the rest of their
life, Thay Law said. But his people will do what it takes to be free from
oppression and to offer their children a better future. If that means long
hours working jobs that most Americans shun, then so be it.

Making the best of it

Beh Reh, like many of the refugees, doesn't particularly enjoy his job at
Mountaire. But it's what he must do to provide for his children, he said.

The 35-year-old hopped across the living room on one foot to answer the
door a few weeks ago. He had his left leg blown off in a land-mine
explosion nearly 12 years ago.

The refugee has finally adjusted to walking on a prosthetic, he said
through a translator, but it's uncomfortable after long shifts at the
chicken plant.

"It's made it very difficult because I have to stand all day," he said. "I
get cramps in my leg."

Beh Reh gets no special treatment at the plant, he said. Then again, he
has never thought to ask for it.

His 4-year-old son jumped up and down on the couch as he spoke. Beh Reh
gently scolded the child, then turned away and smiled.

"I work to support my family," he said in Karenni. "It's what I must do."

Back on the bus, the window view of rural farmland had been replaced by
lines of small bungalow houses, car-lined streets and cracked city
sidewalks.

Say Reh perked up in his seat as it rounded a corner and neared the
Lumberton apartment complex where he has lived the past 10 months. His
pregnant wife, Kue Meh, was waiting for him inside.

"I met her here," Say Reh said.

His face lights up as he details their speedy courtship. The couple met in
Lumberton and were married a few months later, he said.

She has stopped working at the chicken plant, at least until the baby
comes, he said.

The fact that his first-born child will be an American is not lost on the
young refugee.

He doesn't mind working at the slaughterhouse, he said, but he hopes for
something better one day. Perhaps after a few years, he can become a
teacher or take a job as a social worker.

For now, he cuts chickens.

The young husband and father-to-be gathered his boots and backpack as the
old school bus crossed onto his block. He shared one last thought about
his new life before standing to leave.

"It is not easy for my people (in Robeson County)," he said. "We have to
learn about how to live and adjust to life."

Because for better or worse, this is home now.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

August 30, The Nation (Thailand)
Burma poll will only entrench those in power

As junta rejects foreign involvement, Asean must declare where it stands.

As the Burmese election approaches, the military junta increasingly
tightens the screws to ensure that nothing will go wrong on November 7.
The outcome would favour the surrogate parties run by military appointed
politicians apart from themselves. To prepare for that eventuality,
several senior military leaders including General Than Shwe, General Maung
Aye, General Shwe Mann and others have retired. Although they are out of
their green uniforms, they are still totally in control of Burmese lives.
Don't be fooled by the colour of their shirts.

House-arrested Aung San Suu Kyi has called on voters to boycott this
election, which will be used as a tool to further entrench the power
wielders in the military. With or without an election, the tatmadaw will
continue to reign supreme. With the election, 25 per cent of seats in the
House of Nationalities (220) and the House of Representatives (440) would
be filled by military appointed names. Retired generals who get elected
are not counted as part of this group's quota. Over 1,000 politicians,
nominees of the military junta, belonging to the Union of Solidarity and
Development Party would probably take up most of the seats.

At least 500 candidates from pro-democracy parties are contesting against
the junta cronies. But they are faced with all kinds of political barriers
to prevent them from fully participating in the November election. For
instance, political candidates need US 500 (Bt15,600) to register their
name. It is ridiculous that such an impoverished country would require
such a high fee.

Indeed, while it is still fresh in the public memory, the junta is making
use of the progress made during the rehabilitation of devastation brought
about by the 2008 Nargis Cyclone to woo voters. More than US 600 million,
mainly from the West but coupled with China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore
were injected into the country's economy and helped to alleviate the
plight of millions of affected villagers. The junta has claimed credits
repeatedly for these outside contributions.

Therefore, the junta is working hard to prevent foreign elements,
including humanitarian officials working under the Nargis scheme, from
finding out what it is doing and from having access to the electoral
process and constituencies. They fear the aid workers would tell all on
what they witness during the election. As usual, journalists are barred
from covering the event. International observers, according to the junta,
are not needed because they have sufficient experience in organising an
election. Even the offer by Asean to dispatch a team of observers during
the election has been turned down.

Asean has to ponder very carefully now whether to give carte blanche
endorsement to the poll's outcome. The junta has already displayed strong
signs that international appeal for a free, fair and inclusive election
would not be heeded. Asean has already suffered from the past 13 years
after Burma's admission. To remedy the situation, Asean has to take a firm
stand on the upcoming poll. After all, Asean is a rule-based organisation
which respects democratic values and international norms. Failure to do so
would tamper further the grouping's ambition to become an international
player.
____________________________________

August 30, Irrawaddy
Junta's strategic election moves – Htet Aung

The candidate nomination period for Burma's 2010 election closed on
Monday. The deadline for candidates who want to withdraw their application
is September 3, according to the timetable set by Election Commission.

Although Monday was the deadline for candidate nominations, it can also be
translated as the deadline for the registration for new political parties
as well, because no party can exist without fielding at least three
candidates in the election, according to Article 16 of the Political Party
Registration bylaw.

Out of 47 new and existing political parties which submitted their
registration applications to the EC, 42 parties were approved as of Sept.
30. Five parties, including three Kachin parties, have been rejected
because their party registration had not been approved by the EC within
the time limit.

Regarding the case of the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) led by Dr
Tu Ja, a former vice-chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization
(KIO), the EC repeatedly told KSPP leaders to continue their endeavors,
and it never gave clear-cut answers when party officials went to Naypyidaw
to question their lack of approval.

This follows the EC pattern of highhandedly exploiting the pre-election
steps to create barriers for opposition political parties and to favor the
junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) at each step.

The EC failed to allow sufficient time for political parties to carry out
all the necessary steps, but instead compressed the time to be able to
hold the election on Nov. 7, a week ahead of the release of democratic
icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Nov. 14.

Also, the EC could have issued a timetable of pre-election steps in March,
but it failed to do so intentionally so as not to allow the parties to get
access to the right information and enough time to prepare the required
documents.

Now, the junta has a fairly accurate way to predict the election on Nov. 7
by analyzing the candidate nomination lists for all the parties. The USDP
plans to contest in all constituencies in the national and regional
parliaments. The democratic opposition parties will field less than one
hundred candidates each.

Meanwhile, the military carried out a major reshuffle last week, another
major step leading to the resignation of many high-level generals who will
seek seats in parliament. It was designed to be completed before the
deadline for candidate registration. In April, the entire cabinet led by a
former Gen Thein Sein also resigned to form the USDP.

These well-planned moves which have occurred since the promulgation of the
electoral laws in March were strategically important for Snr-Gen Than Shwe
and his generals to retain their grip on power in the post-election
political structure of the country.

The people of Burma are not witnessing a transition from a military to
civilian administration, but a transition within the military to form a
pseudo-civilian branch of former military officers who will play a
dual-function role to support the military in the new parliament.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

August 30, Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma
Launch of ND-Burma’s report “The Hidden Impact of Burma’s Arbitrary and
Corrupt Taxation”

The Network for Human Rights Documentation - Burma (ND-Burma) will hold a
press conference to launch its new report “The Hidden Impact of Burma’s
Arbitrary and Corrupt Taxation.” ND Burma, through meticulous research and
documentation, reveals the military regime’s corrupt and cruel system of
taxation and the devastating impact this has on the people of Burma.  The
report exposes the military regime’s use of taxation as a tool of
repression.

In this report, ND Burma, a 13-member human rights documentation
organization, aims to inform the international community about the abusive
taxation practices committed by the regime. In Burma, taxation rather than
working for the betterment of the people contributes to the ongoing and
systematic violation of their most basic human rights: the right to an
adequate standard of living, to housing, to education and the right to be
free from forced labor.

While the majority of Burma’s people live in abject poverty, the military
regime and its cronies continue to profit, with over 50% of the national
budget spent on the military, compared to the meager provisions in health
and social care. ND Burma’s research revealed that people are forced to
hand over large proportions of their income and property in official and
unofficial taxes leaving more and more people struggling to survive.  Dr.
Alison Vicary, ,researcher at Burma Economic Watch,  and ND-Burma board
members, Mr. Han Gyi  and Ms. Cheery Zahau, will discuss the findings of
the new report and answer questions relating to arbitrary taxation,
corruption and extortion in Burma and the far- reaching consequences of
these abusive practices.


What:	Arbitrary Taxation Report Launch by Network for Human Rights
Documentation (Burma) [ND-Burma]

When:	10.30 am Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Where:	The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand
The Penthouse, Maneeya Center
518/5 Ploenchit Road
Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
+66 02-652-0580/1 (office)

E-mail:	info at fccthai.com
Website: http://www.fccthai.com

Speakers:
Mr. Han Gyi, Coordinator
Dr. Alison Vicary,  Researcher at Burma Economic Watch
Ms. Cheery Zahau, Management Board Member


For further information, please contact -
ND Burma office: office at nd-burma.org (+66 (0)53 408 149)
Coordinator – Han Gyi mghanpai at gmail.com (+66 (0)81 961 5992)