BurmaNet News, September 7, 2010

[Editor]

September 7, 2010 Issue #4036


INSIDE BURMA
Jakarta Globe via Reuters: As polls near, Burma sells assets to cronies
AFP: Myanmar poll encounters apathy, ignorance
DPA: Myanmar democracy icon wants to sue junta
Mizzima: 1990 winners’ committee announce vote boycott
Irrawaddy: Families denied access to Pegu shooting victims

ON THE BORDER
SHAN: Junta personnel on the Thai-Burma border ordered a 24-hour standby
South China Morning Post: II's merry-go-round of misery in Thailand;
Myanmese tell how authorities profit from human smuggling they are meant
to stop

BUSINESS / TRADE
AFP: China lauds 'friendly' Myanmar as junta leader arrives

REGIONAL
AFP: Extortion and confusion mar Thailand's migrant crackdown

OPINION / OTHER
CNN: What does Myanmar's Than Shwe want from Beijing? – John Vause

PRESS RELEASE
European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma: European MPs welcome Hungary
support for Burma crimes inquiry

ANNOUNCEMENT
IBMO: The Saffron Revolution: Three year anniversary



____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 7, Jakarta Globe via Reuters
As polls near, Burma sells assets to cronies

Private-sector reforms have accelerated in Burma, but not without a heavy
dose of cronyism, as the military junta strengthens control over major
assets and the business elite before ceding power to a nominally civilian
government.

About 300 state assets — from real estate, vehicle service stations and
toll roads to ports, shipping companies and an airline — have been
privatized, mostly this year, in highly opaque sales.

As top military brass swap fatigues for civilian clothes ahead of
elections on Nov. 7, the sales put valuable assets under their control
through holding companies, or in the hands of their allies, turning the
ex-military elite into the financial power brokers of a new era of
civilian rule in Burma.

“The military is broadening its base of supporters by creating economic
opportunities for loyal figures,” said Jacob Ramsay, senior analyst at
British-based security consultants Control Risks.

“To keep some of these senior members of the military who aren’t quite in
the top tier happy, they are offering the transition to civilian positions
within the national legislature and sweetening it with access to
money-making opportunities.”

Ramsay points to 1960s Indonesia as a model for the Burma regime, when the
late autocratic ruler Suharto laid the foundations of what would become
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, while retaining his tight grip on power.

____________________________________

September 7, Agence France Presse
Myanmar poll encounters apathy, ignorance

Thabeikkyin, Myanmar – The first election in 20 years is only weeks away,
but for many people in isolated Myanmar, a chronic lack of information --
and meaningful choice -- has dulled enthusiasm for the vote.

"Could you please advise me who I should vote for?" 43-year-old Ko Aung
asked AFP when questioned on the election.

The father-of-three said there were only two parties in his area, the
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National Unity Party
(NUP). Both support the country's feared military junta.

Ko Aung, who sells bamboo shoots from the forest in Mandalay's Thabeikkyin
township, has heard independent radio reports saying the USDP "is not
good", but he has no strong interest in politics.

"Our daily income is the important thing for us," he said.

The election on November 7 has been dismissed by critics as a sham aimed
at concealing military power behind a civilian facade.

Generals have stacked the cards in their favour to ensure there is no
repeat of the 1990 vote that saw Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for
Democracy (NLD) storm to victory, only to be denied power by the junta.

Suu Kyi, the greatest challenge to the military, has spent much of the
past two decades in detention and is barred from participating in this
election because she is a serving prisoner. She is due for release days
after the vote.

The NLD has boycotted the polls saying the rules are unfair and has
subsequently been disbanded by the ruling generals.

The main democracy parties still in the running, the Democratic Party
(Myanmar) and the National Democratic Force, an NLD offshoot, are fielding
just a fraction of the number of candidates put up by the main pro-junta
parties.

They have faced serious financial and campaigning constraints, alleged
intimidation by security personnel and a tight timetable to register to
stand.

With a weakened democracy movement and widespread hardship resulting from
years of economic mismanagement, political apathy is rife.

Kyaw Kyaw, a 25-year-old university graduate in Yangon, said he had no
interest in the election but would vote USDP if he had to participate as
"they will win for sure" and "might continue giving us 24-hour
electricity".

"If Aung San Suu Kyi is released and competes in the election, I will vote
for her. Otherwise, I will vote for the USDP as I do not know much about
the new political parties," he said.

Because it is two decades since the last general election, many people,
particularly those in rural areas, do not understand the voting process.

People in Pakokku, in the northeast of Myanmar, told AFP they were afraid
to take an interest in politics.

One 31-year-old woman, whose reluctance to be named is unsurprising in a
country where political activity has long been associated with
double-digit prison sentences, plans to consult monks before casting her
vote.

Two years ago the woman, who cannot read or write, was told by her village
chief to vote for a new constitution in a referendum, but defied him on
the instructions of a monk.

"Although I'm afraid of the village chief and police, I have more faith in
our Buddhist monks," she said.

The new constitution, which comes into force with the election,
ring-fences a quarter of the legislature for the army, while
junta-friendly parties are seen as having a major advantage in the contest
for the remaining seats.

The USDP has merged with the Union Solidarity and Development Association
(USDA) -- a powerful pro-junta organisation with deep pockets and up to 27
million members, many of whom are civil servants anxious to keep their
jobs.

A 55-year-old government worker in Pakokku said his job meant he had not
learned much about the political parties.

"I want to vote for the people who can really work for our benefit. The
government has repaired our roads and built many factories for us around
our region lately," he said.

But asked if he would like to vote for the USDP, he fell silent.

"I do not know much. I have to think it through very thoroughly," he said.
"Could you please advise me who to vote for?"

____________________________________

September 5, Deustche Press-Agentur
Myanmar democracy icon wants to sue junta

Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has advised her now defunct
political party to sue the ruling junta for forcing its dissolution,
opposition sources said Sunday.

Suu Kyi, who is serving an 18-month sentence under house arrest, gave her
legal advice to her team of lawyers, Nyan Win, Kyi Win and Khin Htay Kywe,
at a meeting Saturday.

'Daw (Madame) Aung San Suu Kyi told us that we should sue the government
for forcing the National League for Democracy (NLD) to be abolished,
because it was unlawful,' Nyan Win said.

Suu Kyi, 65, says new electoral laws adopted by the junta were prejudiced
against herself and her party.

The military government plans to stage a general election Nov 7, a week
before Suu Kyi's detention term expires.

The junta, which has ruled since 1988, last held an election in 1990 -
which the NLD won by a landslide.

But the party was blocked from power, and Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has spent
15 of the past 20 years under house arrest.

The regime made sure that NLD and Suu Kyi were barred from this year's
election by new laws covering party registration and membership
regulations adopted in March.

The laws bar people currently serving prison terms from being party
members, effectively forcing the NLD to choose between dropping their
leader Suu Kyi or forfeiting its right to participate.

The party chose in April to boycott the polls and has since been
decertified as a political party, although it still exists as an
organisation.

Other regulations, such as a 500-dollar-per-candidate registration fee, in
a country where per capita income is less than $600, have assured that
only pro-junta parties will have sufficient candidates to fully contest
the election.

____________________________________

September 7, Mizzima News
1990 winners’ committee announce vote boycott – Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The Committee Representing the People’s Parliament
in Burma announced today it would boycott the junta’s planned elections on
November 7.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) on September 16, 1998 formed the
committee (CRPP) comprised of ethnic parties that won seats in the 1990
general election and the NLD, which won more than 80 per cent of available
seats. The move came after the Burma’s ruling military junta, the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC), failed to answer renewed calls to
recognise the results of the 1990 polls and step down.

The boycott resolution was passed in the CRPP meeting last Friday at NLD
party vice-chairman Tin Oo’s residence attended by nine of the committee’s
members. The resolution urged the public to exercise its right to abstain
from voting in the elections as per the provisions of junta’s electoral
laws by shunning polling booths on the election date.

“The boycott means the people can use their right not to vote in the
election if they feel it will not benefit to the people, country and
themselves, in accordance with the electoral laws”, CRPP general secretary
Aye Thar Aung told Mizzima.

“This election is conducted to bring the 2008 constitution into force 
 We
have objected since the constitution stage too. We raised objections to
the national referendum and withdrew [from the National Convention] while
it was drafting this constitution,” Zomi National Congress (ZNC) chairman
Pu Cing Tsian Thang said.

“Announcing constituencies and constituting legislative bodies are all
derived from this constitution. Doing all these things based on a
not-yet-operational constitution is unconstitutional. It is wrong. So we
will boycott this election”, he said. ZNC is one of the constituent groups
of the CRPP.

CRPP leaders will accompany NLD leaders in their organisational tours to
the states and division and will explain the boycott resolution. They will
also listen to local people’s difficulties in maintaining their
livelihoods and in their daily lives.
Also discussed at the meeting was the growing tension between ethnic armed
ceasefire groups and junta forces over the latter’s Border Guard Force
(BGF), and their concerns about potential civil wars breaking out.

Aye Thar Aung said that building national unity and establishing a genuine
federal union could only be achieved through enacting a constitution based
on the Panlong spirit, which could guarantee and implement democracy and
ethnic rights.

The Panglong Agreement was a deal reached between the Burmese government
under Aung San and the Shan, Kachin and Chin peoples on February 12, 1947,
which accepted in principle “Full autonomy in internal administration for
the Frontier Areas” and envisioned the creation of a Kachin State by the
Constituent Assembly (Burma’s first post-independence parliament).

NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo, NLD central executive committee members Win Tin,
Than Tun, Hla Pe, Nyunt Wei and Thaug Ko Thang from the United
Nationalities Alliance (UNA), Aye Thar Aung from the Arakan League for
Democracy (ALD), Soe Win from the Democracy Party, and Pu Cing Tsian Thang
from ZNC attended the meeting on Friday. Similarly, the Myanmar Democracy
Congress Party general secretary Wei Hmu Thwin also told Mizzima he would
boycott the vote.

“The responses to political parties and activities done by election
commission [the junta’s Union Election Commission] are totally
unacceptable and unsatisfactory so our party didn’t field any candidates
to the commission,” he said. “Some will stand for election as
independents. To stand as a political party, a party needs to field at
least three candidates in this election. But our party didn’t field any
candidates. We can’t yet say what will happen to our party”,

Meanwhile, young political activists distributed in some areas of Rangoon
yesterday leaflets that said people had the right to vote or not vote as
per the electoral laws. They also said candidates had the right to
withdraw their nomination papers in the stipulated time.

The leaflets quoted the electoral rights provided by the People’s
Parliament Election Law Chapter 1, section two (n) as giving the right to
stand in the election, not to stand, the right to withdraw nomination
papers within the stipulated time and the right to vote or not vote.

When the CRPP was formed in 1998, the committee was chaired by Aung Shwe
and had 10 positions. It was supported by 251 members of parliament
elected in 1990, including MPs from other parties. The CRPP annulled all
laws promulgated since September 18, 1998 and called for the release of
all political prisoners.

The SPDC responded by arresting 110 NLD MPs and officials, including Dr
Saw Mra Aung, who was detained from September 1998 to June 14, 2001. By
the end of 1998, the SPDC had shut down 43 NLD offices, and has insisted
on the dissolution of the CRPP as a precondition for the resumption of
talks with the opposition. On October 23, 2002, the CRPP expanded its
membership from 10 to 13 with new members representing three leaders from
ethnic groups.

____________________________________

September 7, Irrawaddy
Families denied access to Pegu shooting victims – Ko Htwe

Family members have been refused permission to see the bodies of the two
young men who were shot dead on Saturday by Burmese soldiers in Pegu,
according to the victims' relatives.

Aung Thu Hein, 23, and Soe Paing Zaw, 19, were shot dead execution-style
by soldiers from Infantry Battalion 59 of the Southern Regional Military
Command, which is based in Pegu, some 50 km north of Rangoon, after a
dispute between local men and soldiers at a restaurant.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, a relative of Soe Paing Zaw said,
“The authorities did not allow us to see his body.”

He said that half of the people attending Tuesday's funeral were military
authorities and that security was tight on the way to the cemetery. The
cremation of the two men had been scheduled for noon on Tuesday but the
authorities changed the time to 11 a.m., he added.

According to a medical officer at Pegu General Hospital, Aung Thu Hein had
been shot six times while Soe Paing Zaw had been shot four times.

“I heard that no action had been taken against the offenders,” said Aung
Thu Hein’s aunt.

State-run radio programs on Myanmar Radio and Padaunt Myae FM reported
that the two men had been shot because they tried to wrest weapons from
the soldiers.

“Pegu is like an army barracks, because there are so many soldiers, in and
out of uniform,” said Myat Hla, the chairman of the National League for
Democracy (NLD) in Pegu who is currently suspended from his post for
demanding the resignation of aging NLD leaders.

A local in Pegu told The Irrawaddy: “I saw local police, firemen and
members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association on the way to
the cemetery.”

The Union Democratic Party (UDP), whose chairman Thein Htay intends to run
in the general election in Pegu Township for the Upper House, on Monday
released a statement urging the authorities to take action against the
killers.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 7, Shan Herald Agency for News
Junta personnel on the Thai-Burma border ordered a 24-hour standby – Hseng
Khio Fah

Latest reports from the Thai-Burma border say all junta personnel from
every department in Shan State East’s Mongton and Monghsat townships where
the United Wa State Army (UWSA)’s 171st  Military Region is based,
opposite Thailand’s Chiangmai, were informed by the regional commander to
pack all their materials to be ready for evacuation from Sunday onward.

The message was passed in a circular letter from the Military Operations
Command (MOC) #14 based in Monghsat on Sunday, 5 September. The letter was
said to have come from Kengtung Headquarters, according to a civil servant
from education department in Mongton.

The letter said, “Due to the UWSA’s defiance to Naypyitaw, top ranking
officials thereby has made directive to all junta personnel to prepare and
pack all of their important materials to be ready 24 hours in order to be
able to evacuate because the army cannot predict how much and how long the
tensions will go on.”

“Everyone therefore must be ready and comply with the order when it is
received,” she said. “But we were told not to inform local residents about
the preparations.”

“Rumors being talked among our government say that the Wa will be wiped
out whenever the junta wants,” the source said.

Reports of the Wa fighters’ preparations for war were also received. All 5
brigades under the 171st military region were called to gather at their
main base Hwe Aw since 1 September and were given intensive military
training. Another training called ‘mocked evacuation’ started this
morning, according to a source from Nakawngmu, who has close relationship
with the Wa.

“We are always told to be ready but not to panic,” a southern Wa fighter
told SHAN.

Likewise, Thai authorities along the border with the Wa region have also
been conducting mocked evacuation exercises for local villagers for about
two weeks, said a villager from Chiangmai’s Wianghaeng District.

The UWSA's 171st Military Region comprises five brigades, spreading along
the Mongton and Monghsat townships in eastern Shan State, opposite to
Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai of Thailand.

“Burma Army trucks are passing through our village [Nakawngmu] every day.
There was one in the morning along with soldiers. Their uniforms were
dirty with mud. One passed on 6 September and 3 on 5 September,” said a
local resident of Nakawngmu.

Since the junta’s latest deadline, 1 September, military tensions between
the Burma Army and ceasefire groups escalated in several areas on the
Thai-Burma border and Sino-Burma border as ceasefire groups’ defiance was
maintained. Currently, military troops have been in positions in areas
facing the Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’, UWSA and National Democratic
Alliance Army (NDAA) on the Sino-Burma border as well.

But according to Chinese security officials based along the border with Wa
and NDAA, the military junta would not launch major operations in
Panghsang and Mongla before the elections are over.

“But if there is an opportunity to take some bases by quick action, they
[military junta] may first attack the SSA ‘North’ and some areas along the
Thai-Burma border.”

____________________________________

September 7, South China Morning Post
II's merry-go-round of misery in Thailand; Myanmese tell how authorities
profit from human smuggling they are meant to stop – Chutima Sidasathian
and Alan Morison

Ranong and Phuket – When teenage Myanmese prostitute Mo encountered police
in Thailand, she was entitled to expect arrest and deportation. But she
claims that what she got instead was a job working in a seedy bar, owned
by a local police officer. From the age of about 14, she sold sex in the
bar in the border town of Ranong, for 350 baht (HK$86) a time. Of that,
125 baht went to the pimp policeman. Mo says 100 baht went to immigration
officers.

Now 17, Mo and fellow Myanmese illegal immigrant Ae, 23, have described
how Thai officials in Ranong have systematically profited from the human
smuggling they are supposed to be battling. They have described how the
process of deportation of illegal Myanmese immigrants in Ranong is a sham,
with Thai police and other officials using the act of expulsion as an
opportunity to sell them by the boatload back to people smugglers.

Instead of being sent back to Myanmar when their "deportation" boat takes
them from Thai soil across the Kraburi River, the Myanmese are transferred
midstream onto the waiting boats of snakeheads who simply ferry them back
to Thailand.

Their claims and descriptions of the process have been endorsed by an
authoritative and official source in the region, who requested anonymity,
as well as by activists working on behalf of Myanmese immigrants. These
sources suggest that the trade involves thousands of Myanmese each year.

The colonel in charge of immigration at Ranong said all questions to him
would first have to be vetted by his superior officer in Bangkok. No other
comment was provided.

Mo and Ae, whose names have been changed for this article, made contact
with the South China Morning Post in Ranong via contacts in the Myanmese
community. Their account is timely - the International Anti-Corruption
Conference, attracting about 1,500 delegates from around the world,
convenes in Bangkok in November, and Thailand's Sihasak Phuangketkeow is
the current president of the UN Human Rights Council.

The pair described their life together on the run from police and
immigration authorities, a life in which almost every interaction with the
Thai authorities is corrupt, or predatory, or both.

"A patrol policeman pulled me up in Ranong one night," says Ae, describing
a typical encounter. "I told him I didn't have an [ID] card. He asked for
5,000 baht, but I said I didn't have that kind of money. 'If you sleep
with me, I won't send you to the police station,' he said. Eventually, he
took 1,500 baht."

Adisorn Kerdmongkon, a research officer for the International Rescue
Committee non-governmental organisation, said systemic corruption
prospered in Thailand because of lack of government intervention. "The
opportunity is there for immigration officials to make money as long as
there are no representatives from Burma to take charge of the people being
returned," he said. "We know there is corruption in the process. The
immigrants can simply come back again, and they do in large numbers."

Mo says she is an orphan. She has no memories of her parents and was
raised by a woman in Victoria Point, the Myanmese town closest to Ranong
across the Kraburi River. For as long as she can remember, she has been
beholden to the illicit trade in Myanmese immigrants.

"When I was six years old, I was brought to Thailand by the woman who took
care of me after my mother and father died. She took me to Chumphon
province, where she worked in a fish factory," Mo says.

"But when I was 13, she sold me to the owner of a karaoke bar for 70,000
baht. I was paid 4,000 baht a month, but my salary went to the woman who
sold me. I served beer and cleaned the shop and sat with the customers. If
customers gave me a tip, I was able to keep that. I told the owner I
wanted to leave, but he said he had paid for me, so I couldn't. I ran
away. I met a Burmese man who was kind to me and got me a job in a fish
factory."

Mo says that all went well for a year, when she was befriended by the
older Ae. The friends decided to head to Ranong, but before they could
make their way out of Chumphon, they were stopped by a policeman on the
street. "The policeman asked for 7,000 baht from each of us; he said that
would mean he could let us go. Ae didn't have money, but I had saved some
and we negotiated my price down to 3,000 baht."

Mo was freed, but Ae says she remained in police custody for a month
before she was sent with a truckload of fellow Myanmese to Ranong. Ae said
immigration officers in Ranong again demanded cash from her to allow her
to stay, but she didn't have enough and was sent back to Victoria Point.
"When I had some money, I headed back to Thailand on a one-week temporary
pass card. Since then, I haven't gone back [to Myanmar]."

Mo had headed for Ranong. "I had no job, and no money, so I decided to go
to Soi 3 [Ranong's brothel zone]. I worked there for a policeman [who
owned a bar]. He kept my Burmese ID card. I was paid 350 baht for every
time I had sex. The owner got 125 baht and immigration got 100 baht. I had
to work every day, with four or five customers some days."

Mo says she ran away and met up with Ae, but the policeman bar owner had
someone hunt them down and forced Mo back to work.

Later, Mo thought she had finally made good her escape when she fell sick
and was admitted to Ranong Hospital; when she checked out she went with Ae
to stay with a friend. But, as had happened so many times before, Mo
encountered a policeman who was determined to profit from her. "When we
meet the police, they always ask for money," Ae says.

Says Mo: "I was stopped by a patrol policeman and told him that my ID card
was with the owner of the bar in Soi 3. The patrol policeman wanted 2,000
baht but I couldn't pay, so he took me to the police station. In court, I
was fined 2,000 baht, which meant that I had to serve 10 days in jail
instead, at 200 baht a day. After that, I was sent to the immigration
detention centre.

"A woman came to see me and asked, 'Anyone come to pay for you yet?' I
said no. The woman paid 1,500 baht for me to immigration officers, and
took me and 20 women and about 30 men in a truck. We were put on two
boats, one for men and one for women. We were all banded around the
wrist."

It was then that the fake deportation took place, as the boats headed for
Victoria Point on the Myanmar side. "Close to Victoria Point, a long-tail
boat came to meet us," says Mo. "The man in the boat had a list of the
people he was taking. Four other girls and I got on the boat and were
taken back to Thailand. Everybody else on board the big boats was
transferred to different small boats.

"We never saw any Burmese authorities. I know we were taken back to
Thailand, but I don't know exactly where. The woman who paid 1,500 baht
for me was waiting again at the pier. We were taken in a minivan to work
at Kraburi district in a rubber plantation. After six weeks, the woman
told me she was looking for a husband for me. I befriended a man who took
me shopping at a local market, but when I had the chance I ran away with
1,000 baht in shopping money. I caught a bus to Ranong and met Ae again."

Paradoxically, the Thai officials' involvement in the human smuggling
process meets with the approval of Ae and Mo; they consider being sold
into sexual slavery or forced to work in shrimp factories better outcomes
than being deported into the hands of Myanmese officials, who impose long
jail terms and sometimes brutal punishment.

But their treatment in Thailand has been nothing short of brutal, too.

"I remember the time when three men came looking for Mo at my place," says
Ae. "They did not find her, because she was staying with my friend. That
was safer. The men beat me and took me up to a hill. I thought they were
going to kill me because I wouldn't tell them where Mo was. Then they took
me to a bar in Soi 3 and handcuffed me to a table. The handcuffs were not
very good so I managed to escape."

Thai human rights lawyer Nassir Achwarin said Myanmese like Ae and Mo were
constantly victims of corruption at the hands of immigration officials and
police at border points. "It's an ongoing abuse that the government fails
to act to prevent," he said. "It's time the government acknowledged the
problem and stepped in to do something about it."

Ae concurs. "In the daytime, I am not scared if someone spots me. Night is
different, because it's more dangerous. The police here make money on
Burmese any time, all the time. Even people with legal documents are
sometimes told they will be framed and have drugs planted on them if they
do not pay up."

Adisorn, of the International Rescue Committee, added: "Human trafficking
in Ranong is more powerful than the law. Too much freedom is given to
local authorities to do whatever they wish."

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 7, Agence France Presse
China lauds 'friendly' Myanmar as junta leader arrives – Dan Martin

BEIJING — China on Tuesday hailed Myanmar as a "friendly neighbour" and
warned the world not to meddle in its upcoming election, as the head of
the country's military junta arrived for a state visit.

Than Shwe, whose regime has drawn international condemnation for its human
rights record and political repression, is on a four-day visit that will
include a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

While Myanmar is the subject of tough Western sanctions, China -- the
junta's main trading partner and an eager investor in the isolated state's
sizeable natural resources -- called for even closer ties with its
neighbour.

"China and Myanmar are friendly neighbours and this year marks the 60th
anniversary of bilateral ties," foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told
reporters.

"We are willing to take this opportunity to further consolidate our
traditional friendship and make new contributions to regional peace and
stability."

Myanmar will hold its first election in 20 years in November but
pro-democracy parties allege that restrictions imposed by the iron-fisted
military regime will virtually ensure it wins the poll.

The election has been widely criticised by activists and the West as a sham.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, Jiang deflected questions about
Myanmar's human rights record and whether China's support has helped keep
the junta in power.

But she said China hopes "the international community can provide
constructive help" for the polls and "refrain from any negative impact on
the domestic political process of Myanmar and on regional peace and
stability".

She called the election an "important step in proceeding with democracy".

The Myanmar general is due to meet Hu on Wednesday and Premier Wen Jiabao
on Thursday.

Jiang provided no specifics on what Than Shwe would discuss with Chinese
leaders or on the reason for the visit. China had said earlier they would
discuss bilateral relations and their respective "domestic developments".

Besides meeting Hu and Wen in Beijing, Than Shwe will travel to Shanghai
to see the World Expo and visit southern China's booming export hub
Shenzhen during his visit ending Saturday, China said previously.

China has long helped to keep Myanmar afloat through trade ties, arms
sales, and by shielding it from UN sanctions over rights abuses as a
veto-wielding member of the Security Council.

In return, China is assured of a stable neighbour and access to raw
materials such as teak and gems from Myanmar, which has been ruled by the
military since 1962.

Ties frayed last year when fighting between junta forces and rebel ethnic
armies drove tens of thousands of refugees over the border into China,
which issued a rare admonishment to Myanmar.

But in November, China's top oil producer began construction of a pipeline
across Myanmar.

And last week two Chinese warships made a rare visit to Myanmar, which
Beijing's state press said was aimed at promoting ties between the allies'
armed forces.

The issue of border stability was discussed when Wen Jiabao visited
Myanmar in June -- the first visit by a Chinese premier in 16 years.

He met Than Shwe and the two sides signed a series of agreements on trade,
finance, energy, science and technology.

Ahead of Than Shwe's visit, Human Rights Watch had called on Beijing to
press Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, to conduct open elections and be
accountable for its rights record.

"China both wants to profit from Burma and distance itself from Burma's
unstable military rule," the New York-based group's acting Asia director
Sophie Richardson said in a statement.

"If the Chinese government doesn't fundamentally alter its approach to
Burma, it risks burnishing its reputation as a patron of abusive regimes."

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 7, Agence France Presse
Extortion and confusion mar Thailand's migrant crackdown

Mahachai, Thailand – Oo's troubles with the local Thai police began with a
request common across Asia -- he asked them to remove their shoes before
entering his room.

It cost him nearly a month's wages.

The proud 26-year-old Myanmar migrant said the officers in Mahachai, an
industrial area near Bangkok, asked him if he wanted to "make trouble".

Oo claims he was falsely accused of illegal lending and threatened with
deportation -- despite having documents proving his legal status -- until
he handed over 4,000 baht (128 dollars), around 20 day's pay.

Thailand has intensified its crackdown on unregistered migrants as part of
attempts to legalise its huge population of overseas workers.

But rights groups are concerned that many people are swept up in the
process despite having official documents, while there are fears that some
police are using the operation to step up extortion.

Andy Hall, consultant to the Human Rights and Development Foundation, said
police were extracting money from vulnerable migrants with "complete
impunity".

"I think that the fact they're doing this so systematically all across
Thailand shows just how much a culture of seeing the migrants as second
class and as almost subhuman has now become entrenched," he said.

The government recently told authorities to step up efforts to identify
illegal migrants, following a February 2010 deadline to apply for the
National Verification scheme aimed at normalising foreign workers' status.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said authorities were keen to
persuade migrants to join the system "so they can be protected", but he
added the government was aware of police extortion in some areas.

"If officers are committing fraud and are reported we will prosecute those
officers... but the problem is many of (the migrants) don't come forward,"
he said.

Figures from the Mahachai police show a surge to more than 400 arrests in
August, up from around 80 in March. But Hall said the real numbers are
likely to be in the thousands as arrested migrants with money pay to be
released.

The total number of migrants from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia could exceed
two million, when an estimated one million unregistered workers are taken
into account.

Hall stresses those from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, are not fleeing
conflict. Rather they have left behind an economy "in ruins" and many send
money home from Thailand.

"Maybe the conditions are better than in Burma, but they are caught
between two hells," he said.

One Samut Sakhon employer, who refused to be named, said authorities had
arrested over 200 people in a single day without checking their papers.

The workers were taken to Bangkok, forcing employers to send documents to
the capital to free them.

"In some factories 30 out of 40 workers were arrested, so they can't run
their businesses at all. Can you imagine how much we lose for not working
for a few days? The police don't seem to care," she said.

Phyu Pwint Oo, a shy 19-year-old from southern Myanmar, described being
caught up in a round-up as she returned home from her job in a Mahachai
seafood factory.

She said it was only when she found herself in a cell in Bangkok with 50
other women that she realised she had been arrested by immigration forces.

"They gave me three meals a day, but I didn't have a chance to take a
shower and could not change my clothes for six days," she told AFP a day
after her employer secured her release.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Asia, said the
arrival of central immigration forces in an area meant "all bets are off",
with any deals between local police, employers and workers effectively
cancelled.

But he said ordinarily the migrants were an "easy target" for local
police, who arrest more than their quota and then release those with money
for bribes.

Mahachai police commander Colonel Pongsak Chunak denied that there was any
corruption in his force. "There have been no complaints about extortion in
the area under my command," he said.

The subject remains taboo in a country where even businesses fear the police.

"The truth is there but I cannot say anything, it could be dangerous for
my life," the Samut Sakhon employer said when questioned on corruption.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 7, CNN
What does Myanmar's Than Shwe want from Beijing? – John Vause

Beijing, China -- When a military dictator comes calling, Beijing doesn't
like to give too many details away.

So when China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was asked why Myanmar's Sr.
Gen. Than Shwe is here for a four-day visit, spokeswoman Jiang Yu replied,
"China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors and this year marks the 60th
anniversary of diplomatic relations."

As is customary with the superstitious and mysterious Than Shwe, there is
a good deal of speculation and not a lot of hard facts about just why he
is meeting with China's President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. There
are also plans for a trip to the Shanghai Expo; Shenzhen, the birthplace
of China's economic "miracle;" and industrial heart land of Guangzhou.

Analysts have suggested the visit has a lot to do with Myanmar's
elections, planned for November, the first in two decades. They say the
general may want to shore up China's support ahead of time.

Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League
for Democracy, won a landslide victory in Myanmar in the last time around,
in 1990, but the military junta refused to accept the results. Suu Kyi,
who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, remains under house
arrest.

Under the new rules outlined by the military, a party cannot run
candidates in the upcoming elections if any members are under arrest --
hence, Suu Kyi's party is boycotting the vote.

"The regime in Burma are complete control freaks," said Anna Roberts,
executive director of the Burma Campaign, referring to Myanmar by its
previous name. She described the upcoming elections as a total sham, with
the military junta guaranteed 25 seats -- a quarter of the seats in
parliament.

"Even if the elections were free and fair, it wouldn't make any difference
because it brings in a constitution which legitimizes the dictatorship,"
she told CNN.

When it comes to the looming election, China's Foreign Ministry once again
stuck to its standard line.

"Myanmar's general elections are Myanmar's internal affair," the ministry
said. "We also hope that the international community can provide
constructive help ... and avoid negatively impacting politics in Myanmar
and the peace and stability of the region."

Critics say China should be doing much more.

"China should be using its influence to make genuine reforms. The
international community has been dancing to the regime's tune," says
Roberts, of the Burma Campaign. "Every single effort has been rejected by
the dictatorship."

But with Beijing reportedly investing billions in Myanmar, especially for
access to natural resources like timber, precious stones, and energy, as
well as strategic access to its ports for the Chinese navy, it seems
unlikely the Chinese are willing to push the regime.

After all, should the junta collapse, it would most likely be replaced
with a Western-leaning democracy -- not exactly what the Chinese
leadership wants on their country's doorstep.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 6, European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma
European MPs welcome Hungary support for Burma crimes inquiry

The European Parliamentary Caucus on Burma (EPCB) today welcomed a
statement of support by the Republic of Hungary for a UN Commission of
Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.

In reply to EPCB¹s recent letter to the Hungarian government, asking it to
support a UN Commission of Inquiry on Burma, Hungary became the sixth
country to publicly support a UN Inquiry. UK, Australia, Slovakia, Czech
Republic, Canada and USA have also expressed their support for an Inquiry.

In his letter to the EPCB, the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Janor Martonyi,
said: ³The Republic of Hungary welcomes and supports your recommendation
to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the current situation
in Burma. We are convinced that the Commission could succeed in
investigating the current situation and in this way contribute to the
promotion of human rights in Burma.²

The statement of support comes at a crucial time as the EU is drafting the
next UN General Assembly resolution on Burma, which should include the
establishment of a Commission of Inquiry.

In Burma, the military junta is committing widespread and systematic
crimes with impunity. The crimes include the destruction of more than
3,500 villages in Eastern Burma, the widespread use of rape as a weapon of
war against ethnic minorities, the forced displacement of over 1 million
refugees and internally displaced people, the recruitment of tens of
thousands of child soldiers, and the widespread use of forced labour in
the country. The UN Commission of Inquiry, which will allow the
investigation of these crimes, can be a crucial and effective step that
the international community must support.

³Despite the growing support for a UN Inquiry, the EU remains silent. Now,
following the public statement of support by another EU member, the EU as
a whole must break its silence and include the establishment of such an
Inquiry in the next UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma,² said Silver
Meikar, executive committee member of European Parliamentary Caucus on
Burma.

For more information contact the Caucus administrators: Anna Roberts on
+447950849529 or Kristina Prunerova on +420 777 787 917.

____________________________________
ANNOUCEMENT

September 7, International Burmese Monks Organization
The Saffron Revolution: Three year anniversary

The International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO) will organize a
special commemoration of the 3rd Anniversary of Saffron Revolution, will
pray for Burma and monks from different parts of the country will be
present. Please join with monks stand for peace, freedom and justice.

 Three years had passed since September 2007 the courageous of monks of
Burma, over 100,000, led one of the most powerful inspirational
expressions of the nonviolent resistances in recent times. The Burmese
military regime brutally crack down on the uprising, leaving many killed,
thousands arrested, and monasteries emptied. Three years later, hundreds
of monks are still missing and many are presumed dead.

The repression of civil society continues unabated, and monks continue to
be harassed and imprisoned. The IBMO had stated, “We have lost civil
society in Burma and now we are losing our spiritual base. If the
international community does not take stronger action, what will be left
of Burma?”  Hundreds of the Buddhist monks in Burma are today are risking
their lives to change their country “from a life of suffering to a life of
peace”.


WHEN:  ON SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER, 2010 4: pm -6: pm

WHERE: Bryant Park, Manhattan, (Between 40th and 42nd Street & 5th and 6th
Avenues)

WHAT:  Monks will lead Prayer Service and Vigil for Burma with people in
meditation and   candle light on special commemoration of the 3rd
anniversary of the saffron revolution.

CONTACT:
International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO)
(718) 426-3959,
ibmohq at gmail.com
www.burmesemonks.org