BurmaNet News, November 13 - 15, 2010

[Editor]

November 13 – 15, 2010 Issue #4084

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I will continue to work for national reconciliation among the people,
among all of us. There is no one that I cannot work or talk with; if there
is a will to work together, it can be done. If there is a will to talk to
one another, it can be done. I will take this path..... We’ve all got to
learn the meaning of reconciliation. We don’t want conflicts to be
resolved through armed battles. It has always been our policy. We want
them to be resolved through dialogue and reconciliation and I am very,
very saddened that our country is still at a point where conflicts are to
be resolved through force of power.” – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (NLD
headquarters, November 14)

INSIDE BURMA
New York Times: Myanmar dissident calls for change
Mizzima: NDF chief ‘ready to work with Suu Kyi’
The Guardian (UK): Aung San Suu Kyi release brings joy, tears – and new
hope for Burma
DVB: Domestic media restricted on Suu Kyi coverage

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Resumption of fighting sparks further exodus

BUSINESS / TRADE
Newsweek: Corporate junta

REGIONAL
Jakarta Post: Legislators urge govt to declare Myanmar election undemocratic.
CNN: Do China and India hold key to Myanmar reform?

INTERNATIONAL
Xinhua: Canada renews sanctions on Burma following Su Kyi's release
AFP: World leaders hail Suu Kyi's release
AFP: Dalai Lama hails Suu Kyi's release

OPINION / OTHER
Der Speigel (Germany): Suu Kyi's release 'does not signal Burma is more
democratic' – Jess Smee
New York Times: The Burmese junta's latest ruse – Bertil Lintner
Irrawaddy: Suu Kyi free; The struggle resumes – Kyaw Zwa Moe
The Times of London: Now we must all stand with the lady – Jared Genser

PRESS RELEASE
BCUK: Aung San Suu Kyi released – 1 down, 2,202 to go
The Elders: The Elders welcome release of Aung San Suu Kyi and urge
release of all political detainees
DFID (UK): Mitchell: UK emergency aid to forgotten disaster in Burma




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

November 13, New York Times
Myanmar dissident calls for change

Yangon, Myanmar — On her first full day of freedom after more than seven
years of house arrest, Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi, demonstrated the enduring power of her popularity on Sunday, drawing
thousands of jubilant supporters to a rally at which she pledged to lead
them in a struggle for political change.

Though she spoke of reconciliation, the event itself was a challenge to
the authority and control of the ruling military junta.

The size and enthusiasm of the crowd — the kind of outpouring of public
support that had led the government to cut short her previous period of
freedom in 2003 — suggested that she had emerged with her popularity and
moral authority intact.

“Democracy is when the people keep a government in check,” she told the
crowd outside her party’s headquarters here in the city once known as
Rangoon. “To achieve democracy we need to create a network, not just in
our country but around the world. I will try to do that. If you do nothing
you get nothing.”

She positioned her movement as an active opposition to the military
leaders but gave no specifics, and it was unclear what steps she would
take next. She took pains not to be confrontational, leaving open the
possibility of a new relationship with the generals who had imprisoned
her.

“I’m going to work for national reconciliation. That is a very important
thing,” she said, adding: “There is nobody I cannot talk to. I am prepared
to talk with anyone. I have no personal grudge toward anybody.”

Nevertheless, she began the new relationship with a flat refusal to
cooperate, according to a person close to the negotiations who spoke on
the condition of anonymity.

In arranging for her release, that person said, the military had asked her
to agree not to leave Yangon and not to give public speeches. When she
refused, she was asked at least to wait awhile before speaking. She
refused again and proceeded with her address on Sunday.

She spoke with the buoyancy and infectious joy that have characterized her
addresses in the past, and her exchanges with the crowd were sometimes
emotional.

“I need to know what you want first,” she said to the crowd. “Do you know
what you want?”

She pointed to a middle-age man and her aides handed him a microphone. “We
love you very much!” the man said. “And we need democracy!”

The microphone was passed to another man in the crowd who shouted wildly,
“Today the entire country has been released from military slavery!”

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi did not respond or even smile, but only gestured
that the microphone be passed to a woman nearby. The woman wept and cried,
“I love you more than I love myself.”

The release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, 65, came just six days after an
election engineered by the military to give it control over a civilian
Parliament and government. Though the military will still hold power,
there will be new political institutions and new officeholders who could
alter the dynamics of her interactions with the government.

Her lawyers said she had been released without conditions, but it remained
unclear what role the government expected her to play, what long-term
limits it intended to set on her activities or whether it intended to open
a dialogue with her.

She said she would be willing to meet with anybody, even the leader of the
junta, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, saying at a news conference after the rally,
“It will be very good if I can discuss with him the issues I care about.”

In what seemed a gesture of conciliation, the main government newspaper,
The New Light of Myanmar, reported her release in positive terms Sunday
morning, saying that she had been granted a pardon because of good
behavior and that the police “stand ready to give her whatever help she
needs.”

It said she was being treated with leniency because she is the daughter of
the nation’s founding hero, U Aung San, a general who was assassinated in
1947, and “viewing that peace, tranquillity and stability will prevail and
that no malice be held against each other.”

It appeared that even divisions in her party, the National League for
Democracy, were beginning to melt away as party members and former party
members rallied around her.

“She belongs to the entire nation,” said U Khin Maung Swe, the leader of
an opposition party that split with the National League over its decision
to boycott the election. “We consider her a national leader and she does
not belong to any single group or party.”

For Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, the moment seemed to be one of reassessment and
recalculation as she explored issues that might have evolved during her
seven-year absence.

At the news conference, she said she would consider changing her position
on economic sanctions against the country formerly called Burma, which she
has supported and which have been at the center of a policy of isolation
and punishment of the junta by Western nations. “If the people really want
sanctions to be lifted, I will consider it,” she said. “This is the time
that Burma needs help.”

She said she had been listening to radio broadcasts up to six hours a day
during her arrest in the hope of understanding the people, and told her
supporters she wanted to hear from them.

“Please let us know what you are thinking, what is on your mind,” she said
at the rally. “I would like to know over the last six years what changes
have taken place.”

She also asked her supporters to join her campaign for change.

“I’m not going to be able to do it alone,” she said at the news
conference. “One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing
genuine democracy to a country.”

Seth Mydans contributed reporting from Bangkok.

____________________________________

November 15, Mizzima News
NDF chief ‘ready to work with Suu Kyi’ – Salai Han Thar San

New Delhi – Khin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force, told
Mizzima he was delighted pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had been
released and that his National Democratic Force was ready to co-operate
with her.

His comments came as Suu Kyi was released from house arrest at 5:15 p.m.
on Saturday. “We are ready to meet her, if she desires. We want to
co-operate with her in the struggle for democracy,” Khin Maung Swe said.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) decided unanimously against
contesting in the election at the central executive committee meeting held
on March 29, citing the patent unfairness of the junta’s electoral laws.

After a May 6 deadline for existing political parties to re-register in
accordance with the electoral laws, NLD central executive committee
members Khin Maung Swe, Dr. Than Nyein, lawyer Thein Nyunt and Dr. Than
Win formed the NDF.
Khin Maung Swe said that he would talk to Suu Kyi about why they had
formed a new political party.

“The NLD’s decision, which was made on March 29, did not forbid forming a
new political party to contest in the election. But some people said we
were traitors to the NLD. We will tell Aung San Suu Kyi why we’ve formed a
new political party. We’ll explain what we are doing for the people,” he
said.

He was not concerned that junta authorities would harass his party
surrounding such a meeting. “She’s our leader. So, whatever happens, we
will meet her,” he said.

In the election on November 7, just 16 of 163 candidates won parliamentary
seats. All of the winning candidates had contested seats in Rangoon
Division. Eight of them are People’s Assembly candidates, four are
National Assembly candidates and the remaining four are States and Regions
Assembly candidates.

NDF, Mizzima also contacted the Chin National Party (CNP), Chin
Progressive Party (CPP), Shan Nationals Democratic Party (SNDP), Rakhine
Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), Peace and Diversity Party, and 88
Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar) to receive their comments on
Aung San Suu Kyi’s release.

The parties said that they were delighted at the release of Suu Kyi and
wanted to co-operate with her.

“We will co-operate with her for the sake of our country. We hope for the
best,” Peace and Diversity Party vice-chairman Tin Maung Aye said.

CPP deputy general secretary Shein Tun said: “She’s our pro-democracy
leader. We will co-operate with her. We like her attitude. Moreover, we
deeply respect her as the daughter of our national hero, Aung San.”
____________________________________

November 13, The Guardian (UK)
Aung San Suu Kyi release brings joy, tears – and new hope for Burma – Jack
Davies

Burmese pro-democracy leader appears in front of cheering crowds after
government barricades were swept away

Rangoon – Aung San Suu Kyi, the international symbol of peaceful
resistance in the face of oppression, walked to freedom today after the
military regime in Burma released her from house arrest.

The defiant and dignified Aung San Suu Kyi, who is known among her
supporters as "The Lady", appeared in front of a weeping and cheering
crowd who had rushed to her house in Rangoon after the government
barricades were swept away.

Jubilation was tempered, however, by the reality that Burma is still in
the grip of the generals who have run the country since overthrowing the
democratically elected government more than 20 years ago and who cemented
their hold last week in an orchestrated election.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel peace prize in 1991, acknowledged the
crowds and urged them to work together. "I am so glad to see so many
people here and so happy to be free," she said, standing on a stool and
looking over the gate of the house where she had been confined for 15 of
the last 21 years.

"There is a time to be quiet and a time to talk. People must work in
unison. Only then can we achieve our goal."

After just 10 minutes outside, she returned to the home that is no longer
her prison. Thousands of her supporters, many wearing T-shirts bearing her
image alongside the words "We stand by Aung San Suu Kyi", stayed outside
for several hours.

Aung San Suu Kyi emerged later, thanking her supporters, but urging them
to go home to sleep.

While her term of detention has technically finished, it was not
immediately clear how long that respite would last. During previous brief
spells of freedom she has railed against, and defied, the conditions
restricting where she could go – banning her from leaving Rangoon, for
instance – and who she could meet.

The government says that this time her freedom will not be restricted.
"She is completely free – there are no conditions at all," an unnamed
senior government official was quoted as saying. But Aung San Suu Kyi's
supporters fear her freedom may again be short-lived, and that the
generals will seek to rearrest her on some technical infringement.

A defiant Aung San Suu Kyi, meanwhile, clearly intends to reimpose her
leadership on Burma's splintered National League for Democracy (NLD). She
promised to reveal her plans tomorrow at the headquarters of the NLD, a
sign to the regime that she intends to fight on for democracy.

Her release was welcomed around the world, not least by her late husband's
family in Britain. It is understood that she was able to speak on the
phone to her youngest son, Kim, who is currently in Bangkok. She has not
seen her two sons for 10 years, and Kim this week failed again in his
attempt to get a visa to travel to Burma. He has two children whom Aung
San Suu Kyi has never met.

Today was a "happy day", said Aung San Suu Kyi's British brother-in-law,
Adrian Phillips. "We are obviously very pleased if it means we can contact
her again after so many years of silence," Phillips said.

"The last time I spoke to her was when her husband [Michael Aris] died in
1999. There are all sorts of family matters that we haven't been able to
talk to her about. She has a granddaughter, Jasmine, who she has never
seen."

In the UK, David Cameron said Aung San Suu Kyi's release had been long
overdue. The prime minister added: "Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for
all of us who believe in freedom of speech, democracy and human rights."

William Hague, the foreign secretary, said: "Aung San Suu Kyi's arbitrary
detention for most of the past 20 years has been deeply unjust. Her
fortitude in the face of this outrage has been inspirational.

"She must now be allowed to assume a role of her choosing in the political
life of her country without further hindrance or restriction.

"Last week's sham elections will not bring peace and prosperity to Burma.
The regime now needs to release the other 2,100 political prisoners and
begin a genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and all opposition and
ethnic groups. These remain the crucial first steps to solving Burma's
many problems and addressing the pressing needs of its people."

Gordon Brown, the former prime minister, said: "There will be joy round
the world at the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's most renowned
and courageous prisoner of conscience."

President Barack Obama described the woman who has spent most of the past
two decades almost cut off from the world, as a hero.

"She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to
advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world," he said

Fellow Nobel laureates, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, to campaign against
nuclear weapons, welcomed her release. "For years we have been asking
 for
her release," FW de Klerk, the former president of South Africa, said. "We
welcome it, and we hope it will last, and there won't be a regression of
any nature."

Burmese state media last night attributed Aung San Suu Kyi's release to
good conduct. "Aung San Suu Kyi behaved well according to the regulations
during the period she was under a suspended sentence, so she was allowed
to be released," government-run TV reported.

The report noted that Aung San Suu Kyi was "the daughter of the leader
General Aung San who gave his life for Myanmar's [Burma's] independence".
It also expressed a desire "not to hold a grudge against each other".

Aung San Suu Kyi was first imprisoned by Burma's military regime in June
1989. Since then, she has spent more than 15 years in secret detention,
jail and under house arrest.

Her latest period of incarceration, her third, began in 2003. This final
stretch of imprisonment was an 18-month sentence for having "received" an
unauthorised visitor when an eccentric well-wisher, American John Yettaw,
swam across a lake to her house in the middle of the night.

____________________________________

November 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Domestic media restricted on Suu Kyi coverage – Ahunt Phone Myat

Heavy restrictions are being placed on domestic press coverage of Suu
Kyi’s release and its aftermath following intervention by the junta’s
censor board.

Only a select number of journals in Rangoon could publish front-page
images of the opposition leader, who was freed from house arrest on 13
November. The remaining majority could only cover the news deep inside
their publications.

“We can print facts on when she was released, what she said to the public
upon her release, when she was detained and why, and also reference
quotations from the [state-run] newspapers,” said Ko Ko, chief editor of
Flower News and Yangon Times news journals.

He added however that he was “thankful” that the Ministry of Information’s
Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) allowed him to print
anything at all.

Another news journal editor said the censor board approved only one page
out of the four his journal had prepared on the release. Burma has some of
the world’s strictest media laws, and all press material is required to go
via the PSRD prior to it being published.

Sales of news journals soared at the weekend, as the Nobel laureate was
finally released after more than seven years under house arrest. Traffic
to DVB’s two websites more that quadrupled, while the event made
front-page headlines across the world.

“The journals are all sold out,” said a distributor in Rangoon on Sunday.
“Journals out today [Sunday] are Flower News, News Watch and True News –
we have run out of them here and so are buying them from elsewhere.”

Another journalist who attended Suu Kyi’s media briefing at the NLD’s
Rangoon headquarters said however that he had “never seen this much media
presence at any [government] press conference.

“All my fear went away when I saw Daw Suu and heard her voice. She will
stand by the media’s side and she has the power to take away our fears.
That gave us courage to [cover] activities related to her.”

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

November 15, Irrawaddy
Resumption of fighting sparks further exodus – Saw Yan Naing

More than 400 villagers fled late on Sunday night from the town of Valley,
which straddles the Thai-Burmese border, following a resumption of
hostilities between Burmese government forces and breakaway Brigade 5 of
the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), according to Thai authorities.

A report released by the Thai government on Monday said that the clash
between the DKBA Brigade 5 led by Col Na Kham Mwe, also known as Saw Lah
Pwe, and Burmese government forces has prompted about 400 Thai and Burmese
nationals in North Valley sub-district, Tak Province, to flee their homes
and take temporary refuge in the compound of a local government building a
few miles away.

The town of Valley straddles the border from Burma's Kawkareik Township to
Ban Valley in Thailand's Phop Phra District in Tak Province, and is made
up of Thai, Burmese and Karen people. It lies only a kilometer away from
the site of the clash which, so far, has claimed heavy casualties on both
sides. An influx of thousands of refugees into Thailand is expected over
the next few days, according to the report.

One resident in Valley was wounded by a mortar during the exchange on
Sunday, said the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG).

A villager told the KHRG that some locals who attempted to cross into
Thailand to escape the fighting have been prevented by the Thai army.
Civilians remain at risk as the conflict continues, said the KHRG report.

Deputy Thai army spokesman Sirichan Nathong told The Bangkok Post on
Monday that some 150 Burmese nationals who crossed into Thailand following
the clashes will probably be sent back later that same day.

A combined force of Thai army soldiers, Border Patrol Police and
provincial administrative staff reinforced the border at Phop Phra and led
the escaping Karen group to safer places, according to reports.

Several representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium and some NGOs visited the
refugees in Baan Valley and provided them with food on Monday.

Thai human rights groups, including the National Human Rights Commission
of Thailand, were due to hold a meeting  in Bangkok on Monday to discuss
the situation surrounding the border conflict.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

November 15, Newsweek
Corporate junta – Jerry Guo

Not satisfied with simple vote rigging, Burma’s generals elect a class of
tycoons to help them rule by proxy.

Elections in Burma last week, the first in 20 years, marked the isolated
nation’s long-awaited transition from military to civilian rule. While
many have rightly observed that the vote was little more than a
rubber-stamp procedure designed from the start to allow the military junta
to prevail, the regime has managed to maintain its iron-fisted rule not
simply by vote rigging but also by creating a coterie of corporate cronies
elected to help the generals rule by proxy.

It’s not yet clear how many business loyalists have won seats in
Parliament. Yet outside analysts say roughly 100 of them campaigned for
the elections, and some have already been brought into the government in
an official capacity. “These businesspeople are acting partly according to
command and partly out of a belief that favors and concessions might come
their way later,” says Sean Turnell, a leading expert on the Burmese
economy and professor at Macquarie University in Sydney.

Other business leaders have chosen to stay outside government, but over
the past year they have used their ties to the regime to scoop up a large
number of state-owned assets for virtually nothing. These tycoons—often
the relatives or drinking buddies of the ruling generals—are increasingly
calling the shots in what appears to be a counterpoint to Russia’s
notorious oligarchs. “I don’t think the tycoons have any power yet over 

the SPDC [the 11 military officers who make up Burma’s ruling Politburo],
but they rank right below them, and certainly over the cabinet ministers,”
says Turnell.

The government’s decision this year to privatize the nation’s mismanaged
economy represents the biggest sell-off of state assets since 1962, when
the junta came to power. Recent sales, totaling hundreds of millions of
dollars, include the obvious: hundreds of government buildings and
telecommunications facilities, as well as portions of the country’s
seaports and the national airline. In Rangoon, Burma’s largest city, one
sale by the state Privatization Committee listed 176 assets, many of them
historic government buildings like the attorney general’s office, the
Ministry of Industry, and the state archeological department, according to
a report by The New York Times. In 2005, when the junta decamped to the
out-of-the-jungle model city of Naypyidaw, these colonial masterpieces
were left to rot.

Less obvious assets—schools, hospitals, power-distribution centers—are
also being put on the auction block. Even the country’s golden-goose mines
for precious minerals are being split apart piecemeal, as are dozens of
factories and industrial-scale farms, which the junta nationalized nearly
half a century ago.

The state’s retreat is not encouraging the private sector to flourish;
experts say privatization was designed to benefit the regime’s civilian
friends and relatives. Privatization of education and health care are, for
example, seen as relief valves for the elite, who can now send their
children to private schools and their families to private hospitals where
services would be better and more modern than those available through the
collapsed state system. So while, on the surface, the rise of Burma’s
private sector may seem like the sort of Chinese-style reform that could
finally loosen the generals’ grip on the economy, the properties are going
straight into the hands of the business elite. And any hope that the
proceeds from selling state property might go toward salary raises for
beleaguered civil servants, or toward a welfare program for the bulk of
the 55 million Burmese who still live in grinding poverty, has not panned
out.

Indeed, unlike Vietnam or China, where privatization liberalized the
economies by putting more nimble private entrepreneurs at the helm of
sectors like manufacturing, Burma is merely rewarding its oligarchs for
their role in propping up the flagging regime. According to one report,
Tay Za, a Burmese millionaire sanctioned by the U.S. for his ties to the
state, added several properties to his already vast empire and was
appointed the head of a petroleum commission.

In theory, the rise of Burma’s crony capitalists could moderate the
brutality of a regime that holds 2,000 political dissidents in prison and
heavily controls almost all aspects of everyday life. While a quarter of
the seats in Parliament are still set aside for military officers, the new
Constitution stipulates that policy can no longer be decreed by military
fiat and instead must be decided by the civilian Parliament. Earlier this
year reports surfaced that there has been some relaxation of seemingly
arbitrary rules such as a ban on private car ownership. And the regime
appears to have loosened media censorship, as stories criticizing child
and forced labor have begun appearing in the pages of state-owned
newspapers. With the elections now over, the junta is also expected to
release Burma’s most beloved dissident: Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel
laureate who, along with her political party, boycotted the elections.

Yet any small political or economic freedoms brought about by the rise of
these business leaders are likely a long way off. Outside analysts for the
most part agree that the recent changes do little more than formalize the
succession process for the junta, which will now rule through its civilian
allies, the newly minted tycoons. Indeed, if anything, there has been a
security crackdown in the past few months in the lead-up to the elections.
Internet speeds have been significantly throttled to prevent news leaks
from the elections, opposition parties were essentially forbidden to hold
political rallies, and all manner of public debates were banned. Foreign
journalists and observers were also blocked from entering the country to
cover or monitor the elections. “One day 
 [the] tycoons will run up
against this very tight control over the economy,” says Turnell. Until
then, however, the rise of Burma’s corporate henchmen likely means
business as usual for the long-suffering nation.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

November 15, The Jakarta Post
Legislators urge govt to declare Myanmar election undemocratic

A group of legislators has urged the government to denounce Myanmar’s
recent general elections as undemocratic.

"We call upon the Indonesian government and members of ASEAN to neither
recognize nor acknowledge Myanmar’s elections," Eva K. Sundari, a
legislator from House Commission III and a member of the Asian
Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), said.

Eva said that the elections failed to fulfill standard criteria for free
and fair elections after some people, including Aung San Suu Kyi, were not
allowed to run and no independent observers were allowed to monitor the
elections.

She added that Indonesia and ASEAN must support the investigation of human
rights violations in Myanmar. Indonesia will chair ASEAN in 2011.

Indonesia's leadership could have a real impact on Myanmar's
democratization, she said.

"We request that Commission I issue a resolution on Myanmar and that the
Indonesian government support the United Nation's inquiry team [on
Myanmar] which the United States initiated," she said.

"Neighboring countries and other ASEAN countries must accommodate the
needs of [Myanmar’s] people and not just the regime," she said, regarding
thousands of refugees fleeing conflict in Myanmar.
____________________________________

November 15, CNN
Do China and India hold key to Myanmar reform? – Thair Shaikh

Freed activist Aung San Suu Kyi has made a passionate plea for dialogue
and reconciliation to build democracy and improve human rights in Myanmar,
calling for her country to back her as she cannot "do it alone."

But long-term fundamental political and economic reforms will not just
depend on shifting internal dynamics, but also on the stance of its
neighbors, particularly the regional superpowers China and India.

Both countries are significant investors in Myanmar, also known as Burma,
and both are also competing for influence in the state, with neither
country taking a genuine interest in reconciliation or democracy in
Myanmar, some analysts say.

Maung Zarni, a research fellow on Myanmar at the London School of
Economics, told CNN: "China and India both have a serious influence on
Burma... both provide billions of inward investment into the country and
they are dealing with a junta that is not accountable to anyone, and that
serves the interests of Chinese and Indian investors."

But according to Debbie Stothard, of the Thailand-based Alternative ASEAN
Network on Burma, the competition between India and China serves only to
stymie the cause of democracy in Myanmar.

China has been Myanmar's closest ally since the hardline military took
control in a bloodless coup in 1962. China has in the past refused to back
Suu Kyi, saying the matter of her trial was an internal affair.

China is building pipelines to ship oil and gas from Myanmar to Yunnan
province and is Myanmar's second-largest trading partner -- it is keen to
tap Myanmar's mineral, timber and other natural resources needed for its
booming economy, analysts say

India also has been investing in Myanmar's power sector as it looks to
secure future energy supplies.

Many regional observers say that the generals of the Myanmar military
junta, who have remained largely isolationist for 50 years, are more
likely to listen to and accept pressure from China and India than either
the West, the U.N. or ASEAN, the political and economic organization.

"Economics is one of the external enablers that have permitted the Burmese
regime to stay the course. I am extremely skeptical of what the ruling
elite in India and the communists in China will do to assist the Burmese
people," said Zarni.

Both China and India have had a difficult relationship with Suu Kyi, who
won a landslide election victory in 1990 with the National League for
Democracy party. The military junta rejected the results and despite the
recent freeing of Suu Kyi, the regime is still holding an estimated 2,200
political prisoners according to Amnesty International.

Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, told CNN: "Chinese
officials were reluctant to talk to her [Suu Kyi] and Indian government
officials didn't want to upset the [Myanmar] government. Ordinary people
in Burma feel betrayed by India and they see China as backing the
generals."

Thailand, another Myanmar neighbor, buys about 30 percent of its gas from
Myanmar, estimated to have been worth $3.3 billion in 2008.

The sales are giving Myanmar a financial cushion, rendering ineffective
economic sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union
designed to pressure the junta. Suu Kyi recently indicated she might be
willing to support an easing of these sanctions.

"The Thais now feel vulnerable because they are so reliant on Burma for
energy so it would not be in their interests to upset the regime. India's
main concern is China and its potential dominance of Burma... India
doesn't want Burma to become another Chinese outpost," said Farmaner.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

November 14, Xinhua
Canada renews sanctions on Burma following Su Kyi's release

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Saturday that Canada will
continue to keep sanctions against Burma even Aung San Suu Kyi was
released from house arrest the same day.

"I am pleased that Aung San Suu Kyi has finally been released from house
arrest in Burma," Harper said in a statement."Those sanctions will remain
in place."

Harper, who is in Yokohama, Japan for the APEC summit, said that Canada
stands resolutely with Burma's democratic forces and like-minded members
of the international community in the quest to restore civilian government
to the Burmese people.

"We continue to call on the Burmese authorities to release all political
prisoners and allow the meaningful political participation of all Burma's
opposition and ethnic groups," he added.

Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention without trial,
was freed by the government of Burma after her latest 7? years term of
house arrest expired and after a general election was held in Burma.

In December, 2007, Canada granted Suu Kyi honorary Canadian citizenship
and imposed the tough sanctions against Burma to " indicate its
condemnation of the regime's complete disregard for human rights and its
repression of the country's democratic movement."

Measures of the sanctions include a ban on all goods imported from Burma
into Canada and exported from Canada to Burma, excepting only the export
of humanitarian goods; a freeze on assets in Canada of any designated
Burmese nationals connected with the Burmese State; a ban on new
investment in Burma by Canadian persons and companies.

They also cover a prohibition on the provision of Canadian financial
services to and from Burma; a prohibition on the export of any technical
data to Burma; a prohibition on Canadian- registered ships or aircraft
from docking or landing in Burma; a prohibition on Burmese-registered
ships or aircraft from docking or landing in Canada and passing through
Canada.

____________________________________

November 13, Agence France Presse
World leaders hail Suu Kyi's release

World leaders hailed the release of Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu
Kyi from years of house arrest Saturday but warned the country's junta not
to restrict her, even as a senior government official insisted she was
"completely free".

Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi holds a bouquet of flowers as she
appears at the gate of her house in Rangoon. World leaders have hailed the
release of Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from years of house
arrest but warned the military junta not to restrict her in other ways and
called for all political prisoners to be freed.

US President Barack Obama said that "while the Burmese regime has gone to
extraordinary lengths to isolate and silence Aung San Suu Kyi, she has
continued her brave fight for democracy, peace, and change in Burma."

"She is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to
advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world," said Obama in a
statement, using the country's former name.

While the United States welcomed Suu Kyi's release, it was "time for the
Burmese regime to release all political prisoners," added Obama, in Japan
for a regional summit, echoing sentiments aired by other world figures.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, "an
inspiration" to the world, a UN spokesman said.

"The secretary general expects that no further restrictions will be placed
on her, and he urges the Burma authorities to build on today?s action by
releasing all remaining political prisoners," said the spokesman.

"France will be extremely attentive to the conditions in which Madame Aung
San Suu Kyi enjoys her refound liberty," French President Nicolas Sarkozy
said in a statement issued by the Elysee Palace.

Any "restrictions on her freedom of movement and expression would
constitute a new unacceptable denial of her rights," he said.

But a senior Burma official said no conditions were tied to Suu Kyi's
release. "She is completely free -- there are no conditions at all," the
official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

British Prime Minister David Cameron called her release "long overdue",
branding her detention for 15 of the last 21 years a "travesty, designed
only to silence the voice of the Burmese people."

"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration for all of us who believe in freedom
of speech, democracy and human rights," he said. "Freedom is Aung San Suu
Kyi's right. The Burmese regime must now uphold it."

Britain is the former colonial power in Burma, which achieved its
independence as Burma in 1948, and Suu Kyi's late husband was British.

Desmond Tutu, chair of the group of retired senior statesmen known as The
Elders, called Suu Kyi "a global symbol of moral courage" and said her
release "offers hope to the people of Burma."

For his part, Surin Pitsuwan, secretary-general of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which includes Burma, told AFP he was
"very, very relieved" at the news.

Pitsuwan said he hoped Suu Kyi would be able to play a role in bringing
national reconciliation, while the Japanese government urged Burma to take
"further positive measures."

In Brussels European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso called for Suu
Kyi to be granted "unrestricted freedom of movement and speech" so she
could "participate fully in her country's political process." He echoed
the call for the release of political prisoners.

Similar reactions came from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Australian
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the governments of Poland, Italy, the
Czech Republic, Austria, Bulgaria and South Africa.

In Geneva UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay called Suu Kyi's
release "a positive signal" by Burma authorities and said she could "make
a major contribution" in the transition to democracy and national
reconciliation.

"I urge the authorities of Burma to now release the other 2,200 political
prisoners as a clear sign that the new government intends to respect human
rights and forge a new future for the country," Pillay said.

China, one of Burma's closest allies and a mainstay for the junta through
trade ties, arms sales, and using its veto on the UN Security Council
against sanctions, had no immediate reaction.

But the official Xinhua news agency, reporting her release, did describe
Suu Kyi as "a noted political figure."

Rights group Amnesty International said Suu Kyi's release was not a
"concession" by the regime and should not take attention away from other
prisoners of conscience being held in "deplorable conditions".

Meanwhile, New York-based Human Rights Watch called the junta's move a
"cynical ploy" to deflect criticism of its recent election.

"If the military government is serious about increasing political space
after the elections then it will release all political prisoners
immediately and unconditionally," said HRW official Elaine Pearson.

____________________________________

November 15, Agence France Presse
Dalai Lama hails Suu Kyi's release

Dharamashala, India – Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Monday
hailed the release of Myanmar's democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I welcome the release of fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and
extend my appreciation to the military regime in Burma (Myanmar)," the
Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, said in a statement.

"I extend my full support and solidarity to the movement for democracy in
Burma and take this opportunity to appeal to freedom-loving people all
over the world to support such non-violent movements," he said.

Suu Kyi, who was freed from house arrest on Saturday, won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1991.

The Dalai Lama also urged China to set free Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who
was jailed for 11 years last December on subversion charges.

The Tibetan leader issued his statement from the Indian hill town of
Dharamshala, where he has been based since fleeing Tibet following a
failed anti-Chinese uprising in 1959.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

November 15, Der Speigel (Germany)
Suu Kyi's release 'does not signal Burma is more democratic' – Jess Smee

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been set free, sparking
hopes she could spearhead change in a deeply repressive country. German
media commentators, however, warn that the odds are stacked against the
Nobel laureate's campaign for freedom.

This month Burma has witnessed two historic moments. First came the
country's first elections in 20 years. Then, just six days later, Nobel
Peace Prize laureate and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was released
from house arrest.

Suu Kyi wasted no time in restarting her campaign for a peaceful
revolution in Burma, also known as Myanmar. "We must work together," she
told thousands of cheering supporters on Sunday. "If we want change we
have to do it ourselves."

The recent Burmese ballot, which Western observers said was far from fair,
was won by the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and
Development Party.

Suu Kyi's party had won the previous election two decades ago but was
never allowed to assume power. November's election was the latest bid to
legitimize the military junta's extended rule -- while also weakening
memories of Suu Kyi's 1990 ballot box win.
'The Lady'

Although Suu Kyi stressed she was open for dialogue, Than Shwe,
commander-in-chief of the Burmese army, has not kept quiet about his
dislike of Suu Kyi and he cannot even bear to hear her name. His aides are
only allowed to mention her as "The Lady."

On Monday, news wires reported that the pro-democracy leader had started
work, liaising with lawyers about how to make her former party, the
National League for Democracy, legal once more. As a result of her
struggle for human rights, Suu Kyi has been locked up for more than 15 of
the past 21 years. Fear of being detained again for her opinions would not
deter her from speaking her mind, she told her supporters on Sunday.

While international leaders welcomed news of her release, with US
President Barack Obama describing her as a "personal hero," there remain
doubts about whether she can mobilize change in her highly restrictive
home land.

German press on Monday called Suu Kyi's release a positive signal but
warned that her new found freedom may prove short-lived.

The conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"The Burmese military regime is taking a risk by releasing Aung San Suu
Kyi. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate may be just a 'private person'
representing an obsolete political group (the National League for
Democracy). But that fact has not deterred thousands from cheering in
front of her house. And no one is expecting that 'The Lady' will retreat
into her private life. She will want to get politically involved -- and
her voice will be heard in a country which has witnessed decades of
periods of fierce repression alternating with periods of slightly less
fierce repression. People want change."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"It would be too early to call this a big victory for the democracy
movement and the country's 2,200 political prisoners -- or to interpret it
as a weakening of the regime. The military leadership of Myanmar would not
have let the activist go if the move posed a risk. There are supposedly no
conditions attached to Suu Kyi's release. However, that situation could
change quickly. Over the past 20 years the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has
been repeatedly locked up or placed under house arrest when she
overstepped the regime's limits."

"The generals apparently feel secure following the manipulated elections
of Nov. 7.... But the strength of the military junta is also dependent on
external factors -- and there Myanmar has little to fear. Western states
voiced their satisfaction with the decision to release Suu Kyi. But the
Buddhist monks' uprising (three years ago) showed that outrage about human
rights abuses is just a ritual which doesn't change anything. The West
does not want to annoy the gas-exporter Myanmar -- and especially not its
powerful protector China. Peking once again promised the military leaders
its full support after the recent election. As long as this continues, any
criticism of the regime's politics remains toothless."

The center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Burma is and remains a repressive state. People suffer under the
government and the sanctions -- and nothing is set to change on either of
these fronts in the near future. The generals made sure to avoid a
disgrace similar to that of 20 years ago when Suu Kyi's party won the
elections. This time, the regime massively influenced the ballot. In
addition, the junta managed to divide the opposition merely by calling a
national election. All of that makes the situation facing Suu Kyi more
difficult."

"As a prisoner, she called for a boycott of the vote. But as an activist
at the forefront of the fight for human rights, she now has to work with
members of the opposition who went against her call to skip the election.
During Suu Kyi's long imprisonment a new, more pragmatic opposition has
grown up, people who want to change Burma from within the existing system.
Despite recent years of forced isolation, Suu Kyi seems to have understood
this. She is looking for dialogue -- in all directions. That is a good
move. Burma's opposition has too little room to maneuver to make life more
difficult for itself. In Burma, patience is required."

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

"Aung Suu Kyi's release is reason to celebrate. But it is not a signal
that Burma is becoming more democratic. On the one hand, the regime locked
up the opposition politician in the first place. On the other hand, there
are still more than 2,000 political prisoners behind bars in Burma -- and
the human rights abuses are still going on."

"Playing into the junta's hand is the fact that there are too many
expectations resting on Suu Kyi's shoulders. Many people think the
graceful woman with the iron will is the only person who can unite the
fragmented opposition and oversee a reconciliation with ethnic minorities.
Such a task however is too gargantuan for a single person. Especially for
someone whose freedom rests on the goodwill of an appalling regime."
____________________________________

November 14, The New York Times
The Burmese junta's latest ruse – Bertil Lintner

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been called Asia’s Nelson Mandela and, like him,
is widely respected as a symbol of hope and change. Now many foreign
observers are wondering whether her release will bring Myanmar’s “Mandela
moment” — the beginning of the end of repression and the first, tangible
step toward national reconciliation. But this is a skewed analogy. There
are fundamental differences between the transition to majority rule in
South Africa and Myanmar’s struggle for democracy.

Mr. Mandela’s release in February 1990 came as part of a political reform
process that began when he first met representatives of the apartheid
regime in 1985, thus paving the way for a dialogue that eventually led to
a general election in April 1994. The African National Congress won that
election and, in May of that year, Mr. Mandela became South Africa’s first
majority-supported president.

In Myanmar there is no such reform process, and no willingness by those in
power to engage in any real dialogue with the opposition. Over the years,
a few highly publicized meetings — often involving foreign visitors — have
taken place between Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and some of the country’s ruling
generals. But those have been for P.R. purposes only — and so was her
release from house arrest on Saturday.

The Burmese military is notorious for its own interpretations of the law —
the generals could have held her in detention as long as they wanted. But
they chose to schedule her release a week after the country had held a
highly controversial election. They probably had anticipated what the
international reaction to that vote would be: condemnation and lack of
recognition.

Only China and Myanmar’s partners in Asean, the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations, have hailed the election as a significant, positive step
forward.

Not surprisingly, however, several opposition parties and organizations
representing the country’s many ethnic minorities are now calling for
meetings with Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi to map out a common strategy for
Myanmar’s future. Political parties in several ethnic minority areas were
not allowed to contest the Nov. 7 election, and the parties that did are
complaining about fraud and vote-rigging. But even if the opposition
manages to establish a united front of sorts, it would have to confront a
military with its own, uncompromising agenda.

For the regime to make any significant concessions to the democratic and
ethnic opposition, it would have to change fundamental principles in the
country’s Constitution, which was “approved” by a Stalinesque 92 percent
of the electorate. Article 121 in effect bars Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi from
holding any political office because of her marriage to a foreigner, the
fact that her two sons are “citizens of a foreign country” — and because
she has, as the clause says, “been convicted ... for having committed an
offence.”

Apart from giving a quarter of all seats in the bicameral legislature to
the military, Article 396 of the new Constitution ensures that M.P.s-elect
can be dismissed for “misbehavior” by the Union Election Commission, which
will remain indirectly controlled by the military. And, if the
“democratic” situation gets really out of hand, Article 413 gives the
president the right to hand over executive powers to the
commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Weeks before the election, observers were reporting that the military
wanted to make the election credible by producing official results that
showed 70 percent voter turnout with 80-percent support for its own party,
the Union Solidarity and Development Party. That was exactly the announced
outcome. Why then would the military, or the new “civilian” government
that is expected to be formed shortly, be willing to call a new, free and
fair election that would satisfy domestic and international opinion?

It should also be remembered that this is not the first time Mrs. Aung San
Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest amid high expectations for
change and democratic progress. She was first placed under house arrest in
July 1989 and released six years later, in July 1995. After an initial
period of relative freedom, she was prevented by the military from
traveling around the country, and, in September 2000, was back under house
arrest. She was released again in May 2002, and, in May 2003, placed under
house arrest for “her own protection” after her entourage was attacked by
a government-sponsored mob in Depayin in northern Burma and scores of her
supporters were killed.

Meanwhile, one U.N. emissary after another has visited Myanmar to
encourage a “dialogue” that has never materialized and never will. Mrs.
Aung San Suu Kyi made her first appeal for a dialogue in August 1988, but
there is nothing to indicate that the military has ever contemplated
serious discussions.

So why would anything be different this time? Has the international
community learned nothing from recent Burmese history? The Nov. 7 election
was designed to institutionalize the present order. The release of Mrs.
Aung San Suu Kyi has diverted all attention from that fraudulent election.
Change will come only when someone within the ruling elite turns against
the top leadership — as happened in the Philippines in 1986, when
Ferdinand Marcos lost the support of his military, or in Indonesia in
1998, when General Wiranto refused to storm the parliamentary buildings in
Jakarta that had been occupied by pro-democracy activists, or in South
Korea in 1979, when the democratic transition was set in motion by the
assassination of President Park Chung-hee.

It remains to be seen what Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is going to do — and how
the authorities are going to react to, for instance, her pledge to
investigate election fraud. But she will not be able to push a
pro-democracy agenda without the support of at least some elements within
the armed forces. This is the bitter reality that will have to be faced
once the euphoria over her release has settled.

Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic
Review and the author of seven books on Burma.

____________________________________

November 15, Irrawaddy
Suu Kyi free; The struggle resumes – Kyaw Zwa Moe

On Nov. 13 when Aung San Suu Kyi was released, the world celebrated, in
contrast to Nov. 7 when the ruling junta held its election, and the world
bemoaned the sham election.

Kyaw Zwa Moe is managing editor of the Irrawaddy magazine. He can be
reached at kyawzwa at irrawaddy.org.
Suu Kyi's release has stirred Burma's stagnant political waters and
overnight boosted the  morale of the Burmese people.

After her father, national leader Aung San, was assassinated in 1947, no
one could unite the Burmese people and capture their imagination. But
since Suu Kyi return to Burma, she has taken up her father's mantle and
wherever she appears crowds gather.

On Friday, one day before her release, thousands of people gathered in
front of her house to greet her. On Saturday, they came back early in the
morning and waited patiently until about 5 p.m. when she was finally
released, and she emerged to greet her supporters at the gate of her
lakeside compound.

Again, on Sunday tens of thousands gathered when she made her fist public
speech at the headquarters of her party, the National League for
Democracy, despite the fact that they might become targets of the
oppressive security forces. When she entered politics in 1988, at her fist
appearance she drew more than a hundred thousand people at Shwedagon
Pagoda in Rangoon.

“Do not lose your heart,” the 65-year-old pro-democracy leader told the
crowd at noon on Sunday. “We all have to keep trying to win what we want.”
Again, she inspired the crowd, but her mission is now long overdue.

Her release from house arrest was not an act of kindness or generosity.
Her sentence simply expired, and the generals believe that they have a
“mandate” after their proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party,
won in a landslide. Than Shwe must believe that her release will have
little affect now that his party will control the new parliament.

But he may be wrong. In her Sunday speech, Suu Kyi stressed that everyone
must work for national reconciliation. However, the generals have never
been interested in reconciliation. They only want their power
consolidated.

Though her speech didn't go into policy or strategy details on how she
might work to move democracy forward, Suu Kyi conveyed a determined and
flexible image.

“I will not only work with my party,” she said. “I want to work with all
the people and all pro-democracy forces. We will also work with all people
across the world who support and sympathize with us.”
Burma has several critical issues waiting for her attention, such as the
release of all political prisoners, ethnic conflicts, the unjust 2008
Constitution, and the vote rigging in the election.

However, it's certain the military regime will never allow her to work
with leaders of political and ethnic parties. That was one of the main
reasons she was imprisoned for 15 of the past 21 years. If she reorganizes
the NLD and tries to organize other democracy forces, she will only become
a target again and her days of freedom will be numbered.

On top of that, don't forget that she was arrested in 2003 after her
motorcade was ambushed by junta thugs in Depayin in Upper Burma. That
attack was an assassination attempt. If she again becomes a political
threat, the current military government won't be reluctant to orchestrate
a Depayin-style ambush again.

When asked about her security during a press conference after her speech,
she said that she doesn't think about her personal security, but, like all
other citizens, her security depends on the authorities. Senior NLD
leaders are obviously concerned about security.

“After the Depayin incident, we saw that there had been an attempt to
assassinate her,” said Win Tin, a prominent NLD leader. Citing the
assassination of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as an
example, he added: “As a political leader who always deals with the
people, she can be assassinated by a killer who is hiding in the crowd at
any time.”

People might think such thoughts are too pessimistic, particularly on the
second day of her release. But who knows? We have witnessed the oppressive
heartlessness of the generals in the 2007 attack on monks.

In spite of the past and the dangers of the future, Suu Kyi said she
doesn't bare any grudge against the junta. “I am willing to talk to
Snr-Gen Than Shwe,” she said at the press conference. “It would be great
if I can talk about whatever I want to.”

But any talk or dialogue between her and the generals is simply wishful
dreaming. To reach that position, she would have to marshal a powerful
coalition of pro-democracy forces, and the people would have to be
actively behind her.
And that state of affairs is exactly what would cause the generals to
strike back against her, or put her under arrest once again.

But for now, many Burmese have regained their true leader. The country's
politics will pick up under her leadership. It's a new beginning in a
long, unfinished struggle.

____________________________________

November 15, The Times of London
Now we must all stand with the lady – Jared Genser

She hasn’t been able to talk to her supporters in over seven years. But
two days ago, they gathered at the iron gates surrounding the decaying
home that has been her prison for 15 of the past 21 years. As they cheered
and cried, she said to them, “Thank you for welcoming me like this. We
haven’t seen each other for so long, I have so much to tell you.”

Aung San Suu Kyi has been the face and heart of the democracy movement in
Burma since the 1988 pro-democracy uprisings were brutally crushed by the
military junta. “The Lady,” as she is affectionately known, has suffered
in her home while the junta has so cruelly isolated her from the world. It
has been her Buddhist faith, her almost supernatural inner strength, and
her commitment to restore democracy to Burma that has carried her forward.
To see her set free felt like the world was witnessing history – a moment
of extraordinary joy and hope for the Burmese people and for people
everywhere whose lives are held hostage by dictatorial regimes.

But, it’s only a moment. Today, the real work begins. The international
community must not naively think that democracy will now come to Burma.
Suu Kyi has been released from her illegal detentions before. And the
junta only tightened its grip on power.

Now, Suu Kyi’s work of freeing her own people must begin anew. And the
international community must redouble its efforts to support her and them.
There are still some 2,200 other political prisoners in Burma. And beyond
them, the junta has systematically and thoroughly repressed the
fundamental human rights of the more than 50 million Burmese people.
Freedom of expression and freedom of association are tightly controlled.
The regime uses tens of thousands of child soldiers. Hundreds of thousands
of people are regularly conscripted to perform forced labor. But most
shocking is the junta’s brutal repression of its ethnic minority peoples.
The junta has destroyed over 3,500 villages in a relentless scorched-earth
campaign of killing, torture, and rape.

Perhaps contrary to the inclinations of those watching Burma from afar,
the international community must now increase pressure on the Burmese
junta—not reduce it. The world should celebrate Suu Kyi’s release. But her
release did not happen because of a change of heart on the part of the
junta leader Than Shwe. Instead, it is a sign of how confident he feels
that his sham elections held a week ago have relegated her irrelevant to
the future of the country. Make no mistake. This regime has been
uncompromising and relentless in its drive to consolidate and make
permanent its grip on power. Suu Kyi’s release is anything but a sign of
flexibility.

What is required in Burma is national reconciliation between the junta,
Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, and ethnic leaders.
Empowered by the UN Security Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should
immediately travel to Burma to initiate such a process. It must be the
Secretary-General himself because there have been more than 40 visits by
lower-level UN envoys to Burma in the last two decades that have not
achieved any significant concession from the regime. Suu Kyi’s last
release in 2002 was, in part, a result of the UN-led initiative to
persuade the junta to participate in such a dialogue. Than Shwe, however,
later refused to participate. For any process to work, it must therefore
have benchmarks, deadlines, and consequences for those parties which
obstruct progress.

To get the junta to the negotiating table, the international community
must impose legal, political, and economic pressure on the military junta.
The UN must follow the recommendation of its own Special Rapporteur on
Human Rights in Burma and establish a commission of inquiry into the
junta’s perpetration of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the
people of Burma. The United Kingdom, United States, and a dozen other
countries have embraced this call to action. Ultimately, it will be for
the Burmese people to decide how they wish to achieve justice and
accountability. But initiating such a process will send a clear message to
the ranks of the military that if they do not resolve the situation
through negotiation, accountability may be externally imposed.

Furthermore, the current regime of economic sanctions against the junta is
toothless and so poorly implemented that it is little more than symbolic.
Not only should sanctions name the junta’s bankers in Singapore and Dubai
and deny them access to global markets, but the UN Security Council should
be urged to enact a global arms embargo to deny the regime the weapons it
uses to repress its own people.

I harbor no illusions about the difficulty of implementing such a
challenging agenda. But now, more than ever, the international community
must rally around Aung San Suu Kyi and her people. Although she is finally
free from her house arrest, the people of Burma are not free so long as
the military junta remains in power. We must take to heart what Suu Kyi
has so powerfully pleaded, “Please use your liberty to promote ours.”

Aung San Suu Kyi has so much to share with her people. And her people have
so much to tell her. I can only hope that the world’s leaders have just as
much to tell the junta.

Jared Genser is president of Freedom Now, a campaign group that advocates
for the release of political prisoners, and served for four years as
international counsel to Aung San Suu Kyi as retained by a member of her
family. The views expressed here are his own.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

November 13, Burma Campaign UK
Aung San Suu Kyi released – 1 down, 2,202 to go

Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, but
warned that the release should not be interpreted as a sign that
democratic reform is on the way.  Burma Campaign UK also called for the
immediate release of 2,202 political prisoners who remain in detention.

“The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is about public relations, not democratic
reform,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK.
“I am thrilled to see our democracy leader free at last, but the release
is not part of any political process, instead it is designed to get
positive publicity for the dictatorship after the blatant rigging of
elections on 7th November. We must not forget the thousands of other
political prisoners still suffering in Burma’s jails.”

It is the third time Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest.
 The last time she was released, in 2002, it was part of a UN-led
initiative to try to persuade Burma’s dictatorship to enter into dialogue
leading to a transition to democracy. However, when the time came for
substantive discussions the dictatorship refused to continue the dialogue.
At the current time there is no such UN effort.  The focus of the
international community has instead been on a failed effort to ensure
elections were free and fair.

The international community should use the release of Aung San Suu Kyi as
an opportunity to apply pressure on the dictatorship to enter into genuine
dialogue.

For many years the United Nations Security Council, United Nations General
Assembly, United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations Secretary
General, European Union, ASEAN, USA and even China has stated that the way
to bring genuine change in Burma is for dialogue between the democracy
movement, including the NLD, genuine ethnic representatives, and the
dictatorship. The jargon used to describe this dialogue is tri-partite
dialogue. This dialogue should lead to national reconciliation and a
transition to democracy.

A revived UN-led effort to secure such dialogue, with strong backing from
world leaders and the United Nations Security Council, must be the top
priority. This must not be delegated to a new low-level UN envoy. The UN
must learn from the failures of previous UN envoys, such as Razali Ismail,
who did not have the strong international backing he needed, and Ibrahim
Gambari, who tried a ‘hug a General’ approach of befriending the Generals,
which failed miserably.

“The international community must seize the opportunity of Aung San Suu
Kyi’s release to increase pressure on the dictatorship to enter into
dialogue,” said Zoya Phan. “Ban Ki-Moon must personally take the lead in
persuading the dictatorship to start genuine negotiations with Aung San
Suu Kyi and ethnic groups.”

Burma Campaign UK has produced a detailed briefing paper on Aung San Suu
Kyi, which provides a basic history, as well as analysis and information
on past actions and future options for the international community. The
briefing is available at:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/index.php/news-and-reports/burma-briefing/title/aung-san-suu-kyi1

For more information contact Zoya Phan on 07738630139.

____________________________________

November 14, The Elders
The Elders welcome release of Aung San Suu Kyi and urge release of all
political detainees

The Elders have welcomed the release of honorary Elder Aung San Suu Kyi,
who has been under house arrest for 15 of the past 21 years.

Desmond Tutu, Chair of The Elders, said:

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s release offers hope to the people of Burma, who face
uncertain times following the 7 November elections. She is a global symbol
of moral courage and we wish her strength and health as she makes her own
transition from such a long period under house arrest.

“We are of course absolutely delighted that she is free, and stand ready
to assist her and the people of Burma in any way that we can.”

The Elders said that the government of Burma/Myanmar must also respect Daw
Suu Kyi’s political rights as a citizen and not place any conditions on
her release. They also called for the release of all the country’s
political prisoners.

Mary Robinson:

“Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi is a very important gesture,” said Mary
Robinson. “I am of course delighted that she has been freed and hope that
some of us may be able to meet her before too long.

“But her release should not detract attention from more than two thousand
other political prisoners who remain incarcerated. We should not forget
that Daw Suu Kyi’s detention served to deny the will of the people at the
last elections more than two decades ago and to silence her. Little seems
to have changed in that regard.”

The 7 November elections, which were the first since 1990, cannot be
described as free and fair. For this reason, Daw Suu Kyi’s party, the
National League for Democracy, refused to take part in the poll under new
election laws, and was subsequently disbanded.

However, The Elders also respect the difficult decision by some political
parties and their supporters to take part in the election as one of the
few ways they might gain a voice in parliament, despite the flawed nature
of the electoral process. Whether their decision will bear fruit remains
to be seen. The coming months may be unpredictable and uncertain.

While early results in the elections appear to show that a small number of
democratic and ethnic group candidates have won seats, the overall process
placed significant restrictions on political participation rather than
opening it up. Parties associated with the military have claimed
overwhelming victory. Reports by opposition parties of ballot rigging,
intimidation and manipulation indicate that much more needs to be done by
the government to convince its own citizens and the international
community that it is serious about greater political participation and
reconciliation.

Reports that tens of thousands of refugees fled across the border into
Thailand following post-election fighting between government forces and
armed groups are also extremely worrying.

Jimmy Carter said:

“We urge the government to maintain the ceasefires with the armed groups.
Burma’s neighbours, especially China and India, have a great deal of
interest in stability in the region and I hope they will also try to
encourage dialogue between the government and ethnic groups.

“It is sad to see a country of such great natural wealth that is so
fractured and unable to properly protect and care for its people in a way
that allows all of them to prosper.”

The humanitarian situation across the entire country is dire and deserves
much more attention from donor countries. Burma/Myanmar receives a
fraction of the aid of other countries per capita and some revision of aid
levels and criteria for assistance are clearly necessary. The Elders call
on donors to take more active and imaginative approaches to addressing
Burma/Myanmar’s urgent health, education and food needs.

____________________________________

November 15, Department for International Development (UK)
Mitchell: UK emergency aid to forgotten disaster in Burma

The UK Government will give emergency food, water, sanitation and health
care to more than a hundred thousand people in Burma as the full scale of
destruction caused by Cyclone Giri has become clear, Secretary of State
for International Development will announce today.

Evidence collected by independent agencies operating in Burma has now
shown that more than 260,000 people have been severely affected and are in
urgent need of emergency aid.

Many have lost their homes and means of earning a living in this ‘hidden’
disaster in the Western district of Rakhine State.  Many have also lost
their access to clean water and sanitation.

In response the UK Government will provide immediate humanitarian
assistance to trusted and independent humanitarian agencies operating in
Burma. No British aid will be given to the Government of Burma.

This will provide the following:

    * Food: Supply enough food for at least 28,000 people for the next
three months through funding to the World Food Programme. With crops
and food stocks destroyed, many people face extreme hunger.
    * Clean water and health: supply clean water, sanitation and
healthcare equipment and services for about 80,000 people, including
emergency health consultations with qualified medical professionals,
long lasting anti-malarial bednets and emergency sanitation kits. This
will be organised by our international partners who are already
operating in the area with trusted local agencies, through grants
worth up to £2.25 million.

Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell said:

"This disaster was in danger of being forgotten, ignored and unseen by the
international community.

"Thousands of families have lost their homes, crops have been flooded,
houses destroyed and villages wiped out. Many families are completely
dependant on aid for their survival.

"Without urgent help now, the situation will continue to deteriorate, as a
lack of food and disease spreads amongst the survivors.

"British aid will give much needed food, clean water and healthcare to the
survivors. We call on other donor countries to join in this relief
operation."

More than 100,000 people have lost their homes and many more have lost
their crops, livestock and access to clean water and sanitation. Vital
sources of food have been destroyed, including 700 fishing boats, 17,500
acres of agricultural land and 43,000 acres of shrimp farms. Agencies
report that more than 200,000 people will need emergency food aid for at
least the next three months.

Almost nine out of ten villages in affected townships have no water
resource or are relying on untreated water sources, putting them at severe
risk of disease. With the dry season just beginning, these are likely to
quickly dry up.

The Cyclone is reported to have washed away local medical facilities
causing the local health care system to collapse.

The UK will continue to monitor the situation through DFID’s office in
Burma and our international partners on the ground as the situation
develops.