BurmaNet News, January 7, 2011

[Editor]

January 7, 2011 Issue #4115


INSIDE BURMA
AFP: Landmine explosion injures eight

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Military firms excluded from tax evasion law

ASEAN
VOA: Indonesia puts the spotlight on human rights as ASEAN Chair

INTERNATIONAL
Irrawaddy: Ban discusses Burma with Chinese FM
PBS NewsHour (US): Photographer offers a portrait of Myanmar's 'First Lady
of Freedom'
DPA: Luc Besson quietly filming Aung San Suu Kyi biopic in Paris already –
Sophie Eager

OPINION / OTHER
Bangkok Post: Thailand again sullies its human rights record – Benjamin
Zawacki
Asia Times: China outward bound through Myanmar – Brian McCartan

INTERVIEW
IPS via Nepali Times: The Lady speaks – Mon Mon Myat with Aung San Suu Kyi




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

January 7, Agence France Presse
Landmine explosion injures eight

At least eight people were injured when a landmine exploded on a road in
eastern Burma on Friday, an official in the military-ruled country said.

Six passengers in a car and two on a motorcycle were hurt when the
landmine went off on the road between Myawaddy and Kawkareik in Karen
state near the Thai border, the official told AFP on condition of
anonymity.

“The injured were taken to the Myawaddy hospital,” the official said.

The blast comes as Burma prepares to convene the first session of a new
parliament, expected some time this month, following a widely criticized
November election in which an army-backed party claimed a huge victory.

A simmering civil war has wracked parts of the country since independence
in 1948. Many groups have previously signed ceasefire agreements with the
junta, but tensions have increased after the regime’s attempts to bring
ethnic armies under state control as Border Guard Forces met with fierce
resistance.

The Karen National Union (KNU) has been fighting the military junta for
more than five decades.

Residents of Karen state said there had been frequent minor clashes
between ethnic insurgents and the government forces around Myawaddy town
since November.

At least three civilians were killed and 11 more people injured when
heavy-weapons fire from ethnic rebels hit the border town the day after
the November election, causing thousands to flee across the border into
Thailand.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

January 7, Irrawaddy
Military firms excluded from tax evasion law – Wai Moe

Burma’s Internal Revenue Department has announced a new law targeting
companies that evade tax as from Jan.1. However, the military-owned Union
of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL) and several other government
enterprises are still exempt from the regulation, said an official.

The director of the Internal Revenue Department—which is under the
direction of the Ministry of Finance and Revenue—explained the new
regulation at a press conference on Dec. 31 at the office of the Union of
Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Rangoon,
according to local journalists.

Director Aung Moe Kyi of the department said that the “Withholding Tax”
law is aimed at all businesses, traders, NGOs and individuals with assets
higher than 300,000 kyat (US $300), and states that they are liable to pay
taxes of between 3 and 20 percent of their profits or earnings.

“However, state organizations and the UMEHL are not included in the
Withholding Tax regulation,” Aung Moe Kyi said.

He did not clarify whether another military enterprise, the Myanmar
Economic Corporation, is also excluded from the new tax regulation.

The military junta issued Decree 41/2010 on Withholding Tax on March  10,
2010, with a view to making it law by April last year.

However, the date for enforcement of the law was set as Jan. 1, 2011. The
Internal Revenue Department also stated that only companies and
individuals that comply with the regulation will be able to open legal
bank accounts in Burma.

Since state enterprises and the UMEHL are excluded from the Withholding
Tax regulation, a handful of military cronies who have stakes in massive
state enterprises such as factories, mines, hydropower projects and
state-owned buildings would appear to be exempt from the tax regulation
too, said business sources in Rangoon.

The UMEHL was founded in 1990 under the 1950 Special Company Act,
designated to support regimental welfare organizations, in-service and
retired military personnel, and veteran organizations.

The military-run UMEHL has since enjoyed the privilege of tax exemption,
analysts said, as it existed under the adjutant-general office of the
military. Adjutant-General Maj-Gen Khin Zaw Oo currently chairs the
organization.

However, from 2002 to 2010, the UMEHL was under the office of Military
Ordnance, headed by Lt-Gen Tin Aye who is one of junta chief Snr-Gen Than
Shwe’s most trusted subordinates. Tin Aye took over at the UMEHL when
Lt-Gen Win Myint, a former adjutant-general, was removed in 2002.

Although Khin Zaw Oo is officially chairman of the UMEHL, Tin Aye
reportedly still oversees the bureau, according to military sources. The
UMEHL is currently managing at least 51 firms directly or within
partnerships.

Observers routinely criticize Burma as being one of the most mismanaged
nations in the world with a barely functioning economy and a corrupt tax
system. According to data from the Internal Revenue Department, only 1.09
percent of more than 50 million people in the country pay tax.

On Jan. 4, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) suggested in
an economic analysis that systematic taxation throughout the nation would
help to resolve Burma's spiraling  inflation and financial problems.

The NLD also recommended that the rule of law be upheld and transparent,
with accountable governance as well as equal business opportunities for
all citizens in the country.

Irrawaddy correspondents in Rangoon contributed to this story.

____________________________________
ASEAN

January 7, Voice of America
Indonesia puts the spotlight on human rights as ASEAN Chair – Brian Padden

Jakarta – In its role chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) this year, Indonesia says it will make human rights its
top priority.

At a news event Friday, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said
his country hopes that during 2011, the ASEAN human rights commission will
be more effective in fulfilling its mandate to demonstrate the
organization's commitment to respect the basic rights of human beings.

Putting the spotlight on human rights in ASEAN is major change from the
past, says Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an analyst with the Institute of
Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

ASEAN has been successful on issues such as promoting free trade and
regional security matters, he says. But addressing contentious issues like
human rights may be seen by some as a violation of ASEAN's principle of
not interfering in the internal affairs of it members.

"Members are happy to talk about it as long as it does not affect certain
interests of their own countries,” Chachavalpongpun said. “But when it
comes to tough issues like democracy and human rights we have to admit
that not all countries in ASEAN are democratic."

Among the 10 ASEAN states, Laos and Vietnam are one-party governments, led
by the Communist Party. And human rights groups consider Burma’s military
government among the world’s most repressive.

Last year’s election in Burma, also know as Myanmar, brought the issue of
human rights within ASEAN to the forefront. Critics of the government say
it stage-managed the vote to ensure the military remains in power.

Human rights organizations criticized ASEAN for not confronting Burma
about the abuses there.

If Indonesia wants ASEAN to get serious about human rights,
Chachavalpongpun says, it needs to abolish its principle of
non-interference.

“I also think that maybe it is time for ASEAN to talk about some sort of
punishment, maybe not to the point of expulsion [of member states]. There
has to be some sort of compliance and what kind of punishment to be caused
to certain members in the case that that member obviously do not comply,"
Chachavalpongpun said.

Natalegawa says the situation in Burma last year did contribute to his
country's commitment to emphasize human rights in ASEAN. But he stopped
short of recommending specific actions and said the situation there has
improved since the election.

He noted, for instance, that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed
from detention after the vote.

"Of course, over the past several weeks there have been important
developments in Myanmar. The elections are notable,” Natalegawa said. “But
on top of that we have had the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. So all these
two important developments must be digested, must be absorbed, for ASEAN
to be able to think ahead. How we can insure the issue of Myanmar or
development in Myanmar can have a sense of closure in 2011."

Rather than punish offenders, Natalegawa says Indonesia intends to use
quiet diplomacy and consensus building to persuade ASEAN members to
respect human rights.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

January 7, Irrawaddy
Ban discusses Burma with Chinese FM – Lalit K Jha

Washington—The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, on Thursday discussed
the current situation in Burma with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi.

No Burma-specific readout of the meeting held at the UN headquarters in
New York was available. Diplomatic sources, however, said the UN
Secretary-General sought China’s help in restoring true democracy in the
country and the release of all political prisoners.

According to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky, Ban and Yang also discussed
Sudan, Ivory Coast and North Korea. During Thursday's meeting, Ban
expressed strong appreciation for China's "active efforts" to revive the
nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia,
which have been stalled for nearly two years.

Rising tensions and the threat of war between North and South Korea also
topped the agenda of Yang's meeting in Washington on Wednesday with US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Burma also was one of the topics of discussion when Yang met US leaders,
including President Barack Obama, during his stay in Washington earlier
this week.

The United States has a two-track approach in Burma, the State Department
Deputy spokesman, Mark Toner, said.

“We do have a relationship [with the junta],” Toner said in response to a
question. “And at the same time we’re seeking engagement, which admittedly
hasn’t shown much progress and borne much fruit. But we’re also pushing
them hard to release political prisoners and to take clear democratic
steps.”

____________________________________

January 6, PBS NewsHour (US)
Photographer offers a portrait of Myanmar's 'First Lady of Freedom' – Mike
Fritz

Over the last two decades, many of the world's famous and powerful have
found themselves in front of Platon's camera.

The renowned portrait photographer dropped his last name early in his
career. It happened by mistake after someone in the art department at
Vogue Magazine failed to include it in his photo credit.

"I was too embarrassed to complain to the creative director because I was
still a student at the time," Platon said from his office in New York. "I
was just grateful for the work...and it stuck somehow."

Platon has gone on to do portraits for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone,
Vanity Fair, Esquire and GQ, among others. He's photographed actors,
musicians and more than a hundred world leaders, including President
Obama, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (a photo TIME Magazine used
for its 2007 Person of the Year Issue) and Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.

Yet Platon says his most recent Time Magazine portraits, one of which
graces the cover of the Jan. 10 issue, could easily be the best set of
images he's ever captured.

"She is a symbol of freedom," he said of his latest subject, "and we all
take for granted the freedom to walk down the street and criticize our
leaders."

He is referring to Aung San Suu Kyi, the 65-year-old Burmese Nobel Peace
Prize laureate who was recently released from house arrest in Rangoon.
Platon and colleague Hannah Beech were able to secretly photograph and
interview the former politician, who has been dubbed the country's "First
Lady of Freedom."

Suu Kyi, who was last free in 2003, has become a powerful symbol of
resistance against the country's ruling generals. Platon said many Burmese
citizens he met carried laminated photos of her as a badge of support.

It was a substantial journalistic feat just to get cameras and microphones
into Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, and their reporting trip was
almost derailed on several occasions by the junta's ubiquitous police
force, which, according to Platon, tracked the pair's movements
constantly.

"I am not a photojournalist and certainly not used to the Jason Bourne
type stuff that some photographers have to deal with," Platon said. "I'm a
portrait photographer that's used to shooting celebrities, and I usually
need time and all kinds of lights and a studio to set up my shots."

Platon devised a makeshift set after he and Beech finally locked down an
interview and photo shoot with Suu Kyi at the headquarters for the
National League for Democracy, a political party that was stripped of its
electoral power by the junta after she led it to victory at the polls in
1990.

Platon asked Suu Kyi what music she liked because, he said, "We all know
about her politics but I wanted to know who she was as a person."

Suu Kyi told him that she enjoyed listening to Bach and Mozart but also
smiled and said, "I do quite like Bob Marley."

"It's her spirit, man, I'm telling you," Platon said, "It takes your
breath away."

____________________________________

January 7, Deustche Presse Agentur
Luc Besson quietly filming Aung San Suu Kyi biopic in Paris already –
Sophie Eager

French film director Luc Besson has quietly resumed filming his biopic
about Aung San Suu Kyi in Paris with Michelle Yeoh.

Filming started on the movie about the Burmese opposition leader last year
and Deadline Hollywood claims it has resumed in Paris.

It's been reported Besson has been trying to keep filming on The Lady as
quiet as possible because of the political situation after Suu Kyi's
release from prison in November.

Besson has been shooting the movie in Oxford, England, as well as Bangkok,
Thailand, and it is claimed they were filming in Bangkok on the day of Suu
Kyi's release two months ago.

The movie follows Suu Kyi's decision whether to fly back to England and
look after her dying husband, who will be played by David Thewlis, or
continue fighting for Burma's democracy.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

January 7, Bangkok Post
Thailand again sullies its human rights record – Benjamin Zawacki

Deja vu is a French term meaning "already seen". Refoulement is also
French, meaning "to force back". Upon receiving a report on Christmas Day
that Thai authorities had just forced back 166 refugees to Burma, I knew
that I had seen this before - at Christmas 2009 in fact.

An armed Thai soldier stands guard as Burmese refugees wait for food at a
border police base in Mae Sot on Nov 9 last year. Before the year ended
many of the refugees were forcibly sent back to Burma.

Indeed, only a year ago this weekend, a colleague and I had written an
article in this newspaper decrying the Thai government's 2009 record on
refugee protection. In late December 2009 - likewise seemingly calculated
to coincide with the slowest week of the year - the army forcibly returned
to Laos around 4,500 ethnic minority Hmong, among whom were 158 recognised
refugees and many other asylum seekers.

A year later, only the facts had changed: the 166 refugees forcibly
returned on Dec 25 had fled fighting in eastern Burma between the Burmese
army and several ethnic minority armed groups. Of these refugees, 120 were
women and children. They had taken refuge in Waw Lay village in Phop Phra
district of Tak province, where authorities had likewise forced back at
least 360 Burmese refugees on Dec 8, roughly 650 on Nov 17, and
approximately 2,500 on Nov 10, 2010.

Along with the year-end symmetry, however, the human rights violations are
the same. Everyone has the right to seek asylum, and those recognised as
refugees have a right to not be sent back to fighting or persecution - the
principle of non-refoulement.

The Thai government denied this right to the 166 people from Burma, all
considered refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The fact that Thailand has not ratified the UN Refugee Convention makes no
difference: like the prohibition against torture, non-refoulement is
customary international law, meaning that it applies to all states
regardless of their treaty obligations. Once again, Thailand has committed
a clear and direct violation of international refugee law.

Despite the ugly precedent set a year earlier, this action still came as a
shock, given that on Oct 7 the Thai Foreign Ministry had publicly denied
any "plans to repatriate to Burma displaced persons after the [Burmese]
elections". It was election day itself, Nov 7, when the first of roughly
20,000 refugees from Burma began to arrive in Thailand. And on Dec 6 -
though after several incidents of refoulement had already occurred - Tak
Governor Samart Loifa was quoted in this newspaper as stating that
Thailand would not send refugees back as long as the fighting continued.
This, sadly, was often not the case, for while most refugees have returned
to Burma, many - like the 166 on Christmas - did so involuntarily. And the
fighting has continued throughout.

My colleague and I concluded in our article a year ago that "Thailand's
disregard for its international legal obligations should not go without a
response by the international community", and I can only restate that now.
UNHCR, which issued a statement in late December calling on Thailand to
not forcibly return the 166, should condemn the action and reiterate its
call vis-a-vis all refugees who remain in Thailand or may yet arrive.
Embassies in Bangkok should do likewise, while countries on the UN Human
Rights Council (which includes Thailand as a member and Thailand's
ambassador to Geneva as its president) should also raise concerns about
this violation.

Indeed, it is now too late for the 166 Burmese refugees who have been
forcibly returned, just as it was in 2009 for the 158 Lao Hmong refugees.
But given ongoing conflict in Burma, refugees from there will continue to
cross the border during 2011. Thailand, regardless of which party is in
power, must acknowledge and uphold its international legal obligations.
Once is already once too often for human rights deja vu.

Benjamin Zawacki is Amnesty International's researcher on Thailand and Burma.
____________________________________

January 7, Asia Times
China outward bound through Myanmar – Brian McCartan

Chiang Mai – Myanmar is set to become an important regional rail hub
connecting China and India with markets in Southeast Asia and beyond
should proposed spending plans come to fruition. As with many
infrastructure developments across the region, Beijing is the driving
force behind the ambitious designs.

China plans to construct several routes linking its remote southwestern
region with ports in Myanmar and on to Southeast and South Asia. In
particular, a major rail line is planned to connect Kunming with a new
deep-sea port and special industrial economic zone under construction at
Kyaukpyu on Myanmar's western coast.

Plans for the route were first announced in the Myanmar Weekly Eleven News
magazine on October 16 and is expected to be finished in 2015. China is
also involved in developing the port and the industrial zone, both of
which are part of its plan to develop a trade outlet for its land-locked
southwestern region and an oil and gas transshipment point connected to
oil and gas pipelines already under construction.

Another rail route will connect the 1,920 kilometers between China's
Yunnan province capital Kunming to Myanmar's former capital and major port
Yangon. Construction will likely build on Myanmar's existing north-south
rail line rather than lay completely new tracks.

This route would also link with a railway connecting to a new port project
at Dawei on the country's southern coast. A component of the port project
announced late last year is the construction of a new rail line between
Dawei and Bangkok.

A third route will run through Myanmar's eastern Shan State connecting
Kunming with the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai and from there link into
the Thai rail network. This link, together with a route currently being
surveyed in Laos, will enable the shipment of goods by rail between China,
Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore.

Wang Mengshu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told
Chinese media in December that "an expert delegation from the Ministry of
Railroads visited [Myanmar] and Laos in mid-November to conduct a survey:
as soon as a route for the China-[Myanmar] railroad is determined,
construction could start in as early as two months, and may serve as the
main transportation route of China's [rail] link with countries in
Southeast Asia".

Two additional routes connecting southwestern China with Myanmar's rail
network are planned between the Chinese town of Dali with Myitkyina and
Lashio. Both Myanmar towns are large trading centers and railheads. China
has also contributed to upgrade Myanmar's rail stock: in October 2010,
Beijing donated thirty engines from the rail transport department as
"friendship gifts", according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Once completed, the new routes will strengthen China's already substantial
economic ties with Myanmar and contribute to a more integrated regional
economy. China is already in the midst of an estimated US$1 trillion
project to expand its domestic railway system from the current 78,000
kilometers to 110,000 by 2012 and 120,000 by 2020. The project aims to
connect all major Chinese cities with high-speed lines with trains capable
of speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour.

Myanmar occupies an especially important position in Beijing's ambitious
plans to construct a high-speed rail network linking China with the
economies of Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Much
of this network, especially through Myanmar, corresponds with the 14,000
kilometer Trans-Asian Railway initiative the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) first proposed in the
1960's. If completed as planned, it will represent the largest
infrastructure project in history.

The exact routes of the lines are still unclear, but they will follow
three general directions. A northern route will extend through Mongolia,
Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and on to connect to the European rail
network. A middle route will go through Myanmar, Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan, Iran to Turkey. A southern route will link China to Singapore
through Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. Currently, China's only rail
connection to Southeast Asia runs to Vietnam.

Missing links
One major obstacle for the project is Beijing's insistence on the use of
the same gauge of tracks as its domestic high-speed network. The rail
systems in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian nations use different gauges,
meaning it will be necessary to replace current tracks or lay new ones to
make the connection.

Another is the high cost and how it will be shared. China is reportedly in
talks about track gauge, line direction and expense allocations with the
tipped 17 countries. However, many observers are skeptical of estimates
that the network could be completed over the next 10 years. Beijing must
also ensure the long-term profitability of the railways in order to make
the huge investment necessary for the project justifiable. So far the only
portion of China's planned network actually under construction is a link
between Yunnan province and northern Myanmar.

China has offered to bankroll the construction of new routes and upgrades
to Myanmar's existing system in exchange for access to the country's rich
natural resources. Wang Mengshu, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong
University and a key member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told
German Magazine Der Spiegel in March "We will obtain commodities that the
huge Chinese population needs. [Myanmar], for instance, has no money but
plenty of resources. We will help such underdeveloped countries to build
railroads and to exploit their resources. Many countries have oil, gas and
water resources."

In addition to providing expanded export routes for Chinese goods from its
remote southwestern region, the railways will also enable more efficient
transportation of energy resources from suppliers in the Middle East and
Africa. New deep-sea ports at Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh and Kyaukphyu and
Dawei in Myanmar will with new rail links cut almost in half the distance
needed to transport oil from the Middle East and Africa by sea.

The new ports and rail links will provide alternative routes for Chinese
strategic resources that avoid potential maritime bottleneck areas such as
the Malacca Straits, where currently as much as 80% of China's imported
energy travels. Strategic analysts have noted that the US could block
those energy flows in a potential conflict with China.

China and Bangladesh have discussed establishing a rail link between
Kunming and a new deep sea port project under construction at Cox's Bazaar
via Myanmar's rail network. An agreement with Dhaka has yet to be signed,
but the proposed 111-kilometer route is expected to pass through eastern
Bangladesh to Gundum in Myanmar where it will either connect with
Myanmar's existing rail network or with the new high-speed route.

Regardless of Chinese assistance, Dhaka seems eager to construct a railway
to the Myanmar border. In July 2010, Dhaka announced plans to build a
railway to the Myanmar border by 2014 at a cost of $260 million.
Construction of the single-track meter gauge route was set to begin in
July, but some Bangladeshi observers say this may be more talk than
substance. Chinese involvement, however, would put more financial
firepower behind Dhaka's plans.

Bangladesh-Myanmar ties have been problematic in recent years due to
disputes over their shared border, Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar,
as well as smuggling and ownership disputes of lucrative offshore oil and
gas deposits. A new rail link, however, may go some way to interconnecting
their economies and reducing the possibilities of further disputes.

India, not to be outdone by Chinese financing of Myanmar's railway
infrastructure, authorized its state-owned EXIM Bank to lend $60 million
to Naypyidaw to finance railway projects. The announcement of the funding
came during a recent visit by Myanmar leader Senior General Than Shwe to
New Delhi where he met with Indian leaders including Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh.

India's assistance is a component of its ambitious Mekong-Ganga
Cooperation (MGC) project to link New Delhi with Hanoi by rail. India
signed a pact for the project in 2000 with Thailand, Laos, Myanmar,
Vietnam and Cambodia. As part of the project, it has extended a $56
million line of credit to Naypyidaw to construct modern railway facilities
in its central and northwestern regions. New Delhi has also assisted in
the upgrading of the central Yangon-Mandalay rail line.

In order to connect the two countries by rail, Indian Railways has begun
initial preparations to extend a broad gauge track from Jiribam in
southwestern Manipur state to Moreh on the border with Myanmar. The line
will connect with a proposed track in Myanmar from the current railhead at
Segyi in its western Sagaing Division to the town of Tamu on the
Myanmar-India border.

An established rail link between India and Myanmar would also allow for
the more efficient shipment of goods between India and China. Trade
between the two countries has been fast growing. China is now India's
largest trading partner, with bilateral trade projected to have reached
$60 billion last year. While rivals for influence in the region,
especially in Myanmar, their economies are becoming increasingly
interdependent despite complaints by some Indian businessmen carping about
a trade imbalance which favors China.

Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached
at brianpm at comcast.net.

____________________________________
INTERVIEW

January 7, Inter Press Service via Nepali Times
The Lady speaks – Mon Mon Myat with Aung San Suu Kyi

Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi talks
with Mon Mon Myat of the Mekong series/IPS Asia-Pacific

Six weeks after her release from house arrest, Burmese pro-democracy
leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi talks about the prospects and
difficulties of bringing about political change in Burma with Mon Mon Myat
of the Mekong series/IPS Asia-Pacific.
Mon Mon Myat: Is the major force for democratic change inside the country,
or is it international pressure?
Aung San Suu Kyi: I think force from inside is more important, but it
doesn't mean international actions are not important. I think there are
more responsibilities for the inside force.

What is ASEAN's role in pushing Burma for change?
The role of ASEAN might be important. In South Africa, all African
neighbours supported the African people. That is why their movement
developed quickly and effectively. In the Burma situation, it is not the
same. We have faced difficulties in making progress with the movement. I
think the support of regional governments and their pragmatic assistance
are vital for us.

Many have said that political and economic ties with neighbouring
countries cannot be excluded. Likewise, economic sanctions imposed by
western countries created stronger economic ties between Burma and its
neighbours. How can China or India help Burma?
They can do it if they really want to help us, but we can't force them to
do it. We need to make it happen. At the same time, we need to be friends
with the whole world as we are related. What I think is that our giant
neighbours like India and China respect stability in our country. They
think that only a military government can sustain stability. We have to
try to change their view. We need to make them understand that a
democratic government elected by the people can become the government,
which can also guarantee the country's stability.

What is your opinion on development projects such as hydropower projects,
gas pipeline projects or Asian highway trade route projects?
We don't have any objection if those projects can develop the country or
the region, but the government that rules this country has the
responsibility to make it advantageous for the country. Some say that the
Burmese people have not benefitted from foreign investment. To avoid this,
the main responsibility remains with the government. If there is
transparency, people will know what the advantages and disadvantages are,
and they can make a decision. In some cases, we didn't know how things
happened, how agreements were made between countries, what major things
were included in the agreements. I think people should be informed about
those things. It is not only because of our belief in democracy; there
would also be fewer mistakes if people knew things. International aid
agencies have been providing humanitarian aid to Burma. There are also
some civic groups that believe that if more people could be involved in
community development work, this could initiate good governance without a
change in government.

Is there any prospect that good governance can be practiced without a
change in the government?
Let me compare this with the media situation. There is not much media
freedom in Burma now but media space is getting wider to a certain extent
as there are more journals and magazines. It is similar with the civic
groups. As there are more civic groups now, some progress can be made to a
certain extent in practicing transparency and accountability among those
groups. Those groups have to try to make it happen. If journals and
magazines only work or write following the guidelines (set by the censor
board), there will be no progress but if they are trying to do better and
develop media freedom, there will be more progress gradually. If they do
nothing, then there will be no progress.

What would be your message to the international community, including the
UN and aid agencies, and those who are ready to welcome the so-called new
government?
Actually, it is no wonder that the international community and governments
acknowledge the new government rather than welcome. They have acknowledged
the military government as the de facto government. So there is no
difference.

It is true that people in the country don't think it is a change of
government but in the outside world, they are preparing to repatriate
Burmese refugees from the Thai-Burma border. How long do refugees and
exiled political groups need to wait to return home?
I can't say, as I'm not an astrologer. I want to do it as soon as
possible. I don't feel comfortable that our people are living in
insecurity on foreign soil. It is a desire for those people to return home
as soon as possible but the desire should not end as a wish. As I always
say, do not just hope but work for it.

What do you want to say to those who doubt your non-violent revolution?
I think there are misunderstandings about the non-violent way. Some might
think that non-violence means not doing anything and accepting whatever
suppression (comes). It doesn't mean that. Non-violence is a basic
principle. Based on that principle, there are different ways. As I have
often been asked this question, I have often answered using Gandhi ji's
saying:

"Non-violence requires more courage, more determination and it is harder
than using a violent way." Although it is harder, it can go further.

If we use the violent way, we might reach our goal quickly but there will
be many wounds among the people and for the country. It will take a long
time to cure those wounds. But if we use a non-violent way, it will take
time to reach our goal but the country's rehabilitation won't take a long
time. If we use the wrong way, we may miss our goal. When leaders of
independent movements have become the government, they have often
suppressed people more than colonial governments.

What message would you want to deliver to the countries in the region?
What I want to say to the countries in the region is that if Burma has
stability, development and union, it will benefit the whole region. So we
are the forces who are trying to have stability, development and unity in
the country. Don't consider us a stranger or an enemy. I would like to
request them to please be in touch with us, work together with us and
support us to build up our country.