News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 09 December, 2010

News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 09 December, 2010
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MP Kraisak Choonhavan's letter regarding Burmese refugees protection and assistance in Thailand
David Mathieson: ‘War crimes are happening’
Junta offers olive branch to Mongla
Shan party told to change conference venue
Sharp Rise in Jailed Journalists, Including Burma
Malaysia's Trade With Myanmar Totals RM27.6 Billion In Two Decades
The danger in lifting economic sanctions against Burma
Work on high-speed rail between China, Myanmar starts in 2 mths
Burma reopens Three Pagodas checkpoint after two-year closure
Thailand/ Myanmar: Where there are no drugs: TB-HIV dilemma for migrants
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MP Kraisak Choonhavan's letter :
Protection and assistance to Burmese refugees on Thai soil


ASEAN INTER-PARLIAMENTARY MYANMAR CAUCUS
Bangkok, 8 December 2010To,
Director of Border Affairs Department, Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters

Re: Protection and assistance to Burmese refugees on Thai soil

Since the election took place in Burma on 7 November 2010, there has been a great amount of instability and violence in the border areas between Burma and Thailand. Fighting between the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and ethnic non-state armed groups in Burma has assumed extraordinary proportions.

Several thousand refugees fled into Thailand as a result of the eruption of fighting on and after Election Day, while sporadic fighting since then has displaced communities along the border several times. Civilians in Burma are entitled to protection under international humanitarian law as long as the conflict continues. However, such reports indicate that this is currently not being respected by either party to the conflict.

As an elected Member of the Thai parliament, I am deeply concerned about the situation of these refugees on Thai soil. According to information received, the provision of humanitarian aid and the process of repatriation of recent refugees from Burma do not abide by international humanitarian and human rights standards. Several local and international organizations have criticized Thailand for not living up to our international obligations.


Although the Royal Thai Government has stated that there will be no enforced repatriation of refugees until the situation stabilizes, it has been reported that refugees in Mae Sot and Pop-Phra, Tak Province, have been pressured by representatives of the Royal Thai Army into returning to Burma and that they have been told that fighting has ended. In fact, the fighting is still ongoing and such returns are premature. As a result, people have had to flee repeatedly to safety, while some have gone into hiding in Thailand out of fear of being repatriated.

While Thailand is not a state party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Thailand has an obligation under customary international law of non-refoulement of persons to places where their life or freedom is at risk. International law also obliges Thailand to allow asylum seekers access to Thai territory to seek asylum.
I have followed the situation in Burma for many years. In my opinion, there will be no easy or immediate solution to the current conflict situation.

Under such circumstances, it is imperative that refugees from Burma be given temporary shelter on Thai soil until the fighting has really been brought to an end and they are convinced it is safe to return to Burma. This is also the only solution that will prevent Thailand from being criticized for failing to live up to international humanitarian and human rights principles.

I therefore call on the Department of Border Affairs to:


Urge local officials to stop pressuring refugees into returning home until and unless it has been confirmed by all fighting parties that the fighting has ended,

To establish a cooperative mechanism between government agencies, international and local organizations to assess the situation, develop contingency plans, provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and develop standard principles for repatriation and for assistance during and after repatriation.
These measures should be taken with a humanitarian commitment and in strict application of international humanitarian and human rights principles.

With my best wishes,

Kraisak Choonhavan
Deputy leader, Democrat Party

Member of Parliament

Chair of the Standing Committee on Political development, mass communication and people’s participation, House of Representatives

Chair of the Thai national caucus, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus

Tel: +662-617 2004 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +662-617 2004 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Fax: +662-617 2003
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David Mathieson: ‘War crimes are happening’
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 9 December 2010

Refugees continue to move back and forth across Burma’s border with Thailand as fighting in Karen state shows no sign of abating. Thai authorities have been criticised for treating those who fled like ‘ping pong balls’, refusing them sanctuary and forcing their return. But although it’s a complex situation, says Burma researcher at Human Rights Watch, David Mathieson, the refugees must be given a safe haven.

Are there any signs that fighting will end soon?

No. All the signs from the past six weeks show that fighting’s either going to continue the way it has, which is sporadic outbreaks in more areas for a couple of hundred kilometres south of Mae Sot, or it will intensify. I don’t think there are any indications that it will peter out now, and that’s something that all the NGOs and communities on the ground, but also the Thai officials, have been saying in the past couple of weeks.

Is the Burmese junta looking to eliminate these groups once and for all?

Their plan seems to be to either rout the breakaway faction of the DKBA – Na Kham Mwe’s group – and the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, or take advantage of the situation and try and rout elements of the Karen National Liberation Army that operate in the area. Or maybe the whole thing is an elaborate scheme to negotiate a better deal for the Border Guard Force: how much of what we see that looks like conflict in Burma is actually the many sides manoeuvring to get better economic deals out of things? But whether it’s politics or economics, the civilians get caught in the middle and they’re the ones who have to suffer.

Is it a warning of wider conflict in the border regions?

I wouldn’t drag it out. It seems like there are a lot of people who are egging on a broadening of the conflict, but all of these conflicts have very local and specific factors and conditions behind them. Of course they are united in a national sense by the fact that it’s all happening in Burma and that the military government is the one main impediment to seeking a deal, but I would be very careful about saying that what’s happening in Karen state is going to kickstart a broader conflict throughout the country.

There’s a very good indication of why the situation in Kachin state, for example, is much more different: in Karen state they’ve got the Thais to deal with, and it’s very different because Thailand’s a lot more tolerant of the refugees, whereas China doesn’t want any refugees – it just wants to do business and keep all the troubles in Burma within its borders. I don’t therefore think that the Wa and the Kachin will start fighting – if they do then that’s going to be completely up to local dynamics.

Has Thailand’s response to the refugees been adequate?

In terms of letting them come across and providing sanctuary for them, Thailand gets a very high grade – it’s done very well over the past five weeks. Where they’ve spoiled this is in sending people back too early, so what’s happened is you’ve got this case of people crossing the border several times: they come across, and they’re allowed to come across, but the Thais prematurely say that it’s safe to go back, and whether it’s a couple of hours, days or weeks, the fighting starts again and they’re forced to come back.

Why is Thailand keen to send them back early?

I really don’t know; all evidence points to the fact that the fighting will continue and that the situation is not safe. Just because you can’t hear artillery fire doesn’t mean that the situation’s safe, and I think partly it is just wishful thinking; that Thai authorities wish it could go back to normal. In a situation like this, the last group of people you should trust are the Burmese military: if they tell you the fighting’s stopped, you’d be crazy to believe them.

Is there pressure from the Burmese junta on Thailand?

If there is any pressure it would be to try to normalise the situation by sending the refugees back. I hazard a guess that there are a couple of reasons for that: one is in terms of public relations, that the Burmese don’t want the world to be focused on the fact that there’s fighting after the elections and after Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. Second, and a more local and brutally practical reason, is that civilians in a lot of these areas provide a human shield around Burmese army troops, so if they come back to a village where the army’s set up, their opponents will be less likely to attack built-up areas. They need the people there as a resource, to carry their supplies and walk through landmines. All the things that countries have denied are happening in Burma, and who refused to support a Commission of Inquiry, well, here you go. If you went and asked one of these refugees what they are afraid of, they may not tell you that they’re suffering war crimes or crimes against humanity, but that’s exactly what it is.

Is there any international protocol that makes it illegal to send refugees back early?

Even though Thailand’s not a party to the 1961 Refugee Convention, or the 1967 optional protocol, they are bound by customary international law which says that sending people back when they’ll still face persecution or fighting in that area, is defined as refoulement, or forced return. What needs to happen is that the UNHCR has to ascertain whether cases in the past month have amounted to refoulement. I think it’s pretty clear that there have been cases that probably would.

But what’s happening is that the Thai authorities are not using violence or over-intimidation. In some cases it’s inaccurate information – if they have an assurance from the other side that there’s no fighting, then they’ll tell the village head to take the people back. It’s also got to be said that it’s a complex situation: there are people who are in the middle of the harvest season, so they want to go back and forth to check their land, and if it’s quiet for a couple of days, then they may begin harvesting.
http://www.dvb.no/interview/david-mathieson-war-crimes-are-happening/13316
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Junta offers olive branch to Mongla
Wednesday, 08 December 2010 17:49 Hseng Khio Fah

Burma Army Staff Officer Grade 1 of the Triangle Region Command recently told National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) aka Mongla group that the two should not stay aloof from each other, instead they should do better to restore their friendly relations, according to informed sources from the Sino-Burma border.

“It was told by the new G1 Col Khin Maung Htwe when he met Sai Soe Win, NDAA’s liaison officer in Kengtung at the end of last month,” a source said.

“Sai Soe Win, in response said that he agreed with the Colonel but it would be better if the junta authorities lift the closure of the Taping checkpoint and allow goods from both sides to pass through.”

Colonel Khin Maung Htwe said the order to close Taping checkpoint on the Lwe came from the top as Chinese goods coming through Mongla side were considered illegal since the junta’s immigration and customs officials were no longer in Mongla, which is located opposite China’s Daluo.

The Burma Army’s Triangle Region Command (TRC) has ordered its units guarding Taping checkpoint, the crossing of the Lwe, which marks the natural boundary between Burma Army and NDAA-controlled areas, stopped the passage of goods coming from Mongla and Tachilek-Kengtung since 23 November.

Following the closure of the checkpoint, prices of commodities especially those from Thailand have increased. Colonel Khin Maung Htwe however did not give any reason for banning the Thai products even though they had gone through legal procedures at Tachilek.

“Mongla said it has yet to face any adverse impact from the closure,” a source close to the group said. “But it will be different in the long term.”

A border watcher commented that the situation is similar to anti-Rangoon Mong Tai Army (MTA) of Khun Sa before its surrender in 1996. One of the factors that had forced the MTA to disintegrate was the border closure by Thailand.

“Because of the closure, prices of goods doubled while the revenue dropped,” he said. “It broke the back of the MTA in the end.” http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3355:junta-offers-olive-branch-to-mongla&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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Shan party told to change conference venue
Thursday, 09 December 2010 17:14 Hseng Khio Fah

The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), second winning party in Shan State, better known as the White Tiger party, was told by Union Election Commission (UEC) to move its conference venue to a more centrally located area, according to party members.

Earlier, the party had planned to rent the meeting hall at Shan Literature and Cultural Association building in Taunggyi, capital of Shan State.

But the Union Election Commission reportedly told that the conference should be held in a location more easily reachable for members from Kachin State, Sagaing and Mandalay divisions.

“We then chose to hold the meeting in Pyin Oo Lwin (42 miles east of Mandalay) because it located at the center with the Shan State in the east, Kachin State in the north and Sagaing in the west,” explained an executive member.

The meeting will be held for 5 days from 11 to 15 December. The first two days 11-12 December will be CEC meeting and the rest will be meeting with members from all over the country.

Party members told SHAN earlier that the party is considering drafting a human resources bill to bring before the first legislature in 22 years and it will further propose ethnic nationalities’ cultural and literary activities to be allowed conduct freely.

Dr. Sai Kyaw Ohn, Chairman of Namkham township party branch and representative-elect said their members in Namkham will promote capacity of the younger generation. It is therefore planning to form “New Generation Association” that will be responsible for conducting awareness trainings for local youth.

“Youth have become more and more addicted to drugs because our education is poor and there are few jobs for them even though many of them have graduated. Apart from that, our people’s political awareness is low therefore they are still afraid to air their grievances,” Dr. Sai Kyaw Ohn said.

Besides forming the association for the youth, it is also planning to form women affairs, farmer affairs and development affairs organizations as well, he added.

Meanwhile, the Shan State that has been divided into three administrative parts: Northern, Southern and Eastern will be combined together as one under the new government, according to an informed source from Naypyitaw.

The SNDP contested in Shan, Kachin, Sagaing and Mandalay and won 57 seats. 7 of the 15 founding members were among those elected. http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3357:shan-party-told-to-change-conference-venue&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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Sharp Rise in Jailed Journalists, Including Burma
By ANITA SNOW / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, December 9, 2010

NEW YORK — China's crackdown on ethnic reporters and Iran's sustained suppression of critics has helped push the number of journalists jailed worldwide to 145—the highest level in 14 years, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday.

The New York-based press advocacy group said in a report released on Wednesday that with 34 imprisoned journalists each, China and Iran together account for nearly half of the reporters, editors and photojournalists imprisoned worldwide.

The committee said that 17 journalists are jailed in Eritrea, 13 in Burma, and six in Uzbekistan.

Nine fewer journalists were behind bars globally than at the end of 2009, the report said.

Of those imprisoned globally, at least 64 are freelance journalists, it added.

"The increase in the number of journalists jailed around the world is a shocking development," said committee Executive Director Joel Simon. "It is fueled largely by a small handful of countries that systematically jail journalists."

The imprisoned journalists are most commonly held on anti-government charges, or no charge at all, the committee said. It said China and Iran both rely heavily on vague anti-government charges.

Iran's imprisonment of journalists has extended far beyond last year's post-election crackdown, with at least four detained in the past two months, the committee said.

In China, it said, the increase is largely due to the jailing of Uighur and Tibetan journalists for covering the off-limits topics of ethnic issues and violent regional unrest.http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20278
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December 09, 2010 16:45 PM

Parliament: Malaysia's Trade With Myanmar Totals RM27.6 Billion In Two Decades

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- The total trade between Malaysia and Myanmar from 1990 to 2009 was RM27.6 billion, Dewan Rakyat was told on Thursday.

Malaysia's exports totalled RM22.6 billion while imports about RM5 billion, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan during question time.

M. Manogaran (DAP-Teluk Intan) had asked about the value of trade between Malaysia and Myanmar from 1990 to 2009 as well as the items exported and imported.

Jacob said although Myanmar was rich in natural resources, its trade with Malaysia was limited.

"The highest amount of trade recorded was in 2008, which was RM1.63 bilion.

"Malaysian exports to Myanmar in 2009 was RM744 million while imports from Myanmar was RM507 million," he said.

Among items exported by Malaysia to Myanmar were palm oil, chemical materials and products, petroleum, processed food and machine parts.

Five major imports from Myanmar were natural rubber, vegetables and roots, seafood, timber and processed food.

-- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=548796
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Washington Post
The danger in lifting economic sanctions against Burma
Letter to Editor
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 6:52 PM

Burmese dictator Gen. Than Shwe has been tempting foreign investors for almost 20 years with hints that he wants to open the economy in Burma, also known as Myanmar, along the Chinese model. But contrary to Stanley A. Weiss's suggestion ["Ending our isolation in Asia," op-ed, Dec. 3], there is no evidence that the general means it. In fact, the Burmese government continues to stifle genuinely private enterprise as thoroughly as it crushes political dissent.

Authoritarian leaders in countries such as Vietnam and China at least see some connection between their own interests and the well-being of their people, and so have promoted economic development. In contrast, the economic strategy of Burma's leaders has long consisted of selling natural resources to foreign partners and stashing the proceeds, which are hidden from the state budget, in foreign banks. The Burmese government invests virtually nothing in health, education or infrastructure. It is massively corrupt, does not respect property rights and denies economic opportunity to all but cronies of the generals in power.

Lifting banking sanctions against Burma would not benefit ordinary Burmese, but the government would find it even easier to hide its wealth in hard currency overseas. If the United States lifted investment sanctions, the only U.S. companies likely to risk betting on Burma would be in the oil and gas industry. Such companies might thrive in Burma, but they employ few people, transfer little intellectual capital and would do about as much to promote democracy as they have in Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

If Mr. Weiss knows of firms in other industries eager to test the Burmese government's promises, their shareholders should be grateful that sanctions are preventing them from making a costly mistake.

Tom Malinowski, Washington

The writer is Washington director of Human Rights Watch. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/08/AR2010120805826.html
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Work on high-speed rail between China, Myanmar starts in 2 mths
By Cai Muyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-12-09 18:01

Myanmar Embassy counselor Hlaing Myint Oo confirmed that the construction of a high-speed rail connecting Yunnan's capital Kunming city and Myanmar's largest city will begin in two months, 21st Century Business Herald reported Thursday.

"China will provide the construction with technology and financing. The Chinese side will decide which enterprise will participate in the construction", Warawudh told the newspaper

Xu Ningning, deputy secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Business Council, told the newspaper that marine transportation is currently dominating the trade between China and ASEAN. "With the trading between the two sides growing, the transportation will be diversified", Xu told the newspaper. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2010-12/09/content_11679289.htm
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Burma reopens Three Pagodas checkpoint after two-year closure

* Published: 9/12/2010 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

Burma has reopened the Three Pagodas Pass border checkpoint, connecting Kanchanaburi and Burma's Phya Thonzu town, after a two-year closure.

Burma cited security reasons when it closed the frontier at Three Pagodas Pass, but it had decided to reopen it after a lull in recent fighting in the area.

Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said yesterday the reopening of the checkpoint followed a meeting of the joint border committee of the two countries in April at which Thailand proposed to Burma the reopening, and Burma finally agreed.

He said Thailand also proposed that Burma upgrade Sing Khon temporary checkpoint in Muang district of Prachuap Khiri Khan and Huay Ton Noon checkpoint in Khun Yuam district of Mae Hong Son as permanent border checkpoints.

Burma said the reopening results from an end to the fighting between the Burmese army and the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army in the area.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities yesterday deported about 500 Burmese to their hometown opposite Phop Phra district of Tak.

The would-be migrants flocked to Thai soil last week after fighting between Burmese soldiers and Karen troops. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/210371/burma-reopens-three-pagodas-checkpoint-after-two-year-closure
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Thailand/ Myanmar: Where there are no drugs: TB-HIV dilemma for migrants
Source: Citizen News Service
Date: 09 Dec 2010

Constanze Ruprecht – CNS

In late October 2010, a large group of people living in and around Mae Sot, Tak province were closing in on a terrible 'milestone' of sorts: all of them – over 60 migrant children, women and men – were living with HIV and taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, which they needed to stay alive. Some were also co-infected with tuberculosis (TB), the most frequent opportunistic infection (OI) experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).

Each group member's daily regimen of drugs – a one-year 'buffer' provided by an international non-governmental organization (INGO) pulling its operations out of the country – was about to run out, with no new supplier in sight.

"We have been unable to secure a sustainable source of ARVs for our patients," explains a staff of the Mae Tao Clinic, a clinic providing health care services to migrants and displaced people near the Thai-Burma border. "If they stop taking their medication, we face a crisis."

DRUG RESISTANCE

Adherence to a prescribed ARV drug regimen is essential; people living with HIV and/or TB who stop taking medication for whatever reason, and even only for a few days, can develop a resistance. Drug-resistance is dangerous, because it is irreversible and the new strains of the disease can be passed on to others.

Multi-drug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (or, respectively, MDR and XDR TB) is an even greater potential threat than HIV drug resistance in terms of impact, because unlike HIV – a blood-borne disease –, TB is transmitted from person to person through the air. A rampant increase in drug resistance can thus indeed fuel a public health crisis.

The Mae Tao Clinic representative said that "from a public health perspective TB is more difficult to handle, mainly because of time-related compliance issues. People with TB have to take medication daily for six months. If they interrupt this treatment, which happens frequently with migrants who are on the move and may stop taking drugs when they feel better, then drug resistance can occur."

Another often under-estimated problem accompanying drug resistance is the subsequent need for different drugs to replace the first regimen. These second- or third-line drugs are much more expensive and difficult to procure – here in Thailand, for example, the main first-line ARV combination therapy (for example GPO-VIR S30) is locally produced and distributed, bringing down the cost; but second- or third-line drugs must be imported, tend to be much more expensive than first-line medicine and may require special handling, like refrigeration, which complicates delivery in unstable settings.

MIGRANTS MARGINALISED

Thais living with HIV have the right to, and usually receive, free ARVs through the National Access to Antiretroviral Program for People living with HIV/AIDS, or NAPHA. People without a Thai ID can buy ARVs for a minimum of 1,350 baht per month, although NAPHA set up a provisional extension programme to cover vulnerable populations who do not have access via regular channels like Thai social welfare card holders.

Access is inevitably restricted for individuals or families already subject to the most dire of circumstances: many migrants and displaced people along the Thai-Burma border live a day-to-day existence that may include a lack of food security and reliable shelter. This can, and does frequently lead to greater vulnerability to infection and illness. An HIV positive migrant in poor health is thus more likely to contract opportunistic infections (OI) like TB, or Hepatitis C, another highly problematic OI.

A representative of a community-based organization in northern Thailand shared that "along the Thai-Burma border abutting Shan State, in Chiang Mai province, we support 125 members of the Shan community living with HIV, of whom 50 currently receive free ARVs. Unfortunately, beginning in December 2010, any new patients will have to pay for treatment – so this will affect any of the 75 not yet on ARVs who might need them in the future." There are about one or two new cases every month, and some of them also have TB.

She added that they "…have a limited budget aimed at helping with general hospital costs for community members, but we've been using it to cover ARV-related costs for our PLHIV."

Given the existing obstacles to accessing adequate and appropriate treatment, it is not surprising that migrants may start with the TB six-month short course, but then, despite doctor's instructions, stop taking the drugs once they feel better. Many migrants are by nature already mobile, which further complicates consistent compliance and follow up by medical staff.

It is this population – in addition to other key populations like sex workers, injecting drug users and prisoners – that should be the main beneficiary of effective prevention efforts and increased access to a regular supply of drugs.

In a country that currently receives generous funding from the Global Fun to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM), how is it possible we cannot manage to take care of our most vulnerable fellow humans?

SERVICES AND GAPS

A representative of the Thai Northern Network of People Living with HIV stated that "local hospitals do provide ARVs to migrants and displaced people as part of NAPHA's extension programme, but they are bound by a quota system which always favours Thai citizens over unregistered migrants."

He admitted that "sometimes Thais who fear being stigmatized and discriminated against by colleagues will request treatment under the extension programme instead of the regular system, because this way they can remain anonymous."

Mae Tao Clinic already offers a number of relevant services for PLHIV, including voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), home-based care and peer educators. Relatively simple preventive approaches can also be applied in the context of TB-related services, such as face-masks and better ventilation in places where people go to get tested.

"A more systematic, consistent integration of HIV and TB programmes is key," claimed another Mae Tao Clinic staff; he went on to say that "since it was at this point beyond the clinic's capacity to offer TB treatment, it was essential to have one group or entity able to take full responsibility for managing a comprehensive TB programme and willing to deal with problems such as non-compliance or adherence due to mobility."

There is an international NGO currently providing TB services in Mae Sot, serving part of the area previously covered by the INGO that pulled out last year. Yet the new organisation has limited reach and cannot accept patients outside of its focal communities, including those likely to move across the border. These unfortunate ones have to look elsewhere, and more often than not, they end up at Mae Tao Clinic.

Regarding the 'stranded' HIV-positive people, clinic staff approached the closest hospitals for help, and only Propha agreed to treat 20 people under its NAPHA extension scheme. Mae Sot, Mae Sariang and Mae Ramat hospitals were not accepting any new patients.

"We are now waiting to hear whether the Regional NAPHA Extension Unit in Pitsanuloke can help coordinate the provision of ARVs directly to Mae Tao," said the first Mae Tao Clinic staff. "This is easier and more cost-effective than transporting a large group of patients back and forth each month."

WHAT NOW?

It seems that drug resistance is here to stay – at least for now – and so the best response would include not only addressing the most immediate needs to mitigate impact, but also introducing some longer-term measures.

In addition to the interventions mentioned above, anti-stigma and -discrimination campaigns targeting Thai society would help PLHIV at all levels access existing ARV providers without fear of being socially outcast.

The representative of the Northern Network of People Living with HIV wondered whether "everything could be related to national security issues and that maybe there is no real will to find a sustainable solution to these urgent cross-border issues."

Also, "there seems to be little real interest among TB service providers to collaborate more with the HIV/AIDS sector," an independent consultant supporting HIV/AIDS-related work at national and local levels in Thailand noted. "Because TB has for so long been considered 'solved' as a public health issue here, they do not have a sense of urgency…"

Well, it can't get any more urgent for those people living with HIV/AIDS and TB here, and now - and who may soon become drug resistant due to apathy and ineffective programme design and interventions. Acknowledging and fully understanding the reality of this is the first step, acting decisively and comprehensively, the second. Here, and now.

Constanze Ruprecht - CNS

(The author has worked in international development cooperation since 2000. Focusing on a broad range of areas including public health, gender, advocacy and communications, politics and the environment, she supports people and programmes in Asia, Africa and Europe. She is a Key Correspondent (KC) and writes for Citizen News Service (CNS). Website: www.citizen-news.org ) http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-8BY9NY?OpenDocument

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