News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday, 29, December, 2010

News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday, 29, December, 2010
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma's First Lady of Freedom
‘Hope is the Desire to Try’
Mon party holds pre-parliament meeting
Junta Expands Military
South Korea makes rare call on Burma
UN calls Thai not to forcibly return Myanmar nationals
Thailand forces 166 back to Burma
Singapore, Japan make more proposals to study Myanmar earthquake belt
Burma's new fake civilian government will not allow liberty
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Burma's First Lady of Freedom
By Hannah Beech / Rangoon Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2039939,00.html#ixzz19VCvz8ZK

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2039939,00.html#ixzz19VClmXKv
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‘Hope is the Desire to Try’



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DECEMBER, 2010 - VOL.18, NO.12

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The Irrawaddy spoke to Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by telephone in the days after she was released from house arrest.

She talked about the military generals she has met over the years and about Gandhi, mobile phones, the new parliament and the changes she has seen in Rangoon since she last walked free

Question: You are now free after seven years of house arrest. Over the past few days, you’ve had a chance to speak to the people of Burma and see the outside world. What do you think has changed?

Answer: The first thing I noticed was that there were many more young people in the crowd that came to welcome me. Many of them were using cell phones. They were taking photographs with their phones, which I had never seen before. There was no such thing 10 years ago, but they have become quite widespread these days. I think there are more communication lines than before, which is important. I don’t see many significant changes in the city. Perhaps that’s because I haven’t been to many parts of the city, since I am not the kind of person who is always on the street.

Q: Are the Burmese people poorer now than before?

A: They looked poor, but those who came to greet me and give their support were very happy and smiling. I am very thankful to them. I could really feel their warmth.

Q: Some observers say your release is just a matter of transferring you from a smaller prison to a bigger one. Do you feel that way?

A: I don’t see it that way. I always consider myself free because my mind is free. With my own ideology and beliefs, I am walking on the path that I have chosen. I have never felt that I wasn’t free. Even when I was officially released, I felt the same. Of course, I now have much more work to do. I am now able to see and feel the changes in person. But, in fact, my inner mind remains the same.

Q: Many believe your release one week after the election was just an attempt by the military regime to divert people’s attention from the polls. What do you think about that?

A: I can’t say exactly. It’s possible. Since the election is over now, people don’t need to focus on it anymore. That’s why they are paying more attention to me. [Laughs]

Q: Soon after your release, you said you wanted to meet with the leaders of the military regime to help bring about national reconciliation in Burma. However, the junta leaders don’t seem to want to talk to you. Since you first entered Burmese politics in 1988, the regime has repeatedly stated that it has never wanted your presence. It has been 22 years now. Why do you think they still don’t want to speak with you, even though you have offered dialogue with them on numerous occasions?

A: I think we have a different understanding of the main purpose of dialogue and its real meaning and essence. In my opinion, dialogue is not a debate to make one side lose and the other win. One side says what it wants, and so does the other. If there are disagreements, a negotiation should be carried out. Dialogue must be a win-win situation for both parties. I have said this to them before, but they don’t seem to understand it. I am not sure if they don’t understand it or if they don’t believe it. Perhaps it’s because in the military, there is no such thing as a negotiated settlement. This is something I really need to give a lot of thought to.

Q: You met with senior leaders of the military, including Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Gen Khin Nyunt, in 1994, 1995 and around 2000. Were your conversations with them fruitful?

A: Yes, we met, but I can’t say that we had a true dialogue. I can say that real discussions took place when I met with Col. Tin Hlaing, Maj-Gen Kyaw Win and Brig-Gen Than Htun after the Depayin incident. However, what we discussed has never actually been implemented.

Q: They are no longer in office. Neither is Gen Khin Nyunt. Some are serving lengthy prison terms. What do think about them? Did you think that they might have been the ones who might be able to bridge the gap between you and the military? Do you plan to see them again?

A: I think they did the best they could. Whenever I spoke with them, I always noticed that they raised good points. That’s why I never thought that I was always right. I always felt friendly toward them. Perhaps they felt the same about me.

Q: I heard they became very respectful toward you. How did you feel about that?

A: They treated me well. Whenever I meet with officers responsible for my security these days, they treat me well, too. I don’t know what they are thinking in their minds, but from what I can tell, they have treated me well and I am thankful to them. I also want to be friends with them. As I told the people in front of my party’s office on Sunday, I want the military leaders to treat everybody the way they treat me.

Q: Do you think that in the future you will have a chance to go to Naypyidaw and meet Snr-Gen Than Shwe?

A: I don’t think that way. I think of how I am going to make it happen. I am not sure if you have heard that Gandhi was very fond of a Christian hymn, even though he was a follower of Hinduism. The name of the song is ‘Lead, Kindly Light.’ It says: ‘I do not ask to see the distant scene; one step enough for me.’ Gandhi believed that, and so do I. I will do my best to walk, step by step. If I am on the right track, I will reach the right place. I don’t want to try to imagine something very distant. For me, hope is the desire to try. I believe I can only hope for something if I have tried to achieve it. I will continue to make an effort with this belief in mind.

Q: There has been speculation, within the country and outside, including even in the UN, that there is a prospect of substantial dialogue between you and senior military leaders. What do you think about this?

A: It’s not wrong to think that might be possible. I have sometimes thought about what I might say if I had a chance to meet with them. Not often, though. But it’s something I must be prepared for, because it wouldn’t look good if I didn’t know what to say if I was invited to take part in a dialogue. So I don’t mind if people say that this is something that might happen. But sometimes I wanted to laugh a bit at some of the speculation I heard, some of which was quite funny.

Q: So, do you know what you will say to Snr-Gen Than Shwe if you meet him again?

A: It depends on the situation. Whatever I say will depend on the circumstances and the reason for our meeting.

Q: Some have expressed the view that the military cannot be excluded from Burmese politics. The new Constitution guarantees the military a dominant role in future politics. What do you think about the military and its political role?

A: No one should be excluded from politics, since it is related to everyone. However, it is important to have the correct relationship to politics.

Q: We have heard that there are some in the military who support you and the democracy movement. What is your message to army officers and their families and others in the military who want to see change?

A: If they want change, they have to make it happen. As I said earlier, I don’t believe in just imagining how things might be better. If we hope for something, we must strive to achieve it.

Q: The election was neither free nor fair. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) appears to have won, although the results have not yet been announced. It will soon form a new government. Some in the international community think that this will herald a new political landscape in Burma. How will you face this situation?

A: I don’t know what people mean when they talk about a new political landscape. Are they referring to the new parliament? In any case, there are always some who participate in politics inside parliament, and others who are involved in politics outside parliament. We will be in the latter category. Since we have some experience with how they [the USDP] engage in political activities, we will use various means to carry out our political activities outside the parliament.

Q: Before the election was held, some members of the international community, particularly in Europe, said that taking part in it was the only option for the opposition. Now that it is over, however, those who backed the election have been embarrassed by the way it was carried out by the regime. It didn’t happen as they expected. What would you like to say to these people?

A: Perhaps this was a good lesson for them. [Laughs]

Q: The international community has welcomed your release. The US government has said it will continue its existing policy on Burma, combining sanctions and engagement. What kind of pressure do you think the international community should exercise on the Burmese regime, and what kind of relationship should it have with the junta? What would you like to say to China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)?

A: I want Asean and China to have close relations with us. I want them to know that we are not people they can’t deal with. I think the fact that sanctions remain in effect is related to what you said earlier­the new political landscape. I think they are waiting to see if this really is a new landscape or not.

Q: The exiled Burmese community is becoming larger and larger. Hundreds of thousands of Burmese have left their country illegally, most of them from the younger generation. You have often spoken about the importance of education and helping the young to realize their potential. What are your plans for young people living inside and outside the country? What is your message to them?

A: The reason I want to have contact with young people living outside Burma is to promote the importance of education. They­especially those living in Western countries­have many more educational opportunities than young people living in Burma. That’s why I want them to have contact with each other. I don’t want young people living overseas to forget those remaining inside. I don’t think they will forget. Many of them have been involved in blogging and other Internet-related activities, so I don’t think they have forgotten the situation inside their country. I think they will believe in their strength and continue to stand for their people.

Q: When you were freed in the past, Burma’s ethnic communities were largely silent. This time, however, they have given you their strong support. You are also in favor of a second Panglong Conference. How do you feel about the response to your release by the ethnic nationalities?

A: I am very happy, not because of their support for me, but because of the way they are becoming more united. This will lead to greater unity in the future.

Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20387
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Mon party holds pre-parliament meeting
By HTET AUNG KYAW
Published: 29 December 2010

All Mon Region Democracy Party which won 16 parliamentary seats in the November 7 elections held a two-day meeting in Mon capital Moulmein ending yesterday, to hold discussions on the constitution and the new parliaments to be convened by the end of January.

“We held discussions with two legal consultants,” said party chairman Nai Ngwe Thein . “There are many things to discuss [in the parliament] – everything including the economy, politics and social issues although we are not sure whether [they] will be accepted or not, but we do hope so”.

“Our country has been without a parliament for many years and we hope that political prisoners will be released around the opening of the parliament. We are also likely to make a demand for that.”

Although it is claimed that the parliament will be convened by the end of January, no preparation for such a procedure has been seen in Mon State, Nai Ngwe Thein added.

Meanwhile, Union Democracy Party that won no seat in the elections has released a statement on December 27, calling for an all-inclusive dialogue, end of sanctions on Burma and release of political prisoners.

“Sanctions on Burma are not helping democratic transformation, national reconciliation and social economic developments in the country and that they should be revoked,” cites the statement.

“We also believe the release of political prisoners, lack of which has been hindering the all-inclusiveness in the national reconciliation, should be granted.”

“We also believe Burma will be swiftly on the path of peace and development if Senior General Than Shwe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meet and negotiate.”

The party’s chairman Thein Tin Aung said it would make it obvious that Than Shwe doesn’t want to see national reconciliation in Burma if he refuses to meet with Suu Kyi.
http://www.dvb.no/news/mon-party-holds-pre-parliament-meeting/13553
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Junta Expands Military
By WAI MOE Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Burmese military junta has reportedly ordered the formation of new regional military commands (RMC) as part of part of sustained military expansion, bringing to 15 the number of RMCs since the last one was established in 2005.

Burmese military sources said the plans call for at least two new RMCs to be formed in eastern and northwest Burma to maintain security in strategic areas near the borders with Thailand and India.

Despite a lack of official confirmation about the new regional military commands, military sources said that one new RMC is in the Laikaw area, Kareni State, which is in a strategic area on a shorter journey from the eastern border to the new capital at Naypyidaw.

A second new RMC is reportedly to be located in Tanaing in Kachin State near ethnic areas on the Indo-Burmese border.

“The plan is to upgrade existing regional operations commands (ROC) to regional military commands in important areas,” a source said, adding that the new commands created new commander posts for younger generals.

Brig-Gen Mya Tun Oo, commander of the Defense Services Academy, and Brig-Gen Ko Ko Naing, commander of the Defense Services Medical Academy, are said to have been appointed as the commanders of newly formed RMCs.

Both Mya Tun Oo and Ko Ko Naing were promoted from the rank of colonel to brigadier general and appointed heads of two military elite schools in the Aug. 27 military reshuffle, which was Burma’s biggest in recent years. Before the reshuffle, Mya Tun Oo was commander of Light Infantry Division 101 while Ko Ko Naing was a tactical general staff officer in Military Operations Command 8.

Mya Tun Oo’s name was mentioned twice in state media in December when junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe attended graduation ceremonies at the Defense Services Academy and the Defense Service Technological Academy on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 in Maymyo, which the junta now calls Pyin U Lwin.

Along with other military hierarchy, Ko Ko Naing appeared in the state media recently when Than Shwe attended the graduation ceremony at the Defense Services Medical Academy in Rangoon on Friday.

Thanks to the growing military budget, the junta has greatly expanded the military since the 1988 military coup. According to experts of Burma's military, particularly Maung Aung Myoe, the Burmese army has grown from 168 infantry battalions in 1988 to 504 in 2007.

In 1990, a new RMC called the Northwest Regional Military Command was formed in Monywa, Sagaing Division, while the former Northwest Regional Command in Mandalay was renamed Central Command and the Central Command in Taungoo was renamed the Southern Command.

In 1996, another two RMCs were formed in Myeik in southern Burma and Kengtung in Shan State and called the Coastal Command and the Triangle Command. The junta also formed a new regional command at the new capital called the Naypyidaw Command in December 2005.

The junta also formed two new light infantry divisions (LID)s after 1988. LID 11 was formed in December 1988 and LID 101 in 1991.

The junta also established other significant military command mechanisms after 1988, such as six Regional Operations Commands (ROC) and 20 Military Operations Commands (MOC), which have the same strength as LIDs. Like the LIDs, an MOC commands 10 battalions, but an ROC commands six battalions. http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20435
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South Korea makes rare call on Burma
Ian Mackinnon, Rangoon
December 30, 2010

SOUTH Korea has struck a deal with Burma to develop its natural resources in the latest attempt by industrialised nations to secure new sources of rare-earth minerals to circumvent the near-monopoly exercised by China.

Rare-earth metals are vital components of many technological products, including smartphones and hybrid cars. Most countries have had supplies squeezed since China, which produces 97 per cent, restricted exports this year.

China said yesterday that exports would be cut by a further 11 per cent in the first few months of next year.
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That South Korea should be doing business with a pariah state such as Burma is a measure of the panic that the export restrictions have created among big producers of electronic goods. In September, Beijing halted supplies to Japan, which consumes 60 per cent of China's rare-earth exports, after a diplomatic spat over the arrest of a fishing boat captain in disputed Japanese waters.

Concern that stockpiles of rare-earth minerals could run out by March prompted Tokyo to explore a deal with Vietnam to mine the metals.

Beijing denied any official ban on exports to Japan, but figures show it cut export quotas by 72 per cent in the second half of the year, leading to a sharp jump in prices.

Rising prices have also spurred the US to begin reopening rare-earth mines. A California mine, closed in 2002 because of environmental concerns and low prices, has recently reopened, though production will not reach capacity for two years.

Chen Jiazuo, a metals research analyst, said the latest cuts in exports were in line with Chinese government efforts to protect the environment and resources.

The latest move to curb exports may further exacerbate tensions with the US, which last week said it might file a complaint at the World Trade Organisation over restraints on supplies of the minerals.

Rare-earth minerals are 17 chemically similar elements including neodymium, cerium and lanthanum. The price of neodymium oxide, used in magnets in BlackBerrys, has risen more than fourfold to $US88.50 a kilogram from $US19.12 last year. http://www.watoday.com.au/business/south-korea-makes-rare-call-on-burma-20101229-19a6g.html
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UN calls Thai not to forcibly return Myanmar nationals

New York, Dec 29 : The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday urged Thailand not to forcibly return a group of some 166 Myanmar nationals who fled their country amid renewed fighting and are currently seeking temporary protection from the Royal Government.

On Dec 25, the Thai authorities asked the group from Myanmar to return to their villages from the Wa Lay temporary site, located at the Pob Phra District in Tak Province, according to a news release issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The group, which includes 50 women and over 70 children, told UNHCR that they were not ready to return because of security concerns. Many of them had already fled their villages more than once since early Nov after fighting erupted.

UNHCR urged the Thai Government to adhere to the internationally accepted principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returns to a situation of danger.

"While strongly appreciating Thailand's continued policy to allow access to its territory for Myanmar nationals when fighting occurs, UNHCR appeals to the Royal Thai Government that returns should take place on a strictly voluntary basis, and only when conditions are in place to return in safety and dignity," the Geneva-based agency stated.

"While the majority of Myanmar nationals currently seeking temporary protection in Thailand express their wish to return their villages of origin when conditions permit, they should be allowed to make a free and fully informed decision when to do so," it added.

UNHCR said it has already voiced its concern to the Thai authorities over the "hasty manner" in which some returns took place, where some persons returned home only to have to flee again when fighting resumed shortly afterwards.

In Nov UNHCR assisted over 15,000 refugees who fled into northern Thailand after fighting broke out between ethnic Karen rebels and government troops in the Myawaddy area of Myanmar.

--IBNS http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-114314.html
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Thailand forces 166 back to Burma
Dec 29 2010 08:22

Thailand forced 166 men, women and children back into Burma on Saturday even though they were fleeing fighting in their villages, prompting a reprimand from the United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday.

Fifty women, 70 children and 46 men at Wa Lay site in Tak Province, were ordered to leave, the UNHCR said in a statement.

The agency said that while it appreciated Thailand's policy of allowing in Burma nationals when fighting occurs, they should only be returned home voluntarily and safely.

"They were fleeing clashes between the government and ethnic rebels in south-east Myanmar. The people fleeing were Karen," UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told Reuters in Geneva.

Continuing exodus
No one at the Thai diplomatic mission to the UN in Geneva was immediately available to comment.

The ruling Burma has long been accused of persecuting the country's ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. About 150 000 refugees live in official camps along the Thai-Burma border, according to the agency.

At least 3 000 have entered Thailand since June 2009 as fighting intensifies in the south-eastern border area, and the UNHCR said it had expressed its concern already over the last few weeks to the Thai government over the hasty manner in which some refugees were returned.

Some had fled their homes again when fighting resumed shortly after their return, it said.

While Thailand has been a major country of asylum for four decades, it has not ratified the 1951 UN refugee convention. - Reuters http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-29-thailand-forces-166-back-to-burma
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Singapore, Japan make more proposals to study Myanmar earthquake belt
13:23, December 29, 2010

Singapore and Japan have made more proposals to study Myanmar's earthquake belt in next year to help the country deal with disaster mitigation problem, the Myanmar Newsweek reported Wednesday.

Besides the professors from the Nanyang University of Singapore and the Tokyo University from Japan, those from Chinese Taipei will also come to Myanmar for the move, the Myanmar Earthquake Committee (MEC) was quoted as saying.

Kyaukphyu and Manaung areas in Myanmar's western Rakhine state will be covered by their studies, the report added.

In March this year, experts from Singapore had proposed to jointly conduct earthquake monitoring with Myanmar in such areas in Rakhine coastal region as Yanbye and Manaung islands, assumed as having the possibility of earthquake occurrence, MEC said, adding that the areas fall in the earthquake zones important for observation according to the past record.

The MEC and Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) have been cooperating in earthquake monitoring since early this year by collecting data from southern sections of the Sagaing fault which is a major sources of earthquakes in southern Myanmar.

Under the project, four continuous Global Positioning System ( GPS) stations are being installed at Taikgyi in Yangon division, Inkalay and Wal in Bago division and Shan Eik Taung in Mon State lying on the country's main live fault diagonally.

During the year, Myanmar set up a GPS in four cities to monitor earthquake with the help of the EOS. The four cities are known as Kyaikto, Wal, Bago and Taikgyi located on the country's main live fault diagonally.

In November last year, Japanese paleoseismologist Dr Hiroyuki Tsutsumi and a team of MEC researchers had dug a trench in Kyauktaga, Bago division.

Representing its country's overseas aid agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has also been helping Myanmar establish an early earthquake warning system by setting up seismographic network and record center in the country, according to an earlier report of Myanmar state media.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was also committed to help Myanmar develop an early warning system for Tsunami and other natural disasters by setting up two seismograph stations and two sea-level measurement stations, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology Department.

Moreover, Myanmar is also cooperating with the rest of the world in taking part in the global earthquake model (GEM) foundation program. The project of collecting facts worldwide related with earthquake to produce map was set to finish in 2013.

Representatives of Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines attended the related workshop held in Singapore which was also joined by Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

After the project was finished, every nation can locate the place hit by earthquake, project officials said.

During 2010, three earthquakes measuring 5.4, 6.4 and 5.1 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar's Monywa and in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar western coast in March and April respectively.

Source: Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7245608.html
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Burma's new fake civilian government will not allow liberty
By Zin Linn
opednews.com

Burma has to celebrate its 63rd anniversary of independence on 4th January, 2011. Burma gained its independence from Britain on 4 January, 1948. But the country tried out with democracy until 1962, when the military seized power to which it has since clung.

The current military junta has come out in 1988 after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy protests. It held a general election in 1990, but refused to recognize the results after a landslide victory by the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has just released from house-arrest recently. She was under detention for more than a decade and a half and freed on 13 November, 2010.

Some ethnic Shan leaders believe that the then Shan's leadership decision to depart the British colonialism on 7th February 1947 had paved the way to Burma's Independence sunshine on 4 January 1948. The decision was taken by the Shan States Council, comprising the ruling princes and people's representatives of Shan States, as Shan State was known then, at the Panglong Conference from 3 to 12 February 1947.

So, up to this day, Shan community believe they deserve autonomy as a free people. However, Burmese military regime has no attitude to allowing equal status to the ethnic nationalities of Burma including the Shans. The major disagreement between junta and the opposition NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi is no other than to give equal category to all ethnic groups.

Latest political scenario is still blurred although a multi-party general election on 7 November has been done. In accordance with the figures pronounced by Union Election Commission (UEC), a total of 1,148 candidates representing political parties and 6 independent candidates were elected as parliamentary representatives at three levels.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by Prime Minister Thein Sein, won the majority of 882 parliamentary seats or 76.43 percent out of the total1, 154 seats. The USDP is followed by the National Unity Party (NUP) with 64 seats, Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) with 57 seats, Rakhine Nationalities Development Party with 35 seats, National Democratic Force (NDF) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) each with 16 at three levels of parliament.

Meanwhile, the SNDP Chairman Sai Aik Paung told a party conference in Taunggyi in mid-December that the party has achieved extraordinary unity among ethnic Shan nationals. The December 13-15 conference set up about 180 members, including 57 winning candidates from the November 7 election, as said by the Myanmar Times December 20 - 26, 2010 Issue.

The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party won 57 of the 156 seats and the third-largest number of candidates in national and regional legislatures, after the USDP.

Simultaneously, the three ceasefire armed groups have challenged Burma Army that pressured them to transform into Border Guard Forces (BGFs). For that reason, the groups have come around declining BGF plan in order to avoid Burmese junta's oppressive strategies. The UWSA, the NDAA, and the Shan State Army-North are along with the other armed ethnic groups which are defying the military regime's demands on them to join its Border Guard Force (BGF). Actually, the junta's BGF program intended to win over the ceasefire groups through laying down their arms.

Coincidentally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA)'s political wing United Wa State Party (UWSP) has drawn another contradict proposal which includes a point to demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from the new government, quoting UWSP sources Shan Herald Agency for News said.

The UWSP's new proposal which is to be presented to the new parliamentary government expected to be held early 2011. In the proposal, UWSP says that their armed force will remain in the Wa State to defend their independence. Although they will not secede from the Union, they will steadfastly demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from the upcoming government, upholding a policy of non-alignment and neutrality.

The said proposal was drawn at the UWSP's 5th annual district level party congress which is being held in Mongmai, 170 km north of its main base Panghsang from 20 to 29 December. According to a Wa officer, after the December Congress, the UWSP leading party committee will send its delegation to talk with the new government on the basis of 'Opposition to War' and 'Work for Peace and Development' principle.

Subsequently, General meeting of the 3rd Central Standing Committee (CSC) of the 14th KNU Congress was fruitfully held from December 14 to 19, 2010, according to the Karen National Union (Supreme Headquarters) source. KNU adopted the four guiding principles delineated by the late heroic leader Saw Ba U Gyi. The four principles are "Surrender is out of the question", "We shall retain our arms", "Recognition of Karen State must be complete" and "We shall decide our own political destiny."

KNU says in its statement dated 23 December 2010: "As the parliament and government that would come into being according to the SPDC Road Map were for realization of the 2008 Constitution, the meeting adopted the view that instead of resolving the problems faced by Burma, it would create more insecurity and conflicts, especially in the political and military fields."

According to SPDC's 2008 constitution, the incoming legislative body will convene its first session 90 days after the election to elect a president and two vice presidents and to form a new government.

However, the first issue the new government has to head on be the question of self-determination. The ethnic parties not only representing in parliament but also from outside of the legislative body have the same demand in favor of autonomy.
As the self-styled new civilian government is the rebirth of the same military itself, the ethnic autonomy seems to be out of question. Correspondingly, national reconciliation proposal by Burma's Nobel laureate has also to be faced the same destiny. Thus, people of Burma have to continue struggle for national reconciliation plus self-determination.

Noticeably, Burma's military dictators has held the recent polls, not to restore freedom, justice and equality but to resume the dictatorial power.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Burma-s-new-fake-civilian-by-Zin-Linn-101229-87.html
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