News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 02 December, 2010

News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 02 December, 2010
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Wikileaks Says Burma Passes Asean News to Beijing
Democracy comes first, says Suu Kyi
KNU Calls on Burma Army to Withdraw
Kachin Border Post Closes Amid Rising Tension
Junta to set up more artillery units around Shan, Wa bases
Suu Kyi sees role as facilitator of network for Myanmar democracy
In Myanmar, house arrest looks good
Troops Reinforced on the Western Front as Tensions Flare in Eastern Burma
WHO says HIV/AIDS public health problem
Myanmar, Thailand work for building major deep seaport
Dam projects inked as cronies prosper
NDP seeks to honour Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader
Burmese Regime Continues Brutal Campaign Against Ethnic Civilians
Airtime scrapped for ‘political’ artists
108 Shops for Burma
Than Shwe Praises 'Successful' Elections
Burma's Exports Drop after Election
NZ Government ditches Myanamar for Burma
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Wikileaks Says Burma Passes Asean News to Beijing
By BA KAUNG Thursday, December 2, 2010

Burma, along with Laos and Cambodia, might be working for Beijing as spies within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to a US cable leak attributed to Singapore's Minister Mentor, Lee Kuan Yew.

“Within hours, everything that is discussed in Asean meetings is known in Beijing, given China's close ties with Laos, Cambodia, and Burma,” a secret cable stated, quoting Lee Kuan Yew in a conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg on May 30, 2009.

According to a leaked text posted on the Wikileaks website, the cable was sent from the US Charge d’Affaires in Singapore, Daniel L. Shields, to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June. The conversation, which was aimed at “eliciting MM Lee’s views on China and North Korea,” took place in Singapore's Presidential Palace.

Lee Kuan Yew was also quoted as saying in the same conversation that “Beijing is worried about its dependence on the Strait of Malacca and is moving to ease the dependence by means like a pipeline through Burma,” referring to China's major oil pipeline construction from Burma's Arakan coast to China's Yunnan province.

As China's strategic ally, Burma often seeks China's support in the United Nations whenever its human rights record is raised. And China is widely assumed to wield influence on the Burmese regime.

The leaked cable also referred to an earlier discussion between MM Lee and China's Deputy Chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Staff, Ma Xiaotian. Lee was quoted as recalling that when he asked Ma Xiaotian what China could do about North Korea, the Chinese official replied: “they [North Korea] can survive on their own.”

“MM Lee said he interpreted this as meaning that even if China cut off aid, the DPRK (North Korea) leadership would survive. This is a leadership that has already taken actions like killing ROK (South Korean) Cabinet Members in Burma,” the cable stated, referring to an incident in which North Korean commandos attempted to assassinate South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit he made to Rangoon in October 1983.

The attempt to kill the South Korean president with a bomb was widely believed to have been masterminded by North Korean leader Kim Jong II before he succeeded his father Kim II Sung.

Among the hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables leaked by the Wikileaks website, there is little mention of Burmese issues. But in its website, it stated that there are over 3,000 records related to Burma. The documents remain inaccessible to the public but are expected to be released soon.

While the Wikileaks website lists US embassies around the world as sources for much of leaked information, the US Embassy in Rangoon is not included.

In another leaked memo released on Nov. 28 but dated July 31 2009 with its original source being US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Burma was mentioned as one of the priority issues in US foreign policy.

The memo mentioned a request for reporting of biographic information relating to the United Nations, including information about “credit card account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; and work schedules.”

Regarding Burma, the memo asked for information on “Views of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) and member states on Burma” and also plans and intentions of the UN Secretary General on Burma and level of trust in his Special Adviser, who was then Nigerian national Ibraham Gambari. Also, views were sought from Burmese officials on the UN Chief and his special adviser; the development and democratization activities of UNDP in Burma; and details of the UNDP Resident Coordinator's relationship with Burmese officials.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20242
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Democracy comes first, says Suu Kyi
2 December 2010
Shefali Rekhi

SINGAPORE, 2 DEC: Sounding much like the firebrand of the past, Burmese opposition leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that she will work to convince fellow citizens that power lies in their hands, and that they must use it properly to achieve change.

In her first interview with a regional publication since her 13 November release after seven years of house arrest, she told The Straits Times that modern methods of communication have made her task much easier. Despite the ever-present threat of arrest, the democracy icon hopes to facilitate democracy in Burma by building a global network and engaging the country's military regime at the same time.

"What I am interested in is creating a wide network of people not just for Burma, but people all over the world to encourage the democratic process in our country," she said in the phone interview. "That's what I want to do at the moment. I see that as my role ~ as a facilitator of such a network."

That network could include the USA, the European Union, and countries in the region.

"I would like them to work in concert. Not just the EU and the US...but also Asean and other Asian countries. If they could coordinate their efforts, I think it would help the process of democratisation in Burma greatly," she said. "(I hope) that they will talk more to each other and try to find a common ground on which to approach the problems of Burma."

The 65-year-old made it clear, however, that she does not aspire to become the country's president or prime minister, saying her only goal was to "establish a strong and lasting democratic system". "I don't think it is important who is president if the democratic institutions are genuine and strong and in place. There will be presidents and presidents after that."

Speaking in her trademark soft yet forceful voice and with a slight British accent, Ms Suu Kyi did not sidestep any questions during the interview ~ including the fear of arrest.

"It is always a possibility," she acknowledged. "Not just with me but with many of my colleagues as well. They have been in jail and have been kept in jail for many, many years as well. And they are aware of the fact that they could be re-arrested. But I don't think we live in fear."
Indeed, the threat of another clampdown by the reclusive regime has not stopped Ms Suu Kyi from striving to bring about a return of power to Burmese people ~ a key message that she sought to emphasise during the interview.

From the moment she was released, she has been reaching out to supporters within the country, addressing thousands of cheering people at public gatherings.

The speed at which she returned to work appears to suggest that Ms Suu Kyi is trying to get as much done as possible while her freedom lasts. "Change has to come from the people and there is nothing more important than a change in which people think," she said.

"Our people need to understand that they are empowered; that they are not powerless and I am trying to instil the idea of the power of the powerless into them; and that they can use this power in the right way to make the changes that we want."

Elaborating, she said she hoped to help people see that "their power lies in unity and their ability to communicate with each other". Only then, she added, would "they be able to make their hopes and aspirations felt" by the authorities.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy had won the national elections in 1990, sweeping 392 of the 492 seats in Parliament, but was never allowed to rule. Instead, what followed were long periods of detention for its leader ~ 15 years in all ~ with intermittent periods of release.

Yet, she still believes in continuing to try to engage the military regime. "We haven't made much progress in the sense we haven't heard anything from them. It's always been like that. We have always had to ask for dialogue continuously," she said. She added that she would keep trying: "We will have to make them understand that there is a need for change."

Ms Suu Kyi also spoke about her personal life. Her husband, Michael Aris, died in London in 1999. The younger of their two sons, Kim, finally managed to visit her in Burma after being denied permission for 10 years. It is unclear if the elder son, Alexander, is also seeking to visit Rangoon.

Ms Suu Kyi has not left the country for many years, fearing she would not be allowed to re-enter. She told The Straits Times she had no intention of leaving Burma any time soon, though she hopes to visit her sons one day.

Asked if the suffering she faced in putting duty before family was worth it, she replied humbly that others had done it too. "I am not the only one who has put duty above family," she said. "I don't think I want to make a big issue out of whether or not I suffered." The Straits Times/ANN http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=350616&catid=37
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KNU Calls on Burma Army to Withdraw
By LAWI WENG Thursday, December 2, 2010

The vice chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), David Takapaw, has called on the Burmese army to withdraw its forces from KNU-controlled areas and to halt the fighting that has prompted hundreds of Karen refugees to flee to Thailand in recent weeks.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, David Takapaw said, “The regime troops should pull back to Kawkareik and Myawaddy townships and stay away from rebel-held areas in order to stop this bloodshed.”

The KNU is one of the oldest surviving rebel groups in Southeast Asia, and has been fighting the Burmese government for autonomy since 1948.

“We will not stop fighting if they insist on trying to deploy in our area,” he added.

The most recent hostilities broke out on Friday evening when Brigade 5, a renegade faction of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) led by Lt-Col Kyaw Thet, ambushed government troops on a supply route to Waw Lay, which is the site of the former Brigade 5 headquarters that was captured by Burmese government forces on Nov. 10.

The Burmese government troops have since been forced to retreat to Phaluu village in Kawkareik Township, and sources say they are unable to complete a move to Waw Lay.

The retreating government troops are reported to be short of supplies and food rations after a series of attacks by Brigade 5 and a unit from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), which is the military arm of the KNU.

Phaluu is about one hour's march from Waw Lay, and is located some 40 km south of the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing on the Thai-Burmese border.

With regard to the joint attack on government troops in Phaluu, David Takapaw said, “The KNLA did not join forces with Brigade 5 to launch this assault. They took up different positions, but coordinated the ambush with them.”

One officer from the Burmese army was reportedly killed in the four days of fighting in and around Phaluu. Karen military sources were, however, unable to estimate other casualties.

A unit of Burmese soldiers from the Light Infantry Battalion No 230 reportedly opened fire on another Karen cease-fire group, the KNU/ KNLA Peace Council, which is also based in Phaluu, and which, like DKBA Brigade 5, has rejected the Burmese military government's proposal of incorporating their units into border guard forces (BGFs) under Burmese army command.

The skirmish with the KNU/ KNLA Peace Council was the first time the group has been attacked since it signed a government cease-fire agreement in 2007. One of its soldiers was killed and six were taken prisoner, according to Saw Timothy, a spokesperson for the group.

“The Burmese army told our commanders last week that they had no problem with us,” he said. “Then, they suddenly attacked our troops when their backs were turned.”

Karen sources said that hostilities resumed in Phaluu sporadically on Tuesday and Wednesday between government forces and coordinated units of the DKBA Brigade 5 and the KNLA.

About 50 villagers crossed into Thailand on Wednesday reporting that they had fled the fighting, said Blooming Night Zan, the joint secretary 1 of the Karen Women's Organization (KWO), which is working with the refugees.

More than 800 Karen refugees have taken shelter at a Buddhist temple and Thai school in Pop Phra-District in Thailand's Tak Province in the past week.

“I think the regime should sit down with the armed ethnic groups and discuss ways to stop this civil war,” said Blooming Night Zan. “Otherwise, the refugees' suffering will go on and on.”

Sources at the border said the refugees want to go back to their villages as soon as possible as it is currently harvest time and they are worried they will lose their rice harvest.

Adding to their fears, news has come through that Burmese troops are recruiting villagers in the area to work as porters and in other forms of forced labor, Blooming Night Zan said.

The recent flurry of more than 20,000 villagers to Thailand is the highest influx of refugees at the Thai-Burmese border in 21 years, according to refugee agencies. Hostilities broke out the day after Burma's Nov. 7 general election when Col Saw Lah Pwe's Brigade 5 attacked Burmese army posts in Myawaddy and Three Pagodas Pass townships.

A combined total of about 500 government troops from Military Operations Command 8, Infantry Battalion 97 and Light Infantry Battalions 404, 230 and 409 are currently deployed in the Myawaddy area.

More than 1,000 Burmese army troops from seven battalions under the Southeast Military Regional Command based in Moulmein in Mon State and the Military Operations Command in Tavoy are currently deployed in the KNLA's Brigade 6 area, near Three Pagodas Pass.

Government commanders in Three Pagodas Pass have set up a new battalion about 20 km from Three Pagodas Pass in Maethasa village, which is traditionally a stronghold of KNLA Brigade 6.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20237
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Kachin Border Post Closes Amid Rising Tension
By KO HTWE Thursday, December 2, 2010

A vital trade link between China and Kachin State has been closed in a further move in the Burmese regime's campaign to pressure ceasefire groups to join the border guard force (BGF).

Awng Wa, leader of the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG), told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) was the target of the regime's closure of the Lajayawng border crossing, about two miles from the KIO headquarters at Laiza.

In this April 17, 2010 photo, a Kachin Independence Army soldier gets a push on his motorbike on the Burmese side overlooking the border towns of Laiza. (Photo: AP)
The regime has already closed the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border crossing between Thailand and Burma's Karen State in a move to bring pressure on the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).

Awng Wa said that as part of closing the Lajayawng border crossing, government authorities were erecting check points on highways in the area.
The interruption of trade is resulting in shortages of many essentials and in price rises. One Myitkyina home owner said the price of the cement he needed for repair work had doubled.

Freight handlers have also been badly hit by the border closure and some transport operators are reportedly considering closing down.

Awng Wa said tension was high in the region. “Both sides are on alert, and if one starts firing it will result in war,” he said.

The KIO and its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), signed a cease-fire agreement with the junta in 1994 and now control substantial areas of Kachin State. Tension between the two sides has increased since the KIO/KIA refused to join the BGF.

The tension reached a peak recently when the KIA reportedly shot at a Burmese military helicopter which flew close to the KIO headquarters in Laiza, Kachin State.

The junta has also forbidden KIO/KIA members from carrying weapons or appearing in uniform when traveling in townships. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20238
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Junta to set up more artillery units around Shan, Wa bases
Thursday, 02 December 2010 14:02 Hseng Khio Fah

The military junta is reportedly going to set up two more artillery units in Shan State South between the Shan State Army (SSA) North bases in the west and United Wa State Army (UWSA) bases in the east, according to informed sources from Shan State South.

One is to be located in Mongzang, Monghsu township, southeast of the SSA First Brigade’s Headquarters Wanhai and another further south where the former SSA North’s 7th Brigade headquarters at Kali, Kunhing township, is located.

The director of the Burma Army Artillery (unidentified) accompanied by Commander of Taunggyi based Eastern Region Command Brig-Gen San Oo, were reported to have arrived at Kunhing on Tuesday evening, 30 November and continued to Mongzang.

The commander was escorted by some 100 Burma Army troops plus 3 squads of local militia men from Loipha, former headquarters of SSA’s 7th Brigade that transformed itself into Nyapyitaw’s Home Guard Force (HGF) in April.

“They returned on the next day after finished inspecting in Mongzang and went to inspect the site near Kunghing-Takaw motorroad for setting up another artillery base,” a source said.

A border watcher commented that although military junta is beefing up forces there has yet to be any sign of a major operation. “But it is certain they [ruling military] are preparing to launch military operation against the ceasefire groups after a new government is installed,” he said.

Currently, the number of reports of Burma Army movements to the Shan State has increased. Last month alone, at least a hundred Dongfeng six-wheel trucks from Shan State North’s Lashio carrying supplies went through to Kunlong-Panglong, north of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) controlled territory.

“We don’t really know what they carried because all were covered with black-tarpaulin,” an eye witness said.

At the same time, the liaison office of the SSA’s First Brigade based in Tangyan was reportedly closed by military junta, giving no reason for the closure, according to a local source. “They are now preparing to collect the list of people who used to have relations with the SSA,” he said. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3343:junta-to-set-up-more-artillery-units-around-shan-wa-bases&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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Suu Kyi sees role as facilitator of network for Myanmar democracy

Dec 2, 2010, 5:17 GMT

Singapore - Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said she wanted to act as a facilitator for an international network to promote democracy in her military-ruled country, a Singapore news report said Thursday.

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace laureate, who spent 15 of the past 20 years in detention, was released from her latest house arrest on November 13.

The international community should cooperate more closely to support democracy in Myanmar, Suu Kyi said in a telephone interview with the Straits Times.

'That's what I want to do at the moment. I see that as my role - as a facilitator of such a network,' she said, adding that it could include the United States, the European Union, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and other Asian countries.

'If they could coordinate their efforts, I think it would help the process of democratisation in Burma greatly,' she told the newspaper, using the old name for Myanmar.

She said she still believed in continuing a peaceful dialogue to engage Myanmar's military junta, who staged and won the country's first elections in two decades a few days before her release.

However, there had not been much progress 'in the sense we haven't heard anything from them,' Suu Kyi said. 'We will have to make them understand that there is a need for change,' she was quoted as saying.

Suu Kyi reiterated that she did not aspire to political office. 'What I aspire to is to establish a strong and lasting democratic system in Burma,' she said. 'I don't think it is important who is president if the democratic institutions are genuine and strong and in place,' she said.

'Change has to come from the people and there is nothing more important than a change in which people think,' the opposition leader said.

'First of all, we have to make them understand that their power lies in unity, that it lies in their ability to communicate with each other and to be able to make their hopes and aspirations felt by (the authorities),' Suu Kyi said. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1602854.php/Suu-Kyi-sees-role-as-facilitator-of-network-for-Myanmar-democracy
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In Myanmar, house arrest looks good
A Times Staff Writer
December 2, 2010
Reporting from Yangon, Myanmar —

The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is a breakthrough, but about 2,200 people — activists, writers, musicians and comedians — remain in prison on political charges, facing torture, inadequate medical care and years in solitary confinement.
Aung San Suu Kyi

In the decaying lakeside mansion where Aung San Suu Kyi spent much of the last two decades under house arrest, the Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel laureate was forbidden to use the Internet or the telephone or to watch satellite TV.

She did, however, have two maids, was free to read newspapers and listen to radio, and had access to a doctor.

For the other 2,200 or so political prisoners in Myanmar, conditions are quite different.

Sentenced to impossibly long prison terms for speaking out against the repressive military government, they face torture, barely edible food, little or no medical care and years in solitary confinement. Some are forbidden to speak for years.

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"There's a great difference between prison and house arrest," said Phyo Min Thein, an opposition politician and brother-in-law of a political prisoner serving a 65-year sentence. "Aung San Suu Kyi was treated well, while those in prison are treated with extreme oppression. Is it fair? Everything isn't fair. We live under an unfair system."

Before and after her release, Suu Kyi vowed to spotlight the plight and press for the release of other political prisoners in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

For hundreds of activists who have openly challenged military rule, there's little hope of fair treatment at the hands of a clique of generals that has remained largely impervious to international condemnation, pressure or sanctions.

The "crimes" prosecuted by the regime include demonstrating, passing on rumors, "undermining the state" and possessing uncensored videotapes. Those who have been jailed include comedians, musicians, artists and a writer convicted of inserting a message in a Valentine's Day poem.

For many, the decades-long sentences are abstract numbers, their release dependent more on a political deal or a hoped-for change in government than in serving out their time.

"There's a signboard inside with the length of your sentence," said Phyo Min Thein, who served 15 years for opposing the regime, including five during which he wasn't allowed to talk. "My first five years, I hoped for freedom. After that, you just have to live."

One of the toughest challenges is staying mentally fit. The lack of news, human contact or contact with loved ones eats away at you, former prisoners and family members said, deepening your isolation.

"You become more hungry for information than for food," Min Ko Naing, a leader of the student movement that rose up against the regime in 1988 who is serving a 65-year sentence, one said.

Some described small acts of defiance: hiding a banned book by Suu Kyi in a hole carved out of the floor under a chamber pot, smuggling out appeals to the United Nations or singing protest songs, even if it meant severe punishment or years added to their sentence.

In 2008, the regime transferred many prisoners to remote sites, making family visits more difficult.

"Before 2008, I visited him twice," said a relative of prisoner Ko Ko Gyi, who is serving a 65-year sentence for, among other charges, illegal use of the telephone system. "But since then I haven't. It's a long way."

Former prisoners said they tried to stay sharp by singing, reciting Buddhist verses, playing mental games and meditating. Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest Nov. 14, said she drew strength from dawn meditation sessions.

"Some people go mad talking to themselves," Phyo Min Thein said. "You start imagining you see your mother in front of you."

Family visits, when they're permitted, may be limited to an hour or two a month, with guards hovering.

Some of the detainees are sentenced to more than century in prison, and in Myanmar, political prisoners are rarely released for good behavior. U Khun Htun Oo, 67, a political representative of the Shan ethnic minority in failing health, received 93 years in 2005 for a private discussion about political transition.

Human rights groups say their estimate of 2,200 political detainees in Myanmar is probably conservative, because many in rural areas go uncounted. Periodically the government declares an amnesty, although criminals are the main beneficiaries. In 2008, it released 9,000 people; eight were political activists.

"And they know they can re-arrest you any time; they play games," said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Assn. for Political Prisoners (Burma), a Thailand-based activist group. "Aung San Suu Kyi can definitely be arrested again soon. Now the military regime is trying to find an accusation against her."

In fact, many believe it's a matter of time before the defiant leader is detained again by generals threatened by her popularity and vocal appeals for democracy.

Some former prisoners surmise that her release has served the government's interests by deflecting attention from rigged elections held a week earlier, but that once the inner circle led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe feels threatened anew, it will find a pretext to lock her up again.

The regime maintains the outward appearance of following laws, replete with formal charges, witnesses and legal representation, when in fact many verdicts are decided by a few powerful people, said David Mathieson, Myanmar researcher with the activist group Human Rights Watch.

Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations, Thant Kyaw, denied last month that politics played a part in the convictions. "There are no political prisoners in Myanmar, and no individual has been incarcerated simply for his or her political beliefs," he told a U.N. committee.

Families disagree, saying that the food in Myanmar's 44 prisons and at least 50 labor camps is often bad because corrupt officials pocket the budget, with rice gruel at breakfast, rice and watery bean soup at lunch and a thin vegetable soup at dinner.

And prisoners deemed "troublemakers" face years in solitary confinement, they say, and torture sessions that include kneeling for hours, severe beatings for moving, being suspended by the wrists and water torture.

Conditions varied depending on the prison. A former inmate of Insein Prison said he spent five years in an 8-by-12-foot room that housed up to seven people. Prisoners were given 15 minutes a day to clean out their waste and wash themselves, using a plate, not a bowl.

"It's very difficult to bathe with a plate," he said.

Family members say their relatives eventually become inured.

During Htay Kywe's first prison sentence, his father died, leaving him quite depressed. During his second sentence, during which his mother died, he took personal setbacks in stride, relatives said.

"They never tell us about torture, they don't want us to worry," said a relative of husband-and-wife student protesters Ko Jimmy and Nilar Thein. "Frankly, we don't want to know either. It would only make things harder."

Many relatives said that though they're happy for Suu Kyi, they hope political change will ease their family's plight.

"I hope Ko Ko Gyi gets pardoned," said a relative. "His two nieces are growing up without knowing him. We all really miss him."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-myanmar-prison-20101202,0,2921731,full.story
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Troops Reinforced on the Western Front as Tensions Flare in Eastern Burma

3 December 2010: The number of Burmese troops stationed at army camps along the Chin State-India border has nearly tripled since November 12, according to a border source.

A source quoting a Burmese soldier in the area said that the reinforcement is in anticipation of possible fresh hostilities on the western front as part of a larger armed fightings with other ethnic resistance groups on the eastern border.

A significant increase in Burmese troops is being reported in three townships in northern Chin State, Falam, Tedim and Tonzang.

Five different army camps located along the India-Burma border are identified as the place where the Burmese soldiers have tripled in size in the last three weeks. They include Tio, Rih Khawdar, Tibual (Falam Township), Darkhai (Tedim Township) and Bukphir camps (Tonzang Township).

Around 30 soldiers are normally stationed at each camp.

But the source said no new army battalions are being deployed in Chin State. The soldiers get sent from existing army battalions in Chin State.

Sparodic armed fightings continue to be reported in eastern Burma since Burma's national election in early November.

In anticipation of an all-out assault from the Burmese army in the post election period, several ethnic armed resistance groups, including those maintaining a cease-fire agreement, have recently come together and agreed to assist each other in the event of new attacks from the Burmese army.

The Chin National Front (CNF), active in the western border, is part of the newly established multi-ethnic military alliance Committee for the Emergence of a Federal Union (CEFU). http://www.chinlandguardian.com/news-2009/1134-troops-reinforced-on-the-western-front-as-tensions-flare-in-eastern-burma.html
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WHO says HIV/AIDS public health problem
Added At: 2010-12-01 11:46 PM
Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu, December 1

Although new HIV infections have come down in South-East Asia (SEA) region, particularly India, Thailand, Nepal and Myanmar, HIV/AIDS is still a serious public health problem.

Perhaps the most vulnerable group are children living with HIV/AIDS, whose number has increased by 46 per cent between 2001 and 2009 in this region, mentioned a press statement issued by World Health Organisation today.

WHO said the member country would be able to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. Speakers at a programme today urged stakeholders to show serious concern and address the problem faced by children living with HIV/AIDS.

Constituent Assembly Chairperson Subash Nembang said the government was committed to addressing problems and difficulties faced by the infected children. He said he was serious towards the issues of HIV/AIDS that have been raised in the parliament.

According to National Centre for AIDS and STD Control, the estimated number of people living with HIV in Nepal is about 64,000 and the estimated adult HIV prevalence rate was 0.39 per cent. As of June 2010, a total of 15,945 HIV cases of AIDS had been reported and about 31 per cent of reported HIV cases were women aged 15-49. Infections are rising in the general population and nearly 13 new infections are being reported every day.

Health Minister Umakanta Chaudhary asked the concern bodies to develop a special mechanism to establish cooperation and collaboration among various NGOs and INGOs working for the welfare of people living with HIV.

At present, the government is distributing antiretroviral drugs to 3,500 patients but the number will reach 6,000, according to a new guideline developed by WHO. As per the new guideline, WHO recommends providing ARV drugs to the patients with CD4 cell count below 350. Earlier the parameter was for those with CD4 cell count 200.

The statement mentioned that about 33.3 million people live with the virus across the world, and 2.6 million were newly infected in 2009.

In SEA region, 3.5 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, largely in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand. In 2009,

there were an estimated 220,000 new HIV infections in the region and 230,000 people died of AIDS related illnesses.

At the programme, people living with HIV/AIDS demanded that the government fulfill its commitment to provide ARV to them. http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=WHO+says+HIV%2FAIDS+public+health+problem&NewsID=267876
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Myanmar, Thailand work for building major deep seaport
16:29, December 02, 2010

Myanmar and Thailand are cooperating in building a deep seaport, industrial zone and road and rail link to Thailand in southern Tanintharyi region following the signing of a framework agreement on the Dawei deep seaport and its related infrastructure.

The framework agreement between the Myanmar Port Authority and the Italian-Thai Development Public Company, endorsed in Nay Pyi Taw last month, is targeted to complete in 10 years in three phases and the project is to be carried out under a build-operate- transfer (BOT) system for 60 years which is extendable.

The Italian-Thai Development Public Company, which won the contract for the project is seeking appropriate partners for the implementation of the giant project according to the Weekly Eleven News Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Thai oil company of PTT is reportedly showing interest in the move and is making study with its engagement.

The Dawei deep seaport, industrial zone and road and rail link to Thailand construction project represents the first ever special economic zone in Myanmar.

The project, which costs 13 billion U.S. dollars, includes construction of Dawei Deep Seaport, buildings for shipyard and maintenance work, establishment of zone, petrochemical industries, oil refinery, steel plant, power stations and Dawei-Bangkok motor road and railroad and laying of oil pipeline along the motorway and railroad, according to the framework agreement. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90858/90863/7219120.html
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Dam projects inked as cronies prosper
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 2 December 2010

Three agreements on future dam construction in Burma were signed on Friday last week at a ceremony in Rangoon, with plans inked for a second dam in the Shweli region of Shan state.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Bilin Creek dam in the country’s eastern Mon state was also signed off, as well as the transfer of running the Thaukyegat dam in Karen state to the government. All three ventures were done through Build Operate Transfer (BOT) systems, a form of public-private financing.

China-based Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Co. Ltd will construct the Shweli 2 dam in collaboration with Asia World, which is owned by junta crony Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law. The capacity of the dam is expected to be around 460 megawatts (MW).

It comes as further evidence of increased muscle power of junta cronies in the post-election economy, after Yangon Airways, the only private airline not close to the regime, was forced to suspend operations.

Rumours are also circulating that Max Myanmar, which is owned by junta crony Zaw Zaw, will be rewarded contracts for the Tavoy port project in southern Tennasserim division.

While Asia World will likely construct and run the Bilin Creek dam on their own, they look set to play second fiddle to Huaneng Lancang in the Shweli project. The Yunnan-based company is already operational in the region on the Salween basin hydropower project, and contractors there include the Htoo Group, which is owned by powerful tycoon, Tay Za, and has on its board Aung Thet Mann, son of senior government minister Shwe Mann.

Construction of the first Shweli dam began in 2007 near the village of Man Tat, and came under considerable condemnation at the time from activist groups and local Paulaung villagers displaced by the project.

According to Sai Sai, from the Burma Rivers Network organisation, “Shweli 1 is already complete and most of the electricity goes to China so none of the community have been benefitting from this project. Instead the community has been suffering from forced labour, [displacement], and has been restricted from walking on their own farmland”.

Whilst few details of the BOT agreement were made public, Ren Peng, from the Chinese environmental group, Global Environmental Institute, said they had urged Chinese developers to abide by Chinese standards.

“In terms of environmental standards, it’s low [in Burma]. As a Chinese NGO we encourage them to adopt higher standards”, he said, adding that the BOT system in their experience gave developers greater scope to insist on environmental measures than if the project was undertaken by just a contractor. “To be a developer they have more space to adopt higher environmental standards.”

However, Sai Sai disagrees. “There are no bodies monitoring the standards. Under this [Burmese] government there are no institutions that make sure these companies make impact or environmental assessments, and none consult the local people.

“I think right now if you compare it to Thailand or China and what they do in their countries, the affected communities there are consulted, so that’s why they avoid these places and come to Burma and do whatever they want.”

Distribution of the benefits, namely the use of the electricity generated, will be one of the most controversial issues. Ren Peng said: “The fact is that the people, the local communities, do not benefit anything from these electricity projects.”

Burma has long been beset by severe power shortages, including in the major cities of Rangoon and Mandalay where lack of investment in electrification is woeful. As a result, the streets of Rangoon host private generators that run on imported diesel – a sight that is almost as ubiquitous as the beggars.

But not so in the new capital, Naypyidaw, which was built with the help of Asia World and Htoo Group. The latter is also set to act as a contractor in the first thermal hydropower project for turbines in the secretive city. The deal for this project was signed in August and will be built by Huaneng Lancang, making it the first such power plant developed with foreign capital.
http://www.dvb.no/news/dam-projects-inked-as-cronies-prosper/13172
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NDP seeks to honour Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader
By Norma Greenaway, Postmedia News December 1, 2010

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper should invite Myanmar’s pro-democracy heroine, Aung San Suu Kyi, to Canada so she can personally receive the honourary Canadian citizenship awarded to her in 2007, NDP leader Jack Layton says.

Layton and Paul Dewar, the party’s foreign-affairs critic, made the appeal in a letter sent Tuesday to Harper, telling him Canadians shared in the celebratory mood that swept much of the world after the 65-year-old icon was released from seven years of house arrest.

Harper hasn’t responded yet to the letter, but NDP officials say they are optimistic he will endorse the idea of inviting the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to Canada.

“Aung San Suu Kyi has often called on the international community to ‘use your liberty to promote ours,’” the NDP letter said. “In 2007, as she lived in captivity, Canada’s Parliament stood unanimously to honour Aung San Suu Kyi by bestowing upon her an honourary Canadian citizenship.”

Layton and Dewar told Harper the treatment of pro-democracy leaders over two decades in Myanmar — formerly known as Burma — and that government’s refusal to acknowledge the election victory of the National League for Democracy is an affront to to democracy.

“We must act on our commitment to support the democratic ambitions of the people of Burma. Forced labour, torture, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, denial of freedoms of expression and association should no longer be a daily reality for the Burmese people,” the letter said.

Norway has already invited Aung San Suu Kyi to visit Norway to accept her Nobel Prize in person.


Read more: http://www.canada.com/news/seeks+honour+Myanmar+democracy+leader/3911990/story.html#ixzz16wikHv00
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Burmese Regime Continues Brutal Campaign Against Ethnic Civilians
Thu, 2010-12-02 04:28 — editor

* News

London, 02 December, (Asiantribune.com):

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is concerned by reports that despite the welcome release of Burma’s democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and a high-level visit by UN Burma envoy Vijay Nambiar, the regime continues to perpetrate grave violations of human rights against ethnic civilians, including military attacks and forced labour.

During Burma’s sham elections on 7 November, fighting broke out between the Burma Army and a faction of the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which had refused to become part of the Burma Army, as required under the Generals’ new constitution for Burma. The violence resulted in more than ten thousand civilians fleeing across the Burmese border into Thailand.

CSW has learned that in the last two weeks, thousands more ethnic Karen are have fled to the Thai border following a new Burma Army military offensive in Karen State, thought to be targeting villages in areas under the control of the DKBA faction.

As part of this offensive the Burma Army fired mortars into Palu village in Kawt K'Rate Township, Doo Pla Ya district, without warning on 27 November, wounding one man and forcing more than 200 villagers to seek refuge in Thailand. The mortar attack on the civilian village, which is in breach of the Geneva Convention and constitutes a war crime, took place on the same day that UN Burma envoy Vijay Nambiar visited Rangoon.

CSW has also received reports of attacks within days of the election, in which a 17 year old girl was killed when the Burma Army shelled Kya Inn Sikkyi village, central Karen State. A Bible School dining room was hit by mortar bombs in the same village, and a school was bombed in Ta Ka Klo village. In Noe Neh village, a 60 year-old man was arrested and shot dead. At least 400 villagers in Dooplaya District were forced to flee, several were wounded from mortar attacks and some were forced to become porters for the soldiers, carrying their food and supplies.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, “For decades, Burma’s military regime has been conducting a campaign against ethnic civilians which involves severe human rights violations amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. This campaign has continued and in some areas intensified in the last month, even during the sham elections. By these attacks, the regime is showing that there is no meaningful change in Burma. The release of Aung San Suu Kyi, while welcome, is by itself no sign of progress. Unless and until the regime ends its attacks on ethnic civilians, stops its policies of forced labour, rape and torture, declares a nationwide ceasefire and enters into meaningful dialogue with the democracy movement and the ethnic nationalities, international pressure must be maintained. There is an urgent need for the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to facilitate a dialogue process, to secure a permanent peace and an end to these attacks.”

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/12/02/burmese-regime-continues-brutal-campaign-against-ethnic-civilians
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Airtime scrapped for ‘political’ artists
By SHWE AUNG
Published: 2 December 2010

Around a dozen entertainment artists were yesterday blacklisted by Burma’s information ministry and will no longer be given airtime on television and radio stations.

The list of those banned includes singers, actors, directors and writers, as well as the former actor Kyaw Thu, who now runs the acclaimed Free Funeral Service Society, an official at Yangon [Rangoon] City FM radio station told DVB. The majority had visited the care home for HIV patients in Rangoon that was initially ordered to close following a visit by Aung San Suu Kyi last week.

It remains unclear whether material produced by the writers included in the list will be banned from print publications, a tabloid journal editor in Rangoon said. Likewise, performance artists are yet to find out whether the ban extends to live shows.

The MoI oversees Burma’s notorious censor board, which blocks all politically sensitive material from being distributed and orders that any printed worked is vetted by the board prior to publication.

“We are artists and not political activists,” said Kyaw Thu. “However, what matters for our country matters for us. We were just doing humanitarian work as it’s the right thing to do for human beings.

“The artists are contributing what they can and it’s quite a disgraceful act to ban and blacklist them for it.”

He added that the ruling junta should make the distinction between humanitarian work and political activity. This it famously failed to do following 2008’s devastating cyclone Nargis, when numbers of Burmese aid workers and teams of people who buried corpses were given lengthy jail terms.

Mainstream artists in Burma tend to steer clear of including political commentary in their work. The country’s most famous performer, the comedian Zarganar, is serving a 35-year prison sentence after he gave interviews to foreign media critical of the junta’s response to the cyclone.

Kyaw Thu’s wife, Shwe Zeegwat, is also included in the ban, along with writer Than Myint Aung, who is in the FFSS. Joining them are singers Saung Oo Hlaing and Than Thar Win, rapper Anegga, punk-rock musician Kyar Pauk and film directors Maung Myo Myin, Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi and Cho Tu Zaw.
http://www.dvb.no/news/airtime-scrapped-for-%E2%80%98political%E2%80%99-artists/13166
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108 Shops for Burma
By THE NATION
Published on December 2, 2010

Sun 108, a subsidiary of Saha Group that operates 108 Shop convenience stores, plans to establish 25 stores in Burma in 2012 after the first two pilot branches are set up next month.
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Managing director Vathit Chokwatana said the company recently appointed Myanmar Convenience Store Co as its franchisee in Burma.

Myanmar Convenience Store is a joint venture between City Mart Holding, a major retailer in Burma, and Today Group, a media firm in that country.

The two 108 Shop convenience stores will be opened in Rangoon in January.

Vathit said the company wants to build on its success by expanding the business into foreign countries. It is beginning in Burma because it sees room to grow in that market.

He said Sun 108 would support the Burma operation with warehouse management, online computer systems, sales data recording, product delivery and logistics.

The company will adjust operations to suit the situation in each area, including a system of payment that can calculate the currency exchange.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/12/02/business/108-Shops-for-Burma-30143603.html
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Than Shwe Praises 'Successful' Elections
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Thursday, December 2, 2010

RANGOON — Burma's ruling strongman said Wednesday that the country's recent elections—condemned by the international community as rigged—were “free and fair” and a step “toward handing power to the people.”

Junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe made the assessment about the country's first elections in two decades in a speech marking National Day, which celebrates a 1920 student strike against British colonialism.

According to the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, Than Shwe said the successful completion of "free and fair elections" left just two steps to complete in the junta's self-styled 'roadmap to democracy:' convening Parliament and building a modern developed democratic nation with a Head of State elected by Parliament.

Government opponents and outside observers were critical of the Nov. 7 polls, saying they were held under unfair conditions and that the results were manipulated to allow the military-backed party to win.

The UN special envoy to Burma said Sunday that he told the military government that it must address concerns about the polls. Vijay Nambiar, speaking after a two-day visit, said concerns about the elections have to be addressed "as transparently as possible."

"This is important for laying the foundation of a credible transition" to democratic rule, he said.

Than Shwe in his speech said that plans were now under way "to hand over state power to the public."

Although final official results have yet to be announced, a tabulation based on reports in state media shows the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party garnered nearly 80 percent of the seats in the two-house Union Parliament.

The election results assure that the military, which has ruled Burma since 1962, will continue to wield decisive power.

The disbanded party of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi also marked National Day, with the 65-year old Nobel Peace laureate, recently released from 7 1/2 years of detention, calling for unity, courage and perseverance to achieve peace, security and prosperity. She called on the junta to release all political prisoners.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20232
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Burma's Exports Drop after Election
By NA YEE LIN LATT Thursday, December 2, 2010

The export of rice, beans and fishery products in Burma has dropped sharply in the aftermath of the country's November election, according to business sources.

“We have to send samples of rice, beans and sesame to foreign countries before we can actually export them. But, since late November we haven't been able to send as much as before—the order has dropped by half,” the manager of an export business told The Irrawaddy.

He said that the steady fall in the value of the US dollar has impacted earnings from exports and some businessmen have chosen to temporarily stop or reduced the amount of exports while waiting for a better opportunity to engage in trade.

Field workers hoe rows of beans on a farm near Naypyidaw, Burma's capital. (Photo: Zin Min Maung)
Samples of rice, beans and sesame have reportedly been sent to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and the UAE.

According to statistics from the military regime's Ministry of Commerce, Burma exported 270,180 tonnes of rice in the first six months of this year, compared to 750,100 tonnes in the first six months of 2009.

A sales manager at a beans and sesame export business told The Irrawaddy that the export of beans has declined since September because India, a major beans buyer from Burma, lowered its orders.

“We don't have year-long contracts with foreign companies anymore, so the fewer orders we receive the smaller amount we export. Since the domestic market is not even steady, some are keeping their goods,” he said.

An MOC source said Burma exported 290,000 tonnes of green-grams in 2009-2010 but the projected export for 2010-2011 has been lowered to 250,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the export of Burma's fishery products also has reportedly fallen.

“Our exports have dropped by two-thirds of what we used to export,” said Kyaw Naing, the director of Annawa Trade Park Marine Products Ltd.

He said that his company has mainly exported fish and shrimp to England, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Italy, but the amount has dropped since the exchange rate of one US dollar fell to less than 900 kyat.

According to Burmese economist Khin Maung Nyo, the value of the US dollar depreciates because of some amount of foreign currency flow into the country.

“Burma has earned foreign money through gems exhibitions and Cyclone Giri-related programs, so the amount of foreign currency currently circulating in the country has increased. As a consequence, the value of Burmese currency kyat is getting stronger. So export businesses have to struggle under this pressure,” said Khin Maung Nyo.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20233
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NZ Government ditches Myanamar for Burma
NZPA December 2, 2010, 12:41 pm

The Government is to change its position on Myanmar and return to calling it Burma.

The Asian nation was known as Burma until 1989 when the military government officially changed it to Myanmar.

The Government has accepted a recommendation from Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully to use Burma, Radio New Zealand reported.

Mr McCully said the change signalled that New Zealand refused to recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military regime.

The Government's position allows for the use of Myanmar where the country is recognised as such, including at the United Nations.
Australia, France and the United Kingdom prefer to use Burma while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member, use Myanmar.
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/8435819/nz-government-ditches-myanamar-for-burma/

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