News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 18 January, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 18 January, 2011
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Rules for parliament released
Junta to Increase Scrutiny of NGOs' Finances
Ex-Military Official Berates Farmers at Land Seizure Meeting
Eleven Media Quits Journalism Committee
Sanctions call ‘echoes Burmese junta’
Myanmar court to consider Suu Kyi party appeal
Junta balkanizing units for new command
ASEAN’s political correct
Editorial: Disturbing Myanmar
Influential Magazine Closes, Deepening Burma's Isolation
Myanmar marketing committee to launch fun run
Goldpetrol re-enters Burmese wells
East Timor and Asean: new strategic imperatives
Drafted Into Prison
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Rules for parliament released
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 18 January 2011

The 1000-plus MPs preparing for the first session of parliament on 31 January have been carefully instructed in what to wear, and what not to bring.

An invitation sent out to the men and women who won seats in Burma’s elections last November calls on MPs to report to the parliament office in the secretive capital Naypyidaw by 27 January.

Despite the overwhelming victory of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), politicians from 22 parties, as well as several independent candidates, will travel to Naypyidaw next week in lieu of the first seating.

“Materials banned from being brought into the parliament premises include cameras, radios, cassette players, computers, hand phones, any kind of voice transmission or recording devices, ammunitions and explosives, bags, shoulder bags and Gaung Baung boxes [for carrying the traditional Burmese turban],” said Dr Myat Nyarna Soe, an MP-elect from the National Democratic Force (NDF).

On 28 January the MPs will be issued with certificates by the Union Election Commission to recognise them as MPs, as well as MP identification cards, summarised personal biographies and law books.

Dr Myat Nyarna Soe said that strict dress codes had also been issued for men and women. Men will wear a “stiff-collar shirt, appropriate type of longyi, [Burmese] jacket and the Gaung Baung [turban]”, while women are required to wear long-sleeved jackets and a scarf.

“Ethnic [MPs] can wear their own traditional attires and the Tatmadaw [army] members are to wear the dress appointed by the Ministry of Defence.”

A quarter of parliamentary seats automatically went to pre-appointed military officials prior to the vote. They will be involved in the election of a parliamentary head – one of the top items on the agenda for the first session – as well as the election of a president and three vice presidents.

Critics claim that the presence of the military alongside the 80 percent of elected seats won by the USDP, which is backed by the ruling junta, means that prospects of a true civilian government are unlikely.

No word has yet been given on what role the ageing junta chief Than Shwe will play. Several of his senior military colleagues resigned their posts prior to the elections in order to compete.

Dr Myat Nyarna Soe predicted the first session may last between two and four weeks – the two-chamber Union Parliament will meet in Naypyidaw at the same time the various regional legislatures convene around the country.
http://www.dvb.no/news/rules-for-parliament-released/13742
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Junta to Increase Scrutiny of NGOs' Finances
By NA YEE LIN LATT Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Burmese authorities are preparing to check the expenditures of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to determine whether they are spending illegally acquired money, according to official sources.

An official from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) told The Irrawaddy that Police Col Sit Aye, the head of the Police Force’s Department Against Transnational Crime, will lead the operation to examine the NGOs' expenses and take action against them if they are found to be doing anything illegal.

“The authorities will check NGOs to see if any of their expenses violate the existing Money Laundering Control Law. If a group can't present proper records of their expenditures, it could be dissolved,” the official said.

“The operation seems to be aimed at small NGOs founded by Burmese living in the country,” he added.

Others agreed with this assessment.

“Although the authorities said they will examine the expenditures of all NGOs, I don't think they will be able to touch international agencies such as World Vision. They can only control domestic NGOs led by Burmese,” said an NGO worker in Rangoon.

“For example, they can check how much money a domestic NGO has received from donors, who it got it from, and by what means. If it received funding from overseas organizations but the money didn't come through an official bank transfer, the organization could be charged,” the NGO worker added.

The MOHA official said the authorities will not only dissolve NGOs that cannot submit proper records of their expenditures but also charge responsible individuals with violating money laundering laws.

Many small unregistered NGOs in Burma have reportedly received financial assistance from other countries via private agents, or “hundies.”

A source close to the MOHA told The Irrawaddy that the increased scrutiny of local aid groups is aimed at NGOs that financially supported political parties during last year's election.

Some observers expressed concern that the move could impede the work of local aid groups.

“The authorities should be encouraging NGOs to do the work that they can't do themselves, but instead, they seem intent on reducing the number of social organizations and those who want to help others,” said a person who founded an NGO inside Burma but asked to remain anonymous.

Many social organizations emerged in Burma after Cyclone Nargis struck the country in May 2008, but many of them have yet to officially register as NGOs and are still operating as community-based organizations with funding from international aid agencies, Western embassies or donations from overseas Burmese. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20554
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Ex-Military Official Berates Farmers at Land Seizure Meeting
By KO HTWE Tuesday, January 18, 2011

In an apparent attempt to solve grievances about land confiscation, a former top military official met with farmers in Rangoon on Friday and told them that their lands were transferred to private companies because they “had proved unable to create a lush green environment in the countryside.”

Ex-Lt-Gen Myint Swe, who was in November elected to the Nationalities' Parliament representing the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), made the inflammatory comment to 150 farmers who had gathered at the Good Brothers Company office in Dagon Seikkan Township.

Approximately 8,500 acres of land belonging to 800 farmers in Rangoon Division have been confiscated by the Burmese authorities in the past two years and distributed to private companies. The farmers have generally been offered little or insufficient compensation for the seizures and, in many cases, the companies have continued to use the confiscated land for agricultural purposes although the official line is that the land is needed for housing developments.

“There have been no less than 343 land confiscations in Rangoon Division,” said Pho Phyu, a lawyer who has previously represented farmers in land seizure cases.

After the meeting with Myint Swe, the farmers held a second meeting at which they decided not to recognize the USDP member's comments as an official statement, added Pho Phyu.

Myint Swe—who was previously the military commander of Rangoon Division and is widely expected to assume the role of Chief Minister of Rangoon Division in the new government—was accompanied by Aung Win, the director general of the Department of Housing and Human Settlement Development (DHHS), as well as the owners of 11 companies that have taken over the lands.

According to Pho Phyu, Myint Swe had called the meeting to resolve escalating tensions after farmers had demonstrated in front of the office of the General Administrative Department of Eastern Rangoon District.

“Myint Swe said that the farmers cannot demand the right to manage the farmlands by themselves, because those lands belong to the State, and he urged them to cooperate with the companies,” said Aung Maung, one of the farmers' leaders at the first meeting.

“It is like we are not human,” he said.

Similarly, 1,300 acres of land were seized and 600 farmers were evicted from their lands in Hpakant Township in Kachin State between 2006 and 2008. Farmers were not fully compensated and were displaced to areas far from their homesteads. Several of the farmers banded together to hire legal teams, which in August filed lawsuits claiming the land seizures were illegal.

It is also alleged that Khin Shwe of the Zay Gabar Company confiscated nearly 400 acres of land in Kyaikmayaw Township in Mon State to build the biggest cement factory in Burma. Khin Shwe is an elected USDP candidate for the Nationalities Assembly in Twantay Township in Rangoon Division.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20555
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Eleven Media Quits Journalism Committee
By HEIN THU Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Eleven Media Group, a leading media organization in Rangoon, has resigned from the recently formed Committee for Professional Conduct (CPC), according to media sources.

The CPC was reportedly formed to cooperate with the government-affiliated Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA), and the military regime's censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD).

“If there are many people within the CPC who constantly seek opportunities for their own benefit and who have reputations for breaching the codes of conduct for journalism, it [the CPC] will not be respected by either the government or the people, and its objectives will not be fulfilled,” said Eleven Media Group's website, quoting the agency's CEO Dr. Than Htut Aung.

The website also said that the Eleven Media Group will not cooperate with the CPC unless the committee amends its constitution in accordance with Eleven Media's six-point proposal regarding the committee's membership criteria: to follow the code of conduct for journalism; to maintain good character and reputation; to show a willingness to protect journalists; to stand firmly on the side of the principles of journalism and be flexible; not to prioritize self-interests; and not to receive directly or indirectly sponsorship from the government, political parties, businessmen, embassies or NGOs.

Dr. Thein Myint, the Group's managing editor, said he attended a CPC meeting on Jan.13, and consulted with other members of his news agency directly after the meeting. He said they then made the decision to quit the CPC, and a formal resignation letter was sent to the PSRD that same day.

According to Than Htun Aung, the Eleven Media Group joined the CPC because it was told that the CPC would be an independent body that would preserve the codes of conduct for journalism, and protect the freedom and responsibilities of journalists. The group decided to leave the CPC because it did not think that the CPC would be independent under its current composition.

Another CPC meeting participant, however, told The Irrawaddy that the final point of the Eleven Media Group's proposal—“not to receive directly or indirectly sponsorship from the government, political parties, businessmen, embassies or NGOs”—was not agreed upon at the meeting.

Chaired by Ko Ko of the MWJA, the CPC was formed on Jan. 7 this year. It comprises representatives from the MWJA, PSRD, members of news journals and freelance journalists.

Khin Maung Nyo, a CPC member, said he thinks the committee will continue to move ahead despite the Eleven Media Group's decision to resign.

In late December, a group of Burmese journalists organized an awards ceremony titled “Myanmar Press Awards 2010,” to honor young and independent journalists for their endeavors. However, the PSRD asked the organizers to postpone the ceremony. Later, the organizers were reportedly told that they needed to cooperate with the CPC if they wanted to hold such an event.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20543
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Sanctions call ‘echoes Burmese junta’
By HTET AUNG KYAW
Published: 18 January 2011

A key figure in Burma’s opposition has launched a broadside against recent calls by five ethnic parties to end Western sanctions on the Southeast Asian pariah.

The debate over the economic blockade first enacted by the US in the mid-1990s was rekindled yesterday after a meeting of regional foreign ministers in Indonesia concluded that sanctions on Burma must be dropped.

The meeting coincided with a statement released by five ethnic parties who all won seats in Burma’s recent elections that said sanctions “are causing many difficulties in the important areas of trade, investment and modern technologies for the development of ethnic regions”.

But, according to Win Tin, a senior member and co-founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the parties “all sound like the military junta”, which has also claimed that sanctions are hurting Burmese people.

“I don’t think sanctions harm the people as they only mean to block the fortunes made by the military generals and their cronies through their arms deals.”

But the NLD’s once unequivocal backing for all aspects of the US and EU sanctions packages, that include a block on importing Burmese goods such as jade and teak, may be softening, Win Tin signalled. “Trade sanctions may hamper the people as well so we are keen to listen to their [the people’s] voice and collect their opinion.”

Critics of sanctions say they have failed in their one main objective: the weakening of the ruling generals’ grip on power. The rise of China as an economic giant and key ally of the junta has meant that it can survive regardless of trade with the West, while Burma’s regional neighbours, many of whom will have backed yesterday’s motion, continue to pour billions into the economy.

One of the ethnic parties to sign the statement was the Rakhine Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), which came fourth in the 7 November elections.

“It has been analysed for over 20 years whether the sanctions are really taking effect on the [government’s] budget or just damaging the people,” said Dr Aye Maung, chairman of the RNDP.

“There is controversy over whether problems with the development of the country are caused by sanctions. Whether this is true or not is what we’ll have to analyse thoroughly from both sides.”

Ending sanctions now would cause a softening in the new government and spur the transition toward democracy in Burma, he added, calling for an “immediate” end to the blockade.

The other parties who signed the statement are the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), which came third in the polls, the All Mon Region Democracy Party, the Chin National Party and Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party.

The five make up a combined 126 of more than 1000 seats in the new parliament, which is set to hold its first session on 31 January.
http://www.dvb.no/news/sanctions-call-%E2%80%98echoes-burmese-junta%E2%80%99/13738
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Myanmar court to consider Suu Kyi party appeal
Posted: 18 January 2011 1404 hrs

YANGON: Myanmar's Supreme Court will this month consider whether to hear democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's latest appeal against the dissolution of her political party, her lawyer said Tuesday.

"We have to give our argument for the special appeal on January 24 at the Supreme Court in Naypyidaw," said Nyan Win, one of three attorneys who will represent the Nobel Peace Prize winner at the hearing in Myanmar's capital.

"We will argue that the dissolution of the party which won a free and fair election (in 1990) was not in accordance with the law," he said.

It is not yet known whether Suu Kyi will attend the hearing.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) was disbanded last year for opting to boycott the military-ruled country's first election in 20 years in response to rules that seemed designed to bar her from taking part.

The party won a 1990 election in a landslide but the result was never recognised by the regime.

Suu Kyi was freed from more than seven years in detention on November 13, days after a poll in which the main junta-backed party claimed overwhelming victory, amid opposition allegations of intimidation and fraud.

Shortly after Suu Kyi's release, the Supreme Court refused to hear her lawsuit against the junta for dissolving the NLD. She had unsuccessfully filed an earlier suit with the Supreme Court aimed at preventing its abolition.

Court verdicts in the military-ruled country rarely favour opposition activists, and a series of appeals by Suu Kyi against her house arrest -- before it expired in November -- were rejected.

-AFP/ac http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1105389/1/.html
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Junta balkanizing units for new command
Monday, 17 January 2011 16:12 Hseng Khio Fah

The Burma Army’s Northeastern Region Command,with its headquarters Lashio, Northern Shan State, have been breaking up units under its command for the newly installed military command in Southern Shan State, according to sources close to local junta.

“60 men from each infantry battalion were picked up to move out to the new command,” a source in Lashio said. The new command reportedly requires 1,500 officers and men.

The selection started a week ago in Lashio and Hsenwi, where the Military Operations Command (MOC) #16 is based.

“Those chosen were reported to be unhappy because they don’t want to go. They think going there is like going to their doom,” the source said.

Earlier this month, there were reports the Burma Army had installed a new military command that would oversee areas between Taunggyi and Kengtung from its Kholam headquarters in Shan State South’s Kunhing township commanded by Brig-Gen Mya Tun Oo.

A number of border watchers commented the Burma Army’s new move is to cut communications between armed groups that have been transformed into Border Guard Force (BGF) and those that had refused to. Its other objective is also to prepare for a major operation against non-BGFs after the new government has been formed.

According to some sources, some soldiers had already applied to retire from the military service in order to avoid going to the new command.

A border watcher on the Sino-Burma border commented, “There may likely be another recruitment drive if the number of troops is less than their [the junta] quota. What with the ongoing desertions, all Burma Army units must be understrength.”

Sun Tzu, ancient Chinese military expert admonishes: “Should you strengthen your van, you will weaken your rear; should you strengthen your rear, you will weaken your van; should you strengthen your left, you will weaken your right; should you strengthen your right, you will weaken your left. If you send reinforcements everywhere, you will be weakened everywhere.”

The Burmese army has since 2009 been recruiting and also beefing up local militias to reinforce its campaign against armed groups who did not join its BGFs program.
http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3413:junta-balkanizing-units-for-new-command&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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ASEAN’s political correct
18 January 2011

The Southeast Asian organisation has finally found the will to reflect on Myanmar. The call on the part of ASEAN foreign ministers to lift sanctions against Yangon must have come after serious deliberations.

Irrespective of the fact that the military regime reigns supreme to this day, Myanmar has walked an extra mile in realising the goals that the civil society and pro-democracy parties had set for itself. The November elections, though sham in character, have at least forwarded the process of transition to democracy with the release of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. It goes without saying that the ultimate victims of socio-economic sanctions were the people and it had hardly mattered for the generals in power. This whiff of fresh air that has come with the freedom wave is in need of being bolstered, and the best way to do that is to empower the people by disseminating opportunities for growth and social mobility. The ASEAN should not merely stop at voicing for the sanctions to be lifted but also deliberate how could a nation reeling under abject poverty and political curbs be rehabilitated.

It’s high time the tedious process of nation building begins in Myanmar. The world community’s focus on its political parameters and the desire to dislodge the generals is now overstretched. Myanmar under Suu Kyi has exhibited a unique tolerance module and that needs to appreciated and reenacted in other flashpoints of the world. By deciding to peacefully work with the generals for a complete transition to civilian supremacy, Suu Kyi has put the junta on the mat. As rightly stated by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa the elections should be seen as ‘conducive’, and efforts should be made to get the country back on the map of world recognition.

As the ASEAN believes lifting of sanctions can buoy the ongoing dialogue between pro-democracy groups and the junta, and provide a solution to the pestering conflict. Yangon’s problem, like Pyongyang, is one of recognition and provision of opportunities for its socio-economic progress. This is why development must not be allowed to dissipate for reasons of expediency. While Myanmar is another hotbed of heterogeneous communities, the desire on the part of its ethnic groups to lift sanctions should not be ignored. An exploding Myanmar is much dangerous than a contained nation under the tin-pot governance of military generals. ASEAN’s courage to speak out in adversity is genuine leadership, and should be measured beyond the prisms of real-politick. The decision is politically correct.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/editorial/2011/January/editorial_January33.xml§ion=editorial&col =
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Editorial: Disturbing Myanmar
The Jakarta Post | Tue, 01/18/2011 9:32 AM | Editorial

Few were expecting any surprises from the ASEAN Ministerial Retreat in Lombok over the weekend. So when news emerged that the 10-member group was urging an easing of sanctions against Myanmar, we found it rather shocking, if not altogether disturbing.

The introduction of a regime sanctioned constitution, general elections and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi are grounds for Indonesia and fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be cautiously optimistic, but nothing more than that. They are certainly not worth betting Indonesia’s international credibility on.

The argument put forward using the election and Suu Kyi’s release as rationale was flawed and premature.

The elections were held under extremely restrictive conditions, to the point that even Indonesian foreign policy analysts here criticized the limitations being placed on international poll watchers. In other words, the process was not open to the kind of scrutiny and critique common in standard elections around the world.

The right to free expression — whether through public rallies criticizing the government or a free press — remains void.

We dare ASEAN ministers and leaders to publicly avow that the citizens of Myanmar have the right to express and channel their aspirations towards a viable political opposition that has the same rights as the ruling regime.

And while the release of Suu Kyi is a nudge in the right direction, are there any assurances of a cessation of political or ethnic persecution when the authority of the regime is under threat? The answer remains no.

When a regime so unabashedly engaged in open political suppression with military force, such as was the case during the saffron revolution just three years ago, we should keep our suspicions on alert.

Nor do we find it difficult to shake off our incongruity when, in 2008, a constitutional referendum was passed with an almost unanimous 92 percent of the ballots, a number which Joseph Stalin would have been proud of.

We are sad ASEAN would feel it necessary to risk its credentials — yet again — when a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over Myanmar. Indonesia should encourage the process of opening up in Myanmar, but it should not put its reputation on the line for a regime that only has itself to blame for its predicament. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/18/editorial-disturbing-myanmar.html
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Influential Magazine Closes, Deepening Burma's Isolation
By Robert Horn / Bangkok Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011

What one of the world's most repressive dictatorships could not silence, the global recession and shifting donor policies finally did. The Irrawaddy, considered the most influential English-language magazine covering events in military-ruled Burma, indefinitely suspended publication of its print edition this month because of financial difficulties. "It is a sad and painful decision, but we must be realistic," Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, the founder and editor tells TIME. He vowed to press ahead with the magazine's growing web site, but added that it has been a struggle to increase revenues from online publishing.

Burma is an extremely closed society, and despite a flourishing of local private publications in recent years, journalists and media within the country operate under a strict and punitive censorship regime imposed by its military rulers. The Committee to Protect Journalists, an international organization, reported that 13 journalists are now imprisoned in Burma, the fourth-highest number in the world, and second in Asia behind China. The Irrawaddy, founded as a newsletter in 1993 by Burmese exiles who fled a military slaughter of pro-democracy activists in 1988, provided a window into an opaque country and a military elite shrouded in secrecy. "It was an important resource and quite reliable,'' says Bertil Lintner, a Thailand-based author and analyst on Burma.(See recent photographs of Burmese icon Aung San Suu Kyi.)

Lintner says that following November's elections, the first in Burma in two decades, some international donors started cutting funds to exile groups on grounds that real change is finally taking place within the country and resources should be shifted there. "That's a lot of hype. Nothing has really changed,'' Lintner says. The elections were regarded by most democracy advocates and many Western governments as rigged and a sham designed to preserve military rule. But Lintner says donors are fearful that by continuing to support exile groups they will antagonize the generals and lose opportunities to launch projects and programs within Burma. Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting said some donors also cited tighter budgets because of the global recession as the reason for a cutback in funding.

The Irrawaddy's print circulation was tiny — only a monthly 5,000 copies each month, 700 of which were clandestinely circulated within Burma — and so was reliant on funds from Western donors. Nonetheless, it was read by policymakers in the diplomatic community, international organizations and the international media, expanding its importance and influence beyond its numbers. Most readers, however, were members of a globally dispersed community of Burmese exiles. The magazine's online Burmese and English-language editions received a combined 9.1 million visitors in 2010, according to Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Not all the visitors, however, were supporters. The website has weathered three massive cyber attacks during the past three years. Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting says evidence points to the military regime as the orchestrator of the attacks, thought they were launched from cyber-addresses mostly in China, but also Australia and the U.S. "It shows we are doing something right. Our materials are subversive to the regime," Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting says. (Read about Burma's 'First Lady of Freedom.')

Members of the junta, however, were also among the magazine's readers, the founder claims, adding that government officials have told him they include Senior General Than Shwe, the aging head of the military government. "They hate us, but some admire us,'' he says. "On the other hand, the regime will be happy to hear the news [of our suspension]." Nonetheless, Aung Zaw begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting and his staff, which has numbered as many as 60 in the past, remain determined to keep reporting and even relaunch a print edition at some point. "One day, hopefully soon, I hope to bring this publication to Burma."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2042200,00.html#ixzz1BMQ82G1z
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2042200,00.html#ixzz1BMPvsqzc
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Myanmar marketing committee to launch fun run
09:42, January 18, 2011

Myanmar Marketing Committee (MCC), which undertakes promotion of international tourism market for the country, will launch its 3rd fun run in Yangon to raise fund for the committee's activities, the committee's administrator Ma Aye Aye told Xinhua Monday.

The fun run will be held at the Kandawkyi Park on Jan. 29 and live music performances and amusement games will be attached, she said.

Members of the committee such as travel agencies and hoteliers as well as foreign embassy family members will join the one-day event, she added.

The 5-kilometer run will comprise three categories of man, woman and child under eight, and first, second and third winners will be awarded, according to the administrator.

MMC has held such competition in 2008 and 2009.

Source:Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/7264289.html
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Goldpetrol re-enters Burmese wells

Singapore-listed Interra Resources said its 60% owned subsidiary Goldpetrol Joint Operating Company had re-entered wells at the Yenangyaung and Chauk fields in Burma and re-completed them as oil producers.

Upstream staff 18 January 2011 03:10 GMT

At the Yenangyaung field Goldpetrol re-entered and completed the YNG-2459 well last month which flowed at a rate of 22 barrels of oil per day. The well was drilled in 1931, but was shut-in with the onset of the Second World War.

At the Chauk field the Chauk-950 well, which produced over 206,000 barrels of oil between 1956 and 1982, was re-entered and placed on pump producing a stable flow of 32 bpd.

Interra added Goldpetrol re-entered and re-completed several wells last year that contributed about 90 bpd towards total production in Burma. http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article241771.ece
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REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE
East Timor and Asean: new strategic imperatives
By Kavi Chongkittavorn
The Nation
Published on January 17, 2011

When Burma was admitted to Asean on a fast track in 1997, it was done with one objective in mind--to manage China's southward influence into the continental Southeast Asia and beyond. The decision was made two years earlier in Bangkok albeit all the problems and uncertainties the pariah state inherited which remains the problems until today. For Asean, the unseen danger of leaving Burma alone, however, would be far greater.

Will the same criteria on Burma be used again when the Asean leaders ponder whether to admit East Timor as the 11th member of Asean sometimes soon? This frequently asked question among the Asean senior officials has no clear answer at the moment. But it does manifest a similar dilemma. President Jose Ramos Horta has reiterated that East Timor wants to join Asean by 2012 and the application will be ready this month when Indonesia takes up the Asean chairmanship. But the real admission would take a longer timeframe, which could be beyond 2015. After all, it was Horta who first asked Asean to consider its membership in Asean in November 2001 when it was still under UN East Timor Public Administration.

The timeframe has been further delayed partly because of the country's lack of human resources in Asean affairs and English-language speakers. The Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat has provided assistance and capacity-building training for the East Timorese officials for sometimes now. But truth be told, as time goes by, it is clear that beyond the often cited personnel and resource limitations, the Asean leaders have other serious concerns about East Timor.

Obviously, to compare Burma with East Timor is to compare an apple with an orange. Unlike Burma's current undemocratic status, East Timor is a young democracy despite all internecine domestic problems since independence in 2000. The country has never been isolated by international community. Foreign aids keep pouring in and their leaders are news headlines makers throughout the world. Horta received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. However, when it comes to strategic matters, Burma and East Timor share one commonality—initmate ties with China. Both nations are rich in energy resources.

Since the country's May political turmoil in 2006, other foreign investors, uncertain of their future prospects and local political conditions, chose to leave the country. But the Chinese business community not only chose to stay but continued to increase their investment and overall presence. For the past four years, China has tripled its investment as well as foreign aids. This trend is also accelerating.

To fully understand China-East Timor relations, one has to appreciate the overall Beijing's diplomatic approach to the so-called the Community of Portuguese Language Nations (CPLN), which includes Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea Bisseau. Another Portuguese speaking country, South Tome and Principles, has a diplomatic tie with Taiwan. This network allows China to penetrate East Timor's society and market through its Portuguese speaking personnel.

On the surface, China's symbol of growing interest and presence could be seen through huge infrastructure constructions—common features of China's foreign development assistance--whether they are highways, stadiums, bridges, dams, etc. In Dili alone, Bejing has offered the gifts in the form of construction of the Presidential Palace, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a new defense headquarters.

One question that begs an answer is whether East Timor's membership in Asean will become a new flash point between China and Asean as was the case of Burma. After the Burma's admission, both sides consistently avoided to discuss the situation due to differences and strict observance of non-interference principle. For the first ten years after Burma's membership, the Asean members remained divided and could not muster a common approach to Burma. China also played a low profile role following Asean's views and positions on Burma.

It was not until the Asean summit in Singapore 2008 that China and Asean broke ranks and displayed their first diplomatic disagreement on Burma overtly. Beijing objected to the host's recommendation upfront that the former UN special envoy for Burma, Ismail Gambari, should brief the East Asian leaders after his visit to Burma due to the sensitivity of the issue at the time. Since then, Asean realized that if the Burma's political crisis continued, the divide between Asean and China would also be widened. After the November's poll, both sides expressed support for the Burmese military junta.

With such precedence, the Asean leaders have to think hard on East Timor's application. When Asean accepted Burma as member, the grouping was quick to achieve consensus due to pressing China's influence. In the case of East Timor, Asean has to consider vital strategic factors as well as pros and cons of additional member. In the past, Asean chose to expand quantitatively while engaging with other intra-regional organizations. For a while, number matters in the regional power politic. Now further consolidation within Asean is needed.

Beyond verbal supports, new concerns among Asean have emerged with East Timor's s ability to integrate with the grouping's overall scheme of things. Singapore, for instance, views the inclusion of a new member that is poor—in this case the poorest in Asean--and fragile could widen development gap and drag down Asean as whole as it continues to integrate new members since 1995 and implement the Asean community blueprints of 2015. Indonesia wants Asean to include East Timor as soon as possible to counter growing China's influence there. Thailand and the Philippines strongly support Dili membership as it can offer fresh views on nation-building and democracy. However, other Asean members are less sanguine.

To help East Timor, Asean would soon dispatch an assessment team to Dili to evaluate the preparation and readiness. It is interesting to note that the future expansion of Asean does not confine to East Timor as Papua New Guinea, an observer since 1986, continues to push for the grouping's membership. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed support of the PNG's long standing desire during his visit there last March. Officially, the grouping has stated that PNG is not in a Southeast Asian nation. But that does not stop Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare from coming back. Whatever decision Asean is taking in the near future will impact on the grouping's own strategic imperatives.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2011/01/17/opinion/East-Timor-and-Asean-new-strategic-imperatives-30146500.html
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Murphy's Law Article Index
Drafted Into Prison

January 18, 2011: Myanmar (Burma) recently announced that last year it had secretly passed a law introducing conscription for all men (18-45) and women (18-35). The law was passed by a parliament controlled by a military dictatorship that has run the country for decades. The secrecy was probably because the military just conducted the first national elections since the early 1990s. The elections were rigged, but presented to the world as a return to democracy. But what has all that got to do with conscription? One possibility is that conscripting opponents of the new government would be easier than arresting them, and less likely to cause a political uproar home, and abroad.

About one percent of Burma's 50 million people are in the armed forces (including paramilitary "intelligence" and "security" secret police type organizations.) The secret police keep an eye on the troops, and the troops keep an eye (and often gun pointed at) the people. Myanmar only spends about a billion dollars a year on the armed forces, most of that going to pay and living expenses of infantry troops. Conscripts are often paid little, or nothing, and can be kept in what amount to prison camps, and used as slave labor. In many poor countries, conscripts often spend much of their time on non-military tasks (like growing their own food.)

Most of the Burmese troops serve in 500 infantry (60 percent of them "light infantry") battalions. The "light" units are cheap to maintain. No vehicles, and few heavy weapons. But such units are excellent for controlling unruly citizens. About half the infantry do just that, being assigned to 22 Operation Control Commands (OCCs), which cover most of the country. Each OCC has about ten infantry battalions, trained to deal with unrest, patrolling and low level infantry combat. In the last two decades, the number of infantry battalions has nearly doubled.

Myanmar has also been building up a mechanized force of about ten divisions. They are doing this by purchasing bargain basement (and relatively primitive) armored vehicles from China and other low cost providers. The problem is that, the military budget is so meager, that there is no money to buy fuel for training these mechanized units. Some of the generals really believe that the United States is going to invade. It's clear to any military planner that the United States could move in and seize several of the major urban areas in the country in a matter of days. This is something most Burmese would like to see happen, but there much less enthusiasm for this in America. As a result, Myanmar's mechanized might sits there waiting to be used against any civilian unrest. http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htmurph/articles/20110118.aspx

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