News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 01 February, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 01 February, 2011
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DKBA Attacks Junta's Strategic 'Three Mountain' Outpost
International Reaction to Opening of Parliament Muted
Myanmar junta boss not nominated for presidency
Burma Picks Candidates for President; Junta Leader Not on List
Burma plans to choose a military old-hand president
USDP takes top spots in Rangoon parliament
Myanmar parliament begins choosing government
Myanmar parliament elects military men as house speakers
Fighting in Burma, Tak village evacuated
'How Free is Burma's Suu Kyi?'
Editorials RSS Feeds RSS Feed
Burma (Myanmar) opens parliament but junta retains strong grip
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DKBA Attacks Junta's Strategic 'Three Mountain' Outpost
By SAI ZOM HSENG Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5, a splinter group of the DKBA, attacked the Burmese army's strategic “Three Mountain” military outpost in Karen State on Tuesday in an effort to limit support for government troops stationed in Myawaddy.

“We attacked the outposts of Infantry Battalions No. 356 and 357, which are controlled by Military Operation Command (MOC) No. 9. We don’t know the results our attack yet. I knew that they [the Burmese Army] were not expecting our attacks and we showed that we can beat them anytime and anywhere,” said Maj Saw San Aung, an operational commander for DKBA Brigade 5. He could not confirm the number of dead and injured in the attack.

Royal Thai Army Chief of Staff Gen Prayuth Jan-ocha, left, and Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Tuegsuban, right, inspect the Thai-Burma border at a location overlooking the Moei River in Mae Sot on February 1, 2010. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)
Three Mountain military outpost, located 5 kilometers from Kawkareik Township in Karen State, is the main outpost on the road to the border town of Myawaddy. Saw San Aung said that Brigade 5 attacked this outpost in order to cut Burmese military support for its troops in Myawaddy. By 1 p.m. today, he said, his forces had already withdrawn from the location.

On Monday, heavy-artillery shells fired by the Burmese troops exploded near a Thai military truck which was patrolling in Pho Pra Township, Tak Province. Two Thai soldiers who were in the truck were seriously injured and the truck was destroyed.

The injured Thai soldiers were brought to Mae Sot hospital, according to a local source. The 120 mm shells were apparently fired at the DKBA by Burmese troops at 1 a.m. On Monday morning.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Tuegsuban and Royal Thai Army Chief of Staff Gen Prayuth Jan-ocha went to Mae Sot yesterday to inspect the situation on the Thai-Burma border.

“The border issues must be solved step by step, although there are few ways to solve the problem. The first way is by discussions through the Foreign Affairs Department, the second way is by coercion and the last way is by force. The last way will affect both sides, so the best way is to solve the problem by discussing and negotiating,” Jan-ocha said when he met reporters in Mae Sot on Monday evening.

Jan-ocha also stated that Thailand will shelter the refugees who fled to Thai soil for a while, but will send them back when the situation calms down.

Though the Chief of Staff of the Thai Army answered reporters questions, the Thai Deputy Prime Minister didn’t comment.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the Royal Thai Army’s No. 3 Regional Command went to the Mae Sot hospital and met with the injured soldiers. According to a Mae Sot resident, the commander said that Thailand will investigate the incident and if necessary make a complaint to the Burmese junta.

Two Burmese refugees were also injured by 120 mm shells that exploded near Moe Kae village in Pho Pra Township on Sunday morning.

A DKBA source said that the regime’s troops are firing at least 40-50 of the 120 mm shells every day, some of which are exploding on Thai soil, but he couldn’t confirm the report of the unjured Thai soldiers. The Burmese regime routinely claims that any shells landing on Thai soil are accidental.

The skirmishes between the DKBA and the Burmese troops are still taking place mainly in the area of Kyauk Khet in Myawaddy Township. A DKBA Brigade 5 officer said that his forces only use guerilla warfare tactics to attack the regime’s troops because they don’t want to become a stable target for the Burmese troops.

“We attacked the Waw Lay outpost with mines last Sunday,” Saw San Aung said. “A Burmese army major was injured and lost his sight. Another one or two Burmese army officers were also injured by our attack.”

Two Burmese military trucks were also hit by mines in the Thin Gan Nyi Naung area in Myawaddy Township on Sunday and several soldiers were injured, according to a DKBA source.

In Thailand, about 1,000 residents of Ban Mo Ker Thai village in the Phop Phra District of Tak Province were evacuated this morning as stray mortar shells again fell on Thai soil during fighting between DKBA Brigade 5 and Burmese government troops, but no injuries were reported, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper.

Col Saw Kyaw Thet from DKBA Brigade 5 and representatives from the Karen National Union (KNU) traveled to Loi Tai Leng, where the the Shan State Army-South (SSA- South) headquarters are located. According to a DKBA source, the SSA-South has agreed to give military support to the DKBA.

The skirmishes between the regime’s troops and DKBA Brigade 5 began on November 7, 2010, the day the junta held Burma's first election in 20 years.

The Irrawaddy’s Mae Sot correspondent contributed this article.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20650
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International Reaction to Opening of Parliament Muted
By SIMON ROUGHNEEN AND LALIT K. JHA Tuesday, February 1, 2011

While international media headlines focused on the “historic” opening of Parliament in Burma, international diplomatic reaction has been somewhat muted.

Since Monday's first sitting of Burma's Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament, little has been said by countries or international organizations that either have strong trade or diplomatic links with Burma, or by those that have been critical of the ruling junta.

Among the few to make any comment, a foreign ministry statement from Tokyo said, “The Government of Japan will closely observe the future direction of the National Assembly, including its administration, debates to be taken, as well as activities of pro-democracy movement and ethnic minority parties.”

A US statement ahead of Monday's opening sessions was less optimistic. “The Nov. 7 parliamentary elections were neither free nor fair, so unsurprisingly it has yielded a parliament dominated by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party, so-called USDP, and military officials,” said State Department spokesman P J Crowley.

We're not surprised by this,” he told reporters at his daily news conference. “As we have long said, we want to see political prisoners released; we want to see an inclusive, open political process.

“We were disappointed last week that the Burmese Supreme Court had the opportunity to authorize the recognition of the National League of Democracy, as well as other democratic and ethnic opposition parties,” he said. “This would have been a good step to enter a genuine inclusive dialogue, and unfortunately, as we've seen recently in Burma, it was another lost opportunity.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague also preferred to comment prior to the opening of Burma's parliament. “There will be nothing to celebrate when Burma’s military-dominated Parliament meets for the first time on 31 January,” he said bluntly.

A more upbeat American comment came from Daniel Baer, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

“There's an opportunity here to chart a more positive path and we will continue to engage to try to encourage and offer support for that,” he said. “Part of engagement is making clear our perspective that political prisoners need to be released, that the National League for Democracy needs to be allowed to register, and Aung San Suu Kyi needs to be given the space to operate.”

Baer added that the US's recent engagement with Burma has been in the context of the Obama administration's broader policy of principled engagement around the world. “I would put an emphasis on the principled part of that engagement which is to say yes, we're making attempts to reach out and to try to encourage positive forward action in Burma and in other places with the understanding that things will be difficult,” he said.

“I expect that our policy of engagement will not change, but obviously times change and the topics on which we engage can change and we'll continue to do everything we can in our engagement to pursue speedy movement toward progress,” Baer concluded.

The European Union High Representative on Foreign Policy and Security, Catherine Ashton, has not issued a statement on Burma since the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. However, in a release after the Nov. 7 elections, she said, “The EU will observe closely how accountable the new Parliament and government will be vis-à-vis the electorate; whether the new institutions will ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and contribute to a process leading towards reconciliation and democracy; and whether they will deliver better policies to improve the economic and social situation of citizens.”

This should mean that the EU will keep a close watch on how the parliament functions and how effective it will be. The EU has a Special Envoy for Burma/Myanmar, Italian Piero Fossini. However he has not spoken about Burma since March 2010. As an appointee of the previous EU foreign representative, Javier Solana, it is not clear what Fossini's role is under the new system since the implementation of the EU Lisbon Reform Treaty.

Fossini's job-spec includes providing support to the United Nations Secretary-General's envoy to Burma, currently Ban Ki-moon's Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar. However, like the United States, the UN does not at present have a full-time Burma envoy.

Other European countries that are from time to time outspoken on Burma, such as Ireland, Czech Republic, Denmark and France, did not comment on the parliament opening. Closer to Burma, there were no statements by Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia by or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) or Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan.

Burma is a member-state of Asean, currently headed by Indonesia, and Asean governments have called for Western sanctions on Burma to be dropped now that elections have facilitated to formation of a parliament.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20648
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Tuesday February 1, 2011
Myanmar junta boss not nominated for presidency
By Aung Hla Tun

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's reclusive paramount leader Than Shwe is not among a list of presidential candidates to be nominated by parliament, lawmakers said on Tuesday, signalling an end to his 18 years of direct rule.

Myanmar's new parliament is expected to vote on Thursday to elect the country's first civilian president after nearly half a century of military rule.

Assembly members told Reuters that the 78-year-old military strongman's name was not among five candidates for the post. His decision not to run will come as a surprise to many within the armed forces, who are rarely privy to the general's thinking.

But the junta chief is unlikely to fade away and is likely to have chosen the president himself by ensuring his own preferred candidate was among those picked by legislators on Tuesday.

Than Shwe is expected to either remain in charge of the military or to take a significant behind-the-scenes political role in the resource-rich country formerly known as Burma.

Most expect the presidency to go to the current prime minister, Thein Sein, the military junta's fourth in command, indicating a continuation of the status quo.

"In reality, as long as Than Shwe remains commander-in-chief, he will still be more powerful than the president," said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese academic and deputy director of the Thailand-based advocacy group, the Vahu Development Institute.

"He's always had a clear strategy, a choreographed, well-orchestrated plan and he won't slip up now. He'll ensure the security of himself and his family and he has chosen a 'yes' man for president whom he has 100 percent confidence in."

The election of a president is a priority for Myanmar's first elected parliament in half a century as it convenes this week in the capital, Naypyitaw, following the first polls in two decades on Nov. 7, a poll widely criticised as a sham.

WEAK OPPOSITION

The names of candidates were given to Reuters by members of the senate, lower house and from among military-appointed parliamentarians on condition their names be withheld because they could faced jail if found to have spoken to the media.

Pro-democracy forces have little voice in the process. Both the lower and upper houses are dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a proxy for the military government which swept the election.

A lower house representative said a committee comprised of its members had agreed to nominate Thein Sein, or an ethnic Karen politician, Saw Thein Aung.

An army-appointed assembly member said the junta's fifth-in-command, Tin Aung Myint Oo, would be nominated.

A senate legislator said members of the house had agreed on two presidential candidates -- either Aye Maung, leader of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, or Sai Mo Kham, a member of the army-backed USDP.

It was not known whether Than Shwe's long-time deputy, Maung Aye, would play a future role. The junta's third-in-command, Thura Shwe Mann, was elected lower house speaker on Monday.

The candidate with most votes from three special legislative committees will become president for a five-year term and the two unsuccessful nominees will serve as vice-presidents.

The Vahu Development Institute's Aung Naing Oo tipped Thein Sein for the presidency because he would be agreeable to all parties within the military.

He has a clean image, is not from a particular faction and has no significant business interests, he added.

"Thein Sein is the safest bet for Than Shwe and for the military's hold on power," he said. "Than Shwe has picked a horse he knows will win."

(Writing and additional reporting by Martin Petty; Editing by Jason Szep)

Copyright © 2011 Reuters http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/1/worldupdates/2011-02-01T172226Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-545623-1&sec=Worldupdates
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Burma Picks Candidates for President; Junta Leader Not on List

VOA News February 01, 2011
Image taken from video shows the inaugural session of the Burma parliament in Naypyitaw, February 1, 2011

Burma's new parliament has settled on a list of five candidates to become the country's first civilian president in more than half a century, with a final vote expected Thursday.

Delegates say the most prominent of the five candidates is Thein Sein, who heads the dominant military-backed party in parliament and served as prime minister in the outgoing military government. The full list of names is not available because reporters are barred from the parliamentary session, Burma's first in 20 years.

Only members of the parliament were eligible for the post, meaning longtime junta leader Than Shwe is not among the candidates. However he is expected to remain in a position of power, either as head of the military or as a behind-the scenes power broker.

The selection of a president is the most important piece of business for the parliamentary session, which is hailed by the government as a return to democracy and democratic rule. But critics denounced last year's elections as a sham and note that the most popular opposition party, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, was unable to participate.

More than 80 percent of the seats in the two chambers have gone to supporters of the military government. The military has held power in Burma since a coup in 1962. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Burma-Picks-Candidates-for-President-Junta-Leader-Not-on-List-115001404.html
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Burma plans to choose a military old-hand president
By Zin Linn Feb 01, 2011 9:32PM UTC

Burma or Myanmar’s new parliament elected two military men as speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses on Monday in its first session as a consequence of the November elections. The choosing of the speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses looked like a theatrical scène following a rehearsal. It was exactly the same performance under Dictator Ne Win’s totalitarian parliament during 1974-88.

Shwe Mann, the third most powerful general in the country’s junta, was voted speaker of the lower house while Khin Aung Myint, the current culture minister, was voted upper house speaker, junta’s media said.

The two houses are occupied by the military through the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won 77 percent of the parliamentary seats, and 166 military-appointed Members of Parliament, who represent for 25 percent of the military quota under 2008 constitution.

Prearranged by the State Peace and Development Council, the first regular session of the People’s Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw) was convened at the Pyithu Hluttaw Building in Naypyitaw Monday.

According to the agenda 10 of the session, the elected representatives for the People’s Parliament or Lower House took out the proposal forms from the Master of Ceremony to choose the candidate for the Speaker of the People’s Parliament (Lower House), filled in the forms and presented them to the chairman of the first regular session.

Current Prime Minister Thein Sein, an elected representative from the Zabuthiri Constituency, proposed Thura Shwe Mann of Zeyathiri Constituency for the Speaker and the current industry minister Aung Thaung of the Taungtha Constituency seconded the nomination.

Afterwards, the chairman announced the names of the candidates for the Speaker. As there were two candidates for the Speaker, the elected representatives cast secret ballots for the Speaker. Then, votes cast by the elected representatives for the two candidates were counted and declared.

Thura Shwe Mann won 376 votes while Mahn Maung Maung Nyan obtained 30 votes, and the chairman announced that Thura Shwe Mann was elected as the Speaker of the Lower House (Pyithu Hluttaw). No one was amazing as all the parliamentarians hoped the result before the secret ballot.

Thura Shwe Mann was former joint chief of staff of the Burmese Armed Forces, and third-highest ranking member of the State Peace and Development Council, after Than Shwe and Maung Aye. Shwe Mann graduated in 1969 from the Defence Services Academy, Intake 11.

According the agenda 11, the Deputy Speaker job was also put to vote in line with the rules and regulations for choosing the Speaker, said the state media

Current information minister Kyaw Hsan, a representative-elect from the Pale Constituency proposed Nanda Kyaw Swar, a representative-elect from the Dagon Constituency, for the Deputy Speaker and current science and technical minister U Thaung, an elected representative from the Kyaukse Constituency seconded the candidacy. A usual act produced by the same script-writer.

As there were three candidates for the Deputy Speaker, the elected representatives cast secrete ballots for the Deputy Speaker. Afterwards, votes cast by the representatives-elect for the three candidates were counted.

Nanda Kyaw Swar won 368 votes while Nelson (a) Hsaung Hsi obtained 45 votes and Mahn Maung Maung Nyan got 15 votes. Therefore, the chairperson of the first session of the Lower House announced that Nanda Kyaw Swar was elected as the Deputy Speaker.

Nanda Kyaw Swar is the son of Brigadier General Tin Pe, a member of the revolutionary council led by General Ne Win in 1962. Tin Pe was known as close associate of former dictator Ne Win.

Afterwards, Thura Shwe Mann and Nanda Kyaw Swar sworn in by the chairman as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and signed the statement of allegiance in front of the elected representatives.

Current agricultural minister Htay Oo, the chairperson of the first regular session of the Lower House handed over the duty to Speaker Thura Shwe Mann. Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann received the duty and extended a greeting address likely to be a ready-made wording.

According to the military’s mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar, the electing of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lower House was elected in accordance with the provisions in the Chapter-V of the Lower House Bylaws.

Meanwhile, military’s supreme boss Than Shwe is not among a list of presidential candidates to be nominated by parliament, lawmakers said on Tuesday. As said by the parliamentarians, the new parliament is predictable to vote on Thursday to select the country’s president by secret ballot following half a century of military rule.

But it is uncertain to predict Than Shwe’s role. He is likely to stay in charge of the commanding military or to stay behind-the-scenes unbending strongman.

Most analysts and observers guess the presidency nearly certain to go to the current Prime Minister, Thein Sein, the military junta’s fourth in command. The 65-year-old career soldier retired from the army in April 2010 to lead of the army-backed USDP, which claimed landslide in the poll. Thein Sein was appointed in April 2007 by the nation’s ruling military junta as interim prime minister, replacing Soe Win undertaking medical treatment. Thein Sein succeeded Soe Win on 24 October 2007 after Soe Win’s death in October 2007.

According to one analyst, it’s the same wine in the old bottle, or the military controlled government not changing fundamental policy.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/47509/burma-plans-to-choose-a-military-old-hand-president/
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USDP takes top spots in Rangoon parliament
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 1 February 2011

The leadership of the key Rangoon regional parliament has been awarded to representatives of the junta-backed election winners, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Taking the position of chairman is Maung Maung Win, who was elected yesterday after only a one-hour session. It is the first time parliament has met in Burma for more than 20 years.

The former army colonel will be joined by newly-elected speaker, Sein Tin Win, also a retired military man, and vice-speaker is Tin Aung, chairman of the Rangoon wing of the Government Cooperatives Association.

They are all members of the USDP, which won around 80 percent of seats in the 7 November 2010 vote and, with the likely backing of pre-appointed military officials, looks set to dominate parliament.

U Kyaw, a regional parliamentary representative of the opposition National Democratic Force (NDF), which won 16 seats in the elections, said that the USDP’s dominance of the decision-making process meant its leadership was inevitable.

Of the 123 election-winning representatives in the Rangoon parliament, 75 are USDP members, 31 are pre-appointed military officials, and 17 from other parties. Rangoon’s is one of 15 regional parliaments around the country which were formed in lieu of elections last year for the first time in Burma’s history.

Yesterday’s Rangoon session was held in tandem with the opening of the Union Parliament in Naypyidaw, which is comprised of the lower house, or People’s Parliament, and the upper house, or Nationalities Parliament. The junta’s former third-in-command, Shwe Mann, will be speaker of the lower house, while his counterpart in the upper house is current culture minister, Khin Aung Myint.

Critics claims that the chances of any major shift in Burma’s political landscape is unlikely, given the dominance of the military and its proxy party in parliament. NDF representative for the Rangoon legislature, San San Myint, said that however that if pro-junta forces “propose something positive for the people, then we will support their proposition; otherwise we will contest it”.
http://www.dvb.no/news/usdp-takes-top-spots-in-rangoon-parliament/13991
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Myanmar parliament begins choosing government
Added At: 2011-02-01 1:17 PM,Last Updated At: 2011-02-01 1:24 PM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NAYPYITAW: Myanmar's first parliament in more than two decades nominated five vice-presidential candidates Tuesday, one of whom will become president and lead the new military-dominated government.

The army has held power in Myanmar since 1962 and thanks to an 80 percent majority it holds with its proxies in the new legislature it is certain the president will be a top member of the outgoing junta.

The most prominent nominee vying for the three vice president's seats is Thein Sein, who served as prime minister in the outgoing junta and also heads the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which won a huge majority in last November's general election.

Parliament is now adjourned until Thursday while the speakers and their deputies from the lower and upper houses scrutinize the candidates' qualifications to become president. The 2008 constitution drafted under the junta's guidance says the president shall be acquainted with political, administrative, economic and military affairs.

Thein Sein's seniority makes him the most likely pick.

The selection of the president is the last step in the junta's so-called road map to democracy. It has manipulated the process to ensure that the military will continue to have a dominant role in running the country.

Although there appears to be little popular interest in parliament's opening — the widespread perception that the military cheated in last November's general election dashed many hopes for true change — the general public is curious as to who may become head of state.

"I am not interested in the opening of parliament but I am a little curious to know who will be the country's first president. It could be one of the military leaders, but I am still curious if it will be Senior Gen. Than Shwe or Prime Minister Thein Sein," said a worker at a hotel in Naypyitaw. He spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid unwanted official attention for speaking to a journalist.

Than Shwe is the head of the junta and no matter who becomes president he is expected to remain a dominant force in the country.

The 440-seat lower house and 224-seat upper house opened Monday, and their first order of business was to elect legislative officers.

Thura Shwe Mann, who had been the junta's third-ranking member before retiring from the military to run for election with the USDP, was picked to be speaker of the lower house. Khin Aung Myint, the junta's culture minister, was named speaker of the upper house.

The military has been in power since a 1962 coup deposed the last legitimately elected legislature. A single-party parliament under the late dictator Gen. Ne Win was abolished in 1988 after the army crushed a pro-democracy uprising.

The party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which won elections in 1990 that the junta refused to honor, boycotted last November's vote and is without representation in the new legislature. http://thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Myanmar+parliament+begins+choosing+government&NewsID=274799
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Myanmar parliament elects military men as house speakers

Naypyitaw (Myanmar), Jan 31 : Myanmar's new parliament Monday elected two military men as speakers of the upper and lower chambers in its first session since the Nov 7 general election.

Shwe Mann, the third most powerful general in the country's junta, was voted speaker of the lower house while Khin Aung Myint, the current culture minister, was voted upper house speaker, sources said.

The two houses are dominated by the military through the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won 77 percent of the contested seats, and 166 military-appointed legislators, who account for 25 percent of the votes.

Civilians were elected as vice speakers.

"On Tuesday, we will nominate three presidential candidates," one legislator said. It is unclear when the parliament will vote on the president.

Journalists, except those working for state media, were barred from attending the parliamentary session.

The session was held amid tight security. Barricades were in place on roads leading to the massive 100-million-dollar parliament compound in Naypyitaw, 350 km north of Yangon.

Legislators were escorted to the site by plainclothes policemen.

Senior General Than Shwe, who has ruled Myanmar since 1992, who in past speeches vowed to steer the country towards "discipline-flourishing democracy", is keeping true to his word.

The stage-managed November general elections were condemned by Western democracies for being neither free nor fair.

Military appointees make up 25 percent of lawmakers in the three chambers, giving the military bloc veto power over any future legislation.

Only the upper and lower houses meet in Naypyitaw this week. The regional and state parliaments will meet separately in their own capitals.

Than Shwe, who turns 78 Wednesday, although a possible candidate for the presidency, seems more likely to chose a protege for the powerful post and control him from "behind the curtain", government sources said.

The likeliest candidate now is Thein Sein, the current prime minister, since Shwe Mann has been named lower house speaker.

"I think Than Shwe may feel that Thein Sein is more malleable than Shwe Mann," said Win Min, a US-based Myanmar researcher. "He may also feel that Thein Sein may be more credible as president since Thein Sein's family is much less corrupt than Shwe Mann's family."

The new president will select a cabinet, which is expected to be packed with USDP members and military appointees.

"It seems that Than Shwe will try to maintain the status quo," Win Min said. "So, same wine in the old bottle, or just some name changes in the military dominated government, not a change in the government."

--IANS http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-136834.html
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BANGKOK POST
Fighting in Burma, Tak village evacuated

* Published: 1/02/2011 at 11:53 AM
* Online news:

About one thousand residents of Ban Mo Ker Thai in Tak’s Phop Phra district were evacuated this morning as stray mortar shells again fell on Thai soil during fighting across the border between Burmese government troops and ethnic forces.

Chamroen Khiewja, the village headman, said he heard continuous firing on the Burmese side of the border from about 8am onward, including about 20 mortar shells exploding. Four mortar shells had landed in the village damaging several houses.

Mr Chamroen said the Burmese government forces opened fire on Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) positions.

No injuries were reported in the village but the incident prompted the evacuation of the about 1,000 residents, including some Buddhist monks.

They had taken refuge at a border checkpoint about 3km from the village, said Mr Chamroen. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/219293/fresh-mortar-shooting-prompts-evacuation
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'How Free is Burma's Suu Kyi?'
Ask Former White House Drug Spokesman Robert Weiner and James Lewis

Burma's Elected Leader Can't Run for or Win Office or Speak Freely

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former White House National Drug Policy Spokesman, Robert Weiner, and National Security Analyst, James Lewis, in the Honolulu Star Advertiser, assert that the media in the U.S. and around the world have misinterpreted the "release" of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi. Weiner and Lewis contend that she is not "free" because she cannot run for or win office despite her earlier election (which the junta blocked) as the country's national leader -- and that real change in Burma is only possible if the drug-funded junta is ousted and drug transportation, with Hawaii as a main port, is eliminated.

Weiner and Lewis ask, "How free is Suu Kyi? Is she free to run for office in non-rigged elections and assume the prime minister role she was denied? Free to call for a civilian government, a legal product-based economy, and a halt to the drug trade funding the junta and killing thousands in Burma and around the globe?"

Weiner and Lewis point out, "She still can't run for office or speak freely. Arresting and releasing her is a drama the regime continues to play time and again. She has been under detention in recurring waves for over 15 years."

"Suu Kyi has been careful not to verbally challenge the military leadership of Burma. Yet she has said, 'Real freedom is freedom from fear.' Is she really free if she is living in fear?"

Weiner and Lewis encourage Suu Kyi to "take a page from other historic leaders and enter exile – maybe as Burma's Political Dalai Lama."

"Laundered money – paid with drugs that go through Hawaii – cements the junta's power. With worldwide drug money filling the sanctions gap, the junta leaders live quite a luxurious lifestyle." Citing government reports, the authors explain that, "Hawaii is a major transshipment port for ice methamphetamine."

"Burma is a tale of drugs, ransom, and sanctions -- and Hawaii is at the center of it."

"To achieve real change in Burma, Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders must be allowed to campaign and run for office, and the drugs funding the junta and transiting through Hawaii must be eliminated."

Looking for solutions, and as a gesture for the junta's providing Suu Kyi some freedom, Weiner and Lewis assert that, "The U.S. should respond by filling the empty special envoy post in Burma and providing anti-narcotics targeted and monitored aid, but not providing other assistance. The former U.S. Political and Economic Chief in Rangoon, Leslie Hayden, reported that providing anti-narcotics aid to Burma would pressure the regime into 'concrete results' and would slow the flow of drugs. Full commercial sanctions lifting, however, would be an undeserved boon to the junta."

"The U.S. can exert pressure to keep Suu Kyi unincarcerated and help keep Burmese methamphetamine and heroin off America's and Europe's streets. The U.S. can support training, crop substitution, and intelligence sharing, including an opium crop survey disbanded since 2005. Knowledge is power," the authors state.

Link to article: http://www.staradvertiser.com/editorials/20110131_Laundered_money_from_drugs_that_go_through_Hawaii_helps_keep_Burmas_junta_in_power.html

Contact: Bob Weiner/James Lewis 301-283-0821 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 301-283-0821 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or 202-329-1700 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-329-1700 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

SOURCE Robert Weiner Associates
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Burma Still Far From a Democracy

Burma's leaders said the election was part of their plan to move the country to democracy and civilian rule, but the legislature is hardly democratic.

Members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party drive a campaign vehicle with posters of the party's candidates who ran in the November 7, 2010 general elections.

Burma's national and regional parliaments, which were elected last November in a deeply flawed process, will hold their first session January 31st. This will be first time that a legislative body has convened in Burma since 1988. Voted in under the disputed 2008 constitution, which was drafted by Burma's military rulers without input from democratic opposition groups, government officials and supporters will hold about 80 percent of the elected seats. Tightening their grip on power further, regime leaders recently named the lawmakers who will serve as the designated military appointees, who will account for one fourth of the parliament's members.

Burma's leaders said the election was part of their plan to move the country to democracy and civilian rule, but the legislature is hardly democratic. Not only did the military leadership guarantee itself a strong hand in Parliament with the large number of military appointees, it limited the ability of opposition candidates to campaign for the elected seats. Many, including democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi who remained under house arrest during the elections, were barred from running at all. The election was neither free nor fair.

The United States is among a handful of countries that have imposed targeted economic sanctions on those most responsible for denying democracy and disregarding human rights in Burma. As the time approaches for the parliaments to convene, some of Burma's neighbors have called on the West to lift sanctions. They say U.S. policy hampers important areas of trade, prevents investment and technology from helping to develop Burma's hard-pressed ethnic regions, and hurts the Burmese people.

The United States is deeply concerned about the plight of ordinary citizens of Burma. But it is the regime that is responsible for the country's dire economic situation. The record is clear on how the military regime has mismanaged the economy, institutionalized corruption and plundered valuable national resources for private gain.

Our two nations have been in talks about improving relations since 2009 and we will continue to engage the government on our mutual concerns. Until the government undertakes fundamental change in Burma, including releasing the more than 2,100 political prisoners and beginning a meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minorities, U.S. sanctions will remain in place.
http://www.voanews.com/policy/editorials/Burma-Still-Far-From-A-Democracy-114916829.html
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Burma (Myanmar) opens parliament but junta retains strong grip
The Christian Science Monitor
By Simon Montlake Simon Montlake – Mon Jan 31, 9:17 am ET

Bangkok, Thailand – Burma (Myanmar) took another step Monday toward civilian rule after nearly five decades of military dictatorship with the convening of its new, semielected parliament. But the military seems set to retain its grip on the process, to the frustration of regime critics.

Monday’s joint parliamentary session in the regime’s purpose-built capital, Nyapyidaw, was the first since multiparty elections held in November. The US and other Western governments panned the poll, which were won overwhelmingly by a regime-backed party, as deeply flawed. A quarter of seats in the upper and lower houses are military appointees.

Some 600 legislators were bussed to the parliament complex under tight security, and reporters and other observers were kept away. Exiled Burmese news media reported that lawmakers were unable to bring cameras, mobile phones, and any recording devices to the parliament. Such secrecy has become a hallmark of Burmese politics.

The parliament does not have representation from the National League for Democracy, which refused to participate in the elections. The NLD's leader, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, was released from house arrest a week after the poll and has since been rebuilding her political base in Rangoon, the former capital. The NLD won a previous election in 1990 but the military annulled the results.

Under Burma’s 2008 constitution, the joint parliament is tasked with selecting a president and two vice presidents, though a timetable on that remains unclear. The current junta that seized power in 1988 is supposed to then formally hand over power to the new executive, which is likely to be stuffed with former generals.

Exiled opposition groups have speculated that General Than Shwe, the outgoing junta chief, would seek the presidency. The military bloc in parliament has the right to nominate their own candidate and is allied to the United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which won 80 percent of contested seats.

Richard Horsey, an independent analyst of Burmese politics, says that Than Shwe is more likely to back another candidate as president. He argues that the junta chief has designed a political system in which the president, as head of state, must share power with the military commander in order to prevent another strongman emerging.

“He’s set the whole machine up so he can step back and take his hand off the lever without it blowing up in his face,” says Mr. Horsey, who is currently in Bangkok.

Opposition parties who contested November’s elections have faced criticism from the NLD and exiled Burmese groups who want to deny legitimacy to Burma’s transition of power. These groups have called on Western governments not to relax sanctions on the regime until there is more substantial democratic change.

Khin Maung Shwe, an official in the National Democratic Force, a breakaway NLD group that won 16 parliamentary seats, admitted that the gains were small but said that an election boycott served no purpose. He said his party would propose new laws and try to build alliances with like-minded lawmakers. “We have to be patient,” he says by phone from Rangoon. http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20110131/wl_csm/359900