News & Articles on Burma -Sunday, 04 September, 2011-UZL

News & Articles on Burma
Sunday, 04 September, 2011
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Suu Kyi's First Article for 23 Years Published in Burma
Govt Army Accused of Planting Landmines around Kachin Church
Burmese Supreme Court to be asked to order halt to Myitsone Dam project
WikiLeaks Cables Show China's Support for UWSA
Myanmar, NKorea traded rice for arms: US cable
Go on, Thein Sein, surprise us
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Suu Kyi's First Article for 23 Years Published in Burma
By WAI MOE Monday, September 5, 2011
Pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has published her first article in the Burmese media for 23 years on the front page of Pyithu Khit News Journal, while Messenger News also ran an exclusive interview with the Nobel Laureate as its cover story.
Pyithu Khit (People’s Era) was permitted by the Burmese censorship board—the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division under the Ministry of Information—to publish Suu Kyi’s article entitled Holiday-1 in this week's edition, according to journalists and distributors in Rangoon.
An official at Pyithu Khit Journal told The Irrawaddy on Monday that they also carried a piece by one of her close aides—veteran journalist Win Tin’s old article on Suu Kyi’s father Aung San.
“We applied at the censorship board for the right to publish the article and they allowed it. There was not much difficulty during the process,” he added.
The other publication receiving the green light from the censorship board, headed by former military officers, is Messenger News Journal. It is run by Zaw Min Aye, son of ex-Lt-Gen Tin Aye who is currently chairman of the Union Election Commission and former chief of Military Ordinance.
The censoring process for Suu Kyi’s interview took around 10 months before permission was granted.
“The interview with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi took place in December 2010 [shortly after her release from house arrest]. Since then we have been applying for permission to publish the interview at the censorship board,” said an official with Messenger Journal who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The censorship board cut all references to politics, which amounted to around 75 percent of the interview, but allowed issues related to youth,” he added.
In this week's issue, Pyithu Khit used Suu Kyi’s photo alongside her son Htain Lin and his dog. It was taken during her trip to Pagan in July.
The granting of permission for Suu Kyi’s article and interview to appear with front page photos comes soon after her first trip to Naypyidaw and talks with President Thein Sein on August 19-20. She was invited to the administrative capital for a state-sponsored economic workshop as a “special guest,” and also had two meetings with government minister Aung Kyi in July and August.
This move comes amid calls from the international community for the Burmese regime to ensure Suu Kyi's safety and human rights. US Senator John McCain urged the new Burmese administration to guarantee Suu Kyi’s rights and freedom of movement during a statement in Rangoon at the end of his trip to Burma in June.
For the last 23 years, even Suu Kyi’s name or any symbols indirectly referring to her—such as “the lady,” “the mother” or “the rose”—were banned in publications within the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation.
The censorship board’s recent actions contrast with last November when nine Burmese private journals were suspended from publishing for one or two weeks for covering her release. The censorship board said the journals were “crossing the line.”
Suu Kyi’s article and interview in the Burmese media this week received mixed reactions from journalists in Burma. Some welcomed the move while others view the issue with skepticism, with the Naypyidaw regime remaining notorious for enforcing draconian laws oppressing freedom of expression.
In Burma, anyone can still be charged and imprisoned under the Printers and Publishers Law, the Electronic Transaction Law and the Official Secrets Act among others, if authorities suspect any publication is challenging the state.
“I think allowing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s article and interview is firstly the outcome of meetings between her and government officials, and secondly relates to the question of space in the Burmese media,” said an experienced freelance reporter in Rangoon.
“It would be too early and out of context if we examine only this case instead of the whole media environment of the country,” he added.
A female senior staffer with a leading news journal in Rangoon said, “It is very good to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s photos, article and interview in Pyithu Khit and Messenger. But some publishers will misuse her photos and writings for their own benefit since journals with her photos are easily sold out.”
According to distributors in Rangoon, this week's edition of both Pyithu Khit and Messenger with Suu Kyi’s article and interview are quite popular among readers and have been selling well.
“Many people came to buy the Messenger News Journal with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s photo this morning. Unlike last week, it was sold out within a few hours due to her interview,” said the owner of a journal stand in Rangoon’s Tamwe Township.
A correspondent of The Irrawaddy in Rangoon contributed to this article.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22017
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Govt Army Accused of Planting Landmines around Kachin Church
By SAW YAN NAING Monday, September 5, 2011
Clad in traditional dress, ethnic Kachin people dance during their Manaw festival to celebrate their new year in Myitkyina, the capital of the Kachin State, on Jan 8, 2011. (Photo: AP)
Kachin Christians have accused Burma's armed forces of abusing their religious rights after government troops seized control of a church in Kachin State and turned it into a military outpost, complete with fortifications, trenches and landmines, according to local sources.
The church, in the village of Katsu in Waimaw Township, was commandeered by the Burmese army last month amid an ongoing armed conflict with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), a former ceasefire group that resumed hostilities with government troops on June 9.
On Aug 26, members of the Katsu Kachin Baptist Church sent a letter of complaint to the chief minister of Kachin State saying that government troops from Infantry Battalion (IB) 58 and IB 318 had banned them from entering the church since Aug 13.
“They [the government army] took over the church in Katsu village and started fortifying it. They have banned local villagers from going to the church or traveling around the area,” said Mai Li Awng, a spokesperson for a local Kachin relief group called Wun Tawng Ningtwey (“Light for Kachin People”).
“I don't think they should be allowed to do this because the church is a religious site, and has nothing to do with politics. It's not appropriate to take over a church and turn it into a military base. It's a human rights abuse,” she added.
Naw La, a Kachin activist, said that there has been an increase in cases of extortion, torture and looting in Katsu since fighting between the KIA and government troops began in June. Clashes occur near Katsu almost every day, he said.
The government troops have also taken over houses abandoned by local villagers. Katsu has around 100 houses and a population of about 1,000, although most have fled the area since fighting began.
The commanders of IB 58 and IB 318 had earlier rejected an appeal made by the church members on Aug 16 that called for the removal of landmines planted in the church compound, as well as in a schoolyard and along several main roads.
In their letter, the church members wrote: “We the members of the Katsu Baptist Church are facing difficulties in worshiping the God we believe in.”
In the letter, addressed to Kachin State Chief Minister La John Ngan Hsai, the church called for the removal of the mines.
“We therefore respectfully would like to urge the Kachin State Chief Minister to remove the mines, give us the normal situation around the church as before and the right to travel safely to farms and paddy fields by taking necessary actions,” read the letter.
An estimated 20,000 Kachin civilians have so far been displaced by the conflict, many of them seeking refuge on the Sino-Burmese border and in the city of Laiza, where the KIA is based, according to Kachin relief groups. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22015
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Monday, 05 September 2011 12:18 Tun Tun
Burmese Supreme Court to be asked to order halt to Myitsone Dam project
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A group of politicians will ask the Burmese Supreme Court to issue an injunction to stop work on the Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River and to reveal more information about the dam project.
Candidates who ran in the 2010 election including Bauk Ja and Min Aung of the National Democratic Force; Aung Myo Oo of Peace and Diversity Party; former Democracy Party (Myanmar) candidate Soe Kyi; and independent candidate Win Cho said they plan to file the lawsuit as soon as the current session of Parliament ends, if more information is not made available.
“How much benefit would the Myitsone Dam bring to our citizens? How will the dam adversely affect the people?” said Win Cho.
“It’s certain that many citizens will be adversely affected by the dams. But, we don’t know exactly how much benefit they would bring. We know as much as the exile media can make available. We want to know more about it.”
The electoral candidates said that they decided to file a lawsuit because the authorities had not disclosed enough information, and they feared the dam would lead to the extinction of the Irrawaddy River.
The 2008 Constitution gives citizens the right to sue the Union government in the Supreme Court. In cases of a citizen’s suit, the Supreme Court can issue a writ of habeas corpus, writ of mandamus, writ of prohibition, writ of quo warranto or writ of certiorari.
The suit will ask the court to issue a writ of prohibition and a writ of quo warranto. A writ of prohibition is an order to halt work or actions. A writ of quo warranto is an order to show the authority on which work or actions are based.
“If MPs cannot get real information about the Myitsone Dam construction and the possibility of the extinction of Irrawaddy River before the parliament ends, we will file suit,” Win Cho said.
After the Myitsone dam project is completed, 6,000 megawatts of electricity will be generated and the bulk of the electricity will be sold to China, according to reports. Five dams are planned for the Malikha River.
China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) is leading the construction and financing of the dam projects and Burma’s state power utility Myanma Electric Power Enterprise, the Steven Law and the Asia World companies are also involved in the projects.
The area of the Myitsone dam project is 18,000 square miles. The height of the dam is 152 meters (500 feet) and the height of the upper reservoir is 299 meters (980 feet). The affected area of the dam is wider than the area of Singapore. Because of the dam’s impact, 15,000 people in villages are likely to be adversely affected.
In September, 1,600 people including prominent writers and artists signed a petition to urge President Thein Sein to stop the Myitsone Dam project. The petition was signed by “People who want the Irrawaddy to survive forever” and titled “An appeal urging a stop to the Myitsone dam project in order to prevent the Irrawaddy River from extinction and to avoid adverse effects on the Burmese citizens.”
“If the Irrawaddy River is extinct because of the Myitsone Dam, future generations will suffer,” Nu Nu, an 88-generation student who is an organizer of the petition, told Mizzima.
The petition urged the government to authorize international experts conduct research on the Myitsone Dam project to stop the construction during the research and to inform the public about it findings. A second petition with additional signatures will be sent in the coming weeks.
On August 11, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi released an open letter, “Irrawaddy Appeal,” saying that the lack of sound planning, the failure to enforce necessary conservation laws and poor ecological awareness have created diverse problems for the country.
Kyaw Thu, the chairman of Free Funeral Service Society, who signed the petition, said: “The Irrawaddy River is the lifeblood of our country. If you are a good Burmese citizen, you have the responsibility to preserve the river.
“Constructing the dam…is very dangerous. We need to ensure that we do the things that will protect it and restore it to its original condition.” http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5878-burmese-supreme-court-to-be-asked-to-order-halt-to-myitsone-dam-project.html
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WikiLeaks Cables Show China's Support for UWSA
By KO HTWE Monday, September 5, 2011
Burma's strongest ethnic armed group of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is confident of the “upper hand” in any battle with government troops after being equipped with more than 30 US-manufactured surface-to-air missiles, according to a recent dispatch by WikiLeaks.
Rangoon-based United States Embassy Charge d'Affaires Larry Dinger sent the cable in January 2010 after talking with UWSA's Deputy Liaison Officer Soe Than.
In the cable, Soe Than also predicted that Burmese troops would face serious logistical challenges and numerous potential casualties if they were to attack the group.
The UWSA also received financial and moral support from China, said Soe Than.
He said the Chinese thought the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) was angling for new allies—specifically the US, North Korea and Russia—so China was beefing up its financial and military support for the UWSA in response.
Chinese government representatives attend all UWSA ceremonies and five representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Rangoon attended a Wa anniversary celebration in December 2009, he added.
A separate 2009 cable concerning the UWSA also claimed that the group was well-armed with US-manufactured grenade launchers, as well as shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles and launchers provided by Russia.
The cable claims that there were 30,000 active-duty Wa troops with an additional 10,000 youth and auxiliary forces, many of whom are enrolled in training or engaged in agriculture.
“The only threat the UWSA is not prepared to face is major airstrikes by the Burma Army,” Soe Than was quoted in the cable.
The Wa group found it easy to purchase arms from Thailand, China (including Hong Kong), and Singapore, according to leaked documents. But the UWSA denied manufacturing armaments or purchasing shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles and launchers from Russia in 2005 or 2006.
Hong Pang Company, based in Tachilek, is the parent company for many Wa investments, said Soe Than.
He also claimed the UWSA has over US $2billion invested in “transportation (including Yangon Airway), hotels (including Yangon City Hotel), restaurants, gems, mining, teak, road/building construction, property development, manufacturing (including of the ubiquitous plastic rice bags), wood processing (including a facility at the Mingaladon Industrial Estate near Rangoon's airport), massage parlors, and music recording studios (including "NASA" Studio—NFI).”
For the Wa, retention of the UWSA is non-negotiable and leaders are prepared to abandon all legitimate economic interests throughout the country—estimated by the Wa as over US $2 billion—if necessary to preserve their right to arms.
Since last year, the Burmese regime has been pressuring 17 ceasefire armies to accept the Border Guard Force (BGF) plan, but only a few have joined. The others, including the UWSA and the Karen Independence Army, have refused.
Comparing Military Security Affairs Chief Lieutenant General Ye Myint with former Prime Minister and Military Intelligence Chief Khin Nyunt, UWSA Commander Bao Youxiang said he respected Khin Nyunt.
In 2009, Bao Youxiang met with Ye Myint for 30 minutes but no solution regarding the BGF was reached. The UWSA did not accept the Burmese government's BGF proposal but opted to “not answer” rather than reply no.
Soe Than said, “You can never trust the SPDC. They always negotiate while holding a sword behind their back.”
Burma's ethnic Wa population is estimated at nearly one million and strives to maintain its army and autonomy over its own ethnic region, but has expressed no desire leave the federal system and secede from Burma. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22013
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Myanmar, NKorea traded rice for arms: US cable
Bangkok, Sep 5 (AFP)
Myanmar's regime has allegedly exported rice and other agricultural commodities to North Korea in exchange for arms, according to a US diplomatic cable released by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
The July 2009 memo from the US embassy in Yangon said that Myanmar had exported about 20,000 tons of rice to North Korea through military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd.
According to a well-placed business source, Myanmar "has been exporting rice and other agricultural commodities to North Korea for over five years in exchange for arms," added the cable, which referred to "conventional weapons".
US diplomatic memos released last year by WikiLeaks said Washington has also suspected for years that Myanmar ran a secret nuclear programme supported by Pyongyang.
A UN report published in November said North Korea was supplying banned nuclear and ballistic equipment to Myanmar, along with Iran and Syria.
Myanmar has dismissed reports of its nuclear intentions and brushed aside Western concerns about possible cooperation with North Korea.
A civilian administration has been nominally in charge of Myanmar since March, following a controversial election last year, but its ranks are dominated by former generals. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/188608/myanmar-nkorea-traded-rice-arms.html
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Go on, Thein Sein, surprise us
Monday, 05 September 2011 12:30 Benedict Rogers
(Commentary) - Two weeks ago, as Libyan rebels advanced towards Tripoli and the demise of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi became ever more certain, a surprising chain of events were taking place in another of the world’s worst dictatorships, Burma. Thein Sein, Burma’s new president and a former general, spent an hour in one-to-one talks with the country’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the first time the two had met.
Since her release from house arrest nine months ago, Suu Kyi has consistently called for dialogue with the regime. Indeed, ever since her struggle for Burma’s freedom began 23 years ago, dialogue has been her mantra. Despite spending more than 15 years under house arrest, she has never changed her core demand: let’s talk. Apart from a few stalled attempts a decade ago, the generals have usually met her call with stony silence.
So why now? There are plenty of reasons to be sceptical and cynical about the regime’s intentions. Is it a charade, designed to present a veneer of reasonableness to a watching world, particularly to the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), whose chairmanship Burma is hoping to assume in 2014? Is it a trick, an astute divide-and-rule tactic used repeatedly by the regime? Or could it be that after the sham elections last November a power struggle ensued within the regime, emboldening the emergence of reform-minded generals?
It is worth recalling that the elections were so blatantly rigged that the regime remained almost entirely in military hands if not in military clothes. Few believed that the previous dictator, Than Shwe, had genuinely retired, assuming instead that he would pull the strings from behind the scenes. Either that analysis is wrong and Thein Sein is his own man, or Than Shwe is performing his ultimate piece of psychological warfare, as puppet master of tricks and traps.
In addition to talking to Suu Kyi, Thein Sein made two other announcements last month. First, he invited Burmese living in exile to return. By itself, that’s easy to ignore as a piece of typical propaganda. No Burmese I know feels ready to take him up on his offer. The second is more interesting. For the first time, the regime has called for peace talks with all armed ethnic groups along Burma’s borders. Unlike in the past, the offer applies to all the groups, simultaneously, rather than piecemeal deals designed to pick them off one by one and sow division. It is unclear what the mechanism for talks will be, and what will be on offer—and piecemeal deals may still be the plan, even if talks are occurring simultaneously. No nationwide cease-fire has been offered, as yet. It is, nevertheless, interesting.
So what should we make of all this? There are two dangers we must avoid. The first is to embrace these steps as some great breakthrough, and immediately ease all international pressure on the regime. That would be disastrous, though it would be what the regime is hoping for. The second, however, would be to dismiss these developments out of hand. Having called for dialogue for years, we cannot now write it off when it is offered. Instead, the international community must undertake the following steps.
First and foremost, listen to Suu Kyi and the ethnic nationalities. How are they responding? What is their analysis? What are their desires?
Second, spell out to the regime very clearly what must happen if international pressure is to ease. Benchmarks of progress are needed now more than ever. If Thein Sein’s talks with Suu Kyi are to amount to more than a cup of tea, there must be some outcomes. Another round of talks, for a start. The release of all political prisoners. A nationwide ceasefire. An end to the widespread, systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labour, torture, persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, destruction of villages, killings.
When we see evidence of a real change of heart, and a corresponding change of policy, then we can talk seriously about lifting sanctions. Until then, the European Union, the United States, Canada and Australia must not only maintain sanctions, but must pursue the proposal of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, for a Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity.
Burma’s neighbours have a crucial role to play, now more than ever. Now is the time for China, India, Japan and Asean member states to tell Thein Sein: “Okay, good step—now where’s the substance?” For years, they have provided the regime with diplomatic, political, economic and in some cases military cover, often damaging their reputations. Now is the time to tell the regime: “Give us results.”
Thein Sein has undoubtedly watched the fall of Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and now Gaddafi with growing horror. Mubarak’s trial and the arrest of Gaddafi’s sons for prosecution in the International Criminal Court must fill him with dread. For those reasons alone, he should take the chance now to chart a different course for Burma. In Aung San Suu Kyi, he could not have a more reasonable opponent.

Thein Sein can also look at history and consider the dictators that are remembered, and why. People today still talk about Russia’s Mikhail Gorbachev and South Africa’s FW de Klerk, forgetting the bad things they did and remembering them as dictators who helped transition their countries to freedom. Leonid Brezhnev and PW Botha are consigned to the dustbin of history. Most people right now do not even know who Thein Sein is. Now is his chance—he could go the way of other Burmese dictators, into oblivion, he could go the way of Mubarak and Gaddafi, or he could take his place in history as the Gorbachev or de Klerk of Burma? Does he have the skills, the strength and the courage to do it? Now is his chance to surprise us.
Benedict Rogers is the East Asia team leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, an international human rights organization, and author of “Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant.” http://mizzima.com/edop/commentary/5879-go-on-thein-sein-surprise-us.html