News and Articles on Burma-Saturday, 08 October 2011-uzl

News and Articles on Burma
Saturday, 08 October 2011
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KWAT reveals Burma govt’s atrocities against Kachin people
Kachins protest against Chinese policies in Burma
Will Burma allow press freedom in the near future?
Burma censor chief calls for more media freedom
Burma censorship chief calls for 'press freedom'
Burma Exposes Fault Lines in China’s Dam-building Juggernaut
US keen to improve ties with Burma
Censorship boss calls for press freedom
Burma gas campaigners hit brick wall
Myanmar VP to discuss dam row with China
Myitsone Dam: a new catalyst for reform in Burma?
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KWAT reveals Burma govt’s atrocities against Kachin people
Created on Friday, 07 October 2011 14:16
Published on Friday, 07 October 2011 14:16
Written by KNG

KWAT's Hkawn Seng Pan (left) and Shirley Seng (right) explained their report in a press conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand released a report revealing the government of Burma’s atrocities against Kachin people during the past four months during its current war against Kachin resistance forces since June 9.

A report by KWAT entitled “Burma’s Covered Up War: Atrocities Against the Kachin People”, released on Oct. 7, stated the Burma Army broke a 17 year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and has committed killings, torture and sexual violence, displacing over 25,000 people.

The report said 37 women and girls were raped and 13 were killed during the first two months of the conflict in Kachin State.

KWAT spokesperson, Shirley Seng, said, “Some women were gang-raped in front of their families. In one case, soldiers slaughtered a woman’s grandchild in front of her before raping and killing her also.”

In September, the government began its offensive against KIA positions, deploying over 1,000 troops from nine battalions in northern Shan State, to seize Kachin strongholds and committed rape and sexual violence against local women.

On September 24, Burma Army soldiers committed three separate rapes involving two girls, aged 14 and 17, and one woman, aged 40, in Muse and Kutkai townships, according to KWAT documents.

During the press release in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Shirley Seng said there are over 25,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) on the Kachin State-China border facing shortages of food and medicine.
refugee“The regime has blocked agencies working officially inside Burma from assisting them,” she said.

However, she said her appeals to foreign governments to address this humanitarian crisis have so far fallen on deaf ears.

KWAT urged the international community to abandon its “wait and see” policy with Burma and bring increased pressure on the government to end its military offensive and atrocities, and also provide urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Kachin IDPs.

“The failed policy allowed the government to start the new war against the Kachin people as well as it lets it carry on attacking women and children. ‘Wait and See’ is a death sentence for us,” Shirley Seng said. http://kachinnews.com/news/2087-kwat-reveals-burma-govts-atrocities-against-kachin-people.html
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KACHIN NEWS GROUP
Kachins protest against Chinese policies in Burma

Kachin protested Chinese government regarding its policies in Burma at its Consulate in Los Angeles, California.
Kachins protested in three locations in the United States on Friday against the Chinese government’s policies in Burma, according to protesters.

The demonstrations took place at the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC, and two Chinese Consulates in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California, protest leaders said.

The largest demonstration was in Washington, where nearly 100 protesters, including ethnic Chin, Karen and Shan from Burma, joined together, according to participants.

Gum San, Interim President of the Kachin National Organization (USA) and the leader of the Washington protest told the Kachin News Group, “We have to protest against the Chinese government because it supports the Burmese government, which is oppressing citizens and ethnic minorities like fascist Japan- which oppressed Chinese people in WW II. So, China should stop its support and protection of the Burmese government.”

A joint statement by Kachin, Chin, Karen and Shan organizations was handed to the embassy.

The statement urges China to:

1) open the border crossings into China to allow people fleeing from Kachin, Shan, and Karen States to take refuge;

2) provide humanitarian assistance to those who flee into China and to those who remain as internally displaced persons in northern Burma;

3) stop supporting the Burmese regime politically, economically, and militarily;

4) halt investment in Burma until the restoration of genuine democracy in the country;

5) open up communication and dialogue with leaders of the democratic movement, including leaders of minority ethnic groups and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mawrin Seng Mai, a Kachin movie and pop star who joined the demonstration at the Los Angeles Chinese Consulate told KNG, “We urged the Chinese government to support the United Nations’ effort to solve Burma’s problems and listen to the voices of ethnic minorities”.

It was the first time the Kachin protesters demonstrated in front of the Houston Chinese Consulate, protest leader Sut Nau said.

He said, “We will continue to protest against the Chinese government as long as it supports the Burmese regime because we cannot go back to our homeland and join the Kachin Independence Army, which is resisting the offensive by the regime with arms.”

The new military-dominated government, formed in March, led by ex-general Thein Sein, launched large-scale offensives against ethnic Kachin, Karen and Shan in March. http://kachinnews.com/news/2089-kachins-protest-against-chinese-policies-in-burma.html
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Will Burma allow press freedom in the near future?
By Zin Linn Oct 08, 2011 6:01PM UTC

The director of Burma’s authoritarian state censorship board – the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department – gave a rare interview to the Washington DC based Radio Free Asia (Burmese Branch) Saturday. Tint Swe, a retired major and head of PSRD, said that he believes press freedom will come in accordance with democratic norms within an appropriate time in Burma which was under the nominally civilian government since March this year.

He even expressed his personal view that his own censorship office should be shut down, RFA broadcast Saturday. Tint Swe said that the PSRD has been created since 1962 under the late Gen Ne Win’s regime.

The Printers and Publishers Registration Law was introduced shortly after the 1962 military-coup that brought Gen Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme Party to power forcibly. Under this law all printers and publishers are required to register and submit copies of books, magazines and periodicals to Press Scrutiny Boards (PSB) for scrutiny prior to publication or production, or in some cases after. The PSB, which was under the Ministry of Home and Religious Affairs, had general powers to veto publications and command revision in line with the junta’s policies, at a large expenditure to the publisher.

In 1989, sentences under the Printers and Publishers Registration Law are increased to seven years imprisonment and fines to 30,000 kyats ( $ 5,000).

Tint Swe told Radio Free Asia that censorship should come to an end as part of democratic reforms under the new civilian government.

“There is no press censorship office in most countries in the world including our neighbors and as it is not compatible with democratic norms, press restriction should be abolished in the near future,” he said in an interview with RFA Burmese Service.

But he added that newspapers and other publications should accept press freedom with responsibilities.

In response to the question concerning democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi,Tint Swe said that news journals and periodicals have been allowed to publish photos and news-reports on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi exclusive of restrictions that were previously forced.

“The coverage for Aung San Suu Kyi’s activities is not restricted now and further press freedom is predictable in the near future as the nation go through democratic change,” he told the RFA Burmese Service.

Since the new President Thein Sein’s government came to power in March after controversial November elections, Burma’s information minister has announced an insignificant moderation of inflexible censorship rules for some journals and periodicals, whereas keeping rigid limitations on political and economic news issues.

In June, sports journals, entertainment magazines, factions and some unimportant journals have been allowed to publish without permission in advance from the PSRD.

In September, Internet users in Burma can have access visiting banned media websites for the first time, including the BBC and exiled media organizations such as the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).

Journalists in Burma have received draconian jail sentences for reporting information challenging to the regime. In January 2010, DVB reporter Hla Hla Win received a 20-year sentence for violating the Electronic Act, and is now in jail serving 27 years; her helper, Myint Naing got seven years. There are a total of 17 DVB journalists behind bars.

Photojournalist Sithu Zeya had been sentenced to eight years in jail last December. Zeya was sentenced by the military controlled court in Insein prison for his photos of the scene of an explosion at a traditional water festival pavilion in Rangoon in April 2010. Sithu Zeya’s father, Maung Maung Zeya, also a video reporter for DVB, was sentenced on February 4, 2011 to a total of 13 years in prison by an arbitrary court in Rangoon.

Paris based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) ranks Burma 174 out of 178 countries in its 2010 press freedom index. The country is one of the few in the world to operate such a strictly censored system. Burma’s ranking was expected and well deserved. In fact, there is no press freedom at all in Burma.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also said last month that Burma’s press freedom remained among the world’s most restricted, calling for an end to “draconian” reporting laws and for the freeing of jailed journalists.

Unless the Thein Sein government guarantees human rights including the freedom of expression and freedom of association, people will not believe that the government is on the right track of reforms. http://asiancorrespondent.com/66753/will-burma-allow-press-freedom-in-the-near-future/
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Burma censor chief calls for more media freedom
By Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent

The head of Burma's powerful press censorship department has called for greater media freedom in his country.

Tint Swe said censorship was incompatible with democratic practices and should be abolished in the near future.

The comments will be seen as further evidence that the new civilian-military hybrid government is trying to soften its stance.

Burma is said to have the world's most heavily censored media.

But recent reforms suggest that real change could be in prospect.

Some previously blocked websites are now accessible.

Newspapers have been allowed to publish photographs and reports about the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, something that would have been unthinkable a year ago before her release after years of house arrest.

Now the man in charge of media restrictions says censorship should be abolished altogether.

Tint Swe, who made his remarks in an interview with Radio Free Asia, cautioned however that all publications should accept the responsibilities that go with press freedom, though he didn't spell out what those responsibilities might be.

His comments will be seen by many as another sign of the new administration's determination to reform.

How far and how deep those reforms might eventually be is now the subject of intense debate in diplomatic circles. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15227175
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Burma censorship chief calls for 'press freedom'
RANGOON, BURMA - Oct 08 2011 08:34

The head of Burma's repressive state censorship body has called for press freedom in the army-dominated country -- even suggesting his own department should be shut down, a report said on Saturday.

Tint Swe, director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department set up more than four decades ago, told Radio Free Asia that censorship should cease as part of reforms under the new nominally civilian government.

"Press censorship is non-existent in most other countries as well as among our neighbours and as it is not in harmony with democratic practices, press censorship should be abolished in the near future," he said in an interview.

But he added that newspapers and other publications should accept press freedom with responsibilities.

He also said newspapers were being allowed to publish reports on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released shortly after last November's election, without restrictions that were previously imposed.

'Democratic change'
"There are no restrictions now on coverage for Aung San Suu Kyi’s activities and more freedom is expected in the near future as the country undergoes democratic change," he told the broadcasting corporation.

Since the new administration came to power in March after controversial November elections, Burma has announced a slight easing of strict censorship rules for some publications, while keeping a tight grip on news titles.

Publishers were told in June that sports journals, entertainment magazines, fairytales and the winning lottery numbers would not need to have prior approval from the information ministry before they are printed.

A journalist at a Rangoon newspaper, requesting anonymity, welcomed Tint Swe's call for censorship to be fully lifted, saying there was "a sense of optimism but it is tempered with a healthy dose of caution" among reporters. http://mg.co.za/article/2011-10-08-burma-censorship-chief-calls-for-press-freedom/
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Burma Exposes Fault Lines in China’s Dam-building Juggernaut
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 7, 2011 (IPS) - When Burma’s new president, Thein Sein, took the unusual step of opposing the construction of one of China's largest investment projects in the country – a mega dam – he did more than acknowledge the concerns of local communities and environmental activists.

He succeeded in shedding light on the questionable business practices of China’s global dam-building juggernaut.

"Many dams built by China overseas are done without reference to international environmental and social standards," says Grace Mang, the China global programme coordinator for International Rivers, a U.S.-based environmental lobby. "Information and data is also difficult to obtain given the lack of transparency."

It is a concern that has grown as China has encouraged its state-backed companies to tap rivers in many developing countries for dam opportunities.

"We are seeing more (Chinese) energy companies and engineering firms look to overseas markets to maintain their profitability," Mang said in an interview with IPS. "Chinese companies also benefit under China’s ‘going out’ policy – under which the Chinese government is actively promoting and forcing their enterprises to look overseas for business."

Consequently, China’s international investment portfolio is brimming with 251 dams being built in 68 countries, ensuring that the country’s place as the world’s leader in dam building has been cemented. "The scale of dam building is also unprecedented," says Mang of China’s dam investments, nearly 90 percent of which are in developing countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Burma. "China has lent more money for dam building than the World Bank."

But one of China’s largest investments in Burma – a mega dam on the Irrawaddy River – has exposed the Asian giant to the perils of taking for granted an ally with a long history of political oppression.

This lesson from a country that has been under military rule for nearly 50 years came in the wake of the unprecedented message delivered by President Thein Sein to parliament on Sept. 30. The head of the quasi-civilian government wanted the construction of the Myitsone Dam to be stopped because "it was contrary to the will of the people."

The 3.6 billion dollar dam being built by China Power Investment (CPI) on the Irrawaddy River in northern Burma was to have generated 6,000 megawatts of power, most of which were to be transmitted to China to meet its energy needs. The reservoir was to engulf 766 square kilometres of forest land, an area the size of Singapore, and displace 12,000 people from the ethnic Kachin minority.

"The decision to halt the Myitsone dam will be quite shocking to the Chinese," says Sean Turnell, an Australian academic who publishes ‘Burma Economic Watch’, a regular online review of the Southeast Asian nation’s economic trends. "They have grown used to a compliant Burma."

Many Chinese investments in Burma, or Myanmar, do not improve the infrastructure "beyond that created for the very narrow purpose of serving China’s interest," Turnell told IPS. "All the roads, bridges, rail lines and the like are built to make more efficient the extraction of resources in Burma for Chinese buyers."

"It’s a wake-up call to the Chinese that it’s in their interest to do business differently in Mynamar," adds Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian and author of a new book, ‘Where China Meets India – Burma and the New Crossroads of Asia’. "To be fair, Chinese companies have not acted very differently from how companies from many other companies operate (in the country)."

"The principle problem is on the Myanmar side and the lack of enforced regulations to protect the environment and the interests of local people," he said in an interview.

Such an environment has seen Chinese investments in Burma reach new heights last year, hitting 8.17 billion dollars, mostly in the hydropower, oil and gas sectors. This amount boosted to 12.32 billion dollars the Chinese investments in the country, out of Burma’s total of 20 billion dollars since 1988.

Six other mega dams, also planned by the Chinese state-backed dam builder CPI, are part of that investment portfolio. They will be supplying power to China as would two other energy sources – gas and oil. An estimated 12 million cubic meters of Burmese natural gas and 22 million tones of oil from the Middle East will be carried annually through two 2,800 kilometre-long pipelines being built spanning the country.

Burma’s increasing dependence on China has grown in the past two decades, as Western countries, led by the United States and the European Union, targeted the Burmese military regimes that preceded the six-month-old Thein Sein administration.

The regimes were hit with economic sanctions and regular censure at international forums for their notorious human rights record.

Yet the reaction among Burmese to China’s economic steamroller is similar to the anti-Chinese outrage that has burst to the surface in parts of Africa, where Bejing-backed companies have bulldozed their way using a business model that places greater emphasis on signing deals with governments than paying attention to affected communities.

"Burmese resentment against China is extremely high now, and they regard China as a coloniser and opportunist (exploiting) Burma’s natural resources," says Aung Din, the executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington D.C.-based lobby. "Nobody in Burma likes the expansion of the Chinese empire inside Burma, forcing Burmese to move away from their land, losing their inheritance and properties."

Such rage against China cuts across all its investments. The Myitsone Dam emerged as a flashpoint no sooner a 2006-deal was signed, even resulting in attacks against Chinese staff working at the dam site.

"The Chinese didn’t want to hear about the social and environmental cost of this dam," says Naw Din Lahpai, editor of a news outlet covering events of the Kachin, the ethnic minority living in the area where the dam is being built. "They thought an agreement with the authorities only mattered." (END) http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105380
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US keen to improve ties with Burma
Steven Lee Myers, Thomas Fuller
October 8, 2011

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering a significant shift in its long-strained relationship with the autocratic government of Burma, including relaxing restrictions on financial assistance and taking other steps to encourage what senior US officials describe as startling political changes in the country.

The thawing, while in its early stages, follows a political transition in Burma after deeply flawed elections last year that nonetheless appears to have raised the possibility that the new government will ease its restrictions on basic freedoms and co-operate with the repressed opposition movement led by the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The apparent shift offers the United States the chance to improve ties with a resource-rich south-east Asian country. Last week the new Burmese leadership unexpectedly halted work on a $3.6 billion dam project strongly backed by China, its main ally, prompting criticism from the Chinese government.
Advertisement: Story continues below

The new President, U Thein Sein, a former general who was part of the military junta that ruled the country for two decades, has signalled a sharp break from the centralised, erratic policies of the past. He is rewriting laws on taxes and property ownership and loosening restrictions on the media.

For the first time, the government has discussed with Aung San Suu Kyi and US officials the possibility of releasing hundreds of political prisoners, after years of denying there were any at all.

The Obama administration, although sceptical, has responded to this openness with a series of small diplomatic steps, hoping that a democratic transition could bring stability and economic opportunities at a time of increasing US competition with China over influence in Asia.

''They are moving into a more pluralistic form of government. I wouldn't call it totally democratic. But things are changing very rapidly,'' said Priscilla Clapp, the chief of mission at the US embassy in Burma from 1999 to 2002.

The New York Times

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-keen-to-improve-ties-with-burma-20111007-1ldl4.html#ixzz1aD3QvSpN
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Censorship boss calls for press freedom
By AFP
Published: 8 October 2011

The head of Burma’s repressive state censorship body has called for press freedom in the army – dominated country – even suggesting his own department should be shut down, a report said Saturday.

Tint Swe, director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department set up more than four decades ago, told Radio Free Asia that censorship should cease as part of reforms under the new nominally civilian government.

“Press censorship is non-existent in most other countries as well as among our neighbours and as it is not in harmony with democratic practices, press censorship should be abolished in the near future,” he said in an interview.

But he added that newspapers and other publications should accept press freedom with responsibilities.

He also said newspapers were being allowed to publish reports on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released shortly after last November’s election, without restrictions that were previously imposed.

“There are no restrictions now on coverage for Aung San Suu Kyi’s activities and more freedom is expected in the near future as the country undergoes democratic change,” he told the broadcasting corporation.

Since the new administration came to power in March after controversial November elections, Burma has announced a slight easing of strict censorship rules for some publications, whilst keeping a tight grip on news titles.

Publishers were told in June that sports journals, entertainment magazines, fairytales and the winning lottery numbers would not need to have prior approval from the information ministry before they are printed.

But the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said last month that Burma’s media remained among the world’s most restricted, calling for an end to “draconian” reporting laws and for the freeing of jailed journalists.

The CPJ said the new regime had done little to ease restrictions, while two journalists have been given lengthy jail sentences since the election.

In September, Burma’s internet users were able to see banned media websites for the first time, including the BBC and exiled media organisations such as the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB).

But the move, which was not officially announced, came in the same week that a court added an extra decade to the sentence of a journalist jailed over his work for DVB. He now faces 18 years in prison. http://www.dvb.no/news/censorship-boss-calls-for-press-freedom/18024
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Burma gas campaigners hit brick wall
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 7 October 2011

The Korean company behind a major pipeline project in Burma says it has completed drilling and production tests and will move to the next phase of development, despite continuing calls from campaigners that the project be shelved.

The Shwe pipeline venture is estimate to be worth $US30 billion for the Burmese government, but environmental and human rights groups claim it will come at great human and ecological cost.

Burmese are also angry that the country’s vast natural gas resources, largely located off its western coast, are being sold to China, despite a shortage of energy in the country.

But the country’s democracy movement scored a point recently after Naypyidaw halted work on a massive China-backed dam in the north following months of protest, spurring campaigners to demand it shelves other environmentally destructive projects.

“The [pipeline] project could destroy the future for people’s social life, businesses and their livelihood, so the [government] needs to listen to the people’s voice,” said Wong Aung, from the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM). “This is a Chinese project run by China and when it’s completed, all the resources and future business opportunities will be sold to China. So everyone should stand against it.”

But the likelihood of the pipeline venture also being stopped is slim: Daewoo, the lead construction company in the project, announced this week that it had begun infrastructure work following successful early testing.

Along with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo will develop seabed platforms and onshore terminals in Burma’s impoverished Arakan state, as well as the 2,600 kilometre pipeline that will run from the town of Kyaukphyu across Burma to China’s southern Yunnan province. The company is expected to net more than $US320 million in profit each year once the gas starts flowing.

In a statement this week, SGM said Burmese will see little of the capital made from the pipeline, which will provide for around six percent of China’s total oil and gas needs.

“The revenues will disappear into a fiscal black hole that omits gas revenues from the national budget, clearly to the benefit of the regime and investors.”

The main Chinese company involved, the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, has made various efforts at placating criticism of the project and offering sweeteners to its opponents, including a recent pledge that it will finance the construction of schools and hospitals along the pipeline route.

Additional reporting by Francis Wade http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-gas-campaigners-hit-brick-wall/18010
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Myanmar VP to discuss dam row with China
Saturday, 08 October 2011 02:01

YANGON: Myanmar’s vice-president, Tin Aung Myint Oo, will visit China this month to discuss the suspension of a controversial dam built and financed by Chinese firms, a senior Myanmar official said yesterday.

“The visit is expected to take place in the middle of this month after President Thein Sein returns home from India on October 15,” the government official said, asking not to be identified since he was not authorised to talk to the media.

President Thein Sein is due to make his first state visit to India from October 12 to 15.

The official purpose of the vice-president’s visit to China is to attend the opening of a China-Asean Exposition from October 21 to 26. “However, he will meet Chinese leaders on the sidelines of the Expo to explain the shelving of the Myitsone mega dam,” the government official said.

The Myitsone dam in northern Myanmar would have generated electricity mostly for China and flooded an area about the size of Singapore. It was opposed by many local people as well as environmentalists.

Bowing to their criticism, President Thein Sein suspended the project in a surprise move on September 30.

China’s Foreign Ministry has called for “friendly consultations” on the matter.

Lu Qizhou, general manager for China Power Investment Corp, a Chinese state-owned firm involved in the project, has warned of “immeasurable losses” for both sides and said the suspension could lead to a series of legal problems.

The halting of the controversial dam has been seen as another sign of change in Myanmar, where a nominally civilian government was installed this year after half a century of oppressive military rule.

The deal to build the dam was arranged under the military regime. Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo and former military ruler Than Shwe were reported to be backers of the dam.

Tin Aung Myint Oo will be accompanied on his visit to China by cabinet members, including a minister with responsibility for electric power, and leading business people, including Tun Myint Naing, chairman of Asia World Construction Co, a major subcontractor on the dam project.

REUTERS http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/s.-asia/philippines/168261-myanmar-vp-to-discuss-dam-row-with-china.html
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Myitsone Dam: a new catalyst for reform in Burma?
Editorial Desk
The Nation (Thailand)
Publication Date : 07-10-2011

It must have taken a good deal of courage for Burmese President Thein Sein to come out recently and stop the construction of the Chinese-funded Myitsone Dam in Kachin State. Like it or not, the decision was timely and hit all the right nerves for both Burma sceptics and supporters of the regime. Certainly it has raised the ire of the Chinese. If there has been anything at all positive in the past three months since the buzz began about "reform" in the pariah state, this is it. It is the most immediate and concrete sign of the Burmese government listening to any opinion other than its own.

This move will certainly win Thein Sein lots of support from local and international observers of Burma - something which he badly needs in order to fight against the hardliners within his own cabinet. Indeed, that might be what the Naypyidaw government wants people to think. Somehow, it might also want to see reform-minded lawmakers win the day.

But the international community has to remain cautious, even after this latest development. There have been many times in the past when the Burmese regime has cheated and betrayed its own people. To suggest that Burma has changed because of sudden political reforms and a new political system would be hard to believe, even for the most optimistic of observers. More action needs to be forthcoming, especially regarding the release of political prisoners, over 2,000 of whom still remain in custody.

Although nobody knows the exact number of political prisoners and how many "classifications" there are, it is clear that their freedom is another prerequisite before Burma can gain international support. Ongoing dialogue with the opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, must continue and expand. At the moment, attempts are being made to undertake further ceasefire talks with the various armed minority groups in the border regions. There is an urgent need to bring these rebel groups to the negotiating table, but to do so, the Naypyidaw government must do more to appease these groups.

In this connection, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has already said he will visit Burma this month, but the date has not yet been set. He has said such things before, but he still has not visited Burma as the chair of Asean. It is thus imperative that he go there as soon as possible. But for him to go, he wants to see more positive signs from the regime beyond the current "road map". Otherwise, there is a possibility he will pass on this decision and let the incoming chair, Cambodia, carry the process forward if possible.

There is a high level of unease among the Indonesian leaders about Burma's overall attitude. Previous attempts, two years ago, between Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Burmese strongman, General Than Shwe, to communicate directly, did not work out as planned.

Obviously, at the moment, Burma needs Asean more than ever before. For the first time - after more than 14 years of membership in the regional grouping - it has shown willingness to work with Asean and the international community to improve Burma's image and promote reforms.

President Thein Sein realises now that there is a small window for him to assert himself locally and internationally. So, he must not miss the chance. If he succeeds, he will be the one who gets due recognition, as he is scheduled to meet all the leaders from Asean, the US, Russia, China, India, Australia, Japan and South Korea at the upcoming Bali summit. So, the stakes are very high for him as well as for Burma. http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=22538&sec=3
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