News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 07 April, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 07 April, 2011
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An aye for sanctions
A parliament, but not as you know it
Shan rebels on offensive defense
Chinese army waiting on other side
Than Shwe Continues to Control Burma's Military
US Concerned Over Burma’s Role in Weapons Proliferation
Burmese Authorities Crack Down on VoIP Calls
Time for Refugees to Go Home?
China offers ‘hospitals-for-oil’ deal
Bangladesh seeks Burmese gas
President told of farmers’ abuse
Burma needs to erase the dictatorial traditions
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The Economist online
Aung San Suu Kyi
An aye for sanctions
Feb 8th 2011, 16:09 by R.C. | JAKARTA

EVER since national elections in early November and then the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy opposition, from something close to 20 years' in detention, Myanmar-watchers have been waiting with bated breath to see which way she and her party would jump on the tricky issue of sanctions. At last, it seems, we have something of an answer.

Maintaining Western countries’ sanctions against Myanmar and its military regime were for many years a rallying cry for human-rights activists and opposition groups. Recently though there have been calls from within that community to reassess the policy in the light of what some see as progress towards greater freedom and democracy—such as the elections, the meeting of a first parliament in 20 years, to say nothing of the release of Ms Suu Kyi herself. The pressure has been mounting. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has called several times for sanctions to be lifted. More pertinently perhaps, five of Myanmar’s “ethnic-based” opposition parties recently argued for the same.

On February 7th Miss Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), issued a statement to the effect that—after a lot of consultation and discussion—they have decided that sanctions should stay. At least for the moment. The length of time it took for the NLD to say this reflects the fact that the issue has become a subject of live debate within the party. Nonetheless, the NLD was quite clear about the fact that the progress that others have claimed to see is in fact a sham; the regime, they say, should not be rewarded for doing so very little.

The NLD rebutted the charge that the sanctions serve only to impoverish the ordinary people of Myanmar—the very people that the NLD professes to represent—rather than to penalise the regime. One NLD official, Tin Oo, was quoted as saying that after extensive research the party had found “that sanctions affect only the leaders of the regime and their close business associates, not the majority of the people.” So, that would appear to be that, then.

But not quite, I think. The NLD must be aware that it will have disappointed many policymakers and business interests in the West who have been hoping to return, if only to offer some counterweight to China and Thailand in their accelerating exploitation of Myanmar’s natural resources. Accordingly, the NLD has given itself some wiggle room. Spokesmen say that the party is keen to “listen” to the people who argue that sanctions ought be lifted, and to have more discussions. We haven’t seen the last of this matter.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2011/02/aung_san_suu_kyi
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A parliament, but not as you know it
A far cry from real representation

Jan 27th 2011 | Singapore | from the print edition

IN THE sprawling new capital of Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s enormous showcase parliament building awaits its first legislators. After a general election in November, the military government hopes that the opening of the bicameral parliament on January 31st, amid suitable pomp, will appear to usher in a new democratic era. Its first job will be to form an electoral college to choose a fresh president and two vice-presidents.

Also awaiting the legislators will be the new laws and rules governing their conduct, published with rather less fanfare on January 11th and running to 17 bound volumes. These give a better guide to what might be expected of the new parliament than any pronouncements by the regime. According to those who have seen the rules, MPs may not, for example, simply ask a question. They first have to submit the question to the director-general of the lower house ten days before a parliamentary session, after which it will be vetted to ensure that it does not reveal state secrets, trouble international relations, or undermine the “interests” of the state. Should the poor, defenceless question survive that mangle, the speaker of the lower house still has the right to reject it, with no appeal.

Members themselves have been warned not to bring “cameras, radios, cassette players, computers, hand phones, and any kinds of voice-transmission or recording devices” into parliament on opening day. And no citizen should even think of turning up to sample the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate. Without the direct permission of the speaker, such an enormity would warrant at least a year in prison or a hefty fine.

Both the lower and upper houses will be dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), a proxy for the military government. The USDP won an overwhelming majority of seats at the election, in part because of a boycott by the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, released in November from house arrest. The NLD won the previous free election in 1990.

In both houses the USDP has nearly four-fifths of the contested seats. Meanwhile, the army has a reserved quota of a quarter of all seats in both chambers, as well as in the regional state parliaments. A military-controlled parliament therefore has the means to keep dissent to a minimum. The dictator, Than Shwe, could easily win the presidency should he want it. He may, however, prefer to stay in the background and pull strings.

Parliamentary opposition, such as it is, will come from two sources, the National Democratic Force (NDF) and the so-called ethnic parties, 17 of which won at least one seat, representing Myanmar’s diverse ethnic patchwork. The NDF is made up mostly of former members of the NLD who disagreed with Miss Suu Kyi’s call to boycott the election. They won a mere 16 seats, but have been talking a good game in the run-up to parliament’s opening. Khin Maung Shwe, a senior NDF official, argues that “although we have small numbers, we have a chance to use our voice on behalf of the people.” He says that the NDF will table three motions: an amnesty for political prisoners, a new competition law for business and a new law concerning rights to agricultural land.

Still, given the numerical and procedural odds against it, the opposition will struggle to make headway. Indeed, by taking part in a democratic charade, the NDF might merely provide a figleaf for the dictatorship. As it is, ASEAN, the ten-nation Association of South-East Asian Nations, is using the opening of parliament to argue for the lifting of longstanding Western sanctions on the grounds that the country has reformed itself. Mr Khin Maung Shwe rebuffs his party’s critics, arguing that the NDF is “neither a military puppet nor on a confrontational line”.

More might be expected of the ethnic parties, as they at least have sizeable minorities in the seven state legislatures (out of 14) to which they were elected. Nonetheless, it is certain that the central government will want to keep a tight control over these assemblies too. The state parliaments will not sit in their regional capitals, as you might imagine, but in the parliament building at Naypyidaw.

The NLD, for its part, dismisses the parliament as a sham. Win Tin, a party official who was jailed for 19 years before being released in 2008, says that “the parliament is nothing. Whether inside parliament or outside, the situation is almost the same. You have no freedom of expression.”

Instead, Mr Win Tin says, the NLD can act “as a second government”. Although the NLD is still fighting in the courts to regain its legal status as a political party, forfeited because of last year’s election boycott, it realises it needs to be more creative in its opposition. One idea is to use the internet to create a sort of “online parliament”, where issues can be debated among those in opposition, both inside and outside the country. This week Miss Suu Kyi got her first internet connection. She has also been spending a lot of time visiting welfare and other programmes run by her party to try to rebuild it from the grassroots.

Despite government hopes that parliamentary sittings will sideline Miss Suu Kyi, evidence suggests that she remains as popular in Myanmar as ever. Indeed, the real test of the regime’s claims to be heading in a new democratic direction will come not in parliament but when Ms Suu Kyi tries to travel out of Yangon, taking her message to the rest of the country. That is when the regime has clamped down hard before, forcing Miss Suu Kyi to endure years of house arrest. Will it dare to do so again?
http://www.economist.com/node/18014087
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Shan rebels on offensive defense
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 12:40 S.H.A.N.

This morning a Burma Army unit in Wanhsaw in the gemland of Monghsu was attacked by the ceasefire group Shan State Army (SSA) North whose territory was under siege by the Burma Army since early March, according to a source from the Thai-Burma border who had called up his relatives in the area.

“Explosions of shells could be heard on the phone,” he said.

Wanhsaw is only six miles east of Wanhai, until March the main base of SSA North. “It is now almost deserted,” said a Shan rebel officer. “The Burma Army can take it any time they want. We are now off to greener pastures.”

On 28 March, Palaung and other sources reported a clash took place in Namhsan as well as Namtu townships, north of the Mandalay-Lashio highway. Later on 1 April, the non-ceasefire SSA South leader Lt-Gen Yawdserk announced that the two sides had joined hands together in a fight against Burma Army forces in Mongmit township.

“When your enemy calls on you (meaning attack you),” remarked the late Khun Sa, leader of the now defunct Mong Tai Army (MTA), “it is only fair to return the favor.”

The SSA North officer, who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being, however told SHAN areas north of the Mandalay-Lashio highway were under its sway until 2005 when it had pulled out “due to the desire to preserve peace with the junta”, but it had now decided to returned to its old stamping grounds “since the ceasefire pact has been violated by the junta”.

Townships north of the highway where the SSA North is reported active are Mongmit, Kyaukme, Hsipaw, Namhsan, Namtu and Lashio.

These areas have been surveyed by Chinese firms responsible for the planned construction of the oil and gas pipelines coming from Arakan.

Other related news include arrival of more than 20 Burma Army casualties in Tangyan on 4 April. “Those critically wounded were forwarded to Lashio,” reported a local this morning.

The SSA North, that controls Tangyan, Mongyai, Monghsu and Kehsi townships, has been under attack since 13 March. Its principal ally the United Wa State Army (UWSA)s had refused to come to the aid thereby inadvertently facilitating closer relations between it and the non-ceasefire SSA South. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3587:shan-rebels-on-offensive-defense&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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Chinese army waiting on other side
Wednesday, 06 April 2011 22:17 KNG

China is ready to deploy troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the China-Burma border, near Mongko Township, in Northern Shan State, Eastern Burma, as construction of a military camp in the area nears completion, according to a resident.

“All major buildings have been completed and only a small amount of construction is left to finish. Then Chinese troops will be deployed there,” residents from Mongko Township said.
china_army_pla“From the military camp they can clearly see into Burma,” said the resident.

The PLA camp is located 20 miles from the Kachin Independence Army’s (KIA) Brigade 4 camp, based in Shan State. However, it is on the road used by KIA troops to communicate with their headquarters in Kachin State.

And, the road is also strategically important for other ethnic armed groups, such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Shan State Army (SSA).

The Burmese Military warned KIA Brigade 4 to avoid moving around near the China-Burma border in February.

China sent the fourth highest ranking official from the ruling Communist Party, Jia Qinglin, to meet with President Thein Sein, the leader of Burma’s new government, formerly the junta’s Prime Minister.

“We hope new Burmese government will try hard for stability and peace in the border areas,” Jia Qinglin is quoted as saying in the Chinese state run media.

“It is possible the PLA’s military camp was built on the front line to watch for instability on the border. Especially watching carefully when the UWSA and KIA refuse to follow the instructions of the Burmese military government,” said Bum Htoi, the former Captain of the Burmese Communist Party from Mongko. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1882-chinese-army-waiting-on-other-side.html
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Than Shwe Continues to Control Burma's Military
By THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, April 7, 2011

Despite dissolving the State Peace and Development Council and officially transferring the commander-in-chief post, Snr-Gen Than Shwe has apparently retained his grip on Burma’s military, the country's most powerful institution, said sources at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Napyidaw.

The MoD sources said the most recent evidence that Than Shwe is still in charge of the military is that the War Office in Naypyidaw was still sending reports marked “secret” and “confidential” to Than Shwe during the week following the announcement that the commander-in-chief position had been transferred to Gen Min Aung Hlaing.

“Actually, the War Office does not need to send any reports to a retired general. But the War Office is still sending reports that are addressed to Snr-Gen Than Shwe,” said a military officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Even though Snr-Gen Than Shwe does not have an office at the War Office in the Zayar Thiri area of Naypyidaw, we can read into the fact that we are still sending him reports that he is still controlling the military and still has power.”

The MoD sources added that Than Shwe remains in the senior general position and his general staff officers, Maj-Gen Nay Win, Brig-Gen Soe Shein and Col Myint Kyi, remain at their positions as assistants to Than Shwe.

Another military source said that although Min Aung Hlaing is authorized to handle a minor military reshuffle of regional military commands, light infantry divisions, regional operation commands and military operation commands, Than Shwe is still the one who will be in charge of any major military reshuffle.

Meanwhile, Lt-Gen Myint Hein, the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, and Vice Admiral Nyan Tun, the commander-in-chief of the Navy, have reportedly been promoted to general and admiral, respectively.

Following their promotion, there are now three four-star generals in Burma alongside Min Aung Hlaing. In making this move, Than Shwe apparently wanted to shift the power balance between the Amy, Navy and Air Force, said military sources.

According to government staff at ministries, Than Shwe’s portrait still remains on the walls of government offices as Burma’s top general.

“The senior general’s pictures are still at all government offices. No one told us to remove the picture,” said a staffer with the Ministry of Finances and Revenues in Naypyidaw. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21095
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US Concerned Over Burma’s Role in Weapons Proliferation
By LALIT K JHA Thursday, April 7, 2011

WASHINGTON — A top Pentagon official has expressed concern over the increasing role of the Burmese military junta in regional weapons proliferation.

“Of increasing concern is Burma’s role in regional weapons proliferation, evidenced by increasing defense cooperation and procurement from the North Korea, in violation of several UNSCRs [United Nations Security Council Resolutions],” Admiral Robert Willard, the commander of the US Pacific command, told lawmakers.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Willard said Burma presents a number of challenges to regional security. Prominent among these include: violence between Burma's government forces and various domestic ethnic armies which sparks significant refugee flows into Thailand; a maritime border dispute with Bangladesh; narcotics and human trafficking; and the potential for rapid spread of pandemic disease.

“In addition, Burma's government continues to rule without respect for democracy or basic human rights,” the Pentagon commander said. “The US-Burma military-to-military relationship remains suspended as a matter of US policy and public law.”

Willard said that focused efforts by the US president, defense secretary and secretary of state have set the conditions for increased security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Accordingly, the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) now actively seeks opportunities to support Asean initiatives that complement developing coordinated, multilateral approaches to maintaining regional security, he said.

Asean and USPACOM have several convergent interests that include humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief, maritime security, terrorism and peacekeeping. “With an evolved scope and influence, Asean and its offshoots—Asean Regional Forum, Asean Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, and the East Asia Summit—offer a framework to guide regional efforts to secure the commons and underpin cooperation across governmental institutions,” Willard said in an April 6 statement.

“I think the assertions made last year by the United States, in particular (Defense) Secretary (Robert) Gates and Secretary (of State, Hillary) Clinton's very strong statements, within Asean and the Shangri La dialogue series, had an effect,” he said in response to a question.

Willard said the US has extensive interests across the rest of Southeast Asia, and USPACOM seeks to continue maturing military relations with Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Timor-Leste.

“Malaysia maintains a strong leadership role in the region, especially combating terrorism and enhancing maritime security,” he said.

“Military relations with Vietnam continue to grow in areas such as disaster management, conflict resolution, personnel recovery, medical capability, and trafficking in persons. Cambodia is emerging as a strong supporter of US policy in the region, and activities with Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste have expanded over the past year,” Willard said. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21091
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Burmese Authorities Crack Down on VoIP Calls
By NAYEE LIN LATT Thursday, April 7, 2011

Authorities in Rangoon on Monday raided cyber cafes to check if they still provide customers with overseas communication service through banned VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) calls, according to sources.

Private Internet shop owners told The Irrawaddy that authorities from the Bureau of Special Investigation came to their cyber cafes in Kyauktada, North Okkalapa and Tamwe townships to see if the VoIP service was available.

The Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT) last month issued an official warning to Public Access Centers (PACs) and cyber cafes to stop providing VoIP services to the public. It said the increasing use of the VoIP overseas calls via Internet services such as Skype, Google Talk, Pfingo and VZO provided by PACs and cyber cafés have caused official overseas calls through the government's communication services to decline, affecting state revenue.

“Authorities in civilian clothes came to my shop on Monday and told me not to provide Internet phone call service to customers. They said legal action will be taken against me if someone is found using this service in my cafe. They said it is illegal under existing law, but they didn't specify so I don't know which law they were talking about,” said the owner of an Internet cafe near Sule Pagoda in downtown Rangoon.

“Gtalk and VZO are free services, so no matter what the MPT warns people will continue to use them. The MPT wanted to stop these services by saying that because of them the state revenue from overseas calls will be reduced. Most of the cafes exist with VoIP services, so they have continued those services although they are not allowed to do so,” said the Internet cafe owner.

Cafe owners, however, reportedly had to take down advertisements for overseas calls via VoIP services following the MPT instruction.

“When we were told to install CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras in our shops we merely followed the directive because it would affect our business if our customers were not comfortable with those cameras. Owners and customers are the victims of whatever nonsense things they [authorities] do. We can survive only if we have customers. Currently, I have taken out Pfingo shortcuts from computer desktops,” said a staff member of an Internet cafe in North Okkalapa.

He said most of the cyber cafes inside Burma have two main services—overseas communication through VoIP calls and regular Internet usage.

“We continue to provide customers with Pfingo and Skype services, depending on the situation. If people have to use a normal phone to call overseas they will become paupers since calling rates are very expensive. An Internet phone call is the easiest and cheapest way to communicate between those who are working abroad and living inside the country. There can be many problems if they are more restricted and cannot make such phone calls any longer,” added the staff member.

Internet cafes have reportedly charged people 50 kyat [US $0.06] per minute for calls to Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian countries, 200 kyat [$0.23] to the US and 400 kyat [$0.46] to South Africa.

The MPT, however, has reportedly fixed rates for overseas calls using its telephone lines at $1.75 per minute to Singapore, $1.40 to Thailand and $4.50 to the US.

A source close to Myanmar Info-Tech Co. Ltd., the public company responsible for issuing licenses to open Internet cafés across the country, told The Irrawaddy that the MPT's instruction is just an attempt to squeeze public access to the Internet.

“People have to use proxies to access Facebook. They may have the same experience in accessing Gtalk in the future. It is just the MPT's attempt to slow down the Internet speed so that people cannot use the Internet or have access to it easily,” said the source.

“It is hard to follow because they [the authorities] have changed systems from one to another quite often. Nothing has taken shape soundly due to such changes. They allowed Myanmar Info-Tech to issue licenses for PACs before, but have now revoked permission to do so after finding out that such licenses can be very beneficial to them,” the source said.

The MPT reportedly acquired the PAC licenses issuing permit from Myanmar Info-Tech in early April.

“Even though the MPT has taken over PAC licensing, Myanmar Info-Tech still has to take care of what it has issued. I am not sure if it will be allowed to continue to be involved in this process because of policy changes under the new government,” said a technician close to Myanmar Info-Tech.

“Shareholders at Myanmar Info-Tech are certainly not satisfied with the withdrawal of PAC licenses,” added the technician.

A total of 802 PACs across the country reportedly registered at Myanmar Info-Tech on February 28, including 557 in Rangoon. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21092
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Time for Refugees to Go Home?
By SAW YAN NAING Thursday, April 7, 2011

The governor of Thailand’s Tak Province, Samart Loifah, said it is time to consider repatriating voluntarily the Burmese refugees along the Thai-Burmese border, according to a report by Reuters' AlertNet.

Tak Province hosts thousands of Burmese refugees and many more migrants live and work in the province's main town, Mae Sot.

His comment came just a few days after Burmese dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe announced the dissolution of the State Peace and Development Council, the ruling regime in Burma since it seized power in a military coup in 1988.

Burma's notorious military junta officially transferred power to a new civilian government on March 30 led by ex-Gen Thein Sein who is the chairman of the junta’s proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

According to AlertNet, Loifah said Burma is no longer violent, and “we should start considering asking them [the refugees] to return voluntarily.”

He also urged international donors to reduce funding to the refugee camps to encourage people to leave Thailand, said the report.

There are around 145,000 people in nine Burmese camps along the Thai-Burmese border. The international aid group that supplies the camps, Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), said about 50,000 of the refugees have not been screened and are not registered with the Thai authorities.

Loifah reportedly said he would be happy to work with the European Union (EU) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) if they began decreasing funding on their assistance to the camps to persuade Burmese citizens to leave Thailand.

Loifah was quoted as saying: “Ideally, the province [Tak] would like to be able to set a deadline for closing these camps, but realistically it’s hard to do so because of international organizations.”

Sally Thompson, the deputy director of the TBBC, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that repatriation has always been considered by the Thai authorities as one of the solutions for the refugees, but the TBBC has not been given any indication that any repatriations are likely to happen in the near future.

She said that the TBBC has been told many times by the Thai authorities—including Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya—that there will be no forced repatriation to Burma, and that any repatriations will only be carried out voluntarily and in accordance with international standards.

“We have not being informed of any change to Thai policy on Burmese refugees,” said Thompson. “We have been encouraged to provide more livelihood training in the camps to better protect refugees for the day they are ready to return to Burma.”

The Tak governor has rejected international requests that Thailand restart an abandoned screening process to determine which persons are genuine refugees, as opposed to economic migrants.

Aid agencies and donors have asked Thailand to restart its refugee screening and registration process at the camps which they say has been dormant since 2005.

The UNHCR’s regional spokeswoman, Kitty McKinsey, said that repatriations are unlikely to happen at this moment even though many of the refugees wanted to return home.

McKinsey said that she has spoken to Burmese refugees about the issue, many of whom said they wanted to return home only when Burma becomes a democratic country.

The European Commission, UNHCR and the TBBC have pressed the Thai government to loosen restrictions on the movement of residents and allow them to work outside the camps so they become more socially integrated in Thailand.

Last month, an EU delegation visited the largest refugee camp at the border, Mae La, which has a population of between 45,000 and 50,000 refugees. Following the visit, the delegation said it will provide funds for career training to Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burmese border to empower them to support themselves, but that it must reduce annual aid and supplies to the displaced.

The project aims to help Mae La refugees make enough income to support themselves, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva told camp committees.

According to the TBBC, some 65,000 refugees have been resettled in third countries in the past five years, mainly in the US. The camp populations, however, remain about the same, partly due to births but also due to new arrivals.

During his trip to Mae La in October, Kasit said the Thai authorities will not send the refugees back by force, but will only repatriate them if the political situation in Burma improves. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21094
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China offers ‘hospitals-for-oil’ deal
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 7 April 2011

Burma's Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo attends the opening ceremony of a children's hospital in Rangoon, 13 March (Reuters)

Beijing has reportedly offered sweeteners to Burma in the form of hospitals if it speeds up work on oil and gas pipelines destined for Yunnan province.

Through the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), Burma could receive $US6 million to build new hospitals and improve its woeful healthcare facilities, the Times of India reported. The deal was mooted during the recent visit to Burma by top Chinese official Jia Qinglin.

Qinglin’s visit was the first by a senior ranking Chinese politician since Premier Wen Jiabao was there in June last year. Observers say it is a statement of Beijing’s outright support for the new Burmese government, as well as an attempt to further boost economic ties between the two countries that saw China inject nearly $US10 billion into the Burmese economy last year alone.

The trans-Burma Shwe pipeline project is one of the country’s largest foreign-funded ventures, and will pump some 15 million cubic metres of gas daily from blocks in the Bay of Bengal to China’s developing Yunnan province.

But China has in the past signalled a lack of confidence in the Burmese authorities’ ability to manage such a massive venture. In December last year it gave $US2.4 billion in loans to its southern neighbour, with speculation that it was aimed largely at speeding up construction of the pipelines. The recent offer of further aid may be an indication that the project is still not going smoothly.

Developments of this magnitude in Burma face a number of hurdles, not least the poor infrastructure and transport routes brought about by decades of economic mismanagement and government incompetence.

There is also the added issue of the volatility of certain parts of the pipeline’s route, most notably the final section in Shan state which runs close territory controlled by the opposition Shan State Army.

How the new government reacts to the offer of aid remains to be seen, given the historic lack of interest with which the country’s rulers have shown in the healthcare sector: Burma’s is ranked among the worst in the world, and the new budget announced last month does little to improve its prospects, allocating healthcare only 1.3 percent of total annual spending.

Critics of both China and Burma may also cry foul of hypocrisy, given allegations by rights groups that the Shwe project has led to the exploitation and abuse of civilians living nearby, as well as forced displacement on a large scale.

A recent report by EarthRights International documented several cases of human rights abuses along the pipeline route, and “numerous instances of land confiscation without adequate compensation”.

The pipeline also remains key to the government’s grip on power, with somewhere in the region of $US30 billion expected to be generated over the three decades after it comes online in 2013.
http://www.dvb.no/news/china-offers-%E2%80%98hospitals-for-oil%E2%80%99-deal/15213
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Bangladesh seeks Burmese gas
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 7 April 2011

Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina has sought to build closer ties with Burma (Reuters)

Bangladesh is reportedly holding talks with the Burmese regime to secure gas after a official from Dhaka described his country’s reserves as “limited”.

“New scientific calculations have shown that there is limited gas reserve,” said the deputy High Commissioner to India, Mustafizur Rahman. “We are planning to import gas from Malaysia and Indonesia,” adding that Bangladesh was also “in talks with the Myanmarese [Burmese] government for importing gas”.

If a deal is done it will be a major boost to bilateral relations between the two countries, which had in the past soured after Bangladesh alleged Burma was encroaching on its maritime territory. This lead to a naval stand-off in 2009.

In 2008, the energy advisor to the then-Bangladeshi military government, Dr. M Tamim, said that “Lun Thi [Burma's energy minister] informed us that Myanmar does not have enough gas now for supply to Bangladesh as it has made agreements with China and Thailand for gas supply from the exiting reserve.”

Both the interim military government in Bangladesh and the current government of Sheik Hasina has sought to build ties with its eastern neighbour, but the energy-starved nation will be sorely disappointed that its search for gas in the Bay of Bengal has not been more fruitful.

Bangladesh has also been looking into the possibility of importing hydro-electric power from Burma, mirroring Chinese projects in the country that have similarly looked to exploit the potential of Burma’s rivers.

The warming of relations between Bangladesh and Burma was evidenced by the recent commencement of work on a rail link connecting the two countries, with the opening ceremony attended by Prime Minister Hasina.

Bangladesh meanwhile has also looked into importing hydro-electricity from Bhutan through India to meet its energy shortfall, with electricity supply some 1800 megawatts short of demand.
http://www.dvb.no/news/bangladesh-seeks-burmese-gas/15222
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President told of farmers’ abuse
By AYE NAI
Published: 7 April 2011

More than 130 farmers in central Burma have filed a complaint directly to President Thein Sein in which they call for action on cases of abuses and land confiscation.

The group of farmers, from Sisayan village in Magwe division, claim that five of them had their land confiscated in January by the military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEH). One farmer, Than Oo, also recounted an incident on 21 March in which he was beaten by a group of unknown men.

Now the UMEH is attempting to sue the five men, alleging they themselves are guilty of physical and verbal assault, and trespassing on the land confiscated from them.

The letter, which was also sent to Burma’s head attorney and chief justice, describes how their land was seized by the UMEH, as well as Htoo Trading Company, to build a caustic soda factory. One subsequent lawsuit filed by the farmers against the confiscation was rejected by a local Magwe court.

Furthermore, Rangoon-based legal consultant Aung Thein, who has been following the case, claims that after Than Oo’s beating he was dragged into a portable cabin on the factory construction site. The assailants then called authorities and claimed Than Oo had stoned the office building, injuring one person.

Such reversals of accusations are common in Burma, where farmers have few legal aids to resort to and often become the victim land grabs as the government looks to aggressively expand infrastructural projects. Rampant corruption also allows state-backed enterprises to ignore flimsy laws surrounding land confiscation.

A court session was held in Kanma township on Tuesday to hear the UMEH’s prosecution case, but judges have reportedly referred it to a more senior-level court Upper Minhla township for “security reasons”, although specific details are not known.

Aung Thein said that it is hard to predict how the new government will deal with cases such as these. Ironically, Thein Sein said in a speech last week that he would improve the livelihood of farmers in Burma, where around 60 percent of the population is reliant on agriculture as a chief source of income.
http://www.dvb.no/news/president-told-of-farmers%E2%80%99-abuse/15205
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Burma needs to erase the dictatorial traditions
Thu, 2011-04-07 00:10 — editor

By Zin Linn

Burma's military regime has been publicly dissolved, according to state televisions and newspapers, after the country swore in a new president on 30 March.

Referring to an order signed by junta’s chief Than Shwe, said “The State Peace and Development Council will be disbanded after the swearing-in ceremony for the new government and parliaments."

Besides, the new president also made a speech to his members of Union Government, heads of Union level organizations at a ceremony to take heed of presidential address on 31 March.

In his speech, President Thein Sein underlined that the newly formed Union Government “to be a clean government.”

He said, “To be a clean government, we must abstain from corruption and bribery, which tarnishes the image of the nation and the people. Therefore, we have not only refrain from it, but also ensure that the organizations stay away from it. What is very important is that we must not abuse the mandate in the interest of our friends and relatives. Only then, can our government be recognized as a clean government.”

But all the governmental practices are still continuing the same as under the SPDC. Even the township and village level administrations remain the status quo. Corruptions and briberies are at large constantly.

On 5 April, An alliance of democratic political parties - Friends of Democratic Parties - pushed for the new President Thein Sein’s government to start putting into practice the words made in his inauguration speeches without delay.

The 10-party alliance - including Democratic Party of Myanmar (DPM), National Democratic Force (NDF) and five ethnic parties - released a statement urging the Thein Sein Government to carry out the objectives mentioned by him in his speeches on March 30 and 31 concerning the reconstruction of the nation and starting of national reconciliation.

The eight-point statement signed by party leaders called for a general amnesty for political prisoners in the country and the convening of an all-inclusive union conference looking for reconciliation, as said by Democratic Voice of Burma.

The statement says, “In order to implement the objectives practically, we are calling for endorsement of a general amnesty decree for all political prisoners in the country and all those who are in exile for their different political opinions. And we call for the new government to sponsor organizing of all-inclusive union convention, with everyone involved in the over six-decade long civil war. By that mean, the government should find a solution to end the conflict, said the statement.”

The 10-party alliance suggests the new government to do the job as early as possible proving its true benevolence toward genuine national reconciliation.

Although the junta officially transferred power to the Thein Sein government, corruption, forced-labour and land-confiscation cases are going on throughout the country. Chairman of Democratic Party of Myanmar Thu Wei recommended that governmental institutions should take the president’s speeches seriously, while political parties need to be constantly reminding them.

All government departments such as administration and judicial bodies should follow these words precisely for the country, said Thu Wei.

According to Thu Wei, corruption is one of the issues mainly impeding the people. So, political parties need to keep reminding the new government about such wrongdoing until action is taken. Political parties should not just depend on the government; they need to criticize them simultaneously.

He also urged the Affair Committees in the Parliament to take responsibilities, scrutinizing the president’s promises and responsibilities to push for implementation of his pledge. Some of its members said, the 10-party alliance will keep an eye on the new government’s measures to find out whether the president takes adequate measures’ to implement his promises or not.

The key question is that the president or the government has not enough decision-making powers. It is under the control of the National Defense and Security Council in which the military faction is the majority and the commander-in-chief has the supreme authority.

So, people cannot enjoy freedom of information, freedom of association and freedom of communication at all. The new government cannot start practicing of power sharing among the respective admin departments. Even a department head or a high-court judge daren’t to make a decision by themselves rather than waiting an instruction from a high-ranking official.

Most of the government officials and employees are used to obey the instructions of the military officers. They also believe that taking bribe is a birthright opportunity for government officials.

It is obvious; Burma’s new government has new civilian clothes but it still keeping on the old inexcusable practices. Burma may not change straightforwardly into a democratic society without erasing the dictatorial traditions.

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/04/06/burma-needs-erase-dictatorial-traditions

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