News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 26 April, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 26 April, 2011
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Ex-soldier shines light on hidden Burma war
Mon Chief Minister Speaks, Receives Mixed Reviews
Authorities Crack Down on Use of Cash Substitutes
Bangladesh to be Thein Sein's First International Stop
Myanmar urged to engage with US
Border force defects, attacks Burma unit
Thailand begins migrant ‘slave’ probe
Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily
No sleep lost over a few frozen euros
Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily
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Bangkok Post
Ex-soldier shines light on hidden Burma war

Published: 26/04/2011 at 09:31 AM
Online news: Asia

As protests engulfed Burma in 1988, Myo Myint faced a stark decision. A soldier missing an arm and a leg, he believed he could persuade the army to show mercy if he spoke out. Or he could be shot.

Former Burmese soldier turned pro-democracy activist Myo Myint speaks at the US State Department in Washington, on April 25, during the screening of the award-winning HBO film "Burma Soldier."

Lifting himself by his crutches, Myo Myint took to the podium outside the military base. He wasn't shot and he won over soldiers who demonstrated in uniform. But soon he was tracked down and sentenced to 15 dire years in prison.

Now, however, Myo Myint has an audience as never before. A documentary on his life -- including on his fateful choice to dissent -- will air next month on US cable channel HBO and is being distributed clandestinely in Burma.

"Burma Soldier," using the earlier name for Burma, features smuggled footage as it traces Myo Myint from the front lines of the ethnic war to the confines of prison to his new life as a refugee in the United States.

In an unusual step, the State Department held a public screening of "Burma Soldier." Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia who has spearheaded an engagement drive with Burma, called the film "torturous."

"It's one of the most powerful things I have ever seen," Campbell said Monday. "But at the same time it's incredibly inspirational."

Myo Myint was born in 1963, a year after the military seized power in the ethnically diverse former British colony. In the film, he said that he grew up wanting to be treated as a soldier but observed in hindsight, "I didn't know the difference between people acting out of respect and acting out of fear."

At age 17, he was already serving as an army "engineer," which meant laying and clearing land mines. He recalled that the army would burn down homes at will, forcing villagers from ethnic minority groups to haul heavy equipment and to build roads.

In one graphic account, Myo Myint remembered how soldiers seized a young minority woman and raped her throughout the night. Later, he heard several shots and there was no further sign of her among the slave laborers.

After he was hit by a mortar that nearly cost him his life, Myo Myint was transferred to a hospital in the largest city Rangoon and discovered the texts of Buddhism and other religions. With his pension money, he bought banned books on history and politics.

Vowing "I will fight for peace," the soldier sought out Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy campaigner icon who later won the Nobel Peace Prize.

After his arrest in 1989, Myo Myint said he was forced into a hood stained by someone else's blood and was tortured with water. He said he was not allowed to read or write for 10 of his 15 years in prison, although guards occasionally smuggled him pens or books.

After his release, Myo Myint fled across the border to Mae Sot, Thailand, and in 2008 flew to Fort Wayne in the Midwestern state of Indiana, a US hub for refugees from Burma.

Attending the State Department screening of his film, Myo Myint pleaded for international pressure to free more than 2,000 political prisoners still in Burma and to stop Thailand from closing refugee camps.

"As a former refugee and a former political prisoner, I would like to request you to do whatever you can for the refugees along the Thai-Burma border," he said.

Thailand recently said it would send more than 100,000 refugees back to Burma, saying that they had become a burden and pointing to the military's recent handover to a new post-election government. Critics say that Burma's changes have been purely cosmetic.

Journalist Nic Dunlop started work on "Burma Soldier" after meeting Myo Myint in Thailand. The film was produced by Julie LeBrocquy, a former bond trader who now focuses on making movies on otherwise overlooked subjects.

LeBrocquy said the film was also released in Burma through its network of unofficial distributors and bootleggers and that it "seems to be a blockbuster there in a Burmese way."

"I hope that this film has given a way for his voice not just to be heard in the West but to be heard in Burma, which is where it really matters," she said. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/233776/ex-soldier-shines-light-on-hidden-burma-war
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Mon Chief Minister Speaks, Receives Mixed Reviews
By LAWI WENG Tuesday, April 26, 2011

MUDON, Burma—Speaking on April 17 to hundreds of Mon people at a festival in Mudon Township, Mon State Chief Minister Ohn Myint declared that his new government will work towards bringing peace and development to the state.

“We just formed our new government, which will bring development and build peace and stability in Mon State,” said Ohn Myint, speaking at an event commemorating the placing of the symbolic umbrella on top of the Kyaik Zel Pagoda in Kamarwat village.

The Mon people in attendance wore traditional Mon dress of red and white, and Ohn Myint, a former general in the Burmese army who is an ethnic Mon, said hello in the Mon language and mentioned that he was born in Mudon Township.

But his presence at the ceremony required the monks to chant in both the Mon and Burmese language, eliciting complaints from Mon observers who wished only to hear the chants in Mon.

Two Mon ministers in the new Mon State government who accompanied Ohn Myint were Min Nwe Soe, the social and cultural minister, and Nai Lawi Oung, the energy and electric minister. Both wore traditional Mon wear. Both are members of the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMRDP).

Ohn Myint carried the umbrella to the pagoda, while the two Mon ministers carried other equipment for the ceremonial crowning.

Many participants in the celebration expressed happiness at seeing two Mon men appointed as members of the new state government, believing the two representatives will fight for issues important to the Mon people.

They were encouraged by the fact that, after Naypyidaw announced the members of the new Mon State government, Min Nwe Soe met with Mon farmers in different villages and asked about their needs.

The farmers in Kamarwat and Kalawthut villages discussed ways to remedy the fact that a dam in Abisht village in Mudon Township had destroyed over 5,000 acres of farmland and the owners have not been given a chance to request compensation.

“I believe he [Min Nwe Soe] will work to get us new farmland,” said Nai Sein, a community leader in Kamarwat village whose 10 acres of land were destroyed by the dam.

However, Nai Aung Kyi, a farmer from Kalathut village, and other ethnic Mon said that they are worried the new government will be the same as under the military regime.

Some question how the two Mon ministers will be able to help when they still receive orders from old members of the military regime who are now national ministers and members of parliament.

They pointed out that the new government has offered incentives to newly appointed ministers such as cars, homes and good salaries.

Both of the new Mon ministers have received cars since being appointed. In addition, the government is currently building new housing in Moulmein, Mon State where new government ministers will reside.

“They [the two Mon ministers] will only get this opportunity one time if they do not work for the Mon,” said Tun Naing, a member of the All Mon Regions Democracy Party. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21183
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Authorities Crack Down on Use of Cash Substitutes
By THE IRRAWADDY Tuesday, April 26, 2011

RANGOON — The Burmese authorities have threatened to take action against businesses that use tokens and other items, such as cheroots and packets of instant coffee, as substitutes for small-denomination banknotes when giving change to customers.

The practice, which is widespread at shopping centers and on public transport buses, is a result of a shortage of 100- and 200-kyat notes, which are worth around 12 and 24 US cents, respectively. Although the government has recently introduced larger denominations, many of the smaller banknotes have been in circulation for years and have become all but unusable.

Businesses that continue using cash substitutes face severe penalties under existing monetary laws, according to the officials.

An official of the Rangoon regional government told The Irrawaddy that shopping centers, retailers and owners of public transportation companies have been warned that legal action will be taken against them if they fail to comply with the orders.

“The tokens are stamped with the logo of the shop that issued them, so they are not usable anywhere else. This is a clear abuse of consumers' rights,” said the official.

Local shop owners expressed concern about the move, which they said would likely add to difficulties facing small businesses that routinely use small notes in transactions.

“Offering tokens is way to deal with the shortage of 100- and 200-kyat notes. Many customers don't want to receive instant coffee mix or shampoo packs as change when they buy something, so they prefer tokens. Now we really don’t know what we're going to do,” said the manager of a shopping center, who estimated that the number of small notes was only about a fifth of what was required.

A housewife in Rangoon's Mayangone Township said that the tokens are “better than nothing,” but the best thing would be for the government to issue more small kyat notes. “The ones in circulation now are so old and dirty you don’t' even want to touch them,” she said.

As is generally the case in Burma, where the shortcomings of the official system often create unique business opportunities for enterprising black marketeers, the lack of 100- and 200-kyat notes has been a boon for some.

The owner of a grocery store at Rangoon's Bayintnaung Market complained that he has to pay 1,000 kyat for 900 kyat worth of small notes. Sometimes, he said, he is lucky to get just 800 kyat for a 1,000 kyat note, and often he can't get all the small bills he needs at any price.

The banknote shortage has also recently given rise to some impromptu gambling, whereby customers are invited to bet the amount of change they are owed for a chance to win a larger, more readily available banknote.

“When I was on the No. 204 bus the other day, the ticket collector asked me to bet my change on the serial number of the banknote I gave him, because he didn't have any small notes to return 100 kyat to me. If I won, I would get 200 kyat. If I lost, I got nothing,” said a resident of Kamaryut Township in Rangoon.

An economist in Rangoon pointed out that the cash substitute system implemented by some businesses brought no benefits to customers, as there was no assurance that the cash substitutes could be reclaimed at the assigned shops. The government, therefore, should produce more new small-denomination notes and coins.

“This problem is directly related to the government's insufficient distribution of 100- and 200-kyat notes. Some businessmen have exploited this situation, which makes matters even worse for ordinary consumers. For the sake of the people's interests, the government should distribute more new small-value notes or replace the old banknotes with new ones,” he said.

The shortage of small banknotes doesn't just affect Rangoon, Burma's major commercial center. In January, authorities in Maungtaw, Arakan State, seized 900,000 kyat (US $1,016) worth of 50-, 100- and 200 kyat notes. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21180
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Bangladesh to be Thein Sein's First International Stop
By SAI ZOM HSENG Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Bangladesh will be the first international destination for ex-Gen Thein Sein since becoming Burma's new president, according to the country's ambassador to Bangladesh.

“The newly elected Burmese president decided to visit the Asian countries and start in Bangladesh,” Min Lwin, Burma's newly appointed ambassador to Bangladesh, was quoted by Dhaka's The Daily Star News as telling Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman when they met on Thursday.

The Daily Star News article said that the Burmese government is keen to solve all major problems between the two countries, including the Rohingya issue.

After his trip to Bangladesh, President Thein Sein will most likely attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia at early May, according to observers.

Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief of Burma's Air Force, Lt-Gen Myat Hein, and six other high-ranking Air Force officers arrived in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Saturday for a six-day visit.

The trip constitutes the first visit of high-ranking Burmese officials to Bangladesh since 2008, when a maritime dispute that included the deployment of naval vessels broke out between the two countries after Burma began gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Dhaka-based Narinjara news group editor Khine Myat Kyaw said, “He [Myat Hein] came as a military representative. So they are going to talk about bilateral military issues.”

According to reports from Dhaka, Myat Hein met and discussed matters of mutual interest with Bangladesh's Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal, SM Ziaur Rahman and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral ZU Ahmed.

The Burmese delegation came to Dhaka to discuss bilateral military issues between the two countries, and the Burmese Air Force chief planned to visit some military institutes and bases in Dhaka and other towns during his trip, according to reports from Bangladesh.

In 2008, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye led a delegation of more than 50 members to Dhaka and signed deals related to the prevention of double taxation, the establishment of a joint commission and the exchange of cultural cooperation.

Small scale border and maritime disputes are common between Burma and Bangladesh. On April 3, Bangladesh established a new Air Force base on the opposite side of the border from Maungdaw, Arakan State, raising tensions between the two nations.

The maritime disputes are likely to end this year as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will reportedly deliver its verdict on the case before year end.http://204.93.223.218/article.php?art_id=21177
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Myanmar urged to engage with US
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON --

The United States on Monday urged military-dominated Myanmar to embrace its offer of talks and improve human rights as a path toward international acceptance.

The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, said Washington's efforts in the past 18 months to engage Myanmar's government had failed.

He said despite the release of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the United States still is troubled by abuses of ethnic minorities, detention of political prisoners and a lack of democratic reform.

The most recent senior U.S. official to visit Yangon, Joseph Yun, said the rulers of Myanmar, also known as Burma, were wrong in thinking they would not gain from engaging the U.S.

"I really urge the Burmese government that there will be something in it. In the end, they have to join the international community," he said.

Both officials were speaking at the screening at the State Department of "Burma Soldier," a documentary of the life of Myo Myint, who served in Myanmar's military but later became an advocate for peace and democracy, for which he was jailed for 15 years.

President Barack Obama this month nominated a special envoy to Myanmar to push forward a two-track policy of offering dialogue with the regime while maintaining pressure through sanctions, including on trade and investment.

Despite its desire to build an international consensus on Myanmar, Washington's stance remains at odds with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a member. ASEAN has called for sanctions to be lifted after Yangon staged elections in November that ushered in a new government said to be civilian but still dominated by the military.

The U.S. says it is looking for Myanmar to first release its more than 2,000 political prisoners and allow a political role of Suu Kyi, whose party won polls in 1990 but was barred from taking power.

Yun claimed there was growing support among ASEAN in pushing for reform. "There's a wide degree of recognition that what happens among them is not just a matter for a single country alone," he said.

He said India and China were less understanding of the U.S.'s firm stance on the need for human rights. Both are powerful neighbors of Myanmar that have expanded investment and retain strong ties with the military.

"In my assessment their strategic considerations come first, and thereafter other issues, and that would include human rights," Yun said.

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/04/25/3014300/myanmar-urged-to-engage-with-us.html#ixzz1KcQqk0km
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Border force defects, attacks Burma unit
By NAW NOREEN
Published: 26 April 2011

Troops from the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army who last year agreed to become a border force have now reneged and last week destroyed a weapons cache belonging to their former unit.

Twenty-nine troops from Border Guard Force (BGF) 1012, based in Karen state’s Myainggyingu, said they are also preparing to join sides with the Karen National Union, which has been fighting the Burmese regime for more than six decades.

Three soldiers from BGF 1012 died in the Myainggyingu assault on 22 April, in which the 29 set fire to an armoury and destroyed heavy weapons ammunition.

Yesterday, additional troops launched a second attack on a Burmese army battalion in Kamamaung, setting fire to a ration storage and razing an armoury.

Contact has already been made between the BGF 1012 defectors and the Karen National Union (KNU), according to a commander in its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).

Colonel Hpaw Do said however that it was unclear why the unit, led by company leader Hpa Mee, defected.

It becomes one of the most prominent defections since the DKBA acceded to demands by the Burmese army last year and became a Border Guard Force.

Following the transformation, a faction led by renegade commander Na Kham Mwe in November last year launched an attack on the Burmese border town of Myawaddy. His unit is also now fighting alongside the KNLA.

Yesterday afternoon a clash broke out between Karen troops, among them Na Kham Mwe’s faction, and the Burmese army in Kyarinnseikgyi township.

“Around 2.30pm, DKBA and KNLA forces launched a joint attack at the police station in Azin [village in Kyarinnseikgyi township] near where [the Burmese army’s] LIB-371 is based. We still don’t know the causalities yet,” said Major San Aung of the DKBA.

He said a civilian was killed and three injured in another fight that took place on Sunday in Kyarinnseikgyi’s Kyeikdon sub-township. San Aung said three Burmese army personnel were also injured.
http://www.dvb.no/news/border-force-defects-attacks-burma-unit/15396
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Thailand begins migrant ‘slave’ probe
By MAHN SAIMON
Published: 26 April 2011

Police in Thailand have begun an investigation into the nearly 60 Burmese migrants who were freed last week after being locked up and forced to work for months in a garment factory in Bangkok.

A lawyer from the Lawyer Council of Thailand said the police are looking at a lawsuit filed by the Burmese Association of Thailand (BAT) and are being closely being watched by Thai NGOs.

The factory employers are to face at least three separate charges and if found guilty, could pay compensation to the migrants and serve prison terms of at least 10 years.

“Denying standard wages for the workers is a violation of both the labour and the criminal law, and they are also to be charged under the human trafficking law,” said the lawyer. “There is 10 year jail term for the human trafficking charge alone if found guilty.”

He said it is likely the defendants will do their best to defend themselves given the seriousness of the penalties, and so it is important the migrants are assisted by their home country’s government.

On 19 April Thai authorities raided a factory in Bangkok’s Ding Daeng area and freed nearly 60 undocumented Burmese migrants who had been enslaved in the building for as long as eight months.

Kyaw Thaung of the BAT said the Burmese embassy in Bangkok made a contact with the organisation three days after the migrants were freed to enquire about the situation.

“They phoned us on 22 April around 9pm and asked to help them out getting some details about the case,” said Kyaw Thaung.

The Burmese embassy, which is notoriously ignorant about the plight of migrant workers in Thailand, has been unusually attentive since the new government was sworn in in March. In the past month the embassy donated 10,000THB ($US335) for victims of a car crash in Mahachai area in which five Burmese migrants were killed.

The freed migrants, having no legal work permits in Thailand, are being kept at a temporary [government] guesthouse in Pathum Thani while 15 females are in a security guesthouse in Nonthaburi.
http://www.dvb.no/news/thailand-begins-migrant-%E2%80%98slave%E2%80%99-probe/15401
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Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily
Analysis by Larry Jagan

BANGKOK, Apr 26, 2011 (IPS) - Already Burma’s new civilian government poses problems for its Asian allies as it tries to woo the international community. The month-old quasi-civilian administration, led by President Thein Sein has launched a new diplomatic charm offensive in an effort to get international approval for the cosmetic changes that have been introduced under the guise of a new civilian government.

The President’s first priority is to ensure that the region endorses the changes – and in a move to consolidate that, the Thein Sein has already written to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, renewing their bid to become chairman of the organisation.

It is the first salvo in a new diplomatic offensive to secure regional and international credibility for the new government and reduce its international isolation.

"The Thein Sein regime is desperate for international recognition," said Win Min, a Burmese academic currently based in the United States. "It’s crucial for them to gain credibility and a measure of respectability for their new so-called civilian government."

But this diplomatic offensive on the part of the Burmese leaders will inevitably increase tension between the West, which still supports sanctions against the regime, and Asia, which is keen to integrate Burma into the region’s economy and strategic structures. Burma’s diplomatic initiatives are only likely to intensify the divisions between Asia and the West – especially the U.S. – on how to cope with the problems posed by Burma’s strategic aims.

While the U.S. appointed a special envoy, Derek Mitchell, and the European Union’s revised visa restrictions on government ministers may signal a new preparedness to deal with the new Burmese government, what Burma wants more than tacit recognition, is approval and support, especially from the region.

Immediately after being sworn in as President, Thein Sein wrote to the ASEAN secretariat asking the organisation to accept Burma’s bid to become chairman in 2014.

In 2004, Burma skipped the chance to become chairman in 2006, amid international pressure on the group to reject Burma’s turn to chair the regional bloc. Now the government is anxious to take its turn again – and wants ASEAN’s approval at the forthcoming ASEAN summit in Indonesia next month.

But some of Burma’s neighbours remain wary of being used as a pawn in Burma’s global mission to prove the new government represents a significant change - from a naked military dictatorship to pluralist power structure.

The bottom line for many countries in the region is that Burma has always been a thorn in ASEAN’s side, ever since it joined in 1997, and has been a major obstacle to smoother and deeper relations with its strategic partners, especially Europe and the United States.

The emergence of a new civilian government under President Thein Sein has only complicated the situation, especially as the new Burmese administration seeks to get the region’s approval and bolster its international credibility as a legitimately elected government.

China has already been very supportive – and a senior Chinese political leader was the first international visitor to Naypyidaw, only days after the new regime was sworn in. But it is ASEAN approval that Burma craves.

At the ASEAN summit in Hanoi last year Thein Sein – then under Than Shwe’s instructions – pushed for Burma to be given the chairmanship in 2011. The top general’s aim was to have ASEAN endorse the new civilian government by giving it the ASEAN chairmanship. But the request was rejected – and Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei were conferred as the next three chairs – leaving 2014 as the earliest Burma could expect to become the head of the organisation.

This was a clear message to Burma that concrete change was expected before the new government could become the chairman of ASEAN. It was the only way we could communicate our irritation at being kept in the dark over the planned elections and political change, the ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan told Inter Press Service in an interview in Hanoi immediately after the meeting.

"ASEAN is very much interested in the peaceful national reconciliation in Myanmar and whatever happens there will have implications in ASEAN, positive or negative," he said.

Now the countries of ASEAN have been left in a deepening quandary. They want to pressure the Burmese government to become more democratic and transparent while maintaining whatever influence they have on the regime.

"We have to continue to engage with the Myanmar government," Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva told correspondents in Bangkok recently. "If we hadn’t that stance, the situation inside the country would be much worse."

Now it seems the issue of Burma’s chairmanship of ASEAN has returned to haunt the organisation – as it did more than ten years ago. But it is the only leverage the countries of the region have over the regime in Naypyidaw.

"Bullying, coaxing and admonishing them has had no effect," an Asia diplomat with long contact with the top Burmese leadership said. "If we push too hard they will simply close the door on us, or worse, leave the organisation unilaterally."

The chairmanship of the organisation may be the only clout ASEAN has with the Burmese regime. But more importantly ASEAN also knows that relations with their main strategic partners – especially Australia, the EU and the U.S. – will almost inevitably be put at risk.

Washington has already chipped into the controversy indicating it would be reluctant to work closely with Burma as its chair. "Obviously, we would have concerns about Burma in any kind of leadership role because of their poor human rights record and domestically," the State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, recently told reporters in Washington.

So Burma’s diplomatic charm offensive may have already further fuelled the furore between the West and Asia over how to handle Burma; and instead of reducing tension between the two spheres, Burma’s so-called civilian government may have only become another bone of contention between them. (END) http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=55389
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No sleep lost over a few frozen euros

Published: April 26 2011 01:28 | Last updated: April 26 2011 01:28

From Mr Mark Farmaner.

Sir, Derek Tonkin (Letters, April 20) is right to state that we cannot pretend that European Union sanctions on Burma are tough. He provides an example of this by mistakenly referring to regime assets being frozen, but there being none to freeze. In fact, the asset freeze is applied only to regime members who are on a visa ban list, not the regime’s assets. Several hundred thousand euros have been frozen, but nothing significant enough to give the generals sleepless nights. This is just one example of how toothless many EU sanctions are.

Today there are no EU sanctions that would, for example, prevent European oil companies investing in Burma’s gas sector. It has been argued that sanctions have been tried and have failed, but in fact tough-targeted sanctions have not yet been imposed.

For more than 15 years Burma Campaign UK has been one of the organisations leading the call for targeted economic sanctions. We would welcome a genuine independent review of how sanctions could be used more effectively. There can be no doubt that they are a tool that can have an impact on the dictatorship. Why else would they ensure that one of the first motions they pushed through their new parliament was one that condemns sanctions? As the Burmese Army continues to gun down ethnic minority civilians on a daily basis, no one can seriously believe it is out of concern that sanctions have an impact on ordinary people.

Mark Farmaner,

Director,

Burma Campaign UK,

London N1, UK

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c23468fe-6f8c-11e0-952c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1KcNdHMVg
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Asian Allies Back Burma Uneasily
By LARRY JAGAN / IPS WRITER Tuesday, April 26, 2011

BANGKOK — Already Burma’s new civilian government poses problems for its Asian allies as it tries to woo the international community. The month-old quasi-civilian administration, led by President Thein Sein has launched a new diplomatic charm offensive in an effort to get international approval for the cosmetic changes that have been introduced under the guise of a new civilian government.

The President’s first priority is to ensure that the region endorses the changes – and in a move to consolidate that, the Thein Sein has already written to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, renewing their bid to become chairman of the organisation.

It is the first salvo in a new diplomatic offensive to secure regional and international credibility for the new government and reduce its international isolation.

"The Thein Sein regime is desperate for international recognition," said Win Min, a Burmese academic currently based in the United States. "It’s crucial for them to gain credibility and a measure of respectability for their new so-called civilian government."

But this diplomatic offensive on the part of the Burmese leaders will inevitably increase tension between the West, which still supports sanctions against the regime, and Asia, which is keen to integrate Burma into the region’s economy and strategic structures. Burma’s diplomatic initiatives are only likely to intensify the divisions between Asia and the West–especially the US– on how to cope with the problems posed by Burma’s strategic aims.

While the US appointed a special envoy, Derek Mitchell, and the European Union’s revised visa restrictions on government ministers may signal a new preparedness to deal with the new Burmese government, what Burma wants more than tacit recognition, is approval and support, especially from the region.

Immediately after being sworn in as President, Thein Sein wrote to the Asean secretariat asking the organisation to accept Burma’s bid to become chairman in 2014.

In 2004, Burma skipped the chance to become chairman in 2006, amid international pressure on the group to reject Burma’s turn to chair the regional bloc. Now the government is anxious to take its turn again—and wants ASEAN’s approval at the forthcoming Asean summit in Indonesia next month.

But some of Burma’s neighbours remain wary of being used as a pawn in Burma’s global mission to prove the new government represents a significant change - from a naked military dictatorship to pluralist power structure.

The bottom line for many countries in the region is that Burma has always been a thorn in Asean’s side, ever since it joined in 1997, and has been a major obstacle to smoother and deeper relations with its strategic partners, especially Europe and the United States.

The emergence of a new civilian government under President Thein Sein has only complicated the situation, especially as the new Burmese administration seeks to get the region’s approval and bolster its international credibility as a legitimately elected government.

China has already been very supportive—and a senior Chinese political leader was the first international visitor to Naypyidaw, only days after the new regime was sworn in. But it is Asean approval that Burma craves.

At the Asean summit in Hanoi last year Thein Sein—then under Than Shwe’s instructions—pushed for Burma to be given the chairmanship in 2011. The top general’s aim was to have Asean endorse the new civilian government by giving it the Asean chairmanship. But the request was rejected—and Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei were conferred as the next three chairs—leaving 2014 as the earliest Burma could expect to become the head of the organisation.

This was a clear message to Burma that concrete change was expected before the new government could become the chairman of Asean. It was the only way we could communicate our irritation at being kept in the dark over the planned elections and political change, the Asean secretary general Surin Pitsuwan told Inter Press Service in an interview in Hanoi immediately after the meeting.

"Asean is very much interested in the peaceful national reconciliation in Myanmar and whatever happens there will have implications in Asean, positive or negative," he said.

Now the countries of Asean have been left in a deepening quandary. They want to pressure the Burmese government to become more democratic and transparent while maintaining whatever influence they have on the regime.

"We have to continue to engage with the Myanmar government," Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva told correspondents in Bangkok recently."If we hadn’t that stance, the situation inside the country would be much worse."

Now it seems the issue of Burma’s chairmanship of Asean has returned to haunt the organisation­as it did more than ten years ago. But it is the only leverage the countries of the region have over the regime in Naypyidaw.

"Bullying, coaxing and admonishing them has had no effect," an Asia diplomat with long contact with the top Burmese leadership said. "If we push too hard they will simply close the door on us, or worse, leave the organisation unilaterally."

The chairmanship of the organisation may be the only clout Asean has with the Burmese regime. But more importantly Asean also knows that relations with their main strategic partners­especially Australia, the EU and the US­will almost inevitably be put at risk.

Washington has already chipped into the controversy indicating it would be reluctant to work closely with Burma as its chair. "Obviously, we would have concerns about Burma in any kind of leadership role because of their poor human rights record and domestically," the State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, recently told reporters in Washington.

So Burma’s diplomatic charm offensive may have already further fuelled the furore between the West and Asia over how to handle Burma; and instead of reducing tension between the two spheres, Burma’s so-called civilian government may have only become another bone of contention between them.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21179

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