BURMA RELATED NEWS - MARCH 01, 2012-utk

*************************************************** BURMA RELATED NEWS - MARCH 01, 2012 *************************************************** AFP - Show goes on for Myanmar political satirists The Canadian Press - Nobel laureate Suu Kyi says sanctions help nudge Myanmar toward democracy Reuters - Myanmar's Suu Kyi says reforms could be reversed AP - Myanmar election body rejects challenge to Suu Kyi AP - Myanmar relaxes grip on media, vows end to censors Asian Correspondent - Will Burma make changes in media laws? CNBC - Myanmar Like a Rich Child Living Off Trust Fund: Suu Kyi Europe Online Magazine - Myanmar opposition leader advises wait-and-see stance on sanctions NPR - How Far Will The Changes In Myanmar Go? Bangkok Post - A portrait of Myanmar GlobalPost - Burma economy: Chasing riches? Mind the Karen guerrillas GlobalPost - Are half of Burma's poppy fields up in smoke? VOA News - Burmese Focus on Aung San Suu Kyi's Campaign Trail Asia News Network - Reform in Burma irreversible - aide Asia News Network - Opium production rises in the region Chicago Tribune - REFILE-Myanmar poll could be last sanctions hurdle-EU MPs TTR Weekly - Thai AirAsia eyes Myanmar capital The Japan Times - Yen loans for Myanmar to resume MSNBC - International tourists set sights on Burma The Irrawaddy - Is Suu Kyi Heading for a Cabinet Position? The Irrawaddy - No Saying No to Rehab in KIA Territory The Irrawaddy - MPs to Debate President's Office $750m Budget Mizzima News - China’s charity role along Burmese pipelines route praised Mizzima News - Burma’s gem show set for March Mizzima News - Ruling soon in footwear strike in Rangoon Mizzima News - TV staff told not to get excited about Suu Kyi’s studio visit DVB News - ‘No chance of Than Shwe returning’: aide DVB News - Villagers on trial for resisting relocation DVB News - Humour still weapon of protest in Burma *************************************************** Show goes on for Myanmar political satirists By Felipe Villamor | AFP – 6 hrs ago After years of lampooning the junta, Myanmar's Moustache Brothers aren't ready to stop poking fun at the regime yet, despite dramatic changes that mean laughter is no longer such a risky business. With nothing more than their sharp wit, the sexagenarian members of one of the long-isolated country's most famous comedy troupes are perhaps among the bravest dissidents to have stood up to the generals. And they pull no punches when it comes to the new army-backed government that took power last year after almost half a century of outright military rule ended in the country formerly known as Burma. "It's old wine in a different bottle," said Par Par Lay, 64, also known as "Brother Number One". Officially banned and blacklisted, the act counts pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi among its fans, but these days they perform in English to growing numbers of foreign tourists at their nightly show in their home city Mandalay. With the regime embarking on a series of dramatic reforms, the satirists hope one day to be able to take their act on the road, and enlighten the poor about the political situation. For now, however, Par Par Lay, his younger brother Lu Maw and their leathery faced cousin Lu Zaw are contented to be able to tell the world about their country through laughter. Lu Maw, a wiry 62-year-old whose broken English is peppered with mismatched idioms, elicited nervous laughter by admonishing the crowd at a recent show to be quiet because government agents were nearby. "We are blacklisted, jail birds, and illegals you know, so you are also here illegally," he told a young American woman in the front row before breaking into a grin. "But don't worry, the government loves tourists because they want your dollars." At another point in the show Par Par Lay asked the crowd if they wanted to see an authentic Burmese act. Within seconds, he was wearing a balaclava helmet over his moustachioed face and sporting a hand gun as he gingerly mimicked a thief breaking into a home. "That's how they are, like Jesse James, Ali Baba, like bandits," Lu Maw said on the microphone, alluding to the military to scattered laughter from the crowd. The trio used to lead one of Myanmar's most popular traditional comedy acts. But their colourful show took a political turn when they fell foul of the authorities in 1996 for making fun of the junta during a performance at Aung San Suu Kyi's house in Yangon to mark Independence Day. Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw were arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment, sparking worldwide appeals for their release. They were sent to a labour camp and freed in 2001. The experience might have crushed any ordinary comedian, but not Par Par Lay and his gang, who emerged from the bitter experience even more emboldened and daring in their attacks on the government. Par Par Lay was detained again in 2007 during a crackdown on the "Saffron Revolution" pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks, but released after about a month. The brothers are still officially banned from performing publicly, but they have found a way to continue their act by staging it for tourists in the family's cramped garage in Mandalay. The regime is not the only butt of their humour -- their jokes also target the West, and in particular the United States, which recently upgraded diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian nation. Feigning seriousness, Lu Maw wondered aloud why US-led coalition forces had not sent unmanned drones to Myanmar, whose military he said had been involved in some of the world's most atrocious rights abuses. "Burma is the same as Libya, Egypt, Somalia or Syria. But they all have oil," Lu Maw said with a naughty wink. "Ah, but they (the West) don't know what we have -- we have opium and heroin too." After the one-hour show, the brothers personally thanked every visitor and sold them souvenirs. They said the money would go to helping those political prisoners still languishing in jail, despite a series of mass pardons that have seen hundreds of others walk free under the new reformist government. Par Par Lay said he was confident Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party would do well in parliamentary by-elections set for April 1, but he called for a close watch on the ballots. "She will win, everybody knows that," he said. "But April 1, the day of election, is also April Fool's Day. We hope it's not going to be a joke." *************************************************** The Canadian Press - Nobel laureate Suu Kyi says sanctions help nudge Myanmar toward democracy By Mike Blanchfield | The Canadian Press – 52 minutes ago OTTAWA - Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says tough Canadian sanctions are helping her native Myanmar on its hard road to democracy. Suu Kyi is speaking to Canadians for the first time through an Internet link between her Myanmar home — where she has spent most of the last two decades under house arrest — and Carleton University. She says Myanmar's new civilian leaders are feeling the economic pressure and are being pushed to reform because of international sanctions. "Canada has helped us greatly with regard to our movement towards democracy," Suu Kyi says. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has become a global symbol of peaceful resistance to oppression and is one of only five people to be granted honorary Canadian citizenship. After a half-century under a military junta, Myanmar held elections last year and handed power over to a civilian government. Suu Kyi was also given more freedom and is now campaigning in a round of by-elections across Myanmar, once known as Burma. "The way in which you can continue to help us is to keep up your awareness of what is happening in Burma," she told her audience Wednesday. "Don't be too optimistic. Don't be too pessimistic. Try to see things as they are and try to keep contact with the ordinary people of Burma. "That is how you will learn whether or not we are making any progress under this new government." Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide electoral victory in 1990 but was barred by the military from forming a government. Her party, no longer banned, is contesting 48 seats in parliamentary by-elections set for April. Even if her party wins all these seats, it will still only have a minority in parliament. But Suu Kyi says any success will mean the voices of the Burmese people will begin to be heard. Canada and others view the attempts at reform cautiously. However, the efforts of Myanmar President Thein Sein received a major boost when he hosted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December, the first such high-profile visit by an American official in more than 50 years. Suu Kyi says she believes her country's new civilian president is "sincere" in his intent to reform, but success depends on what the military thinks about that process. She says there is still a "great barrier" between the military and her people. Removing that obstacle, she says, would be a key step on the road to reform. "We are at the beginning of the road," she says. "We have been able to reconnect with our people." In January, Myanmar released about 300 political prisoners, including activists, ethnic and religious leaders and journalists. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has greeted the move as a "significant step forward" by Myanmar. Baird met Myanmar's foreign minister at a security forum in Indonesia last summer and stressed the need for his government to release thousands of political prisoners. Canada opened a strategic engagement with Myanmar last summer that included the exchange of ambassadors, but continues to maintain a tough regime of sanctions that were toughened considerably in 2007. That was also the same year that Canada conferred honorary citizenship on Suu Kyi. *************************************************** Myanmar's Suu Kyi says reforms could be reversed Wed Feb 29, 2012 12:34pm EST * Suu Kyi says some are "too optimistic" about situation * Says army must be behind democratisation process By David Ljunggren OTTAWA, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Wednesday it was too early to declare democratic reforms brought in after five decades of military rule were irreversible and played down talk of accepting a cabinet seat. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) will contest 48 by-elections in April that could give political credibility to the isolated southeast Asian state and help speed the end of Western sanctions. Last March the former military junta made way for a nominally civilian government that embarked on a major reform drive, freeing hundreds of political prisoners, loosening media controls and engaging with Suu Kyi, the 66-year-old leader of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement. "Some are a little bit too optimistic about the situation. We are cautiously optimistic. We are at the beginning of a road," said Suu Kyi, speaking to an audience of students at Ottawa's Carleton University via a video link. "Ultimate power still rests with the army so until we have the army solidly behind the process of democratisation we cannot say that we have got to a point where there will be no danger of a U-turn. Many people are beginning to say that the democratisation process here is irreversible. It's not so," she added. Suu Kyi cited 1990 elections that her party won by a landslide. The junta ignored the result and Suu Kyi - already under house arrest - remained locked up for 15 of the next 22 years. Western investors are interested in the former Burma, an underdeveloped country of 60 million people with rich energy, metals and timber resources. Suu Kyi backs sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union on the grounds they pressured Myanmar's rulers to make concessions. Talk of removing the punitive measures should wait until after the elections, she indicated. "We must wait until after the elections to find out whether or not there have been real changes. And depending on these changes, there should be suitable changes in policy," she said. Suu Kyi, the daughter of assassinated independence hero General Aung San, looks set to easily to win a seat in the national assembly in April. Many in the nation speculate she might accept a government post, possibly even a cabinet job. "Since the offer has not been made I think it would be premature and rather presumptuous to make an answer to that," she said when asked about joining the cabinet. "I can tell you one thing - that under the present constitution, if you become a member of the government you have to vacate your seat in the national assembly. And I am not working so hard to get into parliament simply to vacate my seat," she said. Even if the NLD wins all the by-elections, it will be dwarfed by other parties in the 1,158-seat legislature. "We do have many allies among the ethnic nationality parties and we are confident that we will gain more allies as we go along," said Suu Kyi. *************************************************** Myanmar election body rejects challenge to Suu Kyi Associated Press – 9 hrs ago YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's election commission has rejected a challenge to the parliamentary candidacy of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and confirmed her place on the ballot. Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, said Wednesday that the commission's division-level office rejected the complaint of a rival candidate from the small Party for Unity and Peace. The challenger alleged that Suu Kyi enjoys benefits of a foreign citizen stemming from her marriage to her late British husband. That would make her ineligible to run in the April 1 by-election under Myanmar's constitution, but her party says she enjoys no such benefits. In 1990, Suu Kyi filed to run in the general election, but was disqualified after a similar objection. *************************************************** Myanmar relaxes grip on media, vows end to censors By TODD PITMAN | Associated Press – Tue, Feb 28, 2012 YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — It was a newspaper article that just months ago, Myanmar's draconian state censors never would have approved. It told how prison authorities crudely attempted to cure a scabies outbreak by wiping down naked inmates with medicine-laden brooms — a demeaning act that revealed the poverty of the nation's prisons and the decrepit state of its health care system. "In the past it would've been a very dangerous thing to publish," said Zaw Thet Htwe, who wrote the story and was a political prisoner himself until last month. "It wasn't allowed." But in a sign of just how much is changing in this long-oppressed nation, it was allowed. The article was not only published this month in the Health Journal, a Yangon-based weekly, but it hit the streets without having to be reviewed first by the government's infamous censorship body, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department. Journalists have been jailed, beaten and blacklisted for decades in Myanmar, and the government continues to censor reporting about politics and other subjects it deems sensitive. But since last year, when the nation's long-entrenched military junta stepped down, censorship has ended on subjects such as health, entertainment, fashion and sports, and reporters are testing the limited freedom that has begun to emerge. Today, images of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, once a highly taboo figure, routinely appear on the front pages of everything except state-controlled media. And the days of buying foreign publications, only to find sensitive stories cut out, are over. "It's much more relaxed," said Thiha Saw, chief editor of a news weekly called Open News, who said he's now able to write freely about fires, murders and natural disasters — all prohibited at various times in the past. The government has gone even further, promising to abolish censorship altogether once the parliament approves a new media law later this year. The legislation, currently being drafted, would effectively allow Myanmar's independent press to publish on a daily basis for the first time in decades. As recently as last fall, the future of journalism seemed grim in this Southeast Asian nation, which is also known as Burma. Reporters were still subjected to routine state surveillance, phone taps and censorship so intense that many were forced to work anonymously, undercover. In January, Reporters Without Borders ranked the country a lowly 169 out of 179 nations in its annual press freedom survey. Few expected much change when the junta ceded power last March. The new government, dominated by a clique of retired officers, had risen to power in an election widely considered neither free nor fair. But in an inaugural speech, President Thein Sein promised sweeping democratic reform, and vowed to "respect the role of the media, the fourth estate." In June, the government quietly began removing blocks on once-banned foreign news websites. It also began allowing international newspapers and magazines to be sold without sensitive sections cut out. Exiled reporters, for decades among the country's most fervent critics, have been allowed to return and report freely, along with once-blacklisted correspondents from foreign news organizations, including The Associated Press. "Things are moving in the right direction," the Committee to Protect Journalist's Southeast Asia representative, Shawn W. Crispin, said Tuesday in Bangkok. But he added, "The reforms we've seen are just scratching the surface. By any objective measure, Burma's media is still among the most repressed in the world." Nine reporters have been freed this year, but three remain behind bars, he said. While "publications have been allowed to put Suu Kyi on the cover and report some of the things she says ... there are plenty of areas the press is not allowed to venture into, including any critical reporting of the ongoing conflict" between ethnic Kachin insurgents and the army in the north. Saw, the Open News editor, said a team of around 50 government censors still spikes about 10 percent of the content in his 30-page journal each week. But even that is progress. In the past, he said, censors were not averse to scrapping entire editions. "We don't really expect freedom of expression in a few months or a few years," the bespectacled journalist told the AP in an interview in his small Yangon office, where a poster of Suu Kyi hangs on the wall. Censorship has been in place in Myanmar one way or another since a 1962 military coup, he said, and "we still have a long, long way to go." Now, writing about peace talks between the government and ethnic rebels is OK, Saw said, but stories about fighting between them are not. Pictures of refugees aren't allowed, and neither are articles about past crimes or corruption allegedly committed by ruling party officials. Also taboo: stories about student activists (like the ones who rose up in 1988) and monks (like the ones who rose up in 2007). When dissident monk Shin Gambira was briefly detained by authorities earlier this month, "that story was killed, too," Saw said in an email Monday. "We just keep on pushing." U Tint Swe, Myanmar's censorship boss, told the AP that censorship had historically been needed to maintain stability. But he said such edicts will be a soon be a thing of the past. "Once the press law is out, there will be no need for the press scrutiny department at all," Swe said. Journalists here are looking forward to the freedom to write freely, but they worry, too. The end of censorship will remove government responsibility for the printed press, leaving reporters liable for prosecution. Some laws that have been used to sentence journalists to long jail terms will also remain on the books. Crispin said that as long as the sweeping reforms are not enacted into law, reporters will remain "skeptical that the regime could yank the rug out from under them any time down the road." And indeed, progress could easily be reversed. Suu Kyi and other opposition politicians are running in parliamentary by-elections in April, but only a few dozen seats are open and the current government is assured of staying in power until national elections in 2015. Htwe said he wrote his article about the prison "in a very careful manner, very mildly, so the government would not be offended." He had special reason to be concerned. Htwe was one of hundreds of political prisoners released in a Jan. 13 amnesty, and the article was his first since returning to work. In 2008, he was sentenced to 19-year jail term, in part for distributing a video of local donors handing out aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis. The natural disaster killed about 140,000 people, but journalists were only allowed to report official state statistics about the devastation. Some journalists in Myanmar suspect the government is less interested in freedom for journalists than it is in ending Western economic sanctions. "They want the international community to think there is press freedom here," Htwe said. "But I feel that all these changes that are being made, they aren't coming from the heart. They aren't sincere." *************************************************** Asian Correspondent - Will Burma make changes in media laws? By Zin Linn Feb 29, 2012 5:56PM UTC Burma spent roughly five decades under the military dictatorship. During those years, the regime enforced several oppressive laws especially on free expression and free press. Before the 1962 military coup, Burma was at the forefront of press freedom in Southeast Asia. There were around three dozen newspapers, including English, Chinese and Hindi dailies under a civilian government. Journalists were free to set up relations with international press agencies. The Printers and Publishers Registration Law was set up 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. After 1988 people’s uprising, the then junta one-sidedly promulgated more media restrictions law such as the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Act, the 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law. Currently, several foreign journalists and some exile Burmese journalists evaluate the situation of the country’s media in a hopeful way. It is true that there are some changes, i.e. journals can publish Aung San Suu Kyi & her father’s pictures, some former restricted topics are now allowed to publish, some journals are allowed to publish prior to censorship. But, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) or Burma’s Censorship Office is still powerful and active. Corruption, civil war, government mismanagement and several political topics are not allowed to cover. Journalists were not allowed to present at peace talks between government and ethnic groups. So, in a few words, the recent changes in media are just external manifestation. Such reform does not represent a policy change. To initiate a real change in media field, the government should totally get rid of the laws that suppressed freedom of expression. Currently, Burma’s journalism seemed grim since the so-called civilian government reluctant to amend the respective laws that are not in line with democratic change. Journalists have been under close watch on a regular basis including phone taps and restriction. Situation is so strict that many reporters have forced to work stealthily or undercover. During the people’s parliament session of Myanmar (Burma) on 17 February, MP Tin Maung Oo of Shwe-pyi-tha constituency asked questions on media issue. The Deputy Minister for Information Soe Win replied that a press law has been drafting and after it, a press council will be formed in accord with the new law. Although Soe Win said about the press law and press council, he did not make clear of how the process would be carried out. In reality, there is no journalists’ association in the country so as to promote and protect the rights of members in the field of media. And the future press council should not be a government-appointed guild similar to the Myanmar Human Rights Commission. On 30-31 January, the new media law, drafted by the Ministry of Information’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Department (PSRD) was introduced at a two-day media workshop jointly organized by the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association and Singapore-based Asia Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC). Tint Swe, the deputy director general of the PSRD, presented some hints of the draft law but not the subject matter of the press law. However, a source close to PSRD said that the draft law itself was adapted from the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act ratified after the military coup by the late Gen Ne Win. Furthermore, the draft law was prepared by the PSRD under the guideline of the Information Minister. To say frankly it was an unacceptable drafting process in the absence of the media professionals. If the government has a plan to draw a press law, it should let the participation of experienced journalists, editors, producers and publishers from respective media fields. Furthermore, the government should invite media law experts, journalism consultants, human rights defenders and members of media watchdog groups internationally in order to create a standardized press law and press council to honor the freedom of the press. If the government manipulated making of new media law based on the notorious 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act, people would not honor it. The government must consider abolishing the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act, and completely overhauling the laws that restrict freedom of expression, such as the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, Article 505/B of the Criminal Code and the 1923 Official Secrets Act. Most serious question is that the proposed draft media law only focuses on the print media and therefore it is not enough. At the time of Internet, it is basically necessary to amend the 1933 Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act, the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Law, 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law. Unless the government throws away those media oppressive laws, current reforms in media will be regarded as window dressing. *************************************************** CNBC - Myanmar Like a Rich Child Living Off Trust Fund: Suu Kyi Published: Tuesday, 28 Feb 2012 | 11:34 PM ET By: Michael Kearns, Head of News and Programming, CNBC Asia-Pacific Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has likened her resource-rich country to a rich child living off a trust fund and said she plans to push for greater change in Myanmar if her party wins by-elections due on April 1st. "Burma is suffering from trust kid syndrome...We have been living off unearned income because of our resources," the pro-democracy activist told the Young Presidents' Organization via videoconference at their leadership summit in Singapore on Wednesday. Myanmar, also known as Burma, sits on deposits of energy and minerals, but Western nations have imposed sanctions on it in response to the country's dismal record on human and political rights. President Thein Sein, a former commander-in-chief of the military, appears to be trying to alleviate the country's pariah status by taking such recent steps as releasing political prisoners and calling fresh elections. Western nations have responded by easing some visa restrictions on Myanmar officials and by improving diplomatic relations. Suu Kyi, who is campaigning for a seat in the upcoming vote, told the YPO members in Singapore that one of her key priorities for improving the economy is to ensure the rule of law and transparency. "Sound business depends on rule of law. Those who are interested in investing in Burma should investigate the investment laws, which are currently non-existent," she said. Suu Kyi also said she would push for other changes, including ending ethnic conflict and amending the constitution. "I am confident that we should be able to work with (President Thein Sein) because I believe he genuinely wants change in our country." Taking questions from some of the 2,000 guests at the YPO event, Suu Kyi showed her characteristic humor and humility. She said she has too much to do to reflect on her lofty international stature. "I am no icon. I am a worker." *************************************************** Europe Online Magazine - Myanmar opposition leader advises wait-and-see stance on sanctions Europe 29.02.2012 By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online Yangon (dpa) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday recommended the European Union wait until after the upcoming by-election before removing sanctions on her country. "It‘s perfectly reasonable to say we must wait until after the election to lift sanctions," Suu Kyi after holding talks with a 11-member delegation of the European Parliament. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party are contesting the April 1 by-election for 48 seats in Parliament. Many Western governments have set the polls as an important benchmark in Myanmar‘s political reform process, which could ultimately be rewarded with lifting sanctions that have been imposed on the once pariah state for the past two decades. Suu Kyi reminded the delegates that although the NLD won the relatively free and fair 1990 general election by a landslide it was denied power in the weeks that followed the polls. Myanmar‘s President Thein Sein has initiated a host of reformist moves since coming to power in March, including opening a political dialogue with Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest. "I think the president was sincere when he said that he wanted to bring democracy to Burma," Suu Kyi said, but added, "There is still a lot of work to be done. Nothing worthwhile comes easily." The European delegation invited Suu Kyi to visit the European Parliament after the upcoming by-election, the delegation head Werner Langen said. *************************************************** NPR - How Far Will The Changes In Myanmar Go? by Anthony Kuhn February 28, 2012 Once an international pariah ruled by a repressive military regime, Myanmar has in recent months become one of Southeast Asia's hottest destinations. Last year, a nominally civilian government took over and began political changes in the country also known as Burma. Now, foreign investors and tourists are flooding in, and foreign governments are considering lifting their sanctions. In stark contrast to the uprisings that have shaken the Arab world, Myanmar's metamorphosis is occurring from the top down. But crucial questions remain unanswered, and it's unclear whether the changes are permanent. One place to look for clues is in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's new capital, which replaced Yangon. Dominating the government town is a massive complex of buildings housing the country's parliament. A girl from the Kachin ethnic group waves the flag of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy as the democracy leader arrives in Namti village last week. The country's 2008 constitution mandated the parliament. Before the legislature's members were elected just over a year ago, the law was essentially whatever the generals said it was. Saw Nyein Thin, an ethnic Karen lawmaker dressed in traditional red and white garb, says that the fledgling institution still has a long way to go. "This parliament is not yet strong enough to legislate effectively," he says. "It's still too young. But I think that it will gradually accumulate enough power to do its job." Despite being dominated by the ruling party and the military, which hold 80 percent of the seats, the parliament has passed laws legalizing street protests and labor unions. It's now drafting a press law, which the government says will ease censorship. Even bigger changes may be in store. On April 1, voters will elect 48 new lawmakers, one of whom is likely to be pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. The Nobel laureate was released from house arrest in November 2010. Her party, the National League for Democracy, boycotted the last elections, which it called a sham. But the government is considering inviting international observers and promises that the vote will be genuine. Reformists In Military Uniforms? Shwe Mann, the third-ranking general in the previous military regime, tells foreign and Myanmar reporters covering the parliament that the upcoming elections must be "free, fair and credible." Shwe Mann is now speaker of the lower house of parliament and, it appears, a leader of the reformists. Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who has met with Myanmar's leaders under both the new and old regimes, says that when they took off their generals' uniforms, they seemed to shed their old political views, too. "Not only physically, in appearance, but in terms of mindset, [the generals were] very much set in their ways and very militaristic in outlook, authoritarian," he observes. "But now without prodding, they would bring up issues that would in the past have been taboo." Myanmar President Thein Sein (shown here in Singapore on Jan. 30) has introduced a number of changes. His decision to halt construction of Chinese-supported dam project on the Irrawaddy River was widely praised in the country. One theory is that Shwe Mann and President Thein Sein were actually closet liberals within the military regime. That's the opinion of Hla Maung Shwe, vice president of Myanmar Egress, a Yangon-based civic group trying to mediate between the ruling and opposition parties. "For some time, these reformists have wanted to change the country," he explains, "but because of the political system that was in place, they couldn't make it happen. But now that they're in positions of power, they're beginning to do it." Catching Up In Yangon, veteran journalist Thiha Saw says that as Burmese leaders have traveled to neighboring countries, they've become increasingly troubled at how far their country lags behind the rest of the region and how poorly their traditional reliance on China has paid off. Myanmar is important to China as a source of raw materials and as a strategic "back door" giving the country direct access to the Indian Ocean. "They've been friendly with the Chinese for so many years," says Thiha Saw. "[The] Chinese provided them almost everything, from weapons to shoes to plastics to whatever. But then all throughout these years, they may have realized that they don't get too much, they get very little." Thiha Saw says both the media and the parliament played a crucial role last year in alerting Thein Sein to the zeal with which ordinary Burmese opposed the Chinese-invested Myitsone dam on the Irrawaddy River. Thein Sein's decision last September to shelve the project was widely hailed by Burmese as a victory. Since last summer, Thiha Saw says, rules requiring media to get censors' approval before publishing have been eased. Aung San Suu Kyi and other once-taboo topics are now splashed all over the front pages. A Buddhist monk reads a newspaper in Yangon on Tuesday. Newspaper articles that would have been rejected by Myanmar's draconian state censors just months ago are making it into print, in one of many signs that the long-repressed country is becoming more open. Whether this means there will be freedom of the press is still a big question, Thiha Saw says, though he predicts U.S.-style freedom of the press is unlikely. "What we'll get is something more similar to some ASEAN neighbors like Indonesia [and] Malaysia," he says. At least in this respect, he says, Myanmar appears to be moving toward the sort of soft authoritarian systems favored by its regional neighbors, especially Singapore, where the government refrains from overt censorship, but occasionally hits troublesome journalists with libel lawsuits. Eyes On Myanmar Natalegawa, the Indonesian foreign minister, points out that Myanmar will have to face greater international scrutiny when it assumes the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in 2014. The decision last year to give Myanmar the chairmanship, he adds, was not so much a reward for its accomplishments as an inducement to live up to international expectations. "It's not a vote of confidence on how Myanmar is today," he says. "But it's actually our expectation of how it will be in 2014." Between now and then, he says, there are bound to be setbacks, even as the reforms go forward. Myanmar's rulers say the reforms are irreversible. But the 2008 constitution allows the military to claim emergency powers and exercise them with complete impunity. And if the government reneged on its promises of change and rolled back the reforms, it would not be the first time in recent history that this has happened. *************************************************** Bangkok Post - A portrait of Myanmar DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO PUT A HUMAN FACE ON THE COUNTRY Published: 29/02/2012 at 03:48 AM Newspaper section: Life Last month at the British Council in Yangon, Robert H. Lieberman showed his 88-minute documentary to a packed auditorium of over 100 viewers. The film is called They Call It Myanmar, and the premiere was a public screening with artists, film-makers, NGO workers and ordinary citizens attending to watch their own country from the viewfinder of a foreign film-maker. Lieberman had invited Aung San Suu Kyi, who also appeared in the film as one of the interviewees, but she couldn't make it. "I didn't want to make a political film," says Lieberman, a physics lecturer from Cornell University and also a film-maker and novelist. "I want to put a human face on the country. I aim to show what the country is like through its own people. It is a portrait of Myanmar." Lieberman talked to us when he stopped in Bangkok on his way back to Ithaca, New York, where he lives. They Call It Myanmar was recently screened at Landmark Sunshine Cinema in Manhattan, and Lieberman, who made the film with producer Deborah C. Hoard and editor David Cossack, is planning to show it in other major cities across the US. During his stop in Bangkok last year, the director showed the rough cut of the film informally to his class at Bangkok University, but at the moment there are no plans to screen the documentary anywhere else in Thailand. Arriving in Yangon in late 2008 to work with the State Department, Liberman's original assignment was to train young locals in media production. But he realised the personal opportunity he had and began filming, entirely without permission, the landscape, the culture, and the inhabitants of that isolated land, with a mix of ethnographic curiosity and historical perspective. "The minute you tell a film-maker not to film something, it's like waving a red flag before a bull," says Lieberman, who also made a documentary, Last Stop Kew Gardens, in 2006 and a feature film, Green Lights, four years earlier. "I went around talking to a lot of people; I really can't remember how many. I went everywhere except the Delta region. We cannot show the faces of some of the people we talked to if what they said was very political. My original plan was to make a character-driven movie, and I wanted to choose my subjects and follow their lives for a period. But I knew that the people I chose would get into trouble. "To film in Myanmar you need permission. I didn't have any. The problem is that people are fearful when they talk, though my feeling is that it's becoming less so. In Myanmar, you don't know if you'll get into trouble because of something you do. When you cross the line, sometimes something happens, sometimes not. It's this unpredictability, intentionally or not, that works. You never know if they will come after you or not." They Call It Myanmar is not a revelation, though it has a sizeable journalistic value for recording the reality of a place that has hardly been seen in the media. Lieberman filmed over 120 hours of footage over the period of three years _ last month he was in Yangon to document the Freedom Film Festival co-organised by Aung San Suu Kyi, to be edited into the new version of the movie _ and he also uses images from archives to narrate political developments and from other news agencies, chiefly the Democratic Voice of Burma, the exiled group of videographers whose own story was told in the Oscar-nominated Burma VJ. A travelogue and a sketch of a land, They Call It Myanmar is also an antidote to the dramatisation of The Lady, a French-produced biopic of Suu Kyi that was released in Bangkok earlier this month to a lukewarm reception. Myanmar has returned to the spotlight after the release of Suu Kyi and the junta's appearance of opening up the country. The military regime's seeming readiness to cooperate with Asean is also a sign of change the world has been watching with attention. In They Call It Myanmar, the main attraction is Lieberman's interview with Suu Kyi; done in January 2011, it must be one of the first interviews with the Myanmar freedom fighter after her release. Conducted in a house and with a basic set-up and equipment, the talk showed Suu Kyi as determined, articulate, and perhaps a little tired. She told Lieberman from the outset that personal questions should be avoided. Yet Suu Kyi talked about her father, General Aung San, while Lieberman tried to complete the picture by talking to someone close to the family about Suu Kyi's separation from her husband and two children. Yet except the appearance of Suu Kyi, the film is largely concerned about the daily life of the people. It listens to the voice from the different corners, and Lieberman himself supplies constant narration that sometimes seems too explanatory. Where he succeeds is in making the place seem alive, and to pave the path for in-depth exposition of the country that is likely to become a subject of more movies in the near future. "The West tends to be think in terms of binary. It's zero and one," says Lieberman. "But it's not black and white. It's very grey, and very complex. I don't see Myanmar turning into a democracy immediately, with problems solved and poverty alleviated. It's a long-term thing. The rebuilding of the country will take many years." *************************************************** GlobalPost - Burma economy: Chasing riches? Mind the Karen guerrillas Eager American investor, meet battle-hardened ethnic rebel. Patrick Winn February 29, 2012 06:23 KAREN STATE, Burma — Blessed with fertile soil and deep veins of unearthed gold, this verdant expanse of Burma is, by most measures, well suited for foreign investment. There is a drawback: it’s riven by the world’s longest-running civil war, a conflict between Burmese troops and the Karen, a largely Christian tribe with US ties. But even six decades of war are unlikely to keep Burma’s development boom from these land mine-studded hills. Despite the presence of a 6,000-soldier resistance army, varied interests have designs on the group’s turf. Among them: government “industrial zones,” lucrative rubber plantations and quarries extracting high-value minerals. In coming years, thoroughfares will link their terrain to a $50 billion port receiving shipments bound for every major Southeast Asian city. The group’s leadership, however, has a message for prospectors both foreign and domestic. “We’re not ready,” said Hla Ngwe, a joint secretary with the Karen National Union, the group’s political wing. “No fishing in troubled waters.” The bespectacled leader, flanked by uniformed men armed with US-made M-16s and M-79 grenade launchers, conceded that his people would welcome Western firms someday. But for now, amid fragile peace talks with the government, multinationals are not welcome. “Our land is filled with mines. Our people are fleeing through the jungle or running to other countries,” he said. “Everyone should stay out for now.” Staying out of Burma, however, is no longer en vogue. The former British colony (officially titled Myanmar) remains a no-go zone for Western investors. Since the 1990s, US, UK and European interests have been held back by heavy sanctions designed to punish ruling generals who’ve hoarded Burma’s wealth as the masses suffered. The nation’s economy is, by all accounts, chaotic and steeped in corruption. But in many boardrooms, the old perspective has been largely upturned, thanks to a reform-minded parliament taking power last year and a flurry of top-tier US diplomatic visits. Speculation that the US Congress and the White House will peel back sanctions this year is running hot. According to the UK-based Maplecroft risk analysis firm, it has “now become clear that 2012 will be the year for sanctions to be lifted.” Emerging markets gurus, such as American investor Jim Rogers, are eager to unlock Burma’s promise. “If I could put all of my money into Myanmar, I would,” Rogers told a conference in Singapore last week, according to Bloomberg. “They have metals, they have energy, they have everything.” For multinational firms, Burma has much to drool over. It’s squeezed between economic behemoths India and China. Its labor force is eager and, by some estimates, one-fifth the cost of China’s. Its hinterlands are filled with natural gas, exquisite teak forests, gems and rare minerals needed for high-end electronics. But much of that natural bounty happens to lie within regions claimed by ethnic minorities, which inhabit 60 percent of Burma’s land. Though the central government has secured tenuous cease-fires with most armed groups, many areas are still defended by guerrillas skilled in jungle warfare. Still, investors like Rogers contend Burma’s rise is inevitable. “I worry about everything when I invest somewhere,” Rogers told GlobalPost. “I suspect these problems will calm and eventually go away, but even if they do not, there are still great opportunities there.” “The ethnic groups are not going to take over Myanmar,” he said, “but even if they did, there would then be peace and plenty of opportunities.” Of Burma’s 10-plus armed ethnic groups, there are the Karen, funded in part by a network of American Baptists. To the north, there are Shan, Burma’s second-largest ethnicity. Their turf is rich in rubies, zinc and opium. Further northward, a bloody war still rages between state forces and the Kachin, whose terrain shares a long border with China. If American and European projects spring up across Burma as predicted, these mini-armies are unlikely to idly watch foreigners grow rich off their land. Consider the $50 billion planned deep-sea port and refinery planned for Tavoy, a city south of Karen territory. The Karen army has sporadically blocked trucks owned by the developer, the Bangkok-based Ital-Thai construction conglomerate. Among their demands: run more surveys to prove the giant port project won’t wreck the environment. “We have a clear policy on development,” said Zipporah Sein, the Karen National Union’s general secretary. “They have to guarantee our livelihood. And they have to limit the environmental impact.” With more outsiders eyeing Karen territory — local media reports claim the country’s largest gold reserves were discovered there in January — investors are now aware that brokering with the group is essential to doing business there. This is hardly a new phenomenon in Burma: mining and timber interests in neighboring China have a long history of cutting deals with armed factions. Almost no one expects the Karen, or any of the armed ethnic groups, to willfully surrender their chief bargaining chip: weapons. While desperately poor, the tribe must be careful not to go soft at the prospect of jobs, said A Ganemy Kunoo, a former Karen National Liberation Army operations commander. Standing in the shade at a riverside outpost, where baby chicks scamper to dodge the footfall of patrolling Karen troops, he vowed that his people would never surrender their ability to fight. In official wounded-and-killed reports, the tribe’s army boasts of slaying 70 Burmese troops for every fallen guerrilla. “Don’t forget that we’re lions,” A Gameny Kunoo said. “We’ll never eat grass.” Other senior leaders concede that development will soon be welcome, so long as villagers benefit. “We know companies are looking at our land for projects and plantations,” Zipporah Sein said. “If there is peace and stability, that will be OK. The Karen people just want to see sustainable, responsible development.” No matter how responsible, Western investors setting up government-blessed operations should brace for “reputational risks” and scrutiny from international watchdogs, said Alyson Warhurst, CEO of Maplecroft, the risk analysis firm. Any project tied to the government or the military — Burma’s traditional source of power — is exposed to an “extreme risk of complicity.” But there is an opportunity, Warhurst said, for Western entities to carry out what Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has described as “ethical, new and innovative” development. Critics can be offset with social programs that fill the education and healthcare spending void unanswered by the army-supervised regime. Western companies could offer an alternative to China’s mega-projects, condemned by many Burmese for hiring too few locals and causing too much environmental harm. But Karen leaders insist that all talk of investment in their territory must follow a total withdrawal of the Burmese forces they’ve fought off since 1949, one year after British colonial troops retreated. For now, any incoming project running counter to Karen interests — from within Burma or from distant shores — could very well meet resistance. “Never underestimate us,” A Ganemy Kunoo said. “There’s the one who walks into an area and there’s the one who is waiting in stealth. Who do you think will win?” *************************************************** GlobalPost - Are half of Burma's poppy fields up in smoke? According to the United Nations, the world's second-largest opium grower is getting close. Patrick Winn February 29, 2012 03:00 Heroin users in Asia and beyond, brace for a supply drought: a United Nations official says close to half of Burma's poppy crops have been eradicated. If true, this would be a staggering turnaround for the world's second-largest opium producer. Only Afghanistan produces more opium than Burma (officially titled Myanmar), where officials are attempting to scrub the nation's tarnished image at breakneck speed. A highly ambitious vow to rid Burma of opium production by 2014 is among many sweeping reforms. Gary Lewis, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime representative for East Asia and the Pacific, has just returned from Burma's remote poppy country in troubled Shan State, a war-torn region producing 90 percent of Burma's poppy plants. During a Bangkok conference set up to unveil a new report evaluating the U.N.'s global drug control progress, I asked if Burma's drug eradication spree is legitimate. The good news: according to Lewis, Burma's government has recently destroyed 21,000 of its 43,000 known hectares of poppy crops. "We believe the government's effort is sincere," Lewis said. As always, there are complicating factors. The Lancing Deception: Before fields are mowed down, farmers can slice into their poppies, collect the "opium latex" that oozes out and sell it to opium processors. Lewis concedes that pre-eradication lancing took place in a significant number of fields. Reuters correspondent Andrew Marshall, who accompanied the Burmese drug eradication squads, corroborates this. (His rare report from the poppy fields is highly recommended.) Bankrupting Poor Growers: Poppy growers are not villains getting rich off the drug trade. They're desperately poor farmers who grow poppy because it's a premier cash crop. Grow rice or vegetables and you've got to waste time and fuel hauling your crops to a middle man. Grow poppy and the middle man comes to your fields with no prodding. If the government wants to deprive farmers of their choice crop, Lewis said, officials must aid them in growing alternative crops. "Done as it's being done now," he said, "no, it's not sustainable ... eradication is never the only solution." Meth in Abundance: Why grow poppy when there's an alternative unaffected by weather cycles, easy to smuggle and increasingly favored by drug users? That alternative, produced by narcotics syndicates in Burma, is methamphetamine. If seizures are a decent measure, its use is on the rise: International Narcotics Control Board figures show Southeast Asian seizures shooting up more than 40 percent between 2009-10. Meth is far more valuable to Southeast Asia's vast laboring class: long-haul truckers, construction workers and the like. No wants to dig a well on heroin. But meth pills allow workers to work harder, longer and with fewer pains. As Francis Wade with the Democratic Voice of Burma asks, "Where is Burma's 'War on Methamphetamine?" Writes Wade: "The government can wax lyrical about its elimination of poppy fields in certain areas ... but going deeper into unravelling the forces governing the methamphetamine market ... is a task one doubts the government has either the capability or inclination to carry through." *************************************************** February 29, 2012 VOA News - Burmese Focus on Aung San Suu Kyi's Campaign Trail Danielle Bernstein | Rangoon As the campaign for Burma’s by-election heats up, the party of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is the dominant face of the political opposition. Crowds of adoring supporters have been gathering across the country at campaign rallies to catch a glimpse of Aung San Suu Kyi. Although she draws the most interest, other candidates in her National League for Democracy party, such as AIDS activist Phyu Phyu Thin, are getting a taste of the attention. The rally song says Aung San Suu Kyi's party has come back to serve the people and Phyu Phyu Thin will do the same. The NLD was conspicuously absent from the ballots and campaign trails during the 2010 election and its return has brought palpable elation during lively street rallies. Daw Kyi Kyi Win, is one rally-goer who has adorned her face and clothes with stickers. As she waved flags bearing the NLD’s fighting peacock emblem, she said she is even considering becoming an NLD member herself - a decision that would have been considered extremely risky just one year ago. She says she thinks Aung San Suu Kyi can win, by a big margin and that makes her happy. She says she never thought that such political openness was possible. Not everyone is elated at Aung San Suu Kyi’s return. There are other opposition parties who lack the star-power and the funding of the NLD. Tae Yi, is the man faced with the unenviable task of running against Suu Kyi in Kawhmu. He pursued a legal case questioning the legitimacy of her candidacy, until a ruling this week rejected his challenge and placed her on the ballot. He says he has no personal grudge against Aung San Suu Kyi and that he's glad to be running against her. The 80 year-old candidate says his platform includes addressing democracy and human rights issues. Despite the court rulings against his challenge to Suu Kyi, his Unity and Peace Party says it is still challenging her legitimacy. The incumbent politician in the Kawhmu township is a representative of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, a proxy party for the old government which has an overwhelming majority of parliament seats. The USDP candidate has not lodged a complaint against Aung San Suu Kyi. The April First elections will fill just 48 vacant parliament seats, well short of the number needed to challenge the ruling party’s legislative power. But one month before polls, the strong show of support for the National League for Democracy and its high profile leader have demonstrated that, despite some 20 years spent largely on the political sidelines, the party still commands a significant public following. *************************************************** Asia News Network - Reform in Burma irreversible - aide The Nation, News Desk Publication Date : 29-02-2012 Burmese President Thein Sein's chief political adviser, Ko Ko Hlaing, says Burma's political reform is "irreversible" because of the president's strong will, the specific constitutional stipulation towards democracy, the Burmese people's taste of new-found freedom, and the need for the country to follow the international trend. In an exclusive interview with The Nation, the man known as Burma's "political insider" said he was certain that former military leader Senior General Than Shwe was not running the country from behind the scenes and would not make a comeback. "As a Buddhist, you can understand the mentality of an elderly Buddhist. You should understand also the mind of a soldier - which is always the desire to accomplish his mission. After the mission is accomplished, he can take a rest. He [Than Shwe] had taken the responsibilities of the state for a long time and there were many hardships, pressures and difficulties. But he did the best for his country. He built a lot of bridges, roads and dams. He also laid down the conditions of democratic reform - the seven-step road map. He is now enjoying his retirement with his grandchildren," Ko Ko Hlaing said. Asked whether Than Shwe may be dictating the government from behind the scenes, the presidential aide said: "As far as I know, he has totally resigned from politics. He doesn't want to be involved in this new set-up. He told some of his colleagues and some senior military officers that he had resigned from politics. He is not like Deng Xiao Ping of China or Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore [who retained considerable power after stepping down from the top political posts]." Responding to a question about whether the former military strongman is afraid to be taken to trial by a civilian government, Ko Ko Hlaing said: "This is a Buddhist country. Forgiveness is our principle. Also, Aung San Suu Kyi and the other opposition leaders, old and young, have talked about forgiving and forgetting the past and trying to do the best for the nation." National League for Democracy leader Suu Kyi has said she is not clear whether the Burmese military establishment is solidly behind the reform "and until I know that they support the reform fully, I cannot say that the process is irreversible". The presidential adviser said Suu Kyi had for a long time been under house arrest and, even when she was in the country, she had been kept in isolation for many years. "It's now only a few months since her release. So, this is the time she is trying to cope with the current situation. It's quite natural that she doesn't fully trust the Myanmar [Burma] military yet." "We have faced much turbulence and riots in the past. We don't want to return to the past. The Myanmar government and the people wholeheartedly want a smooth transition. It's a top-down process. We started with a bottom-up approach in 1988 but, during 2004-2011, it was a top-down process. Why? Because we would like to see a very smooth transition. At that time, there was no Arab Spring. But we have to admit that we have had a long history of insurrections and insurgencies. That's why the role of the military was quite significant in our politics," he said. Burma at the time was risking disintegration like Bosnia. "The military tried very hard to keep the country intact at the peak of the Cold War between the Eastern and Western blocs. We also had to protect our territorial integrity. It was a very hard time for the Myanmar army. This experience has always haunted the military leaders. "That's why the Myanmar military wants to have a role in the political arena, not to dominate the political stage but to take part as an element - as a balancing sector. That's 25 per cent of the seats in parliament. The Indonesian constitution used to have a nearly 40-per-cent military presence in parliament," he said. "Every revolution started from evolution," he added. "The military regime [in Burma] back in 1988 had an idea to return power to the people and to build a democratic society, but for many reasons, the process took over two decades." Ko Ko Hlaing pointed out that the fall of the Berlin Wall happened in 1989, and that the Tiananmen incident in China took place the same year. But in Burma, the "people's uprising" had broken out in 1988. "Actually, Myanmar was a pioneer in the democracy movement. At the time [1988], it was a bottom-up activity. People had suffered social economic hardship for a long time. When the spark occurred, there was an uprising. Unfortunately, there followed anarchy in our country. The defence services of Myanmar had to take responsibility of the state in August of that year. And as soon as the military took power, they promised that one day they would return power to the people. At the time, the political opposition forces were quite nervous and frustrated after the political turmoil. They wanted democracy instantly - within a short time - but the situation was quite chaotic. At the same time, we have many minority groups," he said. The presidential adviser explained that at the time, the biggest rebel group was the communist party. The BCP, together with other minority groups such as the KNU (Karen National Union), exploited the political instability by launching huge offensives against the government forces in the remote areas near the Burma-China and Burma-Thailand borders. They were very fierce battles, he said. Thousands of lives were sacrificed. Internal security became a problem. So, the military made as their first priority the restoration of stability. In the late 1990s, it was the first time the country had some degree of stability, and some minority groups negotiated peace with the government, he said. The military government at the time changed the approach. Successive governments since independence had made many attempts at reaching ceasefire agreements with the minority groups, but they all failed. That's because the government held the position that the ethnic groups must first disarm, but the rebel groups did not believe in this deal, he said, adding that they wanted to keep their arms for their own security. There was no trust between the government and the rebels. "Now, the government has changed its position. The rebels can keep their arms while ceasefire agreements are being negotiated - and the government launched development schemes in the rebels' areas," Ko Ko Hlaing said. He explained that in the early 2000s, "we had agreements with 17 major ethnic armed groups. In Sri Lanka, they had only one rebel group - the LTTE. They couldn't make a breakthrough. Eventually, the government had to crush them. In Indonesia, they only had the Merdeka, the Aceh freedom-fighters. They had very difficult negotiations for a peace agreement. Here in Myanmar, we had 17 major ethnic armed groups and about two dozen other minor groups, and we managed to reach temporary peace agreements at that time. For the first time, villagers in the remote areas didn't hear any sound of gunshots. That was between the years 2000 and 2003-2004". "Once we achieved a certain level of stability, the military government started the reform process. In late 2003, we embarked on a seven-step road map for political reform. By 2008, we completed the drafting of the constitution and held a national referendum. In 2010, we held the first election in 50 years. In March 2011, we had the first elected government in Myanmar. Actually, this president is implementing the plan that had been laid down earlier," the presidential adviser added. *************************************************** Asia News Network - Opium production rises in the region Thasong Avasena The Nation Publication Date : 29-02-2012 Thailand and Southeast Asia face increasing drug problems following a boost in methamphetamine abuse and the expansion of poppy plantations in Burma and Laos, according to the 2011 report released yesterday by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Young people in the region are major targets for methamphetamine, known as "ice", the report said. This is matched by an increasing number of cases reported by anti-narcotics police and the Office of Narcotics Control Board, especially in the Northeast, which borders the two countries. In certain cases, methamphetamines is sold as a diet supplement at prices cheaper than amphetamines. Amphetamines are more popular among Thais. Traders found this tactic attracted greater sales of amphetamines and helped them introduce methamphetamines to existing clients. In its recommendations, INCB encouraged countries to increase the amount of internationally controlled drugs (ICDs) to match needs of patients under various conditions, following a World Health Organisation (WHO) standard. Under the UN definition, ICDs are addictive substances needed for general or psychotropic treatment. Their production needs to be regulated because excessive amounts might be left in the hands of dealers or abused by users. Most ICDs are non-patented, or their patents have expired. In this respect, Thailand is still under a WHO standard to provide internationally controlled drugs to 101 patients per million people within 24 hours, said Viroj Sumyai, an INCB board member The WHO standard stipulates a minimum of 200 patients, while in a country like the US, the figure is higher than 10,000. The INCB found that production of poppy in Laos had been increasing. Methamphetamine has also been trafficked widely in China, Laos, Burma. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) plays an important role in monitoring enforcement of restrictions on narcotics and psychotropics. Its representative for East Asia and Pacific, Gary Lewis, said it was important that suppression must abide by the rule of law. He had been asked about possible drug-related violence and revenge killings. International attention would be important in keeping government's operations in check and local authorities should always heed human rights principles while conducting the crackdowns, Lewis said. *************************************************** Chicago Tribune - REFILE-Myanmar poll could be last sanctions hurdle-EU MPs By A Reuters staff reporter YANGON, Feb 29 (Reuters) - Upcoming by-elections in Myanmar could be the last hurdle towards the lifting of most European Union sanctions, providing the polls are free and fair and endorsed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kui, EU parliamentarians said on Wednesday. But the sanctions, which like U.S. embargoes contributed to Myanmar's years of economic isolation, should be lifted incrementally to retain leverage with the civilian government behind unprecedented reforms in its first year in office, parliamentarians told Reuters. EU representatives and foreign ministers have in recent months told Myanmar's rulers that transparent April 1 polls, which Nobel laureate Suu Kyi will contest, would strengthen their case for having more embargoes lifted. "There are no more real hurdles," said Robert Goebbels, a European parliamentarian from Luxembourg. "The (European) ministers of foreign affairs are scheduled to meet in April and I would bet that they will lift the sanctions gradually, especially if Aung San Suu Kyi is elected." Goebbels was referring to the European Union's annual review of sanctions, known in Brussels as "restrictive measures", which expire in April, when they will be either renewed, lifted or re-calibrated. EU foreign ministers started the process of lifting sanctions on Jan. 23 when they temporarily suspended travel bans on top officials and the president, in response to the release of more than 300 political prisoners 10 days earlier. A delegation of 11 European legislators made their first to Myanmar and this week met top members of parliament and government officials, including the reform-minded president and former junta general, Thein Sein. Werner Langen, of Germany, who led the delegation, felt the leadership's commitment to reforms was real and said his group had been assured the polls would be free and fair. "The result of these by-elections, whether they are free and fair, will determine whether the sanctions can really be lifted in April, as is the intention at the moment," he added. The by-elections include some for seats in the lower house of parliament which is dominated by a pro-military party, set up under the auspices of the former ruling junta, which swept a November 2010 election amid opposition complaints of rigging. "BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT" In recent months, Myanmar's leaders have started engaging with Suu Kyi, whom the former regime kept in detention for a total of 15 years since 1989. Hundreds of other political prisoners have been freed and ceasefire agreements have been struck with most of the country's ethnic minority rebel groups. The government has showed extraordinary signs of openness in also easing media censorship and legalising protests. Some of the lawmakers feel it is time to reward the administration by scaling back some of the embargoes. "We can give those who are the rulers of Myanmar now the benefit of the doubt. But it's too early to say: cancel all the sanctions," said Ivo Belet, of Belgium. "Phasing out the sanctions is a good model, and use the (remaining) sanctions as a sort of instrument of pressure to make them move in the right direction." Conflict with ethnic minority rebels in Kachin State in the north of the country is going on despite a presidential order for the army to end the offensive. Some analysts say the conflict poses the biggest obstacle to a more comprehensive lifting of Western sanctions. Another hurdle is the lengthy procedures required in Brussels to lift the trade and economic embargoes. Some diplomats say the European Union should expedite this, to prevent Myanmar's progress from slowing, or even being reversed. The European Union has sought to further engagement with Myanmar by opening a representative office in the country and dramatically boosting its development aid. It unveilled a 150 million euro ($198 million), two-year aid package last month worth almost as much as the 173 million euros it has given Myanmar since 1996. Belet said he thought financial restrictions should be among the first economic sanctions to be eased because of Myanmar's need for an overhaul of its economy. "It's really important that foreign banks and that international financing systems can start up," he said. "That's the first and most basic element in order to get an international, open economy. The present rulers, I wouldn't say that they are begging, but they're really asking to lift the sanctions." Suu Kyi met the delegation on Wednesday and later told reporters that preparations for the by-elections had "hit a few bumps and pitfalls" because of restrictions on campaigning. However, she agreed with the West's view that the election should be a crucial part of the sanctions reviews. "It's perfectly reasonable of those who say that we must wait until after the elections to see whether or not sanctions should be dismantled." *************************************************** TTR Weekly - Thai AirAsia eyes Myanmar capital February 29, 2012 by Rapeepat Mantanarat Filed under News BANGKOK, 29 February 2012: Low-cost Thai AirAsia says it will start a service to Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw by year-end and add around five destinations during the first half of the year from three bases in Thailand. Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld confirmed new services to Chongqing and Chennai, 23 March. So far, the airline has announced five new destinations for the first half of the year; of which two are domestic — Trang (15 Janaury), Nakhon Phanom (15 February). The others are regional flights starting with Colombo and Sri Lanka, (1 March). Other regional services are planned from its bases in Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai during the second half of the year. Mr Tassapon said the airline should add around the same numbers of destinations as in the first half of the year, but declined to name them except to say one was to Naypyidaw, the new capital city of Myanmar. “We are in the process of acquiring permission to operate flights to Naypyidaw..The service should be able to commence this year,” he said. Naypyidaw International Airport opened in December 2011, capable of handling up to 3.5 million passengers a year, although at present the only services are domestic flights from Yangon, Mandalay and Heho. “It (Naypyidaw) is the administrative centre of government so there will be a growing demand for direct travel as the country opens to investors,” added Mr Tassapon. He is also looking at destinations in India and China, but has reduced the flight time radius to 3.5 hours due to high fuel costs. “Longer range flights are not feasible as long as fuel costs remain high,” he said. Before the airline set the limit at four hours, but due to rising fuel costs it was forced to end its services to Delhi and Mumbai. “The fuel price will remain volatile and we cannot just simply resume when the price drops or cancel with it rises.” Airlines serving India are subject to a substantial aviation fuel tax of around 23%, which is crippling the country’s domestic airlines and was a factor in Kingfisher’s current financial troubles. “We are looking at Mekong Region secondary cities,” commented Mr Tassapon who identified Danang, Nha Trang and Hue in Vietnam; Sihanoukville in Cambodia; Mandalay in Myanmar and Pakse in Laos as having potential. Also, there have been requests to fly to Kunming, Hong Kong and Macau from its Chiang Mai base and to Indian cities such as Chennai and Bangalore from Phuket. Phuket is now a popular destination for Indian weddings. This year Thai AirAsia will add three more A320s to be delivered in addition to the two that arrived earlier in the year. The airline targets 8 million passengers by the end of this year. Last year, it flew 6.8 million passengers, slightly off its 7 million target. *************************************************** Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 The Japan Times - Yen loans for Myanmar to resume Kyodo The government is planning to start providing yen loans to Myanmar for the first time since the late 1980s to help the long-isolated country's economic development, Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said Tuesday. "I feel that the ongoing democratization and national reconciliation are real," Genba said in a speech in Tokyo. "To further accelerate these positive moves in Myanmar, I believe it is essential to build infrastructure on a full scale and to that end the restart of loans is needed." Genba said Japan will "play a leading role in the international community" in helping Myanmar — which has recently introduced a range of reforms after years of military repression — achieve sustainable development. Genba indicated that the restart of the assistance may be formally announced during a meeting between Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Myanmar President Thein Sein on the sidelines of the Japan-Mekong summit April 21 in Tokyo. *************************************************** MSNBC - International tourists set sights on Burma By Hana R. Alberts, msnbc.com contributor A series of events has helped draw the world's eyes to Burma over the last year — and for once it's not all negative attention. The release of political leader and democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi in late 2010 after almost 15 years of house arrest was followed in March of last year by the transfer of power from a much-derided military junta to nominally civilian regime. Reconciliation between the western world and the Burmese state, long accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses from forced labor to human trafficking, took another step forward three months ago when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid the country a landmark visit, meeting with both Suu Kyi and the leaders in power. More recently, "The Lady," a film starring Michelle Yeoh as Suu Kyi, has sparked further interest in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar — especially after the influential and beloved Suu Kyi herself openly encouraged tourists to experience the country, abandoning her former stance that sanctions, essentially boycotting all travel to Burma, were the only way to provoke change. People seem to be heeding The Lady's words: growing numbers have been visiting — and they're not just backpackers on the hunt for adventure. Once there, visitors say they find the relatively undeveloped country beautiful, friendly and eye opening. "For most, Myanmar is an unknown. There's simply not been enough travelers coming back for word-of-mouth [news], and most guidebook companies stopped publishing books about Myanmar under the so-called travel 'boycott' years ago," said Patrick Morris, managing director at Indochina Travel, who adds that since the developments late last year his company has seen a "sharp increase" in bookings. "Myanmar suffered from negative press for so long. Although travelers could not articulate why they were hesitant to go there, there was nonetheless significant apprehension or fear." International tourist arrivals in Burma increased 27.7 percent between 2009 and 2010, from 243,000 to 311,000, according to the World Tourism Organization, a UN agency based in Madrid. Data is not yet available for 2011, but given the improvement in the country's reputation since the end of 2010, that number is likely to continue to rise. Given these recent developments, the stigma against visiting seems almost dated, and many familiar with the country tend to favor a strategy known as engagement. "Boycotting Burma is an outdated stance," said Tom Hunter, a former staffer at the Myanmar Times. "Sanctions and restrictions do nothing but isolate the country and push it in the wrong direction. To effect change, people need to engage and interact with the Burmese people." Even with April 1 elections looming — in which Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), will participate, having boycotted the last ones — and knowledge that certain groups still protest visiting Myanmar at all, travelers interviewed for this story seemed to be nonetheless awed — if consciously so — by the standard tourist itinerary: the thousands of untouched temples in Bagan; ethnic minorities at the Heho market; fishermen and stupas of Inle Lake; the former royal seat of Mandalay and the busy capital, Yangon. In a turn for the tacky, tourists are even flocking to the NLD headquarters, where vendors have set up stalls selling T-shirts, mugs and key chains emblazoned with Suu Kyi's face. "The country is enchanting, with its breathtaking natural beauty, folkways untouched by globalization and above all, the gentle, sweet, respectful, devoutly Buddhist people," observed Nancy Jennings, a minister from New York who visited Burma in February. "But there's a darker side to the story. Burma is one of the poorest countries in the world, and that was clearly evident in what we saw of village life. No running water or electricity, inadequate medical care, AIDS on the rise, poor roads — except for the spanking new highway with no cars on it, built for the generals to use to access the new capital from the airport in Mandalay. But there's hope — with the recent opening to the world, the upcoming elections, the efforts of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the growing tourist industry, which is bringing employment and new possibilities to many." In spite of the growing number of tourists, navigating the country can be daunting. In addition to the lack of transportation infrastructure, if visitors aren't using a travel agent to craft their itinerary, even setting up hotel stays can be a chore — e-mail is infrequently checked because Internet access is unreliable, which also makes it near impossible to book online except for a handful of places in Yangon. There are no ATMs, and even getting a good exchange rate from U.S. dollars to the local currency, the kyat, can require some haggling in a black market. Travelers recommend using online forums like Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree, TripAdvisor or Travelfish to get in touch with responsive, reputable hotels and local agents who can book domestic flights. Winging it upon arrival is becoming less and less advisable. Or go the luxury route, with Boulder, Co.-based Asia TransPacific Journeys or Abercrombie & Kent, which has been working on the ground with local Burmese staff for 20 years. It remains to be seen whether Burma can even handle the inevitable deluge of tourists. "Flights are full, trains are full and hotels are fully booked," said Jeff Parry, an Australian married to a Burmese woman who is the founder of Bike World Explore Myanmar. But despite the logistical challenges, visitors will find "tranquility, peace and the visual absence of soldiers and weapons," he added. It's not all temples and cycling trips, though. Though Suu Kyi expressed a change of heart, and though many in the industry support engagement rather than sanctions, the controversy about whether to go at all lingers on for some groups, who still believe tourist dollars shouldn't be spent in a place where they can trickle down to a regime criticized for violating crucial freedoms. "Tourism was a controversial issue, but now it is much less so," said Macquarie University economics professor and Burma expert Sean Turnell. "The democracy movement in Burma now broadly supports tourism, but asks that visitors try to spend their money with local, small tourist operators, rather than government agencies and those connected to the country's crony elite." For those bent on visiting but who hate the thought of indirectly supporting the government, the latest Lonely Planet guide includes an itinerary that avoids many state-levied taxes and fees and details how to patronize private businesses instead, plus a six-page section on how to travel responsibly in Burma. Most believe that when entering Burma was against The Lady's wishes, visiting was harder to do in good conscience. But now that she's invited foreigners to meet her people and to assess the country on their own terms, it's harder to justify not going. "I personally don't have many ethical qualms with going," said Sam Gellman, a freelance travel photographer based in Hong Kong. "The [local] people all insist that you tell your friends to come as well. People are not fans of their own government, but they really appreciate tourism. I think the chance to meet them, to tell their story, makes the experience worthwhile, despite some funds going to a bad cause." Gerald Hatherly, an Abercrombie & Kent travel specialist who spends 150 days a year on the road, is optimistic about Burma's future but warns of potential changes ahead, emphasizing that this rare window for travel won't be open forever. "Like China in the late 1970s and 1980s, the transition from a closed society to a more open one is thrilling and exciting, and travelers enjoy seeing this," he said. "[But there are] huge challenges Burma now faces to bring the country up to speed. People are understanding and forgiving, but they will not always be that way. What was unique and in a way charming about Burma before was that it was relatively isolated; now, as it opens, things will inevitably change, and with change will come negatives. You just have to look at Thailand to understand how negatives might manifest themselves (i.e., the seamier side of tourism). Let's hope that Burma can avoid these traps." *************************************************** NEWS ANALYSIS The Irrawaddy - Is Suu Kyi Heading for a Cabinet Position? By THE IRRAWADDY Wednesday, February 29, 2012 As Burma's political parties enter the final month of campaigning ahead of April 1 by-elections, speculation is growing among observers inside the country that National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be given a cabinet seat. Although only 48 seats are up for grabs—40 in the Lower House, six in the Upper House and two in regional assemblies—out of a total of more than 1,000, Suu Kyi's immense popularity and longstanding status as the leader of the democratic opposition should, by many people's reckoning, earn her a ministerial post. Since officially kicking off her party's campaign about a month ago, Suu Kyi has drawn enthusiastic crowds of thousands eager to see the woman known to most Burmese simply as “the Lady”—or, even more affectionately, “Aunty Suu.” In addition to visiting Kawhmu, the impoverished Irrawaddy Delta constituency she hopes to represent in Parliament, Suu Kyi has stumped for NLD candidates in the southern port town of Tavoy—set to be transformed into a massive industrial site by Thai investors—and Myitkyina, in the far north and close to an ongoing conflict between Burmese government forces and ethnic Kachin insurgents. In both locations, and in others she has visited, she has made it clear that this is no ordinary election, raising themes that range from the country's economic prospects to the need for reconciliation among ethnic groups, democratic forces and the military. Her central message on the need to restore democratic norms to a country long ruled by the military—one that she has voiced consistently since rising to prominence more than two decades ago—has been well received by the public, and so far hasn't drawn the ire of authorities. It is widely believed that at least some in the nominally civilian government that came to power last year are in favor of co-opting Suu Kyi's domestic popularity and global name recognition, but it is far from sure that this will translate into giving her a high-profile position close to the president, retired general Thein Sein. In journalistic circles in Rangoon, Burma's largest and most commercially important city, many are betting that Suu Kyi will be asked to head the health or education ministries. Both would be a good fit—she has often emphasized the need to dramatically increase the government's commitment to the basic needs of citizens—but neither would be particularly high-powered. Some have even suggested that Suu Kyi could be given an official role in helping to end ethnic conflict. But this is seen as less likely, given the military's well-known distrust of any effort to bring ethnic and democratic forces closer together. Still others say that the government could create a completely new position for Suu Kyi, such as minister in charge of coordinating international aid, to take advantage of her standing in the international community as an icon of democratic values. But this, too, is a long shot. It is also entirely possible that the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will do everything in its power to marginalize Suu Kyi in Parliament, if it is unable to prevent her reaching there in the first place. The NLD and the USDP have a long and acrimonious history together. As the latest incarnation of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), created by former dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe to mobilize mass support for military rule, the USDP is closely linked to a long campaign to eliminate the NLD. The USDA's systematic harassment of the party that won Burma's 1990 election—dealing a humiliating blow to the then ruling junta's efforts to legitimize its hold on power—culminated in its suspected involvement in the 2003 Depayin massacre, which saw many of Suu Kyi's supporters murdered by pro-regime thugs. Even if a repeat of this infamous incident seems unlikely now, many dissidents fear that once Suu Kyi is in Naypyidaw, she will have little time or energy to act as the driving force within her party or as the leading figure of the pro-democracy movement. Worse still, they fear that Suu Kyi will suffer the fate that ultimately befalls all politicians—failing to live up to the expectations of the electorate. Considering that her campaign promises include doing her utmost to amend Burma's military-drafted Constitution and creating a genuine federal union in Burma with rights for all ethnic people, she will certainly have her work cut out for her, whatever job she ultimately gets when she goes to Naypyidaw. *************************************************** The Irrawaddy - No Saying No to Rehab in KIA Territory By SIMON ROUGHNEEN / THE IRRAWADDY Wednesday, February 29, 2012 LAIZA, Kachin State — After 10 minutes talking about her arrest and detention by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Ma Su Su wells up and a single tear dissolves a line through the cream-colored thanaka on her right cheek. “I miss my children, yes, I do, a lot,” she says. For the past three months, she has been sharing a 10 x 10 foot cell with seven other women, since being caught carrying 40,000 yuan (US $6,350) worth of methamphetamines from China into Laiza, the capital of KIA-held territory in northern Burma. A 15-meter wide river separates the two countries, making clandestine crossings relatively easy for those of a mind to do so. But Ma Su Su, an ethnic Burman from Bhamo in Kachin State, did not know that the KIA keeps a close eye out for drug smugglers at crossing points. “I was promised 500,000 kyat [$625] to carry the pills to Laiza,” she says. “I usually only earn 2,000 kyat [$2.50] per day in Bhamo.” Ma Su Su's cell is crowded and spartan: There are no beds, just floor mats, and two of the women there have babies staying with them in the grim-looking room. Three other women turn toward the two small windows at the back of the cell, refusing to pose for photographs or answer questions. The cell is part of a KIA compound in which the armed group—which runs a de facto mini-state scattered across a patchwork of territory close to the China border—says it seeks to “reeducate and rehabilitate the drug carriers and drug users,” according to Capt. Hfaw Daw Gampa, who runs the facility. “We have 112 people here at the moment,” he says. “Most of the people here are men and are drug users, rather than carriers, and 56 of the people here were referred to us by their families, while the others we arrested.” Most people stay three to six months at the center, he says, the duration of the stay depending on the extent of the addiction or the amount of narcotics found on the trafficker or mule. One of the women in the cell was arrested by the KIO that same morning. Asa Bu, 30, says she is not a regular drug user. “I was just playing, I got it from my friends,” she claims. (Like Ma Su Su and the other detainees at the center, she asked that her name be changed to protect her identity.) She is worried about how her family will react when they find out she has been caught with 3 grams of heroin and several dozen amphetamine pills. “They don't know yet. I just was brought here a couple of hours ago,” she says sheepishly. “I suppose the officers will call them soon.” Standing next to Asa Bu is Seng Mi, age 34, cradling a 10-month-old baby. She acknowledges she was “more or less addicted” to heroin, but claims that she is “OK now,” five weeks into her detention at the drug center and after being given five days worth of methadone after she arrived. “I didn't take any drugs while I was pregnant,” she says. Since the facility opened on Oct. 1, 2010, 843 people have passed through, only 92 of them female, according to Hfaw Daw Gampa. He and other KIA officials at the facility roll out some seized heroin and yabaa—slang for methamphetamines—that they say was seized from recent detainees. “The drugs come from Shan State, from militias linked to the army there,” they say. “It then is sent here through China.” Opium cultivation in Burma—the world's second-biggest source country after Afghanistan—has doubled since 2006, with much of the increase coming from Shan State, south of Kachin, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Ethnic opposition activists blame militias linked to the Burmese army for the increase in production, pointing to the election to Burma's Parliament of known drug lords running under the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which has almost 80 percent of house seats in Burma's legislature. But the KIA also has concerns about drugs produced on its own soil. “We have eradicated all opium growing here, around Laiza,” says the captain, before conceding that the KIA's opium eradication policy has not taken effect across all of its territory. “Perhaps 6,000 acres of opium is still grown by farmers, but we are hoping to end this. We have paid out about 70,000 dollars in compensation, and want farmers to grow other cash crops,” he says, pointing to a noticeboard covered with photographs of KIA soldiers destroying opium plantations. KIA officials murmur conspiratorial analyses of the extent of drug addiction elsewhere in Kachin State, in areas controlled by the government. “Our intelligence estimates that 70 percent of the students at Myitkina University are addicted to drugs,” says one staff member at the facility, requesting anonymity. “We think this is being done deliberately by drug traffickers linked to the army, to get our young Kachin people addicted,” he claims. Such claims are impossible to verify, but are an indication of the level of distrust of the Burmese authorities among Kachins, with the KIA and the Burmese army currently unable even to agree on a location for the next round of truce talks, eight months into a renewed conflict that began after the collapse of a 17-year-old ceasefire agreement last June. And despite the KIA running its on “war on drugs,” drug use in its territory continues. In the men's section of the rehabilitation compound, Lahtaw Awng Se, 37, says “it is easy to get in Laiza,” referring to heroin. Standing behind the prison-style door, he says he was caught crossing the Jeyang River five days before, and has just finished the short methadone course given to him by the rehab center. Though frail and haggard, he claims he is not a regular drug user. “My friends call me to take,” he says. He says he has been treated well at the center, adding that the lowest point for him after his arrest was when his mother visited him. “She was angry, she scolded me,” he says, half-laughing, eyes down to the floor. “I don't think I will take it again.” *************************************************** The Irrawaddy - MPs to Debate President's Office $750m Budget By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY Wednesday, February 29, 2012 The proposed US $750 million budget of the President's Office for the 2012-2013 fiscal year will be discussed at the Union Parliament next week amid criticism of planned expenses in all sectors of governance. The agenda includes the budget plan for President's Office expenses for the next fiscal year along with the budget separation among government ministries and expenses for Union level government and State/Division level governments. The proposed budget of the President's Office has been highlighted by Members of Parliament as it has “requested 611.05 billion kyat ($750 million) for special development funding,” while the office does not have to spend on infrastructure apart from administration, said Dr Aye Maung, a respected member of the Upper House of Parliament who represents Burma’s Arakanese ethnic minority. Thein Nyunt, a member of the Lower House of Parliament, said MPs will discuss the matter in detail and systematically plan the budget as the office spent billions of kyat last year. This includes the controversial implementation of a Myanmar Industrial Development Committee project under the Ministry of Industry, which he claims does not abide by the 2008 Constitution. “If [the President's Office budget] does not abide by the law, we will have to object,” added Thein Nyunt. Moreover, the imbalanced budget separation between the Union and State/Division levels of government is also a hot topic amongst MPs. Currently 94 percent of the planned fiscal year budget is estimated for the former and just six percent for the latter. MP Aye Maung said, “The budget estimation should be 75 percent for Union level government and 25 or 20 percent for State/Division level government in order to be balanced.” In next week's meeting of Parliament, discussions will also focus on the budget reduction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation as well as a proposed increase in funding for the Ministry of Electric Power-2. MPs claim there are unnecessary national projects such as building sport stadiums and infrastructures for technology colleges within the President's Office budget plan. In this third session of the Burmese Parliament which began last month, the current annual additional budget and the national project budget are also being discussed. The government recently declared that Burma has a national debt of around $12 billion. *************************************************** China’s charity role along Burmese pipelines route praised Wednesday, 29 February 2012 15:56 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – China’s role in the creation of the Sino-Burma oil and natural gas pipelines was praised by Burma’s vice president this week, particularly China’s charity contributions in the project areas. Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo praised China’s cooperation with Burma while touring Kyaukphyu on Made Island in Rakhine State with Chinese and local officials, according to an article by the Xinhua news agency published this week. Tin Aung Myint Oo thanked the Chinese companies for donating cash and material for health and education projects along the pipeline route. Zhang Jialin, president of the South-East Asia Crude Oil Pipeline (SEAOP), briefed Tin Aung Myint Oo on the progress of the oil and natural gas pipeline project and the China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) charity undertakings in the project areas. The CNPC funds the pipeline project. He said in 2011, related companies donated a total of US$ 4 million to build 45 schools and 24 hospitals and clinics, while also improving the healthcare environment for 800,000 people. He said the charity work also involved digging “tube” wells that provide water for 2,490 people, according to Xinhua. Made Island, situated in western Burma in Rakhine State, is the starting point for the crude oil pipeline. The starting point for the natural gas pipeline is on Ramree on the west coast. The oil and natural gas pipelines run parallel through Burma and enter into China at Ruili, Yunnan Province. The crude oil pipeline extends onshore 771 kilometers, while the natural gas pipeline stretches 793 kilometers. Tin Aung Myint Oo stressed China’s continued support for people along the pipeline area. He also said that the project would consider providing support for Rakhine State's electric power network to relieve a regional power shortage. *************************************************** Burma’s gem show set for March Wednesday, 29 February 2012 15:08 Mizzima News (Mizzima) – Naypyitaw will host the 49th Myanmar Gem Emporium in early March, and hope that sales trump last year’s shows which raised more than US$ 4 billion. Successful gem show sales were held in March and July, but the show in November was cancelled. Officials gave no reason, but traders said the cancellation was because of lack of payment by some foreign gem buyers. Organized by the Ministry of Mines, the 49th Myanmar Gems Emporium will be held at the Mani Yadana Jade Hall from March 9 to 18 with pre-view dates on March 6 to 8. A total of 15,000 lots of gems will be displayed at the emporium, officials said. The gem emporium held in March 2011 drew 1,600 gem traders from abroad. The buyers were mostly from China, Hong Kong and Taipei. Burma, is a well-known producer of gems, and boasts rubies, diamonds, cat's eyes, emeralds, topaz, pearls, sapphires, coral and a variety of garnet tinged with yellow. The authorities designate the proceeds from the sale of gems at the emporium as legal export earning to encourage the private sector to develop the gem industry. Regarding the show cancellation in November 2000, a gem trader told Mizzima, “For gems sold in the previous gem emporium, less than half of the money has come in. Some of the traders in foreign countries have not made full payment.” In May, the Chinese government increased the tax on gems from Burma from 10 percent to 30 percent, and the demand from Chinese traders fell, traders said. In the gem emporium, buyers must make a partial payment upon purchase and make the total payment within three months. A record value of US$ 2.8 billion in gems was sold during the emporium held in March. In the July emporium, US$ 1.5 billion in gems were sold. Traders said China’s gem traders couldn’t buy Burmese gems at competitive prices because of the increased tax rate. Moreover, because of the strong kyat, gem traders said they are placed at a disadvantage. “There is no gem market as large as China’s gem market. We have to rely on it. We cannot rely on other markets. If they [China] do not buy, the jade trade will be dull,” said a gem-mining businessman in Mandalay. In Burma’s gem emporiums, jade is the most purchased item. On average, a total of about 5,000 gem traders from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea visit the gem emporiums each year. Most of the visitors are Chinese. Since 1964, the Ministry of Mines has held a gem emporium each year. From 1992 to 2003, two gem emporiums were held each year. Since 2004, three gem emporiums are held annually. The first gem emporiums were held in the Inya Lake Hotel in Rangoon. Since 1993, emporiums were held in Rangoon at the gem museum on Kabaaye Pagoda Road and the Convention Center on Min Dhama Road. Starting in November 2010, the Mani Yadanar Hall in Naypyitaw has hosted the gem emporiums. *************************************************** Ruling soon in footwear strike in Rangoon Wednesday, 29 February 2012 19:44 Myo Thant Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Thursday is the expected date for a ruling by the labour arbitration court in the Tai Yi footwear factory strike in the Hlaingthaya industrial zone in Rangoon. The court took testimony and information from both parties on Wednesday at the Hlaingthaya Township Labour Office. “The Trade dispute arbitration court chairman Saw Soe Tint said that the verdict would likely be given tomorrow. So we are looking forward to the ruling and keeping our fingers crossed. We do hope we will get a ruling in our favour,” said Pho Phyu, a lawyer for the workers. A delegation of workers and company managers and accountants testified during the proceedings. The workers are asking for a basic pay rate of 150 kyat (US$ 19 cents) per hour, a bonus of 8,000 kyat for those who have no absences during the month and a better working environment. The factory owner offered 100 kyat (13 cents) per hour, which the workers rejected. The working hours at the factory are from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. A total of 1,311 workers went on strike. The government revised the Labour Law on October 11, 2011, which would enable workers to form trade unions, but the necessary rules and regulations for the law have not yet been drafted. Workers hope to form a trade union after the law is promulgated. “When we can form a free trade union, we can make our demands more easily,” Tai Yi footwear factory strike leader Moe Wei said. According to the Labour Law, to form a trade union at least 30 workers must organize, and they must have the support of at least 10 per cent of the work force concerned. The trade unions would be divided into basic level, township level, state and region level and central level at the All Burma Labour Affairs Association. If workers wanted to stage a strike and demonstration under the direction of the labour union concerned, they must inform the arbitration committee of their planned strike date and venue and number of participants at least 14 days before a strike. In the offence and punishment chapter, the law stipulates that if the law is violated, a person could receive up to one-year imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 kyat (US$ 122) or both. *************************************************** TV staff told not to get excited about Suu Kyi’s studio visit Wednesday, 29 February 2012 12:05 Kyaw Kha Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Aung San Suu Kyi will receive a business-like reception when she goes to the Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) studios to record an NLD campaign speech in March. TV staff told Mizzima that Director General Thein Aung ordered people working in the offices and studios not to make a big deal out of her visit, in spite of the great anticipation, curiosity and eagerness of the workers to meet the national democratic icon. The staff was assembled in a special meeting on Friday in Naypyitaw and the director general issued his instructions. “Aung San Suu Kyi will come to our office,” said a staff member. “Our DG told us not to welcome and greet her on that day, and we should remain at our jobs,” a MRTV staff member told Mizzima. The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced on February 17 that 17 political parties including the NLD could create a campaign speech, which would be broadcast on state radio and television. Suu Kyi’s election campaign speech will be telecast and broadcast by MRTV on March 14. She will arrive at MRTV studios in Naypyitaw two days in advance to record the speech. Most MRTV staff wanted to give her a big welcome. “We have never seen her before live,” said the staff member. “We have seen her only on the Internet and the pictures in the weekly journals. First we thought we would get a chance to welcome her when she comes, but we have to follow the DG’s instructions. “The camera crew is lucky: they can see her. They can see her up close, but we will not have an opportunity to see her even from a distance.” Suu Kyi has encountered numerous obstacles from state authorities during her campaign trips across the country. On February 14, NLD officials held a press conference to discuss various incidents, including the NLD’s failure to find a large venue in Mandalay to hold a mass rally on February 4 and 5, after various authorities rejected NLD requests for venues. The NLD had to postpone the planned Mandalay campaign tour and reschedule it for early March. It also applied to hold a mass rally in a sports area in Pyapon in Irrawaddy Region on February 17, but the Ministry of Sports refused permission. The rally was held on a sand dune on the outskirts of Pyapon, where an estimated 40,000 people heard Suu Kyi speak. The sports ministry also refused access to a football ground in Hlegu Township in Rangoon Region on February 15. After publicity, the UEC overruled the ministry decision and permission was granted to hold a rally on the sports field. High-level Burmese officials have repeatedly said that the April 1 election would be free and fair, but numerous incidents have shown that the NLD is fighting a battle just to get its message out to the public. *************************************************** DVB News - ‘No chance of Than Shwe returning’: aide By FRANCIS WADE Published: 29 February 2012 Burma’s former junta strongman has no role in the government, having “totally resigned from politics”, an advisor to President Thein Sein claims amid lingering uncertainty over the status of the hermetic one-time leader. Ko Ko Hlaing told Thai newspaper The Nation in a lengthy interview this week that Than Shwe “is not like Deng Xiao Ping of China or Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore”, who both continued to pull the strings well after their proclaimed retirement. “He doesn’t want to be involved in this new set-up.” The 79-year-old last year officially stepped down after nearly two decades in power to make way for the nominally civilian administration of Thein Sein, whose Union Solidarity and Development Party swept the November 2010 elections. Little has been heard from him since, although questions have remained about his influence on government policy. The issue garnered heightened attention in December last year when it emerged that he had met with former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a secretive trip to Burma. That visit was seen as laying the groundwork for a subsequent visit by Thaksin’s sister and current Thai premier, Yingluck Shinawatra. Speculation centred on whether Thaksin, who had developed strong business-driven relations with the former ruling junta in Burma, had sought Than Shwe’s approval for Yingluck to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. If true, then it would appear to support claims that he still wields clout within the government. Than Shwe’s iron-fisted rule over Burma had been dominated by efforts to snuff out the political opposition, which culminated in May 2003 when junta-backed thugs made what appeared to have been an assassination attempt on Suu Kyi in the town of Depayin. She survived, but around 70 of her supporters were beaten to death. According to the Asian Legal Resource Centre, the incident amounted to crimes against humanity – the group claims that government authorities had prior knowledge of the incident, had deliberately lured people to the site of the attack, and that police had quickly rounded up and arrested survivors in the aftermath. During his 19 years in power Than Shwe rarely left Burma, and when he did it was only to countries with close ties to the junta. Long believed to have been afraid of an indictment for war crimes and crimes against humanity, he remained a reclusive figure throughout his rule, and has now all but disappeared from view. Ko Ko Hlaing dismissed questions about Than Shwe’s fear of a trial, should Suu Kyi eventually win office: “[Burma] is a Buddhist country. Forgiveness is our principle,” he said, adding that the opposition icon carried the same sentiment. The majority of western governments who had backed calls for a UN probe into abuses committed by the regime appear to have backtracked since Thein Sein unleashed a slew of ostensibly democratic reforms after coming to power in March last year. Although many see the nascent developments as paving the way for democratic transition, Ko Ko Hlaing conceded that the army will retain formidable influence for the foreseeable future. “The military tried very hard to keep the country intact at the peak of the Cold War between the Eastern and Western blocs. We also had to protect our territorial integrity. It was a very hard time for the Myanmar [Burma] army,” he told The Nation. “This experience has always haunted the military leaders. “That’s why the Myanmar military wants to have a role in the political arena, not to dominate the political stage but to take part as an element – as a balancing sector.” *************************************************** DVB News - Villagers on trial for resisting relocation By NAW NOREEN Published: 29 February 2012 A trial is underway for villagers who have refused a government order to relocate from their homes close to Burma’s capital. Members of around 20 households now face up to three months in prison, having turned down offers of 200,000 kyat ($US235) per family to relocate after the order was given in October 2011. The land is being eyed for a government project, although it is not clear what exactly – a resident of Meethwaypho Kone village in Lewe township, around five miles south of Naypyidaw, said it was rumoured to be some sort of gem project. Around a third of the nearly 150 households in the village were offered a plot of land in addition to the financial compensation, but that left 100 or so with nowhere to go. “How can we survive on 200,000 kyat and where can we buy land with that amount? We refused to move because we really have nowhere to go,” said Chit Ko Ko. “As we have nowhere to live or nothing to make a living with, we will just let ourselves be sued. We are living with the prospect of trial and imprisonment.” The group also claims no lawyer has been willing to take on the case, and they have been forced to defend themselves. The families have already appeared in court four times and pleaded not guilty. The issue of land rights in Burma is a sensitive one: existing laws do little to prevent confiscation by government-aligned figures, and that looks set to continue if a bill currently being debated in parliament comes into force. The Land Act will effectively allow powerful tycoons to monopolise arable land and force off small-scale farmers and landowners. *************************************************** DVB News - Humour still weapon of protest in Burma By AFP Published: 29 February 2012 After years of lampooning the junta, Burma’s Moustache Brothers aren’t ready to stop poking fun at the regime yet, despite dramatic changes that mean laughter is no longer such a risky business. With nothing more than their sharp wit, the sexagenarian members of one of the long-isolated country’s most famous comedy troupes are perhaps among the bravest dissidents to have stood up to the generals. And they pull no punches when it comes to the new army-backed government that took power last year after almost half a century of outright military rule ended in the country. “It’s old wine in a different bottle,” said Par Par Lay, 64, also known as “Brother Number One”. Officially banned and blacklisted, the act counts pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi among its fans, but these days they perform in English to growing numbers of foreign tourists at their nightly show in their home city Mandalay. With the regime embarking on a series of dramatic reforms, the satirists hope one day to be able to take their act on the road, and enlighten the poor about the political situation. For now, however, Par Par Lay, his younger brother Lu Maw and their leathery faced cousin Lu Zaw are contented to be able to tell the world about their country through laughter. Lu Maw, a wiry 62-year-old whose broken English is peppered with mismatched idioms, elicited nervous laughter by admonishing the crowd at a recent show to be quiet because government agents were nearby. “We are blacklisted, jail birds, and illegals you know, so you are also here illegally,” he told a young American woman in the front row before breaking into a grin. “But don’t worry, the government loves tourists because they want your dollars.” At another point in the show Par Par Lay asked the crowd if they wanted to see an authentic Burmese act. Within seconds, he was wearing a balaclava helmet over his moustachioed face and sporting a hand gun as he gingerly mimicked a thief breaking into a home. “That’s how they are, like Jesse James, Ali Baba, like bandits,” Lu Maw said on the microphone, alluding to the military to scattered laughter from the crowd. The trio used to lead one of Burma’s most popular traditional comedy acts. But their colourful show took a political turn when they fell foul of the authorities in 1996 for making fun of the junta during a performance at Aung San Suu Kyi’s house in Rangoon to mark Independence Day. Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw were arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment, sparking worldwide appeals for their release. They were sent to a labour camp and freed in 2001. The experience might have crushed any ordinary comedian, but not Par Par Lay and his gang, who emerged from the bitter experience even more emboldened and daring in their attacks on the government. Par Par Lay was detained again in 2007 during a crackdown on the “Saffron Revolution” pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks, but released after about a month. The brothers are still officially banned from performing publicly, but they have found a way to continue their act by staging it for tourists in the family’s cramped garage in Mandalay. The regime is not the only butt of their humour — their jokes also target the West, and in particular the United States, which recently upgraded diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian nation. Feigning seriousness, Lu Maw wondered aloud why US-led coalition forces had not sent unmanned drones to Burma, whose military he said had been involved in some of the world’s most atrocious rights abuses. “Burma is the same as Libya, Egypt, Somalia or Syria. But they all have oil,” Lu Maw said with a naughty wink. “Ah, but they [the West] don’t know what we have — we have opium and heroin too.” After the one-hour show, the brothers personally thanked every visitor and sold them souvenirs. They said the money would go to helping those political prisoners still languishing in jail, despite a series of mass pardons that have seen hundreds of others walk free under the new reformist government. Par Par Lay said he was confident Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party would do well in parliamentary by-elections set for 1 April, but he called for a close watch on the ballots. “She will win, everybody knows that,” he said. “But 1 April, the day of election, is also April Fool’s Day. We hope it’s not going to be a joke.” ***************************************************