Myanmar lawyer: Detention now 'worse' for Suu Kyi
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 (08-25) 07:11 PDT
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The conditions of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention have gotten "worse" since her conviction this month for violating terms of her previous house arrest, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Myanmar's military government has not responded to Suu Kyi's request for a visit by her personal physician, said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman for her National League for Democracy party.
Nyan Win also said he and his colleagues have not yet been given permission to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate since her Aug. 11 conviction to consult on filing an appeal.
"The present regulations imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are worse than the previous rules," he said. "Daw" is a term of respect.
A Myanmar court found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of sheltering an uninvited American visitor. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor was reduced to 18 months of house arrest by order of military junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Suu Kyi was returned to her tightly guarded home the day she was convicted. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years for her nonviolent political activities, but this year was the first time she faced criminal charges.
The court stipulated eight rules for her new term of house arrest, which were generally seen as slightly more liberal than her previous detention, which kept her in almost complete isolation.
Now Suu Kyi and two female companions can receive visitors with prior permission from the authorities, have the right to medical treatment by doctors and nurses, and are allowed to read state-controlled newspapers and magazines and watch state-run television.
But Nyan Win said authorities still had not agreed on Suu Kyi's request to allow her personal doctor to visit instead of one provided by the government.
He said Suu Kyi wanted her personal doctor "as the doctor knows her medical history well."
Suu Kyi earlier told her lawyers she needed clarification from the authorities regarding the terms of her house arrest regarding matters such as visitation rights and medical coverage.
Nyan Win said it is not clear if she will be permitted to meet people she wants to see, or if people who want to visit her can request permission.
Nyan Win said it is now more difficult to send Suu Kyi books than when she was in Insein Prison during her trial because every book has to pass through scrutiny, taking days.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 (08-25) 07:11 PDT
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The conditions of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention have gotten "worse" since her conviction this month for violating terms of her previous house arrest, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Myanmar's military government has not responded to Suu Kyi's request for a visit by her personal physician, said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman for her National League for Democracy party.
Nyan Win also said he and his colleagues have not yet been given permission to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate since her Aug. 11 conviction to consult on filing an appeal.
"The present regulations imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are worse than the previous rules," he said. "Daw" is a term of respect.
A Myanmar court found Suu Kyi, 64, guilty of sheltering an uninvited American visitor. Her sentence of three years in prison with hard labor was reduced to 18 months of house arrest by order of military junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe.
Suu Kyi was returned to her tightly guarded home the day she was convicted. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years for her nonviolent political activities, but this year was the first time she faced criminal charges.
The court stipulated eight rules for her new term of house arrest, which were generally seen as slightly more liberal than her previous detention, which kept her in almost complete isolation.
Now Suu Kyi and two female companions can receive visitors with prior permission from the authorities, have the right to medical treatment by doctors and nurses, and are allowed to read state-controlled newspapers and magazines and watch state-run television.
But Nyan Win said authorities still had not agreed on Suu Kyi's request to allow her personal doctor to visit instead of one provided by the government.
He said Suu Kyi wanted her personal doctor "as the doctor knows her medical history well."
Suu Kyi earlier told her lawyers she needed clarification from the authorities regarding the terms of her house arrest regarding matters such as visitation rights and medical coverage.
Nyan Win said it is not clear if she will be permitted to meet people she wants to see, or if people who want to visit her can request permission.
Nyan Win said it is now more difficult to send Suu Kyi books than when she was in Insein Prison during her trial because every book has to pass through scrutiny, taking days.
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Bangladesh awards gas exploration rights
By JULHAS ALAM, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 31 mins ago
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Bangladesh has awarded three offshore blocks to two global energy companies to explore for gas in the Bay of Bengal, a senior energy official said Tuesday.
The U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Ireland's Tullow Oil could start exploration work by early next year, said Mohammad Muqtadir Ali, chairman of the state-owned Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla.
He said the decision came Monday from a Cabinet committee on economic affairs, the highest body to deal with economic issues, as the nation seeks new sources of gas amid a forecast that its current reserves will run out by 2014-15.
Ali, however, said the companies would not be allowed to explore for oil and gas in disputed waters, also claimed by India and Myanmar, in the Bay of Bengal.
"We will not allow them to work in the disputed waters," he told The Associated Press by phone.
The official said the oil companies are expected to invest a total of $160.5 million in line with their initial bidding estimates for the exploration work. It will need years to complete the exploration job, he said.
Officials of the companies could not be immediately reached for comment.
Bangladesh has said it will fight internationally to establish its rights over the disputed waters, and is preparing to file its claims to the United Nations for a resolution. India and Myanmar claim the areas fall within their maritime boundaries.
Last year, Bangladesh's military-backed interim government divided the country's sea territory into 28 blocks in the Bay of Bengal and invited exploration bids, but failed to get much response apparently because of the dispute.
In November 2008, tensions mounted between Myanmar and Bangladesh after Myanmar escorted a South Korean gas exploration company into territory also claimed by Bangladesh. Both countries deployed their navies and finally ended the stand off with high-level diplomatic negotiations.
The government has recently asked energy authorities not to allow any new gas connections since the country is facing up to 250 million cubic feet in shortages of gas each day.
Currently, Sangu gas field, operated by Britain's Cairn Energy, is the country's lone operating offshore gas field.
Bangladesh has proven natural gas reserves of up to 15 trillion cubic feet.
Foreign companies have invested millions of dollars to explore and produce gas in deals with the state-run Petrobangla.
By JULHAS ALAM, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 31 mins ago
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) – Bangladesh has awarded three offshore blocks to two global energy companies to explore for gas in the Bay of Bengal, a senior energy official said Tuesday.
The U.S.-based ConocoPhillips and Ireland's Tullow Oil could start exploration work by early next year, said Mohammad Muqtadir Ali, chairman of the state-owned Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla.
He said the decision came Monday from a Cabinet committee on economic affairs, the highest body to deal with economic issues, as the nation seeks new sources of gas amid a forecast that its current reserves will run out by 2014-15.
Ali, however, said the companies would not be allowed to explore for oil and gas in disputed waters, also claimed by India and Myanmar, in the Bay of Bengal.
"We will not allow them to work in the disputed waters," he told The Associated Press by phone.
The official said the oil companies are expected to invest a total of $160.5 million in line with their initial bidding estimates for the exploration work. It will need years to complete the exploration job, he said.
Officials of the companies could not be immediately reached for comment.
Bangladesh has said it will fight internationally to establish its rights over the disputed waters, and is preparing to file its claims to the United Nations for a resolution. India and Myanmar claim the areas fall within their maritime boundaries.
Last year, Bangladesh's military-backed interim government divided the country's sea territory into 28 blocks in the Bay of Bengal and invited exploration bids, but failed to get much response apparently because of the dispute.
In November 2008, tensions mounted between Myanmar and Bangladesh after Myanmar escorted a South Korean gas exploration company into territory also claimed by Bangladesh. Both countries deployed their navies and finally ended the stand off with high-level diplomatic negotiations.
The government has recently asked energy authorities not to allow any new gas connections since the country is facing up to 250 million cubic feet in shortages of gas each day.
Currently, Sangu gas field, operated by Britain's Cairn Energy, is the country's lone operating offshore gas field.
Bangladesh has proven natural gas reserves of up to 15 trillion cubic feet.
Foreign companies have invested millions of dollars to explore and produce gas in deals with the state-run Petrobangla.
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Daewoo in $5.6 bln Myanmar gas export deal to China
Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:22am EDT
SEOUL, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A consortium led by South Korea's Daewoo International will invest about $5.6 billion to develop Myanmar gas fields as part of a 30-year natural gas supply deal with China, a group member said on Tuesday.
The investment comes just a week after China signed a $41 billion liquefied natural gas import deal with Australia, underscoring its strong appetite for a broad range of commodities from gas and uranium to iron ore and coal.
The Myanmar gas development plan, which has been mooted since 2004, will allow the consortium to supply natural gas to China's top state oil and gas firm, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), with a peak daily production of 500 million cubic feet, or about 3.8 million tonnes annually.
The supply, due from 2013 from the Shwe and ShwePhyu fields in Myanmar's A-1 offshore block and Mya field in A-3 offshore block, amounts to around 7 percent of China's current gas consumption of 7.3 billion cubic feet per day, which is expected to grow rapidly.
Currently meeting only 3 percent of China's total energy needs, gas use is set to grow at a 10 percent compound annual rate to 18 billion cubic feet per day by 2020, according to Bernstein Research, transforming China into the third largest single market after Russia and the United States.
Daewoo (047050.KS) has a 51 percent stake in the consortium and the other shareholders are India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) with 17 percent, Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise with 15 percent, India's GAIL (GAIL.BO) with 8.5 percent, and Korea Gas Corp (036460.KS) with 8.5 percent.
Daewoo will spend 2.1 trillion won ($1.68 billion) in initial investment for five years until 2014 and KOGAS would spend $299 million, the two firms said in separate statements.
A KOGAS official said total investment by the consortium would amount to about $5.6 billion, including $4.6 billion in initial spending.
The consortium will undertake production and offshore pipeline transportation, while land transportation to China will be jointly managed with China National United Oil Corp (CNUOC).
The investment still needs approval from the army-ruled Myanmar government, and CNUOC has yet to decide details of its investment for land transportation to China.
Chinese media have said the consortium and CNUOC planned to build oil and gas pipelines through Myanmar and into China's southwestern Yunnan province, bypassing the long journey around the Malacca Strait.
Myanmar will also be able to tap the pipeline running across its territory to promote economic development once the gas starts flowing.
Few Western companies will invest in Myanmar because of its poor human rights record and continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which has led to a broad range of U.S. and European sanctions.
China, typically wary of supporting or imposing sanctions and one of Myanmar's few diplomatic allies, has shown no qualms about investing in its neighbour, eager for its natural gas, oil, minerals and timber to feed a booming economy. ($1=1247.6 Won)
Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:22am EDT
SEOUL, Aug 25 (Reuters) - A consortium led by South Korea's Daewoo International will invest about $5.6 billion to develop Myanmar gas fields as part of a 30-year natural gas supply deal with China, a group member said on Tuesday.
The investment comes just a week after China signed a $41 billion liquefied natural gas import deal with Australia, underscoring its strong appetite for a broad range of commodities from gas and uranium to iron ore and coal.
The Myanmar gas development plan, which has been mooted since 2004, will allow the consortium to supply natural gas to China's top state oil and gas firm, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), with a peak daily production of 500 million cubic feet, or about 3.8 million tonnes annually.
The supply, due from 2013 from the Shwe and ShwePhyu fields in Myanmar's A-1 offshore block and Mya field in A-3 offshore block, amounts to around 7 percent of China's current gas consumption of 7.3 billion cubic feet per day, which is expected to grow rapidly.
Currently meeting only 3 percent of China's total energy needs, gas use is set to grow at a 10 percent compound annual rate to 18 billion cubic feet per day by 2020, according to Bernstein Research, transforming China into the third largest single market after Russia and the United States.
Daewoo (047050.KS) has a 51 percent stake in the consortium and the other shareholders are India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.BO) with 17 percent, Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise with 15 percent, India's GAIL (GAIL.BO) with 8.5 percent, and Korea Gas Corp (036460.KS) with 8.5 percent.
Daewoo will spend 2.1 trillion won ($1.68 billion) in initial investment for five years until 2014 and KOGAS would spend $299 million, the two firms said in separate statements.
A KOGAS official said total investment by the consortium would amount to about $5.6 billion, including $4.6 billion in initial spending.
The consortium will undertake production and offshore pipeline transportation, while land transportation to China will be jointly managed with China National United Oil Corp (CNUOC).
The investment still needs approval from the army-ruled Myanmar government, and CNUOC has yet to decide details of its investment for land transportation to China.
Chinese media have said the consortium and CNUOC planned to build oil and gas pipelines through Myanmar and into China's southwestern Yunnan province, bypassing the long journey around the Malacca Strait.
Myanmar will also be able to tap the pipeline running across its territory to promote economic development once the gas starts flowing.
Few Western companies will invest in Myanmar because of its poor human rights record and continued detention of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, which has led to a broad range of U.S. and European sanctions.
China, typically wary of supporting or imposing sanctions and one of Myanmar's few diplomatic allies, has shown no qualms about investing in its neighbour, eager for its natural gas, oil, minerals and timber to feed a booming economy. ($1=1247.6 Won)
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News-Leader.com - Yettaw to tell of arrest in Myanmar on CNN
Falcon man says he helped save life of democracy activist.
The Associated Press • August 25, 2009
John Yettaw, the Laclede County man arrested in Myanmar while attempting to liberate a detained democracy leader, will tell his story on CNN on Wednesday, according to a news release issued by Yettaw's attorney Chris Allen.
Yettaw, from the tiny town of Falcon -- about 70 miles northeast of Springfield in Laclede County -- returned to Missouri last Wednesday after generating global headlines for swimming to the home of Suu Kyi, then getting arrested and sentenced to hard labor.
Yettaw, 53, was deported Aug. 16 from Myanmar after the intervention of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.
The incident led to a trial that sparked global condemnation in which Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional 18 months of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest. She has already spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
Despite the additional penalties, Yettaw has told reporters he does not regret his actions and he believes he helped save her life.
Allen, whose law practice is based in Lebanon, echoed those sentiments in the news release.
"The more I am around John, and listen to the details of his story, the more I am convinced that he did in fact save Aung Sann Suu Kyi's life, and that his actions will effect positive and lasting change in Myanmar. I am excited for John to have this opportunity and I am looking forward to being with him in New York City when he tells CNN and the whole world his story," Allen said in the release.
Allen and Yettaw are traveling to New York City for the interview, which is expected to air Wednesday, according to the news release.
Falcon man says he helped save life of democracy activist.
The Associated Press • August 25, 2009
John Yettaw, the Laclede County man arrested in Myanmar while attempting to liberate a detained democracy leader, will tell his story on CNN on Wednesday, according to a news release issued by Yettaw's attorney Chris Allen.
Yettaw, from the tiny town of Falcon -- about 70 miles northeast of Springfield in Laclede County -- returned to Missouri last Wednesday after generating global headlines for swimming to the home of Suu Kyi, then getting arrested and sentenced to hard labor.
Yettaw, 53, was deported Aug. 16 from Myanmar after the intervention of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.
The incident led to a trial that sparked global condemnation in which Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional 18 months of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest. She has already spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
Despite the additional penalties, Yettaw has told reporters he does not regret his actions and he believes he helped save her life.
Allen, whose law practice is based in Lebanon, echoed those sentiments in the news release.
"The more I am around John, and listen to the details of his story, the more I am convinced that he did in fact save Aung Sann Suu Kyi's life, and that his actions will effect positive and lasting change in Myanmar. I am excited for John to have this opportunity and I am looking forward to being with him in New York City when he tells CNN and the whole world his story," Allen said in the release.
Allen and Yettaw are traveling to New York City for the interview, which is expected to air Wednesday, according to the news release.
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Aug 26, 2009
Asia Times Online - On the march to do business in Myanmar
By Brian McCartan
BANGKOK - The debate over United States and European Union-led sanctions against doing business in Myanmar is set to intensify in the wake of US Senator Jim Webb's recent high-profile meeting with Senior General Than Shwe and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Webb spoke out against the sanctions and Myanmar's junta echoed that call through state media. As US policymakers weigh the pros and cons of economically re-engaging the ruling junta, the process will necessarily take into account that a handful of military linked businessmen, many allegedly involved in illegal activities, including drug trafficking, dominate Myanmar's underdeveloped economy.
For US investors eyeing business opportunities that the cessation of sanctions would present, dealing with Myanmar's top military and business leaders would be key to gaining market access. Myanmar is one of the world's most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, an independent corruption watchdog, and US businesses would enter Myanmar at great risk to their corporate reputations.
In Myanmar business circles, the most talked about businessman is Tay Za, who owns the Htoo Trading Company Ltd, also known as the Htoo Group of Companies. Htoo maintains large logging, construction, property development, import-export, aviation, transportation, shipping and mining operations. Tay Za has also made recent forays into telecommunications and banking, and established Myanmar's first privately invested airline, Air Bagan.
The US Treasury Department placed five of those companies, along with Tay Za, his wife, and eldest son, Pye Phyo Za, on a sanctions list in October 2007 because of their financial connections to the regime and Tay Za's alleged role as an arms broker. In February 2008, the US stepped up those sanctions by putting several more companies and Tay Za's business associates in both Myanmar and Singapore on a black list, including Tay Za's brother and business partner Thiha. Htoo Trading Company Ltd, which includes Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Company Ltd, are all currently under US sanctions.
US sanctions, first imposed broadly in 1995, have since 2007 targeted specific generals and their associated business interests by freezing their assets in American financial institutions. The restrictions also prohibit any commercial or financial transactions between American individuals and Myanmar firms named in the sanctions order and ban named individuals from travel to the US.
Tay Za and Htoo Trading have also been targeted by the European Union, which imposed sanctions against them in December 2007. Similar to the US sanctions, the EU also targeted Tay Za's wife, eldest son and brother. Canada also put Tay Za and his family on their Canadian Special Economic Measures Regulations list in December 2007. (Tay Za could not be reached for comment for this article.)
Sprawling empire
Despite those impediments, Tay Za's businesses continue to thrive, including through contracts with China. In 2008, he negotiated a concession from Alcatel Shanghai Bell to cooperate on projects in the new Yadanabon cyber-city currently under construction in central Myanmar. He also built the old capital Yangon's top shopping complex, the Myanmar Shopping Center, which is stocked with international brands. Htoo Trading was also one of two main companies granted contracts to construct the new capital city at Naypyidaw.
Tay Za's rise is directly connected to his close relations with Myanmar's generals, especially Senior General Than Shwe, the country's authoritarian ruler. He is also well-connected to General Thura Shwe Mann, currently the junta's third-ranking officer and often tipped to be Than Shwe's eventual successor. Shwe Mann currently holds a position on Htoo Trading's board, while his son, Aung Thet Mann, is director of Htoo Trading subsidiary Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, which is involved in construction, palm oil products and import-export activities.
Those relationships, analysts and opposition groups say, have helped him win many lucrative government contracts and trade concessions. In the months following the destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, Htoo Trading claimed it spent some US$3 million on rescue and rehabilitation. Myanmar watchers say Tay Za was granted lucrative reconstruction contracts from the generals for his donations to the relief effort.
He has come under criticism, including from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for a project to build a 150-room hotel and 60-meter-high tower in the historical town of Bagan which some say damages the religious site's aesthetics. His timber businesses stand widely accused of unsustainably cutting large swathes of Myanmar's remaining forests. But of special concern to the US is Tay Za's alleged role in brokering past arms purchases. Tay Za has consistently denied he is an arms broker for the military regime.
The US Treasury claims that Tay Za's Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd has been used to buy aircraft and helicopters for the Myanmar Air Force, including the 2001 purchase from Russia of 10 MiG 29 fighters and several Mi-8 helicopters. Established in 1993 to supply spare aircraft parts to the military, the company is now the representative for MAPO, Russia's major state-owned military aircraft manufacturer and a subsidiary of MiG. It also represents Russian helicopter company Rostverol, which in 2006 merged with Mil and Kamov to become Oboronprom Corporation.
More worrying to US and regional security interests is his alleged role in brokering Russian and North Korean aid for Myanmar's suspected nuclear program. Tay Za was part of the delegation led by Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the junta's second-ranking official, to Russia in 2006, reportedly to discuss weapons purchases as well as the construction of a nuclear reactor.
Testimony from a defector claiming to be a former bookkeeper for Tay Za was recently made public by Desmond Ball, a professor at Australian National University. The self-professed accountant claimed that Htoo Trading was directly involved in discussions with officials from North Korea and Russia "concerning contracts and memoranda of understanding for the provision of nuclear assistance, as well as the logistic arrangements for the export of uranium and the importation of equipment and materials for various elements of [Myanmar's] nuclear program".
Htoo Trading is also allegedly involved in contracting for construction at the sites of the two reactors. According to the defector's testimony, Tay Za is also responsible for shipping equipment to the sites, often under cover of night. According to Ball's notes, the defector was with Tay Za when he played golf with Kyaw Thein, the deputy director of the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence, and an Iranian intelligence officer and nuclear expert.
Controversial enterprise
Two other top businessmen with top connections to the regime are Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law, also known as Tun Myint Naing. Together they run Asia World Ltd, Myanmar's biggest and most diversified conglomerate with interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export and a chain of local supermarkets. Ten more companies are owned under the group in Singapore by Law's wife, Cecilia Ng.
Both Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law have been on a US visa blacklist since 1996 for suspected drug trafficking activities. In February 2008, they were also put on the Treasury Department's sanctions list, along with Asia World Company and subsidiaries Asia World Co Ltd, Asia World Port Management, Asia World Industries Ltd and Asia World Light Ltd for their financial connections to the regime.
Asia World currently holds the contract to run Yangon's main port, which handles 40% of Myanmar's container traffic and operates a cargo and shipping business from the same facility. The company was the second main contractor for the construction of the new capital now located at Naypyidaw and earned government reconstruction contracts in the Irrawaddy Delta in the wake of the cyclone disaster.
Asia World currently has contracts to build several hydropower projects, including the Myit Sone dam on a tributary of the Irrawaddy River north of Mytikyina. It is known to have strong links to China. For instance, the company was contracted by the Myanmar government to develop a port at Kyaukpyu on Ramree Island off Myanmar's western Arakan coast, which is intended to facilitate shipping goods between the coast and China's southwestern Yunnan province.
There is strong speculation that Lo Hsing Han's business empire was originally built on narco-profits - though he has consistently denied the widespread drug trafficking allegations. Starting as a local militia leader in the northern Kokang region in 1960, Lo Hsing Han was dubbed the "King of Opium" by US drug enforcement authorities in the 1970s because of large amount of heroin his alleged networks were sending through Thailand. Arrested by Thai police in 1973 and deported to Myanmar, he was sentenced to death for rebellion but granted an amnesty in 1980. He promptly moved back to northern Myanmar in a known drug cultivation area.
Lo Hsing Han's usefulness to the regime became evident in 1989 when then-chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, used him as a go-between for ceasefire agreements with several ethnic insurgent groups, including the Kokang and the United Wa State Army, recognized as the world's largest narco-producing militia. According to a 1993 Thai Office of Narcotics Control Board report, in exchange he was granted the right to smuggle heroin from northern Myanmar to the Thai border.
By 1994, his organization was widely considered among the most heavily armed drug trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia. Law enforcement officials say he might have stepped back from the trade in the mid-1990s, soon after he established Asia World. He also made strong efforts to cultivate relations with Myanmar's senior generals, especially Than Shwe; in 2006, Lo Hsing Han was known to have catered the extravagant wedding of Than Shwe's daughter.
Lo Hsing Han is now one of the most prominent persons foreign investors seek out to establish joint venture arrangements. Golden Aaron, an Asia World subsidiary, has been linked to China's National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) since 2004 in a production-sharing contract for oil and gas deposits in Arakan State's controversial Shwe gas project, which has been linked with land confiscation and human rights abuses by monitoring groups.
While Tay Za, Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law are the more well-known businessmen connected to the regime, a handful of other lesser-known and controversial entrepreneurs have also parlayed their relationships with senior generals into lucrative business empires.
Brothers Nay Aung and Pyi Aung are the sons of powerful Ministry of Industry [1] head Aung Thaung, who is known to be close to both Than Shwe and Maung Aye. Pyi Aung is married to Nandar Aye, Maung Aye's daughter. The brothers founded Aung Yee Phyo Company Ltd and IGE Company Ltd in 1994, which in 2001 was registered in Singapore. IGE has since evolved into one of Myanmar's leading oil and gas companies, while also providing spare parts for electrical generation projects, the agriculture industry and timber trade.
In March 2007, IGE signed a contract with Rimbunan Petrogas Ltd, making it a partner in a joint venture with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in offshore oil and gas exploration in the Shwe gas field. Both men are banned from travel to Australia and the EU, but are not on the US's sanctions list.
Khin Shwe, owner of the Zaykabar Company, is the country's leading property developer and has played a leading role in the tourism industry through his chairmanship of the Myanmar Hotelier Association. He was placed on the US sanctions list in 2007 for his close ties to the generals, including his daughter's marriage to Shwe Mann's youngest son.
He has also served as chairman of the Myanmar-Japan Friendship Association, Myanmar-Korean Friendship Association and the Myanmar Thai Development Company. He maintains strong connections to the regime and hired US public relations firm Bain and Associated in 1997 in a failed attempt to improve the junta's image on Capitol Hill.
Also on the US sanctions list is Htay Myint, founder of the Yuzana Company which has interests spanning real estate, transportation, construction, hotels and tourism, fisheries, palm oil production and rubber plantations. He also owns the Yuzan Supermarket and Yuzana Hotel in Yangon and an oil refinery in Thaketa township near Yangon.
These are some of the businessmen who will be rehabilitated and free for joint ventures with Western partners if the US and EU drop or relax their sanctions against Myanmar's rights-abusing regime. They are also the business groups foreign investors will likely need to seek out to gain access to Myanmar's various underinvested industries and markets.
While dropping sanctions would no doubt ease the suffering of the general population, the policy shift would simultaneously further enrich and entrench some of the region's most controversial business groups.
Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
Asia Times Online - On the march to do business in Myanmar
By Brian McCartan
BANGKOK - The debate over United States and European Union-led sanctions against doing business in Myanmar is set to intensify in the wake of US Senator Jim Webb's recent high-profile meeting with Senior General Than Shwe and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Webb spoke out against the sanctions and Myanmar's junta echoed that call through state media. As US policymakers weigh the pros and cons of economically re-engaging the ruling junta, the process will necessarily take into account that a handful of military linked businessmen, many allegedly involved in illegal activities, including drug trafficking, dominate Myanmar's underdeveloped economy.
For US investors eyeing business opportunities that the cessation of sanctions would present, dealing with Myanmar's top military and business leaders would be key to gaining market access. Myanmar is one of the world's most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, an independent corruption watchdog, and US businesses would enter Myanmar at great risk to their corporate reputations.
In Myanmar business circles, the most talked about businessman is Tay Za, who owns the Htoo Trading Company Ltd, also known as the Htoo Group of Companies. Htoo maintains large logging, construction, property development, import-export, aviation, transportation, shipping and mining operations. Tay Za has also made recent forays into telecommunications and banking, and established Myanmar's first privately invested airline, Air Bagan.
The US Treasury Department placed five of those companies, along with Tay Za, his wife, and eldest son, Pye Phyo Za, on a sanctions list in October 2007 because of their financial connections to the regime and Tay Za's alleged role as an arms broker. In February 2008, the US stepped up those sanctions by putting several more companies and Tay Za's business associates in both Myanmar and Singapore on a black list, including Tay Za's brother and business partner Thiha. Htoo Trading Company Ltd, which includes Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Company Ltd, are all currently under US sanctions.
US sanctions, first imposed broadly in 1995, have since 2007 targeted specific generals and their associated business interests by freezing their assets in American financial institutions. The restrictions also prohibit any commercial or financial transactions between American individuals and Myanmar firms named in the sanctions order and ban named individuals from travel to the US.
Tay Za and Htoo Trading have also been targeted by the European Union, which imposed sanctions against them in December 2007. Similar to the US sanctions, the EU also targeted Tay Za's wife, eldest son and brother. Canada also put Tay Za and his family on their Canadian Special Economic Measures Regulations list in December 2007. (Tay Za could not be reached for comment for this article.)
Sprawling empire
Despite those impediments, Tay Za's businesses continue to thrive, including through contracts with China. In 2008, he negotiated a concession from Alcatel Shanghai Bell to cooperate on projects in the new Yadanabon cyber-city currently under construction in central Myanmar. He also built the old capital Yangon's top shopping complex, the Myanmar Shopping Center, which is stocked with international brands. Htoo Trading was also one of two main companies granted contracts to construct the new capital city at Naypyidaw.
Tay Za's rise is directly connected to his close relations with Myanmar's generals, especially Senior General Than Shwe, the country's authoritarian ruler. He is also well-connected to General Thura Shwe Mann, currently the junta's third-ranking officer and often tipped to be Than Shwe's eventual successor. Shwe Mann currently holds a position on Htoo Trading's board, while his son, Aung Thet Mann, is director of Htoo Trading subsidiary Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, which is involved in construction, palm oil products and import-export activities.
Those relationships, analysts and opposition groups say, have helped him win many lucrative government contracts and trade concessions. In the months following the destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, Htoo Trading claimed it spent some US$3 million on rescue and rehabilitation. Myanmar watchers say Tay Za was granted lucrative reconstruction contracts from the generals for his donations to the relief effort.
He has come under criticism, including from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for a project to build a 150-room hotel and 60-meter-high tower in the historical town of Bagan which some say damages the religious site's aesthetics. His timber businesses stand widely accused of unsustainably cutting large swathes of Myanmar's remaining forests. But of special concern to the US is Tay Za's alleged role in brokering past arms purchases. Tay Za has consistently denied he is an arms broker for the military regime.
The US Treasury claims that Tay Za's Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd has been used to buy aircraft and helicopters for the Myanmar Air Force, including the 2001 purchase from Russia of 10 MiG 29 fighters and several Mi-8 helicopters. Established in 1993 to supply spare aircraft parts to the military, the company is now the representative for MAPO, Russia's major state-owned military aircraft manufacturer and a subsidiary of MiG. It also represents Russian helicopter company Rostverol, which in 2006 merged with Mil and Kamov to become Oboronprom Corporation.
More worrying to US and regional security interests is his alleged role in brokering Russian and North Korean aid for Myanmar's suspected nuclear program. Tay Za was part of the delegation led by Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the junta's second-ranking official, to Russia in 2006, reportedly to discuss weapons purchases as well as the construction of a nuclear reactor.
Testimony from a defector claiming to be a former bookkeeper for Tay Za was recently made public by Desmond Ball, a professor at Australian National University. The self-professed accountant claimed that Htoo Trading was directly involved in discussions with officials from North Korea and Russia "concerning contracts and memoranda of understanding for the provision of nuclear assistance, as well as the logistic arrangements for the export of uranium and the importation of equipment and materials for various elements of [Myanmar's] nuclear program".
Htoo Trading is also allegedly involved in contracting for construction at the sites of the two reactors. According to the defector's testimony, Tay Za is also responsible for shipping equipment to the sites, often under cover of night. According to Ball's notes, the defector was with Tay Za when he played golf with Kyaw Thein, the deputy director of the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence, and an Iranian intelligence officer and nuclear expert.
Controversial enterprise
Two other top businessmen with top connections to the regime are Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law, also known as Tun Myint Naing. Together they run Asia World Ltd, Myanmar's biggest and most diversified conglomerate with interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export and a chain of local supermarkets. Ten more companies are owned under the group in Singapore by Law's wife, Cecilia Ng.
Both Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law have been on a US visa blacklist since 1996 for suspected drug trafficking activities. In February 2008, they were also put on the Treasury Department's sanctions list, along with Asia World Company and subsidiaries Asia World Co Ltd, Asia World Port Management, Asia World Industries Ltd and Asia World Light Ltd for their financial connections to the regime.
Asia World currently holds the contract to run Yangon's main port, which handles 40% of Myanmar's container traffic and operates a cargo and shipping business from the same facility. The company was the second main contractor for the construction of the new capital now located at Naypyidaw and earned government reconstruction contracts in the Irrawaddy Delta in the wake of the cyclone disaster.
Asia World currently has contracts to build several hydropower projects, including the Myit Sone dam on a tributary of the Irrawaddy River north of Mytikyina. It is known to have strong links to China. For instance, the company was contracted by the Myanmar government to develop a port at Kyaukpyu on Ramree Island off Myanmar's western Arakan coast, which is intended to facilitate shipping goods between the coast and China's southwestern Yunnan province.
There is strong speculation that Lo Hsing Han's business empire was originally built on narco-profits - though he has consistently denied the widespread drug trafficking allegations. Starting as a local militia leader in the northern Kokang region in 1960, Lo Hsing Han was dubbed the "King of Opium" by US drug enforcement authorities in the 1970s because of large amount of heroin his alleged networks were sending through Thailand. Arrested by Thai police in 1973 and deported to Myanmar, he was sentenced to death for rebellion but granted an amnesty in 1980. He promptly moved back to northern Myanmar in a known drug cultivation area.
Lo Hsing Han's usefulness to the regime became evident in 1989 when then-chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, used him as a go-between for ceasefire agreements with several ethnic insurgent groups, including the Kokang and the United Wa State Army, recognized as the world's largest narco-producing militia. According to a 1993 Thai Office of Narcotics Control Board report, in exchange he was granted the right to smuggle heroin from northern Myanmar to the Thai border.
By 1994, his organization was widely considered among the most heavily armed drug trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia. Law enforcement officials say he might have stepped back from the trade in the mid-1990s, soon after he established Asia World. He also made strong efforts to cultivate relations with Myanmar's senior generals, especially Than Shwe; in 2006, Lo Hsing Han was known to have catered the extravagant wedding of Than Shwe's daughter.
Lo Hsing Han is now one of the most prominent persons foreign investors seek out to establish joint venture arrangements. Golden Aaron, an Asia World subsidiary, has been linked to China's National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) since 2004 in a production-sharing contract for oil and gas deposits in Arakan State's controversial Shwe gas project, which has been linked with land confiscation and human rights abuses by monitoring groups.
While Tay Za, Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law are the more well-known businessmen connected to the regime, a handful of other lesser-known and controversial entrepreneurs have also parlayed their relationships with senior generals into lucrative business empires.
Brothers Nay Aung and Pyi Aung are the sons of powerful Ministry of Industry [1] head Aung Thaung, who is known to be close to both Than Shwe and Maung Aye. Pyi Aung is married to Nandar Aye, Maung Aye's daughter. The brothers founded Aung Yee Phyo Company Ltd and IGE Company Ltd in 1994, which in 2001 was registered in Singapore. IGE has since evolved into one of Myanmar's leading oil and gas companies, while also providing spare parts for electrical generation projects, the agriculture industry and timber trade.
In March 2007, IGE signed a contract with Rimbunan Petrogas Ltd, making it a partner in a joint venture with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in offshore oil and gas exploration in the Shwe gas field. Both men are banned from travel to Australia and the EU, but are not on the US's sanctions list.
Khin Shwe, owner of the Zaykabar Company, is the country's leading property developer and has played a leading role in the tourism industry through his chairmanship of the Myanmar Hotelier Association. He was placed on the US sanctions list in 2007 for his close ties to the generals, including his daughter's marriage to Shwe Mann's youngest son.
He has also served as chairman of the Myanmar-Japan Friendship Association, Myanmar-Korean Friendship Association and the Myanmar Thai Development Company. He maintains strong connections to the regime and hired US public relations firm Bain and Associated in 1997 in a failed attempt to improve the junta's image on Capitol Hill.
Also on the US sanctions list is Htay Myint, founder of the Yuzana Company which has interests spanning real estate, transportation, construction, hotels and tourism, fisheries, palm oil production and rubber plantations. He also owns the Yuzan Supermarket and Yuzana Hotel in Yangon and an oil refinery in Thaketa township near Yangon.
These are some of the businessmen who will be rehabilitated and free for joint ventures with Western partners if the US and EU drop or relax their sanctions against Myanmar's rights-abusing regime. They are also the business groups foreign investors will likely need to seek out to gain access to Myanmar's various underinvested industries and markets.
While dropping sanctions would no doubt ease the suffering of the general population, the policy shift would simultaneously further enrich and entrench some of the region's most controversial business groups.
Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
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The New York Times - Letter to Editor: Helping the Burmese
Published: August 24, 2009
To the Editor:
Re “Visit to Myanmar” (editorial, Aug. 19):
Your comment on Senator Jim Webb’s visit to Myanmar missed an opportunity to push for an important form of American involvement: the provision of humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable people of that country.
Because of the political and economic policies of the military junta, and the resulting isolation, the Burmese are among the poorest in the world. Despite many obstacles, however, international nongovernmental organizations are demonstrating that it is possible to reach poor communities with badly needed nutrition, health care and education programs without government interference.
Irrespective of political developments or decisions on economic sanctions, the United States can and should be in the forefront of efforts to meet the needs of the Burmese people comprehensively by supporting lifesaving assistance inside the country through independent Yangon-based agencies; cross-border work from Thailand into conflict-affected areas inaccessible to organizations based in the capital; and programs meeting the needs of the thousands of Burmese refugees in Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Joel R. Charny
Acting President
Refugees International
Washington, Aug. 19, 2009
Published: August 24, 2009
To the Editor:
Re “Visit to Myanmar” (editorial, Aug. 19):
Your comment on Senator Jim Webb’s visit to Myanmar missed an opportunity to push for an important form of American involvement: the provision of humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable people of that country.
Because of the political and economic policies of the military junta, and the resulting isolation, the Burmese are among the poorest in the world. Despite many obstacles, however, international nongovernmental organizations are demonstrating that it is possible to reach poor communities with badly needed nutrition, health care and education programs without government interference.
Irrespective of political developments or decisions on economic sanctions, the United States can and should be in the forefront of efforts to meet the needs of the Burmese people comprehensively by supporting lifesaving assistance inside the country through independent Yangon-based agencies; cross-border work from Thailand into conflict-affected areas inaccessible to organizations based in the capital; and programs meeting the needs of the thousands of Burmese refugees in Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Joel R. Charny
Acting President
Refugees International
Washington, Aug. 19, 2009
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AsiaOne News - Japan urges Myanmar junta to release Suu Kyi soon
Tue, Aug 25, 2009
AFP
TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, in talks Tuesday with a minister from Myanmar, urged the country's ruling junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.
Tokyo "strongly expects the swift release of Aung San Suu Kyi... and that she will be able to participate in (Myanmar's) democratic process," Nakasone told Agriculture Minister Htay Oo, according to a statement.
Htay responded that the military regime "will consider her early release if she leads a sincere life," according to Japan's foreign ministry statement.
Earlier this month a prison court in Yangon convicted the Nobel laureate of breaching security laws and the regime returned her to house arrest for the next 18 months, drawing international condemnation.
The military has ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, since 1962, launching bloody crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in 1988 and 2007 and jailing dozens of the junta's opponents over the past year.
Myanmar's generals have vowed to hold elections some time in 2010, the first national vote since 1990, when they refused to recognise an overwhelming victory by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
Tue, Aug 25, 2009
AFP
TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone, in talks Tuesday with a minister from Myanmar, urged the country's ruling junta to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as soon as possible.
Tokyo "strongly expects the swift release of Aung San Suu Kyi... and that she will be able to participate in (Myanmar's) democratic process," Nakasone told Agriculture Minister Htay Oo, according to a statement.
Htay responded that the military regime "will consider her early release if she leads a sincere life," according to Japan's foreign ministry statement.
Earlier this month a prison court in Yangon convicted the Nobel laureate of breaching security laws and the regime returned her to house arrest for the next 18 months, drawing international condemnation.
The military has ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, since 1962, launching bloody crackdowns on pro-democracy protests in 1988 and 2007 and jailing dozens of the junta's opponents over the past year.
Myanmar's generals have vowed to hold elections some time in 2010, the first national vote since 1990, when they refused to recognise an overwhelming victory by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
*********************************************************
Global Security Newswire - Analysis Finds No Proof of Secret Myanmar Nuclear Program
Monday, Aug. 24, 2009
No strong proof exists that Myanmar is developing a secret nuclear program with North Korean assistance, but reports from the South Asian state continue to be cause for concern, says an analysis published today by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (see GSN, Aug. 18).
"Some of the information that has leaked out of Burma appears credible, and in recent years other snippets of information have emerged which, taken together, must raise suspicions," Griffith University research fellow Andrew Selth wrote in the analysis.
Myanmar's military government could resort to extreme measures to stay in power, Selth wrote.
"Understandably, foreign officials looking at this issue are being very cautious. No one wants a repetition of the mistakes which preceded the 2003 Iraq war, either in underestimating a country's capabilities, or by giving too much credibility to a few untested intelligence sources," the report states.
Two Burmese defectors reportedly said their nation's government was building a nuclear reactor and a plutonium processing facility with support from North Korea, which has an active nuclear weapons program, according to the Australian Associated Press (see related GSN story, today).
It could be difficult to win any degree of transparency from Myanmar or persuade the junta to curtail any sensitive nuclear operations, Selth wrote, suggesting that the regime could not respond to threats of isolation.
"The exposure of a WMD program would probably see Burma expelled from ASEAN," he wrote, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (see GSN, July 22).
"Even if that were to occur, however, the generals seem prepared to see Burma return to its pre-1988 isolation and poverty, if that was the price they had to pay to remain masters of the country's and their own destiny"
Monday, Aug. 24, 2009
No strong proof exists that Myanmar is developing a secret nuclear program with North Korean assistance, but reports from the South Asian state continue to be cause for concern, says an analysis published today by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (see GSN, Aug. 18).
"Some of the information that has leaked out of Burma appears credible, and in recent years other snippets of information have emerged which, taken together, must raise suspicions," Griffith University research fellow Andrew Selth wrote in the analysis.
Myanmar's military government could resort to extreme measures to stay in power, Selth wrote.
"Understandably, foreign officials looking at this issue are being very cautious. No one wants a repetition of the mistakes which preceded the 2003 Iraq war, either in underestimating a country's capabilities, or by giving too much credibility to a few untested intelligence sources," the report states.
Two Burmese defectors reportedly said their nation's government was building a nuclear reactor and a plutonium processing facility with support from North Korea, which has an active nuclear weapons program, according to the Australian Associated Press (see related GSN story, today).
It could be difficult to win any degree of transparency from Myanmar or persuade the junta to curtail any sensitive nuclear operations, Selth wrote, suggesting that the regime could not respond to threats of isolation.
"The exposure of a WMD program would probably see Burma expelled from ASEAN," he wrote, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (see GSN, July 22).
"Even if that were to occur, however, the generals seem prepared to see Burma return to its pre-1988 isolation and poverty, if that was the price they had to pay to remain masters of the country's and their own destiny"
*********************************************************
Scoop - Foreign Weapons Kill the Blockade on Burma
Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 9:27 am
by Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Demands for an international blockade against weapons sales to Burma, in response to the military regime's detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, will face difficult challenges from defiant Chinese, Russian, East European and North Korean arms dealers.
"Nothing less than a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime will do, as a first step," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after Burmese authorities sentenced Mrs. Suu Kyi on August 11 to an additional 18 months house arrest.
A court also sentenced an American, John Yettaw, to seven years hard labor for illegal activity when he secretly swam to Mrs. Suu Kyi's villa and stayed for two nights.
Mrs. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, admitted to sheltering Mr. Yettaw so he could dodge arrest for his crimes.
"I acted without malice, simply with intent to ensure that the one concerned should not suffer any adverse consequences," Mrs. Suu Kyi, 64, told the court in her closing statement.
Calls to punish Burma's military regime by widening an American and European Union ban on weapon sales, however, would mean targeting the Southeast Asian nation's wealthy, giant northern neighbor, China, which provides most of Burma's deadliest equipment.
"Burmese soldiers have used not only Chinese-made military equipment such as helmets, uniforms, boots and bayonets, but also munitions, tanks, small arms, artillery, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, jet fighters, naval vessels," and other items, said a report published by the respected Norway-based Burmese dissident group, Democratic Voice of Burma.
Burma, a country also known as Myanmar, is considered to be suffering one of the world's most brutal regimes.
"China has been the principal source of arms supplies to the Myanmar forces, followed by India, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries," said London-based Amnesty International.
During the past 20 years, China supplied Burma with "tanks, armored personnel carriers, military aircraft and artillery pieces such as howitzers, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns," Amnesty said.
Serbia and Montenegro sold dozens of howitzers during 2004-2006, while Ukraine signed a contract in 2004 to supply 1,000 armored personnel carriers, after a 2002 deal to the export 14 T-72C tanks, Amnesty said.
Burma's weapons purchases remain mostly shrouded, and many agreements are difficult to confirm.
Some details appear in a 2009 book by Burmese defence analyst Maung Aung Myoe, titled, "Building the Tatmadaw," which is the Burmese junta's name for its military.
Other descriptions filter through pro-democracy Burmese media, including Irrawaddy magazine which is based in Thailand.
"Burma has bought more than 100 jet fighters and aircraft from China since 1990," Irrawaddy reported in its August issue.
"Burma has also bought smaller numbers of jet fighters, helicopters and military transport planes from Yugoslavia, Poland and Russia.
"Russian, Ukrainian and Polish MI-12, MI-17, G-4 and Sokol helicopters now dominate Burma's air force," Irrawaddy said.
Burma, however, reportedly lacks enough skilled pilots.
During the past several years, Burma bought a dozen MiG-29 jet fighters, apparently to square off against its eastern neighbor, Thailand which boasts U.S.-built F-16s and other aircraft.
The two Buddhist nations were historic enemies, and have continued to squabble along their border, though Thailand purchases much of its natural gas from Burma and is widely seen as economically dependent on smooth relations.
America's California-based Chevron, France's Total, and Thailand's PTT own much of the Yadana natural gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand, providing the regime with its largest source of income.
On Burma's side of the frontier, however, rival groups of minority ethnic guerrillas have fought for the past six decades for independence or autonomy.
Much to the dismay of Burma's military, the guerrillas have repeatedly tried to enjoy sanctuary in Thailand where they have resupplied, tended to their wounded, and campaigned for foreign support.
Thailand is bolstered by strong U.S. and other Western backing, and is a non-NATO military ally of Washington, which has sparked fears in Burma that the smoldering guerrilla skirmishes could evolve into a proxy war to destabilize the resource-rich hermit nation.
Norway's Finance Ministry meanwhile has lashed out against China's military aid to Burma.
"The Ministry of Finance has excluded the Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd from the Government Pension Fund -- Global -- based on advice from the Council on Ethics," Norway's Finance Ministry said earlier this year.
"A large number of military trucks manufactured by Dongfeng have been observed at the border crossing between China and Burma. Norges Bank has written to the company about this. The response from Dongfeng revealed that a subsidiary company sold 900 trucks to Burma during the first half of 2008," a ministry statement said.
"The trucks have been adapted for military purposes and moreover have significant military applications," Norway's Finance Ministry said.
Burma's military seized power in a 1962 coup.
Extensive U.S. and European economic embargoes against Burma, along with the regime's widespread corruption and disastrous financial polices, have impoverished the nation and forced it to rely on sanction-busting allies.
Mrs. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in a 1990 nationwide election, but the military cancelled the results, refused to allow her to rule, and has kept her under house arrest for about 14 of the past 20 years.
Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978. He is co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of investigative journalism, and his web page is http://www.asia-correspondent.110mb.com
Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 9:27 am
by Richard S. Ehrlich
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Demands for an international blockade against weapons sales to Burma, in response to the military regime's detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, will face difficult challenges from defiant Chinese, Russian, East European and North Korean arms dealers.
"Nothing less than a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime will do, as a first step," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after Burmese authorities sentenced Mrs. Suu Kyi on August 11 to an additional 18 months house arrest.
A court also sentenced an American, John Yettaw, to seven years hard labor for illegal activity when he secretly swam to Mrs. Suu Kyi's villa and stayed for two nights.
Mrs. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, admitted to sheltering Mr. Yettaw so he could dodge arrest for his crimes.
"I acted without malice, simply with intent to ensure that the one concerned should not suffer any adverse consequences," Mrs. Suu Kyi, 64, told the court in her closing statement.
Calls to punish Burma's military regime by widening an American and European Union ban on weapon sales, however, would mean targeting the Southeast Asian nation's wealthy, giant northern neighbor, China, which provides most of Burma's deadliest equipment.
"Burmese soldiers have used not only Chinese-made military equipment such as helmets, uniforms, boots and bayonets, but also munitions, tanks, small arms, artillery, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, jet fighters, naval vessels," and other items, said a report published by the respected Norway-based Burmese dissident group, Democratic Voice of Burma.
Burma, a country also known as Myanmar, is considered to be suffering one of the world's most brutal regimes.
"China has been the principal source of arms supplies to the Myanmar forces, followed by India, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries," said London-based Amnesty International.
During the past 20 years, China supplied Burma with "tanks, armored personnel carriers, military aircraft and artillery pieces such as howitzers, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns," Amnesty said.
Serbia and Montenegro sold dozens of howitzers during 2004-2006, while Ukraine signed a contract in 2004 to supply 1,000 armored personnel carriers, after a 2002 deal to the export 14 T-72C tanks, Amnesty said.
Burma's weapons purchases remain mostly shrouded, and many agreements are difficult to confirm.
Some details appear in a 2009 book by Burmese defence analyst Maung Aung Myoe, titled, "Building the Tatmadaw," which is the Burmese junta's name for its military.
Other descriptions filter through pro-democracy Burmese media, including Irrawaddy magazine which is based in Thailand.
"Burma has bought more than 100 jet fighters and aircraft from China since 1990," Irrawaddy reported in its August issue.
"Burma has also bought smaller numbers of jet fighters, helicopters and military transport planes from Yugoslavia, Poland and Russia.
"Russian, Ukrainian and Polish MI-12, MI-17, G-4 and Sokol helicopters now dominate Burma's air force," Irrawaddy said.
Burma, however, reportedly lacks enough skilled pilots.
During the past several years, Burma bought a dozen MiG-29 jet fighters, apparently to square off against its eastern neighbor, Thailand which boasts U.S.-built F-16s and other aircraft.
The two Buddhist nations were historic enemies, and have continued to squabble along their border, though Thailand purchases much of its natural gas from Burma and is widely seen as economically dependent on smooth relations.
America's California-based Chevron, France's Total, and Thailand's PTT own much of the Yadana natural gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand, providing the regime with its largest source of income.
On Burma's side of the frontier, however, rival groups of minority ethnic guerrillas have fought for the past six decades for independence or autonomy.
Much to the dismay of Burma's military, the guerrillas have repeatedly tried to enjoy sanctuary in Thailand where they have resupplied, tended to their wounded, and campaigned for foreign support.
Thailand is bolstered by strong U.S. and other Western backing, and is a non-NATO military ally of Washington, which has sparked fears in Burma that the smoldering guerrilla skirmishes could evolve into a proxy war to destabilize the resource-rich hermit nation.
Norway's Finance Ministry meanwhile has lashed out against China's military aid to Burma.
"The Ministry of Finance has excluded the Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd from the Government Pension Fund -- Global -- based on advice from the Council on Ethics," Norway's Finance Ministry said earlier this year.
"A large number of military trucks manufactured by Dongfeng have been observed at the border crossing between China and Burma. Norges Bank has written to the company about this. The response from Dongfeng revealed that a subsidiary company sold 900 trucks to Burma during the first half of 2008," a ministry statement said.
"The trucks have been adapted for military purposes and moreover have significant military applications," Norway's Finance Ministry said.
Burma's military seized power in a 1962 coup.
Extensive U.S. and European economic embargoes against Burma, along with the regime's widespread corruption and disastrous financial polices, have impoverished the nation and forced it to rely on sanction-busting allies.
Mrs. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in a 1990 nationwide election, but the military cancelled the results, refused to allow her to rule, and has kept her under house arrest for about 14 of the past 20 years.
Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist who has reported news from Asia since 1978. He is co-author of "Hello My Big Big Honey!", a non-fiction book of investigative journalism, and his web page is http://www.asia-correspondent.110mb.com
*********************************************************
Bangkok Post - EDITORIAL: Hitting crime at the borders
Published: 25/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Cooperation has steadily increased in recent years among the six nations that share the resources of the Mekong River. That is not to say that Thailand, China, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia see eye-to-eye on every common problem. But the constant meetings, especially at rural and riverside locations, have steadily brought the six nations closer. Trade, transportation and other fields have prospered.
Now Thailand is pushing its five neighbours to set up a network of border monitors to stem the flow of illicit drugs. The only question is, what took so long?
Chief architect of this excellent plan is Krissana Pol-anand, secretary of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). This is fitting. Over the past three decades, the major anti-drug targets by Thai police and officials has been in the area of the Mekong. Indeed, the Golden Triangle, arguably the world's most notorious centre of drug trafficking, lies where the mighty river separates Thailand from Burma and Laos.
From the time that the Thai government began to seriously tackle narcotics trafficking in the early 1970s, the Golden Triangle has figured in the effort.
During the worst years, the area - including Thai territory - was under the influence if not the actual control of drug warlords like Lo Hsing-han and his successor Khun Sa.
Drug gangs controlled farmers, forcing them to grow opium for a pittance. The gangs bought protection in the three countries of the Triangle, sometimes high-ranking protection.
But even when the Thai army ran Khun Sa out of northern Thailand and back inside Burma, there was little cooperation among the six Mekong governments - if any. The generals who controlled Burma were believed at times to be in cahoots with the top drug lords of the heroin trade. China remained aloof, as did Vietnam. Cambodia considered it was not even involved in the problem.
Two major events occurred in the 1990s that changed all of that, hopefully forever. The first was the decision by the Burmese drug traffickers to begin producing and selling methamphetamines to neighbouring countries. This quickly became a bigger problem than the overall heroin trade. It involved China and Cambodia by enslaving their citizens, and by using their territories to smuggle and to sell both the old opiates and the new speed pills.
This occurred as the six Mekong riparian nations were finding that it was more productive to stress and seek common goals than to argue and bicker uselessly over disputes. The Mekong itself became recognised as a resource that must be shared. And while there are still many disagreements over the river, the common goals have brought the six nations into a formal union that embraces far wider goals.
One of these goals must be better cooperation against the international traffickers in drugs, people and illicit goods. Indeed, if anything, Mr Krissana's plan for a six-nation network of border posts deserves to be immediately expanded to cover all facets of international crime.
The plan envisions a literal network of border posts, constantly interacting with one another to share information on possible criminal activity. This is a hugely feasible project, given the state of advanced communications in all six countries. Computer, satellite and mobile phone networks already exist. These could be tapped and used in the proposal for a six-nation defence system. Cross-border crime of all kinds causes common security dangers. The Mekong Region countries should begin immediately to flesh out this excellent ONCB plan, and put it into operation as quickly as possible.
Published: 25/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Cooperation has steadily increased in recent years among the six nations that share the resources of the Mekong River. That is not to say that Thailand, China, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia see eye-to-eye on every common problem. But the constant meetings, especially at rural and riverside locations, have steadily brought the six nations closer. Trade, transportation and other fields have prospered.
Now Thailand is pushing its five neighbours to set up a network of border monitors to stem the flow of illicit drugs. The only question is, what took so long?
Chief architect of this excellent plan is Krissana Pol-anand, secretary of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). This is fitting. Over the past three decades, the major anti-drug targets by Thai police and officials has been in the area of the Mekong. Indeed, the Golden Triangle, arguably the world's most notorious centre of drug trafficking, lies where the mighty river separates Thailand from Burma and Laos.
From the time that the Thai government began to seriously tackle narcotics trafficking in the early 1970s, the Golden Triangle has figured in the effort.
During the worst years, the area - including Thai territory - was under the influence if not the actual control of drug warlords like Lo Hsing-han and his successor Khun Sa.
Drug gangs controlled farmers, forcing them to grow opium for a pittance. The gangs bought protection in the three countries of the Triangle, sometimes high-ranking protection.
But even when the Thai army ran Khun Sa out of northern Thailand and back inside Burma, there was little cooperation among the six Mekong governments - if any. The generals who controlled Burma were believed at times to be in cahoots with the top drug lords of the heroin trade. China remained aloof, as did Vietnam. Cambodia considered it was not even involved in the problem.
Two major events occurred in the 1990s that changed all of that, hopefully forever. The first was the decision by the Burmese drug traffickers to begin producing and selling methamphetamines to neighbouring countries. This quickly became a bigger problem than the overall heroin trade. It involved China and Cambodia by enslaving their citizens, and by using their territories to smuggle and to sell both the old opiates and the new speed pills.
This occurred as the six Mekong riparian nations were finding that it was more productive to stress and seek common goals than to argue and bicker uselessly over disputes. The Mekong itself became recognised as a resource that must be shared. And while there are still many disagreements over the river, the common goals have brought the six nations into a formal union that embraces far wider goals.
One of these goals must be better cooperation against the international traffickers in drugs, people and illicit goods. Indeed, if anything, Mr Krissana's plan for a six-nation network of border posts deserves to be immediately expanded to cover all facets of international crime.
The plan envisions a literal network of border posts, constantly interacting with one another to share information on possible criminal activity. This is a hugely feasible project, given the state of advanced communications in all six countries. Computer, satellite and mobile phone networks already exist. These could be tapped and used in the proposal for a six-nation defence system. Cross-border crime of all kinds causes common security dangers. The Mekong Region countries should begin immediately to flesh out this excellent ONCB plan, and put it into operation as quickly as possible.
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Asian Tribune - Burma Question - sill a matter of regional concern
Tue, 2009-08-25 05:14 — editor
By Zin Linn
Burma’s key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sent back from the notorious Insein Prison and now held under house-arrest. But, the uninvited American, the main defender of the dramatic trial in Burma has been already released from imprisonment and sent back to America. In fact, the Senior General Than Shwe exploited the case of John Yettaw, the American swimmer, in order to block the Lady's right of equal access to join in the political process in Burma.
John Yettaw, in doubtful health, was sentenced on 11 August to seven years of hard labor for an unwise and ill-fated visit he had paid to Burma's Nobel laureate, the charismatic democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. His swim to her residence in May caused the Lady additional 18-month of house-arrest.
Following the sentencing, things unfolded just like a drama, when suddenly the US Senatorr. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, appeared as a savior, visited Burma, and negotiated with the country’s military Head of State, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to obtain the release of Yettaw, pointing out that he needs medical care.
More importantly it is doubted that the Democrat Senators Webb's visit may be to broaden U.S. relation with Burma or may be to take part as a fact-finding mission in making a new Burma-policy. Senator Webb is known for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions, arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China's grip, weakened US influence and done nothing to improve the junta's behavior. But, it has to be pointed out that Senator Webb must not ignore the political aspirations of the pro-democracy groups of Burma.
Burmese pro-democracy groups have questioned the timing of Senator Webb's visit and warned him not to become a tool of the ruling regime. “We are concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit and propagandize that you endorse the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the imprisonment of over 2,100 political prisoners,” said a joint statement sent to the US embassy in Rangoon by the All Burma Monks Alliance, 88 Generation Students and All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
Burma is on the brink of a fresh civil strife, as a great number of population including younger generations have articulated dissatisfaction about the most unfair trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. The intolerant citizens have called for a nation-wide general strike to bring down the deep-rooted stratocracy in Burma, due to the junta’s insistence of barring the Lady to participate in the country’s political reform process.
In fact, the junta should come forward to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from detention immediately, because the junta always claimed that no one is above the law. The law says that the duration of such restriction shall be kept to a minimum. The whole world is concerned about Suu Kyi's detention and has called on the junta to bring the situation back to normal.
The incumbent Burmese junta has also committed series of blunders in dealing with political issues. It will face a bleak future if it continues to overlook the national reconciliation process urged by the key opposition groups of the National League for Democracy and the United Nationalities Alliance.
The NLD and UNA pointed out that the current ratification of the 2008 Constitution is invalid, since it was conducted against the will of the people and amid a lack of international norms. The junta also shows no respect toward the Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council, issued in October 2007 and has neglected the consecutive resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly.
Although the military regime has expressed its goals, as stability, national reconciliation and democracy, its repressive stance on oppositions continues to be anti-people move. Even peaceful prayer-sessions in pursuit of the Lady’s freedom were cruelly attacked by the junta’s thugs. Hence, the upcoming election – the first in 20 years – will not be inclusive, participatory and transparent and seems to be highly a treacherous move.
Burmese generals’ way forward become visible. Their practices are being rooted in disrespect for human rights. As a result, political prisoners who stand on principle, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, may not have the chance to be released on or before 2010.
According to prison-sources, the military authorities are pressing the political prisoners to meet some screening processes or exams in their respective jails. The key questions are how they think of the 2008 constitution and what will be their opinion if the authorities allowed them to participate as candidates in 2010 elections. It seems that the junta is thrusting wedge among the political dissidents, especially in the NLDs.
It appears that the junta has no plan of releasing majority of the 2,100-plus political prisoners, if they refused to dance with their tunes and embarking on a tripartite dialogue with the junta, the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic nationalities, as has been called repeatedly by the U.N. General Assembly.
While in his recent trip to Burma, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed his suggestion to Senior General Than Shwe. Ban Ki-moon in a press briefing in Bangkok, after his July 3-4 visit to Rangoon.
“I told Senior General Than Shwe that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released without delay and allowed to participate freely in the political process. I said I wanted to see resumption of substantive and time-bound dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy at the higher level of engagement. I set out detailed criteria for a conducive environment for free and fair elections in 2010. Only then will the elections be seen as credible and legitimate.”
During his two-day visit, Ban met twice with Than Shwe at the new capital Naypyidaw, but unfortunately he was refused permission to visit Aung San Suu Kyi. Ban’s requests for the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue toward reconciliation with the political opposition were also adamantly declined.
The U.N. chief expressed his disappointment, saying the Burmese regime failed to take an opportunity to prove a new era of political openness.
Analysts say that the 2008 Constitution and the junta's unyielding adherence to its seven-step roadmap toward the 2010 elections, will create a highly unstable political climate. Without an agreement on a national reconciliation, 2010 elections will go nowhere, except towards a new civil-war.
There is a serious question for the country. How much longer Burma can take time waiting for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights? The cost of delay will be paid in thousands of innocent lives, loss of opportunities and a protracted civil-war. The junta is going out of its way to court the support of China, India and Russia for the 2010 election, a political ploy of the generals. .
The Burmese populace feel, it is time for the international community to raise this half-century-long political conflict in the next U.N. Security Council. They hope for a global arms embargo against Burma's military junta, and an investigation into the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. The people of Burma are hoping that the international community, especially the key players US, UN, EU and ASEAN may opt for political changes in their country.
At least, the key players ought to convince China and Russia to take an active role in promoting a political dialogue with the key stake-holders. If it failed, the 2010 elections in Burma might usher in a highly unstable political atmosphere, not in Burma alone but even in the region.
Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile. He is a former political prisone, r who spent 9 years in jail in military-ruled Burma. He is also the vice president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
Tue, 2009-08-25 05:14 — editor
By Zin Linn
Burma’s key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sent back from the notorious Insein Prison and now held under house-arrest. But, the uninvited American, the main defender of the dramatic trial in Burma has been already released from imprisonment and sent back to America. In fact, the Senior General Than Shwe exploited the case of John Yettaw, the American swimmer, in order to block the Lady's right of equal access to join in the political process in Burma.
John Yettaw, in doubtful health, was sentenced on 11 August to seven years of hard labor for an unwise and ill-fated visit he had paid to Burma's Nobel laureate, the charismatic democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. His swim to her residence in May caused the Lady additional 18-month of house-arrest.
Following the sentencing, things unfolded just like a drama, when suddenly the US Senatorr. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, appeared as a savior, visited Burma, and negotiated with the country’s military Head of State, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to obtain the release of Yettaw, pointing out that he needs medical care.
More importantly it is doubted that the Democrat Senators Webb's visit may be to broaden U.S. relation with Burma or may be to take part as a fact-finding mission in making a new Burma-policy. Senator Webb is known for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions, arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China's grip, weakened US influence and done nothing to improve the junta's behavior. But, it has to be pointed out that Senator Webb must not ignore the political aspirations of the pro-democracy groups of Burma.
Burmese pro-democracy groups have questioned the timing of Senator Webb's visit and warned him not to become a tool of the ruling regime. “We are concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit and propagandize that you endorse the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the imprisonment of over 2,100 political prisoners,” said a joint statement sent to the US embassy in Rangoon by the All Burma Monks Alliance, 88 Generation Students and All Burma Federation of Student Unions.
Burma is on the brink of a fresh civil strife, as a great number of population including younger generations have articulated dissatisfaction about the most unfair trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. The intolerant citizens have called for a nation-wide general strike to bring down the deep-rooted stratocracy in Burma, due to the junta’s insistence of barring the Lady to participate in the country’s political reform process.
In fact, the junta should come forward to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from detention immediately, because the junta always claimed that no one is above the law. The law says that the duration of such restriction shall be kept to a minimum. The whole world is concerned about Suu Kyi's detention and has called on the junta to bring the situation back to normal.
The incumbent Burmese junta has also committed series of blunders in dealing with political issues. It will face a bleak future if it continues to overlook the national reconciliation process urged by the key opposition groups of the National League for Democracy and the United Nationalities Alliance.
The NLD and UNA pointed out that the current ratification of the 2008 Constitution is invalid, since it was conducted against the will of the people and amid a lack of international norms. The junta also shows no respect toward the Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council, issued in October 2007 and has neglected the consecutive resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly.
Although the military regime has expressed its goals, as stability, national reconciliation and democracy, its repressive stance on oppositions continues to be anti-people move. Even peaceful prayer-sessions in pursuit of the Lady’s freedom were cruelly attacked by the junta’s thugs. Hence, the upcoming election – the first in 20 years – will not be inclusive, participatory and transparent and seems to be highly a treacherous move.
Burmese generals’ way forward become visible. Their practices are being rooted in disrespect for human rights. As a result, political prisoners who stand on principle, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, may not have the chance to be released on or before 2010.
According to prison-sources, the military authorities are pressing the political prisoners to meet some screening processes or exams in their respective jails. The key questions are how they think of the 2008 constitution and what will be their opinion if the authorities allowed them to participate as candidates in 2010 elections. It seems that the junta is thrusting wedge among the political dissidents, especially in the NLDs.
It appears that the junta has no plan of releasing majority of the 2,100-plus political prisoners, if they refused to dance with their tunes and embarking on a tripartite dialogue with the junta, the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic nationalities, as has been called repeatedly by the U.N. General Assembly.
While in his recent trip to Burma, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed his suggestion to Senior General Than Shwe. Ban Ki-moon in a press briefing in Bangkok, after his July 3-4 visit to Rangoon.
“I told Senior General Than Shwe that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released without delay and allowed to participate freely in the political process. I said I wanted to see resumption of substantive and time-bound dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy at the higher level of engagement. I set out detailed criteria for a conducive environment for free and fair elections in 2010. Only then will the elections be seen as credible and legitimate.”
During his two-day visit, Ban met twice with Than Shwe at the new capital Naypyidaw, but unfortunately he was refused permission to visit Aung San Suu Kyi. Ban’s requests for the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue toward reconciliation with the political opposition were also adamantly declined.
The U.N. chief expressed his disappointment, saying the Burmese regime failed to take an opportunity to prove a new era of political openness.
Analysts say that the 2008 Constitution and the junta's unyielding adherence to its seven-step roadmap toward the 2010 elections, will create a highly unstable political climate. Without an agreement on a national reconciliation, 2010 elections will go nowhere, except towards a new civil-war.
There is a serious question for the country. How much longer Burma can take time waiting for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights? The cost of delay will be paid in thousands of innocent lives, loss of opportunities and a protracted civil-war. The junta is going out of its way to court the support of China, India and Russia for the 2010 election, a political ploy of the generals. .
The Burmese populace feel, it is time for the international community to raise this half-century-long political conflict in the next U.N. Security Council. They hope for a global arms embargo against Burma's military junta, and an investigation into the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. The people of Burma are hoping that the international community, especially the key players US, UN, EU and ASEAN may opt for political changes in their country.
At least, the key players ought to convince China and Russia to take an active role in promoting a political dialogue with the key stake-holders. If it failed, the 2010 elections in Burma might usher in a highly unstable political atmosphere, not in Burma alone but even in the region.
Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist living in exile. He is a former political prisone, r who spent 9 years in jail in military-ruled Burma. He is also the vice president of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontiers.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Daily Times - UN chief taps French diplomat as Pakistan envoy
UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed French UN ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert as his special envoy in charge of humanitarian affairs for Pakistan, diplomatic sources said on Monday. Ripert would hold the renewable position for an initial six months, sources said. An official announcement is expected shortly. The 56-year-old diplomat, who has represented Paris at the UN since August 2007, was set to step down as ambassador at the end of the month. During his time in the UN, Ripert has highlighted humanitarian issues, addressed the Security Council on global hotspots in Myanmar, Darfur and Sri Lanka. He has also called for action to protect children living through armed conflict. Following the Pakistani military’s summer offensive against the Taliban, the UN warned unrest had displaced an estimated 2.2 million people, although officials last week said about two-thirds of them have been able to return home. Ripert’s post is separate from that held by another Frenchman, Jean Arnaud, who is currently the UN Special Envoy to Pakistan concerned with political affairs.
The Daily Times - UN chief taps French diplomat as Pakistan envoy
UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has appointed French UN ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert as his special envoy in charge of humanitarian affairs for Pakistan, diplomatic sources said on Monday. Ripert would hold the renewable position for an initial six months, sources said. An official announcement is expected shortly. The 56-year-old diplomat, who has represented Paris at the UN since August 2007, was set to step down as ambassador at the end of the month. During his time in the UN, Ripert has highlighted humanitarian issues, addressed the Security Council on global hotspots in Myanmar, Darfur and Sri Lanka. He has also called for action to protect children living through armed conflict. Following the Pakistani military’s summer offensive against the Taliban, the UN warned unrest had displaced an estimated 2.2 million people, although officials last week said about two-thirds of them have been able to return home. Ripert’s post is separate from that held by another Frenchman, Jean Arnaud, who is currently the UN Special Envoy to Pakistan concerned with political affairs.
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The Irrawaddy - Monk Leaders Call for Third Sangha Boycott
By ARKAR MOE, Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Several exiled Buddhist monk leaders have told The Irrawaddy that Burmese monks across Burma are preparing to launch another boycott of military personnel and their families due to ongoing abuses against Buddhist principles by the ruling military junta.
Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious principles.
Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990 following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,” when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned into a national uprising against the government.
Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the regime’s election planned for 2010.
A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them.”
The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call for all people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.
“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.
“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.
Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization), which restricts monks’ travel and gatherings.
Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed many religious crimes, such as beheading Buddha images, raiding and destroying monasteries, and killing and arresting monks and nuns.
He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and that all religions are affected.
“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to boycott the junta,” he said.
Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’ organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up cooperation and communication with monks’ groups other parts of the country.
Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties, but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the world.
“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.
Ashin Thavara said that during the September uprising, the junta’s soldiers and loyalist thugs had raided and destroyed more than 60 monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns. He claimed that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.
“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added.
“Others were sent with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the battlefields.”
During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military families and cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an act of defiance that marked the uprising.
According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union Square in New York on September 24 to 26.
“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”
By ARKAR MOE, Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Several exiled Buddhist monk leaders have told The Irrawaddy that Burmese monks across Burma are preparing to launch another boycott of military personnel and their families due to ongoing abuses against Buddhist principles by the ruling military junta.
Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious principles.
Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990 following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,” when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned into a national uprising against the government.
Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the regime’s election planned for 2010.
A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them.”
The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call for all people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.
“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.
“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.
Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization), which restricts monks’ travel and gatherings.
Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed many religious crimes, such as beheading Buddha images, raiding and destroying monasteries, and killing and arresting monks and nuns.
He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and that all religions are affected.
“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to boycott the junta,” he said.
Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’ organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up cooperation and communication with monks’ groups other parts of the country.
Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties, but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the world.
“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.
Ashin Thavara said that during the September uprising, the junta’s soldiers and loyalist thugs had raided and destroyed more than 60 monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns. He claimed that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.
“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added.
“Others were sent with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the battlefields.”
During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military families and cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an act of defiance that marked the uprising.
According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union Square in New York on September 24 to 26.
“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”
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Mizzima News - Spurt in tension between Burmese Army and Kokang rebels
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 22:46
New Delhi (Mizzima) - With the arrival of over 60 army trucks carrying Burmese troops, fresh tension has flared up between ethnic Kokang rebel groups and the Burmese Army in northeastern Shan State with the ruling junta issuing an arrest warrant for the Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng, sources said.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burma border based military analyst, said the tension between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) also known as Kokang Army and the Burmese troops had risen to a new level and that there could be a fresh clash between the two anytime.
“The tension is high and there are possibilities of a fresh conflict. But as of now both sides seem to be restrained,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
The tension, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw, began since the MNDAA like many other ceasefire armed groups, rejected the junta’s proposal to transform its army into a ‘Border Guard Force’, an army to be maintained and managed by the ruling junta.
However, the Burmese Army wants to avoid a confrontation with the Kokang Army and is using various tactics to win the group to their side by infiltrating into the groups’ leadership and breaking their unity, Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
“The junta wants to break the Kokang like they did with other armed rebel groups. So, they are dealing with a few Kokang officers, who are interested to join them. And the Burmese Army has named these people new leaders of the Kokang group,” he said.
The fresh tension was in evidence on Monday, when the Burmese Army ordered the Kokang Army to move out of the Kokang Special Region saying they are to take up the security in the region. The Kokang Army, apparently, refused and geared up for a confrontation.
Aung Kyaw Zaw said the Burmese Army is creating tension between the Kokang leadership, which seems to be divided between the Kokang Supreme Commander Peng Jiasheng and his Deputy Commander Bai Souqian.
Bai, reportedly has wooed about 100 soldiers to his side but they do not seem to post any kind of threat to Peng, who enjoys the support of the majority of the army, he added.
Peng Jiasheng, also known as Phone Kyar Shin, escaped arrest at least three times including during the August 23 incident, where he was rounded up by about 100 troops at his home in Lao Kai.
“The Burmese Army does not want to negotiate with Peng Jiasheng but they want to use some of the Kokang officers who are willing to oblige it. So, they have issued an arrest warrant for the Kokang leader,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
On August 22, police in Northern Shan State’s capital Lashio served summons for Peng, his younger brother Jiafu and his two sons to appear in court. But the four, did not show up.
“How can they go, it is an arrest order. It would be difficult for the Burmese Army to arrest Peng Jiasheng,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
Analysts said the Burmese junta is deeply disappointed with the rejection by several ceasefire ethnic armed groups over their proposal to transform their armies into a border guard force.
The junta has been persuading the ceasefire groups to transform their armies into the BGF, which will be under the junta’s administration, as their new constitution, does not allow any other armed forces apart from the main ‘Tatmadaw’.
Several armed groups including the MNDAA, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) has rejected the junta’s proposal. But Aung Kyaw Zaw said the junta is currently targeting the MNDAA, as the group is the weakest among the armed groups.
“Approximately the MNDAA has about 1,500 troops and the junta thinks that they can threaten them and forcibly persuade them to transform. And besides, the junta already has several army battalions stationed in the Kokang region,” he added.
After the MNDAA rejected the junta’s proposal, the junta has brought in more troops under the pretext of a drug eradication programme and had so far deployed over seven more battalions.
“I think there are about 3,000 Burmese Army troops based in the Kokang area now,” Aung Kyaw Zaw, who maintains a close relationship with armed rebel groups along the Sino-Burmese border said.
Since the problems are not directly with the Burmese Army but more of an internal disagreement, Kokang’s allies including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are unable to assist.
In a statement released on August 21, the Myanmar Peace and Democratic Front, an alliance of four ceasefire groups – MNDAA, UWSA, Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the National Democratic Alliace Army (NDAA) also known as Mailai – condemned the Burmese Army for their interference in the problems of the Kokang Army.
The group said, the Burmese Army’s activities were being conducted under the pretext of drug eradication and expressed their full support to the Kokang Army.
Meanwhile, the fresh tension between the Burmese Army and the Kokang Army has forced several hundred villagers to flee to neighboring China, causing concern to the Chinese authorities.
Reports said, at least 10, 000 villagers have fled to the Chinese border.
A report by the Thailand-based, Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), said over 700 soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army had been deployed along the Sino-BurmA border in anticipation of any hostilities that might break out between the Kokang and the Burmese Army.
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 22:46
New Delhi (Mizzima) - With the arrival of over 60 army trucks carrying Burmese troops, fresh tension has flared up between ethnic Kokang rebel groups and the Burmese Army in northeastern Shan State with the ruling junta issuing an arrest warrant for the Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng, sources said.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burma border based military analyst, said the tension between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) also known as Kokang Army and the Burmese troops had risen to a new level and that there could be a fresh clash between the two anytime.
“The tension is high and there are possibilities of a fresh conflict. But as of now both sides seem to be restrained,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
The tension, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw, began since the MNDAA like many other ceasefire armed groups, rejected the junta’s proposal to transform its army into a ‘Border Guard Force’, an army to be maintained and managed by the ruling junta.
However, the Burmese Army wants to avoid a confrontation with the Kokang Army and is using various tactics to win the group to their side by infiltrating into the groups’ leadership and breaking their unity, Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
“The junta wants to break the Kokang like they did with other armed rebel groups. So, they are dealing with a few Kokang officers, who are interested to join them. And the Burmese Army has named these people new leaders of the Kokang group,” he said.
The fresh tension was in evidence on Monday, when the Burmese Army ordered the Kokang Army to move out of the Kokang Special Region saying they are to take up the security in the region. The Kokang Army, apparently, refused and geared up for a confrontation.
Aung Kyaw Zaw said the Burmese Army is creating tension between the Kokang leadership, which seems to be divided between the Kokang Supreme Commander Peng Jiasheng and his Deputy Commander Bai Souqian.
Bai, reportedly has wooed about 100 soldiers to his side but they do not seem to post any kind of threat to Peng, who enjoys the support of the majority of the army, he added.
Peng Jiasheng, also known as Phone Kyar Shin, escaped arrest at least three times including during the August 23 incident, where he was rounded up by about 100 troops at his home in Lao Kai.
“The Burmese Army does not want to negotiate with Peng Jiasheng but they want to use some of the Kokang officers who are willing to oblige it. So, they have issued an arrest warrant for the Kokang leader,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
On August 22, police in Northern Shan State’s capital Lashio served summons for Peng, his younger brother Jiafu and his two sons to appear in court. But the four, did not show up.
“How can they go, it is an arrest order. It would be difficult for the Burmese Army to arrest Peng Jiasheng,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
Analysts said the Burmese junta is deeply disappointed with the rejection by several ceasefire ethnic armed groups over their proposal to transform their armies into a border guard force.
The junta has been persuading the ceasefire groups to transform their armies into the BGF, which will be under the junta’s administration, as their new constitution, does not allow any other armed forces apart from the main ‘Tatmadaw’.
Several armed groups including the MNDAA, Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) has rejected the junta’s proposal. But Aung Kyaw Zaw said the junta is currently targeting the MNDAA, as the group is the weakest among the armed groups.
“Approximately the MNDAA has about 1,500 troops and the junta thinks that they can threaten them and forcibly persuade them to transform. And besides, the junta already has several army battalions stationed in the Kokang region,” he added.
After the MNDAA rejected the junta’s proposal, the junta has brought in more troops under the pretext of a drug eradication programme and had so far deployed over seven more battalions.
“I think there are about 3,000 Burmese Army troops based in the Kokang area now,” Aung Kyaw Zaw, who maintains a close relationship with armed rebel groups along the Sino-Burmese border said.
Since the problems are not directly with the Burmese Army but more of an internal disagreement, Kokang’s allies including the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are unable to assist.
In a statement released on August 21, the Myanmar Peace and Democratic Front, an alliance of four ceasefire groups – MNDAA, UWSA, Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the National Democratic Alliace Army (NDAA) also known as Mailai – condemned the Burmese Army for their interference in the problems of the Kokang Army.
The group said, the Burmese Army’s activities were being conducted under the pretext of drug eradication and expressed their full support to the Kokang Army.
Meanwhile, the fresh tension between the Burmese Army and the Kokang Army has forced several hundred villagers to flee to neighboring China, causing concern to the Chinese authorities.
Reports said, at least 10, 000 villagers have fled to the Chinese border.
A report by the Thailand-based, Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), said over 700 soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army had been deployed along the Sino-BurmA border in anticipation of any hostilities that might break out between the Kokang and the Burmese Army.
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Mizzima News - Without constitution amendment elections cannot herald change: NLD
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 18:12
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Unless Burma’s military regime releases political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and amends the 2008 constitution, the 2010 general elections will be meaningless and will not usher in any kind of change, the National League for Democracy has said.
The 2010 general election, proposed by the ruling junta, is based on the 2008 constitution, which enshrines the role of the military. It cannot provide an opportunity for change unless the regime considers reviewing the constitution, Dr. Win Naing, a spokesperson for the NLD said.
“The 2010 elections cannot be an opportunity for change in Burma unless the junta reviews and amends the constitution,” he said.
It has been 20 years now, and the junta is aware that it cannot continue ruling the country in an illegitimate manner. Since the junta is not prepared to make any kind of drastic reforms, it drafted the constitution to legitimize its role, he added.
Dr. Win Naing’s remarks came in response to the recent report released by the International Crisis Group, which urged all stake holders in Burmese politics to prepare to seize an opportunity of change that is likely to be a fall out of the 2010 elections.
The ICG in its report released on Thursday said the 2010 election is an opportunity for change and urged the international community, the Burmese opposition including the NLD, the military government and other stake holders not to squander the opportunity.
“All stakeholders should be alert to opportunities that may arise to push the new government towards reform and reconciliation,” the report, titled “Myanmar: Towards the Elections”, said.
The report also argues that boycotting or opposing the election would only push things into the hands of the military as it would not prevent the elections from taking place.
But Dr. Win Naing said if the elections take place without any consideration for the opposition’s demands, it would only produce a result that is predictable – continued military rule – and the only difference this time would be “a legitimized military rule”.
“We don’t see it as an opportunity. The conditions before the elections are important and if nothing changes and if the junta goes ahead with its plans, it is predictable,” he added.
But he did not criticize the ICG report stating, “It is their view and we appreciate it for expressing such ideas. It does not matter whether we agree with it or not.”
But functioning within a rigidly controlled environment, Dr. Win Naing said, people living in Burma understand the military’s mentality and need to assess the situation before taking any decision.
“As we have mentioned in our ‘Shwegondine Declaration’ if the ruling government does not implement our proposals, we would be forced to re-think how we should go about the 2010 election,” he added.
On August 11, the NLD’s general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months in detention, which is widely believed by observers as a move to keep her away from the 2010 election scenario.
Similarly, members of the NLD in Rangoon have been harassed and tortured for their political activities.
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 18:12
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Unless Burma’s military regime releases political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and amends the 2008 constitution, the 2010 general elections will be meaningless and will not usher in any kind of change, the National League for Democracy has said.
The 2010 general election, proposed by the ruling junta, is based on the 2008 constitution, which enshrines the role of the military. It cannot provide an opportunity for change unless the regime considers reviewing the constitution, Dr. Win Naing, a spokesperson for the NLD said.
“The 2010 elections cannot be an opportunity for change in Burma unless the junta reviews and amends the constitution,” he said.
It has been 20 years now, and the junta is aware that it cannot continue ruling the country in an illegitimate manner. Since the junta is not prepared to make any kind of drastic reforms, it drafted the constitution to legitimize its role, he added.
Dr. Win Naing’s remarks came in response to the recent report released by the International Crisis Group, which urged all stake holders in Burmese politics to prepare to seize an opportunity of change that is likely to be a fall out of the 2010 elections.
The ICG in its report released on Thursday said the 2010 election is an opportunity for change and urged the international community, the Burmese opposition including the NLD, the military government and other stake holders not to squander the opportunity.
“All stakeholders should be alert to opportunities that may arise to push the new government towards reform and reconciliation,” the report, titled “Myanmar: Towards the Elections”, said.
The report also argues that boycotting or opposing the election would only push things into the hands of the military as it would not prevent the elections from taking place.
But Dr. Win Naing said if the elections take place without any consideration for the opposition’s demands, it would only produce a result that is predictable – continued military rule – and the only difference this time would be “a legitimized military rule”.
“We don’t see it as an opportunity. The conditions before the elections are important and if nothing changes and if the junta goes ahead with its plans, it is predictable,” he added.
But he did not criticize the ICG report stating, “It is their view and we appreciate it for expressing such ideas. It does not matter whether we agree with it or not.”
But functioning within a rigidly controlled environment, Dr. Win Naing said, people living in Burma understand the military’s mentality and need to assess the situation before taking any decision.
“As we have mentioned in our ‘Shwegondine Declaration’ if the ruling government does not implement our proposals, we would be forced to re-think how we should go about the 2010 election,” he added.
On August 11, the NLD’s general secretary Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to a further 18 months in detention, which is widely believed by observers as a move to keep her away from the 2010 election scenario.
Similarly, members of the NLD in Rangoon have been harassed and tortured for their political activities.
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SPECIAL: Digging the Tunnels, Part Three
August 25, 2009 (DVB)–Burma is aggressively bolstering its defence in the event of an invasion, according to a series of leaked reports and testimonies that outline a myriad of projects ranging from tunnel digging to possible nuclear proliferation.
In recent weeks, DVB has revealed that with North Korean help, the Burmese junta is developing a complex network of tunnels that can accommodate heavy weaponry and battalions of troops during military operations.
Since then, speculation has grown that Burma is aiming to obtain a nuclear bomb, following testimonies given by two senior Burmese defectors that accuse the government of developing a nuclear reactor in northern Burma. However, further leaked reports show that the defence project runs deeper, with plans drawn up to incorporate civilians in military operations, should the country be invaded.
A leaked report entitled ‘Rangoon Division Military Command: regional mobilisation project’ (hereafter known as ‘RDMC report’) is one of a number of documents obtained by DVB that outline the various stages of Burma’s defence strategy, ones that range from the strengthening of militia groups to use of human shields.
The RDMC outlines several potential scenarios in which Burma could be attacked by “exiled insurgents and opposition groups” or “invasion by means of a coalition army led by a powerful nation”. Much of the preparation is going into bolstering its air defense, implying that an air attack is most likely. There is also another scenario, strongly hinted at in a report entitled ‘Burma-Thai Naval Capabilities’, that points to recent border problems between the two countries as being possible cause for an air invasion by Thailand.
In the RDMC defence project, Rangoon division is to be divided into six zones. Methods of defence in case of attack include “conventional warfare” and “guerilla warfare”, but there is a third strategy, in which the government will use militia groups alongside the Burmese army – this is one reason why they have been developing and nurturing various militias, such as the notorious Swan Arr Shin.
In a project named 'Militia strategy', the list of forces that could be turned into militia is being drawn up systematically, region by region, and includes groups that vary from fire fighters to civil servants to medical workers. Furthermore, families of army troops have been instructed to rally the public so that soldiers can be ‘disappeared’ among civilians and the public can be used in fighting.
Lists of all bridges in Rangoon division have been made in order to cut off the enemy's communication lines during military operations, and all sea routes that could be entered by the enemy are to be designated as minefields.
Furthermore, road blocks and barriers are to be constructed along the roads so that enemy tanks could not enter them easily. According to the RDMC report, the generals believe they can resist the attacks in tunnel stations built in Hmawbi, Phoogyi, Phaunggyi, Indaing, 9-Mile, and Military Hospital in Rangoon division.
Another project, known as 'The Peoples Air Defence' project, outlines a training programme on defence against an aerial attack. Groups of 30 people, likely to be army troops, are taught how to use surface-to-air and handheld missiles, and anti-aircraft guns.
The report for 'The Peoples Air Defence' project details the building of portable missile bases, which would be positioned at crowded areas of the towns, and on top of high-rise the buildings. In this case one could assume that the military is preparing to use human shield as one of its strategies.
Other missile bases and anti-aircraft cannons are located in Rangoon division military command region, and at 15 strategic points inside and outside of the city. These are connected by fibre optic cable networks and radios and telephones, and are connected to the main command centre in case of an emergency.
The report details that the movement of enemies will be monitored by using Russian-made long range radars at Zin Kyaik, Myeik and Kalama mountains outside of Rangoon division. A radar system at Rangoon division radar reception station in Phaunggyi will also be used.
Another leaked military operation report shows that five radar stations designed for air defence purposes are being built at Tavoy and Ngwesaung, with the help of Russian experts. Engineers have been instructed to move these into the tunnels if necessary.
In a confidential report of the minutes of a 2006 meeting between Burma’s second-in-command, Maung Aye, and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Yury Nikolayevich Baluyevsky, the two spoke of Russian cooperation in supplying Burma with a guided missile system and training Burmese in operation of the system. Russia already supplies Burma with fighter jets and helicopters.
Information leaked from inside Burma about North Korean and Russia involvement in Burma’s military ambitions has been reinforced by such high-profile visits of Burmese officials to the two countries in recent years.
Included in Shwe Mann’s trip to North Korea was a visit to tunnel complexes dug deep into the side of mountains that can hold heavy armoury, including chemical weapons.
The North Koreans are known to be expert tunnel diggers, and thus it is unsurprising that the Burmese junta would look to them in assistance for their project. It was during this trip that the two countries formalised military cooperation, and photographs released since by DVB show North Korean advisors training Burmese engineers in the construction of tunnels.
Elements of Shwe Mann’s trip were mirrored in Maung Aye’s meeting with senior Russian defence officials. While Shwe Mann visited radar and jamming stations in North Korea, Maung Aye similarly requested assistance in radar and communication technology, as well as the training of Burmese in using them. During this meeting, Baluyevsky replied that “[Russia’s] president has already directed us to teach Burmese trainees at a cheap price”.
While military cooperation between countries is normal, as is a country’s wish to bolster its own defence, Burma’s method is cause for alarm. What its strategy effectively entails is the forced transformation of civilian groups into armed militias, and the planting of would-be military targets for the enemy in populous areas. Moreover, the Burmese economy is in tatters, yet the government allocates some 40 percent of its annual budget to reinforcing itself against an enemy that doesn’t exist.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the whole project is found in the final stage of the resistance planning in another leaked military report. Before the melting away of Burmese troops, “overground” opposition groups and pro-democracy activists are to be regarded as the enemy, and are to be wiped out completely. This would be orchestrated with the help of Swan Arr Shin, USDA and other pro-junta groups, which are currently being expanded and trained should the situation necessitate their assistance.
August 25, 2009 (DVB)–Burma is aggressively bolstering its defence in the event of an invasion, according to a series of leaked reports and testimonies that outline a myriad of projects ranging from tunnel digging to possible nuclear proliferation.
In recent weeks, DVB has revealed that with North Korean help, the Burmese junta is developing a complex network of tunnels that can accommodate heavy weaponry and battalions of troops during military operations.
Since then, speculation has grown that Burma is aiming to obtain a nuclear bomb, following testimonies given by two senior Burmese defectors that accuse the government of developing a nuclear reactor in northern Burma. However, further leaked reports show that the defence project runs deeper, with plans drawn up to incorporate civilians in military operations, should the country be invaded.
A leaked report entitled ‘Rangoon Division Military Command: regional mobilisation project’ (hereafter known as ‘RDMC report’) is one of a number of documents obtained by DVB that outline the various stages of Burma’s defence strategy, ones that range from the strengthening of militia groups to use of human shields.
The RDMC outlines several potential scenarios in which Burma could be attacked by “exiled insurgents and opposition groups” or “invasion by means of a coalition army led by a powerful nation”. Much of the preparation is going into bolstering its air defense, implying that an air attack is most likely. There is also another scenario, strongly hinted at in a report entitled ‘Burma-Thai Naval Capabilities’, that points to recent border problems between the two countries as being possible cause for an air invasion by Thailand.
In the RDMC defence project, Rangoon division is to be divided into six zones. Methods of defence in case of attack include “conventional warfare” and “guerilla warfare”, but there is a third strategy, in which the government will use militia groups alongside the Burmese army – this is one reason why they have been developing and nurturing various militias, such as the notorious Swan Arr Shin.
In a project named 'Militia strategy', the list of forces that could be turned into militia is being drawn up systematically, region by region, and includes groups that vary from fire fighters to civil servants to medical workers. Furthermore, families of army troops have been instructed to rally the public so that soldiers can be ‘disappeared’ among civilians and the public can be used in fighting.
Lists of all bridges in Rangoon division have been made in order to cut off the enemy's communication lines during military operations, and all sea routes that could be entered by the enemy are to be designated as minefields.
Furthermore, road blocks and barriers are to be constructed along the roads so that enemy tanks could not enter them easily. According to the RDMC report, the generals believe they can resist the attacks in tunnel stations built in Hmawbi, Phoogyi, Phaunggyi, Indaing, 9-Mile, and Military Hospital in Rangoon division.
Another project, known as 'The Peoples Air Defence' project, outlines a training programme on defence against an aerial attack. Groups of 30 people, likely to be army troops, are taught how to use surface-to-air and handheld missiles, and anti-aircraft guns.
The report for 'The Peoples Air Defence' project details the building of portable missile bases, which would be positioned at crowded areas of the towns, and on top of high-rise the buildings. In this case one could assume that the military is preparing to use human shield as one of its strategies.
Other missile bases and anti-aircraft cannons are located in Rangoon division military command region, and at 15 strategic points inside and outside of the city. These are connected by fibre optic cable networks and radios and telephones, and are connected to the main command centre in case of an emergency.
The report details that the movement of enemies will be monitored by using Russian-made long range radars at Zin Kyaik, Myeik and Kalama mountains outside of Rangoon division. A radar system at Rangoon division radar reception station in Phaunggyi will also be used.
Another leaked military operation report shows that five radar stations designed for air defence purposes are being built at Tavoy and Ngwesaung, with the help of Russian experts. Engineers have been instructed to move these into the tunnels if necessary.
In a confidential report of the minutes of a 2006 meeting between Burma’s second-in-command, Maung Aye, and Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense, Yury Nikolayevich Baluyevsky, the two spoke of Russian cooperation in supplying Burma with a guided missile system and training Burmese in operation of the system. Russia already supplies Burma with fighter jets and helicopters.
Information leaked from inside Burma about North Korean and Russia involvement in Burma’s military ambitions has been reinforced by such high-profile visits of Burmese officials to the two countries in recent years.
Included in Shwe Mann’s trip to North Korea was a visit to tunnel complexes dug deep into the side of mountains that can hold heavy armoury, including chemical weapons.
The North Koreans are known to be expert tunnel diggers, and thus it is unsurprising that the Burmese junta would look to them in assistance for their project. It was during this trip that the two countries formalised military cooperation, and photographs released since by DVB show North Korean advisors training Burmese engineers in the construction of tunnels.
Elements of Shwe Mann’s trip were mirrored in Maung Aye’s meeting with senior Russian defence officials. While Shwe Mann visited radar and jamming stations in North Korea, Maung Aye similarly requested assistance in radar and communication technology, as well as the training of Burmese in using them. During this meeting, Baluyevsky replied that “[Russia’s] president has already directed us to teach Burmese trainees at a cheap price”.
While military cooperation between countries is normal, as is a country’s wish to bolster its own defence, Burma’s method is cause for alarm. What its strategy effectively entails is the forced transformation of civilian groups into armed militias, and the planting of would-be military targets for the enemy in populous areas. Moreover, the Burmese economy is in tatters, yet the government allocates some 40 percent of its annual budget to reinforcing itself against an enemy that doesn’t exist.
Perhaps the most chilling aspect of the whole project is found in the final stage of the resistance planning in another leaked military report. Before the melting away of Burmese troops, “overground” opposition groups and pro-democracy activists are to be regarded as the enemy, and are to be wiped out completely. This would be orchestrated with the help of Swan Arr Shin, USDA and other pro-junta groups, which are currently being expanded and trained should the situation necessitate their assistance.
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Armed groups to step up resistance
Aug 25, 2009 (DVB)–Burma's armed ethnic groups will increase cooperation with ceasefire groups in an effort to strengthen resistance against government army forces, following a meeting of eight opposition groups.
The alliance of ethnic armed groups, the National Democratic Front (NDF), concluded its Central Executive Committee’s three-day meeting on Sunday.
The eight-strong coalition, which includes the Karen National Union (KNU) and New Mon State Party (NMSP), two of Burma's principle armed opposition groups, discussed the ongoing issue of government pressure to transform ceasefire groups into border patrol forces.
A number of the ceasefire groups, including the NMSP, have resisted the pressure to return to what the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) calls the 'legal fold', which would give them legitimacy as groups but significantly weaken their manpower and influence.
“We wholeheartedly support the decision of our brothers, the ceasefire groups, not to agree with the SPDC’s plan to transform them into border militias,” said Mai Phone Kyaw, general secretary of the NDF.
A statement released by the NDF said that ethnic groups "have a right to operate in their own regions to protect their own people".
Mai Phone Kyaw said the junta is attempting to distract from growing international pressure on it by stepping up confrontation against opposition groups.
The government's latest offensive against the KNU, which began in June, has resulted in nearly 5000 Karen fleeing across the border into Thailand.
The conflict between the Burmese government and the KNU, which has stretched over 60 years, is thought to be one of the world's longest running.
“We discussed in our meeting how to step up our resistance and to prepare for a combat,” Mai Phone Kyaw said.
“We will continue our resistance against the SPDC junta by any means possible until we are granted our rights as the ethnic people of Burma.”
Reporting by Aye Nai
Aug 25, 2009 (DVB)–Burma's armed ethnic groups will increase cooperation with ceasefire groups in an effort to strengthen resistance against government army forces, following a meeting of eight opposition groups.
The alliance of ethnic armed groups, the National Democratic Front (NDF), concluded its Central Executive Committee’s three-day meeting on Sunday.
The eight-strong coalition, which includes the Karen National Union (KNU) and New Mon State Party (NMSP), two of Burma's principle armed opposition groups, discussed the ongoing issue of government pressure to transform ceasefire groups into border patrol forces.
A number of the ceasefire groups, including the NMSP, have resisted the pressure to return to what the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) calls the 'legal fold', which would give them legitimacy as groups but significantly weaken their manpower and influence.
“We wholeheartedly support the decision of our brothers, the ceasefire groups, not to agree with the SPDC’s plan to transform them into border militias,” said Mai Phone Kyaw, general secretary of the NDF.
A statement released by the NDF said that ethnic groups "have a right to operate in their own regions to protect their own people".
Mai Phone Kyaw said the junta is attempting to distract from growing international pressure on it by stepping up confrontation against opposition groups.
The government's latest offensive against the KNU, which began in June, has resulted in nearly 5000 Karen fleeing across the border into Thailand.
The conflict between the Burmese government and the KNU, which has stretched over 60 years, is thought to be one of the world's longest running.
“We discussed in our meeting how to step up our resistance and to prepare for a combat,” Mai Phone Kyaw said.
“We will continue our resistance against the SPDC junta by any means possible until we are granted our rights as the ethnic people of Burma.”
Reporting by Aye Nai
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