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#900 From: CHAN Beng Seng <bengseng@...>
Date: Tue Oct 4, 2011 7:04 am
Subject: [FaithPeace] Faith and Peace Newsletter - 30/9/11
piapi
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September 2011

Doctrine Divides, Action Unites

Contents

۩ Home Page
۩ School of Peace
۩ Faith and Peace Archives
۩ Photos and events
۩ Who are we

e-mail : forumicf@...


Reflection on Mekong Peace Journey: Process of Conflict Transformation
Rohanee Juenara
The author, a Muslim woman from southern Thailand, shares her learning experience during the Mekong Peace Journey that was held from July 11 to 26, 2011, in the cross-border areas of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. This program, initiated by the Mekong Working Group for Peace, is designed for young adults from Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam who wish to work for peace in the Mekong region. [Read more]

‘Religion Does Not Kill People; People Kill People’
Shabeb Khan
The author was a member of a group of YMCA participants from England who participated in the two-week Dialogue in Diversity workshop that Interfaith Cooperation Forum (ICF) held in Dhaka from July 9 to 24, 2011. He offers here his reflection about his experience in Bangladesh from the perspective of a Muslim man living in England. [Read more]

Winning without War: Empowering Youth Associations in Indonesia
Testriono
Based on his own context in Indonesia, the author explains that a way to minimize the effect of radical influences on Muslim youth around the world is to reinvigorate youth associations that assist in the youth’s development and infuse their lives with new meaning as well as offer them an opportunity to encounter others with a different identity. [Read more]

Medical Practice in the Philippines: The Poor Are Likely to Die
Danilo Reyes
Sickness spoils the family vacation of a staff member of a regional human rights organization in Hong Kong when he returns home to the Philippines. It also opens his eyes to the state of health care in his homeland. [Read more]

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#901 From: CHAN Beng Seng <bengseng@...>
Date: Fri Oct 7, 2011 10:46 am
Subject: [ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 7/10/11
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  1. Myanmar independence hero Aung San back in the limelight
  2. SSA-S accepts Burmese governments offer to start peace talks
  3. Pipelines to China become new target for Burmese activists
  4. Burma forgotten people
  5. Burmas new threat to global security
  6. Hope in Myanmar
  7. A kyat in the dark
  8. Burma rebuffs China
  9. Power struggle delays prisoner release
  10. Irrawaddy dam suspended, Shwe Gas Project should be next
  11. Naypyidaw shelves BGF to prepare for ethnic peace talks
  12. The Myitsone dam decision in Burma
  13. Burma eyes Indonesia-style reforms
  14. Myanmar back in the world rice trade after long hiatus
  15. Dammed if they dont
  16. Aung San Suu Kyi cautious on Burma reform
  17. Legal moneychangers set up shop, but black market still rules
  18. Suu Kyi and govt minister discuss amnesty and establishing peace
  19. Myanmar makes exchanging money easier
  20. Burmas leaders are showing signs of change, but there is a long way to go
  21. NLD considers registering as official political party
  22. Burmas showy crony
  23. What Thein Sein promised Suu Kyi
  24. Revealing Burmas system of impunity
  25. Myanmar says democratic reforms irreversible, promises prisoner amnesty
  26. UN Secretary-General Press Statement


Myanmar independence hero Aung San back in the limelight Peter Janssen
Deustche Presse Agentur: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Yangon When Myanmar President Thein Sein held conciliatory talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in August, he made sure that Suu Kyis famed father, Aung San, was part of the picture. A portrait of Aung San, an independence hero and founding father of the Myanmar army, was on the wall behind Thein Sein and Suu Kyi as they shook hands for state media after a meeting that has set a new tone for national politics.

Thein Seins predecessor, Senior General Than Shwe, who led the junta that ruled Myanmar from 1992 to 2010, was well-known not only for his dislike of Suu Kyi but also for distain for her father, who was gunned down by political rivals in 1947.

Prior to the Thein Sein-Suu Kyi meeting, no official portraits of Aung San were hung in government offices in the capital, Naypyitaw.

Thein Sein sent a message to the people that he is a follower of Aung San, said Kwin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force, an opposition party in parliament.

Hanging the portrait was a message to the whole country that he will not deny the Aung San image, Kwin Maung Swe said.

The National Democratic Force, a breakaway faction from Suu Kyis National League for Democracy, plans to propose to parliament that Aung Sans portrait be reinstated on the kyat bank notes, a practice that was discontinued under Than Shwes rule.

He is a national hero, Kwin Maung Swe said. We are trying to take things back to normal times.

There are other signs of an Aung San revival in Myanmar.

Children openly sell small posters of Aung San and his famous Nobel Peace Prize-winning daughter to motorists in the countrys largest city and former capital, Yangon, and the state-controlled media has been full of articles about the Aung San legacy in recent weeks.

Aung Sans image has been brought back again, said Tin Oo, deputy leader of the National League for Democracy and a former general. Now the younger soldiers are beginning to understand who was the hero of independence and the father of the army.

Before the rise of Suu Kyi as the countrys champion of democracy in the aftermath of a brutal army crackdown on anti-military demonstrations in 1988, her father was revered by the military as the armys founder and a hero of the countrys struggle for independence from Britain, its former colonial master.

Aung San portraits graced kyat notes and hung in government offices, and the anniversary of his assassination, Martyrs Day, was a national holiday marked by solemn state commemorations.

After Than Shwe moved the capital to Naypyitaw in 2005, Martyrs Day was presided over by the Yangon governor.

Unlike Than Shwe, Thein Sein, who took office in March, has acknowledged that he needs Suu Kyi on his side to achieve his goals: securing the position of the military establishment that still runs the country, ending Myanmars pariah status in the world community and easing economic sanctions, observers said.

If the regime thinks that Aung San Suu Kyi will now play ball, then reviving Aung San as the father of it all is fine with the army, said Robert Taylor, author of The State of Myanmar. After all, he was their founder, so back to normality.

Myanmar military strongman Ne Win, who overthrew the countys fledgling post-independence democracy in 1962, did not play down the Aung San legacy because it enhanced his own.

Both Aung San and Ne Win were members of the Thirty Comrades, young revolutionaries who sided with the Japanese in ousting the British forces at the beginning of World War II, who then turned on the Japanese before the war ended.

Many have criticized Suu Kyi for agreeing to meet with Thein Sein before the new government has made substantive concessions, such as freeing about 2,000 political prisoners and opening peace talks with ethnic minority rebel groups, which have been fighting the army for decades.

Theyve kind of hijacked Aung San and Aung San Suu Kyi for their own purposes, said Bertil Lintner, a well-known Myanmar expert and author of The Land of Jade.

But for Suu Kyi and her followers, small progress is deemed better than none at all.

So long as we can make one inch of progress, we will work together, Tin Oo said.



SSA-S accepts Burmese governments offer to start peace talks Phanida
Mizzima News: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Chiang Mai A spokesman for the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) says it has accepted the Burmese governments offer to engage in peace talks. SSA-S spokesman Major Sai Lao Hseng said the location and the time for the talks have not been set.

At first, they sounded us out, Major Sai Lao Hseng said. We replied that if they officially offered to begin peace talks, we would be ready to meet with them. We have said that we are willing to use peaceful ways to solve the problems.

In August, President Thein Sein announced that ethnic armed groups that want peace should talk with the respective state or regional governments.

On the other hand, the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) spokesman Major Sai Hla said that the government had not offered to engage in peace talks with the SSA-N.

In July, during the fighting between Burmese government troops and SSA-N troops in the area near the SSA-N Wanhai headquarters, the government sent two Buddhist monks as representatives to discuss holding talks with the government.

The SSA-N replied that it would meet with government representatives as an initial step, but regarding talks about a cease-fire and politics, it would only meet with the central government as a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), which is comprised of six ethnic member-groups that have united to negotiate with the government as a single alliance.

Major Sai Hla said that SSA-N Battalion 25 under Brigade No. 1 last week helped a member of the alliance, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Brigade No. 4, fight against government troops in the KIO area. Two soldiers of SSA-N were killed in the fighting in Mongton.

Both the SSA-N and KIO are members of UNFC that aims to cooperate in resisting governments political pressure and military offensives. Major Sai Hla said that the SSA-N was ready to help the KIO if Burmese government troops had launched a military offensive against the KIO.

If fighting occurs, we are not alone, he said. The UNFC, as a whole group, is likely to fight [against government troops].

Recently, UNFC Genera-Secretary Nai Han Thar said the Burmese government was determined to drive a wedge between the ethnic armed groups by demanding that they talk to negotiating teams separately.

Nai Han Thar told Mizzima: They may think that if the ethnic groups are united, the demands will be greater. It seems that they want to avoid holding political dialogue. They want only a cease-fire. They are trying to divide ethnic forces because they want to rule the country for the long term. In other words, they want the ethnic groups to be weak.

On October 1, a delegation led by Thein Zaw, the chairman of National Races and Internal Peacekeeping Committee and secretary 2 of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, and the leaders of United Wa State Party held a meeting, but government negotiators rejected some key Wa demands.

Meanwhile, government representatives met with the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) (aka) Mong La group this week to discuss peace. The meetings are expected to continue within a few days.



Pipelines to China become new target for Burmese activists Ba Kaung
Irrawaddy: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Chinese-backed strategic oil and natural gas pipelines under construction in Burma have become the new target for Burmese activists following President Thein Seins suspension last weekunder heavy public pressureof the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam hydropower project in Kachin State. Citing human rights violations, activists on Thursday called for the similar suspension of the US $ 2.5 billion oil and natural gas pipelines being constructed by state-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). The pipelines are to start at the Bay of Bengal in Arakan State on Burmas western coast, travel through central and northeastern Burma, and end in Yunnan Province, China.

Widespread land confiscation to make way for the pipeline corridor has already left countless people landless and jobless, while others along the pipeline are facing human rights violations and exploitation, said a group of Burmese activists from the Shwe Gas Movement, a campaign group opposing the exploitation of Burmas natural gas reserves, in a statement on Thursday.

The oil pipeline, which CNPC was granted exclusive rights to build and operate, is even more economically and strategically important to China than the $ 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam, which was expected to generate 6,000-megawatts of electricity that would be sent mostly to China.

The pipeline, with an estimated capacity of 20 million tons of crude oil per year that will enjoy tax concessions and customs clearance rights from the Burmese government, will enable China to bypass the Strait of Malacca when importing crude oil from the Middle East and Africa, saving an estimated 1,200 km shipping distance.

As part of the oil pipeline project, China is also constructing a deep-water crude oil unloading port and oil storage facilities on Burmas Maday Island off the coast of Arakan Statean investment that will provide China with crucial access to the geopolitically strategic Indian Ocean, where the US is poised to increase its navy presence in the coming decade.

The gas pipeline, scheduled to be completed in 2013, will be used to transport Burmese natural gas from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields located off the Arakan coast to Yunnan Province.

The pipeline projects have angered the people and politicians in Arakan State, which is rich with Burmas largest oil and natural gas reserves but has a poor electricity supply.

On Sept 27, Ba Shin, an opposition MP representing Kyaukphyu Island off the Arakan coast, submitted a question to the national Parliament in Naypyidaw, asking whether his constituency would receive a share of the natural gas extracted from the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the purpose of improving the islands electricity supply.

In response, Energy Minister Than Htay reminded Ba Shin that the previous military government awarded China the right to purchase and export the natural gas generated by the Shwe Natural Gas Fields for the next 30 years, and therefore the gas was unavailable for local use.

People opposed the Myitsone Dam because they dont want their natural resources being used to line the pockets of the regime and corporations with atrocious reputations, all at the expense of local people. The Shwe Gas Project must be stopped, recognizing that like the dam, it will be destructive socially and economically, said Wong Aung, an Arakan activist with the Shwe Gas Movement.

On Monday, Chinas Xinhua news agency reported that construction of the pipeline was proceeding smoothly and that CNPC said it gave $1.3 million to Burma this week to help build eight schools in the country, as part of an agreement signed in April to provide $6 million of aid.

Construction of the fourth stage of the oil and gas pipeline [within Burma] commenced on October 1, which is being built by CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Co. The pipeline project will continue after the rainy season in Myanmar [Burma], Xinhua said.

Any major obstacle to pipeline construction, such as the broad-based public movement which prompted the Burmese president to suspend the Myitsone Dam project, could be a devastating blow to China-Burma relations.

Napyidaws decision to suspend construction of the Myitsone Dam has already angered Beijing, which has called for the protection of the legal rights of the Chinese companies that have invested in the project. In addition, the lead Chinese investor in the dam project warned the Burmese government of possible legal action.

Jim Della-Giacoma, the South East Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, said that the Myitsone Dam crisis has the potential to weaken the Sino-Burma relationship, particularly if it comes to be seen as some sort of strategic rebalancing of Burmas international relations.

The relationship is deeper and wider than just one dam, but this is clearly a significant decision that probably involves environmental, political and other factors, he said in an interview with The Irrawaddy.

But since Naypyidaws decision is apparently part of a more calculated effort by Thein Sein to win support from the Burmese public for his reform agenda and improve Burmas standing in the West while still retaining close ties with China, the new president is expected to appease China by offering economic concessions and ensuring the successful continued construction of the pipelines.

However, even if the same type of public resistance that formed in the case of the Myitsone Dam project does not materialize, the oil and natural gas pipelines will still pass through conflict zones in northeastern parts of Burma, where Shan and Kachin rebels are operating. Military clashes between government troops and those ethnic armed groups have been ongoing since June and have escalated over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed reports, Burmas Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo will visit China in the next few days, leading a delegation of government ministers, including the minister of the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1, possibly in an effort to patch-up the relationship strained by Myistone Dam suspension.



Burma forgotten people Pafinyaporn Pajee
The Nation (Thailand): Thu 6 Oct 2011

A Thai documentary maker turns her attention to the Rohingya. Like many Thais, Thananuch Sanguansak saw CNNs report in early 2009 that the Thai military had been systematically towing boat-loads of Rohingya refugees far out to sea and setting them adrift. Her curiosity was aroused and the director and editor of the Nation Channels documentary section decided to explore further with a documentary of her own.

That was really the first time Id heard about the Rohingya. They are part of our daily lives but we dont really notice them, says Thananuch, who set about tracing the Rohingya in Thailand from Ranong to Samut Sakhon the provinces that are home to the largest concentrations of Burmese immigrant labour.

I asked Burmese labourers where I could find Rohingya people and the answer was any roti vendor. I was surprised because Id always thought that the roti vendors came from India or Bangladesh. In fact, they are Rohingya, says Thananuch.

After interviewing a Rohingya man in Ranong, she learned that he and his family had been evicted from their rented house and asked by government officials from not to give any more information. Thananuch was incensed and decided to develop her documentary and get to know more about the ethnic group.

Most of 50-minute documentary was researched, shot, edited and narrated by Thananuch on her own. Rather than focusing on the obvious human rights abuses, she presents the lives and an overview of these little known people in My Roghingya and lets the viewer draw their own conclusions.

The documentary is from my point of view. I want to share their lives and tell their stories, not just what happened in news, she says.

After showing on the Nation Channel and Modernine as well as at the World Film Festival of Bangkok last year, the documentary is being screened today and on Saturday at the UNHCRs Refugee Film Festival in Tokyo.

It doesnt try to dramatise the hardships of these stateless people or the discrimination in their homeland. In fact Thananuch tries to paint an honest picture of the people who live humbly in Thailand and as well as in the Rohingya refugee camp at Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh.

Unlike those in Thailand, the Rohingya in Bangladesh face a real struggle to survive. They have to stay in the refugee camp and while they can go out to work, they have to return to the camp at night. Thananuch discovered that it was not easy to interview Rohingya people in Bangladesh because they were terrified of getting into trouble with the Bangladesh people and the government.

We interviewed them in the van so theyd feel safer, she says.

But whether they are relatively free in Thailand or in a camp in Bangladesh, they really dont want to live abroad. They want to live in Burma, says Thananuch.

They want Burmese citizenship and to be able to return home.

Many Rohingya people have lived in Thailand for decades, can speak Thai fluently and some have married Thais and are raising families. Aside from selling roti or grilled squid, some are waiting further endorsement of their legal refugee status through UNHCR.

The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim people from Arakan state in western Burma near the Bangladesh border. Long denied Burmese citizenship, they were chased from their homes by the junta and forced to flee to Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia or Malaysia, none of which wants them.

Burma is an ethnically diverse country. Not only the Rohingya, all ethnic people including the Karen or Mon have problems with the government. The Rohingya people still in Arakan State are forbidden from marrying or travelling without permission and have no legal right to own land or property.

Thananuch says she sees no way out for the Rohingya.

When their problem started getting more public attention, they hoped that their citizenship situation would be resolved because Asean and the UN were aware of their existence. But nothing is happening: its not easy for any international organisations to interfere with Burmas internal policies.



Burmas new threat to global security Janet Benshoof
Democratic Voice of Burma: Thu 6 Oct 2011

For over forty years, Burmas military rulers have ignored the rules of law that govern civilized nations. General Than Shwe and his fellow perpetrators enjoyed an unfettered rule by crime only because of the global communitys long standing whine and wait policy towards Burma. However, the latest power ploy by the military establishing a civilian sovereign state without sovereign powers makes such inaction untenable. Given its lack of sovereign powers, control over its people, laws, and territory, Burmas new civilian government is illegitimate. The most fundamental and accepted law of nations obliges all states to treat Burmas constitution and the elections arising from it as null and void.

Let me explain how this happened and why Burmas form of government is a new threat to global peace and security.

Burmas new constitution, implemented on 31 January 2011, establishes the sovereign state of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar as being composed exclusively of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The military (Defense Services) is a separate, legally autonomous entity, outside of and supreme over the sovereign state. The new government of Burma, represented by the Head of State President Thein Sein, is incapable even if willing to enforce any laws, civil or criminal, against the military. All military affairs, civil or criminal, are under the exclusive control of the commander-in-chief. No law applies to the commander-in-chief, not the constitution or any rules spanning from controlling finances to nuclear development.

This bold attempt to establish a permanent law free zone for the military has escaped the notice of the global community. In fact, the influential International Crisis Group goes even further, enthusiastically describing Burmas constitution and elections as improv[ing] the prospects for incremental reform. Nothing could be further from the truth. The militarys stranglehold over Burma is impervious to political reform given its constitutional basis.

Even if Aung San Suu Kyi were President of Burma tomorrow, she would lack the legal capacity to be able to enforce compliance with Chapter VII Security Council Resolutions, the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, the Genocide and Geneva Conventions, the ASEAN Charter, and international laws regulating trade when they apply to military-owned companies in Burma. Neither the executive nor judiciary can end the constitutionally-guaranteed impunity of the military for past and present war crimes and genocide, including the use of rape as a weapon of war and child soldiers.

Although the military currently lacks nuclear capability, its fixation on mimicking the North Korea model of using the potential of nuclear weapons as a bargaining tool on the world stage is a serious threat. The militarys access to mineable uranium and billions of dollars are strengthened by a constitutional structure that ensures their legal autonomy and control over Burmas energy development projects, including nuclear power.

The issuance and implementation of this illegal constitution is an act of state of the utmost gravity under international law, violating the most central premise of the United Nations Charter; that all Member States are able and willing to comply with Security Council mandates necessary to secure global peace and security.

Burma now must incur the legal consequences of its serious breach of peremptory norms. Under international law all states are under an absolute obligation not to recognise the constitution and its subsequent elections and to take all measures possible, both collectively and individually, to ensure Burma revokes its constitution and invalidates the elections. This intransgressible legal duty of non-recognition cannot be ignored in favor a political strategy that accepts the validity of the 2010 elections. This was made plain by the Security Council in 1984 when it enforced this sanction of non-recognition mandating states treat the South African apartheid constitution and elections as null and void.

Enforcing the most fundamental law of nations is critical for the people of Burma for whom the new constitution legitimises their permanent status as prisoners of their own county. Equally important is for the world community to stop treating Burma as immune from consequences for its illegal acts. Continuing a whine and wait policy towards Burma, or worse, supporting the new illegal regime, should not be considered as viable political options.

* Janet Benshoof is president and founder of the New York-based Global Justice Center.



Hope in Myanmar
The Economist: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Something good could finally be happening in one of Asias nastiest dictatorships. The recent news from Myanmar, that beautiful, blighted land formerly known as Burma, has offered an all-too-rare cause for optimism. In the past week the president (and former general), Thein Sein, has announced that construction of the Myitsone dam across the River Irrawaddy would cease. That is probably a good thing for the environment; but it also marks a symbolic shift. It shows that for the first time for many years, Myanmars regime is prepared to annoy China, the dams main backer.

Irritating China is not necessarily a good thing. But in this case it appears to be part of a wider trend: Myanmars leaders seem prepared to pay more heed both to popular opinion at home and to pressure from the West. In August Aung San Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel peace prize who is the de facto head of Myanmars opposition, was invited for talks with Thein Sein himself. Miss Suu Kyi, who was previously confined for years under house arrest, has been allowed far greater freedom of movement and has even met several foreign visitors. Then in September the government passed a law to permit the formation of trade unions. These changes could just mark the start of a substantial shift in the now nominally-civilian leaders repressive policies.

This is not the first time that Myanmars leaders have eased up; and previous dawns have turned out to be false. In the mid-1990s, and then again in 2002-03, some form of reconciliation between the generals and opposition forces under Miss Suu Kyi seemed to be under way. On both occasions, the reforms led nowhere and there was ultimately a backlash by hardliners within the regime.

Yet even the regimes opponents admit that there could be more to the relaxation this time round. For years Western sanctions seemed to produce little in the way of significant political change in Myanmar; instead they pushed the countrys leaders closer to China, which is more forgiving of dictatorships. But this greater closeness may not be entirely welcome. The people of Myanmarand the regimeremain fiercely independent and popular resentment of Chinas huge economic influence in the country has increased. With most ordinary people still poor, Myanmars leaders may have decided to liberalise to try to get sanctions lifted.

Take the pressure off, only slowly

How should the West react? Myanmars leaders, no doubt, would like to see sanctions lifted rapidly. To merit that, they need to do more. There are rumours of an imminent release of political prisoners. If it goes ahead, the leadership should get some credit. The biggest issue, however, is the 2008 constitution, which gives the armed forces the final say on everything, and which Miss Suu Kyi and her party have refused to recognise. As long as this constitution is in place, genuine political reconciliation at the centre, let alone with Myanmars myriad ethnic insurgent groups, is hard. This rotten document should be rewritten quickly.

Despite these caveats, the West should applaud reform and recognise Thein Seins efforts. Its failure to respond favourably to previous liberalisations has strengthened hardliners suspicions inside Myanmar. The changes this time may be limited, but they are a great deal better than no movement at all. After so many long years of hopelessness, they represent a small glimmer of light for the people of a dark land.



A kyat in the dark Yeni
Irrawaddy: Thu 6 Oct 2011

A s Burmas new, ostensibly civilian government finally begins to acknowledge the multiple economic challenges facing the country, one issue has come to the fore: a foreign-exchange regime that has for decades played a major role in keeping Burma in the global economic wilderness. The reason for this sudden interest in the value of the national currency, the kyat, has little to do with the supposed reformist tendencies of Thein Sein, the ex-general who now serves as Burmas civilian president. Rather, the kyat has thrust itself upon the new regimes attention because it threatens to eviscerate one of the few growth sectors of the Burmese economy: food and other commodity exports.

Since the beginning of this year, the kyat has appreciated by more than 20 percent, putting severe pressure on exports and threatening efforts to restart the economy after decades of stagnation under direct military rule.

Now sitting at around 800 kyat to the dollar, compared to more than 1,000 kyat to the US unit a year ago, the exchange rate has become such a serious concern that in August, Thein Sein was forced to acknowledge before an audience of economists, businessmen and local aid organizations that the currencys strength was hurting the economy.

In consequence, local demand for goods is falling, and it has affected producers, especially farmers, who depend on exporting agricultural produce. So ways and means are being sought to ease the crises those farmers are facing, the president was quoted as saying in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

To reduce the burden on exporters, the government has cut export revenue tax on seven itemsrice, beans and pulses, sesame, rubber, corn, marine products, and animals and animal productsfrom 7 to 2 percent, and exempted them from commercial tax for a period of six months, from Aug 15 to Feb 14, 2012. Burmas Central Bank has also announced that it will reduce the interest rate on loans from 17 to 15 percent, in the expectation that easier financing will help boost private sector investment.

But temporary relief measures may not be enough. The danger now, say experts, is that the exchange rate could reach a point where repatriated earnings from exports are no longer sufficient to cover the costs of production, inflicting huge losses that could bring entire industries to their knees.

The rising kyat is also affecting the economy in other ways. Already, it is taking a sizable bite out of the value of overseas remittances. Money from expatriates supports hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of poor relatives back home. According to Sean Turnell, a specialist on the Burmese economy at Macquarie University in Australia, the average worker in Thailand, where there are an estimated two million Burmese migrant workers, sends back around US $300 a year. Most of this is spent on daily living expenses, or on housing, education and health.

In the longer term, the kyats continuing climb could also hit locally manufactured goods, as domestic consumers turn to cheaper imports to offset declining incomesomething that would have highly disruptive effects on an economy that has long been geared to self-sufficiency.

The economic, social and political consequences of this chain of events could be serious, wrote U Myint, a leading Burmese economist and the top economic adviser to Thein Sein, in a recent paper addressing the exchange rate issue.

No Relation to Reality

With all the talk of how the kyats recent surge is impacting on the economy, its easy to forget that the currencys current value is actually less than one percent of its official worth.

At the official exchange rate, one dollar fetches just 6 kyata figure that has never borne any relation to reality, and which is rarely used except when recording government revenue from the sale of offshore natural gas and other resources (thereby enabling Burmas generals to vastly underreport the wealth the country should have accumulated under their rule).

In practice, of course, it is the market, or black market, that determines the real value of the kyat. Outside of Burma, it is worth nothing at all, being non-convertible. Even inside the country, it is not the only currency in circulation. The US dollar is widely used for a range of transactions, from paying for imported goods to dealing with foreign tourists. The Thai baht and Chinese yuan are also often accepted, particularly in border areas. Other convertible currencies like the euro, the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar are not as popular, but the euro has begun to gain ground as a hard currency of choice.

Despite all this competition, however, the Burmese currency has steadily increased in value since 2009. For most of 2010, one US dollar was equivalent to more than 1,000 kyat, but dropped to less than 900 kyat by the end of the year. There have been several explanations for this. Besides the declining value of the dollar worldwide, other factors include a dramatic increase in foreign investment, especially in the energy sector; high oil and gas prices (Burmas biggest export is natural gas); and a spending spree by cronies of the military elite, who in the run-up to this years transition to ostensibly civilian rule used their massive dollar reserves to buy up real estate, gems and state-owned businesses.

While these factors may have driven up the value of the kyat, however, they have done little to put the countrys finances in order. In August, when budget figures were presented in Parliament for the first time since 1987, Maung Toe, the secretary of the Public Accounts Committee of the countrys Pyitthu Hluttaw, or Lower House of Parliament, said that Burma would run a deficit of about 2.2 trillion kyat (US $2.9 billion) in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Responding to a question by an MP, Maung Toe said the government expected to raise 5.78 trillion kyat ($7.7 billion) in revenue, while expenditures were budgeted at 7.983 trillion kyat ($10.6 billion). Although he provided no details about government expenditure, an official document released earlier this year, known as the government gazette, showed that nearly a quarter of this years budget would go to the military.

Although the sale of stated-owned property might have helped to reduce the countrys ballooning fiscal deficit, the lack of transparency that characterized the entire process makes it impossible to know how much of the money raised went into public coffers, and how much wound up in the generals private bank accounts. It is also worth noting that much of this massive debt was used to finance the construction of Naypyidaw, with its imposing public buildings, extensive road network and lavish residences for the retired generals.

Despite its efforts to make all the right noises about poverty alleviation and curbing corruption, the Thein Sein administration continues in the footsteps of its junta predecessor in spending heavily on the military, while doing little in the way of implementing policies to support households and businesses.

Meanwhile, Burma central bank remains reluctant to tighten policy aggressively, as it is not operationally independent from the government. Burmas domestic inflationary pressures remain strong owing to the fact that the central bankwhich is operated by the Ministry of Finance and Revenueis always ready to finance the budget deficit by printing money, with the consequent growth in domestic credit pushing up prices. Combined with pressure from rising global consumer prices, this could send Burmas inflation rate up to 16.2 percent in 2011, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Of course, it is the very poor, who make up the bulk of Burmas population, who bear the brunt of this erosion of purchasing power. But the countrys much smaller middle class also struggles with the distortions inherent in an economic system heavily weighted to favor a tiny handful at the top.

Ironically, despite the rising value of the kyat, most middle-class Burmese consider their national currency essentially worthless. Those who somehow manage to rise above mere subsistence aspire to send their children to school in Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand, or to move to these countries themselves, to escape being squeezed by ludicrously high duties on the sort of goods that most people of moderate means take for granted.

On the Road to Reform?

While most of Burmas economic problems are seen as an endemic feature of life under an entrenched authoritarian regime, there appears to be at least a nascent recognition among the countrys rebranded rulers that the status quo is simply unsustainable. How far they are prepared to go in reforming a system of their own creation is, however, an open question.

If Thein Sein was hoping that a few cosmetic changes would suffice to bring Burma into the international mainstream, the renewed focus on the kyat has served to highlight just how bizarrely out of step with the rest of the world the country remains. In addition to setting an official exchange rate that would cripple the economy if it were actually enforced, the government continues to print its own US dollars, in the form of dollar-denominated Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs).

At least on this front, the government seems to be getting a grip on reality. Government officials have reportedly told Burmese business leaders that the FEC is on its way out. There are also growing expectations that the exchange rate will be readjusted to better reflect the countrys economic needs.

Dumping an unrealistic and grossly inefficient system that has long distorted Burmas economy is definitely a step in the right direction, but it is one that will require a degree of expertise that is completely lacking among the countrys key decision makers.

Thats why the government has turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for advice. To provide this advice, the IMF will first of all ask Naypyidaw to provide key macroeconomic data, such as foreign exchange reserves, balance of payments, national budget, money supply, GDP (including its sectoral composition and growth rate), household income and expenditures surveys, foreign direct investment inflows and foreign trade statistics.

IMF spokeswoman Gita Bhatt recently confirmed that the Washington-based financial institution had received a request from the Burmese authorities to help them prepare to modernize their exchange-rate system and lift restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions. She said the IMF planned to send a technical team to Burma in late October to begin the process, but other details about contemplated reforms werent available.

The government seems convinced that it is on the right track. The problem of exchange rate gap, the main barrier to international trade, will be solved along with the proper evolution of market economy, Finance Minister Hla Tun was as quoted saying in The New Light of Myanmar, which also reported that the authorities had reached out to the IMF and sent trainees overseas as part of its efforts to reform the exchange rate.

Beyond providing some much-needed advice, however, the IMF is unlikely to play a major role in bringing these plans to fruition. Because Burma hasnt paid back its debts to multilateral financial institutionsand because the US wields effective veto power over the IMFthe country is barred from receiving any new financial aid.

That shouldnt matter, however, because Burma is believed to have abundant foreign exchange reserves (thanks to its sales of gas, gems and other natural resources), which it would need if it decided to discard the fixed exchange rate completely and simply float the kyat.

While this might seem like a radical departure for a country that has spent nearly 50 years under a succession of authoritarian regimes notorious for maintaining a stranglehold over every major sector of the economy, floating the kyat could very well be the best way forward. Best of all, it would require quite literally little more than the stroke of a pen, according to Macquarie Universitys Sean Turnell.

In fact, introducing a floating currency would only be a matter of making official the informal system that has long been in place in Burma, where for decades most international transactions have been based on an unofficial exchange rate determined by market forces.

Floating the kyat would reduce bureaucracy, increase economic freedom and hinder those elements that use the current exchange-rate arrangements as a vehicle for corruption, said Turnell, who added that the dual exchange rate allows government officials and state-owned enterprises to in essence maintain two sets of books, enabling them to hide revenues that could be diverted to other needs.

The only danger, however, is that bringing a degree of common sense to Burmas exchange rate system could create the false impression that the countrys economic problems can be solved without other, more fundamental changes.

The exchange rate issue is important, but its far from the most serious of Burmas economic problems, which have their roots in the lack of property rights, reasonable policy making, a voracious state apparatus, etc, said Turnell.

According to a 2008 paper by Dr. Tin Soe, a former professor and department head at the Rangoon Institute of Economics, Burmas economy since the early 1960s, when the country first came under military control, has been characterized by inconsistency, instability, interruption and discontinuation, rigidity and limited scope and vision, lack of transparency, unpredictability and uncertainty, quantitative physical targets-orientation, inefficient and ineffective implementation and use and abuse of consultancy and advisory services.

In other words, if Thein Sein really wants to make a difference, his government will have to break half a century of bad habits. Floating the kyat would be a start, but it will take much more than this to clean out the Augean stables of Burmas economy.



Burma rebuffs China Bertil Lintner
Khaleej Times (UAE): Thu 6 Oct 2011

At a time when Asian countries are increasingly worried about Chinas growing assertiveness, Burmas rejection of a huge Chinese hydroelectric dam project has raised new questions: Is this a rare victory for civil society in a repressive country? Or does it indicate an internal dispute over the countrys dependence on China? Regardless, the public difference over a close allys project marks a new stage in the Burma-China relationship.

On September 30, Burmas new president, Thein Sein, sent a statement to the countrys parliament announcing that a joint venture with China to build a mega-dam in the far north of the country had been suspended because it was contrary to the will of the people. The $3.6 billion Myitsone Dam would have been worlds 15th tallest and submerged 766 square kilometers of forestland.

Its unclear if Chinese counterparts were consulted before the decision was made public. Burma has depended on its powerful northern neighbour for trade, political support and arms deliveries since the West shunned the Burmese regime following massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators in 1988.

Public opinion may have played its part. Under the 2006 deal, 90 per cent of power generated from Myitsone would have gone to China. Anger over environmental destruction galvanised people against the regime in a way that the country had not seen for years. The dam was a dagger in the heart of the Kachins, the predominant ethnic minority in the area. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi threw her support behind the anti-dam movement. Many made their voices heard over Facebook a new tool for anti-regime activists.

People inside Burma cant protest openly, but Save the Irrawaddy meetings have been held in Rangoon. Burmese exiles have staged anti-Chinese demonstrations outside Burmese and Chinese embassies abroad. Anti-Chinese sentiment is growing in Burma, especially in the north where Chinese influence is the strongest. But public opinion has never been a strong factor when it comes to influencing the Burmese regime. The regime doesnt want to risk another outbreak of anti-government protests similar to the 2007 monks movement and invite international condemnation with more US and EU sanctions.

Dissatisfaction within the armed forces over Chinas growing influence in Burma is a more likely reason for the move to suspend the dam project. Burma has historically had a strained relationship with its northern neighbour. From the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 until 1962, Beijing maintained a cordial relationship with the non-aligned democratic government of Prime Minister U Nu.

Burma was the first country outside the communist bloc to recognise the new regime in Beijing. After General Ne Win staged a coup detat in 1962, the Chinese, long wary of the ambitious, sometimes unpredictable general, prepared for all-out support for the insurgent Communist Party of Burma (CPB). Anti-Chinese riots in Rangoon in 1967 orchestrated by military authorities to deflect public anger over a deteriorating economy provided an excuse for Chinese to intervene. On New Years Day 1968, armed CPB units entered northeastern Burma from Chinas Yunnan Province. Over the next decade, China poured more aid into the CPB effort than any other communist movement outside of Indochina.

Maos death in 1976, and the subsequent return to power of pragmatist Deng Xiaoping changed things. Supporting revolutionary movements in the region was no longer in Beijings interest. Still, China coveted Burmas forests, rich deposits of minerals and natural gas, and hydroelectric power potential. Ending Chinese support to the CPB ushered in a more cordial era in Sino-Burmese relations, the relations growing by leaps and bound after the 1988 bloody suppression of pro-democracy movement in Burma. Apart from supplying Burma with vast quantities of military hardware, by 1991, Chinese experts assisted in a series of infrastructure projects. Chinese military advisers soon arrived, the first foreign military personnel stationed in Burma since the 1950s. Cross-border trade between China and Burma boomed.

More recently, China has provided Burma with low-interest loans, and Chinese investment in the sanctions-hit economy is substantial, particularly true of the energy sector.

China still has contracts to build six other mega-dams on the Irrawaddy and source rivers. That Thein Sein dared to make his public statement reveals a wrinkle in Sino-Burmese relations and how Burma may try to balance foreign relations, perhaps returning to its former policy of strict neutrality and non-alignment.

Some academic observers assert that Beijings influence over the Burmese government is exaggerated. Although China provided Burma with up to US$1.6 billion worth of military hardware since 1989, the regime has recently turned to Russia, the Ukraine and North Korea to diversify its arms-procurement program.

Instead of democratising the country, Burmas new government seems to have chosen to play the China card, an attempt to win support of the West. An unsigned opinion piece in The Bangkok Post, written by a Burmese government official, lays out its position: We do not want our country to become a satellite state of the Chinese government. From the regimes point of view, improved relations with the West could be accomplished simply by playing up the Chinese threat, with the hope of diminishing Western criticism of the regime.

But the regime has time and again stressed that how the country is governed is an internal matter. The West must decide if it will play along.

Bertil Lintner is a Swedish journalist based in Thailand and the author of several works on Asia.
2011 Yale Center for the Study of Globalisation



Power struggle delays prisoner release Larry Jagan
Radio Free Asia: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Burmese politics have always been a cat and mouse affair. Those in power seeking change have always had to tread lightly. And nothing has changed under the new political system. If anything, things have got worse, as the power is more diffuse than under the naked military rule of the past.

But the new regime must show its true colors soon. It is no use shouting to the world that things have changed if there are no concrete changes to support that call. Of course the governments priorities will always be differentand they will never want to be seen bowing to international pressure.

But the countrys own parliament has called for the prisoners release, and this move has an important champion within the establishment in the speaker Thura Shwe Mann. Also, it is widely known that Aung San Suu Kyi discussed the issue with Aung Kyi during their meeting on Friday.

In fact the decision to release several hundred political prisoners, including the comedian Zaganar, has been taken in principle, according to senior government sources in Naypyidaw. They will be released in three batches of more than a hundred each time, I am told. So whats the holdup?

One obstacle is that the shadow of the old manformer junta leader Than Shwecontinues to dog the new administration of Thein Sein. On two important occasions during the last year he adamantly opposed the release both of political prisoners and of Khin Nyunts jailed military intelligence people. So if there is a legacy, it is Dont upset the countrys stability by freeing more political activists.

This is the position of the hardliners who hark back to the days of stable authoritarian rule and are lurking in the background ready to pounce if Thein Sein appears to go too far, too fast. Their greatest concern is that the 88 Generation student leaders, if freed, would resume their campaign against the government.

While the issue of political prisoners may seem simple, in the minds of the government it is more complicated. Everything is interlocked in their plans, and the big issue now is the forthcoming by-elections, possibly in November.

Thein Sein, according to sources in the capital, would like the National League for Democracy to contest them, and possibly have the Lady run too. This would be remotely possible only if the electoral laws were changed, according to senior members of the party.

This is yet another sticking point, for the hardliners are also adamant that there be no change.

Thura Shwe Mann, according to sources close to the speaker, is prepared to change those laws. Thein Sein is more cautious, though hes not opposed. The other leaders of the ruling USDP would be furious if changes are made to the laws, as this would appear, at least to them, to be accommodating Aung San Suu Kyi.

The old hardliner and former Than Shwe confidant Aung Thaung has been campaigning behind the scenes to make sure there are no political changes, including the release of political prisoners. According to sources in the government, he has even tried to get Than Shwe to come out of retirement, but so far to no avail.

While Burmas political future remains in such a precarious balance, nothing is likely to happen quickly. The worry that Than Shwe may decide to return to take over weighs heavily on the liberal-minded ministers who support Thein Sein.

Than Shwe and army chief Min Aung Hlaing have agreed that if things go awry under the new government, the military will seize power again in a coup, according to informed sources in the army. In effect, this option is written into the 2008 constitution.

The game plan then would be to abolish the parliament, ban the existing political parties, form new army-based organizations, and have fresh electionscausing a full political reversal.

Some ministers believe that Thein Seins government is the last chance for Burma to achieve democracy within this decade. If we fail, well end in jail, said one minister recently. Then there will be even more political prisoners.

Burmese politics is like a game of chessa game leading so far not to checkmate but to stalemate. Thein Sein needs support, and Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD could prove to be the key to Burmas future.

There is resistance in the party to cooperating too fully with the new regime. But it is clear that the Lady herself is willing to side with Thein Sein, provided he turns his rhetoric into concrete action.

In the short run, this can be demonstrated only by the release of political prisoners. While it is clear that any release must wait for the end of the current parliamentary session, it must happen as soon as possible after that.

* Larry Jagan is a former BBC regional correspondent who is based in Bangkok and has extensively covered Burma issues.



Irrawaddy dam suspended, Shwe Gas Project should be next
Shwe Gas Movement: Thu 6 Oct 2011

Last Friday, Burmas President announced the suspension of the Chinese-backed Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River, in response to the desire of the people. Following this announcement, the Shwe Gas Movement is calling for the suspension of another Chinese mega-project, the Shwe Gas transnational oil and gas pipeline. The Shwe Gas project includes a 2,800-kilometer long oil and gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from offshore gas fields on Burmas western coast and oil from the Middle East, through central Burma to southwest China. Widespread land confiscation to make way for the pipeline corridor has already left countless people landless and jobless, while others along the pipeline are facing human rights violations and exploitation.

Like the Myitsone Dam, which was surrounded by armed conflict between Burma Army and ethnic groups in Kachin State, the Shwe Gas project is being built through conflict areas. Since March 2011, the Burma Army launched offensives to clear ethnic armed groups out of resource-rich areas in northern Kachin and Shan States. These conflicts have displaced an estimated 50,000 people to date.

Exporting the huge natural gas reserves from Shwe Gas fields off Burmas western coast will perpetuate the chronic energy shortages domestically. The regime will earn an estimated US$29 billion from the sale of the gas, yet these revenues will not be used for social improvement. The revenues will disappear into a fiscal black hole that omits gas revenues from the national budget, clearly to the benefit of the regime and investors.

People opposed the Myitsone dam because they dont want their natural resources being used to line the pockets of the regime and corporations with atrocious reputations, all at the expense of local people. The Shwe Gas project must be stopped recognizing that like the dam, it will be destructive socially and economically, said Wong Aung of the Shwe Gas Movement.

The main companies involved in the Shwe Gas project include Daewoo International, a South Korean company who has faced criminal charges for its dealings with Burmas regime, and the China National Petroleum Corporation who previously supported the Sudanese government during the genocide in Darfur.

* To read the recent report Sold Out by the Shwe Gas Movement, visit www.shwe.org



Naypyidaw shelves BGF to prepare for ethnic peace talks Saw Yan Naing
Irrawaddy: Wed 5 Oct 2011

The Burmese government has stopped pushing its Border Guard Force (BGF) plan to instead concentrate on peace talks with separate ethnic armed groups in a new tactic ordered directly by Naypyidaw, claim rebel sources.

The latest attempt by President Thein Seins administration to achieve peace talks was to approach the Shan State Army-South (SSA-South) ethnic armed group via the Thai authorities, according to local rebels.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, SSA-South spokesman Sai Lao Hseng said that they told the Thai authorities that the group was willing to hold peace talks with the government if they receive an official offer.

A group-by-group approach by Naypyidaws delegations has been accelerated since a government announcement on Aug. 18 which encouraged ethnic rebels to contact their respective state or division authorities as a first step.

The government delegations held talks with the United Wa State Army and its ally of the Mongla Groupalso known as National Democratic Alliance Armyin September and temporarily dropped its calls to adopt the BGF.

Similarly, other state-level delegations comprised of Christian and Buddhist leaders have approached Karen rebels such as Karen National Union (KNU) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army.

An observer who recently accessed Karen rebel-controlled areas said that that Naypyidaw does not bring up the BGF plan at the moment, but let its delegations hold several general talks with Karen rebels. The delegations did not talk about the BGF but only a plan to make peace.

A different government delegation in Mon State also separately approached the New Mon State Party (NMSP) for peace talks, while other Naypyidaw representatives in Tenassarim Division told members of the local Karen community that they would be willing to hold peace talks with KNU Brigade 4 based in nearby Tavoy.

The NMSP has also formed a peace mission and is expected to hold ceasefire talks with the Mon State government in mid-October.

Government MP Han Bi, an ethnic Karen who represents the Union Solidarity and Development Party in Tenassarim Division, told the local Karen community in Tavoy that the plan for group-by-group peace offers came directly from Naypyidaw, according to Eh Na, the editor of Thailand-based Karen news organization Kwekalu.

But critics claim the move by Naypyidaw to enter peace talks with the NMSP while continuing to fight the Kachin Independence Army, KNU, SSA-South and SSA-North is creating misunderstanding, distrust and division among ethnic groups.

Observers said that Naypyidaw blatantly ignored calls by ethnic groups for an alliance talk involving all ethnic rebels and the government, and kept talking with certain ethnic armed groups to cause divisions by approaching each independently.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst who focuses on military affairs on the Sino-Burmese border, said attempts by Naypyidaw to hold peace talks with ethnic rebels separately is its way to divide the armed groups.

However, leaders of ethnic armed groups also said that they are cautious when dealing with the government delegations and wanted to talk directly with Naypyidaw to achieve ceasefires.

Ethnic groups claim they will only convey to the government delegation that the offer of peace talks is welcome, but the talks themselves must be held between Naypyidaw and an umbrella organization of ethnic armed groups, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

KNU General Secretary Zipporah Sein said that group-by-group meetings with the state-level authorities could lead to divisions between ethnic armed groups. However, all the UNFC members agreed to firstly meet with the state-level authorities individually to push for direct talks between the Naypyidaw and UNFC.

We would like to say that political conflicts should be solved with all ethnic groups, said Zipporah Sein.

Observers, however, have said that both Naypyidaw and ethnic armed groups are merely testing the water at the present time.



The Myitsone dam decision in Burma David Scott Mathieson
Huffington Post (US): Wed 5 Oct 2011

Burmese President Thein Sein burnished his perception as a reformist last week by suspending one of the countrys largest and potentially most destructive foreign investment projects. The Myitsone hydro-electric dam, the largest of seven dams to be constructed by the Beijing-controlled China Power Investment Corporation, would have flooded an area of more than 700 square kilometers, and displaced tens of thousands of villagers in northern Kachin State, close to the state capital of Myitkina. Several thousand have already been displaced by the first dam, built to provide the electricity for the larger ones in the series. The dam project, affecting the Irrawaddy River, Burmas largest, was fast becoming one of the countrys most contentious national issues. Its suspension goes against decades of state-directed resource grabs for Burmas neighbors and energy companies: logging, fisheries, oil and gas, and mining concessions sold off to China, Thailand, India, and other Asian and Western corporations.

The past few weeks did see some uncharacteristically open debate on the dam project in Burma, including public dissension from senior ministers. While some in Burmas parliament called for the project to be reviewed, the Electric Power Minister U Zaw Win, prior to the presidents announcement, insisted: we will not back down just because environmental groups are against it we will not back down now in fact we are to go ahead. Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi joined prominent artists and writers at an art exhibition about the Irrawaddy River, and the regulated Burmese media debated it. There has not been open discussion and high-level disagreement, at least not publicly, on an issue like this in Burma for a long time.

Its less clear that the suspension represents Thein Seins newfound support for the environment or a more open society. Kachin environmental groups and community leaders in the dam areas and others have done exemplary work in documenting the project and its effects on Kachin State, which has encouraged more overt community activism in recent years. A recently leaked 900-page environmental impact survey on the dam project, produced by Burmese and Chinese government experts, was damning in saying the project was ill-advised. And it didnt help matters that the Myitsone dam site is situated just 100 kilometers from a major earthquake fault line.

The breakdown of the 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organization in June was another headache for the government. The dam project had become a flashpoint for the renewal of armed conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic Kachin rebels that has so far displaced more than 30,000 civilians.

Many important questions remain: Is the Myitsone project on its way to being cancelled or is the government just waiting for the outrage to die down? Will the local community have a role in future discussions about the project, such as whether the mega damn at Myitsone will be reworked into a number of smaller dams? Did the Chinese agree to the suspension, and was it a temporary trade-off because China wants to ensure the strategically more important oil and gas pipelines? The answers to these questions are not just crucial for environmental protection and foreign investment in Burma, but for whether the Burmese governments claims of being more open and accountable are for real.

Meanwhile, there are more than enough energy projects in Burma that have potentially disastrous community and environmental and human rights impacts: the hydro dams on the Salween River, including the pipelines, massive Chinese agri-business ventures in the north that involve land-grabbing and semi-feudal working conditions, the Dawei (Tavoy) port project and industrial park in southern Burma, and the Kaladan River and road project being pursued by Indian firms in western Burma. Add to this the widespread practice of the Burmese military to seize land for their own business interests, or to hand over to military connected companies, and there are more than enough abusive practices that adversely affect both ethnic minorities in conflict areas and the general population. These and many more environmental and human rights abuses have been well documented by community groups for several years.

Overall, people in Burma should be heartened by the suspension of the dam project. It is tempting to believe it signals a significant shift in the autocratic, plunder-and-profit mentality of the Burmese authorities. But it is doubtful. If it does lead to more open community discussion of development projects, and more regulation and oversight, it is a good thing, but dont expect the governments rapacious commercial practices to reform in a major way anytime soon. If the Myitsone decision is to have far-reaching consequences for sustainable development in Burma, it is up to Burmas leaders to ensure that their decisions about business are about people too.

* David Scott Mathieson is a Senior Researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch.



Burma eyes Indonesia-style reforms
Radio Free Asia: Tue 4 Oct 2011

A family member of a prisoner waits outside the Insein prison in Rangoon, May 17, 2011. Many of Burmas political prisoners are locked up inside. Burma wants to emulate once military-ruled Indonesias transition to democracy, including the process that ended a long-standing insurgency in the northern Indonesian province of Aceh, Burmese President Thein Seins political adviser said Monday.

But Nay Zin Latt, who led a team of officials on a recent visit to Indonesia, said the Burmese government will try to avoid some of the mistakes that were made during the transition from Indonesian dictator Suhartos ouster in 1998 after bloody pro-democracy protests.

In Burma, several ethnic militias have battled government troops for decades to preserve the de facto autonomy of groups like the Shan, Wa, Kachin, Karen, and Mon.

Thein Seins nominally civilian government has invited armed ethnic groups to hold peace talks as part of a series of reforms introduced since it came to power in March.

There were some mistakes in the Indonesian transition period. So we have to avoid those kinds of mistakes as we learn from Indonesia, Nay Zin Latt told RFA. He did not elaborate on the mistakes made during the transition.

Suharto, a former military general, had ruled Indonesia with an iron hand for more than 30 years and was one of the most corrupt and brutal leaders in recent history. During his reign, the military was accused of blatant human rights abuses.

Thein Seins government, made up largely of retired army generals, replaced the countrys longtime military junta leadership that has also been accused of wide-ranging rights abuses.

His government has launched talks with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as part of a program of reform initiatives, but is also under pressure to release some 2,000 political prisoners and forge a peace pact with armed ethnic groups to underline its seriousness toward achieving democracy and freedom.

Top-down change

Nay Zin Latt said that while the transition process for Burma could not be the same as that of Indonesia, we have to learn from Indonesia.

Burmas style is a top-down change and we may go faster [in adopting changes] than Indonesia, he said.

He said a key element that could be used as a model for change in Burma was an agreement that ended a three-decade insurgency in Aceh in the northern tip of Indonesias large Sumatra island.

The 2005 agreement between the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) resulted in Aceh receiving a special regional status. Former GAM guerrillas also came to power after winning the first post-conflict elections.

At the end of the negotiations, they [the Aceh rebel group] gave up their demands for independence, and the government gave Aceh autonomy, Nay Zin Latt said.

He said the Burmese government will not allow any states or regions in the country to break away but added that they will have appropriate rights.

Nay Zin Latt said many groups in Indonesia have welcomed the cooperation between the Burmese president and Aung San Suu Kyi that he said had resulted in, among other decisions, last weeks suspension of work on a massive Chinese dam project in Burmas northern Kachin state following opposition from environmentalists and other groups.

We have to learn from Indonesias negotiation style, he said.



Myanmar back in the world rice trade after long hiatus Peter Janssen
Deustche Presse Agentur: Tue 4 Oct 2011

Yangon Myanmar, plagued for decades by government interference in its rice industry, aims to increase its rice exports to 1 million tons this fiscal year, helped by Thailands price support programme that promises to make the Thai crop less competitive on the world market.

Our rice is the cheapest in the world, said Myo Thuya Aye, managing director of the Ayeyar Wun Trading Co.

Myanmar rice is 50 to 60 dollars cheaper [per ton] than Thai rice, 40 to 50 dollars cheaper than Vietnamese rice and 30 to 40 dollars cheaper than Pakistans, Myo Thuya Aye said.

The price differential is seen as a way for the country to nearly double the exports of 570,000 tons it saw in the past fiscal year, which ended March 30.

Last years low number was largely because the then-ruling military junta was worried about domestic rice prices.

That was an election year, so the government and the rice association had to consider price stability, Myo Thuya Aye said.

Myanmar held its first general election in 20 years on November 7, ushering in a government led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is packed with former military men.

Myanmars new president, former general Thein Sein, has implemented some policies beneficial for Myanmars private sector, such as dropping an 8-per-cent export tax on rice and 14 other goods in August.

In the first half of this fiscal year, Myanmar shipped an estimated 370,000 tons of rice to markets such as West Africa, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Shipments should rise for the rest of the year, and Myo Thuya Aye said traders hope to export 1 million tons for the entire fiscal year.

For years, no other country has had an export tax on rice, said Sein Win Hlaing, chairman of the Myanmar Paddy Producers Association. We have been suffering for a long time.

Myanmars rice traders have actually been suffering for as much as six decades.

Prior to World War II, Myanmar was the worlds leading rice exporter, shipping an average of 3 million tons a year from the Irrawaddy Delta, the countrys rice bowl.

Myanmars first post-independence president, socialist-leaning U Nu (1949-1962), put rice exports under government control, limiting the private sector to the domestic trade.

When military strongman Ne Win seized power in 1962, he nationalized the entire rice industry exports and domestic trade, mills and warehouses.

Thereafter, Thailand swiftly replaced Myanmar as the worlds top exporter, a position it has held for almost four decades but is now in danger of losing.

Thailand exported about 10 million tons of rice in 2010 and is expected to reach a similar level this year.

But nobody knows how Thailands rice exports will fare in 2012 after the government on Friday introduces a price guarantee scheme for Thai rice farmers.

Under the programme, which was expected to be discussed when Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visits Myanmar Wednesday, the government is to pay farmers 500 dollars per ton of plain white rice, regardless of the prevailing market price, and 666 dollars for jasmine rice, the fragrant grain Thailand is famed for.

The price guarantees, designed to win votes for the Pheu Thai Party in Thailands July 3 general election, which it won, is expected to boost Thai rice prices by 40 per cent on the world market.

It will create a lot of opportunities for other people to come in, said Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

The Thai move towards government intervention comes just as Myanmar is lifting decades of constraints on its own private sector.

The process began before the current government came to power.

In 2003, the junta allowed private businesses to get involved in rice exports, an activity previously monopolized by the State Agricultural Marketing Board.

In 2009, a year after Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta, the government allowed the establishment of 39 rice specialist companies to provide farmers with low-interest loans to purchase fertilizers, pesticides and rice seeds.

Besides waiving the export tax on rice exports, a waiver that is to be reconsidered in February, the new government has also allowed the Myanmar rice association to elect its own board and determine rice export quotas on a monthly basis.



Dammed if they dont
The Economist: Tue 4 Oct 2011

OBSERVERS are still wrestling with the implications of a stunning piece of news out of Myanmar on September 30th. Thein Sein, the president, informed parliament that work on a huge $3.6 billion dam on a confluence of the Irrawaddy river in the north-east of the country would be suspended for the duration of his term in office, ie, until at least 2015.The decision has provoked China, which has been building the Myitsone dam and would buy almost all of the electricity generated by the associated 6,000MW hydropower plant, into a rare public rebuke of a friendly neighbour. And critics at home and abroad have been taken aback by the reason Mr Thein Sein gave for the suspension: that it was contrary to the will of the people. That has not, in the past, been a consideration for Myanmars rulers.

Like many members of his government, Mr Thein Sein is a former general. But the civilian regime that succeeded the military junta after rigged elections last year is trying hard to look different. The suspension of the dam comes after a series of conciliatory gestures, notably a meeting in August between the president and Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmars opposition, who was freed from house arrest last November, just after the election.

That the new regime seems willing to antagonise China is the latest sign that things may really be different. Shunned by the West, Myanmar had been falling ever more closely into Chinas orbit. China is Myanmars biggest foreign investor, followed by Thailand. A Chinese foreign-ministry spokesman has condemned the suspension of the dam and called on Myanmar to protect the rights of the Chinese companies involved.

Myitsone is one of the most important of Chinas many projects in Myanmar. The main investor is the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation, whose construction arm had already started work. On a visit to the site this year, The Economists correspondent found that it had built supply roads and large pre-fabricated living quarters for the Chinese workers, cleared hillsides and moved the population to a resettlement village (pictured to the right).

Of a series of seven Chinese-built dams planned on the Irrawaddy, the Myitsone was to be the largest, and at about 150 metres (458 feet), one of the highest in the world. If completed, the dams reservoir would flood an area the size of Singapore and drive more than 10,000 people, mainly from the Kachin ethnic group, from their ancestral lands. The area straddles territory controlled by the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of Myanmars myriad insurgencies. Last May the KIO warned China that building the dam would lead to civil war. Since then fighting between government forces and the KIOs armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army, has increased markedly. Thousands of villagers caught up in the clashes have fled the area.

Hitherto suppressed environmental NGOs spoke out against the project. They were backed by Miss Suu Kyi, who in August wrote an open letter calling for a reassessment of the project. She has welcomed the suspension because every government should listen carefully to peoples voices.

It is not just concerns about the environment or the people displaced that have raised hackles. There is widespread popular resentment against Chinese economic expansion within Myanmar, and against the large-scale immigration of Chinese nationals into northern Myanmarestimates range from 1m to 2mthat has accompanied it. Many Burmese complain that Myanmars states have become like provinces of China.

The governments decision to suspend the dam comes at a time when it is also showing more willingness to engage with the West. Barack Obamas special envoy to Myanmar was there in September. The regime has even been hinting that it might release at least some of its 2,000 political prisoners. Their continued detention makes it hard for Miss Suu Kyi to advocate the lifting of Western sanctions, and her support for sanctions makes it hard for Western governments to drop them. In an interview this week with the BBC, she urged caution in assessing the governments intentions, but expressed at least moderate optimism: We are beginning to see the beginning of change.

Among the many signals the regime is sending by suspending the dam is that it does not want to be dependent solely on its neighbours, especially China. The regime is trying to build bridges with both its opponents at home and its critics overseas. The danger is that the changes it is making may not be fast enough or fundamental enough to win big concessions from the West. And in the past, when engagement has failed, there has been no shortage of vengeful hardliners waiting to come out of the woodwork.



Aung San Suu Kyi cautious on Burma reform Rachel Harvey
BBC News: Mon 3 Oct 2011

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has urged the international community to monitor her country closely to see whether recent signs of possible reform are genuine. Her comments came in a face-to-face interview with a reporter from the BBCs Burmese language service who was given rare official access to Burma.

Ms Suu Kyi said she believed President Thein Sein wanted to reform.

But she said she was not sure how far he was prepared to go.
Wheels are moving

There have been recent signs that the civilian-led, military-backed government of Burma is trying to soften its stance and improve its image at home and abroad.

Last week the president suspended work on a hydro-electric dam project, financed by China, to which public opposition had been growing.

Some previously blocked websites have been made available, and there have been a number of meetings between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Some journalists based outside Burma have also been allowed in on official visas, including a reporter from the BBC Burmese service who managed to speak to the pro-democracy leader face to face.

How substantial, he asked her, were these recent moves?

We are beginning to see the beginning of change, she said.

And by that, I mean that I believe that the president wants to institute reforms, but how far these reforms will be able to go and how effective these will be, that still waits, still needs to be seen.

Aung San Suu Kyi urged the international community to work together and to monitor events in Burma closely to see whether there was real and sustainable progress.

Ive always said that the more co-ordinated the efforts of the international community are, the better it will be for democracy in Burma. If different countries are doing different things, then it detracts from the effectiveness of their actions.

When asked whether she thought the wheels of democracy were turning, Aung San Suu Kyi, replied cautiously: I think Id like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along.



Legal moneychangers set up shop, but black market still rules Sai Zom Hseng
Irrawaddy: Mon 3 Oct 2011

Burmas first legal currency exchange centers opened for business on Saturday, but are likely to face stiff competition from black market moneychangers who dont ask questions about the sources of money or set limits on how much can be exchanged. Recently licensed by Burmas Central Bank as part of an effort to reform the countrys archaic financial system, the new bureaus de change operate under a raft of restrictions that could discourage customers, said operators of the new businesses.

According to a source at one currency exchange center, foreign customers are required to show their passports and provide personal information, while Burmese using their services must produce ID cards and other documentation. All customers are required to sign for every transaction.

To change large amounts of money, customers are also expected to explain how the money was acquired and provide additional documentation. Amounts exceeding the limit of US $10,000 or 100 million kyat ($123,000) must be reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) are not subject to the same limits, however, and can be exchanged with any amount of US dollars, euros or Singapore dollars.

Some Rangoon-based businessmen said that the restrictions will ensure that unlicensed moneychangers continue to dominate the domestic foreign exchange market.

A source from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that few people would be willing to provide their personal data or signatures to do business with licensed moneychangers unless they offered substantially better exchange rates than those available in the black market.

The licenses for exchanging foreign currencies were granted to banks closely linked to the military and government ministries, including Myawaddy Bank, which is owned by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd, known as the economic backbone of Burmas generals; Innwa Bank, owned by the Myanmar Economic Corporation; and the Myanmar Livestock and Fisheries Development Bank, which is connected to the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.

The opening of the new currency exchange centers has also provided a business opportunity for brokers, who offer to handle transactions for customers who dont want to do it themselves. One Rangoon-based reporter said that at every currency exchange center she entered, she was immediately approached by people offering to assist her.

The brokers are good for people who are confused by the way the exchange centers operate, she said, adding that while there seemed to be little demand for their services at this stage, the brokers could be useful for those put off by red tape.

Meanwhile, some state-owned banks will open branches in Thailand, Malaysia and Singaporecountries where large numbers of Burmese nationals live and work.

The move is expected to help Burmese people living in these countries to transfer money to their families in Burma, but some say the introduction of overseas branches of Burmese banks will not replace the informal cash transfer businesses known as hundis.

Nang Aye, who runs a hundi service in Tachilek, a town in Shan State on the Thai-Burmese border, said that he didnt expect to be affected by the new banks.

Almost all of our clients are Shan people whose families are still living in Shan State. Some dont have ID cards, which they would need to transfer money through a bank, said Nang Aye, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.

* An Irrawaddy reporter in Rangoon also contributed to this report.



Suu Kyi and govt minister discuss amnesty and establishing peace
Mizzima News: Fri 30 Sep 2011

Rangoon Burmas opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and government Labour Minister Aung Kyi discussed granting amnesty and establishing peace with ethnic armed groups on Friday. At a joint press conference after their 77-minute meeting in Rangoon, they also said they discussed cooperating in conservation efforts to protect the Irrawaddy River and to cooperate for the stability of the country and the prevalence of law and order. They also also said the meetings will continue.

It was Suu Kyis third meeting with Union Minister Aung Kyi under the new government led by President Thein Sein.

Suu Kyi also told reporters that she welcomed President Thein Seins decision to halt the Myitsone Dam project at some point during his governments tenure.

Suu Kyi said, Its very good that [the government] listens to the peoples voice. That is a task every government must do. Governments need to work to solve the problems that make people worry.

On Friday, President Thein Sein informed both houses of the Burmese Parliament by letter that the Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River would be halted at some point during his governments tenure, citing peoples concern about the dams impact on the environment.

The letter also said that without spoiling the friendship between China and Burma, the government would discuss the contract agreed to with China, which is funding the dam project that will generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity

Meanwhile, many people have welcomed the presidents decision on the Internet.

In reply to a question whether the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Suu Kyi would contest in the coming by-election or not, the labour minister answered that if the NLD registers as a political party, the government is ready to cooperate with the NLD. Presently, the NLD is the main opposition group outside of the Burmese Parliament.

Regarding registering as a political party, Suu Kyi, who spent 14 years under house arrest, said that she must first consult with the NLD leadership. The NLD did not re-register to become a political party prior to the 2010 elections.

We dont oppose elections according to any policy. We have already accepted that elections are a part of a democratic system, Suu Kyi said.



Myanmar makes exchanging money easier
Agence France Presse: Fri 30 Sep 2011

Yangon Myanmar is to allow six banks to open foreign exchange counters from October, state media reported, in a step towards reforming its currency regime and stamping out illegal money-changing. The New Light of Myanmar said the official currency exchange counters on Yangons Theinbyu Road would make life easier for tourists, help eliminate black market money changing and stabilise the kyat exchange rate.

The booths will exchange US and Singapore dollars as well as euros at rates in line with international currency exchange markets, it said.

They will be the first foreign exchange counters operated by private banks.

Myanmar has a highly complex exchange rate system, with official, semi-official and unofficial rates, as well as Foreign Exchange Certificates.

With the official government rate fixed at around just six kyat per dollar, almost everyone uses black market money changers, who were offering about 800 kyat per dollar this week.

The new civilian government has invited a team from the International Monetary Fund to visit the country formerly known as Burma in October to offer advice on reforming the forex market and unifying its multiple rates.

The unusual request by a regime which regards international institutions with suspicion is seen an indication of the gravity of the currency market disarray and a tentative sign it is warming to modern economic reforms.

The kyats value has risen sharply against the dollar in recent years, dealing another blow to the authoritarian countrys crumbling economy, particularly for exporters.

Experts say possible reasons for the currencys strength are the general weakness of the greenback, booming exports of gas and other resources, weak import demand, more foreign visitors and rising investment inflows.



Burmas leaders are showing signs of change, but there is a long way to go Simon Tisdall
The Guardian (UK): Fri 30 Sep 2011

Democracy campaigners say halting the Myitsone dam project does not mean the regime has changed its spots. President Thein Seins decision to risk Chinas wrath and yield to public pressure to suspend the controversial Myitsone dam project will be hailed in some quarters as the latest sign that the political dynamic in Burma is changing for the better after decades of autocratic rule. But democracy campaigners urge caution, saying the revamped regime has not really changed its spots and has yet to take concrete, irreversible steps towards reform.

Thein Sein was elected to the presidency in national polls held last November that were widely dismissed as a sham. The main opposition, the National League for Democracy led by the Nobel peace prizewinner Aung San Suu Kyi, was barred from taking part. In March the military junta that has ruled Burma since 1990 supposedly handed over its powers to a civilian-led government. Since then, there have been encouraging signs of change, according to a report by the independent International Crisis Group (ICG).

In a speech on 19 August, the president made clear that his goal is to build a modern and developed democratic nation, the report said. The refreshingly honest speech showed strong signs of heralding a new kind of political leadership in Myanmar [Burma], setting a completely different tone for governance and allowing discussions and initiatives that were unthinkable only a few months ago.

The ICG study suggested that an amnesty for an estimated 2,100 political prisoners was on the cards, following positive government moves aimed at reinvigorating the economy, reforming national politics and improving human rights. The fact that Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to give this years BBC Reith Lectures unimpeded, and has since met Thein Sein for talks, has also been interpreted as an important step forward.

The ICG said it was now incumbent on western governments that had been consistently hostile to the junta to encourage the reform process. At the very minimum this should include a less cautious political stance and the encouragement of multilateral agencies, including international financial institutions and the UN Development Programme, to do as much as possible under existing mandate restrictions, it said.

But Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK, longstanding advocates of democratic reform, said the small changes so far should be treated with extreme caution. The Burmese governments main aims remained the lifting of western sanctions and confirmation of its chairmanship of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) in 2014 which would go a long way towards normalising the countrys international position. The regime was not genuinely interested in building a democracy or improving the human rights situation, he said.

As prime minister Thein Sein was in charge of drafting the new constitution that legalised dictatorship, Farmaner said. Since the elections there have been three broken ceasefires, with the Kachin, Karen and Shan minorities, a massive increase in army attacks on ethnic groups, and a sharp rise in gang rapes involving women and children. The regime does not accept it holds any political prisoners. You could argue the human rights situation is getting worse.

Farmaner conceded there had been a very slight improvement in some areas, such as media controls, but that this, too, was part of an attempt to regain international legitimacy and neutralise the NLD. The dam was not a political issue, he argued. The project was opposed on environmental grounds and Thein Sein had become increasingly fearful that it could act as a trigger for broader popular discontent.

Both Farmaner and the ICG agree there is a long way to go before reform triumphs in Burma. And while Asean countries may use recent upbeat signals to justify their long-held, ill-disguised wish to normalise relations, western governments are treading carefully so far. Senior US officials met Burmas foreign minister in Washington this week, a meeting that in itself signalled a thaw. But a spokesman, Mark Toner, said American policy had not shifted, not yet at least. We havent changed our basic approach. Our policy is still a dual track approach with sanctions but also with principled engagement.



NLD considers registering as official political party Tun Tun
Mizzima News: Thu 29 Sep 2011

New Delhi If the government continues to make progressive political changes, the National League for Democracy (NLD) will consider registering as an official political party, according to NLD lawyer Nyan Win. We are awaiting the governments changes, he said. We will not decide in advance whether we will register or not. As the conditions change, we will make the decision, Nyan Win said.

Since Burma created a parliamentary government after the election in November 2010, NLD leaders have discussed the issue of re-registering the organization, he said. Currently, he said the NLD thinks that recent governmental changesalthough importanthave not risen to the level to justify re-registering as a political party.

Its unusual. But, we cannot specify what the differences really are, Nyan Win said.

In the nationwide general election in 1990, the NLD won 82 per cent of the parliamentary seats, but the former military junta did not convene the parliament and began a campaign to arrest and oppress NLD members.

The NLD did not re-register itself as a political party and did not contest in the 2010 general election, alleging that the military-drafted 2008 Constitution and electoral laws for the 2010 general elections were unjust. However, it still claims that it is a legal political party.

On September 14, 2010, the Union Election Commission (UEC) officially declared that the NLD was dissolved because it had failed to re-register. After the announcement, the NLD filed legal appeals, but various courts rejected them.

In politics, we need to consider the time and the real circumstances. We have not decided. We will consider everything and make a decision, Nyan Win said.

He said there could be divergent opinions among party supporters, but the NLD will serve the people and if it re-registers, it will cooperate with other parties.

Meanwhile, NLD General-Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi will meet with the government laison representative Union Minister Aung Kyi on Friday.

It will be Suu Kyis third meeting with Aung Kyi under the new government. The meeting will be held at the Sane Lae Kan Thar state guesthouse at 1 p.m.

This will be a follow-up to previous meetings. We hope that we can take a step forward to seek national reconciliation, Nyan Win said.

Their last meeting was held on August 12. After the meeting, both sides issued a joint four-point statement of their intent: to cooperate for stability and development in the country; to cooperate for the flourishing of democracy in the country and better development in economic and social areas; to avoid conflicting views; to focus on mutual cooperation and to continue the meetings.

Union Minister Aung Kyi was appointed as liaison minister in October 2007 to meet with Suu Kyi. They have met 11 times.



Burmas showy crony Simon Montlake
Forbes Asia Magazine: Thu 29 Sep 2011

Tay Za is the outside face of capitalism in a strange land. But who and what does he represent?

It was a clear morning last February when Tay Za boarded his private helicopter to tour a frozen lake in the far north of Burma, where he owns a luxury mountain lodge. The songs from the previous nights outdoor rock concert, a free event he had sponsored, were still ringing in his ears. As the chopper climbed above 15,000 feet he snapped photos of the lakes scalloped surface. Minutes later the pilot lost altitude and crashed-landed on a mountainside.

Tay Za and the crew scrambled free of the wreckage and made a distress call using a Chinese-made phone. Armed with a handful of candy bars and two bottles of water, they began to descend through waist-deep snowdrifts. That night, as the wind howled, five men and one woman huddled together in the lee of a rock at 12,000 feet, calling out to one another every five minutes to stay awake. I didnt expect to make it, says Tay Za, 47.

It was another three days before they were plucked alive from the mountainside. By then the plight of Tay Za, Burmas richest tycoons, had become international news, and Burmese army and air force units had been deployed in the search, along with a chartered civilian helicopter from Thailand. All six people survived the ordeal with only minor injuries, though a pilot later lost both his feet to frostbite.

Having pulled off one great escape, can Tay Za manage another? His political connections helped him to prosper under military rule in Burma, also known as Myanmar, but also put him on the radar of Western governments that slapped sanctions on companies in his Htoo Group. The U.S. Treasury calls him an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burmas repressive junta. While his net worth is disputed, his high-roller lifestyleItalian sports cars, private jets, fine winesmade him an easy target for opponents of a largely faceless dictatorship.

Now that regime has gone, replaced in March by a semicivilian government that has begun to crack open Burmas economy. As a result the ground has shifted under the feet of Tay Za and other tycoons favored by General Than Shwe, the former dictator, to the delight of rival entrepreneurs jostling for openings. The old cronies are getting passed over, and theyre not happy about it, says a foreign economist.

Like Icarus, the Greek symbol of hubris, Tay Za may have flown too close to the sun. Encouraged by his junta patrons, he invested in lossmaking ventures such as aviation, hotels and agriculture, and offset his income from concessions for timber and gems and lucrative import licenses. Now he must manage a bloated empire that is vulnerable to political reversals, while navigating Burmas economic transition and the emergence of new competitors, potentially backed by foreign capital.

Tay Za says hes ready for the challenge. We love competition we want a fair fight only, he tells FORBES ASIA in a rare interview at a Marina Bay Sands hotel suite in Singapore. Dressed in black jeans, a light sweater and loafers, he apologizes for canceling a previous meeting in Yangon (formerly Rangoon), his hometown. During lunch and a two-hour interview he is keen to set the record straight, while remaining coy about his financial status.

In April he told an Italian newspaper that Htoo Group had annual revenues of $500 million, making it one of Burmas largest conglomerates. Tay Za says that hes the largest shareholder in the parent company. But how much profit it generates and how much accrues to its chairman is unclear. Most companies in Burma decline to release financial data and arent required by law to disclose their shareholdings.

Tay Za is scathing of anti-Burma sanctions in general and of U.S. sanctions that exempted Chevron, which together with Total operates Burmas largest producing gas field. Western governments have distorted the facts, he insists. He claims that hes sold only helicopters to the militaryno guns, no ammunitionand isnt a prodigal relation of Than Shwe, as rumored. Im not a son-in-law of General Than Shwe. Im not an arms dealer.

So who is Tay Za?He was born in 1964 to an army officer, a protg of General Aung San, Burmas independence hero whose wartime alias was Teza, a Sanskrit word that means radiant or bright (Tay Za is an alternative spelling). In 1947 a political rival assassinated Aung San on the eve of independence from Great Britain, but the two families remained close. His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi would later eclipse her fathers global fame.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Tay Za enrolled at Burmas army cadet school. But in his third year he dropped out to marry his girlfriend against the wishes of both families (they separated in 2000). Back in Yangon he dabbled in business before being swept up in the events of 1988, when popular rage erupted against military rule and Suu Kyi emerged as an opposition leader. This is our generation, says Tay Za, who joined street marches. He says Suu Kyi later stayed at his family compound outside Yangon, and was driven around in his car, before she was arrested in 1989.

The following year Tay Za founded Htoo Trading, which uses the name of his wifes family, respected merchants whose businesses had atrophied under socialism. He began by leasing a rice mill from his mother-in-law. Then he moved into timber at a time when large concessions near the border with Thailand were being auctioned off. Instead of competing with Thai bidders for easily accessible plots, Tay Za applied to log in remote areas far from the border. He extracted logs at $10 each that were later sold for $500 or more. I was the biggest extractor in Myanmar, he says.

Yet even this apparent smart bet was greased by political connections. His father, a retired lieutenant colonel, was working for the Ministry of Industry and urged him to bid for the concessions. My father told me the government floor price is too cheap. Whatever you have, you invest, he recalls. Timber remains a valuable division of Htoo Group, netting $75 million in profit in 2007, according to a leaked U.S. cable. Tay Za says hes no longer the top exporter of wood and is concerned for Burmas shrinking forests. I try to stop because of the environment, he says.

Windfall profits from timber allowed Tay Za to invest in real estate, including his first hotel. He also began investing in Singapore and considered moving there before the 199798 Asian financial crisis but decided that he preferred to put capital into his own country. If I invest in Singapore, only Singaporeans will benefit, he says.

Over the next decade Htoo Group morphed into a conglomerate with un limited appetite for new ventures. In 2004 it launched Air Bagan, the first private airline in Burma. It also rolled out branded luxury hotels and began leasing heavy machinery. That a timber trader had such deep pockets for capital-intensive projects raised eyebrows in Burma. Rumors spread that he was a bagman for the junta and had a direct line to Than Shwe and his spendthrift family.

Not so, says Tay Za, who denies that hes a nominee. He claims that his only one-on-one meeting with Than Shwe came after the helicopter crash when he thanked him for the rescue. He says his honesty and bluntness, as well as his fathers rank, went down well with the junta. At meetings, whatever I like to talk [about], I talk straightforwardly. Some generals like this very much. Not tricky, no hanky-panky, he says.

Other sources tell of a fortuitous visit by Than Shwe to Tay Zas beach resort that greatly impressed the general. Tay Za also forged an early alliance with Thura Shwe Mann, who rose to become the third-ranking leader in the regime. He first met Tay Za when he was a lowly colonel. Tay Za promptly hired the colonels son Aung Thet Mann, a director of Htoo Group (both father and son are subject to U.S. sanctions). This was par for the course in Burma. At the time, you know, all the colonels sons liked to work at companies, he says.

At first he was infuriated by trade sanctions on his companies. But he argues that Western efforts to starve Burmas rulers of foreign investment have only strengthened his hand and made it harder for competitors to enter the market. Under these kinds of sanctions, we are much richer, he says.

That argument rings true in a closed economy where generals dole out favors to cronies. But the rules of the game are in flux. Western sanctions crimp Tay Zas access to foreign capital and make him toxic to companies looking for joint-venture partners in Burma. He needs to rebuild his reputation. Hes not starting from zero. Its negative, says a consultant to multinational firms.

Take Htoos chain of 17 hotels, which enjoys prime spots at Burmas main tourist destinations. Tay Za wants to hire an international management company to operate and rebrand them but hasnt found the right partner, for which he blames sanctions. He says he turned down an offer from a Thai hotel group because he wants a global brand. Im not interested in small chains, he says.

In Yangon, a long-neglected city that is slowly shedding its past, Tay Zas mansion is a local landmark. It lies a few blocks from the U.S. embassy and the lakeside villa where Suu Kyi has been detained repeatedly (she was released last November). Tay Zas collection of luxury cars (Ferrari, Rolls-Royce) is visible from the street, and passing taxi drivers point out his palatial home. Sean Turnell, an expert on Burmas economy at Australias Macquarie University, calls him an almost pantomime villain, clearly with a keen eye for attention.

Is Tay Za a crony? He frowns. Thats why Myanmar people arent rich. Whoever comes up, they have so much jealousy. They attack in so many ways and create rumors, he complains.

The rumor mill has been working overtime lately. Burmese entrepreneurs say that Tay Za has run perilously short of cash, particularly since palm-oil imports were liberalized in May, and has tried to sell hotels to raise money. Hes not in a position of strength, says a businessman familiar with the operations.

Tay Za is also said to have received a recent bill for back taxes running into tens of millions of dollars. None of his companies appeared on a recent list of the top ten corporate taxpayers (Kanbawza Bank was first). Tay Za denies any tax evasion. We pay our taxes, he says. Asked about recent tax bills, he says that he authorized a $2 million payment in early September.

Of Htoo Groups divisions, only timber, real estate and trading turn a profit. Tay Za says he prefers to invest in industries like tourism that create more jobs and diversify Burmas commodity-based economy. He has a reputation as a generous boss who instills loyalty in 40,000 full-time staffers. Hundreds of employees have gone overseas to study, including Burmas first female pilot, and perks quickly accrue to hardworking managers. Whatever he makes, he shares. Hes a fair person, says a Burmese investor with competing interests.

A football enthusiast and club owner, Tay Za often plays in staff matches at his clubs training ground. Hes also a patron of Burmese music. After lunch with FORBES ASIA he pops on a Burmese music CD, pulls out his guitar and calls over his executives. I want you to hear this, he says, as he picks out a melody, face scrunched in concentration.

A trawl through leaked U.S. diplomatic cables reveals that Tay Za has defied previous doomsday calls. In March 2009 the U.S. embassy reported that several of our business contacts believe Tay Za is bankrupt. The following year business circles were said to be rife with rumors about Tay Zas alleged downfall and his replacement by upand-coming cronies.

Even before his helicopter went down, reports of his death seem to have been greatly exaggerated. He may yet have the last laugh.

Tay Zas Major Holdings

1. AIR BAGAN
Burmas first private airline. Fleet of 12 aircraft. $25 million to $30 million estimated resale.

2. ASIA GREEN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Opened August 2010.

3. HOTELS
Aureum Palace and Myanmar Treasure branded properties. 17 hotels, over 1,100 rooms: $120 million to $150 million.

4. MINING
Nickel, jade, limestone, gold.

5. CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE
$30 million to $40 million in Yangon residential projects.

6. EXPORTS
Timber, pulses, rice.



What Thein Sein promised Suu Kyi Larry Jagan
Asia Times: Thu 29 Sep 2011

BANGKOK An emerging rapprochement between Myanmar President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has set a new tone over the countrys historically military dominated political landscape. The two met on August 19 and details now emerging from that closed-door encounter indicate that major concessions could be in the cards in the weeks ahead.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest, recently told a small group of supporters outside of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party headquarters she believes there is an opportunity for change. She has met and made public appearances with top government officials and insiders say that more meetings are imminent, perhaps as early as next week.

The high-level meetings, a parliamentary motion and recent official pronouncements have raised speculation that Thein Seins government is poised to release over 2,000 political prisoners, a major sticking point to his winning international recognition for the countrys recent transition from military to democratic rule. Many of those held are affiliated with Suu Kyis NLD or other political groups opposed to military rule.

Myanmar Foreign Minister Wanna Maung Lwin told the United Nations General Assembly in New York earlier this week that the government intended to free more prisoners in the near future, though he did not mention whether political prisoners would be included. A government official who requested anonymity claimed they may be released in three batches, with more than 200 set to walk free within next week, including renowned comedian and blogger Zaganar.

If true, the release of political prisoners would send a clear signal both domestically and internationally that Thein Seins government, formed in March after last years elections, is following through on his democratic reform vows. There is enough to make us cautiously optimistic, with the stress on optimistic, a senior International Labor Organization official in Yangon told Asia Times Online.

Although tight-lipped about the details of his visit, which included talks with both President Thein Sein and Suu Kyi, US special envoy to Myanmar Derek Mitchell was likewise upbeat about the prospects for change. At the end of an earlier visit, Mitchell said genuine and concrete reforms were needed before Washington would consider reciprocating. Thein Sein is lobbying for the end of US and European economic sanctions.

I think it would be fair to say that winds of change are clearly blowing through [Myanmar], Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told reporters in Washington earlier this month. The extent of it is still unclear, but everyone whos gone there recognizes that there are changes.

Significantly, many of the governments concessions have come without formal announcement or legal commitment. To mark Democracy Day, the government unblocked many censored international news sites, including the BBC, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Burmese language broadcasts of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America. The move followed an earlier relaxation of blocks on Skype, Yahoo! and Youtube.

The list of small incremental changes is long, though few if any have been enacted by law. The most critical change, however, is that Thein Sein, the countrys quasi-civilian leader and former military general, seems willing to involve Suu Kyi in the countrys political future. This represents a sharp reversal of the outgoing juntas stance, which banned her NLD after it refused to participate in last Novembers polls.

While Suu Kyi said she was happy with the outcome of her August 19 meeting with Thein Sein, few details of the substance of the talks have been revealed. The two met privately four-eyes, as Asian diplomats like to call it for a little over an hour. Atmospherics and appearance matter in Myanmars cultural context and both came out of the meeting relaxed and smiling.

More symbolically, a photo of General Aung San, Myanmars independence hero and Suu Kyis assassinated father, was hanging in the presidential palace where they met. Over the past decade, former ruling General Than Shwe had tried to remove Aung Sans name and image from the national memory. Many analysts have perceived the reemergence of Aung Sans portrait as a significant sign of change.

It was important to show the Lady that we are willing to work with her, said a government official close to the president, referring to Suu Kyi. We see her as a potential partner, not an adversary.

Another message apparently sent was that Suu Kyi is viewed by the new regime as an important public figure rather than a politician or leader of the legally banned NLD. During the closed door meeting, Thein Sein apparently talked about the role she could play in the future, according to sources in Naypyidaw who spoke on condition of anonymity.

They characterized the meeting as more trust-building exercise than negotiation, where both leaders laid out scenarios for the process of genuine reform and democracy to take root. Thein Sein apparently assured Suu Kyi that although her NLD party is currently illegal, it would be left alone and she would be free to travel freely inside the country, the sources said. Thein Seins wife even invited her to an informal working dinner with other ministers wives, they said.

Prisoner politics

The political prisoner issue was high on Suu Kyis agenda, and she apparently told the president that there could be no forward movement without their unconditional release. Thein Seins advisors know that this is also the key to improved relations with the outside world, including their neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). A mass release would likely smooth the way for Myanmar to take ASEANs chairmanship for 2014, a decision that will be made later this year.

Whether Thein Sein has the power to follow through, however, is still in question. Former junta leader Than Shwe has made it clear on at least two occasions once just after last Novembers elections last and again earlier this year before Thein Sein was officially sworn in that the release of political prisoners and jailed former military intelligence officers was non-negotiable.

However, a recent motion to free political prisoners adopted by a majority of parliament may have set the seal for the release of at least some of them. Analysts say it was highly significant that the lower house speaker Thura Shwe Mann the former third top general in the ruling junta was the one that steered the motion through parliament.

When it appeared the motion was set to be rejected, Thura Shwe Mann called a 15-minute recess on the pretense the computer screens which showed the voting results were down. During the break he apparently lobbied the military parliamentarians who make up 25% of parliament a quota set by the new constitution adopted in a sham referendum in 2008 to support the proposal. It then passed with a large majority.

Thura Shwe Mann, formerly seen as Than Shwes heir apparent, strongly supports the new president, according to sources close to him. They say he sees the release of political prisoners issue as something he can support that would make a difference, both domestically and internationally. His support is crucial because for various reasons the government cannot be seen to be bowing to international pressure on the issue.

Thein Seins and Suu Kyis meeting also touched on private matters, according to inside government sources. Significantly, Thein Sein has recently intervened to save from demolition the now dilapidated house in which Aung San and his family once lived in Pymina while he was leading the battle for independence against British colonialists. Suu Kyi reportedly sent the president an old photo of the house with her standing outside of it when she was a very young child as a token of appreciation.

Diplomats in Yangon who have recently met Suu Kyi all say that she is confident about the future and optimistic about the possibility of genuine change. Thein Sein can be trusted, he is genuinely trying to reform the country, and needs international support, she has told several foreign envoys.

Long time observers see similarities between the current warming trend and previous secret talks between Suu Kyi and former military intelligence chief and prime minister Khin Nyunt. Those talks led to Suu Kyis release from house arrest in May 2002 but little else. She was rearrested a year later after her entourage was attacked by armed pro-government thugs who massacred many of her supporters. Khin Nyunt was purged in 2004 and remains under house arrest.

While arguments persist as to whether those talks represented a genuine opening, there is little doubt that the lack of international support for Khin Nyunts gambit contributed its demise. This time, diplomats say, the international community, including the US, is keen not to make the same mistake.

Like then, there are still military hardliners waiting in the wings ready to pounce if given the opportunity. These same hardliners now led by the Vice President Thin Aung Myint Oo are apparently not pleased by Thein Seins overtures towards Suu Kyi. Some hardline ministers apparently did not know the meeting had taken place until they saw it on the evening television news, according to government insiders.

Many diplomats and analysts believe Thein Seins conciliatory gestures are genuine and a mass release of political prisoners would set the stage for substantive talks with Suu Kyi towards national reconciliation. Government insiders claim another meeting between the two is tentatively scheduled for after next weeks first phase release.

However some believe another military coup is also possible, particularly if the army decides change, including the release of political prisoners, risks instability. For the moment, the Armed Forces Commander Gen Min Aung Hlaing has signaled his support for Thein Sein and Thura Shwe Mann, but the militarys sustained support is by no means certain.

Thats especially true if former military supremo Than Shwe starts to feel threatened by the change underway, including engagement with Suu Kyi, and decides to intervene. Under the 2008 constitution, the military may legally seize power in the name of upholding national security. If we fail, well end up in jail, said a senior member of government on condition of anonymity.

* Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.



Revealing Burmas system of impunity
Burma Lawyers Council: Thu 29 Sep 2011

Burma Lawyers Council has released a new briefing paper, Revealing Burmas System of Impunity: A Briefer for the Commission of Inquiry Campaign, analyzing the inability of the domestic judicial system to ensure accountability for atrocities committed in Burma. The briefer concludes that the judicial system in Burma only serves to ensure impunity for crimes committed by those in power and therefore the international community has both the right and duty to act.

This ten-page briefer includes detailed analysis of:
  • The system of impunity that has been embedded in Burmas constitutional structure;
  • The unlikelihood that Burmas military regime will act on its promise to the international community to halt heinous crimes and create a system of accountability; and
  • The need for the international community to take action in order for a truly impartial investigation into human rights abuses to take place.

True reform of the domestic judicial system is impossible under the current legal framework as recent actions by the regime only serve to maintain the status quo. The international community should not be distracted by the regimes empty promises to uphold human rights principles, and must establish a Commission of Inquiry.

We have been waiting too long for justice to be served for victims of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma, said U Thein Oo, Chairman of Burma Lawyers Council. The perpetrators are still at large and there are no echoes of preventive mechanisms even at the so-called newly formed Legislative Assemblies. Waiting in vain for action is out of the question.

For more information, please contact:
Thein Oo
Chairman of Burma Lawyers Council
E-mail: utoo@...



Myanmar says democratic reforms irreversible, promises prisoner amnesty
The Associated Press: Wed 28 Sep 2011

United Nations Military-dominated Myanmar says its recent democratic reforms are irreversible and has promised a prisoner amnesty in the near future. Foreign Minister Wanna Maung Lwin told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that talks last month between Myanmars president and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi were intended to put aside differences and find common grounds to cooperate.

The minister urged nations to lift economic sanctions.

In November Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years. The new government is nominally civilian but remains dominated by the military, which has ruled since 1962.

Western nations are urging Myanmar to free its more than 2,000 political prisoners and reconcile with Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections but was barred from taking power. The party boycotted the November poll, saying the rules governing it were unfair.

Wanna Maung Lwin gave no details about the planned amnesty, other than that it would happen at an appropriate time in the near future.

We hope the near future will come very soon, said British Ambassador to the U.N. Mark Lyall Grant, after a meeting later Tuesday of the so-called Friends of Myanmar, a group of about 15 interested Western and Asian nations.

In his address, Wanna Maung Lwin referred to a May amnesty granted by President Thein Sein that he said led to the release of 20,000 prisoners by the end of July.

Western nations were, however, disappointed, as only a few dozen political detainees were reportedly freed.

Another amnesty could be well-timed. Myanmar, also known as Burma, is vying to win the support of neighboring governments for its bid to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014. ASEAN leaders may reach a decision at a summit this November.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, said that nations attending the Friends meeting had acknowledged recent developments in Myanmar, but theres an expectation that theres more to come.

While welcoming the governments allowing Suu Kyi to travel the country, Lyall Grant said the Nobel laureates National League for Democracy should be allowed to register again as a political party. The British envoy also called for an end to human rights abuses by the Myanmar military against the ethnic minority Shan and Kachin.

International human rights groups remain skeptical of the changes in Myanmar and are calling for a U.N.-led international commission of inquiry into allegations of war crimes.

Burmas foreign minister would be more convincing if the government released all political prisoners and held security forces accountable for the brutal suppression of monks and peaceful protesters exactly four years ago, Elaine Pearson, Asia deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said by email Tuesday.

Myanmars military crushed mass protests for democracy led by Buddhist monks in September 2007. Several dozen people were believed killed and many more jailed.

On Monday, democracy activists in Myanmars main city of Yangon tested the new governments avowed tolerance for dissent by gathering peacefully to mark the protest anniversary. They were allowed to gather at a central landmark but harassed in other parts of the city.



Secretary-General Press Statement after the High-Level Meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar
United Nations Secretary General, Office of the Spokesperson: Wed 28 Sep 2011

The Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on Myanmar met at the ministerial level today.

Our discussion took place only six months after the establishment of a new government, and follows a series of high-level bilateral visits to the country.

We recognize the significance of recent developments in Myanmar and welcome President Thein Seins pledge for Myanmar to catch up with the changing world.

This is all the more important given the considerable political, human rights, and development challenges facing the country.

I share the perception of many including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi that change is possible.

It is also necessary.

Real opportunities for progress exist, but the Government must step up its efforts for reform if it is to bring about an inclusive and irreversible transition.

In particular, the authorities must cultivate improved dialogue with all political actors and release all remaining political prisoners. The Foreign Minister of Myanmar has referred in his statement at the General Assembly that an early amnesty is being considered.

Pledges on this have been made and must be fulfilled in a qualitatively significant manner.

On its part, the international community has a responsibility to support Myanmars change.

I am committed to working with all parties to ensure that the United Nations continues to do its part to help the people of Myanmar to address the political and developmental challenges facing their country.

_______________________________________________
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#902 From: CHAN Beng Seng <bengseng@...>
Date: Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:22 am
Subject: Korean Scholarship program for Activist.
piapi
Send Email Send Email
 

Master of Arts in Inter-Asia NGO Studies (MAINS)
 

The program of Master of Arts in Inter-Asia NGO Studies started in 2007. Its multidisciplinary curriculum, and combination of academic and practical teaching is unique in the field of studies on social changes, non-governmental organizations and civil society. MAINS is offered by SungKongHoe University in collaboration with such institutions as the ARENA. The curriculum covers a wide range of current issues from both regional and global perspectives, placing a special focus on the development of solidarity among civil society participants.

MAINS is intended for those who have been contributing, or have the potential to contribute, to more equitable social changes in Asia. Benefiting from both academic and practical resources in SungKongHoe University, MAINS offers intense and flexible preparation for those seeking leadership and development skills in civil societies in Asia.


Eligibility
- Undergraduate degree (preferably in social science, not a must)
- Experiences generally in the non-profit or non-governmental sectors in Asia.


Full or partial scholarships may be given to qualified students.
Those from developing countries in Asia have priority for scholarships
.

Course Nature

MAINS is an alternative international and social studies programme taught in English with professional and practical focus in Asia. The programme particularly encourages applications from international students and Korean citizens with experiences of non-governmental activities in Asia. MAINS offers an advanced and intensive programme, with teaching methods based on individual self-research, mutual learning by students and thematic approaches. Reading and writing as well as debating and interacting with field groups are strongly emphasized.

Course Structure

MAINS is a 18-month (including 6months for field work and thesis writing) program consisting of compulsory courses, optional courses, and a thesis, making up a total of 26 credits. Class schedules run from one term to the next with a 10-day break in between. Each term has a varied number of sessions. Some courses may be taught intensively by visiting lecturers.

Core Courses

  • Tutorials with academic director
  • A Seminar on Asian NGOs
  • Research Methodology and Thesis Writing
  • Understanding / Experiencing in Korean Society
  • Thesis Writing

Elective Courses
* Not all elective courses are available each year.

  • Culture, Society and Film
  • Critical Peace Studies and International Relations
  • Social Problems and Social Movements
  • Global poverty
  • NGO Management
  • Politics of Development in Asia
  • Democracy and Democratization in Asia
  • Human Rights, Theory and Practice
  • Conflict and Rebuilding Peace in Asia
  • Korean Society and Its Change
  • Modern Korean History and the Process of Past dealing
  • Global Asia Feminism
  • Internship
  • Regional School

Special Programmes (non-credit courses)

  • Korean Language


Thesis

All students are required to write a thesis or an equivalent research report on a topic related to social changes and non-profit/governmental sectors in Asia. Applicants are strongly encouraged to define their research interests prior to the start of the program. Students are expected to start working on their thesis/report proposal from the first term, under the guidance of academic director and, later, of individual supervisor. In the third term, students should be able to defend their thesis/report proposal. The fourth term is devoted mostly to the thesis/report writing, including field work, data collecting, etc. The thesis is written during the 'thesis writing period' after the completion of fourth term, and then submitted by the end of the thesis writing perid.

Schedule

* This schedule is only applied to foreign applicants.
* Application schedule for Korean students will be noticed by the end of October. 2012 on the main website of Sungkonghoe University. (Korean version)

 

Procedure Deadlines How to
Submission of All Required Application Materials 10.17(Mon) – 11.18(Thu) by post mail
Announcement of Admission 12.2(Fri) on website
Notification of Admission 12.5(Mon) - 12.9(Fri) by email
Orientation February to be noticed

 

* All the application and required documents should be sent by post mail to following address.
The office of Graduate School, Sungkonghoe University 4F Seoungyeonguan
1-1 Hang-dong Guro-gu, Seoul Korea. 152-716 





#903 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:47 am
Subject: Agent Orange Petition
maxediger
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There is an important petition at http://forcechange.com/6314/end-us-denial-of-role-in-vietnams-agent-orange-crisis/ demanding the US take responsibility in helping the victims of Agent Orange and also demanding that they apologize for using it in Viet Nam and killing so many people.  Consider signing this petition.......max

--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#904 From: Center For JustPeace Mindanao <centerforjustpeace@...>
Date: Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:56 am
Subject: (No subject)
centerforjus...
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Friends;

I am pleased to forward  the attached BCJP's quarterly  (July - September) publication (pdf file) for wider circulation.

If you wish to have a hard copy, kindly contact BCJP which address and contact number can be found at the newsletter.

Thanks!


Bobby
 
ABDULBASIT R. BENITO
Executive Director
Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace Inc.







"We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights."


1 of 1 File(s)


#905 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:34 am
Subject: BCJP NEWSLETTER 3rd Edition
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
Friends:  Please find attached an e-newsletter produced by one of our partners in Philippines.




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


1 of 1 File(s)


#906 From: CHAN Beng Seng <bengseng@...>
Date: Fri Oct 21, 2011 8:56 am
Subject: [ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 21/10/11
piapi
Send Email Send Email
 
  1. Burma to drop ban on satellite TV
  2. A lesson dam lobby looks set to ignore
  3. Sixty-five percent of foreign investment concentrated in resource rich Kachin, Rakhine, Shan States
  4. Natural gas from new projects to be distributed for domestic consumption
  5. Serious rights violations persist in Myanmar: UN
  6. Marching steadily along the path
  7. The doctrine a person embraces is important
  8. No let up in Rohingya forced labour
  9. China behind Myanmars course shift
  10. Myanmars Suu Kyi vows fight to free dissidents
  11. Health ministry urges doctors to return home
  12. When a multi-ethnic nation ignores ethnic rights
  13. Myanmars token reforms
  14. Army committing abuses in Kachin State
  15. Burmese Army mounts multi-front offensive against KIA
  16. Ethnic parties back Suu Kyi to contest election
  17. Reforming Myanmar looks to India for enlightenment
  18. Japan to restart development assistance to Myanmar
  19. How far can Burma bend for change?
  20. CSW urges international community to address impunity and maintain pressure for real change
  21. India opens US$ 500 mil credit line for Burmese infrastructure, irrigation projects
  22. Myanmar engagement bearing fruit
  23. Democratic reform in Myanmar provides opportunity for India
  24. Time to lift Myanmar sanctions
  25. New law gives Burmese right to strike
  26. Myanmar tycoons riches grow amid sanctions
  27. The Burma conspiracy: Sanctions debate intensifies

Burma to drop ban on satellite TV Shwe Aung
Democratic Voice of Burma: Thu 20 Oct 2011

Licences for satellite television receivers are likely to be issued again in Burma following a six-year ban claimed at the time by observers to be an attempt to control the flow of information into the country. The notification came from communications minister Thein Htun after a question about the possibility of reintroducing satellite permits was raised in parliament. The minister said the process would take time, although state media appeared optimistic that it would be successful.

Phone Myint Aung, an MP for the opposition National Democratic Force, quoted the minister as saying that that the law regarding the licences has already been drafted.

The move is part of a reshaping of the communications law, and follows introductions or amendments to a number of laws that signal the government is loosening its vice-like grip on Burmese society.

Most satellite users in the former capital Rangoon are without permits. Locals there welcomed the news as a sign that the media environment is further opening up, following the relaxing of an internet ban on certain news website, including DVB.

The ban in 2005 was not the first such restriction by the government in 1993 it enacted a ban that wasnt lifted until 2001, and during those eight years only around 2,000 satellite dishes were legally in use, mostly by hotels and businesses.

Despite the periods of prohibition on satellite licences, exiled media such as DVB has still managed to broadcast into the country. Government ministers are believed to garner much of their information from these independent sources, and thus have been reluctant to block the service.



A lesson dam lobby looks set to ignore Shi Jiangtao
South China Morning Post: Thu 20 Oct 2011

Halt to construction of a barrage in Myanmar should be an eye-opener for its Chinese builders, but its unlikely to give dam boosters pause for thought. Chinas growing ambition to tap into the latent power of international rivers hit a major snag when one of its largest hydropower projects abroad was unexpectedly halted in Myanmar late last month.

The suspension of the Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River was seen as a rare victory in a nation long ruled by an authoritarian military regime. It was also read as the latest step in a diplomatic balancing act by Myanmar aimed at wooing the West and its Southeast Asian neighbours by showing the country is no longer so dependent on China.

The controversy should sound all too familiar to mainlanders, aside from the relatively happy result for the moment in the Myanmar case. But what lessons should be learned from the dispute over the Myitsone dam?

The fact that China has been snubbed by a long-time political ally that was once dependent on its political and financial support is extremely telling for environmentalists about how unpopular Chinas reckless push for big dams and its keenness to flex its economic muscle beyond its borders have been.

Myanmars new president, Thein Sein, who visited China just five months ago after taking office in March, announced the decision to halt the US$3.6 billion project on the eve of Chinas National Day, saying the dam was contrary to the will of the people.

The Myitsone dam, as part of a hydropower development deal including a further six mega dams on the Irrawaddy and its tributaries, was reportedly initiated in 2005 between Myanmars then junta chief, Than Shwe, and President Hu Jintao .

At a cost of US$20 billion and with a total capacity of 20,000 megawatts, the dams, being built or planned by China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC), were seen as a symbol of Chinas growing regional influence. Mainland media dubbed them Chinas overseas Three Gorges Dam project. But the Myitsone dam, in the ethnic Kachin region near Myanmars northern border with China, has long been a magnet for criticism, protests and even violence by local people and green groups.

Apart from concerns about potential ecological destruction on the Irrawaddy and the resettlement of 10,000 people, locals were aggrieved that 90 per cent of electricity generated by the dam was supposed to go to power-hungry China.

The dam, with a capacity of up to 6,000 MW, was allowed to go ahead in 2009 despite the CPIC and Beijing allegedly giving the cold shoulder to various local concerns.

Home to roughly half of the worlds biggest dams, China is the worlds largest producer of hydropower and the largest dam builder in the global market, according to International Rivers, a US-based NGO.

However, Chinas dam builders and financiers usually power companies with a national monopoly and banks that are often criticised at home for their blind pursuit of economic profits at the expense of environmental and community welfare seem to have made little, if any, progress when it comes to business dealings abroad.

Such insensitivity to local needs and environmental concerns, as well as a lack of transparency about dam construction projects on rivers that cross Chinas borders and in political hot spots, have not only provoked hard feelings that threaten to ruin their business opportunities but have also made China the unwanted focal point of numerous controversies in recent years.

Environmentalists have warned that Chinas global image and its friendships with affected countries, such as Myanmar friendships that are often the result of years of political patronage are also at stake.

Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, one of Chinas Big Four state banks, made international headlines with its plan to help finance the controversial Gibe 3 dam in Ethiopia, the largest hydropower project in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chinas plan to build a cascade of eight dams on the upper reaches of the Lancang (Mekong) River in Yunnan , four of which are already in operation, has long been a source of tensions with downstream countries such as Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
These countries have often accused China of manipulating water flow with its dams, which they blame for severe droughts in recent years, and say the Chinese dams are killing their mother river.

The authoritarian government in Myanmar has taught China a lesson, as they appear to be willing to heed public concerns, Professor Yu Xiaogang , founder of the Yunnan-based Green Watershed NGO, said.

He noted that Chinese companies were used to pouring investment mainly into undemocratic countries, where they could focus on forging ties with authoritarian governments while ignoring environmental and social costs and public opinions. Yu said: Things have changed a lot with the rising environmental awareness, and this type of business strategy has been subject to mounting challenges and is doomed to fail.

With increasing publicity and awareness about the grave risks inherent in the building of large dams, best exemplified by the Three Gorges Dam, dam construction has been one of the most contentious issues on the mainland in the past decade. Although it has slowed since 2004, Beijing has renewed its push for big dams to be built in the coming decade as hydropower has gained in importance as the pillar of Chinas clean-energy drive. As a result, hydropower capacity is expected to rise by half to 300,000 MW by 2015.

Despite growing public support, environmentalists have been largely unable to influence the decision-making process or help those affected make their voices heard.

Liu Shukun , a professor of hydraulics at the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, said that unlike Myanmar, China was unlikely to see a victory of public opinion in the debate over hydropower, given the development-minded government and powerful interest groups.

The Myanmar case is encouraging, but I dont think it can be replicated here in China or help prevent the social and environmental havoc, given the damage already caused by the damming of rivers, he said.

We are good at talking about sustainable development, but it remains a question whether it has turned into reality.



Sixty-five percent of foreign investment concentrated in resource rich Kachin, Rakhine, Shan States Marn Thu Shein + Chan Myae Thu
Eleven Media Group: Thu 20 Oct 2011

Sixty-five percent of foreign investment in Myanmar is concentrated in states that are rich in natural resources like Kachin, Rakhine and Shan while only eight percent was invested in the manufacturing sector in Yangon Region. It became obvious when statistics about foreign investment in respective states and regions were released. About twenty-five percent has been invested in Kachin State where jade is mined and hydropower projects are located. Top three states for foreign investment include Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states. In Kachin State, foreign investment totals US$ 8.3 billion while that in Rakhine State amounts to US$ 7.5 billion. Shan State has received US$ 6.6 billion. Foreign investment in these three states makes up 65 percent of overall foreign investment in Myanmar. Foreign investment in remaining states and regions is only 35 percent of foreign investment of the country. This shows that foreign investment is injected mainly in places rich in natural resources and where hydropower projects are located, said an economist.

Although foreign investment is concentrated in exploration of natural resources and hydropower projects, only a little was invested in the agriculture sector relied on by 75 percent of the population of Myanmar. As a result, the main rice growing regions of the country like Ayeyawady and Bago stood at the bottom of the foreign investment statistics with only meager investment.

Similarly, major oil crops growing Magway Region received the third least foreign investment with only about 0.5 percent of the total.

According to the statistics released, least foreign investment of only about US$ six million flowed into Ayeyawady Region. A total of US$ 70 was invested in Bago Region while Magway Region received US$ 169 million foreign investment. Another major agriculture region of Sagaing Region got US$ 2.7 billion foreign investment as there are gold mines in the region, said an export-import entrepreneur.

* Translated and Edited by Myint Win Thein + MYA



Natural gas from new projects to be distributed for domestic consumption Wai Yan Phyo Oo
Eleven Media Group: Thu 20 Oct 2011

Natural gas to be tapped from two new offshore gas projects will be distributed for domestic consumption rather than for export, according to an official from the Ministry of Energy. To increase the domestic consumption of gas to 160 million cubic feet per day, natural gas to be tapped from two new gas projects as of 2013 will be supplied for domestic consumption.

In addition, a master plan is to be drawn to revamp the existing gas supply system in the country to distribute increased gas production from Aungthinkha Project- M3 in 2016.

Under the plan, about US$ 126 million and K 17 billion will be spent in two years on the substitution of iron pipes with PE coated steel pipes and the installation of new pipelines.

The plan to divert pipelines in salt-land areas and to substitute old and rusted 20-inch pipelines with PE coated steel ones in Kanbauk-Myaingalay and Yangon-Myaingalay sections and 14 inches and 10 inches pipelines Nyaungdon-Insein-Hmawbi section will start in November this year and will be completed in 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 fiscal years.

Gas pipeline burst out and gas leaked out near Daka Village in Kangyidaunt Township in Ayeyawady Region at about 8 AM on 1 October. Some sections of the pipeline are old and rusted in that area. Responsible officials should repair the pipeline, said a resident.

Test wells are being drilled for natural gas in Maubin, Nyaungdon and Aphauk at present.

* Translated and Edited by Myint Win Thein + MYA



Serious rights violations persist in Myanmar: UN
Agence France Presse: Thu 20 Oct 2011

United Nations Serious human rights violations persist in Myanmar despite a mass amnesty for more than 6,300 prisoners including some political opponents, the UN rights envoy to the country said Wednesday. Despite these positive developments, many ongoing and serious human rights issues remain to be addressed, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, said in a report to the General Assembly.

Quintana said while progress had been made on the human rights front in recent months, he noted that ahead of by-elections expected by years end, there should be no prisoners of conscience remaining in detention.

This is a central and necessary step towards national reconciliation and would greatly benefit Myanmars efforts towards democracy, the UN envoy said.

Last week, the new military-backed government in Myanmar released thousands of prisoners including Zarganar, a prominent comedian and vocal government critic.

However, most of an estimated 2,000 political prisoners, including key figures involved in a failed 1988 student-led uprising, remain behind bars.

President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signaling a series of political reforms since taking power following a controversial election last November.

Quintana called for the removal of restrictions on the activities of political parties, and said that respect for the freedoms of expression, assembly and association should be ensured.

I firmly believe that much more is needed, the envoy said.

He called on Thein Seins government to address ongoing tensions in ethnic border areas and conflict with some armed ethnic groups, which he said continue to engender serious human rights violations.

Those violations include extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, internal displacement, land confiscations, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labor, he said.

Myanmars democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday pledged to work for the release of the countrys remaining political prisoners following the amnesty.



Marching steadily along the path
Irrawaddy: Thu 20 Oct 2011

Last week, one of Burmese President Thein Seins political advisers, Ko Ko Hlaing, told Radio Sweden that Burma has only around 600 political prisonersa figure much smaller than the more widely accepted estimate of around 2,000 (of whom some 220 were freed last week). The Irrawaddy contacted Ko Ko Hlaing to ask him about this disparity, and for his response to critics who say that the relatively small number of political prisoners released suggests that recent moves toward reform are losing steam.

Question: In your interview with Radio Sweden last week, you said that there are only 600 political prisoners in Burma. Can you explain how you arrived at that figure?

Answer: I dont have exact figures for the number of prisoners of conscience. If you want that, you can contact the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHF), which is responsible for compiling a list.

Q: The United Nations and other organizations watching the human rights situation in Burma say there are around 2,000 political prisoners in the country. Why do you think their numbers and yours are so different?

A: It may be because organizations operating outside the country have little opportunity to collect the exact figures. I dont think they can compile an exact list. They may, for example, include some people on the list who they assume are in prison. It is also possible that they dont know about those who have already been released. The MOHFs list may be more exact, as people in the ministry have compiled it based on verifiable statistics. I think the differences may also depend on how people define prisoners of conscience and ordinary prisoners.

Q: We have heard that more prisoners may be released soon. Can you comment on that?

A: I dont know for sure, but authorities responsible for prisoners have said they will release more. We are advisers, so it is quite difficult for us to provide detailed information.

Q: The suspension of work on the Myitsone dam project was seen as a positive move by people within and outside the country, but many were disappointed by the small number of political prisoners who were released last week. Some are now saying that reforms seem to be stalling. As an adviser to the president, what are your views on this?

A: Many people want many changes to come quickly. I think the recent prisoner release was not the last. According to the Constitution, it is within the presidents authority to grant amnesties, so more may come. I think it is premature to say that the pace of reforms has slowed. There are many other things we need to do. We cant just sit still and do nothing. So I think that whether reforms are slowing down or not is mostly a matter of perception.

Q: Another issue is armed conflict in ethnic areas. The government has come up with plans to stop the ongoing war in those areas, but ethnic groups say they want a nationwide ceasefire and an inclusive political dialogue, not just one-on-one talks with the government. What are your views on this?

A: There are demands from both sides in a dialogue. Its like bargainingthe seller has his price, and the buyer has his. But if both parties just stick to their demands and refuse to do anything unless their demands are met, an agreement cannot be reached.

What is happening is between brothers and between ethnic nationalities. I havent heard any group saying that it will secede from this country if the government doesnt comply with its demands. Arguing is just a normal part of the process. I think they can come to an agreement if they negotiate. By exchanging their views, I hope both parties will meet half-way through a process of give and take.

Q: Weve heard that Parliament is discussing an amendment of the political parties registration law. How much negotiation do you think will be necessary before the government and the National League for Democracy (NLD) can agree upon a registration process?

A: Its a bit difficult to make a guess from the outside. The NLDs Central Executive Committee members will have to discuss this among themselves and with other organizations. Likewise, the government will have to have to hold consultations within the administration and with Parliament. We have to keep an eye on this issue. I cant say exactly when both parties will finish their negotiations. I think we have to give a bit more time, but I dont think it will take too long, because both sides have already understood that it is necessary to negotiate.

Q: But isnt the government under pressure to achieve results within a fixed time, since it wants to assume the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and convince foreign countries to lift sanctionsboth of which depend on how much political reform the country can achieve?

A: In fact, according to the Asean Charter, Burma doesnt need to go through a placement test in order to become chairman of the bloc. The chairmanship is granted to every member state in alphabetical order. But for specific reasons, we once handed over this position to someone else. Now it is our turn to accept it.

We are not doing things just so we can become the Asean chairman. We are working in the interests of our people. We are steadily marching along the path, the way it should be. So its up to regional organizations to decide for themselves whether Burma should be granted that position. If, after visiting the country and observing the overall situation, they believe that we are sincere us, they will hand it over to us. I think it is quite likely that Burma will be granted the chairmanship, because it is now on the right track. If Burma isnt given the chairmanship with the excuse that we havent made enough improvements, I think it will reduce other Asean member countries trust in the regional bloc.

Burma is not the only undemocratic country within Asean, so I think we have a good chance to be granted the chairmanship. But as I said, thats not why were doing things. We are working for the good of the country and its people. We will move forward steadily. Making reforms is not like sitting an exam. Reform involves different circumstances and challenges. It also faces different kinds of opposition and resistance. The most important thing is that I believe that international and regional organizations will support our endeavors.



The doctrine a person embraces is important Min Ko Naing Zwe Khant
Mizzima News: Wed 19 Oct 2011

New Delhi The location of a person is not important, only the doctrine the person embraces is important. Thats the 49th birthday message of 88-generation student leader Min Ko Naing, who is serving a 65-year prison term in Kengtung Prison. His 49th birthday ceremony, on Tuesday, was held at Thaminemyoma Monastery in Insein Township in Rangoon. He sent the birthday message from his prison cell, adding: My birthday party should not be only for me; it should be a ceremony of remembrance for all.

Mi Mi Lwin, Min Ko Naings sister, told Mizzima: He wrote the message as a remembrance. Min Ko Naing was arrested on August 21, 2007, for leading massive protests against a hike in fuel prices. He was not included in the prisoners released under the recent presidential amnesty.

The birthday ceremony was attended by NLD leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, NLD Vice Chairman Tin Oo and central committee member Win Tin. The newly released prisoners Zarganar and rights activist Su Su Nway also attended. Also present were diplomats from France, Britain and the U.S. embassies, ethnic leaders, political parties and young people. About 2,000 people turned out for the event.

Mi Mi Lwin said, I cant say how sad we feel because his birthday party was held without him. I hope we can hold his birthday party with him next year. We hope it every year.

During the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, Min Ko Naing was elected chairman of All All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). He was arrested in March 1989 for his political activities and released in 2004. Then in September 2006 he was detained again and released in January 2007. He was arrested again during the protest against the hike in fuel price.

To mark the birthday, guests released helium balloons and doves and prayed for the freedom of political prisoners. Opposition leader Suu Kyi, comedian Zarganar and 88-generation student leader Phyo Phyo Aung spoke.

Suu Kyi said that she wished all political prisoners would be released and urged all people to work for their freedom, according to 88-generation student Myat Thu, who organized of the ceremony.

Families of political prisoners gave 5,000 kyat (about US$ 6) to each of more than 100 recently released political prisoners who attended the ceremony, which included a birthday song and poetry recitation.

Myat Thu said, 42 publishing houses donated books and the books will be sent to 42 prisons to open libraries. The total value of the books was more than 2.7 million kyat.

More than 20 portraits of Min Ko Naing were displayed at the ceremony.

After the ceremony, only three portraits remained. Some people asked for the portraits by saying they loved Min Ko Naing. They asked for the portraits from other people, not from me. Im sorry to lose the portraits, said artist Myo Yan Naung Thein, who painted the portraits.

The new ABFSU that was reorganized in 2007 also sent a message, saying We students pay deep respect to Min Ko Naing; the role of the ABFSU is still active.

NLD-affiliated networks in Kachin and Karen states, Sagaing and Mandalay regions and Chauk and Yaynanchaung in Magway Region also held ceremonies to mark his birthday.

According to the information we have, political prisoners will be released in three batches. In the first batch, Min Ko Naing was not included, but Zarganar was included. We heard that Min Ko Naing will be included in the last batch, 88-generation student Myo Yan Naung Thein said.

Burmese pro-democracy activists in New Delhi held a ceremony to mark the birthday in the office of the Women Rights and Welfare Association of Burma. Food was donated to Buddhist monks and prayers for political prisoners were recited by people of various religions.



No let up in Rohingya forced labour Francis Wade
Democratic Voice of Burma: Wed 19 Oct 2011

Evidence from surveys carried out among the ethnic Rohingya population of northern Arakan state suggest that contrary to pledges made by the new Burmese government, forced labour has not abated.

Some communities in the impoverished region of western Burma claim that instances of forced labour had in fact risen since the elections in November last, as local authorities push ahead with the completion of infrastructural projects.

The surveys were conducted by The Arakan Project, which has a number of covert fact finding teams working in the area.

During the period immediately preceding the elections, forced labour demands had noticeably decreased, raising hopes among Rohingyas for a better future under the new government, including some respite from compulsory labour, the report, Forced labour after the elections, says.

Unfortunately, their expectations were short-lived. Within days, forced labour exactions did not simply resume but, by December, reached a peak unseen since the early 1990s due to extensive repair of the [Burma-Bangladesh] border fence.

Civilians are mainly sought to work on infrastructure aimed at securing the porous border between the two countries, and allowing for better maneuverability of Burmese troops close to the fence.

The eventual by-product of this, the report warns, will be an intensified militarisation of the region, where abuses of the Muslim minority at the hands of the army and local border guard force, known as NaSaKa, are already rampant. Moreover, the orders for civilians to join the workforce are given by a unit within the army known as Garrison Engineers (GE), reinforcing claims that discrimination against the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Burma largely on the basis that they are Muslim, is state-sanctioned.

The report says that while enough government funds have been allocated for the labourers working on the fence and surrounding infrastructure, little of it reaches its supposed destination.

GE subcontract most construction projects to the NaSaKa Sectors, who siphon off the budget earmarked for the manpower and use forced labour instead.

According to observations made by Arakan Project teams, children make up as much as 40 percent of the forced labour workforce in the region around Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships in the north of the state. Some of these may be as young as 10.

Reports emerged in Bangladeshi press earlier this week claiming that Dhaka had struck a deal with Naypyidaw to return the thousands of Rohingya refugees living in the two official camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara.

Chris Lewa, head of the Arakan Project, however rubbished these claims, and said there was no evidence of any sort of bilateral agreement being struck. Moreover, the prospect of many of these people being forced to return to Burma to face a situation that has apparently not changed since they fled, will trigger alarm.

The consequences of these Bangladesh statements are often renewed pressure and abuses on the refugees. Fear is already spreading in the refugee camps, and acts as a push-factor for camp refugees to flee by boat to Malaysia, she told DVB.

Up to 300,000 Rohingya have fled Burma for Bangladesh, but Dhaka has allowed only 28,000 to be registered by the UN, leaving hundreds of thousands eking out a precarious existence in unofficial camps and on the fringes of towns. The Rohingya have been described by various groups as one of the worlds most threatened minorities.



China behind Myanmars course shift Bertil Lintner
Asia Times: Wed 19 Oct 2011

Chiang Mai Recent developments in Myanmar, including talks between new President Thein Sein and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, a relaxation of media censorship and the release of some political prisoners, have stunned many foreign observers and sparked speculation that the historically military-run country is on the verge of a new era of democracy and openness. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group has published optimistic reports claiming that fundamental changes are under way in the countrys political landscape, while Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide recently exalted after a mid-October whistle-stop to the country: I almost left the country thinking theyre moving a little too fast. I never thought I would say that about Myanmar.

After decades of broken promises and fake reforms, Myanmars population has been tellingly less enthusiastic and optimistic about the future. Zarganar, Myanmars most famous comedian, said in an interview shortly after his release from prison on October 11: Originally, I was encouraged by the new government. But not anymore, not since I was released. We [jailed dissidents] are like hostages in the hands of Somali pirates. It now begs the question, for what ransom was our freedom secured?

Indeed, what was the behind-the-scenes ransom paid for the release of approximately 200 political prisoners, and what is the reality behind recent seemingly daring moves by Thein Sein, a former general and prime minister under the old military junta?

As an army commander and later government leader, he was not known for his initiative, boldness or liberalism. In May 2001, for instance, while serving as chief of the Myanmar armys Golden Triangle Command, he said in a speech before local leaders in Mong La on the Chinese border: I was in Mong Ton and Mong Hsat for two weeks. U Wei Xuegang and U Bao Youri from the Wa group are real friends.

Wei is named in several US drug reports as the kingpin of the Golden Triangle narcotics trade and both American and Thai law enforcement authorities have a bounty on his head. Both of Thein Seins real friends have been indicted by US courts for their involvement in the Golden Triangles narcotics trade.

There are also questions about the foreign company the supposedly reformist president keeps. On August 1 last year, the Pyongyangs official news service, the Korea Central News Agency, reported on a visit by Thein Sein, then prime minister of the previous military junta, where he noted with high appreciation that the Korean people have made big strides in strengthening of the military capability and economic construction under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il The government of Myanmar will continue to strive for strengthening and development of the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

These are less the statements of a reform-minded liberal and more of a puppet leader who takes and exercises obediently orders from above.

It is becoming clear that there are serious disagreements within the military over relations with North Korea, and more importantly Myanmars heavy dependence on China. This became evident on September 30 when Thein Sein announced that he had decided to suspend the China-backed US$3.6 billion joint-venture Myitsone dam project in Myanmars far north Kachin State.

However, the official explanation that the project was against the will of people is hardly credible in a country where popular sentiments have long been ignored and popular calls for political change met consistently with brute military force.

The dam would have flooded an area bigger than Singapore, 90% of the electricity was scheduled for export to China, and once online would have done grave harm to the Irrawaddy River, the nations economic and cultural artery. A massive popular movement against the dam was gaining momentum and an escalation of anti-China tensions could have led to riots even more serious than in 1967, when angry mobs ransacked businesses and homes owned by ethnic Chinese in Yangon, then the national capital.

Chinas commercial presence is more pronounced nowadays, as tens of thousands of Chinese merchants and migrants have recently settled in the country, mainly in the old royal capital of Mandalay. Chinas domination of local commerce and rising ownership of local lands has stoked Myanmar nationalist sentiments and risks potentially destabilizing splits inside the still ruling Myanmar military.

It is this dynamic that is mainly driving Thein Seins political course shift, not a newfound desire for democracy and human rights.

My friend, my enemy

The controversial dam project reflects the strained relationship Myanmar has always had with its powerful northern neighbor. From the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949 until Myanmars 1962 military putsch, Beijing maintained a cordial relationship with the non-aligned democratic government of prime minister U Nu.

Myanmar, then known as Burma, was in fact the first country outside of the communist bloc to recognize the new regime in Beijing. Trade was negligible, but the common border was demarcated and relations were friendly.

After General Ne Wins 1962 coup, the Chinese, long wary of the ambitious and sometimes unpredictable general, began to prepare for all-out support for the insurgent Communist Party of Burma (CPB). The 1967 anti-Chinese riots in Yangon, orchestrated by military authorities to deflect public anger at a rapidly deteriorating economy, provided a convenient excuse for China to intervene directly in Myanmars internal affairs. On New Years Day 1968, the first armed CPB units entered northeastern Myanmar from Chinas southwestern Yunnan province.

During the decade spanning 1968-78, China poured more aid into the CPB effort than any other communist movement outside of Indochina. Assault rifles, machine-guns, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, radio equipment, jeeps, trucks, petrol, area maps, and even kitchen utensils were sent across the frontier into the CPBs revolutionary base area.

Thousands of Chinese volunteers also streamed across the border to provide additional support to the CPB. Mao Zedongs death in 1976, and more importantly the return to power of the pragmatist Deng Xiaoping a year later, marked the beginning of the end of massive Chinese aid to the CPB.

It was no longer seen to be in Beijings interest to support revolutionary movements in the region, but neither could the Chinese completely cut off the CPB, which still controlled most of the strategic border areas inside Myanmar. Chinese support continued, albeit on a much reduced scale, until the hill tribe rank-and-file of the CPBs army rose in mutiny in 1989 and drove the entire Maoist Burman leadership into exile in China.

The CPB subsequently split along ethnic lines into four different regional armies. All of them soon entered into ceasefire agreements with the government, which also made cross-border trade possible for the first time in decades.

It was also clear that China coveted Myanmars forests and rich mineral and natural gas deposits, as well as its hydroelectric power potential. In fact, China first mooted its intention to build Myitsone in an article in the official Beijing Review in September 1985.

Entitled Opening to the Southwest: An Expert Opinion, the officially written article outlined the possibilities of finding an outlet for trade for Chinas landlocked southern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan through Myanmar to the Indian Ocean. It also mentioned that the Myanmar railheads of Myitkyina and Lashio in the northeast and the Irrawaddy River as possible conduits for Chinese exports.

At the time those trade links were a remote dream, but the 1989 CPB mutiny ushered in a new, more cordial era in Sino-Myanmar relations. Apart from supplying Myanmar with vast quantities of military hardware at a time when the West shunned and sanctioned the military regimes abysmal human-rights record, Chinese experts also assisted in a series of infrastructure projects to rehabilitate Myanmars poorly maintained roads and railways.

Chinese military advisers formally arrived in 1991, the first foreign military personnel to be stationed in Myanmar since Australia dispatched a contingent to train the Myanmar army in the 1950s. Soon after the Chinese officials arrived, cross-border trade between China and Myanmar began to boom.

By the late 1980s, China had begun to penetrate the Myanmar market through an extensive economic intelligence reporting system. This network monitored the availability of domestically produced Myanmar products as well as the nature and volume of trade from other countries in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India.

When the border was opened for trade in the early 1990s, more than 2,000 carefully selected items were reported to be flooding the Myanmar market among them bicycles, sewing machines, beer, soap, cigarettes, cheap textiles, stationery, spare machinery parts, radios, medicines, and petrol. These goods were priced deliberately cheaper than those from other neighboring countries and Myanmar-made products.

In March last year, Chinas official Peoples Daily Online reported that bilateral trade between the two countries hit US$ 2.9 billion in 2009, an increase of 10% over the previous year and up from virtually zero in the late 1980s. The trade balance weighed heavily in Chinas favor: in 2009, Chinese exports amounted to $2.3 billion, while its imports from Myanmar totaled a mere $646 million. More current trade figures are not publicly available, but are believed to be even higher and still weighted in Chinas favor.

While Myanmar has been denied access to international monetary institutions due to US and European Union sanctions, China has provided Myanmar with low interest loans and major investment capital. That is particularly true of the energy sector.

An agreement to build a gas pipeline from the Bay of Bengal will be supplemented with an oil pipeline designed to allow Chinese ships carrying fuel imports from the Middle East to skirt the congested Malacca Strait. In September last year, China agreed to provide Myanmar with $4.2 billion worth of interest-free loans over a 30-year period to help fund hydropower projects, road and railway construction, and information technology development.

Myanmars growing economic and financial dependence on China has caused considerable consternation its military leadership. Aung Lynn Htut, a former intelligence officer who sought political asylum in the US in 2005, wrote in a September 30 commentary for exile-run The Irrawaddy that the countrys military leaders have not forgotten that they once fought against the China-backed CPB and that many of their comrades were killed by Chinese arms.

For instance, Tin Aung Myint Oo, the current first vice president, earned his title thiha thura (brave lion) in 1989 after taking part in heavy battles with the CPB just before the mutiny. According to Aung Lynn Htut, many of his officers and soldiers, including his commander, died on the battlefield.

Despite the deepening of Sino-Myanmar relations, China still maintains close contacts with the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the main successor to the CPB. The UWSA is equipped with modern weapons, including artillery and anti-aircraft guns, obtained from what is euphemistically called the black market in China, but which is more a gray market as it is run mainly by former Chinese military officers.

The UWSA today is much stronger and better equipped than the CPB was in the last years before the 1989 mutiny. Chinese duplicity in maintaining relations with Naypyidaw and the armed militias opposed to its rule has made many Myanmar army officers wary of Chinas long-term intentions.

Survival instincts

According to many Western observers, recent positive developments in Myanmar reflect a power struggle between reform-minded moderates and hardliners within the government and the military that controls it. But the moderates have to tread carefully, one cautious step at a time, to avoid upsetting the hardliners waiting in the wings, the analysis goes. It may appear that way on the surface, but the political reality is far more convoluted and complicated.

Myanmars new 2008 constitution and last years rigged elections were not implemented to change the countrys basic power structure that has been in place since the military first seized power in 1962, but rather aim to institutionalize it by creating a national parliament, regional assemblies, and a superficially civilian-led government.

Since 1962, Myanmars military has viewed itself as the sole force capable of protecting the countrys independence and unity. The ruling military is not divided over how much democracy should be allowed, or the degree of respect it should show for human rights. Rather, disagreements within Myanmars military are more over questions of national sovereignty, internal security and, most importantly, regime survival.

Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo is often referred to in the Western media as a hardliner. But that characterization is misleading as it is the state of relations with China, not degrees of democracy, that historically has caused the biggest rifts inside the Myanmar military. Apart from the Myitsone dam issue, sources familiar with the inner workings of the Myanmar military assert that hostility towards China is growing among the officer corps, especially when it comes to ongoing Chinese support for the heavily armed UWSA.

By suspending the controversial dam project, Thein Sein took the wind out of the sails of a situation that could have caused a serious conflict inside the military and been channeled to the public at large. For now, Thein Sein has weathered the storm, but by suspending rather than canceling the project he strategically left a door open for future negotiations with China.

Myanmar cannot turn its back to China: the two countries share a long border, while the United States and the European Union are distant powers of lesser importance to the long term survival of the regime.

The forces behind Thein Sein have skillfully played the China card vis-a-vis the West in a new bid to lessen the countrys dependence on China and smooth over potential conflicts brewing within the armed forces.

On September 29, Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met in Washington with newly appointed US coordinator on Myanmar Derek Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, and human-rights official Michael Posner. It was not a coincidence that the next day Thein Seins government decided to suspend the Myitsone dam until 2015.

Even before Thein Sein started to send reform signals, the US had started to rethink its punitive policy towards Myanmar. Ever since the 1988 massacres of pro-democracy demonstrators in Yangon, Washington has been the military regimes fiercest international critic. When Barack Obama took over the US presidency in January 2009, a new policy of engagement was adopted to shift that course. In April that year, US senator Jim Webb, known to be close to Obama, became the first top-level US politician to visit Myanmar in years.

While paying lip-service to democracy and human rights during talks with then junta leader General Than Shwe, Webb revealed his real motives at a breakfast meeting with defense reporters in Washington after returning from his trip:

We are in a situation where if we do not push some kind of constructive engagement, Myanmar is going to basically become a province of China we all respect Aung San Suu Kyi and the sacrifices she has made. On the other hand, how does the US develop a relationship that could increase stability in the region and not allow China to have dominance in a country that has strategic importance in the region?

That view, if widely held, represents a significant shift in Washingtons perspective. In March 1989, a senior US diplomat in Yangon told the Washington Post: Since there are no US bases and very little strategic interest, Burma [Myanmar] is one place where the United States has the luxury of living up to its principles.

With Chinas fast rise and US concerns about Myanmars budding military relations with North Korea, strategic interests have now returned to the forefront of Washingtons Myanmar policy.

Myanmar is now in the process of rebalancing its foreign relations to ensure the regimes survival and future cohesion of the armed forces. Thein Sein and the powerful military forces that back him realize that there must be some icing on the cake for the US and the European Union to accept his nominally civilian regime and consider lifting sanctions.

That is the ransom that has been paid for the release of dissidents like Zarganar and warming overtures towards Suu Kyi. While Myanmar may have embarked on a more palatable political course, it has more to do with regime survival than a desire to supplant military rule with democratic governance.

* Bertil Lintner is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and author of several books on Burma/Myanmar. He is currently a writer with Asia-Pacific Media Services.



Myanmars Suu Kyi vows fight to free dissidents
Agence France Presse: Tue 18 Oct 2011

Yangon Myanmars democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday pledged to work for the release of the countrys remaining political prisoners following an amnesty that left many key dissidents behind bars. The regime pardoned 227 imprisoned critics, according to Suu Kyis party, but kept most of its roughly 2,000 political inmates locked up, including key figures involved in a failed 1988 student-led uprising.

Many (student leaders) have still not been freed from their imprisonment. We will continue our struggle for their release, Suu Kyi told supporters at birthday celebrations for Min Ko Naing, an 88 Generation leader serving a 65-year jail term.

Why do I want the release of political prisoners? I want our country to become really free, Suu Kyi said at a ceremony at a monastery in Yangon.

Min Ko Naing, whose prison term stems from his role in the 2007 monk-led protests known as the Saffron Revolution, saw in his 49th birthday in Kyaing Tong prison in Shan State, northeast Myanmar.

Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) said it was frustrated by the relatively small number of political detainees included in an amnesty for more than 6,000 prisoners last week.

Famous satirist Zarganar, who goes by one name, was among those released and has since spoken out against the regimes decision to leave many other critics locked up.

He now plans to organise a group of actors and comedians to visit jailed dissidents held in prisons around the country.

I will try to visit to my friends who are still in the prisons, he told AFP at the Yangon ceremony.

Zarganar, who was held at Myitkyina prison in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, had been serving a 35-year sentence following his arrest in 2008 after organising deliveries of aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which left 138,000 dead or missing.

He said he would leave parcels for political detainees if he was not allowed to see them.

They will be happy if they know that I have travelled to visit them in person, even though we cannot see each other, he said.

The fate of political prisoners in Myanmar is a key concern of western governments that have imposed sanctions on the isolated nation.

Some observers have said the amnesty could be one of several by a regime that appears eager to end its international isolation but is wary of potential unrest.



Health ministry urges doctors to return home Cherry Thein
Myanmar Times: Tue 18 Oct 2011

THE Minister for Health has called on trained medical professionals living abroad to return to Myanmar and contribute their services to improve the health sector. Speaking at a meeting of the Myanmar Academy of Medical Science held at the University of Nursing on October 7, Dr Pe Thet Khin said President U Thein Sein, the government and the minister would welcome the return of all Myanmar medical experts living in other countries, regardless of their reasons for leaving Myanmar.

He said their expertise was sorely needed in community development programs but conceded that for many it would mean sacrificing higher-paid jobs abroad.

We are now working to promote the development of the medical sector and need human resources their ideas and techniques. I think it is time for all to contribute for the countrys future, he said.

Some of my friend inquired whether they would get the same salary and facilities they get in foreign countries. We cant guarantee that but if they want to work for the country with us, please come and contribute, he said.

There would be many doctors and medical experts in other countries they went abroad for their career progression, he said.

But now it is a busy time to work for the country, the minister said, adding that the new government was putting more priority on the health sector.

Myanmar Academy of Medical Science president Dr Myo Myint said the academy would invite both retired and working medical professionals to contribute to government health projects.

In the past, when you were 50 or 60 you retired [from government service]. That usually meant you went and worked in the private sector or went abroad. Its a kind of brain-drain we welcome all retired medical experts to contribute, he said, adding that most of the academys members were retired.

The academy plans to undertake several projects in 2011-12, including an awareness raising program on medical ethics, a snake bite control pilot project and promotion of effective and affordable fluoride toothpaste.



When a multi-ethnic nation ignores ethnic rights Saw Yan Naing
Irrawaddy: Tue 18 Oct 2011

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday that Burmese government forces have committed serious abuses against ethnic Kachin civilians since renewed fighting broke out in the northern state in June.

The international rights group estimated that some 30,000 civilians in Kachin State have been displaced by the conflict.

The Burmese government armed forces have been responsible for killings and attacks on civilians, using forced labor, and pillaging villages, said the HRW statement.

Renewed fighting in Kachin State has meant renewed abuses by the Burmese army against Kachin villagers, said Elaine Pearson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Tens of thousands of people have fled through the mountains and jungle at the height of the rainy season, driven away by fear of army attacks.

The HRW statement backs up a claim made by the US special envoy to Burma, Derek Mitchell, who on Monday stated that the Burmese government has not made comparable progress in its relations with ethnic minorities in the north and east of Burma as it has with the democratic oppositionin particular noting that Naypyidaw had held high-level talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mitchell also noted what he referred to as credible reports of continued human rights abuses, including violence against minority women and children.

We made it very clear that we [the US] could not have a transformed relationship as long as these abuses and credible reports of abuses occur, said Mitchell.

The criticisms come at a time when Naypyidaw has enjoyed much high acclaim following a series of moves viewed by Burmese and the international community at large as being progressive reforms, most notably the easing of censorship on the Burmese media, the suspension of the controversial Myitsone Dam project, and the release of 200 political prisoners.

The statements by Mitchell and by the HRW highlight growing concern that although reforms have been enacted in Rangoon and Naypyidaw, many observers see the government as being unable or unwilling to tackle issues in the ethnic areas.

Between 35 and 40 percent of Burmas 55-million population is non-Burman, and although many of the countrys ethnic minorities have integrated into Burmese society over the years, many millions continue to live in the mountainous jungle that forms a natural horseshoe around the Burmese plains.

Ethnic minority groups include the Karen, the Shan, the Karenni, the Kachin, the Mon, the Chin and the Arakan, almost all of which have fought against the central government for independence or autonomy for decades.

Over the past 20 years, many ethnic armies have signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese government, but conflicts have continued, exacerbated by overland deals with Burmas neighbors, especially China and Thailand, and a flurry of investment in natural resources within ethnic minority areas.

Over the years, the Burmese army has repeatedly been accused of human rights abuses in ethnic areas, with several reports indicating that the abuses may be systemic, and indicative of war crimes or crimes against humanity.

In a letter to the editor of The New York Times on Oct. 6, Myra Dahgaypaw, an ethnic Karen woman wrote: Burmese soldiers killed my parents, my brother and sister, and my uncle after they forced him to watch them rape his wife.

If soldiers are able to use forced labor, sexual violence, forced relocation and other abuses as mechanisms of domination, why should [US] President Obama reward President Thein Sein?

Her comment was written in response to an article titled, In Myanmar, Seize the Moment, written by a well-known Burmese historian, Thant Myint-U.

In his article, the author urged the US president to publicly support the reforms that are taking place in Burma.

He also wrote that Thein Sein has spoken forcefully of combating poverty, fighting corruption, ending the countrys multiple armed conflicts, and working for political reconciliation.

But despite the governments recent approval of a peacemaking committee in parliament to deal with the issues surrounding the ongoing ethnic conflicts, observers say no tangible progress has been madein fact, hostilities have escalated in some areas.

Brig-Gen Johnny, the commander of the rebel Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7, told The Irrawaddy that fightingwhether simple exchanges of gunfire or intense hostilities resulting in many casualtiesbreak out almost every day in Karen State even though the government has declared its intention to seek a peace deal with armed ethnic groups.

The release of more than 200 political prisoners, the suspension of the Myitsone dam, the establishment of a peacemaking committeethese steps are all good news, said Johnny. But these developments will not help our people and our soldiers in their daily fight for survival while government troops move into frontier areas.

With the exception of two ethnic rebel armiesthe 20,000-strong United Wa State Army and its ally, the National Democratic Alliance Army, which are currently observing a ceasefireno tangible results have come from negotiations with the other ethnic groups.

The New Mon State Party met government representatives recently in Ye Township, but the meeting concluded without an agreement.

Last Thursday, government troops began an assault on Kachin Independence Army (KIA) positions in Kachin and Shan states. The KIA leaders said they believe that the attacks are aimed at seizing KIA strongholds and military bases.

KIA spokesman La Nan said that at least 82 armed clashes have broken out since June, when fighting took place near hydropower plants in Bhamo Township in Kachin State. Seventeen of the clashes have broken out this month alone, he said.

Aye Thar Aung, a prominent Arakanese politician based in Rangoon, said that although he welcomed the steps taken by the new government, he was still concerned with the ethnic conflict issues.

We are very concerned when we hear the government authorities saying they are making peace with the Wa, but then increase their military efforts against the Kachin, he said.

To build a developed country, peace is needed. The civil war needs to come to an end.

There can be no peace in a multi-ethnic nation that ignores the fundamental rights of its ethnic minorities, he added.



Myanmars token reforms Editorial
The Jakarta Post: Tue 18 Oct 2011

The release of several hundred prisoners in Myanmar last week was another token gesture from the military junta, trying to convince the world of its intention to introduce some form of democracy in the country. As welcome as the gesture is since any move in that direction in Myanmar at this stage is almost progress we still have to take it with a grain of salt. Among those released in the first batch of 6,300 who received a general amnesty from the government were 80 political prisoners. Amnesty International says there are more than 2,000 prisoners of conscience in Myanmar, those imprisoned chiefly for their political beliefs, and it is uncertain how many of those were included in this round of amnesty.

Until a clearer picture emerges about the fate of those political prisoners in coming weeks, we should refrain from applauding the Myanmar regime. The Myanmarese, as well as people around the world, have become accustomed to the juntas empty promises. The farce election last year was a case in point and it served to undermine the credibility of its road map to democracy.

Some may argue that these token measures of democracy would eventually amount to something, but so far they are not enough to even provide the Myanmarese with their fundamental rights. Other Southeast Asian nations are also moving slowly and cautiously in giving greater space for free expressions, but at least their people lead a decent life.

When Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa visits Myanmar later this month, he should convey the message to the junta in the strongest terms that it needs to do a lot more to convince the world. Releasing all the political prisoners would go a long way.

As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia needs to pressure the junta to show that the regional groups constructive engagement all these years is actually paying off. No less than ASEANs own credibility is at stake.

Myanmar itself is due to take over the rotating ASEAN chair in 2014, and the junta has somehow confidently expressed its intention to take it up. The ASEAN chairmanship, however, is not automatic. As the current chair, Indonesia should use this leverage to ensure speedier and bolder political reforms in Myanmar.

It may seem like a long shot, but it is worth trying.



Army committing abuses in Kachin State
Human Rights Watch: Tue 18 Oct 2011



New York Burmas armed forces have committed serious abuses against ethnic Kachin civilians in renewed fighting in Kachin State, Human Rights Watch said today. Since hostilities began over five months ago against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Burmese armed forces have been responsible for killings and attacks on civilians, using forced labor, and pillaging villages, which has resulted in the displacement of an estimated 30,000 Kachin civilians. On September 30, 2011, Burmas President Thein Sein suspended a controversial US$3.6 billion hydropower dam project on the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State, which appears to have been one of several factors in the renewed hostilities between the Burmese government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). The Chinese-financed project was suspended after growing dissent in Burma over its current and potential environmental and social impacts.

Renewed fighting in Kachin State has meant renewed abuses by the Burmese army against Kachin villagers, said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Tens of thousands of people have fled through the mountains and jungle at the height of the rainy season, driven away by fear of army attacks.

Fighting between the Burmese army and the KIA, Burmas second largest ethnic armed group, began on June 9, ending 17 years of ceasefire. The Burmese army first attacked a strategic KIA post at the location of another Chinese-led hydropower dam on the Taping River in Momauk township, Human Rights Watch said. The army subsequently launched a major offensive and moved in hundreds of troops to areas formerly controlled by the KIA. There have since been failed ceasefire talks and an unconfirmed number of skirmishes, ambushes, and battles involving heavy mortar shelling. The KIA subsequently destroyed several road and railway bridges to frustrate the Burmese armys advance and supply lines. The KIA reportedly began conscripting able-bodied men and women aged 18 to 55 for a two-month military training, in anticipation of protracted fighting.

Human Rights Watch conducted a fact-finding mission to the conflict areas in Kachin State in July and August, visiting abandoned villages and eight remote camps of internally displaced persons. Witnesses described serious abuses committed by Burmese soldiers, including killings and attacks on civilians, pillaging of villages, and the unlawful use of forced labor.

Fearing abuses from the Burmese army, tens of thousands of Kachin fled their villages, Human Rights Watch said. Before arriving at displaced persons camps in KIA controlled areas, several thousand villagers hid from the Burmese army in the jungle, in some cases for a month after the fighting began. Those who were able to visit their homes to get provisions told Human Rights Watch that Burmese army soldiers had occupied their villages and confiscated their property and belongings. Some described being held by Burmese soldiers, who interrogated them harshly for information about the KIA, including by threatening to kill them. Interrogations were particularly menacing for villagers who spoke Kachin dialects and very little Burmese.

Human Rights Watch documented the killings of three Kachin civilians by Burmese soldiers in June and is investigating credible allegations of other killings. Villagers told Human Rights Watch that on June 15, Burmese army forces entered Hang Htak village in Man Je township searching for suspected associates of the KIA. A Burmese soldier shot and killed a 52-year-old woman and her 4-year-old grandson in their home at close range as they tried to flee. On June 17, credible local sources told Human Rights Watch that a group of soldiers allegedly shot and killed Nhkum Zau Bawk, a farmer and day laborer, in Kawng Gat Ban Ma village as he stood unarmed with a group of friends at a cemetery. Local authorities reportedly provided financial compensation to the mans family, but no legal action was taken against the perpetrator.

According to the September 2011 report to the United Nations General Assembly by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Thomas Ojea Quintana, Allegations of abuses against civilian populations throughout Kachin State include reports of 18 women and girls having been gang-raped by army soldiers, and of four of those victims being subsequently killed. While Human Rights Watch did not speak to any victims or witnesses of rape, community members confirmed such abuses had occurred.

Several people told Human Rights Watch that Burmese army soldiers fired on them as they were fleeing their village. For instance, in early June, Burmese soldiers twice fired on a 62-year-old Kachin woman and her three young grandchildren in Sang Gang village. She told Human Rights Watch, In the morning when we were cooking rice, we heard gunfire and we left our food and went to the field, looking into the village the whole day before we fled. When we ran the soldiers shot at us. We were really afraid. We just ran and hid. She said that after two days in the jungle without basic provisions, they decided to return home to get food, at which point they were fired upon a second time. We had already left the house and were on our way out of the village and the soldiers opened fire on us [again], she said. No one was hit. When the soldier opened fire it made me shake and I didnt know what to do. We just ran.

Under the laws of war applicable in conflict areas in Burma, all sides are prohibited from mistreating persons in their custody, targeting civilians, or pillaging homes and other civilian property.

The Burmese army has unlawfully used Kachin civilians for forced labor, which has long been a serious problem in Burmas ethnic areas, Human Rights Watch said. Five civilians told Human Rights Watch that in recent months they had been forced to work for the military without compensation; several others knew of family or friends who had had to do so. A 36-year-old mother of six children who fled Lusupa village, a government-controlled area, told Human Rights Watch how she and other Kachin villagers, including children as young as 14, had been commonly forced to porter for the Burmese army. She said that her husband, who remained in their village to tend their crops and check on their home and belongings, was forced to carry out labor for the army twice, in late June and mid-July.

The laws of war prohibit the use of uncompensated or abusive forced labor, including work in combat areas.

Many Kachin recounted previous abuses at the hands of the Burmese army. A 58-year-old Kachin farmer, who said all his possessions had been taken by the Burmese army, told Human Rights Watch: We lost our homes and properties to the Burmese soldiers several times. That is why I dont have hope in this situation.

Recent abuses in Kachin State highlight the importance of establishing a United Nations commission of inquiry into alleged violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Burma, Human Rights Watch said. The UN special rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, first called for a commission of inquiry in March 2010, and to date 16 countries have publically confirmed their support for the initiative, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and others, as well as Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Pronouncements of political reform in Burma do not seem to have reached the army in Kachin State, Pearson said. Ongoing abuses starkly demonstrate that until real steps are taken towards accountability, including an international commission of inquiry, minorities such as the Kachin will be a grave risk.

Burmese Army Abuses in Kachin State: June 2011
Attacks on Civilians, Forced Labor, and Mistreatment in Custody


A 51-year-old Kachin farmer from Sang Gang told Human Rights Watch that a government soldier opened fire on him on June 12, despite it being clear he was unarmed: The soldier and I were around 50 meters apart, and between us was a small stream. The soldier said nicely, Brother, come, come, and I pretended to come and then suddenly ran, and the soldier shot at me two times. I hid for one hour near where I escaped. After one hour it was getting dark and I ran. I was afraid of the Burmese.

A 48-year-old Kachin woman explained to Human Rights Watch how on June 13 the Burmese army opened fire into Kawng Ra Zup village, which sits in a valley below a mountaintop Burmese army post. The Burmese soldiers shot their guns, so we were really afraid, she said. We dont know what they were aiming at. The village head said we should run, so we just ran.

A 33-year-old woman told Human Rights Watch that before the current fighting she was forced to carry provisions up a two-mile road to a Burmese army outpost while she was six-months pregnant. She said, I had to do forced labor for the Burmese soldiers many times [Before the fighting began] we carried rice and other things to [the Burmese army] post and walked back. It took three hours. The path is very steep, we had to climb the mountain and it was difficult to reach. From morning to evening we had to do it twice. The food we brought ourselves and we ate. They didnt feed us.

A 48-year-old woman from Kawng Ra Zup said the Burmese armys previous use of forced labor and other ill-treatment was an important reason those in her village fled: Every villager in our village had to work for the soldiers in the last year. And they hit our village head with their guns and they punched and kicked him. They knocked him out. From the road to the post we had to carry rice. We could not refuse to do the work. We werent paid anything.

A local Kachin carpenter who fled his village fearing attack from the Burmese army explained to Human Rights Watch how he had commonly been forced to work for the army. I am a carpenter and I know how to make cement and how to build houses, he said. When the army needs a weapons store and flagpole and boundaries, they ask me to work on these things. Everything they need, they ask me, but they never pay me the full amountI cannot refuse to do this work. Sometimes they ask when I am very busy, but I have to do it.

A villager from Sin Lum described fleeing to the jungle: We were afraid to live in the village so we went to hide in the jungle one mile from the village. It was 11 households, 58 people. We lived there for a month and when we needed food and rice we secretly went back to the village and then came back. We lived [in the jungle] with plastic bags as shelter. When we were going back and forth secretly, the Burmese soldiers saw us and told us next time they saw us they were going to shoot us. After that, no one went back.

A 60-year-old farmer from Sin Lum told Human Rights Watch said that before he fled he was interrogated and threatened on a daily basis by the Burmese army, suspicious of his familys ties to the KIA. Fearful for his security, he finally fled to a displaced persons camp on July 23. The soldiers shot their guns four times to the ground and threatened me and asked, Where is your son? What is he doing? I cant speak Burmese well. I just told them I didnt know. The soldiers would come in the daytime. Everyday [in July] they came and asked me questions and interrogated me, sometimes once, sometimes twice. This farmer described how in the past the army had forced him to porter several times, repeatedly beating and mistreating him. He told Human Rights Watch that in the early 1990s a Burmese soldier cut his throat, leaving a large scar that left him permanently fearful of the armys return.

A 30-year-old woman from Sin Lum told Human Rights Watch that she endured the same interrogation by the military every day for several weeks before she finally fled on July 15: Every day the soldiers came and asked, Do you have a guest? Do you have a KIA soldier? Every day they came and talked like that.We couldnt sleep at night, whether the soldiers came or not. At our house, at least three soldiers per day came and checked and asked questions since the fighting started. They would ask many questions. This made us afraid.

Another villager told Human Rights Watch, I was very afraid when they [soldiers] came and asked questions. I was afraid they would kill us.

Property Confiscation and Destruction

A 65-year-old Christian pastor who fled his village on June 10 told Human Rights Watch: The soldiers took all of our belongings. They took 18 motorbikes, one rice mill, and all the buffalo, pigs, chickens, everything. Some people were going to build a house and the soldiers took all their materials. I dont know how many soldiers are there now, but when the fighting started there were 500 soldiers who came, and now they are living in the village. They are living in our houses.

A 58-year-old woman who fled her home in Sang Gang was sobbing with despair when she told Human Rights Watch that her family had lost everything after the Burmese army entered her village on June 9: My friends and I [secretly] returned to the house to give the pigs and chickens some food, and when we arrived all the houses [in the village] were messy and destroyed. We were very afraid and we wanted to take our food but we could not. Some villagers were in the jungle. We joined them and then came here [a displaced persons camp]. If we went to live in our village, we think wed be beaten or tortured by the [Burmese army] soldiers. There are many civilians in our village sympathetic to the KIO [Kachin Independence Organization], so if we went back and stayed we would be killed.

In mostly Buddhist Burma, the majority of Kachin are Christian. A 65-year-old Kachin villager from Sang Gang told Human Rights Watch that when the fighting started in June 2011 the Burmese army uprooted a large Christian cross from a hilltop regarded by the villagers as sacred, and used it as a stand for their weapons. The villagers had planned to eventually construct a church on the site. We villagers made a large cross for the [proposed] church [on the hilltop], he said, and the Burmese soldiers took it out of the ground and used it to prop up their big machine guns.

Background

The renewed conflict in Kachin State is rooted in a long-standing political dispute and large-scale economic interests. In 1994, after decades of brutal fighting and widespread human rights abuses, the KIO and the Burmese military government signed a ceasefire agreement granting the KIO political autonomy over a Special Region in Kachin State, ending the fighting, and granting some latitude for the expansion of humanitarian assistance and development in the area.

Nearly every Kachin villager interviewed by Human Rights Watch described painful histories of forced labor, torture, killings, and other abuses by the Burmese army before and after the 1994 ceasefire. The Kachin, who are predominantly Christian in largely Buddhist Burma, also spoke of past instances of religious repression, which contributes to the collective fears of persecution and widespread feelings of ethnic and religious discrimination among displaced Kachin communities.

A 36-year-old woman from Hka Ya village told Human Rights Watch she was first subject to forced labor in 1983, at age 8. When she fled to escape forced portering for the Burmese army, soldiers shot at her and her aunt: When I was 8 years old I had to carry things many times, and with the old people I secretly went and ran away into the forest, and when we ran the soldiers fired their guns at us.We didnt get hit.

A 54-year-old farmer from Sin Lum said that since the 1970s he had been forced to porter for the Burmese army around 70 to 80 times, at least, and that he had witnessed more than a hundred killings by Burmese soldiers. I cant even say how many. Its been so many.

A 58-year-old Baptist Christian farmer from Maisakba told Human Rights Watch how on three occasions from 2000 to 2009 the Burmese authorities forbade his community from constructing a new Christian church, in part because the proposed structure was in the shape of a cross. The Burmese authorities banned this construction project, he said. They wanted to avoid the religious symbol, the cross. All three times we were rejected. A 48-year-old Roman Catholic villager from Loimawkyang likewise explained how in 2000 his community was forbidden from constructing a new church.

In 2008, Burmas military government announced that all armed groups under ceasefire agreements would have to transform into Border Guard Forces under the direct control of the Burmese army, as stipulated in the 2008 Constitution. The KIO rejected the proposal.

In October 2010, the Burmese state-run media for the first time since 1994 referred to the KIA as insurgents as opposed to a ceasefire group. The Kachin were barred from registering political parties or independent candidates in Burmas November 2010 elections, pro-KIO candidates were removed from the ballots, and tens of thousands of Kachin in KIO-controlled areas were effectively barred from voting.

On June 9, 2011, the army entered and attacked KIA-controlled territory in Sang Gang and Bum Seng villages near the Taping #1 hydropower dam on the Taping River. The fully constructed Taping #1 dam is one of two proposed dams on the Taping River in Burma. It is a project led by China Datang Corporation in partnership with the Burmese Ministry of Electric Power. According to state-controlled media, the Burmese armys offensive was an effort to consolidate power in the area and provide security for the hydropower dam. The KIA denied that the dam was ever under threat.

The recently suspended Myitsone hydropower dam at the confluence of the Mali and NMai rivers on the Irrawaddy in Kachin State also appears to have been a factor in the conflict. On March 16, 2011, the KIO sent a letter, a copy of which was obtained by Human Rights Watch, to Chinese President Hu Jintao requesting that the Chinese authorities stop construction of the Myitsone dam because of several social and environmental concerns. The letter specifically named China Power Investment and the Burmese company Asia World Co. Ltd. as investing parties. The KIO wrote that it had informed the Burmese government it would not be held responsible if civil war broke out because of the dam project. Less than three months later, war broke out.

The fighting in Kachin State coincides with an increase in fighting in neighboring Shan State, where the Burmese government also has several economic interests, including dual transnational oil and gas pipelines to China, which will pass through territory claimed by the KIA and the Shan State Army areas populated by a mix of Kachin, Shan, Burmese, and ethnic Chinese.



Burmese Army mounts multi-front offensive against KIA Ba Kaung
Irrawaddy: Mon 17 Oct 2011

Deadly armed clashes between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) continued in Kachin and Shan states on Monday, according to KIA officials who said they believe the latest military offensives by the government side are aimed at taking control of their major strongholds. Since Thursday, fighting has been reported at a number of locations considered to be key defensive positions en route to Pajau and Laiza, the KIAs two most important bases of operations.

One focal point has been Lung Zep Kong, a hill near Waimaw Township in Kachin State that lies along the way to Pajau, while sporadic fighting has also been reported in the village of Nam Sen Yang in Kachin State and in Tamonye, near Kutkai Township in Shan State.

Government troops have mounted three major assaults on this hill since Friday, the latest one this morning, when it sent a strong force of around 600 men in an effort to occupy it, said KIA Col Zau Raw, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.

We believe that these military operations show they intend to occupy Pajau. he added.

According to KIA spokesman La Nan, fighting continued today at all three locations, with heavy casualties reported at Lung Zep Kong, most of them on the Burmese side, as the KIA mowed down soldiers ordered to take the hill.

The government soldiers simply charged up the hill, leaving our soldiers with no option but to shoot them down, said La Nan, adding that there were at least 30 bodies scattered around the area following fighting over the weekend.

The KIA spokesman said that at least 82 armed clashes have taken place since June, when fighting broke out near Chinese-built hydropower plants in Bhamo Township, Kachin State, ending a 17-year-old ceasefire agreement between the two sides. Of these, 17 have occurred so far this month, he said.

Even before this incident, however, tension had been growing over the governments insistence that the 10,000-strong KIA join a Border Guard Force (BGF) under Burmese military commanda demand the KIA rejected outright.

During two subsequent rounds of peace talks, the government offered the KIA a chance to renew the 1994 ceasefire agreement, but rejected the groups demands for a political dialogue between all ethnic armed groups and Naypyidaw.

The government has since then apparently shelved the controversial BGF plan, recently renewing temporary ceasefire agreements with the 20,000-strong United Wa State Army, the largest ethnic armed group in Burma, and another its much smaller ally, the Mongla group, based near the Chinese border.

Asked if the KIA would accept a ceasefire if government dropped the BGF demand, as it did with the UWSA, La Nan said the group would not accept another temporary ceasefire without achieving its political rights.

With much of the recent fighting taking place near the Sino-Burmese border, there have been reports that hundreds of Chinese army troops have been stationed along the border to prevent an influx of refugees and to maintain control over Chinese territory.



Ethnic parties back Suu Kyi to contest election Ko Htwe
Irrawaddy: Mon 17 Oct 2011

The Nationalities Brotherhood which represents five ethnic parties has urged pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to form a legitimate political party to contest the 2015 general election.

The joint statement was issued on Saturday by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMRDP), the Phalon Sawaw Democratic Party, the Shan Nationalities Development Party (SNDP) and the Chin National Party.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Nai Ngwe Thein of the AMRDP said the group wanted to get behind Suu Kyi because she was best placed to exploit the common ground between different interest groups to challenge the government.

[Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] is currently involved in politics outside Parliament, but is not politically recognized. So I want her to register and to contest the election. To do this legally is better, said Nai Ngwe Thein.

If Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) register and return to political work it can be more effective in trying to achieve peace and national reconciliation, he added.

The Upper House will discuss a bill to amend the Political Parties Registration Law which currently stipulates that those convicted by a court and serving a jail term are not eligible to form a political party.

In March 2010, the NLD decided against registering for the general election and Suu Kyi has rejected her partys participation in future polls without amendments to the 2008 Constitution. However, she said the final decision will be left to her party.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said he thought the statement by the five ethnic parties urging Suu Kyi to contest coming elections strengthens the democratic opposition. But he declined to comment further on the issue as his party has not yet decided whether they will officially register.

Sao Hseng Merng of the SNDP told The Irrawaddy that Suu Kyi contesting the election would help Burma internationally and within Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but it is very important that she should not be taken advantage of by the government.

All the ethnic peoples both inside and outside Burma support her so the conflict would stop inside the country. I think she will never misuse the faith of the ethnic people, he added.

The Nationalities Brotherhood statement also welcomed the release of 6,359 prisoners including prisoners of conscience and urged the government to immediate release Hkun Htun Oo, Min Ko Naing, other ethnic and student leaders, plus all political prisoners without conditions.

The five ethnic parties also called for the government to form a peace committee with representatives from the five ethnic parties as well as experts and reputable persons to form a workshop focusing on peace and resolving ongoing armed conflicts in ethnic areas in eastern and northern Burma.



Reforming Myanmar looks to India for enlightenment Frank Jack Daniel
Reuters: Mon 17 Oct 2011

New Delhi Traditional dress for men in Myanmar combines an Indian-influenced sarong with a Chinese-style coat fitting, perhaps, for a nation trying to balance ties with two giant neighbours as it looks outwards and relaxes decades of tightly buttoned rule. Wedged between India to its west and China to its east, Myanmar will need to work hard on that balancing act as its military-backed government heads down the path of political reform to end the nations pariah status and revive its economy.

Throttled by Western sanctions, Myanmar has long relied on Beijing to keep it afloat with weapons, loans and infrastructure projects. But it is now courting India, too, to reduce its dependence on China, which many in the country see as a semi-colonial power.

Myanmar is hoping competition between the two Asian rivals will earn it a better deal for resources such as gas and access to the Indian Ocean from its shores, for which China has so far paid bottom-dollar.

There is an awareness they have a lot in common with two great nations, China and India, and they must learn to cooperate with both to derive the maximum benefit for themselves, said Lalit Mansingh, who was Indias foreign secretary when relations with Myanmar began to warm in the late 1990s.

Broadly speaking, that seems to be the plan.

Two weeks ago, Thein Sein, a retired general who in February became Myanmars first nominally civilian president in nearly 50 years, shocked Beijing by shelving a $3.6 billion dam project that would have supplied almost no domestic electricity and had come to epitomise the armys habit of kowtowing to China.

This week he visited India, the worlds largest democracy, for a state visit that began with a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya, the spot where the Buddha is said to have found enlightenment after meditating under a tree for three days and three nights.

OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA

When Myanmars government suspended the dam and went to India, it showed that it should not be underestimated, said Christopher Roberts, an Asia expert at Australias National Security College. It knows it has resources that many countries want and it is using this to full advantage.

Myanmars new assertiveness towards Beijing and desire to return to the fold of nations give India a rare chance to steal a march on China in the regional jostle for maritime power and energy supplies.

But red tape-bound Indias slow decision making and bureaucratic tangles mean it may fail to seize the moment.

The $110 million Sittwe port and transport hub it is building on Myanmars west coast is unfinished. Meanwhile, China plans to build a much larger deep-water port just a few miles away.

Our ability to execute projects on time needs improvements, said a well-informed official in the Indian government who declined to be named, noting Chinas better record on delivering promised projects.

It is the challenge, we lose out. We have a different political system, they have deep pockets, said the official.

Also known as Burma, Myanmars links with India stretch back for centuries, and both countries became independent from the British empire within a year of each other after World War Two. As Myanmar retreated into authoritarianism, however, it was rejected by its democratic neighbour and moved closer to China.

When India withdrew it caused a vacuum in Myanmar: others stepped in, especially China, said Mansingh.

India realised in the 1990s that Chinese investment in Myanmars military and infrastructure was giving Beijing a strategic advantage in the Southeast Asian nation, which straddles busy Bay of Bengal shipping lanes and has large energy reserves.

So India put its concerns about human rights abuses there to one side. Once an ardent supporter of the democracy icon and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who went to school and university in India, New Delhi quietly dropped its backing for her opposition party and began to court Myanmars junta.

Hungry for energy supplies to fuel one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies and wary of Chinas military and maritime expansion, India has for several years sold Myanmar military equipment and promised it roads and railways.

Until now, Myanmars response has been lukewarm. While it has clamped down on separatist militants seeking refuge from Indias restive northeast, it has so far refused to send any natural gas.

India has a 30 percent stake in two gas blocks in the offshore Shwe fields, but in 2007 Myanmar chose to sell the gas produced there to China via two huge pipelines.

STRING OF PEARLS

Myanmar is vital for Chinas strategy of finding short cuts to pull energy into its populous south. Both countries will continue to work together, but maybe on a more balanced footing.

India worries Chinas string of pearls projects to build ports in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan could lead to its naval encirclement across the Indian Ocean and up to the Arabian Sea. Reports of listening stations on Myanmars western coast and islands add to these fears.

Sein arrived in India hours after releasing about 200 political prisoners on Wednesday, part of a strategy aimed at ending Myanmars status as an outcast and the sanctions imposed on it by the United States and Europe.

The retired general met officials on Friday in New Delhi, which opposes sanctions while being a major ally of Myanmars fiercest critic, Washington.

I think they will find India very helpful in projecting their national interest to the rest of the world, said Mansingh.

For its part, India is looking for a stake in any opening-up of Myanmars gas fields and vast tracts of farmland.

Energy cooperation is quite extensive and is expected to increase, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, joint secretary at the foreign ministry, said in a briefing. The Myanmar government has put out tenders for additional onshore blocks for which Indian companies are also interested.

India may quietly take some of the credit for drawing Myanmar in from the cold. It says its policy of engagement and democracy promotion behind closed doors is more effective than Western governments public admonishments.

The last thing you want to do is wag your finger at a country publicly, said the government official. Try doing that with your children, let alone a fellow nation.

($1 = 49.125 Indian Rupees) (Additional reporting by Krittivas Mukherjee; Editing by John Chalmers and Nick Macfie)



Japan to restart development assistance to Myanmar
Ashai Shimbun: Mon 17 Oct 2011

Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba plans to announce the resumption of official development assistance (ODA) to Myanmar (Burma), which has been mostly suspended until now in response to the regimes anti-democratic actions, when he holds talks with his Myanmarese counterpart in Tokyo on Oct. 21.

Genba said on Oct. 14 he will meet with Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, which will mark the first time since 1995 that either a leader or a foreign minister of Myanmar will come to Japan on an official visit for a bilateral discussion.

The ministry plans to resume mutual visits by key government figures and make it clear that it wants to strengthen bilateral ties.

It is essential to support Myanmars reforms, a senior ministry official said.

The Myanmarese government began granting amnesty to thousands of inmates on Oct. 12, including hundreds of political prisoners, but the international community is yet to decide its response to the move.

Japans foreign ministry released a statement on Oct. 14 saying, We appreciate the move as a concrete step toward democratization and national reconciliation.

During the upcoming talks, Japan plans to propose reinforced cooperation in four fields: exchanges of personnel, ODA, economic relations and cultural exchange. With regard to ODA, Japan is to announce the resumption of both the rehabilitation of the Baluchaung No. 2 hydro power plant, which was suspended after democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, as well as the construction of the Myanmar-Japan Center for Human Resources Development, which was suspended after anti-government demonstrations were suppressed in 2007. Japan plans to begin on-site surveys by the end of this fiscal year.

However, several pro-democracy groups in both Japan and overseas have argued that Japan should act more cautiously and confirm whether democratization is truly under way before taking action.



How far can Burma bend for change? Peter Hartcher
Sydney Morning Herald: Mon 17 Oct 2011

One of the worlds most famous champions of freedom, Burmas Aung San Suu Kyi, spent most of the past 21 years under house arrest, considered a pariah by the military dictators who cancelled elections, shut down free speech and cut Burma off from the democratic world.

A year ago it was forbidden to print her name in a newspaper. But now, the long-suffering Nobel peace prize winner is not only allowed her freedom, she was invited to a well-publicised dinner with the President and his wife. The beginning of a liberalisation in one of Asias most repressive countries, or a manipulative gimmick to trick the world into easing tough sanctions?

When Suu Kyi was released last November and the first democratic elections in 19 years were held, nobody believed that there was serious reform under way in the country that now calls itself Myanmar, population 55 million.

The elections were held under a new constitution that gives the military permanent dominance. As expected, pro-military parties won overwhelmingly. The whole exercise was dismissed by Western governments as a fraud. The ageing military dictator, General Than Shwe, handed power to a slightly younger former general, Thein Sein, in March, and nobody paid much attention.

The new President gave his inaugural address to Parliament declaring his intention to fight poverty, curtail corruption, end armed conflicts and achieve political reconciliation. But he was given about as much credence as the Chinas constitutional guarantees of democratic freedom.

But reforms have been flowing fast. The press has been freed up somewhat. Access to foreign news websites such as the BBC has been allowed. Suu Kyi has been allowed to travel and speak freely and widely and in security. A satirist who had bedevilled the regime for years, and been jailed for even longer, was released. Foreign journalists have been granted unprecedented access.

The UNs special envoy to Burma, Tomas Quintana, had been banned from the country after last year calling for a UN special inquiry into whether the regime was guilty of crimes against humanity. This year, he was not only allowed back and given all the access he asked for, the regime even took his advice and created a human rights commission. Remarkably, the commission has since issued a call for the release of political prisoners.

In July, Australias Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, told President Thein Sein this would be the single most transformative step the regime could take to signal serious intent of political reform.

Thein Sein has now released some 200 to 220 political prisoners, according to the best estimate of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. About another 1800 remain, however, and activists are unconvinced: Such amnesties are not new, Zetty Brake, of Burma Campaign Australia, says. In the past, these releases have never been an indicator that change is on the way. They have been used by the dictatorship to try and secure positive publicity in order to ease international pressure.

The question of political prisoners will remain an acid test of regime intentions, and yet, with each passing day, it is becoming harder to sustain the argument that change in Burma is tokenistic.

State pensions for nearly a million people, mostly poor, have increased dramatically. Microfinance, the system for giving loans of as little as $20 or $100 to the very poor to allow them to start small ventures such as breeding chickens or opening stalls, has been legalised. Trade unions, long banned, have been legalised, a momentous policy decision according to the International Labour Organisations representative in Burma, Steve Marshall.

Some reforms have been previously unimaginable in the words of a Burmese historian and former UN official, Thant Myint. What were seeing today is Myanmars best chance in half a century for a better future, he argues.

One of the previously unimaginable decisions to emerge from Burma was the suspension of a $US3.6 billion project, financed by China, to build a major dam across the Irrawaddy River. This is a touchstone for both Burmas domestic politics and its international strategy and diplomacy. Certainly for China, Burmas biggest trading partner and chief ally and protector, this is a very serious matter.

It was not only the terms of the announcement. Thein Sein said in a note to the parliament that he was suspending construction for the duration of his term to 2015 because the dam was being built against the will of the people. Since when had anything been done in Burma according to the will of the people?

It was also the importance of the project. The dam was to generate 6000 megawatts of electricity, 90 per cent of which was to flow across the border to China. So, too, according to activist groups, were 70 per cent of the profits. Beijing is unimpressed at this abrupt change in Burmas priorities. Its foreign ministry has expressed hope that any decisions on the project will be made in consultation with China.

For the Burmese people, it is one of the most potent political issues. The Myitsone Dam would have drowned fertile rice paddies, dislocated tens of thousands of ethnic Kachin people, and destroyed sites that archaeologists claim are the most important for understanding the origins of Burmese history and culture.

Thein Sein appears to have sided decisively with his people against Beijing. This seems the hardest evidence yet that he is not just an extension of the old repression but a new force seeking popular support and political legitimacy.

The world is now paying serious attention. The new US special envoy to Myanmar, Derek Mitchell, said if they take steps, we will take steps to demonstrate that we are supportive of the path to reform.

Washington is now moving to improve diplomatic relations, but not yet to lift sanctions.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have long refused to aid Burma. Rudd told the Herald that its well worth reconsidering engagement with Burma for the two biggest international lenders, but Australia was not yet ready to reconsider its own sanctions on Burma.

How far can Thein Sein go in offering Burma some real hope for freedom and prosperity? How far will Burmas military allow him to go? The world is pleasantly surprised but, like Suu Kyi herself, wary: Id like to see a few more turns before I decide whether or not the wheels are moving along.

* Peter Hartcher is the international editor.



CSW urges international community to address impunity and maintain pressure for real change
Christian Solidarity Worldwide: Mon 17 Oct 2011

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today called on the international community to maintain pressure on the regime in Burma to implement significant and substantial change, release all political prisoners, stop war crimes and crimes against humanity and end impunity. CSW also urges the United Nations to adopt measures to address violations of international law and ensure justice and accountability in the forthcoming General Assembly resolution on Burma. In his report to the UN General Assembly, released last week, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, reiterated his call for a commission of inquiry into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. An investigation, he argues, is not only an obligation but would deter future violations and provide avenues of redress for victims.

Since President Thein Sein took office on 30 March, at least 30 cases of rape and sexual violence perpetrated by Burma Army soldiers have been reported, and the International Labour Organisation has received over 400 complaints of the forced recruitment of child soldiers. The regime has launched a new offensive against the Kachin ethnic people, breaking a 17-year ceasefire, while continuing attacks on civilians in other parts of the country, including Karen and Shan states, and severe violations of human rights in Chin, Arakan and Mon states. At least 35 civilians have been killed in ethnic states, and the widespread and systematic use of forced labour, forced displacement, religious persecution and torture continues.

On 12 October 6,359 prisoners were released, of whom only 220 were political prisoners. Almost 2,000 political prisoners remain in prison. CSW urges the Burmese regime to recognise the existence of political prisoners, erase the criminal records of activists wrongly charged under criminal law, and announce an unconditional general amnesty for all political prisoners. In particular, CSW reiterates its call for the release of 88 General leaders Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Ko Mya Aye, Shan National League for Democracy (SNLD) leader Khun Htun Oo, and U Gambira, a Buddhist monk who helped lead the 2007 pro-democracy demonstrations. CSW also urges the regime to relocate prisoners currently in remote jails to prisons closer to their families prior to their release, so that they can be reunited with their families more easily and quickly.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should be provided unrestricted access to prisons to assess the conditions, meet prisoners and provide assistance. The regime should also open unhindered access for humanitarian organisations to all parts of the country.

CSWs East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, President Thein Sein has made a few encouraging gestures, taken a few symbolic steps and adopted some reformist rhetoric. Such steps, such as meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, suspending the construction of the Myitsone dam and releasing 220 political prisoners, are in themselves welcome and should be encouraged, but they fall well short of amounting to meaningful change. President Thein Sein now needs to match his rhetoric and gestures with significant and substantive action. If real change is to occur in Burma, the regime must release all political prisoners, stop violations of international law, declare a nationwide ceasefire and enter into a meaningful dialogue with the ethnic nationalities and the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi towards national reconciliation. Until these steps occur, the international community must maintain pressure, and consider measures in the General Assembly resolution on Burma for addressing violations of international law, ensuring justice and accountability, and ending impunity.

* Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

Notes to Editors:
1. In his report to the General Assembly, available here: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/66/365, the UN Special Rapporteur expressed concern that a pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights has existed for many years and continues today, although a new political system is being established. He emphasised that justice and accountability measures, as well as measures to ensure access to the truth, are essential. While responsibility for ending impunity lies primarily with the new regime in Burma, if it fails to investigate crimes, the international community has a responsibility to act. He reiterated his recommendation for the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into gross and systematic human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity and/or war crimes.
2. The 88 Generation Students Group includes student leaders who took part in Burmas pro-democracy protests in 1988. Those from the Group who are currently detained in Burma have some of the longest prison sentences of all Burmese political prisoners.



India opens US$ 500 mil credit line for Burmese infrastructure, irrigation projects Ko Pauk
Mizzima News: Fri 14 Oct 2011

New Delhi The Indian government announced a US $ 500 million credit line for developmental projects and agreed to expand security cooperation with Burma. At the conclusion of Burmese President Thein Seins four-day visit, Burmese and Indian leaders also agreed to strengthen economic, agricultural, energy, education and security ties.

The Indo-Asian News Service reported on its website that the leaders issued a joint statement in which: The prime minister of India congratulated the president of Myanmar on the transition towards democratic government and offered all necessary assistance in further strengthening this democratic transition.

The two leaders reiterated the assurance that the territory of either would not be allowed for activities inimical to the other and resolved not to allow their respective territory to be used for training, sanctuary and other operations by terrorists and insurgent organizations and their operatives, the joint statement said.

In September, during a visit by Burmas Commerce Minister Win Myint, the two countries agreed to double bilateral trade to US$ 3 billion by 2015.

The $500 million credit line follows a similar $300 million scheme last year. A portion of the money will be used on infrastructure projects involving irrigation, the statement said. India buys most of Burmas agricultural exports and wants its neighbour to raise output further by planting on idle land.

On Tuesday, The Times of India newspaper reported that Indian Maoist rebels, popularly known as Naxalites, had a plan to open training camps inside Burmese territory within weeks, according to seized documents. The Indian papers reported that at least eight Indian rebel groups were taking shelter in Burmese territory.

According to an Indian government report, Indian Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Shri Praful Patel and Burmese Minister of Industry No.2 Soe Thein held discussions about mutually beneficial collaboration between Indian and Burmese companies and industries, in an effort to forge closer ties.

India has been wooing Burma through cooperation in joint energy projects involving oil and natural gas, infrastructure projects and strengthening security cooperation, in an effort to counter the dominant influence of China within Burma. China is scheduled to become the recipient of oil and natural gas, which will pass through a pipeline stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the Sino-Burmese border. It is also financing the construction of at least seven dams on tributaries of the Irrawaddy River.

Observers say India is courting Burma in an effort to balance Chinese influence in the country, which is a natural geographic buffer between the two countries.

The Voice of America reported on Thursday that Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said New Delhi was pleased that ties with Burma are gaining momentum.

Relationships are a process, it is a building process and I consciously did note that both in terms of content and substance and the sweep of the relationship, certainly its an upwards trajectory, there is no doubt about that, he said.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Indian ties with Burma range from security, trade, energy, and infrastructure development, to education and agriculture. He said roads and a port being developed by India in Burma would give the remote northeastern Indian states easier access to port facilities and boost their economic development.



Myanmar engagement bearing fruit Abdul Khalik
The Jakarta Post: Fri 14 Oct 2011

Skeptics can call it cosmetic change, but the positive trend in Myanmar has prompted many to score a victory for ASEANs constructive engagement after years of tireless effort from Indonesia, the current chair of the 10-member group.

This week, the Myanmarese government released some 200 political detainees in a general amnesty for 6,359 prisoners, eased some media controls and held further dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Myanmars current government was also the result of a general election, although many dismissed it as a sham.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi was freed after 15 years of house arrest last year and was allowed to travel throughout the country.

Although some say the progress in Myanmar is simply because the country wants to be ASEAN chair in 2014, I believe there are more fundamental changes happening, said University of Indonesia international relations expert Hariyadi Wirawan.

He said the gradual change in Myanmar had proven to the international community that the constructive engagement pushed by ASEAN and championed by Indonesia in lieu of the embargo proposed by Western countries, has worked.

Now, ASEAN and Indonesia must maintain their momentum and continue pushing for more inclusive and transparent governance, he said.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Michael Tene also welcomed the progress, stressing that the changes had come from within the country and Myanmars government.

We are pleased to see the development in the country in the recent years, he said.

However, critics have said that the changes in Myanmar were only gestures to appease ASEAN countries ahead of the ASEAN summit in November in Bali, where Myanmars proposal that it serve as ASEAN chair in 2014 instead of 2016 as scheduled, will be decided.

The political prisoners were also released prior to Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawas visit to inspect the progress of democratization in the country and its readiness to chair and host a series of ASEAN meetings.

Pak Marty will visit Myanmar at the end of this month to survey the developments in the country, which will be presented as a report at the November summit, Michael said.

During the May summit in Jakarta, Myanmar officially lobbied to be ASEAN chair in 2014 instead of 2016, swapping with Laos.

However, some ASEAN members have been reluctant, concerned that Myanmars chairmanship in 2014 would hamper ASEANs target of becoming a fully fledged community by 2015.



Democratic reform in Myanmar provides opportunity for India Sunrita Sen
Deustche Presse Agentur: Fri 14 Oct 2011

New Delhi Democratic reforms in Myanmar have made it easier for India, the worlds largest democracy, to engage with its smaller neighbour, until recently a military dictatorship.

Mineral and oil-rich Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-kilometre border with Indias north-eastern states, has always had the potential to be an important business partner and a key gateway for India to South East Asia.

It is also a country of key strategic importance in view of Chinas growing influence in the region, as well as being a security issue since it serves as a natural shelter for rebel groups operating in Indias north-east.

For years, India has had to fine-tune its policy towards Myanmar, balancing engagement with the military junta and its poor record of human rights with its support for pro-democracy activists and their leader Aung San Syu Ki.

President Thein Seins four-day visit to India against a backdrop of the current democratic reforms in Myanmar has provided India an opportunity to push forward its engagement to its true potential, Indian diplomats say.

There are winds of change in Myanmar, Indias former ambassador to Yangon, Aloke Sen said, listing the recent reform measures release of prisoners, gestures of goodwill towards Syu Ki, freer debate in parliament, more freedom for the media, moves to bring transparency to an opaque business sector.

But given the juntas record and that the current government is packed with former generals including Thein Sein, is the democratic transition sustainable?

Doubt over sustainability is legitimate, given Myanmars past. But in India, we must take the shifting winds for real these developments are both a challenge and an opportunity and fine-tune our policy, Sen said.

The diplomat, who spent years in Yangon, feels Thein Sein is sincere in his desire for change.

But the situation in Myanmar is very complex. There are so many fault lines, ethnic, social issues. There have been so many years of distortion, the new leader has the will but not everything is in his hands, Sen said.

Indias pragmatic position on Myanmar over the past decade may well yield dividends today. The direct talks with Thein Sein Friday would help immensely, diplomatic sources said.

While engaging with Myanmars military dictatorship to improve transport links and oil and gas exploration, Indian officials and leaders have for years been quietly telling the generals that in todays world, violence against monks or journalists and continued detention of political prisoners would have a deeply regressive impact, diplomatic sources said.

India has also always maintained that sanctions are not the way forward.

We always believe that sanctions do not serve the desired purpose and they affect those sections of society which are as it is vulnerable, Indias Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said during a briefing Thursday.

For its part, Myanmar, engaged in its own balancing with the other major power in the region, China, has always been keen on upgrading relations with India.

Myanmars military has responded positively to Indian requests to raid rebel camps located across the border and in recent years has encouraged investment in the oil and gas sector.

China, which has a privileged relationship with Myanmar, helping it economically at crisis points, may soon face competition as more and more nations rethink sanctions as and if reforms progress.

But China is unlikely to be usurped as Myanmars pre-eminent external partner in the near future.

Myanmar recently suspended a controversial Chinese dam project in the north, but has announced that vice president Tin Aung Myint Oo would be visiting Beijing end-October, possibly to explain the decision.

Sen said Myanmar would need both its powerful neighbours, India and China, to make a quantum leap and transition, both economically and politically.

But the recent democratic transition process has given relations with India an upward trajectory both in terms of content and substance, Indian diplomats say.

Perhaps most telling of the winds of change was the reaction of pro-democracy protesters in New Delhi. Over the past years, visits to India by Myanmars military leaders have been greeted with strong protests from these activists, but this time around the reaction was somewhat muted.

Tint Swe, one of the coordinators of the protests, said, This visit is a bit different. This president is not attracting as much attention as Than Shwe. They are doing cosmetic changes, we have to wait and watch, see if they are permanent, if more steps follow.



Time to lift Myanmar sanctions Editorial
The Straits Times (Singapore): Fri 14 Oct 2011

THERE is some basis for scepticism surrounding Myanmars recent release of 300 political prisoners. The move still leaves about 2,000 behind bars. There is no assurance that it is not a shadow play to secure the 2014 Asean chairmanship. In the months ahead, hardliners in the military will also resist any form of political reform that would compromise their positions. Weary Myanmar watchers will also point out that previous reform and openings were only followed by subsequent crackdowns. This time, however, the scope and depth of the reforms have been sweeping, and warrant a serious look. The release comes in the wake of the governments increasing dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,

growing tolerance of criticism and calls for peace with ethnic minority groups. In November, the country held historic (albeit stage-managed) elections and released Ms Suu Kyi. Even the governments press censor has suggested that he put himself out of commission, given that censorship of the press is not in harmony with democratic practices. Such a stab at reform is bold indeed in the Myanmar context.

This is where the West needs to play a role. For the longest time, the United States, Europe and Australia have said that the freeing of political prisoners is an essential step for the lifting of the vise of sanctions on Myanmar. No doubt, only a fraction of Myanmars political prisoners were released, but the move issuing as it does from the broader context of political reform is certainly a step in the right direction. Last month, Myanmar suspended the construction of a China-backed dam worth US$3.6 billion (S$4.6 billion) a move that could signal it wants the West to play a significant role in the country, no matter how useful China is as a strategic ally and investor.

It has already been proven quite conclusively that using punitive sanctions to change the behaviour of targeted states is ineffective. In Myanmars case, sanctions have only made the junta more obdurate, lined the pockets of well-connected leaders and adversely affected the countrys poor. As the International Crisis Group contends in a recent report, sanctions have encouraged a siege mentality among Myanmars leadership and harmed ordinary Myanmarese. A faster pace of political change as evidenced in Myanmar this year would only undermine the case for sanctions, it argued.

In January, Asean was right on the money when it called on the West to lift the sanctions on Myanmar. Nine months is a long time in politics, and Myanmar has already gone a long way to show its sincerity. It is time for the West to reconsider.



New law gives Burmese right to strike Joseph Allchin
Democratic Voice of Burma: Thu 13 Oct 2011

A new labour law signed this week by Burmas president is a massive move for the country, which has long been beset by severe restrictions on the rights to strike and unionise, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Deputy Labour Minister Myint Thein confirmed to DVB today that President Thein Sein had passed the labour organisation bill into law the day before yesterday [and] after 14 days it can be implemented for labour organisation.

The passing of the law brings to an end the draconian 1962 Trade Unions Act that effectively banned all trade unions in the country. Burmese workers can now legally go on strike, with the proviso that if they work in the private sector they give three days notice, and if in a public utility, 14 days.

Speaking to DVB before the bill received the presidents signature, Steve Marshall, the country director for the ILO, said that we have to say it is a massive move for the country in terms of the social development, and frankly, economic development.

You dont join unions to simply be in a club you join unions for collective bargaining and proper economic management of the labour market.

The bill allows for the formation of unions with a minimum size of 30 people, which members can join or leave of their own desire. Workers can legally go on strike and protest for workers rights as long as it does not block transport or security infrastructure.

Unions will have to register with a national registrar appointed by the President, a condition that has caused some concern for the exiled Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB), although Marshall noted that this was common in other countries.

It will help us get more benefits for the economy because our labour organisation law means they can organise according to their will and our government transparency will attract foreign countries and therefore FDI [foreign direct investment] can flow freely, Myint Thein told DVB.

The bill however includes severe penalties for employers who breach its regulations, including a ban on the dismissal of a worker for his membership in a labour organisation for the exercise of organisational activities or participating in a strike in accordance with the law.

If an employer breaches such legislation, they could on conviction, face a fine of up to 100,000 kyat ($US120) or up to a year in prison, or both.

Workers in essential services however will not legally be allowed to go on strike, or if the strike is deemed to have endangered the health or life of people

Such laws will obviously hinge on the judiciary, which has arguably failed in upholding laws designed to protect children from, among other things, conscription into the military, despite Burmas ratification of the UN convention on the rights of the child. One stumbling block is the militarys immunity from prosecution in a civilian court, which is guaranteed in the 2008 constitution.

However, Myint Thein asserted that we must implement by the labour organisation rules; after that we can implement according to the laws.

Marshall continued: As in every other country there will be unions associated with political groupings which, he said, would be normal and expected as long as there is no pressure being placed on people to join particular unions. As a result the ILO believes that educating workers on their rights will be important.

The bill has already passed in Burmas two national parliaments after being submitted to the upper house on 29 August after drafting ended.



Myanmar tycoons riches grow amid sanctions
Al Jazeera: Thu 13 Oct 2011

Tay Za remains South-east Asian nations richest man despite being banned from trading with the EU.Tay Za is known as Myanmars richest businessman, although he says he is not.

An entrepreneur whose companies employ more than 60,000 people in the South-east Asian nation, Tay Za has continued to make money despite sanctions that prevent him from doing business with the European Union.

With leading dissident Aung San Suu Kyi saying the sanctions should remain until democratic values take hold in Myanmar, many are wondering they they have hurt people like Tay Za at all.



The Burma conspiracy: Sanctions debate intensifies
France 24: Thu 13 Oct 2011

The signs were clear the night I took my first stroll through the then Burmese capital of Rangoon and they were in red. Gay Chinese lanterns dangled outside restaurants, neon signs in Chinese characters shone from street corners. Buntings and door tassels in red and gold swished in the mild coastal winter breeze. A famished visitor that night was more likely to chance upon Yunnan rice noodles a staple of the Chinese province bordering Burma than khau-swe, the Burmese condiment-speckled, noodles-in-broth concoction.

That was back in 2004, four years after Chinese businessmen in Rangoon allegedly lit firecrackers to celebrate the 2000 US Congress vote to extend Chinas PNTR (Permanent Normal Trade Relations) status.

Im not sure if its true I wasnt there but I heard that story so often in Burma that I figured there was a message in the sheer scale of retelling.

The irony of celebrating a US Congressional bilateral trade vote in sanctions-hit Burma was rich. My embarrassingly plush Rangoon hotel, for instance, could not honor US or European credit cards. Guests had to pay for their rooms in cash.

Chinese businessmen in Burma however had no such problems.

The 1990s economic reforms had parted the Bamboo Curtain shrouding a nation that was, for decades, hermeneutically sealed by the Burmese Way of Socialism a paranoid, isolationist national policy.

The Burma-China border was reopened, Chinese businessmen were flocking into Burma, and their government had snagged massive infrastructure agreements and arms deals with the Burmese military junta.

I was in town with a group of four other US journalists on a rare UN-sponsored fellowship. Foreign journalists do not easily obtain visas to Burma and I havent revisited the hauntingly beautiful Southeast Asian nation since.

But when I encounter anyone who has just returned from Burma, I invariably grill them for stories and insights of their trip.

From their accounts I gathered that the Chinese influence is growing in Rangoon, with Chinese goods flooding the markets and new shopping malls. As for Mandalay the second-largest city with a blessedly exotic name it has turned totally Chinese, Ive been told.

Solutions for the Malacca Dilemma

Burma, a resource-rich, yet impoverished country with which China shares a 2,185-kilometer border, is enormously useful for resource-hungry, fast-developing China.

On the geostrategic front, Burmas importance was highlighted in 2003, when Chinese President Hu Jintao publicly used the term, Malacca Dilemma a China policy wonk phrase to describe the marine chokepoint near Singapore through which 80 percent of Chinas oil imports pass.
Chinese officials have long worried that any conflict around the Malacca Strait could cut off their foreign oil supplies. The answer, strategists note, would be a land access, via Burma, to the warm water ports of the Bay of Bengal.

All this makes India, another rising Asian power on Burmas western border, ill with worry. But official Indian foreign policy is as ineffectual as Chinas is organized and although New Delhi has been opening up to the powers-that-be in Naypyidaw, Indian influence is a dull opening act to Chinas rock-star draw.

More than a decade after the US and Europe slapped economic sanctions on Burma following the militarys crackdown after the 1990 elections, the West had lost the game to China. That was evident.

What was less evident though, was how ordinary Burmese viewed Chinas growing influence. From my conversations in Rangoon and the northern Burmese state of Shan, all I got was a sense of polite Burmese indifference. The Chinese? Oh yes, theyre everywhere. No, Chinese investments have not changed our lives for better or worse. The Chinese businessmen are just doing their thing, hiring their people, working hard, making money as you would expect them to

But then its not easy getting a journalistic pulse of a nation ruled by an all-seeing, repressive military junta, and so I left it at that and proceeded to spend the next few years covering the usual hotspots.

Damning a dam, releasing prisoners

Imagine my surprise over last weeks news that Burma had shelved a Chinese $3.6 billion dam project that many Burmese opposed.

Bowing to unprecedented domestic opposition, Burmas newly-appointed President Thein Sein announced that he was following the will of the people by stopping the controversial Myitsone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River in Burmas northernmost Kachin state.

Apparently many ordinary Burmese are a lot more resistant to ecologically damaging projects that solely benefit China than they led me to believe or maybe the opposition has been mounting over the past seven years.

Theres been a slow drum-roll of reforms since President Thein Sein, a retired senior army officer, took office in March.

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was released last year after 15 years of house arrest. Thein Sein, a retired military man who is nevertheless Burmas first civilian head-of-state in half a century, has started a cautious dialogue with Suu Kyi, the biggest thorn in the juntas side.

On Tuesday, the Burmese government announced it would release more than 6,300 prisoners in a mass prison amnesty. The news was greeted with cautious optimism, with activists wondering whether Burmese political prisoners such as popular comedian and dissident Zarganar would be released.

Wednesday dawned and the first batch of released prisoners featured prominent dissidents, including Zarganar and Buddhist monk Shin Gambira, a leader of the All-Burmese Monks Alliance.

Once again, cautious optimism greeted Wednesdays news, with some representatives of Burmese rights groups in exile warning that the junta had a hidden agenda to appear credible and respectable to the international community ahead of Burmas bid for ASEANs rotating presidency in 2014.

All this sounded very familiar.

When I was in Burma back in 2004, the chatter was dominated by the juntas image-dressing ahead of the 2005 ASEAN presidency. We even wondered, in a pathetic display of self-importance, if our Burmese visas were part of the juntas public relations drive to secure that chair.

In the end it didnt matter of course. Faced with the likelihood of Malaysia blocking the bid, Burma withdrew its candidacy.

To go or not to go, thats the question

What is new though, is the change in Western discourse on Burmas economic sanctions.

Over the past few years, theres been a greater awareness of the shortcomings of the sanctions policy, International Crisis Groups Asia Program Director Robert Templer told me in a phone interview from the US. The international community has realized that the isolation has pushed Burma into the hands of the Chinese.

But dont expect the sanctions debate to go uncontested. This issue has been raging for a while now and theres a very vocal, very organized section of the Burmese human rights community opposing any talk of re-thinking the economic sanctions.

While Western governments have not gone so far as to impose a travel ban on Burma, theres a lobby discouraging tourists from visiting the land of the golden stupas.

My battered old Lonely Planet Burma guide had a chapter on whether tourists should travel to Burma that extensively featured the London-based Burma Campaign UK. It was so blunt and forbidding, I had visions of my dollars fattening the inscrutable generals pockets as they lorded over starving forced laborers.

But that, it seems, was too soft for some UK-based groups. In 2008, the TUC (Trade Union Congress) along with Burma Campaign UK and a few other groups launched an online campaign calling for the boycott of Lonely Planets Burma guide, claiming travel to the Southeast Asian nation was unethical and helped prop up the military.

Make no mistake, the Burmese military junta is a nasty piece of work. But the sanctions have not reduced their nastiness. Why should it when China is around the corner, ready to provide invaluable economic aid and political support at the UN?

Everybody I spoke to in Burma, to a man, told me the sanctions were defeating its purpose and they should be lifted because it was very difficult to make ends meet.

Does that mean you disagree with The Lady? I asked, using the popular Burmese way of referring to Suu Kyi.

My Burmese interlocutors would invariably look pained and proceed to lecture me on the greatness of The Lady.

But she does not support the lifting of sanctions, I pursued ruthlessly, and I respect The Lady we all do. Should I be telling my audiences not to respect her views on the sanctions and travel to Burma?

Quiet squirming seconds later, I would get an answer that basically went: Look, we respect The Lady, but on the sanctions and tourism issue, shes been too intransigent, which we can understand from a woman who has made such sacrifices for her country. But honestly, believe me, we need tourists, we need anything that will enable us to engage with the world. The military isnt going anywhere, we need to be realistic, we need reforms, not isolation.

Shortly after I returned from Burma, when a couple of friends asked my opinion about whether they should go to Burma, my response was an honest, I really dont know.

But since then, Ive read two highly recommended books by Thant MyintU, a former UN official who also happens to be the grandson of U Thant, the respected former UN Secretary General, who ran afoul with then Burmese dictator Ne Win before dying of lung cancer in New York.

Thant MyintU was a former supporter of the sanctions, but he now calls them counterproductive and dangerous.

To be sure, MyintU has a number of vociferous detractors on the Web who accuse him of not knowing Burma. But Ive read The River of Lost Footsteps and his recent, Where China Meets India and I think hes spot-on.

Even the Lonely Planet Should You Go chapter now is much more nuanced than it used to be. Many locals point out that over the past decade and a half the tourism sector has become increasingly privatized visitors can now choose from several hundred private hotels and keep up to 80 percent of expenses in private hands, it says.

The other day, a friend of mine told me he was planning a trip to Burma, but he wasnt so sure because of the ethical issues he explained. My answer was a prompt, Just shut-up and go.


_______________________________________________
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#907 From: Center For JustPeace Mindanao <centerforjustpeace@...>
Date: Sun Oct 23, 2011 11:28 pm
Subject: A STATEMENT CALLING FOR COOLNESS AND SOBRIETY IN LIGHT OF BASILAN CARNAGE
centerforjus...
Send Email Send Email
 
Dear Freinds;

Attached hereto is the CSO Statement "A Call for sobriety and coolness" for
GPH-MILF in the light of the Basilan carnage. Be informed also that same is distributed to
print, broadcast, TV and on line media and I myself has been interviewed by some 
media outlet locally. We are also contemplating to have an operation dikit in cotabato city and
nearby environs.
 
ABDULBASIT R. BENITO
Executive Director
Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace Inc.







"We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights."


-----

4 of 4 Photo(s)

#908 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:12 am
Subject: Re: A STATEMENT CALLING FOR COOLNESS AND SOBRIETY IN LIGHT OF BASILAN CARNAGE [4 Attachments]
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
Thanks for sending this statement.  I will share it through our network.  I pray that this will not lead to more bloodshed.  Violence can be instigated to easily but sobriety and coolness take much hard work.  I do pray that sobriety and coolness will prevail and a positive peace process developed so that the violence may come to an end.
 
Max

On Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 6:28 AM, Center For JustPeace Mindanao <centerforjustpeace@...> wrote:
 
[Attachment(s) from Center For JustPeace Mindanao included below]

Dear Freinds;

Attached hereto is the CSO Statement "A Call for sobriety and coolness" for
GPH-MILF in the light of the Basilan carnage. Be informed also that same is distributed to
print, broadcast, TV and on line media and I myself has been interviewed by some 
media outlet locally. We are also contemplating to have an operation dikit in cotabato city and
nearby environs.
 
ABDULBASIT R. BENITO
Executive Director
Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace Inc.







"We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights."


-----




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#909 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:15 am
Subject: Fwd: A STATEMENT CALLING FOR COOLNESS AND SOBRIETY IN LIGHT OF BASILAN CARNAGE [4 Attachments]
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
Dear Bobby:
 
Thanks for sending this statement.  I will share it through our network.  I pray that this will not lead to more bloodshed.  Violence can be instigated to easily but sobriety and coolness take much hard work.  I do pray that sobriety and coolness will prevail and a positive peace process developed so that the violence may come to an end.
 
Max

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Center For JustPeace Mindanao <centerforjustpeace@...>
Date: Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 6:28 AM
Subject: [justpeaceinasia] A STATEMENT CALLING FOR COOLNESS AND SOBRIETY IN LIGHT OF BASILAN CARNAGE [4 Attachments]
To: "pamana_mindanao@..." <pamana_mindanao@...>, Abigail Dela Cruz <ardelacruz@...>, Ann Arnado <mary_arnado@...>, Avigail Olarte <avigail.olarte@...>, apple oreta <appleoreta@...>, "bc.justpeace@..." <bc.justpeace@...>, "building-bridges-mindanao@yahoogroups.com" <building-bridges-mindanao@yahoogroups.com>, carlo Cleofe <carlovcleofe@...>, Dinky Soliman <dinky@...>, Max Ediger <justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com>, "internationalsolidarity_mindanao@yahoogroups.com" <internationalsolidarity_mindanao@yahoogroups.com>, "invisiblelink@yahoogroups.com" <invisiblelink@yahoogroups.com>, Raissa Jajurie <tambansaligan@...>, "kiloskapayapaan@googlegroups.com" <kiloskapayapaan@googlegroups.com>, "mediamentors@yahoogroups.com" <mediamentors@yahoogroups.com>, "mindanao1081@yahoogroups.com" <mindanao1081@yahoogroups.com>, "mindanaomedia@yahoogroups.com" <mindanaomedia@yahoogroups.com>, "mindanaopeoplescaucus@yahoogroups.com" <mindanaopeoplescaucus@yahoogroups.com>, "PAKAT-Nationwide@yahoogroups.com" <PAKAT-Nationwide@yahoogroups.com>, "probefound@..." <probefound@...>, "sob_mindanao@yahoogroups.com" <sob_mindanao@yahoogroups.com>, "tiyakapkawagib@..." <tiyakapkawagib@...>, "wbbanzali@..." <wbbanzali@...>


 
[Attachment(s) from Center For JustPeace Mindanao included below]

Dear Freinds;

Attached hereto is the CSO Statement "A Call for sobriety and coolness" for
GPH-MILF in the light of the Basilan carnage. Be informed also that same is distributed to
print, broadcast, TV and on line media and I myself has been interviewed by some 
media outlet locally. We are also contemplating to have an operation dikit in cotabato city and
nearby environs.
 
ABDULBASIT R. BENITO
Executive Director
Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace Inc.







"We will not enjoy security without development, we will not enjoy development without security, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights."


-----




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#910 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:10 am
Subject: Course flyers of PDI-SL
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
Friends:  below is some information about a program in Sri Lanka.  This is not an ICF program so if you want to apply or have questions, contact them directly........max

Sign up now for PDI-SL's annual Professional Training Programme;
residential courses, with an integrated field component, designed for
practitioners and led by experts. For further information please email
info@... or go to our website at www.pdisl.org Limited
scholarships are available.




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


2 of 2 File(s)


#911 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Sat Oct 29, 2011 1:17 am
Subject: Special wishes
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
This is the time of Hajj for the Muslem community.  I wish all friends a very meaningful time as they reflect on the meaning of the Hajj and experience its blessings.
 
Max

--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


1 of 1 Photo(s)

#912 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Tue Nov 1, 2011 9:19 am
Subject: Fwd: Urgent Appeal (6) - INDIA
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 

 

HOTLINE ASIA

URGENT APPEALS
 
UA111031(6)
Protect the Victims of POSCO Mining Project - INDIA
31 October 2011
 
 
Summary
On 26 September 2011, villagers from Govindpur and Dhinkia, Orissa of Eastern India, were attacked by around 400 people when they gathered to protest against the mining project by POSCO - India Private Limited (POSCO).  The mob came in 10 trucks and hurled stones at the protestors who could only resist with sticks.  Consequently, 30 villagers were injured, three seriously hurt.   The injured dared not to seek treatment outside the village, for fear of being arrested by police.  It is alleged that the mob was sent by Paradeep Paribahan, an Indian company contracted by POSCO to construct the coastal road.
 
POSCO - India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Pohang Steel Limited of South Korea, was expected to be the largest foreign investment project in India.  The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) gave POSCO a final forest clearance to commence the construction on 2 May 2011, despite breach of laws in India and foreseeable damage to the forest.  Among the objections to the Project were reports from committees constituted by the MoEF itself.  (More in the “Background”. )
*** Please respond before 31 November 2011***
 
Action Requested
The attack on 26 September 2011 is only an incident in the villagers’ long term struggle.  The villagers continue the protest at the construction site everyday even after the attack.  They are under imminent threat as long as they continue the protest against the POSCO project.
 
Please write polite letters expressing your concern on the blatant violation on Indian laws, particularly the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006; and  request the authorities to protect the villagers  from further intimidation.
 
 
Send letters to: .
  1. Shri Manmohan Singh,
    Prime Minister of India,
    Prime Minister’s Office,
    Room 152, South Block,
    New Delhi, INDIA

    Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857

  2. Mr. Naveen Patnaik
    Chief Minister
    Through the office of the Principal Secretary
    Home Department, Government of Orissa
    Naveen Nivas, Aerodrome  Gate,
    P.O.Bhubaneswar, 751 001 Orissa, Dist Khurda, INDIA

    Fax: +91 67 4253 5100

  3. Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan
    MOS (IC) Environment & Forests
    Paryavaran Bhavan,CGO Complex,
    Lodi Road,New Delhi 110 003, INDIA

    Fax: +91 11 2436 2222
 
 
Send Copies to:
  1. Pohang Steel Limited of South Korea
    Department of Ethics Management
    892, Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu,
    Seoul, 135-284
    REPUBLIC OF KOREA

    Fax: +82 2 3457 6261

  2. Diplomatic representatives of India in your countries.

Sample Letter
***Please avoid typing ‘cc ACPP’ at any part of your letter but send copies to us separately for monitoring purpose.***
 
We are writing with grave concern about the POSCO steel mining project in Orissa.  The project was granted a forest clearance despite violation of Indian laws and rules.  Two statutory committees of the Ministry of Environment and Forest have recommended the withdrawal of the clearance.  Also, the affected villagers have carried out procedures according to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (FRA).  However, the government still pushed forward with the project, ignoring the villagers’ rights.
 
To halt the project, a group of villagers organize a daily protest on the construction between Dhinkia and Noliasahi.  Most shockingly, on 26 September 2011, the blockade was attacked by a mob of 400 people, allegedly sent by Paradeep Paribahan, a company contracted by POSCO.   We also heard that some of the complainants were charged with unlawful assembly. 
 
Please be reminded that the FRA 2006 gives the forest dwellers the right to protect and manage the forest; to conserve community forest resources; and to protect wildlife.  Therefore, we urge the Indian government to resolve all concerns about  the project before any further construction.  Intimidation, such as the attack on 26 September, should be stopped and the people be rightfully protected.
 
 
 
Background
The POSCO- India Private Limited (POSCO) signed a memorandum of understanding with Orissa government on 22 June 2005.  The Project, composed of a steel plant, mining ore and captive port, has drawn strong criticism since then.   
 
In June 2011, twenty platoons of armed forces started to be deployed to acquire the land.  A local anti- POSCO group, POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti, claimed that the police who were based near the protest site received a forewarning  of the attack on 26 September 2011, but  did not come to the site nor take preventive action immediately.  The police have yet to register any cases against the attackers.
 
Breach of Laws and Rules
As early as 2010, two independent committees constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) itself recommended the withdrawal of any clearance from the POSCO project, as there were traditionally forest dwellers whose livelihood depended on the project affected area.  The committees also pointed out that the project violates laws and rules such as Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA), the Coastal Zone Notification Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guideline. 
 
For example, a public hearing organised by the MoEF was  held 15-20 km away from the three affected villages.  Therefore, only very few villagers could participate.  Also, both the report of the EIA and the video of the public hearing were not made available to the public.  
 
According to the FRA, the state government is obliged to obtain consent from the Gram Sabha (full village assembly) in the areas proposed for diversion of forest land.  In February 2011, the Palli Sabha (village council) submitted a resolution rejecting the distribution of land to the POSCO project, along with signatures of more than 65%  of the villagers, to the Orissa government and the MoEF; however,  government officials hastily issued the final clearance on 2 May 2011, claiming that only 133 signatures were received.  
 
Critics commented that “the company's [POSCO] investment in the Orissa project is the biggest foreign direct investment in the country. Delhi feared that a ‘no’ to the project would sully India's image as an investment destination and also have a negative impact on growing India-South Korea economic relations[……] Given the present government's preoccupation with foreign investment and nuclear deals, it is not surprising that the POSCO project was being monitored by the Prime Minister's Office. The final clearance reportedly came following pressure from the Prime Minister's Office on the environment ministry.” (  by Sudha Ramachandran, 12 May 2010, Asian Times.)
 
Environmentral Impacts
“What will I do with the money,  fill it in a bag and sit by the road?” said an old betel farmer who was being offered Rs1,100,000 (about USD 22,700) by the POSCO.  A woman villager said,  “we have rice,  cashew, fish and betel vines.  What will POSCO give us ?” The following is what POSCO will bring to the villagers who are presently living sustainable lives. 
 
First, the US12.1 billion steel project requires 4004 acres of land out of which 3,700 acres are forest land being cultivated by  people who grow betel leaves since 1920.  POSCO steel plant will kill about 1,800 betel farms, which provides Rs. 300,000-500,000 (approximately USD 6,000-10,000) annual income to 2,500 farmers.  The POSCO steel plant, to be completed in two phases by 2016, with a capacity of 12 million tones will require water supply from the Mahanandi River.  This will heavily affect the current water supply for domestic use and irrigation in the city and farm lands of Cuttack, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts of Orissa.
 
The Khandadhar hills, where the iron mines allotted to POSCO spreads over 6000 hectares, are covered with forests and inhabited by a wide variety of wildlife.  The iron mining will affect 10,000 hectares of forest and displace more than 50 tribal villages in Lahunipada block in Sundargarh district.  In August 2011, 600,000 trees were chopped down.  These well-known “cyclone savers” protected villagers from a cyclone in 1999.
 
Moreover, the construction of a captive port will disturb the water flow in the Jatadhar River, resulting in water-logging, while the expected contamination of the port will affect livelihood of approximately 30,000 fishermen.  The port proposed to be established on the banks of Bay of Bengal would violate the Costal Regulation Zone and threaten the nesting habitat of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
 
 
Yours sincerely,
Terence

Terence Osorio
Coordinator

Sources: Local source, Asian Times, Asian Human Rights Committee,  NDTV,  “A day at the vineyards” by Sainath. P.,   Meena Gupta Report and Saxena Report.

***Thank You for Your Continued Support !***
 
 

Hotline Asia is a service for Justice and Peace irrespective of class, race, religion, culture and political affiliation.  We issue "Urgent appeals" (UAs) on request from our network.  As you receive UAs free, we welcome contributions payable to: Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples Ltd.
 
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ACPP gratefully acknowledges the support of Cordaid, Misereor, Missio and OBOS for Hotline Asia.
 
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Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples
1/F, 52, Princess Margaret Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: 852 - 2714 5123
Fax: 852 - 2712 0152
Website: www.acpp.org



--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#913 From: Saw Mort <mort.bi@...>
Date: Thu Nov 10, 2011 4:12 am
Subject: Fwd: Invitation letter of art exhibition
mort.bi@...
Send Email Send Email
 

Dear Friends

I just share with you about the event, I think it's hard to come but I hope you will support to the young refugees in Thailand.

Peace
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: kshaw Paw <kashawpaw2008@...>
Date: Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 2:40 PM
Subject: Invitation letter of art exhibition
To: "regis1004@..." <regis1004@...>, "gregantos@..." <gregantos@...>, "kamotion6@..." <kamotion6@...>, "cdcshwehnin@..." <cdcshwehnin@...>, "Somporn.Sanee@..." <Somporn.Sanee@...>, "win7@..." <win7@...>, "Saw.Khu@..." <Saw.Khu@...>, "cppcr2002@..." <cppcr2002@...>, "ann@..." <ann@...>, "chaungkhu@..." <chaungkhu@...>, "myominburma@..." <myominburma@...>, "nanmu06@..." <nanmu06@...>, "info@..." <info@...>, "thomas@..." <thomas@...>, "daniel@..." <daniel@...>, "saw@..." <saw@...>, "mort.bi@..." <mort.bi@...>, "othello04@..." <othello04@...>, "kapotati7@..." <kapotati7@...>, "aimorn_singthep@..." <aimorn_singthep@...>, thu lei <thulei75@...>, "stephferry@..." <stephferry@...>, "jayhessey@..." <jayhessey@...>, Shirley Worland <shirleyworland@...>, krcee <krcee1@...>, "sash2h@..." <sash2h@...>, Hsa Moo <hsamoo12@...>, "ksngktl@..." <ksngktl@...>, "chamubi@..." <chamubi@...>, Burma Issues MSO <msojustpeace@...>, "bmwecmaesot@..." <bmwecmaesot@...>, "hsaeh_2006@..." <hsaeh_2006@...>, "hsihsapaw@..." <hsihsapaw@...>, "khu.gay@..." <khu.gay@...>, "svamst@..." <svamst@...>, Jacqueline Honest <jacqueline.honest@...>, "jorgen.baltzer@..." <jorgen.baltzer@...>, "tom_somchai@..." <tom_somchai@...>, "tonyhotman22@..." <tonyhotman22@...>, "tar_moo@..." <tar_moo@...>, "alec@..." <alec@...>, "bobo@..." <bobo@...>, "borders@..." <borders@...>, Ko Ehna <ehnadoh@...>, Ney Lwel <neylwel@...>, yoshiya lin <yoshiyalin@...>, "tracey.martin@..." <tracey.martin@...>, victoria <victoriabaw@...>


Friday 9th November 2011
Dear Friends
The Karen Student Network Group in collaboration with Peace Way Foundation/Burma Issues would like to invite you to an art exhibition of refugee camp youth entitled My Identity. The art on show is the result of a series of creative workshops that took place in the refugees camps aimed at developing the childrens talent and self esteem.
The exhibition will take place on 18th November 2011 at Pluto Bar, No 206 Intarakhiri Road, Mae Sot between 8:00pm and 10:00 pm.
The exhibition will include childrens drawings, a talk by a refugee student, short film screening, guest speaker and fund raising raffle and auction. All proceeds will go towards educating the children in the conflict zone of Burma.
We have attached the poster and program agenda to share with your colleagues. We hope to see you there!
If you have any inquiries about this letter please feel free to contact me via email or phone.
Regards,
Naw Kshaw Paw (Karen Student Network Group and Burma Issues)
Project Coordinator:
Art Exhibition (My Identity) program.
Mae Sot
Phone: 0810365475.



--
Saw Mort

Burma Issues/Peace Way Foundation
P.O Box 3, Mae Sod, Tak 63110, Thailand
+66 (8) 5 666 0732
mort.bi@...


1 of 1 Photo(s)

#914 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Fri Nov 11, 2011 1:36 am
Subject: Fwd: 4 days to save our children from cluster bombs
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 

Dear friends,


In days, the US could push through a new law to allow the use of cluster bombs -- a banned lethal weapon that kills children in playgrounds years after wars have ended. But if we build a massive campaign now, we can persuade other governments to stop the US and stop these weapons being used. Sign the urgent petition to save our children now!

Sign the petition
Ahmad picked up a bright metal object in a park in Lebanon where he was celebrating his 5th birthday. It was an unexploded cluster bomblet, which blew up in his face, killing him slowly in front of his family.

Three years ago, public pressure pushed through a ban of these cruel bombs. But now the US is lobbying nations to quietly sign a new law that allows their use -- signing the death warrant for thousands of other children. Most countries are still on the fence on how to vote. Only if we raise the alarm across the world can we shame our governments to block this deadly decision.

Positions are being drawn up now. We only have four days until countries meet to send our leaders a clear message: stand up for the cluster bombs ban and keep our children safe. Click below to sign the petition -- it will be delivered directly to delegates at the Geneva conference:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/cluster_bombs_ii_b/?vl

Thousands of people -- mainly children -- have been maimed or killed by these bombs. When they are fired, they spray small "bomblets" over a wide area, many of which fail to explode. Years later, people disturb them in their fields or school playgrounds not knowing what they are, and they explode.

In 2008, over half of the world’s governments outlawed these weapons by signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions. But now, shockingly, countries like France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK, who all signed the Convention, are under pressure from the US, China and Russia to run rings round the ban by signing a separate agreement that would allow them to use cluster munitions. Only Norway, Mexico, Austria and a few others are fighting this horror.

Negotiators at the Convention on Conventional Weapons meet in Geneva next week. Most governments don’t really want this protocol and have not said which way they will vote, but they are under severe pressure from the US to comply and will only object if the global public persuades them.

There’s no time to lose -- the conference starts on Monday. Let's call on our governments to reject this deadly and cynical US campaign to legalize cluster killing. Click below to sign the petition and forward this email widely -- we've done it before, let's do it again:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/cluster_bombs_ii_b/?vl

Cluster bombs and land mines were banned because citizens raised the alarm across the world -- with victims and survivors leading the way. For their sakes and to ensure no more lives are lost, let’s not allow these cruel weapons back and join together now to demand a more peaceful world.

With hope,

Alex, Stephanie, Alice, Ricken, Laura, Nicholas, Wissam, and the whole Avaaz team

More information:

UK backs bid to overturn ban on cluster bombs (The Independent):
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/uk-backs-bid-to-overturn-ban-on-cluster-bombs-6259139.html

ICRC chief says proposed cluster bomb pact is weak (Reuters)
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5E7M328S20111109

Fourth Review Conference of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Weapons:
http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/43FD798E7707CE5AC12578B20032B630?OpenDocument

Weapons law to cause humanitarian harm (Stop Cluster Munitions.org):
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/ccw/

The Past and Future of the CCW (Arms Control.org):
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2011_03/LookingBack

No backsliding on cluster bombs (The Indepedent):
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-no-backsliding-on-cluster-bombs-6259009.html

Raed Mokaled and the story of Ahmad (Handicap International):
http://www.handicapinternational.be/en/raed-mokaled


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--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#915 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:15 am
Subject: Call - International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians - 29 Nov
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 

(Mailing List Information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)


Joint Advocacy Initiative

16 November 2011



Call for actions

International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians


29th November 2011


Dear friends, partners and supporters,

We send you the warmest greetings from the JAI and Palestine. In light of your continuous support and solidarity with us, and the world community position on the Palestinian UN bid, we are approaching you with this call:

As you all know, the 29th of every November marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Each year, a number of events and activities take place worldwide commemorating this day and expressing solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggle for freedom and independence.

This year, 2011, we at the JAI call you all to join us in organizing and participating in a candle vigil in different countries in the world especially. We propose the theme:


"Light a candle for Palestine: Peace with justice in the Middle East"


The gathering is suggested to be held in front of Palestinian representative offices, Israeli embassies, and/or the UN Office in your respective countries.

With Peace and Love from Palestine,

JAI


You are encouraged to advertise & forward this call to your
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--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


1 of 1 File(s)


#916 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:27 pm
Subject: Fwd: Fw: GMW: Wave of suicides among Indian farmers
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 


NOTE: It's the largest wave of suicides in recorded history.

EXTRACT: Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.
---
---
Wave Of Suicides Among Indian Farmers
Alex Rossi, India correspondent
Sky News, November 18 2011
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16112805

The record suicide rate among farmers in India continues to rise and is threatening the country's stability and future development, according to campaigners.

They are blaming the government's policies for the agrarian crisis and are demanding it takes urgent action.
More than a quarter of a million farmers have killed themselves in the last 16 years in what is the largest recorded wave of suicides in history.

Kishore Tiwari, a campaigner with the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti in Maharashtra state in central India, says cotton farmers have been particularly badly affected.

Many of them have only just moved to growing cash crops - like cotton - in the last few years.

He says the farmers have taken on large debts to buy hybrid seeds, which are often unsuited to the harsh and temperamental Indian climate.

"They are sold these modern seeds and modern chemicals and have to take on large debts to buy them.

"The problem is they need a lot of water which is in short supply and then when the crop is poor and they have to repay the money lenders, they despair and commit suicide."

Mr Tiwari says the suicides are a symptom of a wider crisis in the countryside.
India's has one of the fastest growing economies in the world but its roots are in the countryside and much of it is being left behind.

In a country with aspirations, moving away from a life of subsistence is attractive but it can also be deadly.

Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.

"He was always tense" she said. "He had borrowed a lot of money for pesticides and fertilizers and now I will have to pay back his debts. Debt is the reason for all the suicides around here and it's the people in charge who are responsible for it."

Across rural India there is now widespread despair. The fields are also filling up with widows.

Activists say it is the other side of India's economic success story.

Beyond the headlines of fast growth, most of the country is still poor and is being left behind by a corrupt political class who are preoccupied with their own greed.
They point to the alarming suicide numbers to prove their point.

More than 60% of India's population still depends on the countryside for survival but with unfettered globalisation and little support from the government, the rural classes are badly exposed.

In the face of rising inflation and with no safety net, the ultimate act of desperation is often their only answer to the new world they live in.

It is a sobering fact but on average one farmer now commits suicide in India every 30 minutes.

And campaigners say the problem will only get worse without direct intervention from the government in the form of subsidies and agricultural educational programmes.

................................................................
Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/GM_Watch:_Portal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GMWatch/276951472985?ref=nf

This email should only be sent to those who have asked to receive it.
To unsubscribe, contact editor@..., specifying which list you wish to unsubscribe from.





--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#917 From: sila Jaha <silalahu@...>
Date: Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:27 pm
Subject: Sila Jahae
silalahu@...
Send Email Send Email
 
hello my neam is Mr.Sila. I go to Nepal 2 Year ago. 2009. me ana miss.Laeg or Hyamg su. and me is lahus people in Thailand
I hoep to see you soon
 
to be gartful to your
 
from sila Jahae
tel. 08-347-606-50
 

 

To: sasha.w@...; ait_lmb@...; aliciamtemple@...; mynameisalina@...; anick.ht@...; diamaoden@...; artanthika@...; biswas_aparna@...; freeman_onebag@...; areeshshaffaq@...; bappu.mree@...; barakath2@...; bhgrm_chaudhary@...; bibek_shahi2000@...; shanti.mymensingh@...; bangladeshymca@...; bruce.vanvoorhis@...; soisenggu@...; chamubi@...; chhomren001@...; debika_stha@...; edharshan@...; inoeng_aceh@...; w2n_zero@...; jallyma_553@...; morkimhoun@...; catty_girl1108@...; harnkham@...; henny_beujroh@...; ishina_2006@...; horhen_sociology@...; ymcascr@...; ikidede@...; jahanara_peace@...; joey.yaquby@...; john_saikat96@...; johnsaikat@...; Jose@...; kcmartin0303@...; vichith_keo@...; keran.takhar@...; xkhammon@...; mka-ymca@...; doplo.soe@...; thawhpoe@...; kohei@...; thie_36@...; Laura.kemp@...; pathak_galkot@...; mythuyenlethi@...; lionibeatrix@...; Mark.Elliott@...; nee_jue@...; pmatu25@...; ediger.max@...; maserrano@...; snmisai@...; snmisai@...; morkkonn@...; anwar_p08@...; noelmasih@...; nor_4dsam@...; amongjam@...; zun_chem@...; Paddy2Noble@...; peterkathi07@...; pitiphan_a@...; drongps13@...; gasalong1124@...; rdyne@...; renoshan@...; liveramona@...; psyshai@...; renzymca07@...; no_only@...; rodstepher@...; rogerpeiris@...; natadee_229@...; rozat_vt@...; nasi_ongnal@...; samarpan_acharya@...; lsamden@...; sarvjeet.del@...; haryfinsop2007@...; mortdoedoh@...; shabeb.khan@...; surdawiah@...; chaudhary_srmail@...; sydoniahayati@...; sengchristina@...; pookub_sp@...; sirjana_shahi2007@...; sonasier007@...; soktheaphay.cambodiaymca@...; nishim_grg@...; nss_soma@...; somchitd2001@...; sudhansusekhar.naik@...; sukkriyah@...; ayumee-@...; smriti_smile65@...; ningposo@...; charles_brownson@...; thangvannei@...; sophearoun.nomad@...; tirmizyabdullah@...; oemfar@...; khan_m49@...; vintoyymca@...; justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com
From: ediger.max@...
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:27:46 +0700
Subject: [justpeaceinasia] Fwd: Fw: GMW: Wave of suicides among Indian farmers

 


NOTE: It's the largest wave of suicides in recorded history.

EXTRACT: Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.
---
---
Wave Of Suicides Among Indian Farmers
Alex Rossi, India correspondent
Sky News, November 18 2011
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16112805

The record suicide rate among farmers in India continues to rise and is threatening the country's stability and future development, according to campaigners.

They are blaming the government's policies for the agrarian crisis and are demanding it takes urgent action.
More than a quarter of a million farmers have killed themselves in the last 16 years in what is the largest recorded wave of suicides in history.

Kishore Tiwari, a campaigner with the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti in Maharashtra state in central India, says cotton farmers have been particularly badly affected.

Many of them have only just moved to growing cash crops - like cotton - in the last few years.

He says the farmers have taken on large debts to buy hybrid seeds, which are often unsuited to the harsh and temperamental Indian climate.

"They are sold these modern seeds and modern chemicals and have to take on large debts to buy them.

"The problem is they need a lot of water which is in short supply and then when the crop is poor and they have to repay the money lenders, they despair and commit suicide."

Mr Tiwari says the suicides are a symptom of a wider crisis in the countryside.
India's has one of the fastest growing economies in the world but its roots are in the countryside and much of it is being left behind.

In a country with aspirations, moving away from a life of subsistence is attractive but it can also be deadly.

Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.

"He was always tense" she said. "He had borrowed a lot of money for pesticides and fertilizers and now I will have to pay back his debts. Debt is the reason for all the suicides around here and it's the people in charge who are responsible for it."

Across rural India there is now widespread despair. The fields are also filling up with widows.

Activists say it is the other side of India's economic success story.

Beyond the headlines of fast growth, most of the country is still poor and is being left behind by a corrupt political class who are preoccupied with their own greed.
They point to the alarming suicide numbers to prove their point.

More than 60% of India's population still depends on the countryside for survival but with unfettered globalisation and little support from the government, the rural classes are badly exposed.

In the face of rising inflation and with no safety net, the ultimate act of desperation is often their only answer to the new world they live in.

It is a sobering fact but on average one farmer now commits suicide in India every 30 minutes.

And campaigners say the problem will only get worse without direct intervention from the government in the form of subsidies and agricultural educational programmes.

................................................................
Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/GM_Watch:_Portal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GMWatch/276951472985?ref=nf

This email should only be sent to those who have asked to receive it.
To unsubscribe, contact editor@..., specifying which list you wish to unsubscribe from.





--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh



#918 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:23 am
Subject: Re: Sila Jahae
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
Dear Sila:  It is very good to hear from you.  I remember you very well and the stories you shared.  I hope sometime we can meet again to learn from each other.   Let us keep in contact.
 
Max

2011/11/22 sila Jaha <silalahu@...>
 

hello my neam is Mr.Sila. I go to Nepal 2 Year ago. 2009. me ana miss.Laeg or Hyamg su. and me is lahus people in Thailand
I hoep to see you soon
 
to be gartful to your
 
from sila Jahae
tel. 08-347-606-50
 

 

To: sasha.w@...; ait_lmb@...; aliciamtemple@...; mynameisalina@...; anick.ht@...; diamaoden@...; artanthika@...; biswas_aparna@...; freeman_onebag@...; areeshshaffaq@...; bappu.mree@...; barakath2@...; bhgrm_chaudhary@...; bibek_shahi2000@...; shanti.mymensingh@...; bangladeshymca@...; bruce.vanvoorhis@...; soisenggu@...; chamubi@...; chhomren001@...; debika_stha@...; edharshan@...; inoeng_aceh@...; w2n_zero@...; jallyma_553@...; morkimhoun@...; catty_girl1108@...; harnkham@...; henny_beujroh@...; ishina_2006@...; horhen_sociology@...; ymcascr@...; ikidede@...; jahanara_peace@...; joey.yaquby@...; john_saikat96@...; johnsaikat@...; Jose@...; kcmartin0303@...; vichith_keo@...; keran.takhar@...; xkhammon@...; mka-ymca@...; doplo.soe@...; thawhpoe@...; kohei@...; thie_36@...; Laura.kemp@...; pathak_galkot@...; mythuyenlethi@...; lionibeatrix@...; Mark.Elliott@...; nee_jue@...; pmatu25@...; ediger.max@...; maserrano@...; snmisai@...; snmisai@...; morkkonn@...; anwar_p08@...; noelmasih@...; nor_4dsam@...; amongjam@...; zun_chem@...; Paddy2Noble@...; peterkathi07@...; pitiphan_a@...; drongps13@...; gasalong1124@...; rdyne@...; renoshan@...; liveramona@...; psyshai@...; renzymca07@...; no_only@...; rodstepher@...; rogerpeiris@...; natadee_229@...; rozat_vt@...; nasi_ongnal@...; samarpan_acharya@...; lsamden@...; sarvjeet.del@...; haryfinsop2007@...; mortdoedoh@...; shabeb.khan@...; surdawiah@...; chaudhary_srmail@...; sydoniahayati@...; sengchristina@...; pookub_sp@...; sirjana_shahi2007@...; sonasier007@...; soktheaphay.cambodiaymca@...; nishim_grg@...; nss_soma@...; somchitd2001@...; sudhansusekhar.naik@...; sukkriyah@...; ayumee-@...; smriti_smile65@...; ningposo@...; charles_brownson@...; thangvannei@...; sophearoun.nomad@...; tirmizyabdullah@...; oemfar@...; khan_m49@...; vintoyymca@...; justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com
From: ediger.max@...
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:27:46 +0700
Subject: [justpeaceinasia] Fwd: Fw: GMW: Wave of suicides among Indian farmers

 


NOTE: It's the largest wave of suicides in recorded history.

EXTRACT: Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.
---
---
Wave Of Suicides Among Indian Farmers
Alex Rossi, India correspondent
Sky News, November 18 2011
http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16112805

The record suicide rate among farmers in India continues to rise and is threatening the country's stability and future development, according to campaigners.

They are blaming the government's policies for the agrarian crisis and are demanding it takes urgent action.
More than a quarter of a million farmers have killed themselves in the last 16 years in what is the largest recorded wave of suicides in history.

Kishore Tiwari, a campaigner with the Vidharbha Jan Andolan Samiti in Maharashtra state in central India, says cotton farmers have been particularly badly affected.

Many of them have only just moved to growing cash crops - like cotton - in the last few years.

He says the farmers have taken on large debts to buy hybrid seeds, which are often unsuited to the harsh and temperamental Indian climate.

"They are sold these modern seeds and modern chemicals and have to take on large debts to buy them.

"The problem is they need a lot of water which is in short supply and then when the crop is poor and they have to repay the money lenders, they despair and commit suicide."

Mr Tiwari says the suicides are a symptom of a wider crisis in the countryside.
India's has one of the fastest growing economies in the world but its roots are in the countryside and much of it is being left behind.

In a country with aspirations, moving away from a life of subsistence is attractive but it can also be deadly.

Vandana Moohorle is now bringing up her children alone after her husband killed himself by drinking pesticide.

Like many farmers, he had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn't told was that they needed more rain than the region provided.

His wife blames the government and the large agricultural companies for exploiting the rural poor who dream of a better life.

"He was always tense" she said. "He had borrowed a lot of money for pesticides and fertilizers and now I will have to pay back his debts. Debt is the reason for all the suicides around here and it's the people in charge who are responsible for it."

Across rural India there is now widespread despair. The fields are also filling up with widows.

Activists say it is the other side of India's economic success story.

Beyond the headlines of fast growth, most of the country is still poor and is being left behind by a corrupt political class who are preoccupied with their own greed.
They point to the alarming suicide numbers to prove their point.

More than 60% of India's population still depends on the countryside for survival but with unfettered globalisation and little support from the government, the rural classes are badly exposed.

In the face of rising inflation and with no safety net, the ultimate act of desperation is often their only answer to the new world they live in.

It is a sobering fact but on average one farmer now commits suicide in India every 30 minutes.

And campaigners say the problem will only get worse without direct intervention from the government in the form of subsidies and agricultural educational programmes.

................................................................
Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
Profiles: http://www.powerbase.info/index.php/GM_Watch:_Portal
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GMWatch
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GMWatch/276951472985?ref=nf

This email should only be sent to those who have asked to receive it.
To unsubscribe, contact editor@..., specifying which list you wish to unsubscribe from.





--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh





--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#919 From: JahanAra <jahanara_peace@...>
Date: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:27 am
Subject: farmers
jahanara_peace
Send Email Send Email
 
Dear Mr.Sila,

Thanks a lot for bringing to the attention of many people about the slow and silent death of the people who feed us and struggle a lot for us.

in prayers we are with you and do let us know any updates on this issue. I hope many civil societies may be coming forward for this cause.

Peace
Jahan Ara



#920 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:11 am
Subject: World Interfaith Harmony Week
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 
I would encourage each of our ICF National groups and all other friends to consider doing something on this day.  It can be very small and it can be done in cooperation with other organizations.  But we can do something to encourage interfaith harmony in our communities, countries and region.
 
max


--- On Sun, 11/13/11, World Interfaith Harmony Week <outreach@...> wrote:

From: World Interfaith Harmony Week <outreach@...>
Subject: 2012 WIHW Flyers Are Here
To: "horhen_sociology@..." <horhen_sociology@...>
Date: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 8:47 PM

Having trouble reading this email? View it in your browser.

Spread the Word!

2012 WIHW flyers are now available

For the World Interfaith Harmony Week to really take off we need you to promote it to as many peope as possible.
Many have answered the call and have been promoting the WIHW. We have received numerous requests for flyers that can posted at your schools, places of worship, and communities, and we are happy to announce that the flyers are now available for you to print and post.

In This Newsletter

WIHW 2012 flyer

Submit Your Event

Letters of Support

Interfaith Tracking

As a global event we made sure to design in the two main standard sizes: Letter (US) and A4.
WIHW Flyer imageDownload the flyer here:
A4 Paper Size (International Size)
Please print these flyers out now and post them for others to see. We want to see these flyers everywhere!
You never know whose life you might touch by such a seemingly small action. Some people lives may change forever just by happenning across a flyer you put up sparking their interest in working for interfaith harmony.

2012 Events

Last year we saw the events initially trickle in and then had a major rush of events posted the month before the WIHW.
It's important that we begin posting event details as soon as possible in order that we can help promote your event as early as possible so that as many people as possible can learn about your event in advance.
Even if you don't have full details yet, you can still post tentative events and edit them later, the main thing is to just get the ball moving by committing to an event date and begin the promotion.

Register Your Event

Letters of Support

If you haven't done so yet, please submit your letter of support now.
If you have already sent your letter of support please ask your colleagues to do so by reminding them how important it is for your community and organizations to show support for positive action.

Interfaith Tracking

Several months back we launched InterfaithTracking.com as a site dedicated to tracking interfaith events happening all year round and so far the response has been great as each month we are seeing more and more visitors coming and more events being posted. However we still have a way to go as we have some major improvements in the works for automating WIHW events posting between both sites and giving you more flexibility and options in creating and editing events. In the meantime please do post any of your upcoming events to this site so that all those interested in interfaith can learn more about what is happening both near them and globally.
 

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--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#921 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:48 am
Subject: Fwd: Nepal Pushes Back Against Monsantos Hybrid Seeds
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 


Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is battling the U.S. Agency for International Development and Monsanto, the largest seed company in the world, over the development of a hybrid corn crop intended for planting in the Nepalese regions of Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kavre.

 
===============================
Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Action Group

http://aoag.org/
Hoa Binh Chapter, Veterans For Peace
http://vfp-vn.ning.com/


chuck_pal@...
================================




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#922 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Fri Dec 2, 2011 2:21 am
Subject: Lone Farmer Tackles Corporate Giant Monsanto
maxediger
Send Email Send Email
 

Who says monsters can’t be beaten?  Certainly not Percy Schmeiser—a humble farmer in the Canadian prairies.  When he planted seeds he probably didn’t realize he would come up against the genetically-modified seed giant Monsanto as part of a decade-long lawsuit.  More than that, he probably never imagined he’d be sitting in the victor’s seat.  But that’s just what he’s doing.
 
===============================
Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Action Group

http://aoag.org/
Hoa Binh Chapter, Veterans For Peace
http://vfp-vn.ning.com/


chuck_pal@...
================================




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#923 From: CHAN Beng Seng <bengseng@...>
Date: Thu Dec 8, 2011 12:40 pm
Subject: Fwd: MPI 2012 Annual Peacebuilding Training Brochure and Application
piapi
Send Email Send Email
 


-------- Original Message --------


08 December 2011


Dear Alumni, Colleagues, and Friends,


Greetings of Peace!


The Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) will be conducting its 13th Annual Peacebuilding Training from May 14 to June 1, 2012, beginning with the registration on May 13, 2012 in Davao City, Philippines. The MPI 2012 Annual Peacebuilding Training Brochure and Application Form is attached herewith for your complete reference.

One of the new additions to MPI this year is the online application portal in the MPI website. Interested individuals can now apply directly online just by clicking the link we have provided below. While this is now possible, applications can still be submitted through e-mail. The deadline for the receipt of applications is on March 31, 2012.

For those who are not familiar with MPI, the Institute brings together a wide range of people with experience, knowledge and skills in peace-related work from across the Asia-Pacific Region and other parts of the world. It offers intensive courses in areas such as conflict transformation, peace education, religious peacebuilding, transformative justice, active non-violence and trauma healing that are taught by a distinguished roster of facilitators from Asia-Pacific and other countries.

Please note that for MPI 2012 we are offering five new courses Strengthening Peace Education Training Skills; Asian Faces of Justice: Restoring Harmony and Accountability in Asian Communities; Community-Based Trauma Healing Program Design and Implementation; Arts Approaches to Community-Based Peacebuilding; and Resource-Based Conflict Transformation Initiatives: A Community Perspective.

We ask that you circulate the attached MPI 2012 Brochure and Application Form as widely as possible to individuals, groups, and networks involved in peace, justice and development work. Thank you for your efforts and we look forward to seeing you in the training.

APPLY ONLINE!

Sincerely,

Christine Vertucci
Director

Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation, Inc.
Apt. 301, Casa Graciana Inn,
6 Juna Avenue
Matina, Davao City 8000 Philippines
Tel/Fax: (63-82) 295-3776
Email: mpi@...
Website:www.mpiasia.net





3 of 3 File(s)


#924 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:30 pm
Subject: Thoughts and prayers for Philippines
maxediger
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Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those in Philippines suffering from the recent storm that devastated parts of Mindanao.  We pray that needed aid can reach the people and that they will find safety and comfort.
 
max

--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#925 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:18 am
Subject: Applications invited - One month certificate course
maxediger
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If you are interested in this course, contact Visthar directly........max


 
Greetings!
 
Attached is a circular on the one month certificate course in Gender, diversity and social transformation offered by Visthar ( May 2012).  Would appreciate it very much if you could  forward it to interested friends and colleagues  /  depute participants for the programme.   Registration forms will be mailed  on request.
 
 
Warm regards,
 
Mercy Kappen
Director- Programmes
Visthar, Bangalore
 
 
















 Dear Friends,




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


1 of 1 File(s)


#926 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Thu Dec 29, 2011 8:13 am
Subject: (No subject)
maxediger
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More news about GMOs that should cause much concern.....max

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Frankenstein-Genetic-Engi-by-Burl-Hall-111228-7\
18.html



--
*Visit my blog at http://calebandshalev.wordpress.com/
*
‎"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless
means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
— Paulo Freire <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41108.Paulo_Freire>

"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100
years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh

#927 From: raihana.diani@...
Date: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:52 pm
Subject: Re:
raihana.diani@...
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Thanks Max
Sent via BlackBerry® from Vodafone

From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Sender: justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 15:13:49 +0700
To: cjpa<justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com>
ReplyTo: justpeaceinasia@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [justpeaceinasia]

 

More news about GMOs that should cause much concern.....max

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Frankenstein-Genetic-Engi-by-Burl-Hall-111228-718.html

--
*Visit my blog at http://calebandshalev.wordpress.com/
*
‎"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless
means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
— Paulo Freire <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/41108.Paulo_Freire>

"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100
years' benefit, we must cultivate people." Ho Chi Minh


#928 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Mon Jan 23, 2012 2:08 am
Subject: Fwd: [aowg] FW: Enough is enough - no more dioxin!
maxediger
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Debra Kraus <krasu@...>
Date: Sat, Jan 21, 2012 at 3:27 AM
Subject: [aowg] FW: Enough is enough - no more dioxin!
To: "[Agent Orange Working Group]" <aowg@...>


Please post.
 
Thank you,
Debra


 

 

Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:45:30 -0500
From: fwilcox@...
To: krasu@...
Subject: Enough is enough - no more dioxin!

Did you know that for over 25 years, the EPA's report on dioxin has been delayed time after time due to pressure from the chemical industry. Dioxin is one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. We can't let them get away with this!

I just signed CHEJ's dioxin letter to the EPA, and thought you might like to as well. CHEJ needs to get thousands of people to sign this letter, which they will send to EPA in the next week.

You can sign the letter here -- http://bit.ly/xgVcmm

Dioxin is a potent cancer-causing chemical. Almost every man, woman and child in the U.S. has potentially harmful levels of this carcinogen in their bodies. EPA needs to hear from you because dioxin has been linked to health problems in children and adults including learning disabilities, endometriosis, decreased fertility, birth defects, cancer, and more.

We can't let the chemical industry continue spewing this poison into our communities any more. Enough is enough!

Will you join me by signing CHEJ's letter to EPA? You can sign the letter here -- http://bit.ly/xgVcmm

Thanks for your help!



Sent from the Agent Orange Working Group Mailing List.
If you reply, please do not CC everyone on the list. Rather, send a separate message to the individual you are replying to.
Address to post a new message: aowg@...
Avoid sending attachments, but if you must send them keep them small - 500 kilobyte maximum for each email.




--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


#929 From: Max Ediger <ediger.max@...>
Date: Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:40 am
Subject: Buddhism and War
maxediger
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This is a good article about Buddhist and war.    http://voiceseducation.org/content/buddhism-and-war
 
max

--
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. "
Paulo Freire
 
"For the sake of 10 year's benefit, we must plant trees; for the sake of 100 years' benefit, we must cultivate people."  Ho Chi Minh


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