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BURMA RELATED NEWS - FEBRUARY 07, 2008
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HEADLINES
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AP - Thailand will not interfere in Myanmar's affairs, new foreign
minister says
AFP - Singa****e resident targeted in US Myanmar sanctions
Reuters - Thailand to revive controversial war on drugs
New York Times - U.S. Imposes More Sanctions to Press Myanmar's Rulers
The Times of India - Foreign secretary on Myanmar visit
The Economist - Our friends in the north
Asia Times - Thailand marches ahead of Myanmar
E-Pao - Tamanthi Dam In Burma
Bkk Post - It's do-or-die time for Suu Kyi's NLD
Mizzima News - Blogger charged with Emergency Provision Act
DVB News - Land seized for rubber plantation
DVB News - Child recruits returned to families
DVB News - U Gambira's hearing postponed
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Thailand will not interfere in Myanmar's affairs, new foreign minister
says
AP - Friday, February 8
BANGKOK, Thailand - Thailand's newly elected government will maintain
a policy of noninterference in military-ruled Myanmar, the country's
new foreign minister said Thursday, adding that democracy and human
rights are "domestic issues."
Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Thailand will work within the
framework of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations but
"will have to respect Myanmar's sovereignty."
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962, and its ruling
junta is widely criticized for human rights abuses and failure to hand
over power to a democratically elected government.
Myanmar's crisis attracted world attention last September when
Buddhist monks led anti-government protests, the biggest in two
decades. The government detained thousands and killed at least 31
people, according to a U.N. investigator, whose tally was twice the
toll acknowledged by the junta.
"We are not a headmaster who can tell Myanmar to do this or that,"
Noppadon said Thursday in his first press conference since becoming
foreign minister. "The development of democracy and protection of
human rights are Myanmar's internal affairs."
Noppadon said that Thailand's new government will continue to work
alongside its neighbors in ASEAN but will focus on the issues that
directly affect Thailand, such as drug trafficking, bilateral trade
and illegal immigrants.
"If working through an ASEAN framework can help Myanmar's democracy
flourish, we will do it," he said.
ASEAN allowed Myanmar to join a decade ago, hoping that member****p
would inspire change in the country.
Following September's crackdown, Western countries tightened sanctions
against Myanmar's military government, but ASEAN countries have done
little to step up pressure.
During its November summit in Singa****e, the group failed to come up
with any action to push for democratic reform in Myanmar.
Thailand _ Myanmar's No. 2 trading partner and a major im****ter of its
natural gas _ and other ASEAN countries have been reluctant to
consider sanctions against Myanmar.
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Singa****e resident targeted in US Myanmar sanctions
AFP - Thursday, February 7
SINGA****E, Feb 7, 2008 (AFP) - A Singa****e resident is among those
targeted under new US sanctions aimed at an alleged "henchman" and
arms dealer for the Myanmar junta.
U Kyaw Thein, 60, was named Tuesday as the United States imposed
sanctions against individuals and businesses linked to Tay Za, citing
continuing human rights violations and political repression by the
Myanmar regime.
A Singa****ean company, Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte Ltd, was also named.
"We are tightening financial sanctions against Tay Za, an arms dealer
and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta," said Adam Szubin,
director of the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC).
An OFAC notice identifies U Kyaw Thein as a citizen of Burma who is a
permanent resident of Singa****e with an identity card issued in 2005.
A resident of U Kyaw Thein's Singa****e apartment told AFP by phone
Thursday that he had gone overseas and could not be reached.
"He's gone for some trip," said the man, who would not give his name.
Pavo Aircraft Leasing is the latest Singa****e firm to be hit by the US
sanctions.
After Myanmar's deadly suppression of Buddhist-led protests in
September, President George W. Bush named three firms with offices in
Singa****e as among those targeted. They were Pavo Trading Pte Ltd, Air
Bagan Holdings Pte Ltd and Htoo Wood Products Pte Ltd, which is also
listed as being from Myanmar's main city, Yangon.
Pavo Aircraft Leasing is listed at the same office where the other
three blacklisted firms were based.
The US action freezes any assets they may have under US jurisdiction
and bars Americans from conducting business with them at the risk of
heavy fines and prison sentences.
Singa****e led regional criticism of the junta's September crackdown,
but rights activists have accused the city-state of not taking
economic action against the regime.
Singa****e strongly denies allegations that it allows banks based here
to keep illicit funds on behalf of Myanmar's secretive generals.
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Thailand to revive controversial war on drugs
Thu Feb 7, 2008 3:41pm IST
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's new government will revive a
controversial war on drugs in which more than 2,500 alleged dealers
were killed, Interior Minister Chalerm Yubamrung said on Thursday.
"Narcotics must be lessened in 90 days, although they can't be wiped
out," said Chalerm, a former police captain whose son was acquitted of
charges of killing a policeman in a bar for lack of evidence.
The fight against drugs was one of his top three priorities and he
would spend time along the border with Myanmar, the source of most
drugs now entering Thailand, seeking to defeat trafficking networks,
Chalerm told re****ters.
The war on drugs launched by ex-Prime Minister Thaksin ****nawatra in
2003 was praised by many rural Thais whose villages were rife with
drugs but fiercely attacked by rights activists for giving police a
"licence to kill".
A military-appointed government, set up after the generals ousted
Thaksin in a bloodless 2006 coup, investigated Thaksin's war and
called it a "crime against humanity", but failed to link Thaksin to
extrajudicial killings.
Thaksin, now living in exile in Hong Kong, won a second landslide
election victory two years after the war on drug was launched, largely
on the back of sup****t in the countryside.
At the time, Thailand, once a major supplier of heroin from the Golden
Triangle where it meets Myanmar and Laos, was awash with
methamphetamines made across the border in the former Burma.
The war on drugs cut supply and pushed up prices for a while, but
business returned to normal after the campaign petered out, anti-drug
agencies say.
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New York Times
U.S. Imposes More Sanctions to Press Myanmar's Rulers
Published: February 6, 2008
WA****NGTON (Reuters) -- The Bush administration on Tuesday imposed more
financial sanctions against a business tycoon linked to Myanmar's
military rulers, this time aiming at companies used to purchase
helicopters and other military equipment.
The action designates three companies controlled by the tycoon, Tay
Za, and his Htoo Trading conglomerate, including a subsidiary based in
Singa****e, as sup****ters of a repressive government responsible for
human rights violations, the Treasury Department said.
The action is the third set of American sanctions intended to put
pressure on the leaders of Myanmar, formerly Burma, since a violent
government crackdown on protesters last year.
"The president has made clear that we will continue to take action
against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as human
rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed," said Adam
Szubin, director of the Treasury's sanctions arm, the Office of
Foreign Assets Control.
The action prohibits Americans from doing business with the companies
and with seven newly designated individuals, and seeks to freeze any
assets they may have under United States jurisdiction.
Mr. Tay Za and five of his other companies, including the tourist
airline Air Bagan, were blacklisted by the Treasury in October.
The designated companies included Myanmar Avia Ex****t Company, which
the Treasury said was used to purchase helicopters and aircraft on
behalf of Myanmar's military. The Treasury also designated Ayer Shwe
Wah Company, a company for which the son of a Burmese general serves
as a director, and Pavo Aircraft Leasing, a Singa****e-based company
that directs Htoo business ventures there.
The Singa****e state broadcaster Channel New Asia quoted Prime Minister
Lee Hsien Loong in November as speaking out against sanctions on
Myanmar, saying no one in Southeast Asia sup****ted them. Myanmar's
impoverished neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, have also condemned the
sanctions.
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The Times of India
Foreign secretary on Myanmar visit
7 Feb 2008, 0251 hrs IST,Indrani Bagchi,TNN
NEW DELHI: India is taking its Myanmar responsibilities seriously.
Days after Ibrahim Gambari, UN's special envoy, asked India to lean on
Myanmar's ruling junta, foreign secretary ****v Shankar Menon is in
Myanmar this week for crucial talks with the government.
India is very clear that it doesn't want UN sanctions in Myanmar. In a
way, the UN too may be veering round to that position, though it
continues to hold the threat of sanctions. As a matter of fact,
diplomatic sources said Myanmarese exiles are also beginning to oppose
the sanctions demand that has also been endorsed by Aung San Suu Kyi.
For instance, it has been seen that the recent ban on jewellery
ex****ts by the EU has not hit the government, but the small jewellery
traders, a point of view India has held for some time.
Nevertheless, Gambari presented India with a list of demands that the
UN wanted India to pass on to Myanmar. In fact, during his meetings
with the Indian leader****p, Gambari had told TOI, New Delhi had
committed to putting diplomatic boots on the ground in Myanmar.
Menon's visit is also intended to work on bilateral issues like the
Kaladan multi-modal trans****t system as well as the strategically
im****tant Sittwe ****t, which is being developed by India at a cost of
$120 million. The negotiations for the Kaladan project have been
completed and will be signed when Myanmar's General Maung Aye visits
New Delhi in April. India's message to Myanmar is this -- it should
speed up its process of political reforms and national reconciliation
which includes all the various ethnic groups as well as political
opposition like Aung San Suu Kyi. But it is unlikely that India will
push the democracy envelope too far, because that might be counter-
productive.
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Our friends in the north
Feb 7th 2008 | KYAUKPHYU
From The Economist print edition
Shunned by the West, Myanmar is developing ever closer commercial
links with its neighbours, especially China
MOST locals, who are lucky if they enjoy two hours of electricity an
evening, are unaware of their region's bounty: South-East Asia's
biggest proven gas reserve lies in the Shwe field, just off the coast
of Ramree Island. This year work will begin on a pipeline to carry
these riches to China. From perhaps as early as late 2009, a parallel
pipe will carry Middle Eastern and African oil from a new deep-water
harbour at Kyaukphyu, bypassing the Strait of Malacca and fuelling the
economy of China's south-west.
The site of the harbour, like the former fi****ng grounds where the gas
lies, is now strictly out of bounds to locals. Despite a small poster
campaign by underground activists, few people here know much about it.
Those who do are worried. According to one, farmers fear losing their
land. They have good reason for concern, judging from the mass
dispossessions and human-rights abuses that surrounded the
construction of earlier pipelines from the south to Thailand.
Residents of nearby Baday Island have already been told that they must
leave.
China is not the only country in the region nervous about its "energy
security" and thus hungry for Myanmar's energy resources. India also
hoped to buy the Shwe ("golden") gas, offering the government soft
loans and other inducements. In August India signed a $150m contract
for gas exploration further south in the Gulf of Martaban. One day
India hopes to build its own pipeline into its poor, remote,
insurgency-ridden north-eastern states.
Until the Shwe gas comes on stream, Myanmar's biggest ex****t market
will remain Thailand. In purchases worth $2 billion a year, Thailand's
electricity authority im****ts gas from the Yadana and Yetagun fields.
But China offers the Burmese junta particular advantages. As a
permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it can veto
threatening resolutions, as it did a year ago (just three days before
it secured exploration rights to three more offshore blocks near
Ramree).
There are even re****ts that Myanmar may soon start conducting all its
Chinese trade in the Chinese currency, the yuan. This sounds odd,
since it is not fully convertible and Myanmar expects soon to have a
large trade surplus. The rationale would be to avoid Western banking
sanctions. American measures introduced after the cru****ng of monk-led
protests last September hurt Burmese financial interests in Singa****e.
This week, America tightened sanctions on the ruling junta's families.
Chinese trade extends beyond energy. The new pipelines will follow the
route of the old British-built Burma Road, which still carries timber,
gold, gemstones and other Burmese raw materials north to China and
brings in cheap manufactures. Around 20 Chinese companies are working
in Myanmar on scores of projects including hydropower, mining and road-
building as well as oil and gas. Ruili, the main border-crossing
between northern Myanmar and China's province of Yunnan, has become a
seedy boomtown.
Under construction, and soon to eclipse the Burma Road is a new
"Southern Silk Road", linking India to China across northern Myanmar.
Parts of the long-derelict route were first opened by the Allies
during the second world war to supply Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese army
in its war with the Japanese. Today it gels neatly both with India's
determination to develop the north-east and with China's plans to
close the gap between its booming east coast and the laggardly western
interior. Yunnan needs energy supplies and markets, and its businesses
and officials are little bothered by the human-rights concerns that
have led some Western governments to impose limited sanctions.
*************************************************************
Asia Times - Feb 8, 2008
Thailand marches ahead of Myanmar
By Brian McCartan
CHIANG MAI, Thailand - Thailand's new cabinet was sworn in on
Wednesday, marking the final step in the switch from military rule to
a democratically elected government. In next door Myanmar, the
military rulers continue their hold on power stifling any dissent and
make plans to continue their reign through a "democratic"
constitution.
Thailand's military took power in a bloodless coup on September 19,
2006, and established the Council for National Security (CNS).
Immediately after taking power the coup leaders announced they would
hand over power to a civilian government within a year after drafting
a new constitution and holding parliamentary elections.
The coup followed almost a year of protests by people opposed to the
government of prime minister Thaksin ****nawatra. The desire to see the
removal of Thaksin made the coup initially very popular with people in
Bangkok going out in an almost festive atmosphere to greet the
soldiers and tanks in the streets. This changed, however, the longer
the military stayed in power and its appointed government became
increasingly unpopular. By late 2007, most Thais were ready for the
generals to go.
After 15 months of military rule elections were held on December 23 in
which over 70% of eligible voters took part. Although there were some
irregularities and the People's Power Party (PPP) accused the military
of trying to hinder its efforts on the campaign trail, they were felt
by most people to be fair. As expected, the PPP won the most seats,
although not enough of a majority to form a government itself. The CNS
quietly dissolved itself and after an intense period of negotiations
and horse-trading the PPP was able to form a coalition government. PPP
head, Samak Sundaravej, was sworn in as prime minister on January 29.
Before the elections, however, the military made sure that its place
in Thai politics was assured. General Anupong Paochinda, the head of
the Thai army, made repeated statements that the army has retreated
permanently from politics, but he also appointed his trusted
subordinates into positions that could either ensure the success of a
future coup or block the possibility of another one taking place.
Two other laws passed by the military appointed National Legislative
Assembly have further strengthened the military's position. A
controversial internal security act passed just two days before the
elections gives sweeping new powers to the military. The act empowers
the military to contain domestic dissent through such methods as curbs
on government officials and the right to detain individuals deemed
threats to national security for up to six months without trial.
Other law takes away the power of the prime minister to influence the
annual reshuffle of senior officers. Under the new regulation, the
reshuffle list must be approved by a seven-member committee including
the defense minister, the deputy defense minister, the defense
permanent secretary, the supreme commander and the heads of the army,
navy and air force.
Although the military remains in the background and critics are
skeptical about Anupong's claims of future non-interference by the
military in politics, Thailand does now have a democratically elected
government. The military kept its promise to restore a civilian
government.
The same cannot be said for Myanmar which, despite popular sup****t for
democracy and an overwhelming desire to see the military removed from
power, still remains under military dictator****p after 46 years.
The military rulers of Myanmar have taken a different tack. Since
taking power in a 1962 coup, the military has spent much of its time
consolidating its power over the country. Rather than hand over power
to a civilian elected government, the military has styled itself as
the only institution that can hold the country together. In doing so
it has crushed or sidelined the political opposition. Mass
demonstrations calling for democracy were violently put down in 1988
and 2007.
Initially stating that the military needed to take power to preserve
the country from the threat of ethnic and communist insurgents, the
threat changed with the demise of the Burmese Communist Party and the
wave of ceasefires that took place in the early 1990s. In recent
years, the regime has tried to invoke the threat of outside invasion -
usually understood to mean the United States - although this has met
with skepticism by much of the population. However, the views of the
general population have never really mattered much to the regime, what
is im****tant is that they give themselves some reason to retain power
no matter how spurious.
Myanmar's military rules currently claim to be moving ahead on a
"seven-step roadmap" to bring democracy to the country. The regime
claims that the country is currently undergoing the third step which
is the drafting of a new constitution. While Thailand's military
rulers took less than a year to draft their constitution, in Myanmar
the process has been going on for almost 18 years. The junta claims
the constitution will be finished this year, but it remains unclear
whether this will actually happen.
Whatever constitution is drafted it is widely believed by opposition
figures and Myanmar watchers that the military's role in politics will
be guaranteed. While Thailand's coup makers made sure that they would
not be punished for their coup by including an amnesty clause for
themselves and their appointed officials and enacting laws that would
enable them to legally step in again or influence the running of the
country, for the most part they have gone back to barracks and stepped
aside.
Myanmar's constitution is expected to give much more to the military.
Seats are to be reserved in the new Parliament - enough to make it
almost impossible for parliamentary decisions to be made without the
sup****t of military representatives. The military is also expected to
hold onto the more powerful of the cabinet ****tfolios as well as to
reserve the right to take over the government again should a civilian
government prove unequal to the task.
Even with the constitutional provisions the military rulers of Myanmar
are not hedging their bets, they have spent considerable effort in
developing what many feel will become their political party in the
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Originally
designed as a government sponsored civil society organization, the
USDA has grown to pervade almost all aspects of life in Myanmar.
Government bureaucrats, teachers, students and anyone hoping to curry
favor with the government are encouraged - and sometimes forced - to
become members.
The association has organized mass rallies in various spots across the
country in sup****t of the regime and to deride opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, her National League for Democracy party and foreign
interference in the country. The USDA is also widely believed to have
been behind the violent attack on Suu Kyi's motorcade in 2003 and
involved in the September 2007 crackdown on pro-democracy
demonstrators in Yangon and elsewhere.
Elections, when and if they happen, are expected to be anything but
free and fair. The last elections in Myanmar in 1990 were actually
considered for the most part to have been fair - and the regime's
party suffered an overwhelming defeat, something they are not likely
to allow to happen again. Elections are a part of the seven step
roadmap and will probably happen, but with the already reserved seats
in parliament for the military and the influence of the USDA which
will probably field their own candidates, opposition parties like the
NLD will find it very difficult to win.
Thailand's military, although rumored to be behind at least one small
political party in the recent elections, for the most part kept out of
the electioneering. While the Democracy Party was widely believed to
be in sup****t of the coup and were certainly favored by the coup
makers, they are their own masters and fought the campaign as such.
Their loss in the election was touted by the mainstream media as a
victory over the military rulers and a vindication for Thaksin and his
dismantled Thai Rak Thai party.
What does matter is that the Thai military did step aside, and not
just for their preferred party, but for the PPP party which they
identify with Thaksin, the man they overthrew 15 months before. To be
sure, the military put in place mechanisms which will allow them to
have influence over politics and to even make a comeback if deemed
necessary, but they are at least willing to stand back and allow the
civilians to have their say first.
Thailand and Myanmar are very different in the political pressures
within each country. Myanmar's ethnic politics, along with drug
trafficking and other illegal businesses that have grown out of the
almost 60-year insurgency make it much more difficult to arrive at
consensus.
However, it can also be argued that these problems have been allowed
to perpetuate and even grow worse due the lack of democracy and the
adherence to democratic values of civil society. Thailand, while its
democratic institutions are anything but perfect, at least has shown
that they do function and the people can choose their government.
Brian McCartan is a Thailand-based freelance journalist. He may be
contacted through brianpm@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thursday, Feb 07, 2008
Tamanthi Dam In Burma
By:- Thangja Lun
The Tamanthi Hydroelectric Power Project (THPP) with a generating
capacity of 1200 projects is proposed on the Chindwin river that flows
through the heart of Kuki inhabited area of Western Sagaing Division.
Leivomjang, a Kuki village between Tamanthi and Homalin, is the dam
site.
THPP has been entrusted for construction to the National Hydroelectric
Power Cor****ation (NHPC), a Central Sector Indian power utility, by
the State Peace and Development Council (SDPC), the Burmese military
junta, through an MoU signed between the SDPC and the Indian
Government during Gen. Than Shwe's visit to India in October 2004.
According to the MoU, 80 per cent of the power generated will be
ex****ted to India.
The proposed dam will affect more than 35 Kuki villages which need to
be relocated. About 17,000 acres of agricultural land will be acquired
for the project. So far neither the NHPC nor the SDPC has held any
consultation with the affected Kuki people and the villagers. No
do***entation on the project, environmental and social impacts and
mitigation is available.
How NHPC came into the scene
According to information gathered, the preliminary survey for the THPP
was first carried out by technical experts from Japan and then Korea.
Owing to certain deadlock over sharing of profits, any further talks
did not materialise.
In November 1999, the Indian power delegation and Myanmar Electric
Power Enterprise carried out a joint investigation and a re****t was
prepared for discussion in the Indian Parliament. After the visit of
the SDPC Chairman, a five-member team of power experts comprising D V
Khera, Member CEA, A N Sinha, Member, Planning CEA, Yogendra Prasad,
Chairman and Managing Director, NHPC, B Sharma, Executive Director,
NHPC and R K Madan, Director Projects, Power Grid Cor****ation of India
visited Burma on February 19, 2005 and held further discussions on
transmission links, technical aspects, investments, payment contracts
etc.
Our concerns
The ruling military regime is committed to planning and building
hydroelectric power projects, trying to harness its huge potential.
There are proposals, at present to erect 200 large, medium and small
hydro power stations with the total generation capacity of nearly
40,000 MW, most of them without scientific investigation into the
potential impacts and also without any consultation with or
participation of the affected community.
While none of these projects are directly sup****ted by Multilateral
Development Banks, it is certain that the Regional Power
Interconnections plan of the Asian Development Bank's Greater Mekong
Sub-region program is on the role and providing incentive for Burma to
exploit its river systems aggressively.
In a blatant disregard to the internationally accepted principles of
the World Commission on Dams (WCD), of public access and
participation, equitable resettlement programme, effective
environmental mitigation and fair sharing of benefits between the
affected communities and developers, the Military Junta of Burma, in
collaboration with NHPC of India, propose to build a mega
hydroelectric power project in the heart of Kuki inhabited areas in
Burma which will displace the ethnic Kukis from their ancestral
homeland.
The THPP will adversely affect the biodiversity, ecological balance
and the climatic conditions of the region. Floods in the upstream, and
changes in the morphology of the riverbed and bank will destroy the
habitats of precious species of flora and fauna. Burma's largest
National Park is very close to the dam site.
The ethnic Kukis of the area will be subjected to forced labour till
the completion of the proposed project. Relocation of 35 Kuki villages
and acquisition of 17,000 hectares of agricultural land will result in
severe food security and loss of livelihood.
The subjugation of Kukis will continue through the game of
outnumbering them and reducing them to minority through a calculated
influx and settlement of poverty-ridden people from other regions of
Burma as construction labourers for the project.
Having exhausted the forest reserves, the SPDC is now out to exploit
its water resources. It has planned to earn millions of dollars by
ex****ting surplus power produced through hydro electric projects
across Burma. The Tamanthi dam will give them one such op****tunity to
earn millions through ex****ting 80 per cent of the power produced to
India.
Mike Hurle of The World Markets Review states, "Whilst the project was
first proposed five years ago, the participation of an Indian partner
could push it off the drawing board, at a time when Indian delegations
have been looking at a wide range of energy co-operation options with
their eastern neighbour Asia Regional: 29 January 2004: India
Considers Developing Energy Linkages to Myanmar). Myanmar has over a
dozen hydroelectric projects under consideration and has been seeking
assistance from its neighbours, including in South-East Asia and
China, as well as India."
The Kuki nationality, therefore, feels that instead of strengthening
the Burmese military rule, a democracy like India is expected to
facilitate and foster the ushering of democracy in Burma. This act
will be consistent with India's international obligations.
Kukis must be protected and their sovereignty respected
Like many other ethnic groups in Burma, the Kukis are one of the many
nations who have been living in Burma since ancient times. A freedom
loving people, they rose up in rebellion against the British invasion.
However, the independence of both India and Burma, and redrawing of
their boundaries divided the Kuki nation also.
Kukis living in the Indo-Burma region have been the victims of terror
by successive military rulers. Kukis have suffered forced labour,
rape , torture, destruction of their property, migrant influx and
livelihood loss, but never subjugated themselves to the military
junta. Another dam, another round of relocation and displacement will
not deter them.
The Federation of Ethnic Nationalities of Burma (FNEB), Kuki National
Organisation (KNO), the Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF) together
with the Anti-Tamanthi Dam Campaign Committee:
** Demand that the Indian Government and NHPC stop the proposed
Tamanthi Hydroelectric Power Project and all other mega projects in
Burma must be stopped until the restoration of democracy and
consultative people's participation in decision making takes place.
** Call for ban on and oppose all forms of investment and development
assistance in to Burma until genuine democracy is restored
** Urges the Indian democracy and its people to sup****t immediate
peaceful democratic change in Burma.
The dam affected people and their allies around the world at the
Second International Meeting of Dam Affected People and their Allies,
at Rasi Salai, Thailand, resolved in December 2004:
"Under the current military regime in Burma, the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC), dam building - like all other large scale
development - leads directly to serious human rights abuses and
environmental destruction. People face severe and systematic human
rights violations, such as forced relocation, systematic ***ual
violence against women, extra judicial killings, intimidation of local
populations, which has forced them, especially in the ethnic
nationalities area, to become refugees in neighbouring countries, as
well as Internally Displaced Persons.
Let the Chindwin river flow
Let Kuki people live with dignity
*************************************************************
Bangkok Post - Thursday February 07, 2008
It's do-or-die time for Suu Kyi's NLD
By KYAW ZWA MOE
My heart sank last week when I heard the words of pro-democracy icon
Aung San Suu Kyi: "Let's hope for the best, but prepare for the
worst."
It was a discouraging, inconvenient truth which Daw Suu Kyi shared
with her National League for Democracy (NLD) colleagues when the
regime allowed her to meet with them briefly last week.
The words of the detained opposition leader indicate that the
political state of Burma is moving from bad to worse to the worst.
Her words came out of her frustration with the ongoing "talks" with
the ruling military regime. The regime appointed a liaison officer to
deal with Daw Suu Kyi after it faced mounting international pressure
following its harsh crackdown on the monk-led demonstrations last
September.
Since then, the liaison officer, former Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, has met with
Daw Suu Kyi four times, but the meetings haven't gone beyond trivial
topics.
According to the NLD, Daw Suu Kyi requested to meet with the head of
the military junta, Senior General Than Shwe, but she has received no
response.
Daw Suu Kyi also "is not pleased with the talks" mainly because of the
lack of a time frame, NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said after he met with
her last Wednesday. According to one NLD member, she does not want to
give false hope to the people of Burma.
Yes, it is im****tant for a leader not to give false hope to the
people.
The Burmese people heard her statement, and they appreciated her
candour. But they also have a right not to lower their expectations of
her and the NLD leader****p.
Specifically, the people have a right to hear what type of substantive
strategy Daw Suu Kyi and her colleagues have to break the current
political stalemate with the stubborn generals.
Most Burmese would sup****t a more pro-active NLD policy with its own
guidelines, strategy and deadlines for taking the struggle for
democracy to a higher level.
Such expectations from the public are only fair. The NLD is the main
opposition party. It received about 82% of the vote in the 1990
nationwide election. The party has a clear mandate to carry out its
mission to implement democracy in Burma.
The NLD has tried but failed to create a unified policy that the
people can rally behind. The party has suffered from a sustained,
brutal assault waged by the generals ever since the 1988 uprising. The
senior NLD members are in their 70s and 80s. Many have served time in
prison. They have earned the people's respect and sympathy. The
leaders have a strong commitment to the movement.
However, to be frank, this does not of itself qualify them to be the
leaders of the party and the democracy movement at this time. A large
segment of the public is frustrated, searching for new ways to break
the impasse that has gripped Burma for years.
In its 20-year-history, the NLD has been more political than
practical, especially during the years when Daw Suu Kyi has been under
house arrest; she has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years.
Some observers believe many of the NLD's senior leaders regard
themselves as "care-takers" rather than freedom fighters whose goal is
to keep the party alive in the absence of its real leader.
Meanwhile, the junta has effectively destroyed or impeded the work of
the broader pro-democracy movement to the point where the 2007
uprising occurred more or less without the active participation of the
NLD leader****p, although the party's rank-and-file member****p took
part in the demonstrations.
The NLD, despite the brutality of the generals, must work harder to
formulate new, meaningful policies that can rally the Burmese people.
Otherwise, despite its past accomplishments, it has failed. NLD
critics take the line: "Without Suu Kyi, the party is nothing."
It should not, and must not, be like that. The party, its members and
the public need a broad reliable leader****p within an effective
opposition party.
As an example, look at South Africa's apartheid struggle. When the
head of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, was in prison,
other leaders carried on the movement. So should the NLD.
Last week, Daw Suu Kyi told her colleagues to move forward without
her, according to a senior NLD member. He quoted her as saying:
sometimes she will lead; sometimes she will follow others' leader****p
in the party. Daw Suu Kyi also said sometimes the party needs to push
and sometimes it needs to pull, and if it is necessary, everyone needs
to be ready to give up everything.
Golden words! It's time for the NLD leader****p to take her words to
heart. It's time for bold ideas and action. The party must be in the
forefront of the pro-democracy movement. The party's mission is not to
keep itself alive, but to keep the country alive. It's do-or-die time
for the NLD leader****p and the Burmese people.
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Mizzima News www.mizzima.com)
Blogger charged with Emergency Provision Act
Nem Davies
February 7, 2008
Police in Rangoon have charged a Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, who
is believed to be in detention, under an emergency act, according to a
close friend.
Nay Phone Latt, age 28, who went missing on January 29, has been
charged with article 5 (J), Emergency Provision Act, at the Dagon
Police station in Rangoon, said the close friend, who wished not to be
named.
The Burmese military junta has widely used Article 5 (J), which could
land an offender up to seven years of imprisonment, as a tool in
suppressing dissidents and political activists.
"He was charged on February 3 at Dagon police station. We knew of the
charges through police officer Soe Thein, who was among those that
arrested him," the friend said.
Though Nay Phone Latt is re****tedly charged and being detained at the
Ministry of Home Affairs, so far there is no date for a trial. Family
and friends told Mizzima they are preparing to confront the charges
through legal avenues once the trial starts.
"We are still waiting and we will wait for about a month, and if
necessary we will seek legal aid from lawyers," a family friend of Nay
Phone Latt told Mizzima.
Meanwhile, a close friend of Nay Phone Latt's family said, the police
have re****tedly returned the Jeep, which Nay Phone Latt was re****tedly
driving when he was arrested, on Thursday afternoon.
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Land seized for rubber plantation
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)-Three thousand acres of privately-owned land has
been seized from Ngwe Saung town****p farmers by family members of a
State Peace and Development Council general, according to locals.
Nyaw Hnaung Khin Maung Than and Min Zeya Hlaing, the daughter and son-
in-law of SPDC general Khin Maung Than, seized the land from farmers
in Ngwe Saung town****p in Irrawaddy division in February 2007, giving
them no compensation.
One of the previous owners said that the land was to be used for a
rubber plantation.
"Three thousand acres of land owned by local residents along the
highway to Ngwe Saung beach resort was seized without compensation for
a rubber plantation," he said.
"So far they have cultivated around 500 acres of land."
A cashew nut farmer said that the cashew trees he had been growing on
his land for decades have now been cleared.
"They should compensate us 4 million kyat, and they said they would
pay us, but it hasn't happened so far," the farmer said.
The seized lands have now been walled in and a sign posted up warning
people not to trespass, which has caused difficulties for local
farmers who need to cross the land to take their cattle to pasture.
Another plantation owner said that the new owners were demanding wheat
or labour from anyone seeking to cross their land.
"We've been asked to pay half a ton of wheat if we want to take two
buffalo cattle to graze, and one ton for cows," the plantation owner
said.
"If you just want to go yourself, then you have to cut 100 bamboo
stalks. So you don't have to pay, but you have to contribute labour."
Carpenters who want to cut through the area have to give 20 blocks of
wood to the owners.
Local residents said they have re****ted the case to the village Peace
and Development Council, but they have taken no action, and so they
intend to take their case further.
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Child recruits returned to families
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)-Four children who were sold to an army recruiter in
Kyi Myint Taing town****p on 23 January have been returned to their
families, who were asked to pay for their trans****t, local market
vendors said.
The children were detained by market security guards at the Central
Model Fish Market and then sold to sergeant Soe Myint, who took them
to Danyingon military recruitment centre.
According to a vendor at the market, the children were brought back
from Danyingon in the early hours of 24 January, the day after the
story was made public by several news agencies.
"Sergeant Soe Myint returned the children at around 2am in a military
vehicle," the vendor said.
"He asked for 30,000 kyat from the parents for trans****tation fees,
and the children have been banned from entering the fish area of the
market for six months."
The parents were unable to afford the 30,000 kyat demanded by Soe
Myint, so the vendors in the market came up with the money to free the
children.
One market vendor said that Soe Myint was well known for buying
children from the market in this way, and had made a lot of money from
it.
The Burmese regime has claimed that there are very few cases of child
military recruitment in the country, and says that those involved in
the practice will face punishment.
However, the United Nations and international rights organisation
Human Rights Watch have both recently drawn attention to the problem
of child recruitment in Burma.
The government has taken no action against Soe Myint or the market
security guards.
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U Gambira's hearing postponed
Feb 6, 2008 (DVB)-All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U Gambira, who has
been detained since 4 November for his role in instigating monk-led
protests in September last year, has had his court hearing postponed.
U Gambira was due to appear in court on Monday to face charges under
section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act.
U Gambira's older sister Ma Khin Thu Htay said she found out that his
hearing had been cancelled when she went to visit him in Insein prison
on Monday.
"It wasn't clear whether they are going to extend his remand period,
so I asked the Insein prison special ward administration office, but
they told to ask the main prison authorities," Khin Thu Htay
explained.
"So I asked there, but they referred me to the central prison
administration department, and when I went there they told me that the
case is being handled by the special police, so I should go and ask
them."
U Gambira's brother, Ko Aung Kyaw Kyaw, was also due to appear in
court on Monday on the same charges, and his hearing was also
cancelled.
Ma Khin Thu Htay said that U Gambira looked thinner, but seemed
otherwise healthy, and was still practising his daily activities as a
monk, despite being made to wear prison regulation clothing rather
than his robes.
"Both of them were fine - U Gambira looked a little thinner, but he
said it's because he hasn't been sleeping well at night; he said he
has been reading and meditating a lot."
The lawyers U Nyi Nyi Lwin and U Pho Phyu will be defending U Gambira
and his brother when their case comes to court.
Under section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act, they could each
face a three-year prison sentence.
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