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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MARCH 14, 2008
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HEADLINES
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AFP - UN rights expert denies he was offered a Myanmar visa
AFP - Pro-democracy group urges 'No' on Myanmar constitution
AFP - Thailand opposes sanctions on Myanmar: FM
AFP - Nine killed, 49 hurt in Myanmar truck crash
AFP - Singa****e Says UN Envoy Gambari Remains Best Hope for Reform in
Burma
AFP - Deadly violence in Tibet as Buddhist monks lead protests
Reuters - Crackdown fallout hits Myanmar tourism hard
Reuters - UN rights sleuth says Myanmar democracy is fantasy
AP - Myanmar dissidents make appeal
AP - Thai PM makes one-day trip to neighboring Myanmar
AP - Thai PM visits Myanmar to firm up economic ties with junta
UPI - Analysis: China arms Myanmar military
PD - Myanmar to launch ICT exhibition
Aljazeera - Myanmar rejects UN criticism
EnergyCurrent - Daewoo makes a move on Myanmar gas
DVB News - Villagers tricked into sup****ting constitution principles
DVB News - NCUB urges people to vote No in referendum
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UN rights expert denies he was offered a Myanmar visa
AFP - Saturday, March 15
GENEVA (AFP) - The UN human rights expert on Myanmar said Friday that
he had not been issued a promised visa to visit the country on a fact-
finding mission.
A statement in the afternoon from the UN said that special rap****teur
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro "announced that he had received the information
that his pass****t was ready to be picked up.
"Later in the afternoon, he learned that no visa had been issued in
his pass****t."
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Pro-democracy group urges 'No' on Myanmar constitution
Fri Mar 14, 1:35 AM ET
YANGON (AFP) - One of Myanmar's main pro-democracy groups Friday urged
voters to reject the ruling junta's proposed constitution when it goes
to a referendum in May.
The regime says approval of the charter will clear the way to multi-
party elections in 2010, but the 88 Generation Students' Group said it
would only enshrine military rule.
"This constitution is designed to protect and promote the interests,
wealth and security of generals and their cronies," the group said in
a statement.
"This constitution will allow the military dictator****p to perpetuate
in Burma," it added, using the country's previous name.
The 88 Generation Students' Group launched anti-government protests
last August, harnessing public anger over a surprise hike in fuel
prices.
Top leaders of the group have been arrested, but Buddhist monks
continued the demonstrations and they snowballed into the biggest
challenge to military rule in nearly two decades.
The military smashed the protests by firing into the crowds, which by
their peak had swelled to more than 100,000 people.
Revered Buddhist monks were detained and beaten and at least 31 people
were killed, according to the United Nations.
The 88 Generation Students, named after student-led protests in 1988
that were also brutally crushed, urged voters to reject the
constitution to show their opposition to the military's violent
tactics.
"With our 'No' votes, we will clean the blood and dirt stained on the
bodies of our revered monks by the soldiers," the group said.
"You do not need to be afraid. The authorities have no right to arrest
you for voting against this constitution. You are entitled to use your
vote freely.
"By voting against this constitution, let us show the enormous power
of the people. If you fail to do so, you will be afraid of the
military for the rest of your life and of your next generations," it
added.
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Thailand opposes sanctions on Myanmar: FM
Fri Mar 14, 1:40 AM ET
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand opposes Western sanctions on neighbouring
Myanmar and is ready to help the military-run country hold a
referendum on a new constitution in May, the foreign minister said
Friday.
"Thailand disagrees with sanctions," Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama
told re****ters before leaving for Myanmar with Prime Minister Samak
Sundaravej, who was making a one-day official visit to the country.
Myanmar is under US and European sanctions, which have been tightened
after the junta's bloody crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protests
in September 2007.
At least 31 people were killed and 74 re****ted missing during the
violence, according to the United Nations. Human Rights Watch has put
the number of dead at about 100 people, far higher than the 15 dead
re****ted by the junta.
But Noppadon said Thailand favoured negotiations over sanctions,
adding that talks with iron-fisted generals could lead to positive
developments in the country, which has been ruled by the military
since 1962.
The foreign minister also said the kingdom was ready to help Myanmar
hold its constitutional referendum planned for May.
"If Myanmar wants assistance from Thailand, we are ready to offer help
as a friendly country," Noppadon said.
Myanmar's junta has already refused UN technical assistance and
foreign observers at the May referendum, which the regime says will
pave the way for elections in 2010.
If held, the polls would be the first since detained democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi led the National League for Democracy to a landslide
victory in 1990 elections, a result never recognised by the regime.
But the new constitution would bar Aung San Suu Kyi from future
elections because of her marriage to a foreigner, the late Briton
Michael Aris. The junta already refused to amend the charter in talks
with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari.
Thailand is one of the biggest investors and trading partners in
Myanmar, spending billions of dollars a year to tap into the country's
natural gas and hydropower resources to power its own growing economy.
Samak is expected to discuss two major energy projects between Myanmar
and Thailand during the visit, government spokesman Wichianchot
Sukchotrat said Thursday.
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Nine killed, 49 hurt in Myanmar truck crash
AFP - Friday, March 14
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) - Nine people were killed and 49 others injured
when a truck flipped over on a highway in central Myanmar as it was
taking passengers to a religious festival, state media said Friday.
The truck, crammed with 72 people, was heading to a festival at the
Shwesettaw Pagoda in Magway division, 430 km north of the economic hub
Yangon, the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The accident was blamed on faulty brakes, the paper said, without
providing further details.
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, depends on old cars and
buses for trans****t as the military government has restricted vehicle
im****ts from abroad. Safety standards are often poor.
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Singa****e Says UN Envoy Gambari Remains Best Hope for Reform in Burma
Fri Mar 14, 10:43 AM ET
SINGA****E (AFP) -- UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari remains the best
prospect for political reform in military-ruled Myanmar [Burma],
current ASEAN chair Singa****e said Friday.
A spokesman for Singa****e's foreign ministry said it was "very
unfortunate" that Myanmar's military rulers did not engage Gambari
"more substantively" during the envoy's recent trip but cautioned
against quickly labelling the mission a failure.
"Professor Gambari's mission is a very difficult one. The Myanmar
issue is complex and demands immense patience and sustained effort,"
the spokesman said in a statement.
Gambari, a seasoned Nigerian diplomat, ended a five-day mission to
Myanmar on March 10.
He met democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice but got no tangible
concessions from the regime to include the Nobel peace prize winner in
its plans to hold a referendum in May.
The referendum is meant to pave the way for multiparty elections in
2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from participating in the vote under a
newly drafted constitution because she had been married to a
foreigner.
Gambari was not allowed to meet senior junta leaders and was also
publicly rebuked by the information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw
Hsan, for being biased in favour of the detained pro-democracy leader.
While Gambari was allowed to meet a wide range of people, including
several Myanmar ministers, "much needs to be done to ensure an
inclusive political process," the Singa****e foreign ministry spokesman
said.
"We urge the Myanmar authorities to reconsider their position.
Whatever the difficulties, Professor Gambari remains the best prospect
for moving the political process forward."
It was Gambari's third visit to Myanmar since security forces waged a
bloody crackdown on anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks in
September, when the United Nations estimates at least 31 people were
killed.
Singa****e currently holds the revolving chair of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations that groups Myanmar along with Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and
Vietnam.
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Deadly violence in Tibet as Buddhist monks lead protests
by Guy Newey
AFP - Friday, March 14
BEIJING (AFP) - The Tibetan capital Lhasa erupted in deadly violence
Friday as security forces used gunfire to quell the biggest protests
against Chinese rule in two decades, officials and rights groups said.
The protests, which spread outside Tibet into other areas of China,
came amid a growing international campaign by Tibetans to challenge
Beijing's rule of the Himalayan region ahead of the Olympic Games in
August.
Several people lost their lives and many others were injured in Lhasa
on Friday, an official at the city's medical emergency centre told
AFP, with Radio Free Asia re****ting at least two people had been
killed by Chinese bullets.
The United States, Britain and other European states expressed concern
over the violence, with the White House calling on Beijing to "respect
Tibetan culture" and the US ambassador here asking officials to "act
with restraint".
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said the protests
were a result of public resentment of the "brute force" employed by
China to maintain control of the region for more than 50 years.
"I therefore appeal to the Chinese leader****p to stop using force and
address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through
dialogue with the Tibetan people," he said in a statement issued from
his base in India.
"I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence."
More than 100 Buddhist monks kicked off the protests early Friday,
which quickly attracted hundreds of other Tibetans and saw one of the
biggest markets in
Lhasa as well as cars set ablaze, foreign tourists and rights groups
said.
At least 900 people rioted in Lhasa, and more than 1,000 security
forces were sent in to quell the unrest, the London-based Free Tibet
Campaign said, citing Tibetans in the city.
The official at the medical emergency centre in Lhasa said staff were
overwhelmed by the number of victims.
"We are very busy with the injured people now -- there are many people
injured here. Definitely some people have died, but I don't know how
many," a female official at the centre said by phone.
Radio Free Asia, a US-funded broadcaster that has proved to have good
contacts inside Tibet, said there had been terrible clashes between
Tibetans and Chinese security forces.
"Chinese police fired on rioting Tibetan protesters in Lhasa on
Friday, killing at least two people, as Tibetans torched cars and
shops and anti-Chinese demonstrators surged through the streets," it
said.
Foreign tourists and a local Tibetan contacted by AFP also re****ted
hearing gunfire in Lhasa.
The Free Tibet Campaign said security forces also used tear gas.
The unrest spread outside Lhasa, with monks leading a rally of up to
4,000 people in Xiahe, Gansu province, the site of one of Tibetan
Buddhism's most im****tant monasteries, the Free Tibet Campaign said,
citing Tibetan sources there.
Chinese authorities did not immediately comment on the unrest but the
official Xinhua news agency confirmed that shops were set on fire in
Lhasa and that there had been violence.
"Witnesses said a number of shops were burnt and some others nearby
shut down business," Xinhua said.
Xinhua said some people had been sent to hospital with unspecified
injuries. Fires broke out in a market and street near the Jokhang
temple -- regarded as one of the most sacred sites for Tibetan
Buddhists -- in the old part of Lhasa, a firefighter and tourists in
the city told AFP.
The unrest followed three days of protests by hundreds of monks in
Lhasa, India and elsewhere around the world that marked the
anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops in to
"liberate" the region from what it said was feudal rule. Tibet's
spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India following the failed
1959 uprising.
Tibetan rights groups have vowed to pile intense pressure on China
over its controversial rule of the region in the lead-up to the Summer
Olympic Games, when the world's spotlight will be put on the nation's
communist rulers.
The protests are the biggest since 1989, when current Chinese
President Hu Jintao was the Communist Party chief of Tibet.
Hu is due to be re-elected on Saturday by the nation's rubber-stamp
parliament as president for another five years.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, run by exiles in
India, said the protests began when 100 monks from the Ramoche temple
north of Lhasa walked into the city centre early Friday.
The monks "were blocked by Chinese armed police which led to minor
scuffles between the two," the centre said in a statement posted on
its website.
"The monks carried forward their peaceful demonstration which
eventually grew bigger with bystanders joining them."
Foreigners in Lhasa contacted by AFP re****ted that Buddhist monks and
others had protested throughout the city, and that tourists had been
told to stay in their hotel rooms.
"Buddhist monks have marched in the street," a French tourist
contacted at his hotel told AFP, saying the areas near the Jokhang
temple had been sealed off.
"It is not possible to go to Barkor street, the monastery is closed...
it is forbidden to go down there."
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Crackdown fallout hits Myanmar tourism hard
By Ed Cropley
Thu Mar 13, 8:26 PM ET
BAGAN, Myanmar (Reuters) - It may be awash with cultural splendors,
topped off by the 1,000-year-old temples of Bagan, but a reviled
military government has ensured Myanmar has never been flooded with
foreign tourists.
Six months after September's bloody crackdown on monk-led protests,
that trickle of visitors -- 350,000 in 2006 compared to 13 million in
neighboring Thailand -- has all but dried up.
The former Burma's rigidly controlled domestic newspapers admit
tourism almost halved in the three months after the crackdown, in
which the United Nations says at least 31 people were killed.
But in Bagan, a mystical plain studded with more than 4,000 temples
and stupas on the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy River, hotel and
restaurant operators say occupancy rates and takings are just 20-30
percent of the same time last year.
Given that the unrest, and the shocking images of soldiers attacking
monks and unarmed demonstrators, fell on the eve of the "cool season"
-- the traditional peak time for tourism -- the decline is threatening
many with ruin.
"There are so few visitors at the moment," said tour guide Aung Myint
with a shake of the head. "Many people are wondering how they will
sup****t their families during the low season. Now is when we're meant
to be making all our money."
Although it only took a few days for the junta to crush the biggest
democracy protests in 19 years, pictures, including the shooting of a
Japanese journalist, reinforced the image of the former British colony
as an unstable, hostile place.
Besides a growing number of Russian tour groups, the only visitors who
appear to have shrugged off scruples or the perception of risk are
German.
"I don't know why but most of the tourists now are Germans," said Aung
Thein Myint, owner of a swish open-air restaurant on the banks of the
Irrawaddy, where takings in October and November were down by 80
percent.
"They seem to think that until they start shooting Germans, it's still
safe to visit," he said.
BLAME IT ON THE MEDIA
In typically uncompromising tone, the junta -- the latest face of 46
years of unbroken military rule -- blames the decline on the foreign
media and dissidents who smuggled out pictures and re****ts of
atrocities on the Internet.
"Some foreigners attempted to tarnish the image of Myanmar by posting
in the Web sites the photos of the protest walks," Deputy Tourism
Minister Aye Myint Kyu, a brigadier-general, wrote in state-run papers
in January under a widely known pseudonym.
However, in one sense he is right: coverage of the crisis put the oft-
forgotten southeast Asian nation firmly in the world spotlight and
bolstered the cries of many anti-government organizations telling
potential visitors to stay away.
Under the slogan "The cost of a holiday could be someone's life,"
groups such as the Burma Campaign UK argue that every tourist dollar
props up a regime that uses forced labor, child soldiers and
systematic rape of ethnic minority women -- allegations the junta
denies.
Boycott campaigners also say that the jobs of people working in
tourism are an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of the wider
effort to overthrow the generals.
"The tourism industry in Burma is tiny. The vast majority of people
will never see a tourist in their life," said Anna Roberts of the
Burma Campaign UK.
SHOULD I STAY, SHOULD I GO?
Even though the call for a boycott came from detained Nobel peace
laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, it is not without its
critics.
In particular, detractors argue it is an empty gesture since the cash
gleaned directly and indirectly from tourism is a tiny fraction of
that from gems and natural gas, which made the generals more than $2
billion in sales to Thailand alone in 2007.
They also say it pushes them further into the isolation on which they
appear to thrive.
"The boycott is totally pointless," said Ton Schoonderwoerd, an
independent Dutch tourist watching the sun rise above Bagan's temples,
the product of 230 years of building by Buddhist kings that came to an
abrupt end with a Mongol invasion in 1287.
"It may seem good to politicians in the U.S. and Europe, but out here
it just means that people struggle even more to make ends meet," he
said.
Rather than coming down on either side of what is a passionate debate,
backpacker bible Lonely Planet chooses simply to outline the pros and
cons of visiting, and urges those who do to avoid government-run
hotels and airlines.
********************************************************
UN rights sleuth says Myanmar democracy is fantasy
14 Mar 2008 13:14:42 GMT
By Robert Evans
GENEVA, March 14 (Reuters) - A U.N. rights envoy said on Friday he
could believe in 'gnomes, trolls and elves' as readily as he could
credit the Myanmar military's democratic reforms.
But the United Nations special investigator for human rights in
Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, told a news briefing that the Myanmar
authorities had earlier in the day issued him with a visa to visit
after over two months of delay.
He described the development as "auspicious".
"If you believe in gnomes, trolls and elves, you can believe in this
democratic process in Myanmar," said Pinheiro, who on Thursday
presented a re****t to the U.N. Human Rights Council arguing that
repression of dissent was growing there.
Although the government had announced it would hold a referendum in
May on a constitution setting the nation on a path to democracy with
elections set for 2010, this was difficult to reconcile with wide
restrictions on free speech, he added.
Responding to the re****t, Myanmar ambassador Wunna Maung Lwin had told
the Council it "completely lacks.... objectivity and impartiality".
A SIGN
In his re****t, the Brazilian jurist told the 47-member Council that
Myanmar's secretive administration was barring outdoor meetings of
more than 5 people, had continued targetting political opponents and
held some 1,850 political prisoners.
"For a democracy to be sustainable, it has to be inclusive and
representative of the views of all the people in Myanmar," said
Pinheiro who steps down from his job later this year.
"No referendum or elections can be fair, no transition to democracy
can be effective, without the release of political prisoners, the
authorisation for all political parties to operate, and the protection
of the basic civil and political freedoms, all non-existent in
Myanmar," he added.
In December the Council told Myanmar it should prosecute those
responsible for a violent crackdown on monk-led protests last
September, lift the house arrest of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi and free all political detainees.
Pinheiro said on Friday that the military junta -- which insists all
human rights are observed in the country and that all those jailed
have violated laws -- had ignored resolutions by the Council and the
U.N. General Assembly.
"The trouble with this country is that it makes no concessions," he
said.
Pinheiro told re****ters he was delighted that his visa had come
through in the wake of his re****t. "Perhaps we should see this as a
sign that the (Myanmar) military are ready to continue dialogue with
the Council."
He said he would leave for Myanmar as soon as he could obtain a
flight. Last week U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited the
country and was allowed to see Suu Kyi but had no meeting with top
generals.
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Myanmar dissidents make appeal
Fri Mar 14, 6:05 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar dissidents urged voters Friday to
reject a military-drafted constitution that will be presented to them
in an upcoming referendum.
A statement from The 88 Generation Students said the May referendum
would be a "sham" and described the draft constitution as a do***ent
that would only perpetuate military domination of the country.
"People who are eligible to vote should go to polling stations and put
`No' votes in the ballot boxes. You do not need to be afraid. The
authorities have no right to arrest you for voting against this
constitution," the statement said.
The 88 Generation Students =E2=80=94 named after a pro-democracy uprising
in=
1988 that was crushed =E2=80=94 staged peaceful demonstrations in Myanmar,
also known as Burma, last year.
Those demonstrations led to mass protests that were brutally
suppressed by the ruling military. A number of the group's members
were arrested.
The regime says the constitution is a landmark along a so-called seven-
step roadmap to democracy.
The U.S. Campaign for Burma, an activist group based in Wa****ngton,
called Friday's statement the "first official voice of democracy
forces inside Burma calling for the people to vote `no' to the junta's
sham constitution."
International human rights groups have also denounced the constitution
as an instrument for military rule, which stretches back to 1962.
The military hand-picked most of the constitution drafters, barred pro-
democracy groups from providing input and included clauses in the
charter that would ensure its control over key government and security
sectors.
"This constitution is designed to protect and promote the interests,
wealth and security of the generals and their cronies," the statement
said.
The draft constitution re****tedly bans anyone married to a foreigner
from holding national office. That could bar detained pro-democracy
leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose British
husband, Michael Aris, died in 1999.
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Thai PM makes one-day trip to neighboring Myanmar
AP - Friday, March 14
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej met
Friday with the leader of military-ruled Myanmar during a one-day
courtesy visit, official sources said.
Samak, traveling with Thailand's foreign minister and army commander,
held talks with Senior Gen. Than Shwe in the new capital of Naypyitaw,
Myanmar government sources said. The sources declined to give their
names because they were not authorized to speak with the press.
Thai government spokesman Wichianchote Sukchotrat said there was no
fixed agenda for the trip, calling it a courtesy visit by the new
prime minister.
Samak was to fly from Naypyitaw to the country's largest city, Yangon,
to attend the inauguration of a new Thai Embassy building, meet Thai
businessmen and visit the famous Shwedagon pagoda before returning
home.
Thailand is one of Myanmar's biggest foreign investors and trading
partners, and it is eager to increase its economic interests in the
military-ruled country despite sanctions by some Western countries,
which condemn Myanmar's human rights record.
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Thai PM visits Myanmar to firm up economic ties with junta
AP - Saturday, March 15
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Thailand's new prime minister met Friday with
Myanmar's ruling general in a bid to shore up economic ties between
the Southeast Asian neighbors.
Thailand is one of the biggest foreign investors and trading partners
of military-ruled Myanmar.
The trip by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej came amid growing concerns
that Myanmar's ruling junta is ignoring the world's demands to move
toward genuine democracy and is instead tightening its grip on power.
The junta rejected virtually all suggestions of moves to foster
political reconciliation made by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari
during a visit that ended Monday.
Samak was making his first visit to Thailand's western neighbor since
taking office last month.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama and army commander
Gen. Anupong Paojinda, he traveled to the new Myanmar capital of
Naypyitaw to hold talks with junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe, said
Myanmar officials, who asked for anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak to the press.
During the visit, Noppadon was scheduled to sign an investment
protection agreement, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit
Charungvat said in Bangkok.
The Thai visitors were also to hold talks with their Myanmar
counterparts on economic and trade cooperation, especially about the
production and exploitation of natural gas and feasibility studies for
hydropower projects.
Thai state-owned energy companies are the largest purchasers of gas
from Myanmar, contributing almost US$2 billion (=EF=BF=BD1.3 billion) a
year=
to the military regime.
Many Western nations, including the United States and members of the
European Union, maintain economic and political sanctions against the
regime for its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power
to a democratically elected government.
Tharit said Thailand prefers a different approach.
"Some countries believe in sanctions. We believe in engaging them more
and sharing our democratic experience," Tharit said.
He said the investment protection pact is meant to protect Thai
investors and encourage more transparent investment in Myanmar, which
will benefit from higher employment and economic growth.
Myanmar, also known as Burma, has long been under international
pressure to make democratic reforms, particularly since it violently
crushed peaceful mass protests last September.
The junta made a surprise announcement last month that it will hold a
May referendum on a draft constitution and will hold a general
election in 2010 _ the first specific dates it has set for its so-
called "roadmap to democracy."
Dissidents, diplomats and human rights groups have widely dismissed
the roadmap as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule.
********************************************************
United Press International
Analysis: China arms Myanmar military
Published: March 14, 2008 at 10:07 AM
By ANDREI CHANG
HONG KONG, March 14 (UPI) -- China has ex****ted two 16 PA6 ****pborne
diesel engines to Myanmar to be fitted on its navy's indigenous patrol
****ps, a representative of the German MAN Diesel Co., which designed
the original engines, has confirmed.
The PLA navy's 054A missile frigate uses four 16 PA6 engines, produced
by China under license from MAN Diesel. MAN Diesel was originally the
SEMT Pielstick Co., under French owner****p, but changed its name
following restructuring last year.
China's ex****t of these engines will help Myanmar upgrade its patrol
vessels. Since 1998, Myanmar has built three Sinmalaik-class patrol
vessels, with help from China in the design and construction of the
vessel hulls.
The Sinmalaik-class patrol vessel has a full-load displacement of
1,000 tons and is not fitted with ****p-to-****p missiles. The Myanmar
navy apparently has plans to develop its own light-duty offshore
patrol vessels with China's assistance, and China's provision of the
16 PA6 engines is likely related to this plan.
Most of the major surface combatants of the Myanmar navy were supplied
by China, so the navy resembles the PLA navy in many respects. It has
acquired Chinese 40-kilometer-range C-801 ****p-to-****p missiles along
with 037-G high-speed missile patrol boats. The Myanmar navy
altogether has four 037-G fast missile boats, which were all delivered
between 1995 and 1997.
China officially issued an ex****t license for its new C-802A ****p-to-
****p missiles six months ago, intending to promote sales to South and
Southeast Asian countries. The C-802A has a range of 180 kilometers
and is a replacement for the earlier C-801 and C-802 SSMs.
Not only the Myanmar navy but also its army and air force are equipped
with massive Chinese military equipment. For the past 10 years, China
has been the largest supplier of arms to the country. Japanese
television news broadcast during last September's military crackdown
on Buddhist monks showed Myanmar soldiers using Chinese-made Dongfeng
trucks and even wearing Chinese helmets.
The army has been equipped with more than 100 Chinese T-69-II main
battle tanks and 55 new T-90 armored personnel carriers. A Google
Earth satellite photo shows that at least two Chinese A5M attackers
have been deployed in the northern city of Mandalay, which can be used
for assaults on rebels in the northern part of the country.
China sold more than 22 A5M attackers and at least 50 F-7 fighters to
the Myanmar air force in 1991 and 1993. Satellite photos have also
shown two Chinese-made Y-8 trans****ters at the Yangon air****t. Also,
12 Chinese Lang Chang K-8 jet trainer aircraft have been sold to the
country in the past seven years, the same type sold to the Sudanese
air force.
For its part, China is actively pursuing access to Myanmar's natural
resources, especially its oil and natural gas. Last year China won a
bid to extract natural gas from Myanmar's biggest offshore field,
believed to hold as much as 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas. The gas is
to be delivered by a pipeline, yet to be constructed, via Mandalay to
China's southern province of Yunnan.
(Andrei Chang is editor in chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly,
registered in Toronto.)
********************************************************
People's Daily Online
Myanmar to launch ICT exhibition
+-13:16, March 14, 2008
Myanmar will launch a three-day information and communication
technology (ICT) exhibition in Yangon in late this month to promote
the development of the advanced technology, according to the
organizer, the Myanmar Computer Federation (MCF), Friday.
The Myanmar ICT Exhibition 2008, also co-sponsored by the Myanmar
Computer Professionals Association and the Myanmar Computer
Industrialists Association, is scheduled for March 21 to 23 at the
Tatmadaw Convention Hall.
According to the organizer, a total of 90 local and foreign companies
will showcase accessories of computers, new technology for networking,
software solutions, computer courses and books at the exhibition where
computer related equipment will also be sold.
Myanmar has been striving for the development of ICT to contribute its
part to the national economic development.
In December last year, Myanmar's first largest ICT park, also known as
the Yadanabon Cyber City, was opened in Pyin Oo Lwin, a northern city
of Myanmar in Mandalay division. The launching of the cyber city was
attached with an ICT week exhibition activities joined by over 100
local and foreign ICT companies.
Myanmar has also been implementing an ICT development master plan
under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and detailed programs
to link international networks are also being carried out in
accordance with the master plan drafted by the MCF.
Being a signatory to the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement initiated at 2000
Singa****e summit, Myanmar has formed the e-National Task Force to
sup****t the IT development.
Besides, the country has also signed a series of memorandums of
understanding since 2003 with such companies as from Malaysia,
Thailand, China and South Korea on ICT development.
********************************************************
Aljazeera.net - FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008
Myanmar rejects UN criticism
Myanmar's military government has rejected a United Nations re****t
highlighting the continued arrest and detention of political
activists, journalists and human rights campaigners in the country.
The UN special rap****teur on Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, delivered
the re****t to the UN human rights council this week saying the
government had "accelerated" rather than stopped unlawful arrests.
Pinheiro's re****t said initial indications by Myanmar's military
government of a willingness to address human rights abuses had
"disappeared".
He added that more than 700 people arrested during last September's
anti-government demonstrations, including a number of monks, were
re****tedly still in prison.
But Pinheiro's re****t was rejected by Myanmar's ambassador to the UN,
saying the military government allows freedom of expression and
assembly.
U Wunna Maung Lwin said the allegations in the re****t were unobjective
and dictate to the Myanmar government on matters falling within its
domestic jurisdiction.
"There are no political prisoners in Myanmar. The individuals who are
serving prison terms are those breaking the established laws of
Myanmar," U Wunna Maung Lwin said.
He added that Myanmar security forces had restored peace and stability
in the wake of last year's protests.
Unveiling his findings, Pinheiro said he believed there to be about
1,850 political prisoners behind bars in Myanmar jails as of January.
He said restrictions on freedom of movement, expression, association
and assembly continue to be re****ted in Myanmar.
He spoke of allegations of arrests and harassment of individuals
accused of communicating information to the foreign organisations and
media.
Pinheiro was particularly concerned about accounts of political
activists, human rights defenders and journalists being searched and
detained for reasons including possession of copies of his re****ts to
the UN.
International pressure mounted on Myanmar after its violent crackdown
on protesters last year, including from its Asean neighbours.
But calls for political reforms to include the opposition have largely
fallen on deaf years and the voices urging change have grown
noticeably quieter.
Thai PM visit
On Friday, the new Thai prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, made a
"courtesy" visit to the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw for talks with the
country's top leader, Senior General Than Shwe.
Wichianchote Sukchotrat, a Thai government spokesman, said Samak's
visit was "purely to introduce himself".
"The Thai government will not raise the issue of Myanmar's political
development because it's a sensitive issue and Myanmar's government is
never willing to talk," he said.
Another senior government official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said Thailand - one of the biggest investors and trading
partners in Myanmar - would congratulate the ruling generals on their
plan to hold a constitutional referendum in May.
The military says the referendum will clear the way for multi-party
elections in 2010 as part of its "road map to democracy" but local and
international observers have criticised the plan as a thinly veiled
attempt to hold on to power.
The rules of the plan block Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained opposition
leader, from running in any elections.
Samak does plan to discuss the flight of political dissidents into the
kingdom as well as the hundreds of thousands of refugees and economic
migrants living there, the Thai official added.
However, the Thai leader is apparently carrying a message from the US
to the generals.
Christopher Hill, the top American official on East Asian affairs,
held talks with Samak last month and asked him to deliver an
undisclosed message from Wa****ngton.
********************************************************
EnergyCurrent
Daewoo makes a move on Myanmar gas
By Hwee Hwee Tan
Filed from Singa****e 14/03/2008 11:01:55 GMT
MYANMAR: South Korea's Daewoo International could be calling a tender
soon for the joint development of the three offshore discoveries in
Myanmar BlocksA-1 and A-3, pending the finalisation of a gas sales
agreement.
The two offshore blocks contain three gas fields, Shwe, Shwe Phyu and
Mya, last estimated to hold reserves of 4.53 Tcf to 7.74 Tcf.
Negotiation is said to be underway to conclude an agreement to ex****t
gas from to China. However, the deal could face strong opposition from
India's ONGC and Gail. The two companies hold a combined 30 percent
stake in the two blocks.
The current proposal for the gas development involves the construction
and installation of a process and wellhead platform with conductors
for drilling operations. The proposed production facilities also
include a 70 to 120 kilometre (43 to 75 mile) ex****t pipeline from
Block A-1 to shore and inter-field flowlines between the Shwe, Shwe
Phyu and Mya discoveries.
South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries,
the world's two largest ****pyards, have expressed interest in
participating in the engineering, procurement, installation and
commissioning tender for the gas project. The tender may also attract
interest from COOEC, the engineering arm of CNOOC and other Chinese
****pyards.
Daewoo operates the blocks with a 60 percent stake. India's ONGC and
Gail hold 30 percent interest while South Korea's Kogas holds the
remaining 10 percent interest.
********************************************************
Villagers tricked into sup****ting constitution principles
Mar 14, 2008 (DVB)=E2=80=93Villagers in Taung Twin Gyi town****p in Magwe
division have said they were tricked into signing a statement in
sup****t of constitutional principles by local officials.
Since Monday this week, local authorities and Union Solidarity and
Development Association members have been going from house to house in
Kyi Sin and Nat Sin Kone villages collecting household lists.
After collecting names, identity card numbers, and parents=E2=80=99 names
an=
d
addresses, the officials made the villagers sign a do***ent, a local
resident said.
=E2=80=9CThey covered the heading on the do***ent with their hands and
wouldn=E2=80=99t let us read it,=E2=80=9D the resident said.
=E2=80=9CBut I accidentally saw what it said, which was something like
=E2=
=80=98List
of voters sup****ting the national referendum=E2=80=99.=E2=80=9D
Other villagers who saw the do***ent more clearly said that it was an
agreement in sup****t of the 104 basic constitutional principles.
When people asked for an explanation of the 104 principles, the
officials said they had already been well-publicised.
=E2=80=9CSome people saw the agreement on these 104 basic principles and
ask=
ed
what they were, but the authorities wouldn=E2=80=99t explain,=E2=80=9D the
r=
esident
said.
=E2=80=9CThey just said they had been publicised on the radio and
television=
so people should find out for themselves, and that they did not have
the authority to explain them.=E2=80=9D
Villagers said that even the USDA members who were collecting
signatures were overheard asking each other what the 104 principles
were.
Local authorities, USDA members and education officials have also been
re****ted collecting signatures in the same way in other villages in
the town****p.
********************************************************
NCUB urges people to vote No in referendum
Mar 14, 2008 (DVB)=E2=80=93The National Council of the Union of Burma, an
umbrella organisation of exiled opposition groups, has called on the
people of Burma to vote No in the constitutional referendum.
The Burmese military regime plans to hold a referendum on its proposed
constitution in May this year.
Khun Myint Tun, a member of the NCUB secretariat, said pu****ng for a
No vote was part of a strategy to oppose the regime=E2=80=99s seven-step
roadmap at every stage.
"The NCUB's policy is to oppose the whole roadmap system of the SPDC
government,=E2=80=9D he said.
=E2=80=9CWe have to oppose it at every stage and this is the basis of our
decision."
Khun Myint Tun said that voting against the constitution would deny
legitimacy to the government=E2=80=99s efforts to push through their own
agenda.
"The SPDC is going to force the outcome they want from the referendum
and they are going to accomplish that using various methods of
deception,=E2=80=9D he said.
=E2=80=9CWe are urging people to tackle them so that they cannot use
loophol=
es
to escape."
Khun Myint Tun also called on members of the Union Solidarity and
Development Association to vote against the constitution.
"Among the USDA members, there are teachers, government employees, and
many of them don=E2=80=99t accept the government's referendum,=E2=80=9D he
s=
aid.
=E2=80=9CThey are certainly not in a position where they can refuse to
vote =
in
the national referendum. We would like to tell them to vote, no matter
what - but vote No."
Using a football analogy, Khun Myint Tun said it was the people inside
Burma who could make a difference.
"The [opposition] leaders inside the country are the strikers of the
game. It is their decisions which are im****tant," he said.
********************************************************
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