Taiwan Free Burma Network: 一人一信 聲援緬甸人權鬥士◎FTV

Taiwan Free Burma Network: 一人一信 聲援緬甸人權鬥士◎FTV

Drugs go up in somke

SSA leader Colonel Yawd Serk set drugs on fire.

Drugs go up in smoke

The Shan State Army (SSA), one of the few remaining ethnic armies fighting the military junta of Burma, yesterday held a massive drug bonfire at a military base in Loi Kawwan as part of its campaign to win support from abroad.

In front of about 500 observers from Burma's Shan State and Thailand, SSA leader Colonel Yawd Serk set more than one million methamphetamine tablets, or "ya ba" pills, on fire.

Foreign journalists also observed proceedings at Loi Kawwan base, which is opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Fah Luang district.

The drugs were seized by a 30-strong unit of SSA soldiers who intercepted a shipment coming down the Mekong on Feb 6. A one-hour shoot-out between the traffickers and the SSA unit ended in the death of two soldiers and the sinking of three boats.

The incident took place just north of the "Golden Triangle".

The drugs appeared to have originated from Burma's so-called Special Region 2, an area along the Sino-Burmese border controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), dubbed the world's largest drug trafficking army by the US State Department. The pro-Rangoon UWSA and the SSA, accused by the Burmese junta of being a Thai proxy, are historical enemies and continue to engage in sporadic clashes.

Yawd Serk said the SSA was ready to enter cease-fire talks with the Burmese junta and even cooperate with them on drug suppression.

Wiwatchai Sukhum, The Nation, LOI KAWWAN, BURMA

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/07/national/national_30036218.php

Planned junta-SSA meeting called off

Maj Lao Hseng

23 May 2007 S.H.A.N

The planned historic meeting between the Burma Army and Shan State Army (SSA) South on the border today was postponed indefinitely after the Burma Army delegation failed to appear at the venue, according to SSA leader Col Yawdserk.

Speaking from his Loi Taileng base, opposite Thailand's Maehongson, the 50-year old commander expressed his "disappointment" that the meeting failed to take place as planned. "I hope both sides will regard this only as a temporary setback, as it will truly be in the interests of all those concerned if we can meet sometime in the near future."

The meeting was called off reportedly because both sides could not agree on the venue. The Burma Army had wanted its first get-together with the SSA delegation led by Assistant Secretary General and Spokesperson Maj Lao Hseng to take place in Tachilek. "The first meeting, we believe, should be at a neutral location," said Yawdserk. "But future meetings can be held anywhere, even Pyinmana, if sufficient mutual trust has been built up."

The SSA South, since 1996, has been calling for peace talks with the Burma Army. The latter had in the past insisted that the former had no choice but to surrender. The latest call for the meeting had come from the Burma Army, that had for unexplained reasons made a complete U turn in its policy towards the SSA.

http://www.shanland.org/politics/2007/planned-junta-ssa-meeting-called-off

Ceasefire group poised between quitting and continuation

^{Aung Kham Hti ,The chairman of PaO National Army}

Ceasefire group poised between quitting and continuation
24 April 2007 S.H.A.N

The PaO National Army (PNA) that had concluded a ceasefire agreement with Burma's ruling military junta 16 years earlier is in a quandary as the 2007 deadline to declare areas under its sway drug-free draws near, according to a reliable source in southern Shan State.

"PNA members were among some of the recent arrests made by the drug enforcement officials," said the source who requested anonymity, "and they have greatly embarrassed the group and its leader Aung Kham Hti".

Aung Kham Hti, a former Buddhist monk, is also one of the 3 patrons of the pro-SPDC southern Shan State's Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and one of the 5 chairmen of the National Convention's Other Invited Guests group.

The PNA, according to a report by World Food Program, has declared the group will be opium-free by 2007.

Accordingly, the group and its rival-turned-prot้g้ Shan State Nationalities Peoples Liberation Organization (SNPLO) had launched a poppy-destruction campaign during the last opium season that ended last month.

The result was mixed reactions by the public. "The fields in lowland area were destroyed after they had paid their taxes which infuriated the farmers," said Hkun Tetlu, vice chairman of the anti-SPDC PaO People's Liberation Organization (PPLO). "Fields beyond public view, on the other hand, were left untouched. It was nothing but a publicity stunt".

The source from the south related a meeting in 2005 between Aung Kham Hti and the villagers of Sawng Pyawng aka Chawng Plawng in Panglawng, a township west of the Shan State capital Taunggyi. "Aung Kham Hti, while exhorting the farmers to give up opium cultivation, also urged each family to have 6 children," he recounted. "A farmer with 12 children then asked him, 'Where do we get the money to feed them if we are not allowed to grow opium?' leaving him speechless."

The PaOs, formerly associated in the public eye with cheroot-leaves plantations have become known as opium producers, now that their cheroot-leaves trees are being substituted with poppy plants, according to a PaO women's newsletter.

The PNA and SNPLO had made peace with Burma's ruling junta the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1991 and 1994 respectively. The PaOs, the largest minority in Shan State, have been given a self administrative status by the National Convention. To which a Shan activist leader had responded last year using a pseudonym: "The PaOs, with a population of 1.1 million, certainly deserve an autonomous homeland, but the granting of the status by the regime, itself an illegitimate entity, is a shameless divide-and-rule-scheme."

http://www.shanland.org/drugs/2007/ceasefire-group-poised-between-quitting-and-continuation

Human Rights Report on Burma

Location Map of Burma (Myanmar's former name)

Human Rights Report on Burma

_ US State Department’s Report

Burma is ruled by an authoritarian military regime that enforced its firm grip on power with a pervasive security apparatus. The State Peace and Development Council, led by Senior General Than Shwe, was the country's de facto government. In 1990 the National League for Democracy won more than 80 percent of the seats in a general parliamentary election, but the regime ignored the results. During the year the regime’s deplorable human rights record worsened. Security forces committed extrajudicial killings, custodial deaths, disappearances, torture, rape, and forcible relocation of persons, used forced labor and conscripted child soldiers. Citizens did not have the right to change their government. Although the government revoked its original order to the International Committee for the Red Cross that it close all of its five field offices, it has not granted the International Committee for the Red Cross permission to continue all of its activities from those offices. The army increased attacks on ethnic minority villagers in Bago Division and Karen State in an attempt to drive them from their traditional land. The government abused prisoners and detainees, held persons in harsh and life threatening conditions, and routinely used incommunicado detention. More than 1,100 people continued to languish in jails for the peaceful expression of their political views. National League for Democracy General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi and Vice Chairman Tin Oo remained incommunicado and under house arrest. The government restricted freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement. The government harassed and created difficulties for domestic human rights NGOs, and international NGOs encountered a restrictive environment. Violence and societal discrimination against ethnic minorities continued, as did trafficking in persons, including state-sponsored forced labor and widespread sexual exploitation of women and children. During the year the government released just a few political prisoners, among them labor activists Su Su Nway and Aye Myint, but arrested 17 others, including five leaders of the 88 Generation Group.

At year’s end, the regime reportedly intended to promulgate a new constitution and handpicked the delegates to attend the National Convention, which was suspended in 1996 and reconvened in 2004. The National Convention did not permit free debate and, for that reason, the National League for Democracy has not participated since 1995. Apart from its Rangoon headquarters, the National League for Democracy offices nationwide remained closed. Although the regime allowed UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari to visit twice during the year, there was no discernable improvement in the government’s human rights record or lessening of its harsh treatment of democratic opponents. Moreover, it continued to refuse permission for UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Paulo Sergio Pinheiro to visit the country.

U.S. human rights and democracy goals include the unconditional and immediate release of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and more than 1,100 other political prisoners, an immediate end to military attacks on ethnic minorities, initiation of a credible and inclusive political process leading to national reconciliation, and unrestricted access for humanitarian assistance providers. The United States engaged in active bilateral and multilateral efforts with key partners and players in the Asia region, as well as the EU and like-minded countries, to raise international pressure on the regime to affect meaningful political reform.

The United States worked aggressively and multilaterally to press for change in Burma. Such efforts included support for the UN process led by Under-Secretary-General Gambari, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, as well as for the work of the International Labor Organization, the office of the UN high commissioner for refugees, and other international organizations. With the strong support of the United States, the UN Security Council agreed to place Burma on its permanent agenda on September 15. Following his two trips to Burma during the year, UN Under-Secretary-General Gambari briefed the Council on the continued deterioration of freedoms and called on the regime to release political prisoners, engage the democratic opposition in dialogue, stop its attacks on ethnic Karen civilians, and permit greater access to humanitarian organizations. The United States urged Burma's neighbors to press the regime to release all political prisoners and initiate a credible and inclusive political process.

The United States was a vocal advocate for the rights of democracy activists, including Aung San Suu Kyi. First Lady Laura Bush chaired a session on the situation in Burma in New York concurrently with the UN General Assembly. Speaking to key ASEAN leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit in November, President Bush described the situation in Burma as "totally unacceptable" and encouraged them to engage the country more actively to improve its human rights record and move toward democracy. The United States also pursued the goal of promoting democracy and respect for human rights through vigorous public diplomacy and democracy programs. Following the regime’s May announcement that it had prolonged Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention for another year, the United States again called on the government to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners and to initiate meaningful dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minority political groups.

The United States, EU members, and other nations have imposed a variety of sanctions on the junta. These sanctions signaled international disapproval while exerting pressure on the regime to end its human rights abuses and allow for genuine democracy. The U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act for a fourth year, and President Bush signed the bill on August 1. U.S. sanctions included bans on the export of financial services by U.S. citizens, on imports from the country, and on new U.S. investment and a full arms embargo. Sanctions also blocked all bilateral aid to the government, Generalized System of Preferences privileges, and funding through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Export-Import Bank programs. The United States maintained visa restrictions on Burma’s senior military and government officials and opposed all new lending or grant programs by international financial institutions.

The United States also supported journalist training, civil society development, and scholarship programs inside the country and among exile communities to prepare citizens to assume leadership roles during a political transition. The United States promoted the rule of law and democracy by providing information on human rights, democratic values, and governance issues through speaker programs, exchange programs, publications, and other information outreach. U.S. officials in the country regularly disseminated news from Web sites blocked by government censors. U.S. courses on civics and good governance inspired political activists to create their own Burmese-language versions of the courses, as well as improving their organizational and speaking abilities. The United States also supported humanitarian assistance programs in the country and along the Thai border serving Burmese refugees. All U.S. humanitarian and democracy-related assistance was channeled through NGOs; none of the funding benefited the military regime.

The United States also sought an end to the egregious human rights abuses perpetrated by the army, many of which were carried out against ethnic minority civilians in border regions. The regime harassed and created difficulty for domestic human rights groups and dismissed all outside scrutiny of its human rights record. Several U.S.-funded groups working along Burma’s borders documented human rights abuses inside the country, including murder, rape, and forced labor. During travel throughout the country and along the Thai-Burma and Thai-Bangladesh borders, U.S. officials personally interviewed victims of violence. The U.S. Government also helped facilitate access for U.S. and UN investigations into human rights abuses and maintained close contact with influential members of the political opposition about initiatives supporting the struggle for democracy in the country.

There was no change in the regime’s infringement on religious freedom. The regime continued to monitor public meetings and activities of virtually all organizations, including religious ones. It systematically restricted efforts by Buddhist clergy to promote human rights and political freedom, discouraged or prohibited Muslims and Christians from constructing new places of worship, forced Muslims to tear down their own houses of worship, and in some ethnic minority areas used coercion to promote Buddhism over other religions. During the year the United States responded by redesignating Burma as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for the eighth consecutive year. Several U.S.-funded organizations along Burma’s borders provided information on the serious repression faced by minority ethnic and religious groups in Burma, including Rohingya Muslims and Christians in ethnic areas.

The United States continued to press the regime to respect workers’ rights and unions and to discontinue its use of forced labor. The United States actively supported the work of the International Labor Organization liaison office in Rangoon, which sought to bring the regime into compliance with its international labor obligations. At the International Labor Organization’s Governing Board meeting in November, the United States supported consideration of further actions to address the regime’s lack of progress on the development of an adequate mechanism to address forced labor complaints.

To address the serious problem of trafficking in persons, the United States approved funding for NGO-implemented antitrafficking programs intended to raise awareness among vulnerable Burmese and to support antitrafficking efforts of local NGOs. The United States also pressed the regime to improve implementation of its antitrafficking law and to cooperate with NGOs and UN agencies such as the International Labor Organization on the serious issue of forced labor and the commercial sexual exploitation of women and girls.

Released on April 5, 2007

http://www.tayzathuria.org.uk/bd/2007/4/08/e/ussd.htm

Karenni commander: Offensive against Shans in April

SSA' 4 major bases (Loi Taileng,Loi Lam,Hsanzu,Loi Kawwan)

Karenni commander: Offensive against Shans in April
 26 February 2007  S.H.A.N

According to Maj Gen Bee Htoo, Chief of Staff of the Karenni Army, the military arm of the Karenni National Progressive Party, the Burma Army will be launching a dry season offensive against his army and the Shan State Army (SSA) come April, reported the local Chiangmai News yesterday.
 
Kantarwaddy Times, based in Maehongson, has confirmed the news adding that the information was given by Burma Army porters who had escaped to the border. Other details are not available.
 
Kalaw-based Light Infantry Division (LID) 55 has been reinforcing its units along the border west of Maehongson, the newspaper reported.
 
However, north of Maehongson and its neighboring provinces, Chiangmai and Chiangrai, no unusual troop movements are being reported, according to Shan and Thai sources.
 
So far, there are only a few indicators:

• 
  

  On 15-16 January, pro-military Lahu militia units in Monghsat district, which covers three townships: Monghsat, Mongpiang and Mongton, opposite Thailand's Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces, attended a meeting, where they were ordered by the Burma Army area commander to prepare for a major operation against the SSA after their annual New Year celebrations. The Lahu traditionally observe their New Year, which falls on 18 February this year, for two weeks.

  
  
• 
  

  Another is the construction of a new bridge on the Maesai river, some 10 km north of the Burma Army's Maemaw base near the SSA's Loi Kawwan stronghold since mid February. "They are also repairing and expanding the motor road to Maemaw," Lt-Col Gawnzuen, Commander of the Kengtung Military Region, based in Loi Kawwan. "Reports say heavier weapons will be brought in."

  
  

The SSA has 4 major bases along the Thai-Burma border: Loi Taileng, Loi Lam, Hsanzu and Loi Kawwan.
 
The Burma Army meanwhile is still going through a major reshuffle, substituting its competent commanders with new blood, an undertaking that might likely occupy it until the end of March, according to junta sources.
 
2006 was the only year when no major offensive was launched against the SSA. "The Burma Army however was pretty much preoccupied with its operations in Karen, Kayah (Karenni) and Sagaing areas," said a Thai security official.

http://www.shanland.org/war/2007/karenni-commander-offensive-against-shans-in-april

Fear and Hope

Karen Split Group Formed a New Group

"Time to lay the wreath?"

Karen Split Group Formed a New Group
By Shah Paung February 02, 2007 Irrawaddy


The break-away commander of the Karen National Union's 7th Brigade, Brig-Gen Htain Maung, has formed a new Karen organization, the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council. The announcement came on January 31, the 58th anniversary of the Karen revolution.

Htain Maung, promoted to major general, was named chairman of the new group. Lah Poe, the wife of the late Karen leader Gen Bo Mya, was named vice chairperson. She currently holds the position of chairperson of the Karen Women’s Organization.

Mahn Sha, the general secretary of the Karen National Union said, “We are not recognizing the groups." He said he could not say anything more until the KNU Central Committee meets. The KNU dismissed Htain Maung from his position on January 30 for his failure to follow KNU policies.

Col Ner Dah Mya, son of Bo Mya, tactical commander of the Karen National Libration Army and commander of KNLA Battalion 201, was appointed secretary-1 of the group. He was promoted to brigadier general.

His brother, Col Nay Kaw Mya, also known as “Saw Nay Kaw” has also joined the new group.

Pastor Timothy, a humanitarian worker who participated in ceasefire meetings between the Karen and the Burmese junta in 2003 and who was dismissed by the KNU’s foreign affairs department in June, 2005, was appointed joint-secretary-1.

The National Democratic Front, an ethnic alliance group, will continue to support the KNU main organization, said Hkun Okker, general secretary of the NDF, which was founded in 1976 by 11 armed ethnic groups, including the KNU.

Htain Maung, who has been involved in the Karen revolution since 1949, has been a KNU central committee member and commander of the 7th Brigade since 1970. He held separate meetings with the Burmese military government without approval of the KNU leadership, which led to a separate "peace" agreement in January.

Aye Tha Aung, secretary of the Arakan National League for Democracy said, “We are sad because of what's happening between the KNU and the 7th Brigade." It can create problems for other ethic groups, he said.

The KNU/KNLAPC group was not available for comment on Friday.

Karen representatives from inside and outside Burma are now gathering for a “Karen Unity Seminar” from Feb. 1-4 in a KNU control area along the Thai-Burma border.

According to general secretary Mahn Sha, four main issues will be discussed: The unity of Karen people, the current political situation in Burma and preparation for a new generation of Karen leadership.

“Karen unity is our principle goal,” he said.

More than 50 representatives are expected at the conference. Other issues to be discussed will include Karen resettlement to third countries, Karen views on regime, KNU ceasefire talks and the Salween River dam project. The Karen Unity Seminar began in 1999.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6656&z=163

Wa troops move south

 

United Wa State Army (UWSA)

Wa troops move south
19 January 2007 S.H.A.N


Reports of the arrival of ten 10-wheeled trucks of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) on the border last week have triggered a new red alert among Shan and Thai security services.

The trucks arrived in Hwe Aw, Mongton township, opposite Chiangmai, in the dead of night on 11 January. They continued their way to Mongjawd, west of Hwe Aw, on the next day.
 
While some sources have speculated that the fresh troops were for reinforcements in the Wa bases around the Shan State Army (SSA) South's Loi Taileng base, opposite Maehongson, some are wary about giving comments. "Twice during the last 3 months we had sounded alert of an imminent attack coming from the Burma Army which turned out to be false alarms," said one veteran Burma watcher. "So let me reserve my comments until further information have been received."
 
It was discovered later that the wolf crying during the period was brought about by the Burma Army's preparations in eastern Shan State for its two-week divisional level maneuvers, 20 December – 4 January, in Mongkok, 100 km northwest of Tachilek. According to the opposition Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) Research Center, the Burma Army's Kengtung-based Triangle Region Command had already conducted two war games since 2005.
 
Another Thai watcher told S.H.A.N. since there were no signs of a looming offensive on the Shans, the said convoy could be loaded with inmates from the Wa prison at Wanhong, Monghsat township, 49 miles northeast of Mongton. "The Burma Army had earlier issued an order that Wa prisoners in Wanhong and Hwe Aw should be moved out to outlying areas," he said.
 
The Wa meanwhile maintain that "for the time being" they have no plans to attack the SSA South.
 
The UWSA had in the past cooperated with the Burma Army against the anti-junta SSA. The last encounter took place in 2005 at Loi Taileng resulting in some 770 casualties on both sides.

King laureate calls for "state building" in Burma

_{Dr Lian Hmung Sakhong(Photo:ENC)}

King laureate calls for "state building" in Burma

16 January 2007 S.H.A.N

Speaking in Stockholm's parliament building and later at the church of
Salemkyrkan where he was accepting the Martin Luther King Prize yesterday,
Burma's opposition Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) General Secretary Dr Lian
Hmung Sakhong called for "state-building" in lieu of "nation-building" that has
been pursued by the country's military regime since 1962.

He said in a country like Burma peopled by multi-nationalities, the notion of
nation-building in which the concept of 'nation' is blended with "one ethnicity,
one language and one religion," the only choice for minority groups is between
assimilation and resistance.

He recounted how in 1961 the parliamentary government of U Nu had promulgated
Buddhism as the state religion of Burma, how Gen Ne Win, who overthrew him, had
declared Myanmar-sa (Burmese) as the only official language and the
current military regime's changing of the country's name from Burma to Myanmar.
"In short, the successive governments have been practicing cultural genocide, if
not ethnic cleansing, for the past fifty years," he said.

Lian, as he is known by his friends, called for worthier solutions to deal with
the current crisis in Burma:

• State building instead of nation-building ("the state knows only citizens
  no matter what nationality each individual belongs to, no matter what kind of
  religious belief he or she worships, no matter what kind of language he or she
  speaks")


• "unity in diversity" instead of "national integration"


• "decentralization" instead of "centralization"


• "rights of self determination" instead of the current unitary arrangement
  


• "tripartite dialogue" as called for by the UN since 1994 instead of
  violent confrontation still opted for by the military government

Dr Lian Hmung Sakhon wears several hats as he himself acknowledges. He is
general secretary and leading member in the following organizations:

• Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC)


• United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD)


• Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD)


• Chin National Council (CNC)


• Federal Constitution Drafting and Coordinating Committee (FCDCC)


• National Reconciliation Program (NRP)

The award was set up by Swedish peace groups in 2003 in honor of Dr Martin
Luther King Jr. (1929-68), American cleric and civil rights leader, who won the
1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

　

SSA appoints new spokesperson

S.H.A.N 10 January 2007

SSA South's main base Loi Taileng

Maj Lao Hseng

The Shan State Army (SSA) South that has been
without a spokesperson since late last year has appointed a noted fighting
officer as its spokesman, according to the resolutions passed at the recent
annual meeting across the border.

The fiery and articulate Khurhsen Heng-awn who resigned in November is
succeeded by Maj Lao Hseng, a youthful fighter whose valor had gained much
recognition during the defense of the SSA South's main base Loi Taileng,
opposite Maehongson, against joint Wa-Burma Army campaign in 2005. The 3 day
meeting, 4-6 January, also chose Sub-lieutenant Hseng Merng as his deputy.

Their contact numbers and email addresses will be disclosed as soon as they
have taken up their new duties, according to an insider source.

The meeting also adopted two important decisions, among others:

• 
  

  To continue the fight against drugs



• 
  

  The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS),
  the political arm of the SSA-South, is ready to resolve all political
  problems with the State Peace and Development Council by political means

So far the group's overtures have been spurned by Burma's ruling military
council. Unlike its allies the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National
Progressive Party (KNPP), the SSA-South has been steadfastly been regarded as
a part of the Mong Tai Army (MTA) that surrendered in 1996 and therefore has
no right to negotiate for a separate deal.

The SSA 'South' is led by Colonel Yawdserk and Sai Yi. According to the new
setup, the former will be responsible for all external affairs and the latter
for all internal affairs.

　

---

　

Freed Political Prisoners Remain Defiant

Freed Political Prisoners Remain Defiant

By The Irrawaddy and APJanuary 04, 2007

Political prisoners released under an Independence Day amnesty by Burma’s military government remain defiant, vowing Thursday to continue fighting for democracy and expressing concern for colleagues still behind bars.

Former political prisoners released in Wednesday’s amnesty join in Independence Day anniversary celebrations in Rangoon.

According to the state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar, the military government on Wednesday granted amnesty to 2,831 prisoners to mark the 59th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain, which falls on January 4.

A spokesman of the main opposition party National League for Democracy, Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy from the party’s headquarters in Rangoon that 43 political prisoners were among those released and 17 of them were NLD members.

“I will not surrender, I will continue with my duties,” said NLD member Than Htay, 60, who was released from a prison in northern Burma where he was serving a five-year sentence, along with his son, Than Tun Oo.

Than Htay and his son were both sentenced to five years imprisonment on a charge of violating import-export regulations, a common accusation leveled against political activists. Than Htay said he hoped his son might be released soon.

Than Htay spoke by telephone from Mandalay, where he was attending a small Independence Day celebration organized by the NLD.

Another released political prisoner and NLD member, Zaw Win, said: “Although I have been released, I am not happy because my colleagues remain detained under wretched prison conditions. Many of them are in poor health, some are very old and several have been in prison for nearly two decades."Zaw Win, 47, was sentenced in 1999 to 10 years imprisonment. He traveled 120 km south from Tharawaddy prison to Rangoon to attend celebrations at the NLD headquarters.

Another political prisoner, Zaw Min, who was freed on Wednesday from Thayet prison in central Burma, also traveled to Rangoon to attend the NLD celebrations there. He said that most of those released had almost served their sentences. He told The Irrawaddy: “I will continue my political activities.”

At the celebrations, the NLD called for the release of its party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners. Suu Kyi, the winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent 11 of the past 17 years under house arrest and a number of senior members of her party are still among the estimated 1,200 political prisoners languishing in the junta’s prisons.

NLD Chairman Aung Shwe said Suu Kyi and NLD Vice Chairman Tin Oo should be immediately and unconditionally freed in order to create “a fair political climate for dialogue toward national reconciliation and democratic transformation.”

Several other released prisoners were among the 500 people who attended the Rangoon celebrations.In his official Independence Day message, carried by The New Light of Myanmar, junta chairman Snr-Gen Than Shwe called on citizens “to safeguard the independence and sovereignty of the motherland through the might of unity and harmony.

“Today, certain powerful countries are interfering in the internal affairs of other countries to dominate them in the political, economic and social aspects. That is indeed neocolonialism.”
The junta frequently accuses the United States and other western nations of trying to destabilize the regime.

The junta seized power after a bloody 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators led by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to step down when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election.
“I pray for the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and I will work for their freedom,” vowed Aung Naing, a 36-year-old activist who had been serving an eight-year sentence. “It will be disastrous if the Red Cross pulls out of the country. Prisoners are now facing health problems because of shortage of medicine and prompt medical care.”

Since December 2005 the junta has barred the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting its extensive network of prisons and labor camps. The ICRC has not threatened to pull out but some activists fear it may do so since its activities in the country have been severely curtailed over the past few years.

KIO Asks Junta to Stop Military Exercises

By Khun Sam
December 19, 2006 Irrawaddy.org

Kachin Independence Army

The Kachin Independence Organization, an ethnic ceasefire group, has called on the Burmese junta to halt military exercises near its headquarters on Laisin Mountain near the China-Burma border.

The request came during a meeting between the KIO and junta officers at Myitkyina, the Kachin State capital, last week. The Burmese army has been conducting exercises in Samar Region near Wai Maw Township of Kachin State, about 20 miles from the KIO's army wing of the Kachin Independence Army headquarters.

Lt-Col Nuk Gan, a KIO central committee member, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the group’s general secretary Dr La Ja and Vice General-Secretary Sumlut Gun Maw met with the Burmese deputy northern commander, Brig-Gen San Tun.

“He told us that the case would be considered,” Nuk Gan said. “It was a big concern for us and the local people.”

The Kachin community in-country and abroad, including the London-based Kachin National Organization, have also raised their concerns, saying the exercises
threaten all Kachin ceasefire groups and peace in the region.

The KNO said the junta is toying with ethnic ceasefire groups instead of finding solutions through peaceful and political means. The Burmese military has dramatically increased its presence in Kachin State and often enters into Kachin ceasefire-group controlled areas, creating instability in the region, the KNO said.

KNO also said the junta often claims the military exercises are conducted “to prevent an invasion from abroad,” but their real mission is “to crush all ethnic
armed groups in the country.”

The junta has recently intensified military operations against ethnic insurgent groups in Karen, Mon and Shan States. Critics says the KIO became a target of the regime following the biggest Kachin ceasefire group’s refusal to join the regime-led condemnation of the inclusion of Burma on the UN Security Council agenda in September this year.

Sources close to the KIO said the recent military pressure increased after the KIO held secret security meetings with other ethnic armed groups in which they discussed solidarity issues, should the regime-led national convention not achieve ethnic-group goals.

We are irrepressible

_ by Raluca Enescu

Last month, in November, Burma Digest's main page has got 367346 pagehits; what do you think?
Reading the statistics, I can't help but wonder: who are all those people who take time to check upon our work, to read the articles that we're doing our best to write, why do they choose us? Actually, the more we progress in our work for the Burma Digest, the more I feel that we have a stronger responsibility towards our readers.
Some time ago, we have decided to publish a campaign journal that would be able to make a strong statement; for freedom, for justice, for democracy. As we have grown, ever since, as a public forum and as a voice to be heard, the most important thing we had in mind along the way was: we have to be IRREPRESSIBLE!
IRREPRESSIBLE = impossible to repress or control. Maybe you've seen before, on some websites, Amnesty International irrepressible logo. It is part of a global campaign concerning freedom of expression on the internet.
Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Websites blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information; is this situation familiar to you? If you dare to speak up against it, then you are irrepressible, just like us. Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer UK newspaper, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress. Also, they are working with the Open Net Initiative (ONI) to help raise awareness of internet censorship around the world.
Together with Amnesty's Irrepressible campaign, the ONI has published a detailed report concerning censorship of the internet in Burma; According to them, "Myanmar's Internet Service Providers (ISPs) block access to web sites of political opposition groups, human rights-oriented sites, and organizations working for democratic change in Myanmar. Until recently Myanmar used Dans Guardian, an open source filtering software, but has switched to a filtering product made by the U.S.-based vender Fortinet. The state also maintains the capability to conduct surveillance of e-mail as individual users are only allowed access to local email providers - free e-mail sites such as Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail are blocked. Myanmar filters Internet access using Fortinet's Fortiguard Web filtering software. Users receive block pages when attempting to access banned content. Earlier tests revealed that Internet access was filtered by Dans Guardian filtering software. Internet connectivity is prohibitively expensive so users are also largely limited to the country's intranet. In 2000 Myanmar imposed new Web Regulations:
* Any writings detrimental to the interests of the Union of Myanmar are not to be posted
* Any writings directly or indirectly detrimental to the current policies and secret security affairs of the government of the Union of Myanmar are not to be posted
* Writings related to politics are not to be posted
* Internet users are to inform MPT of any threat on the Internet
* Internet users are to obtain prior permission from the organization designated by the state to create Web pages
Violations of the 2000 regulations are punishable by revocation of access and "legal action".
In another words, anyone who accesses internet pages that would be in any way linked to the democracy movement can be arrested. Anyone who would try to post a political manifesto on the internet can be arrested. Anyone who would use the internet to criticize the current regime can be arrested. What impression does this make to you?
For all those people, who are denied the access to accurate information, which are living under a repression, who may risk their lives for freedom of speech, for all of them. We at the Burma Digest are and have the duty to remain IREPRESSIBLE.

Myanmar shakes Western noose

By Shawn W Crispin

BANGKOK - It wasn't that long ago that military-run Myanmar periodically wobbled on the brink of economic and financial collapse. The many detractors of the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) had long hoped that Western-led economic sanctions would eventually squeeze the rights-abusing regime out of power.

A massive inflow of Asian capital has recently wholly undermined the near-decade-old sanctions regime led by the United States and the European Union and greatly strengthened the once-isolated military junta's political staying power. Significantly, the failure of the US-led policy
is also symptomatic of China's and India's ever increasing economic clout across the region.

Foreign investment into Myanmar surged to a record high US$6 billion in the fiscal 2005-06 year that ended in March, up from the paltry $158.3 million recorded the previous year, according to recently released official statistics.
Myanmar's total trade also hit a record high of $5.5 billion over the same period, surging 27% year on year and handing the junta a rare trade surplus of $1.6 billion. Bilateral trade is on pace to expand even faster this year to more than $7 billion as the junta cashes in on high global energy prices.

Those rising figures will no doubt irk the administration of US President George W Bush, which has in recent years referred to the hardline regime as an "outpost of tyranny". China, India and to a lesser degree Thailand have all overlooked Myanmar's abysmal rights record to gain access to the country's largely underdeveloped energy resources, including big new capital outlays for
joint-venture hydropower dams, oil and gas exploration and production, and assorted mining activities. The three Asian countries are also among Myanmar's top five trading partners.

Myanmar's reclusive ruling generals have awoken belatedly to the notion that opening to select foreign investors is more likely to maintain their long-term hold on power than economic isolationism. The junta recently opened six previously off-limits terrestrial-based oil and gas blocks to foreign exploration and development, mainly from India and China, and has also promised to open the country's largest gold mine and other key mineral deposits to foreign investment.

SPDC leader General Than Shwe is reportedly reviewing a larger-scale privatization plan, which would involve the selling of private stakes across a wide array of state-owned enterprises, some of which were nationalized in the wake of the military first seizing power in 1962. If that plan were even partially implemented, the sales would substantially fill the junta's long-depleted national coffers and provide the financial cushion necessary to stabilize inflation and exchange-rate volatility - the key on-the-ground targets of any economic-sanctions regime.

Declining influence

When the US first imposed its economic sanctions in 1997, and the EU later followed suit, Myanmar's isolated economy was highly vulnerable to outside pressure. China had not yet fully emerged economically and Washington was able to keep enterprising Japanese investors from shoring up Myanmar's decrepit economy and depleted finances.

When the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis hit, the local currency, the kyat, went into free fall, and the country was only rescued by China's friendly extension of emergency short-term interest-free loans. A banking crisis in 2003 and the government's inept policy response threatened to undermine completely Myanmar's already precarious financial balance. Without China's behind-the-scenes financial assistance, on several occasions Myanmar's economy could have succumbed to the combination of Western sanctions and its own economic mismanagement.

The sanctions have long been cheered by the hardline regime's many detractors, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has said from house arrest that foreigners should refrain from investing in Myanmar until democracy is restored. Yet when the US imposed sanctions against Myanmar in 1997, the punitive policy had achieved its objectives in fewer than 24% of cases since 1973, according to research compiled by the Heritage Foundation, a US-based conservative think-tank.

Meanwhile, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states were initially peeved when the US first imposed its sanctions, which ran counter to their 1997 initiative to engage rather than isolate the junta through membership in their regional grouping - which was at least partially initiated to counterbalance fears of China's growing economic and strategic influence in Myanmar.

Still, investment from financial-crisis-strapped ASEAN countries has only gradually trickled into Myanmar, and was further restrained by behind-the-scenes US and EU diplomatic pressure on certain regional countries. Yet China, India and Thailand have all willingly risked Western philippics to gain access to Myanmar's oil and gas sources, which some industry analysts estimate are second in volume only to Indonesia in the region.

Myanmar has significantly managed to bypass the Western-controlled multilateral lending agencies, including the World Bank, which has in the main observed the US and EU sanctions, and accessed capital investment directly from private-sector Asian sources. While various US and European companies closed down their Myanmar-based investments because of the sanctions, Chinese and Indian - mainly energy - companies have rapidly filled the gap.

India's Essar Oil Ltd, Focus Energy Ltd, MPRL Exploration and Production Private Ltd and Goldpetrol and China's CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corp), Sinopec (China Petrochemical Corp) and China National Petroleum subsidiary Chinerry Assets have all recently established substantial operations in the country. And there are reportedly many more joint-venture energy deals in Myanmar's pipeline.

Western sanctions' failure to achieve economic collapse and political change in Myanmar significantly underscores both the United States' and Europe's waning and China's and India's growing economic influence in the region. As Asia's economies become more integrated, particularly through greater Chinese- and Indian-inspired trade and investment links, Western-led economic threats clearly no longer strike fear into the region's roguish regimes.

If US and EU sanctions fail to have the desired effect against a country as backward, mismanaged and until now isolated as Myanmar, then the policy tool is unlikely to work anywhere else in Asia, including against nuclear North Korea. That's a potentially disturbing economic truth considering that current US administration's penchant for using preemptive force against regimes it considers "evil" or, in Myanmar's case, "tyrannous".

Some Western diplomats believe that fear of a possible US invasion was one big reason Myanmar's ruling junta last year abruptly moved the national capital from the coastal city of Yangon to the inland, mountainous redoubt of Naypyidaw. Ironically, perhaps, the junta is now pumping profits earned from China and India into building up a new military-industrial complex, where the ruling generals are living comfortably and hunkering down against a possible US military rather than economic threat. Meanwhile, the junta continues to round up and jail its political opponents, and crack down on even the mildest forms of dissent.


Shawn W Crispin is Asia Times Online's Southeast Asia editor.

Inside Myanmar's secret capital

By Clive Parker

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - One year after Myanmar's secretive ruling military junta suddenly relocated the national capital 320 kilometers north from Yangon to Naypyidaw, the motivations behind the dramatic move are still unclear.

Foreign access to the new capital is strictly forbidden. But this correspondent's recent travels through the area showed that the junta has quietly continued to build around the new capital's greenfield site, which is rapidly swallowing the old town formerly known as Pyinmana. And recent construction of key infrastructure in other parts of the country's heartland Mandalay division offers new clues to the junta's grand designs for the region.

Although on a smaller scale than in the new capital, Myanmar's government is concurrently developing military, communications and transport infrastructure in a corridor that runs directly north from Naypyidaw to Pyin Oo Lwin, the town where the army's Defense Services Academy (DSA) training facility is situated.

The regime is building a new military airport just outside of Pyin Oo Lwin in nearby Anikasan town. The single runway, a 3,000-meter-long airstrip, took nearly two years to complete and immediately came into service last October when the junta received India's army chief of staff J J Singh in Pyin Oo Lwin. The Indian official was subsequently taken on a tour of the DSA as well as the Defense Services Technological Academy.

Residents of Pyin Oo Lwin and nearby Mandalay say the new airstrip is more commonly used to ferry high-ranking military officials between Naypyidaw and a newly built luxury housing complex between Anikasan Airport and Pyin Oo Lwin, which reportedly includes a large mansion belonging to State Peace and Development Council chief General Than Shwe. Strictly off limits to visitors, the site was built with the help of Htoo Trading, owned by Tay Za, the military's preferred construction contractor and a renowned arms dealer.

In July, just outside of Pyin Oo Lwin, the junta began construction on the Yadanabon Silicon Village, a new cyber-city that promises to serve as an integral part of the new capital's communication network. Although construction has just commenced, architectural blueprints seen by this correspondent at the site's foreman's cabin show plans for a sprawling complex devoted to software incubation and information-technology hardware suites, along with a modern residential zone.

In August, builders had cleared a channel for a new access road to the site, though construction of the complex itself has not progressed beyond initial landscaping. Builders could be heard by this correspondent blasting the hillside as part of the land-clearing process. As with the new capital Naypyidaw, photographing the site is strictly forbidden.

Military industrial complex

The junta apparently has an eye on concentrating key industry around the region. Old and new military installations line the main road from Pyin Oo Lwin to Mandalay, including the Defense Services Mechanical and Electrical Engineering School, which was built more than a decade ago. The town is also home to the Defense Services Institute of Technology, the Defense Services Administration School and the Army Training Depot.

Also just outside Pyin Oo Lwin is Myanmar's only iron-and-steel factory, which produces about 30,000 tons of metal a year, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. In a bid to improve access to this increasingly significant military town, the government in 2003 decided to upgrade drastically the notoriously poor Mandalay-Pyin Oo Lwin road with the help of the Asia World Co, another preferred contractor owned by Steven Law, who has widely alleged links to the narcotics trade. It now takes less than an hour by car to reach Mandalay from Pyin Oo Lwin.

Almost equidistant between Pyin Oo Lwin and Naypyidaw is the strategically significant town of Meiktila, home to the country's air force. Meiktila has also seen extensive development in recent years coincident with construction of the new capital. Since 2001, there have been reports that China and Russia have helped upgrade the Shante air base, the country's main military airstrip, a few kilometers northeast of Meiktila.

Reports that both countries have recently sold and delivered fighter jets to the base seem to be confirmed by satellite images downloaded using Google Earth, which clearly show a number of olive-green Chinese Chengdu F-7M Airguard and light-khaki NAMC A-5C military aircraft along with blue Russian MiG-29s - all recent additions to Myanmar's air force. At the nearby Meiktila Airfield, Google Earth images also show a number of what appear to be Russian Mi-17 helicopters.


In addition to supplying military hardware, media reports have suggested, Chinese and Russian aeronautical experts have in recent years made regular visits to the various air force training schools around Meiktila.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper in April 2004 confirmed that lectures were administered by "local and foreign experts" at the Myanmar Aerospace Engineering University in Meiktila, which at the time was still in the process of being completed. This "new and separate university", the report said, would "make the teaching programs more effective by sending teachers going to work at the university to foreign countries for further studies and inviting foreign technicians to the university to give lectures".

Highlighting the military significance of the new facility, Than Shwe said during a 2004 visit, "Only when the university produces future technicians in aerospace and engineering fields for the state will the nation be able to keep pace with others." The military has also relied on Chinese and Russian assistance to help build other significant military installations in and around Meiktila.

In April 2004, around the time construction on the new capital began, the junta signed a US$500 million deal with Ukrainian state arms company UkrspetsExport to build an APC (armored personnel carrier) factory. Between 12km and 15km outside of Meiktila, according to a former employee of the Ukrainian firm who worked on the deal, the facility is designed over a 10-year period to receive about 1,000 70%-assembled BTR-3U APCs.

At the factory, Meiktila-based Ukrainian technicians are geared to work hand-in-hand with their Myanmar counterparts to complete the assembly process and pass along knowledge about the vehicles' inner workings, the company's former employee said. Although the deal was designed to run until 2014, Myanmar's failure to meet payments on time has recently soured relations between the two sides.

In a bid to receive past-due payments, Sergiy Korostil, UkrspetsExport's chief representative in Yangon, wrote a letter to Myanmar's Ministry of Defense this year. This was, however, rebuffed when the Myanmar side accused the Ukrainians of violating their side of the agreement when their technicians were discovered to have left their designated military compound without authorization. Whether this tit-for-tat exchange has killed the deal is unclear. Korostil is reportedly still operating out of his office at the Nikko Hotel in Yangon with a small team of staff, and the executive has since made visits to Naypyidaw to meet with government officials.

The hiccup with UkrspetsExport has not dampened other foreign firms' appetite to ink deals with the junta. Many Asian companies have traveled to Naypyidaw to sign a host of state contracts to build communication, transport and perhaps even military infrastructure. In 1998, prior to the UkrspetsExports episode, Myanmar agreed to a deal with China to build a landmine factory just outside of Meiktila, which is reportedly still up and running.

The junta has also made efforts to significantly upgrade transport links to Meiktila. In August, workers could be seen opposite the town's train platform working on the beginnings of a construction project between the two main lines that run through Meiktila railway station. On July 16, the government held a ceremony to launch the new Naypyidaw-Meiktila express-train service, one of a number of recently added routes to the new capital. The project included construction of "13 small and big bridges ... along the railroad", the state-run press reported.

South of Meiktila, the road to Naypyidaw has undergone considerable renovation, at least by Myanmar's poor standards. Although many roads in the new capital remain unfinished, an expansive new highway that leads off the main Yangon-Mandalay road to the new Ministry of Defense compound is nearly complete.

A Western observer who in recent months caught a rare glimpse inside the new 35-square-kilometer defense zone to the north of the new capital noticed giant statues of past Burmese kings along the main parade ground. "Most notable was the four-lane concrete road that passes through the entire complex, [which] becomes six then eight lanes as you enter the military side. Reportedly, this is so it can serve as an airplane runway," said the Western observer, who requested anonymity.


Mysterious motivations

While commentators have offered a host of reasons for the junta's sudden move north, ranging from astrology to military strategy to fears of a possible US-led invasion, the larger field of development in Myanmar's central heartland lends credence to the simpler strategic notion that the junta regards the central heartland as an ideal site to consolidate its resources.

Whether or not the move to Naypyidaw offers strategic military advantages is debatable, according to Andrew Selth, an expert on Myanmar's armed forces. "Building Naypyidaw emphasizes and utilizes that corridor, but there have long been plans to upgrade these facilities, as they are also important for economic and political reasons," he said. "In purely strategic terms, it would have been more sensible to diversify these critical north-south links and build more routes on the western side of the Irrawaddy [River], or in the east of the country."

Selth said the increasing separation of Myanmar's ruling military generals from the civilian population would make it far easier for a potential foreign invader to target the junta through air strikes. Nevertheless, the argument previously put forward that the switch inland from the old coastal capital Yangon reduces the risk to the junta of a land invasion was probably taken into account by the military.

In the past, the junta felt most threatened through its vulnerability at the Bay of Bengal. In 1988, the US moved navy vessels into the area, apparently in the event of the state collapsing during the democratic uprisings. In 1992, junta abuses against Muslims in Arakan state prompted the wrath of Saudi Arabia, whose army chief Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz called on the United Nations to intervene and help the minority Muslims.

Selth reasons that relocating inland does not put the military out of reach of advanced missiles and aircraft of its perceived primary threat - the United States. President George W Bush's administration has recently referred to Myanmar as an "outpost of tyranny", though few security experts reckon the US would ever attack, because of China's heavy influence in Myanmar. But "if the external threat was seen as real and imminent, the regime may well choose to consolidate its military strength in central [Myanmar], with a view to a conventional defense of the [Myanmar] heartland," he said.

Whether efforts to expand resources and facilities in the country's central heartland truly shore up national defenses given that the main insurgency threat lies in the surrounding areas controlled by Karen insurgents is debatable, Selth said. "Given its make-up, it is difficult to see the current government doing anything that does not include some consideration of military and strategic factors," he said.

While evidence of massive construction activity in Mandalay division suggests that the junta may well see central Myanmar as the key to its ultimate survival, as ever, only Than Shwe and his inner circle know the real reason behind their dramatic and expensive shift to Naypyidaw.



Clive Parker is a reporter at The Irrawaddy, an online news service and monthly magazine that focuses on Myanmar and Southeast Asia, based in Chiang Mai. He is possibly the first foreign journalist to report from Myanmar's new capital.

　

Burma’s National Convention Resumes

By Kyaw Zwa Moe

October 10, 2006

Burma’s military government resumed on Tuesday its 13-year-long National Convention, tasked with drafting a constitution, without the participation of the country’s main opposition groups, as hundreds of people in cities across the country joined a new campaign in support of detained former student leaders.

State-run newspapers earlier reported that more than 1,000 delegates would attend the National Convention, which first convened in 1993. The convention is the first of seven steps in the military government’s roadmap to democracy. No timetable has yet been given for proposed democratic reforms.

Opposition groups inside and outside the country have strongly condemning the convention. “It is valueless, since it lacks democratic principles,” said Nyan Win, a spokesperson for Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy.

The NLD won a landslide victory following elections in 1990, but the ruling junta refused to honor the results. The party’s involvement in the convention ended in 1995, when their delegates walked out in protest. The NLD reiterated its opposition to the convention in 2004, prompting the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Burma’s largest ethnic political party, to abandon the convention that year.

“Restarting the sham National Convention, in defiance of the UN and the people of Burma, will do nothing to solve Burma’s problems,” said Aung Din, policy director for the US Campaign for Burma. “The Burmese people want real democracy, not a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Meanwhile, sources in Rangoon and Mandalay said that hundreds of people have participated in a new campaign called “White Expression” by wearing all white clothing. The campaign was launched on Tuesday by the 88 Generation Students group and will run until October 18.

The campaign is intended to push the military government to free all political prisoners and initiate a genuine national reconciliation process. The group, which is composed of former political prisoners, planned its campaign a few days after authorities arrested its five leaders—including the most prominent leader, Min Ko Naing—at the end of September.

Nyan Win said that all members of the NLD wore white clothing on Tuesday. Well-known Burmese comedian Zarganar added that many young people could be seen wearing white in downtown Rangoon, particularly in shopping malls. “I have seen many young people wearing white since this morning,” Zarganar told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. “I am also wearing white.”

Tin Win Yi, an NLD member from Mandalay, said that many people there were also joining the campaign.

Prior to the White Expression campaign, the student group began a petition campaign to free their detained leaders. Nyan Win said that two of its youth members were arrested last week after collecting signatures and trying to send them to the student group.

Win Ko, a youth leader, and Than Win, both from the Moe Nyo township NLD office, were arrested at a train station in their township while carrying petition signatures to the 88 Generation Students group.

As of Saturday, some 120,000 signatures have been collected, according to the student group.

The National Convention Line-up Following is a list of the political parties and ethnic ceasefire groups attending the current session of Burma’s National Convention: 1. Kokang Democracy and Unity Party 2. Union Kayin (Karen) League 3. Union Pa-O National Organization 4. Mro (aka) Khami National Solidarity Organization 5. Lahu National Development Party 6. Wa National Development Party 7. National Unity Party: a political party formed by the military junta and members of the Burma Socialist Program Party led by the late dictator Ne Win. It won 10 seats in the 1990 election. 8. Myanmar National Democracy Alliance Army (Kokang): the MNDAA signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime on March 21, 1989. Its leader is Phone Kyar Shin. The group commands control of Special Region-1, northern Shan State. 9. United Wa State Army: formerly called the Myanmar National Solidarity Party, the UWSA signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime on May 9, 1989. Its leaders are Bao Yuxiang and Kyauk Nyi Lai. The group controls Special Region-2, Shan State. 10. Shan State Army (Shan State Progress Party): the SSA, commanded by Col Loi Mao, signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government on September 2, 1989. It is based in Special Region-3, Shan State. 11. National Democratic Alliance Army (Shan/ Akha Armed National Groups): the NDAA, led by Sai Lin and Lin Ming Xian, signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government on June 30, 1989. It controls Special Region-4, eastern Shan State. 12. Kachin Defense Army: founded in 1990 by Mahtu Naw, commander of the Kachin Independence Army’s 4th brigade, northern Shan State, the KDA broke away from the Kachin Independence Army in the same year and signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime on January 13, 1991. It is now based in Kawng Ha and controls Special Region-5, northern Shan State. 13. Pa-O National Organization: the PNO, led by Aung Kham Hti, signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta on April 11, 1991. The group controls Special Region-6, southern Shan State. 14. New Democratic Army-Kachin: the NDA-K, founded by Zahkung Ting Ying, its current chairman, signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta on December 15, 1989, the year in which the Communist Party of Burma collapsed. It’s based in Pang Wa, on the Sino-Burma border, controlling the Kachin State Special Region-1. 15. Kachin Independence Organization: Founded on February 5, 1961, by Zau Seng , the KIO signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government in February, 1994. Currently led by Lanyaw Zawng Hra, the KIO is the biggest Kachin armed group, based in Laiza, on the China-Burma border, in Special Region-2. 16. Kayan National Guard: the KNG, led by Gabriel Byan and Htay Ko, signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military government on February 27, 1992. It controls Special Region-1 Kayah (Karenni) State. 17. Karenni State Nationalities Peoples Liberation Front: the KNPLF, led by Sandar and Htun Kyaw, signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta on May 9, 1994. The group controls Special Region-2, Kayah (Karenni) State. 18. Kayan New Land Party: the KNLP, led by Shwe Aye, signed a ceasefire agreement with the regime on July 26, 1994. The group controls Special Region-3, Kayah (Karenni) State. 19. Karenni National Democratic Party: the KNDP (Naga), a group of the Karenni National Progressive Party that signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government in 1995, but which broke the ceasefire a few months later. Its leader, Lee Rey, remained in Rangoon, and in 1996 he organized the KNDP. Also named the Karenni National Defence Army, it’s based in Kayah (Karenni) State. 20. Karenni National Progressive Party (aka Hoya): the KNPP (Hoya), led by Ko Ree, signed a ceasefire with the junta in October, 2003. The group broke away from the KNPP at that time. 21. Karenni National Solidarity Organization: the KNSO (Ka-Ma-Sa-Nya) broke away from the KNPP at the same time as the KNPP (Hoya), and then signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta in 2003. It’s led by a commander Richard, (aka) Ka Ree Htoo. 22. Democratic Karen Buddhist Army: the DKBA broke away from the KNU in 1995 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government. The group is led by a monk, U Thuzana. 23. Haungthayaw Special Region Group: the HSRG, led by Tha Mu Hei, surrendered to the military government in 1997. Tha Mu Hei Battalion 16 of the KNU’s Sixth Brigade. 24. Nyeinchanyay Myothit: this group, which also calls itself the Phayagon Special Region Group, surrendered to the military government in 1998, together with about 40 students led by Padoh Aung San, of the KNU. It is based in Hpa-an, Karen State. 25. Burma Communist Party (Rakhine State Group): led by Saw Tun Oo, this group surrendered to the military government on April 6, 1997. It controls an area of Arakan State. The group also names itself the Rakhine State All National Races Solidarity Party. 26. Mong Tai Army (Shwepyiaye): the MTA signed a ceasefire agreement with the military government on January 5, 1996. It is led by Khun Sa and controls the area of Homong, southern Shan State. 27. Homong Region Development and Welfare Group: located in southern Shan State, east of the Salween River, this group is led by an ethnic Wa, Maha Ja, 0wner of Shan State South Co Ltd, or the SSS Company. 28. Manpan People’s Militia Group: this group is based in Tangyan, southern Shan State, and its operational areas extend to the Salween in the east. Its leader is Bo Mon (aka U Sai Mon), veteran former associate of drug lord Khun Sa. He is said to have enjoyed the trust of the junta, and was awarded an “Outstanding Social Service Prize” for banning poppy cultivation in his operational areas during the 2005-2006 poppy season. 29. Arakan Army: this group broke away from the exiled Arakan Liberation Party. Its founder, Khai Ya Zar, died in custody in India after being arrested there in the late 1990s. The AA delegation attending the National Convention is reportedly only a nominal one. 30. Mon Peace Group (Chaungchi Region) 31. Mon Nai Seik Chan group

Myanmar's move to military democracy
By Larry Jagan


BANGKOK - Myanmar's top brass are in the process of overhauling their junta-led government, where military leader General Than Shwe and second-in-command General Maung Aye are preparing to stand down from their traditional military commands and hand over authority to a new generation of senior soldiers. There's a catch, of course: neither military leader plans on relinquishing his grip on political power.

The planned changes represent the latest phase of Myanmar's excruciatingly slow move toward political reform and the promised introduction of a civilian-led government. The National Convention, which significantly does not include representation from the main opposition National League for Democracy, is set to resume drafting a new constitution next week and wrap up proceedings by next year. If all goes to plan, the draft charter will be put to a national referendum and some sort of democratic elections will be held within the next 12 months.

The scheduled changes would represent the most dramatic change of Myanmar's governing system since the current batch of soldiers seized power from another military-led regime 18 years ago. Both Than Shwe and Maung Aye will retain their top posts within the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), which is expected to change its name to the State Democracy and Development Council (SDDC) to mark the start of a new political era. Than Shwe is also expected to relinquish his current position of defense minister.

General Thura Shwe Man, Than Shwe's protege, is in line to take command of the armed forces, while southeastern regional commander Thura Myint Aung is expected to take Maung Aye's post as the military's deputy leader. Thura Myint Aung is relatively unknown in diplomatic circles, but is regarded as one of Myanmar's few neutral top generals - that is, he owes political allegiance to neither Than Shwe nor Maung Aye, according to a source in Yangon close to the country's military leaders.

The yet-to-be-established SDDC, meanwhile, will become the country's overarching new supreme ruling council, which will oversee both the military command and the civilian government. Than Shwe and Maung Aye will head the new body, which is also expected to include new military leader Thura Shwe Man and other regional commanders. Prime Minister Soe Win, who has already traded in his military garb for a civilian business suit, will head the cabinet and government.

"Senior General Than Shwe and Deputy Senior General Maung Aye are in the process of handing over control of the armed forces to the next generation of generals," said a senior Myanmar military source who spoke on condition of anonymity with Asia Times Online. He said Than Shwe informed junta members of the plans at their recent quarterly meeting in the new capital Pyinmana - which is about 400 kilometers north of the former capital Yangon.

The anticipated moves have Myanmar watchers chattering. "This has been Than Shwe's game plan for some time. It is only a matter of when," said Win Min, a Chiang Mai, Thailand-based independent Myanmar analyst. According to Chinese diplomats that follow Myanmar affairs, Than Shwe intends to stand down to become the civilian president under the new constitution.

"He wants to be president for life," a senior military source close to Than Shwe said.

Over the past 12 months, Than Shwe has frequently told Thailand's top army commanders that he would soon retire and that Thura Shwe Man would take over as the country's military leader. The abrupt move of the SPDC's government offices and the armed forces' central command to Pyinmana, which commenced last November and was finally completed in February, has delayed those planned changes.

Now with the new capital up and running, Than Shwe is waiting for the most auspicious time to implement the planned changes. "Although the decision to pass the control of the army to Thura Shwe Man has been made, it is unlikely to happen before the National Convention has finished drafting the new constitution," a Western diplomat based in Yangon told Asia Times Online.

Declining health

Than Shwe's declining health may also determine the timing of the handover. Last year the then-75-year-old SPDC senior leader, who is known to suffer from hypertension and is a diabetic, had a mild stroke but quickly recovered. In the past few months there have been new reports that his health is deteriorating again, according to a Myanmar army doctor who spoke with Asia Times Online.

According to one foreign visitor who recently met with Than Shwe, the senior general is often short of breath. In a video of his daughter's recent wedding viewed by Asia Times Online, he clearly had trouble walking. According to government insiders, Than Shwe has seldom ventured outside his residence since his military government was moved from Yangon to Pyinmana in February.

Since then he has only once traveled to Yangon, and that for his daughter's wedding ceremony. For the past two months, he has not ventured to the War Office and only attends crucial meetings such as the fortnightly joint SPDC-cabinet session, according to an Asian diplomat who was until recently based in Yangon. He reportedly sends orders to Maung Aye and Prime Minister Soe Win through his heir apparent Thura Shwe Man, who has emerged as his closest confidant.

Some political analysts believe Than Shwe is trying to conceal his poor health to prevent a full-blown power struggle breaking out among his subordinates. Still, government insiders say he is acutely aware of the dangers involved with the political transition, and he has employed his trademark divide-and-rule tactics to maintain his authority, particularly between soon-to-be-army-chief General Thura Shwe Man and Soe Win.

"Even if Than Shwe officially retires he will not give up his power. Instead, he'll remain the gray eminence behind the throne, along the lines of the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the years before his death," said Win Min, the Chiang Mai-based analyst.

Efforts to civilianize the junta-led government are already under way. For instance, cabinet members have been made to leave the armed forces, and military control throughout the country is being transferred from the armed forces to the Interior and Planning ministries.

Under the new government, local military commanders will be required to report to the Home Ministry, a move that has already been implemented at the township level and is now being enforced at the district level as well, according to a senior international aid worker based inside the country familiar with the situation.

"This is all part of Than Shwe's plans to streamline government administration and strengthen the authorities' control over the general population in preparation for a transition to so-called civilian rule and to win the elections held under the new constitution," said Win Min.

With the plan's implementation under way, analysts predict that the military's control under civilian rule will likely be strengthened rather than weakened across the country. And the next generation of generals who are settling into leadership positions will be loath to relinquish their newfound powers to a new democratic order. If all goes to Than Shwe's master plan, the chances for real democracy still remain distant.

Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the BBC. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.

Blue Print for Burma

By Prof. Kanbawza Win

No matter what religion one profess, it is undisputable that the prayers of the people of Burma have been heard and now the misery and the suffering of the Burmese will be officially accepted by the United Nations Security Council and the world at large, because it is already in the agenda by a large margin of votes. Our next move should concentrate on what resolutions will the Security Council passed? Will it achieved our cherished goal of democracy, human rights and self-determination? Surely the UN is not the Junta, even though the overwhelming margin of votes at the UNSC agenda is comparable to the overwhelming of votes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD gets in the 1990 elections, the two negative votes by the veto wielding permanent powers cast a shadow of the Junta's mentality at the UN.

Friends of the People of Burma

The voting pattern clearly indicates, who are the friends of the people of Burma? Not that we are out to antagonizing any one who vote against us, but it reveals their nature and inner conscience, mentality and their historical background. Obviously those with a long background of Tsars or Communist (lovingly label as dictatorship of the proletariat) or countries with its long history of killing off the heroes (Patrice Lumumba or Dak Harmjold) will vote it otherwise and one could not blame them for their business always rules their conscience.

We should concentrate and cooperate more with our friends and endeavour for a monolithic unity. Our heartfelt and sincere thanks goes to Japan, who at the last minute switch sides and throw its lot with the people of Burma, if not with the world, against the tyrannical regime. It seems that looking at the track record of the Junta the Japanese leaders are convinced that UNSC is the only place where the Junta can come to senses. The point that drives home is the fact is the mentality of those countries that voted against the inclusion of Burma, in the agenda of the UNSC, is not conducive to make this global village a happier or a holistic place and as such should not be at the helm of world leadership.

The ten countries who voted for us can be considered as the genuine friends of the people of Burma for they know how to differentiate between the people and the government of Burma and they know who are the legitimate leaders chosen by the people of Burma. Moreover they harbour the humanitarian considerations for the sufferings of the people of Burma and unlike the dictatorial regimes did not give the pretext of adhering to the principles of the big book.

The Chinese Factor

The Chinese residing in every nook and corner of Burma always seems to dominate the local economy either by hook or by crook in as much as China, the only country that sells $ 1.4 billion worth of military hardware to the Burmese army. Even though it is rather hard for an average Burmese to understand their business, the Chinese domination of the Burmese economy is paramount.

Considering the superb Chinese diplomacy of being able to marginalize, the lone superpower, the United States of America, in the regional associations of ASEAN, ASEM and most importantly the defence pact of ARF, not to mention the geo strategic position vis a vis India and the American fleet in Diego Garcia, it is no wonder that the Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya, was furious and said it was "preposterous" to put a country on the Security Council's agenda because of issues of human rights, refugees, drugs and AIDS, that he construe as not affecting the regional security. In the light of the Chinese criticism Wang noted that most countries in SEA did not consider, "the situation in Burma as being any threat to regional peace and security," there is every possibility that the Chinese will take a hard stance.

But considering the Chinese stance on Iran, where she has invested millions of dollars and a great portion of her oil supply comes, she did not use the veto at the UNSC. Of course she tried to persuade Iran diplomatically to compromise and keep the crisis from coming up to the UN. But when Iran did not listen, she simply stays neutral letting the UN to take it course. So also with North Korea, China has fought in the Korean War and had tried her level best to convince Kim Jo Ill that his nuclear defense problem should not reach the UN but when she could not do it, China simply stays neutral. Hence if we read some of the parliamentary papers of the Iranian government they accused China and Russia to be the follower of US, while Kim Jo Ill simply accused the Chinese as unreliable friend. So also from this example is Burma worth defending by using the veto? If so what will be her image as a gracious leader of Asia if not the world?

The uncountable visits of the Burmese and Chinese dignitaries to each other country is an authentic proof that the Chinese has been silently requesting the Burmese brass to compromise with the people's representative Daw Suu and prevent the problem reaching to the UNSC. But the Generals ignore the Chinese advice and never make a meaningful move. Again the narco production on the side of Burma in the Golden Triangle is causing a lot of problems to the Chinese government who admitted that it has over one million narco addicts in China because of the Junta's indirect policy of encouraging the narco barons and its production. So from these examples and hypothesis, I have great reservations of China using the veto, if the UN would ever decided to wield a big stick on these naughty and nutty Generals?

The United Nations

Burma is not at the top of anyone's agenda in the Security Council as the UNSC is beset with several others more important international affairs (to be exact 143 crisis in the agenda), but it offers the United Nations, a chance to show that it can deal with a threat to global security before it explodes onto the front page. Surely, Burma is not engaging in nuclear blackmail, and it has not attacked a neighboring country. But its malevolent dictatorship does represent a threat to peace. Its depredations at home such as mass rapes, enforced child labor, burning of farms and villages, push masses of refugees across its borders. Its economic failures make it a locus of AIDS and other diseases. Its corruption makes it a leading source of illegal drugs. And its population of 50 million plus suffers under a regime whose repression has set up the world record.

In the face of this anguish, the beleaguered democrats of Southeast Asian nations are convinced that only the Security Council can put the stop to their misery on its agenda. We are not expecting the U.N.-mandated sanctions, let alone peacekeepers or intervention -- only some attention from the UN and the international body that promised, not so long ago, not to let notions of national sovereignty keep it from standing up for human rights.

It seems that the Security Council needs to adopt a resolution calling for the release of the one and only Nobel laureate and pro democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the release of all political prisoners; for a process of national reconciliation with the democrats and ethnic leaders at the table; for U.N. and other international aid to flow directly to Burma's most vulnerable people, not through the corrupt bureaucracy; and for the UN to report back regularly on progress made on all these points. The United Nations would enhance its own stature by associating itself with Burma's nonviolent democrats and ethnic leaders.

The Burmese case has come up to the UN General Assembly several times for more than a decade and several resolutions have been passed with no effect on the Generals, who not only laugh at these resolutions but did not give a damn thing about it. They viewed it as nothing but a debating society. The Junta has swindle the UN, Secretary Generals' representative Razali Ismail, and have banned Professor Paulo Sergio Pinhiero, UN Human Rights Special Reporteur. Now all these has come to a climax and it has reached a point where it no longer ignore the UN. The very fact that it has come to the Security Council indicates that the term either or has arrived and the Junta's version of neither nor has ended.

If every man is for himself, then the logical conclusion is that every country is for itself, including our big gracious neighbors, China and India. The ASEAN countries with its grandiose Constructive Engagement Policy has paid a dear price and are silently gloating that the UN has come to the rescue, even though individual countries tries its level best to exploit Burma' vast natural and human resources.

India, which loves to be surrounded by dictatorial countries, as she has made it clear that it is not in her interest to promote democracy in Burma, now will have to think twice when the Security Council takes the matter into its hands. The biggest democratic country is the world can no longer exploit the people of its biggest neighbor. Other than the Western countries led by the US, the barometer that will decide the fate of Burma in the Security Council is self-interest.

Danger of the Extremists

Even though Burma was brought up at the Security Council, the fate of Burma will have to be decided by the people of Burma themselves and not by the United Nations or by any foreign power. This is an undeniable and undisputable fact. The Security Council is just giving a push to the cart, which will have to roll down hill in its own steam. In the struggle against the Burmese military dictatorship there are two groups, the pro democracy and the autonomy groups and though the majority, see eye to eye there are several extremists on both sides of the groups that could easily hijacked the good and noble cause and play havoc.

The most prominent in the pro democracy group are the Myanmar Chauvinist, who put out the theory that the struggle for democracy is more important than the problem of the ethnic nationalities. Their aim is to sideline, if not to marginalize the ethnic nationalities and goes back to the pre 1962 era, where both the government and the people could crush the ethnic aspirations and pretend that Burma is a monolithic whole. In other words these Myanmar Chauvinist want to practice the tyranny of the majority as in the democratic days of 1948 to 62.

This category of people seems to forget of why the army was able to make a successful military coup in 1962. If the military does not come to power, then there will be no struggle for democracy? There may be several justifications but the main cause is that the civilian government could not solve the ethnic problem. Hence the military came to power with the slogan that it has unwilling taken over power because the Union was about to fall into the deep abyss. This is the crux of the Burmese problem. Until and unless we can solve the ethnic problem, the Burmese crisis will crop up again and again, with a vicious cycle. There must be some sort of Concordat, Federal or whatever to meet the aspirations of the ethnic nationalities on the lines of the Panglong Conference, if we want to solve the problem of Burma from its root cause.

But there are many Myanmar who shares their aspirations with the non-Myanmar, now that they have fought shoulder to shoulder with their ethnic brothers against the common enemy. They have also bitterly tasted the soup of what it is to be a minority living in a foreign land where the language, culture, values and climate is not the same. They are slowly building together in the real spirit of Pyidaungsu, which we hope will be the foundation stone of the real genuine Federal Union of Burma and not the Union of Myanmar with a chauvinist tone, which is both politically and phonetically wrong (the word Myanmar, r is extra and should be Myanma pronounced softly as the word, Mother in English).

The second type of extremist is the racist attitude harbor among the ethnic nationalities, they have their dreams and aspiration to the British colonial days when they have their own territory and governed as their conscience may dictates and fancies may please. This is because the British has given them a free hand in the internal administrations to acquire their allegiance. These racist leaders are unwittingly or indirectly encouraging the Burmese army version of Balkanization and that the army is the only institution that can maintain the country together. We must realize that it was with this version of Balkanization that the Junta got the support from its neighboring giants of China and India not to mention the ASEAN countries that have more ethnic minorities than ours. These neighboring countries are really afraid that the ethnic cauldron would ever spill into their country. No wonder their practice the Constructive Engagement Policy since 1988.

In short there are several lessons to be learnt and now with the putting of the Burma in the Security Council, it is time to reflect our ways. This is the golden chance to grab it or leave it as it will come only in a lifetime. Everybody seems to sense that by throwing their lot with the ethno-democratic forces they could overcome this formidable evil force.

Wavering Leadership

"Like Father like Son(Daughter)", Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the only person where all the people of Burma, including the ethnic nationalities trust. Whether we like it or not, it is to be admitted that by arresting her incommunicado, the Junta was able to score a major point over the opposition both the democracy and the ethnic groups as there was not personality of her status to command allegiance.

Roughly, the pro democracy groups in Diaspora are under the umbrella of the UB group and the ethnic under the umbrella of EN groups. The leaders in the peripherals of Burma and those residing in the West often waver and lack vision. In order for the Burmese people to ‘know what they don’t know’ – know what is being kept a secret', it is time to make a post mortem of our struggles with the aim of restoring confidence in our selected leaders that were weak all these one and half dozen years. Though we wish to avoid “witch-hunt” atmosphere, attempting to assign blame to a wide range of groups and organizations, we are reluctant of “naming names” it is time for them to mend their ways and take a more responsible task.

We want dynamic, vigorous and resolute leaders and there is no place for those who have a faint heart and wavers, arguing that putting up the UNSC is impossible as even now there are hypothesis that China and Russia will used the veto and so on. Knowing full well that the Junta's days are numbered, many of the so called people on our sides, not only from the native Burmese but also some farangs, the so called Burmese sympathizers, especially those who have enthusiastically attended the Wilton Park Conference want to soften us.

We will have to set up a system to hold people accountable, for what they have done and without making basic reforms or structural changes, that could prevent future failures, we will not succeed even if the UN is behind us. This basic principle of establishing accountability and responsibility for public servants is essential to a working democracy for demotions, terminations and even recall are part of the democratic traditions. Unless people and groups are held accountable for their actions and inactions, they have no incentive to change and no cause to put the public interest first. All groups serve at the behest of the people, and it is a sacred trust.

(a) Transparency and Accountability: to day in the resistance groups, the basic inquiries into lines of duty, administrative responsibility, organizational restructuring, disciplinary actions, courts of inquiry, performance review, legal actions, or even courts martial have not been visibly activated, which are essential for the success of our noble cause. Accountability is not irrational blame or the search for a scapegoat, it should be a regular and open process of evaluation, reassessment and change. Understandably the primary accountability rest with the top leaders, but there is an additional accountability that must be considered and investigated on the executives who failed, despite numerous warnings and preparations against such failures to perform in ways consistent with their effective responses in the past and their standard emergency procedures.

Lamentably only a handful of officials and administrators have had the decency to date to acknowledge their accountability or to apologize for their shortcomings or failures. There are several people who wish to keep their secrets in their Pandora's box. We want an honest response or to shed light on the critical information necessary for public understanding and the will to change to attain our goal. In this way we can prove that our democracy works as one.

(b) Unanswered and unasked questions: As an ethno democratic forces a mass movement that continue to work in the peripherals of Burma and in the West there are bound to be several omissions and contradictions. The blood of our compatriots flowed in 1988, if not earlier are now silently calling us and asking questions of how do we react and respond to this golden chance of putting the problem in the UNSC? As the people of Burma, even if we are ashamed will have to admit bravely that we cannot solve our own problem and this crisis will have to be solved with the help of the world community, the UN.

The mass deserves reasonable and credible explanations for the failures of both the democratic and ethnic leaders, just to draw lessons and not to repeat the mistakes again. The UN Security Council is the ideal place to present ourselves as well as that of the Junta. Let's use this opportunity to inform the world that we seek to honor the victims by pursuing the truth and calling for justice. It has been 18 years, too long for truth and justice. We must do all we can to make this world known the agenda and true motives of the Burmese Army (Tatmadaw). We owe it to those killed, to those victims of rape, of forced labor, forced relocation for their families, and ourselves. We want to be seen as respectful, concerned people of the Federal Union of Burma. We don't seek for negative confrontation, we make every effort to diffuse the situation by dialogue and we contribute to our presence being an extension of the work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

No Place for the Tatmadaw

There are several people who either, want to have a finger in the pie and have no inkling to take out the root cause, by drawing the conclusion that the Tatmadaw is indispensable and must be one of the components of negotiations. This category of people seems to believe the exaggerated notion that the Burmese army is the sole savior of the country in gaining independence. This myth inevitably lends a helping hand to the Tatmadaw, who wants to have a grip on the state power, in perpetuity.

The excesses of ragtag riffraff BIA coming into Burma, under the protective custody of Imperial Japanese army, was the root cause of the Karen insurrections with a snowball effect. When Rangoon was about to fall to the Karen rebels in the late forties, it was the Chin and the Kachin army that saves Rangoon. The ethnic army of first Shan, together with the other ethnic brothers save the Union from the Burma Communist Party, an undisputable facts that the ethnic people really loves the Union. Hence, why was Contemporary History of Burma twisted? Is it for Burmanization (Maha Bama)? In the Japanese records there was no such thing as the Burmese resistance or the Burmese army in the 2nd World War, let alone the Army Day (Resistance Day) which falls on 27th March when the allies and the British Burma Army has already occupied Mandalay, and the whole of upper Burma. Some Japanese army commanders admitted that more soldiers were killed in Karenni state than in the whole campaign in Burma, which clearly indicates that the Karennis fought tooth and nail more than the rag tag Burmese army.

In fact, the original Burmese army composed of two components since its inception, the BIA(BDA,BNA,PBF) and the British Burma army composed of the Chindit, the Karen and most of the ethnic forces. It was amalgamation of these two, that became the Burmese Army, Tatamadaw with General Smith Dun as the supreme commander and Ne Win from the BIA as his assistant. It was by cunning and trickery, with the approval of U Nu that Ne Win replaced him and his professional lieutenants such as Air Commando Saw Shisho Tun, and many ethnic Brigadiers. Maha Bama idea has started since then.

General Aung San who is the founder of the Burmese army had set the example when he resigned from the armed forces to compete in elections and does not compete as a representative of Tatmadaw. Hence historically the Tatamadaw has no place in the making of future Federal Union of Burma.

The second aspect is that the majority, if not every university student starting from 1959 Ava Hall crisis (the army tank destroyed the gates of Ava hall in order to access to the students holed up in the hall) up to this day including the 8888 generation vehemently hated the Burmese army. The Tatmadaw is the ones that destroyed the educations system and the country. Every time there was a crisis they always killed off a number of students. The generations from 1959 up to the 8888 and to day are now the ones that are residing in and outside of Burma that does not look kindly to the Tatamadaw. This explicitly means that as long as the Tatmadaw is there the animosity and the antagonism will goes on and on between the generations of students and the Tatamadaw..

The third aspect is that there must be no single entity that can wield the power of the gun, to eliminate the threat of a military coup. If it is a genuine federal union there must be the province armed forces just like in the old days when we have Karen Rifles, 1st to 4th Chin, 1st to 4th Kachin, 1st Shan, Kayah Yae and so on to protect their own State and Divisions and of course in place of the Tatmadaw there must be a Pyidaungsu Tat (Union army) conscripted from all the ethnic and Myanmar forces, to defend the country from outside encroachment. Only then there will be a check and balance system. If any particular army be they Myanmar or ethnic make an attempt to seize power by force, then the rest can come and defend the Union (Pyidaungsu), as it had done in the late 40s and early 50s.

The fourth aspect is the unwritten philosophy of the Tatmadaw that "We alone are can do it." must be uprooted once and for all for the sake of the genuine Federal Union, Pyidaungsu. This endorse the argument that only the Tatmadaw is patriotic and that that rest are parasites that does not have a pale of patriotism. What an unbelievable and paradoxical phrases as the "Tatmadaw is our father and mother are posted throughout the length and breath of the country and forcing the people to believe, when in fact it is a rapist army, committing unaccountable human rights violations with impunity. Tatmadaw has no regards except the lip service for Pyidaungsu.

The fact that they want to have 25% of the administrative power in the new administrative structure reveals that Tatmadaw is a power maniacs. The evil Tatmadaw, with the connotations of the Burmese word, Taw (such as Naing Gan Taw) depicting a Myanmar empire, if not a chauvinist tone over the ethnic nationalities treating them these ethnic nationalities as if the were the second citizen will have to be eliminated for real peace and genuine Pyidaungsu.

The fifth, and most crucial aspect is that the Burmese army is not sincere and has no love and cetena to the people of Burma. This can be easily comparable to with the latest Thai military coup where General Sonthi Boonyaratglin declared that he will be the interim Prime Minister just for a fortnight and that democracy will return to Thailand within a year, a time line, which the Burmese Generals dared not contemplate. Unlike the Burmese Generals it won't take a decade to draw up the new constitution but would be completed within a year. Unlike Burma, Thailand' s latest coup has the full support of the people. However the most conspicuous aspect is that. Tatmadaw is sorely afraid that the people of Burma will be happy and prosperous e.g. when it came to power in 1988 after killing thousands of peaceful demonstrators they opened up the country economically and of course the investors rush in thinking that it was a genuine market economy and the middle class prosper for a couple of years. Tatmadaw knows that with the rise of the middle class the country will be inching towards democracy because it is a matter of time that this middle class will have a say in politics and so it at once reverse the trend, chasing the investors out of the country and destroying the middle class with the result that the country has now became poor at the bottom of the world's ladder. What more Tamadaw, is still not satisfied and is hindering the works of the NGOs who has come into the country with a sincere heart to help the down trodden and marginalized people. On the whole Tatmadaw has a cruel heart, to look on the suffering of the people but not the world community and when these well meaning NGOs came in they prevent them. They even indirectly forced out the Global Fund and will not let the International Red Cross to come in again. Are we going to give this Tatmadaw a role, which continues to harbor such mentality? In short if one were to solve the Burmese problem from its root this pugnacious Tatmadaw has no place.

Tamadaw Response

Now that Burma is in the agenda of the Security Council, let us examine the response of the Tatmadaw from it headquarters in Kyat Pyae. It simply says that there will be no change, what ever of its policies and will carry out its policies unswervingly. "Under no circumstances will it change these policies just because of pressure, coercion and sanctions," said a five-page- long statement. The statement criticized the United States for using the United Nations. Of course the continue to lie the very concept of truth by declaring that there are no political prisoners and only criminals and felons and terrorists are in jail Concerning Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, she was restricted at home for:

"constantly demanding confrontation, defiance of all orders, utter devastation, resorting to four kinds of sanctions and reliance on external elements all of which will lead to harming the national unity, national stability and national development as well as hindering democratization process.."

The irony is that all these 16 years she was never brought to court to face her charges even according to their white lie, it seems that the Tatmadaw cannot even lie logically and scientifically.

Regarding the refugee issue, those residing at the so-called refugee camps in the other country are not genuine refugees but insurgents and their relatives and will not be accepted. The country is now stable, peaceful and tranquil with the prevalence of rule of law and order and development. Regarding the drug issue it is absolutely groundless and that poppy cultivation has decreased. The statement read that the spread of three diseases of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria to neighboring countries are merely an exaggeration. It finally warned the UN that no encroachment on national sovereignty will be accepted.

The Tatmadaw has taken a hard line stance indicating that there will be no compromise with the United Nations and will fight to the end. Of course they are not empty threats, now it has 17,000 Kamikaze type child soldiers imbued with the spirit of supreme sacrifice. Like Mois Tsombe of Congo, will declared War on the UN and the world and die fighting. In such a scenario, how do we respond?

Prepared for the Worst

Putting Burma in the agenda of the UN Security, (some interpreted as a major victory) is just a feeble step in the right direction, and the ethno democratic forces could not stay complacent but will have to work for it very hard. Let us recollect our beloved Bogyoke Aung San's words before going to London for the Aung San-Attle Agreement of hoping and praying for the best but at the same time preparing for the worst.

This feat will also depend on the outcome of the UNSC. Sanctions have not worked as both China and India including Thailand can easily beat the sanctions. To decide a drastic resolution such as sending troops to enforce the Security Council's resolutions will be met with the veto from China or Russia (read how the Junta eulogize and rely on these two countries as he is now in desperate position). It should be something in between the two extremes, so that both these two dictatorial veto power countries will not use the veto. The US clearly sees this trend and we are positive that our friends at the UNSC would push for it. If it comes to the resolution, something like to settle between the people of Burma themselves, with the backing of the UN, then it is time for the ethno-democratic forces to prepare drastic actions, at least psychologically.

The UNGA has earlier called for a tripartite dialogue (ethnic nationalities, democracy movement and the Junta) and we will have to strive for it. All the ethnic and democratic fighting forces augmented by the Diaspora communities will have to join hands, under a single command and with the backing and funding of the UN in terms of hardware (arms, air and sea cover) will have to fight the Burmese version of the Armageddon. This time it will be the real Pyidaungsu Tat that will speak the Tatmadaw on equal terms, in their own language. Let us move according to the UN agenda curbing our own extremist. Then and only then we will see who will resolutely fight on the Junta's side, on which side the people of Burma will be? On our side it is also going to be a test for those individual and groups of whether they love the country by the lips or by the heart. If we cannot achieve that then there is every, likelihood that Burma will be the Yugoslavia of the East.

But hopefully, the Junta will not reached that point and accepts gracefully of Gambari visit and a sort of a compromise to release Daw Suu and all the political prisoners will be reached. We hope and pray that the Burmese problem will be solved peacefully without bloodshed. If the Myanmar and the non Myanmar cannot come to an agreement, the ethnic nationalities should really think of forming the Union of Nationalities without the Myanmar.

But let us set things right among us by preparing the necessary aspects. Personally may I appeal to the Burmese intelligentsia especially the academics of Social Sciences in Diaspora to come to our rescue and help prepare for this coming Herculean task. The accusation that the academics know it from the beginning and stay mute just to save their skin must be eliminated once and for all.

Way back in 1992, when I was serving at Chulalongkong University as the Press Secretary of the ACRP (Asian Conference on Religion and Peace), I put up a paper titled "A Burmese Appeal to the UN and US" at that time President Clinton and Butros Ghali urging the UN to take up the Burmese case. It was put up through our head office of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) at the UN building. This was later printed into a book and distributed among the resistance groups. In it I clearly outlined the role of the UN and that Burma's case must be put up to the Security Council. I also send this paper to the UB group, since I acknowledge that we should fought under their umbrella. But on reading it they were hilarious about it, saying that I was a bit insane. Now the vision, which I visualize some dozen years ago, has come to fruition.
The point is we need a visionary leader who must be vigorous and dynamic that can correlate the conditions inside Burma ( NLD and the Tatmadaw), the Diaspora (peripheral ethnic forces and the overseas Burmese) and of course with international communities (the UN, the West and the dictatorial countries) and then decipher the best way to achieve our cherished goal, which has come a bit closer. We need to reinforce the existing institutions with farsighted intelligentsia. Now is the time for there will be no medium way either we do or die.


Prof. Kanbawza Win

Kennedy Space Centre, Florida