Burmese Regime Deliberately Depresses Economy

Burma is ranked as one of the world’s most undeveloped countries because of intentional mismanagement by its own leaders, says a leading regional activist, Debbie Stothard, the coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (Altsean).

Many developing countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand lack the abundant natural resources of Burma, Stothard noted. However, Burma is poorer than each of these neighboring countries.

Many Burma observers say the country has become the poorest country in region because the military regime lacks any interest in a plan to develop the economy and to integrate with the international community. One result is that almost all of Burma’s natural resources are sold to neighboring countries, say observers.

Stothard and economic specialist Sean Turnell of McQuarie University in Australia said Burma’s generals have completely lost touch with economic reality, making the country a “very, very high-risk environment” for potential foreign investors.

In the past, Burma was at the top of Southeast Asian countries in terms of economic development and natural resources and had one of the region’s best education systems, Stothard noted.

“People wanted to go to Burma to study because of its universities,” she said. “Think about that. But, in a few decades the Burmese regime has turned the situation completely around.”

Stothard said Burmese people are among the poorest in the world due to the military government’s policy of preventing the development of a functioning economy and a professional education system.

“The regime intentionally twists the education system and squeezes the ordinary people,” she said.

Due to the broken education system, many of the brightest young Burmese leave the country and many never return.  


Stothard noted that many regional businesspeople would not dare to set up a business in Burma.

“The only companies that dare go into Burma are the ones who are going to export the natural resources. They just go in, grab the natural resources and run,” said Stothard.

Turnell said that the regime’s economic policies have done far more damage to the country’s economic prospects than global economic sanctions, put in place because of the regime’s anti-democratic policies and human rights abuses.

“The biggest sanction on Burma is the Burmese regime itself,” said Turnell, who added that the regime’s “determined mismanagement” of the country’s economy, including its refusal to respect property rights, is the main obstacle to Burma’s economic development.

Stothard said, “Singaporean businessmen have told me, those generals don’t know anything.

They don’t want to know anything. It is not about the generals being stupid. It is about generals who refuse to listen to the advice of their own technocrats.”

Burma has been designated one of the world’s least developed countries by the United Nations for more than 20 years. On a UN Web site, Burma is described as “a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and abject rural poverty.”

A former Burmese intelligence official in exile, Maj Aung Lynn Htut, wrote in  a recent assessment of the country that the junta’s chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, is adept at using dirty tricks as a result of his background in psychological warfare. 

Aung Lynn Htut wrote, “He [Than Shwe] understands very well that if the public is allowed to have a better life it will gain a progressive outlook and become interested in politics.”

In the Human Development Index 2008 Update, Burma’s per capita GDP (US       $881 in 2006) was ranked 163rd out of 178 countries in the world.

Burmese physicians have criticized the military regime over their handling of the outbreak of swine (H1N1) flu in Burma, and they are calling for greater public participation in the fight against the disease.

Dr Thiha Maung, director of the Thailand-based National Health and Education Committee told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “From a medical point of view, swine flu is dangerous because it so easily transmitted.”

Burmese authorities have called the H1N1 influenza outbreak “human flu” in the Burmese language, and the official press has called it an imported disease, according to the doctor.

“This is a mistake. What we are seeing is the tip of the iceberg. We must have a health awareness campaign,” he said.

Dr Zaw Ye Myint, a veterinary surgeon in Rangoon, told The Irrawaddy: “The authorities are only making a show of fighting influenza. Instead they should be raising health awareness and encouraging the public to cooperate with health authorities.
“People have little faith in the regime’s health care system, and because they fear the authorities they are not willing to cooperate with the regime’s health officials,” he said.

State-run media have reported that authorities are taking preventive measures against the possible spread of the global “human flu” pandemic, advising all private clinics in the country to report or transfer patients suspected of influenza.

Dr Thiha Maung said, “Border areas are important, and the government should be helping people take precautionary measures against the flu.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Dr Cynthia Maung, who runs the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, said on Thursday: “To be more effective combating swine flu, the Burmese authorities must cooperate with neighboring countries and international health organizations.”

The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, reported on Thursday that a 57-year-old man who returned from Singapore on flight MI-512 on July 20 was infected with H1N1 influenza, bringing the number of reported cases in Burma to 10.
Seventy-four passengers on the flight and 131 airport staff are under surveillance at their homes, the newspaper said.

Four of the 10 flu patients diagnosed with flu have recovered and were discharged from hospital, the report added.

Obama Signs Burma Sanctions Renewal into Law

WASHINGTON —US President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law the Burma Sanctions Renewal Act, thus extending sanctions on the country’s military junta.

The bill, unanimously passed by both the US House of Representative and the Senate last week, renews the current sanctions on imports from Burma for an additional three years and maintains the ban on the import of jade and other gems from Burma.

In a statement, the White House said Obama signed into law “HJ Res. 56, which renews the import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.”

Burmese pro-democracy activists in the US welcomed the decision.

“By signing the sanctions renewal resolution, unanimously approved by the Senate and the House on July 24 and 21 respectively, President Obama sends a clear signal to the Burmese military junta that the United States’ support of the democracy movement in Burma led by Aung San Suu Kyi is still strong, consistent and decisive,” said Aung Din, the executive director of the US Campaign for Burma.

The renewal of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act follows Obama’s decision on May 15 to extend investment prohibitions against the Burmese military regime that began under President Bill Clinton.

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act was first enacted in 2003 under the leadership of the former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Lantos.

“I introduced the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act because we must show the military regime currently ruling with an iron fist in Burma that there are consequences for their actions,” said Congressman Joseph Crowley, one of the sponsors of the legislation.

“Burma’s military regime has carried out a brutal campaign against its own people. It has destroyed 3,000 villages, forced one million people to flee as refugees, used rape as a weapon of war, and pressed millions of civilians into forced labor—modern-day slave labor,” he added.

Crowley said that the junta has also rejected recent diplomatic outreach, which would have been well-received in the global community.

“Specifically, the junta refused United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s request to release political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the nonviolent movement for democracy and human rights in Burma. Not only did the junta refuse Aung San Suu Kyi’s release, they even refused Ban Ki-moon’s request to meet with her,” he said.

Several Die in Kachin State’s Worst Dengue Fever Outbreak

An outbreak of dengue fever in Myitkyina, capital of Burma’s Kachin State, has claimed several lives, according to local residents.

Myitkyina’s public hospital wards are full of dengue patients and many residents are seeking medical attention in private clinics, local sources say. Most of the patients are children and elderly people.

“The situation is terrible,” said one local resident, Ma Grang.

Local hospitals and clinics are overburdened by the increasing number of cases, and Ma Grang said many patients waited in vain all day for treatment. The Kachin News Group reported that more then 120 children are being treated in a local hospital known as the “Children’s Ward.”

Hospital and clinic staff told The Irrawaddy they had no authority to give out information on the outbreak, which began in mid-June. No official death toll has been reported.

The Kachin News Group reported that a 16-year-old schoolgirl, Hkawng Naw, was among the recent victims,. She died on July 23.

Dengue fever outbreaks occur every year in Kachin State, but the current epidemic is the worst ever.

US Offer Won’t Lead to Suu Kyi’s Freedom: Opposition Leaders

Opposition leaders on Thursday expressed doubt that a US offer of economic investment in Burma in return for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from prison would lead to the pro-democracy leader’s freedom.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday in Phuket, Thailand, that the US would expand relations with Burma if the military government released opposition leader Suu Kyi, who is now on trial.

“If she [Suu Kyi] were released, that would open up opportunities, at least for my country, to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma. But it is up to the Burmese leadership,” Clinton said while attending a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

Burmese political opposition leaders urged the military regime to consider the offer as a way to encourage national reconciliation. 

Khin Maung Swe, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said that Clinton’s statement shows how much the international community supports the release of the detained opposition leader, who has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.  

If the Burmese generals followed up on the US offer, it would be a win-win situation with both Burma and the US benefiting from better economic and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries, said Khin Maung Swe.

“The Burmese generals should consider this carefully,” he said.

He said regional leaders should not only talk but also take actions to bring the Burmese regime to the “table of negotiation.”

Win Tin, the most prominent Burmese opposition politician after Suu Kyi, told The Irrawaddy that the Clinton’s statement displayed the weakness of US policy on Burma.

“What about reconciliation dialogue, the election [in 2010] and ethnic issues?” Win Tin asked. “Don’t they know that they would detain her again?”

Win Tin himself spent 19 years in prison and was unexpectedly released late last year.

Chan Htun, a Rangoon-based, veteran politician and former ambassador to China, said Clinton’s statement was positive.

“I would like to urge the Burmese generals to seriously consider the future of the country and cooperate with the offer,” Chan Htun said.   “But, that’s only my wish. The Burmese regime will do whatever it wants and will listen to nobody.”

He said he doesn’t believe Burma’s No 1 general, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, will consider the offer.

A prominent Mon politician, Nai Ngwe Thein, who is vice president (1) of the Mon National Democratic Front in Mon State in southern Burma, said, “It is a good offer. But, I don’t think they [the generals] will follow up on it.”  

At a press conference on Wednesday, Clinton said the US is seriously concerned about the closer military cooperation between Burma and North Korea, and Burma’s possible pursuit of “offensive weapons including nuclear weapons.”  
 
The US imposed economic sanctions on Burma in 1997, preventing new US investment in the military-ruled country. It tightened economic sanctions that banned importing goods from Burma again in 2003, following an attack on Suu Kyi's convoy by regime-backed thugs in northern Burma.

A veteran journalist who works at a foreign wire service in Rangoon said that he doesn’t believe the regime will consider the US offer.

“You can’t go and bribe the regime [in exchange for Suu Kyi’s release],” he said.

But the correspondent said that there has been growing optimism among the Burmese people that Suu Kyi’s prison sentence might be reduced because of the pressure from the international community.

“People are saying that the regime will put her back under house arrest with a three-year sentence,” he said. “They [the junta] still want to take her out of the election in 2010.” If convicted, she could receive up to a five-year prison sentence.

Asked to predict whether the regime might consider freeing Suu Kyi anytime soon, he said, “We are dealing with a very peculiar regime. They are unpredictable.”

Free Daw Aung Suu Kyi and the US May Invest in Burma: Clinton

PHUKET, Thailand—The United States would be willing to expand its relations with Burma if the country's military junta released opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday in Phuket.

“If she [Suu Kyi] were released, that would open up opportunities, at least for my country, to expand our relationship with Burma, including investments in Burma. But it is up to the Burmese leadership," Clinton said.

The US has imposed economic sanctions on Burma since 1997, preventing new US investment in the military-ruled country. The US set tighter economic sanctions that banned importing goods from Burma in 2003, following an attack on Suu Kyi's convoy by regime-backed thugs at Depayin in northern Burma.

At Wednesday's press conference, Clinton repeated US concerns over the military cooperation between Burma and North Korea, and the pursuit of "offensive weapons including nuclear weapons."

“There are a lot of issues that Burma raises for the entire region, not just the United States," she said, adding that it was important to encourage the Burmese leadership to open up and pursue the model other Asean countries are following.

Clinton told reporters at the press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday that the Obama administration is concerned about the increasing military ties between North Korea and Burma.

“We know that there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma, which we take very seriously. It would be destabilizing for the region," Clinton said. "It would pose a direct threat to Burma’s neighbors. And it is something, as a treaty ally of Thailand, that we are taking very seriously."

Clinton, who is now attending the Asean Regional Forum in Phuket, said that Burma is moving in the opposite direction from other Southeast Asian countries, which, like the United States, want the Burmese military government to change their behavior.

Clinton added that the Burmese junta would have a better future by turning away from isolation and treating their own people better.

During an interview on The Nation Thai television network, Clinton said Asean should consider expelling Burma from the regional bloc if the junta fails to release pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi.

Before flying to Phuket, Clinton met several activists in Bangkok, including Dr Cynthia Maung, founder of the Mae Tao Clinic for Burmese migrants and refugees in the Thai-Burmese town of Mae Sot.

After fleeing the 1988 uprising, Cynthia Maung set up a clinic in Mae Sot where she and her medical workers treat refugees and migrant workers. The former US first lady Laura Bush visited her clinic in August 2008

Clinton Declares the US 'Is Back' in Asia

BANGKOK — on her second trip to Asia as US secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton is carrying a no-nonsense message about American intentions.

"The United States is back," she declared Tuesday upon arrival in the Thai capital.


US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) speaks during a press conference with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu (R) at the Governement house in Bangkok on July 21. (Photo: Getty Images)

By that she means the administration of President Barack Obama thinks it's time to show Asian nations that the United States is not distracted by its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and intends to broaden and deepen its partnerships in this region.
Clinton trumpeted that line Wednesday in an appearance with a prominent TV personality before flying to a seaside resort at Phuket for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Burma and a range of other regional issues.

Clinton said she would, as previously announced, sign Asean's seminal Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a commitment to peacefully resolve regional disputes that has already been signed by more than a dozen countries outside the 10-nation bloc.

The US signing will be by the executive authority of Obama and does not require congressional ratification, said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the move publicly.

The administration of President George W Bush had declined to sign the document; Obama sees it as a symbolic underscoring of the US commitment to Asia.

On her arrival here Tuesday, Clinton reiterated Obama administration concerns that North Korea, already a threat to the US and its neighbors with its history of illicit sales of missiles and nuclear technology, is now developing ties to Burma's military dictatorship.

Clinton held out the possibility of offering North Korea a new set of incentives to return to negotiating a dismantling of its nuclear program if it shows a "willingness to take a different path." But she admitted there is little immediate chance of that.
A Clinton aide said the United States and its allies are looking for a commitment by North Korea that would irreversibly end its nuclear weapons program. The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal US government deliberations, said there is no sign that North Korea intends to make such a move, keeping the US focus on enforcing expanded UN sanctions.

In her remarks about a possible Burma-North Korea connection, Clinton did not refer explicitly to a nuclear link but made clear that the ties are disconcerting.

"We know there are also growing concerns about military cooperation between North Korea and Burma which we take very seriously," she said at a news conference in the Thai capital.

"It would be destabilizing for the region, it would pose a direct threat to Burma's neighbors," she said, adding that as a treaty ally of Thailand, the United States takes the matter seriously.

Later, a senior administration official said that Washington is concerned about the possibility that North Korea could be cooperating with Burma on a nuclear weapons program, but he added that US intelligence information on this is incomplete. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter.

The United States, in a joint effort with South Korea, Japan, China and Russia, is attempting to use UN sanctions as leverage to compel North Korea to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program. A major element of the international concern about North Korea is the prospect of nuclear proliferation, which could lead to a nuclear arms race in Asia and beyond.

Clinton spoke to reporters after meeting with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the outset of a three-day visit to Thailand.

Clinton sharply criticized the military rulers of Burma for human rights abuses, "particularly violent actions that are attributed to the Burmese military concerning the mistreatment and abuse of young girls."

She said an Obama administration policy review on Burma is on hold pending the outcome of the trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest. The Noble Peace Prize laureate faces up to five years in prison if convicted, as expected.

Visa Backlog Holds Up Irrawaddy Delta Relief Work

PHUKET, Thailand — The international post-cyclone relief effort in the Irrawaddy delta is under pressure because of a delay in granting visas for more than 200 aid workers, according to a senior official with the Tripartite Core Group (TCG).

William Sabandar, special envoy of the Asean Secretary-General for Post Nargis Recovery in Burma, told The Irrawaddy that although relief workers were still being allowed into the delta area their numbers had been cut because of a backlog in granting visas.

A boy looks past a tarpaulin cover, used by his family for shelter, in Labutta Township at Burma's Irrawaddy delta region. Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster recorded in Burma's history, slammed into the delta region on May 2, 2008, killing more then 130,000 people and leaving 2.4 million destitute. (Photo: Reuters)

A boy looks past a tarpaulin cover, used by his family for shelter, in Labutta Township at Burma's Irrawaddy delta region. Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster recorded in Burma's history, slammed into the delta region on May 2, 2008, killing more then 130,000 people and leaving 2.4 million destitute. (Photo: Reuter

“There’s a backlog in the granting of more than 200 visas,” he said. “We are working on trying to resolve the situation.”

Sabandar—who has experience of post-tsunami work in Aceh, Indonesia, said the greatest difficult in working in Burma was building trust.

He said he raised the matter of the backlog with Burmese Foreign Minister Maj-Gen Nyan Win during a working dinner in Phuket on Sunday. “He understands the issue and he would like to help.”

Relief workers in Burma say they have been experiencing difficulties since Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu, chairman of the TCG, was transferred to an inactive position, as chairman of the ministerial-level Civil Service Selection and Training Board.
After the junta faced international outrage over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi’s began in May, the activities and visa processing of relief workers had been experiencing difficulties, said a European relief worker who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two books on Cyclone Nargis were launched at the Asean session: A Bridge to Recovery: Asean’s Response to Cyclone Nargis and Myanmar: Life after Nargis.

According to Myanmar: Life after Nargis, the Burmese regime had missed a crucial opportunity to represent itself appropriately in the eyes of the Burmese people and the international community. The book is published by the Asean Secretariat and the Singapore-based Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

“The Myanmar Government missed another opportunity to shore up its legitimacy,” said the authors of the book, saying Nargis victims had expressed their frustration at the regime’s delay in accepting international assistance.

At a donor meeting in Bangkok in February, the TCG announced its three year recovery plan for Nargis victims. The plan has a proposed budget of US $ 691 million.
However, the Asean Secretariat says in the book, A Bridge to Recovery: Asean’s Response to Cyclone Nargis: “Donor support pledged to date needs turning into firm commitments”.

“The recovery experience after other disasters has shown that the receiving of international assistance depends strongly on the effectiveness of the coordination and implementation structure in place,” the Asean Secretariat says in the book.

International donors are reportedly disappointed at the level of corruption in dealing with funds, as well as the lack of direct engagement between donors and the junta’s senior officials.

Is Burma Going Nuclear?

BANGKOK — The recent aborted voyage of a North Korean ship, photographs of massive tunnels and a top secret meeting have raised alarm bells that one of the world's poorest nations may be aspiring to join the nuclear club—with help from its friends in Pyongyang. No one expects military-run Burma, also known as Myanmar, to obtain an atomic bomb anytime soon, but experts have the Southeast Asian nation on their radar screen.

"There's suspicion that something is going on, and increasingly that cooperation with North Korea may have a nuclear undercurrent. We are very much looking into it," says David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington DC think tank.

The issue is expected to be discussed, at least on the sidelines, at this week's Asean Regional Forum, a major security conference hosted by Thailand. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with representatives from North Korea and Burma, will attend.

Alert signals sounded recently when a North Korean freighter, the Kang Nam I, headed toward Burma with undisclosed cargo. Shadowed by the US Navy, it reversed course and returned home earlier this month.

It is still not clear what was aboard. US and South Korean officials suspected artillery and other non-nuclear arms, but one South Korean intelligence expert, citing satellite imagery, says the ship's mission appeared to be related to a Burma nuclear program and also carried Scud-type missiles.

The expert, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said North Korea is helping Burma set up uranium- and nuclear-related facilities, echoing similar reports that have long circulated in Burma's exile community and media.

Meanwhile, Japanese police arrested a North Korean and two Japanese nationals last month for allegedly trying to export a magnetic measuring device to Burma that could be used to develop missiles.

And a recent report from Burmese exile media said senior Burmese military officers made a top secret visit late last year to North Korea, where an agreement was concluded for greatly expanding cooperation to modernize Burma's military muscle, including the construction of underground installations. The military pact report has yet to be confirmed.

In June, photographs, video and reports showed as many as 800 tunnels, some of them vast, dug in Burma with North Korean assistance under an operation code-named "Tortoise Shells." The photos were reportedly taken between 2003 and 2006.

Thailand-based author Bertil Lintner is convinced of the authenticity of the photos, which he was the first to obtain. However, the purpose of the tunnel networks, many near the remote capital of Naypyidaw, remains a question mark.

"There is no doubt that the Burmese generals would like to have a bomb so that they could challenge the Americans and the rest of the world," says Lintner, who has written books on both Burma and North Korea. "But they must be decades away from acquiring anything that would even remotely resemble an atomic bomb."

David Mathieson of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, who monitors developments in Burma, says that while there's no firm evidence the generals are pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, "a swirl of circumstantial trends indicates something in the nuclear field is going on that definitely warrants closer scrutiny by the international community."

Albright says some of the suspicion stems from North Korea's nuclear cooperation with Syria, which now possesses a reactor. Syria had first approached the Russians, just as Burma did earlier, but both countries were rejected, so the Syrians turned to Pyongyang—a step Burma may also be taking.

Since the early 2000s, dissidents and defectors from Burma have talked of a "nuclear battalion," an atomic "Ayelar Project" working out of a disguised flour mill and two Pakistani scientists who fled to Burma following the September 11 World Trade Center attack providing assistance.

Rangoon Electricity Cut to Six Hours a Day

RANGOON — Residents in Rangoon have greeted with dismay an announcement by the state-own Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE) saying electrical power will be rationed to six hours a day.

The power supply to Rangoon’s townships will be distributed on a rotation basis, said an MEPE announcement.

The MEPE, a state-owned utility, is responsible for electrical generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Burma.

An official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the electricity supply to Rangoon has to be reduced because the pipeline carrying gas from the southern Andaman sea to Rangoon power generators––near Belin city in Mon State––has been damaged by flood water.

“Belin river was flooded by heavy rain, causing pipeline damage. Repairs could take time,” he said.

In Burma, electricity supplies are sporadic at the best of times, making many of Rangoon's 5 million residents reliant on diesel-powered generators.

Nai Kyaw, 60, who lives in Bahan Towship, said, “I am very disappointed with this government. They say that they are a government. But, they never think about the people. They produce gas in the country, and they sell it to Thailand and China.”

The lack of electricity is disrupting livelihoods and affecting the economy, said Rangoon sources.

In Rangoon, the power supply is normally rotated from March to June, usually due to a lack of rainwater to power the Lawpita hydroelectric plant at full capacity. Lawpita, located 210 miles (350 kilometers) north of the capital, is one of the main sources of electricity for the capital.

Normally, in monsoon season the government can provide 24 hours of electrical power a day in Rangoon.

Rangoon’s 5 million residents need about 450 megawatts daily, according to the local journal Weekly Eleven.
The power shortage has affected everyone from noodle vendors to apartment block residents.

In many neighborhoods, brownouts occur frequently with the power as low as 150 volts, rendering most electronic appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners inoperable without voltage regulators and other specialized equipment.

The power cuts aren't new. The military regime has been distributing electricity under a rationing system for the past eight years, unable to keep up with rising demand.

Total national output of electricity is 845 megawatts, less than the installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts and short of the country's electricity needs. The power crisis is exacerbated by the draining of foreign exchange reserves needed to buy fuel and spare parts for antiquated generators.

Among the only people benefiting are entrepreneurs who sell electric generators and candles.

But the use of candles among the poor who live in wood and thatched huts makes such neighborhoods particularly vulnerable to fires. Loudspeakers on vehicles warn residents to guard against fires in their homes.

Analysts say the military government keeps much of the country’s energy supply in reserve for military purposes and emergency situations.

Many Rangoon residents say that Burma’s new capital, Naypyidaw, gets power at Rangoon’s expense.

“Even people who live far from the highway, they can get 24 hours of power supply,” said a government worker in Rangoon.

Junta Arrests 50 People on Martyrs Day

Fifty Burmese pro-democracy activists were arrested on Sunday while marching in Rangoon to pay respect to Burma’s independence heroes on Martyrs’ Day.

“At about 11 a.m., 50 activists were arrested near the Martyrs’ Mausoleum in Rangoon,” said a source close to the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). “Not only NLD members but also other activists were among those arrested.”

Supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi look on just prior to being arrested by Burmese soldiers following a Martyr's Day ceremony in Rangoon. (Photo: AP)

 



“On the way to the Martyrs’ Mausoleum, there is a police checkpoint,” said a reporter in Rangoon. “The checkpoint only allows invited people and journalists. Without permission, nobody could enter the monument.”

Rangoon sources said Burmese authorities had tight security around the monument and  Shwedagon Pagoda, which is located near the mausoleum. Security forces questioned people with cameras.

The NLD held a Martyrs’ Day ceremony at its headquarters in Rangoon which was monitored by authorities. An estimated 1,000 soldiers, riot police and officers in civilian clothes were stationed near the NLD office.

Sunday was the 62nd Martyrs’ Day in Burma, recognizing the assassination of the nation’s independence hero, Aung San, and key cabinet members on July 19, 1947.

The arrests in Burma be an issue at the Asean Ministerial Meeting now underway in Phuket, Thailand. On Monday, Asean foreign ministers are scheduled to adopt the Terms of Reference of the Asean Human Rights Body.

Since the 1988 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters across the country, Martyrs’ Day has become a kind of a political confrontation ground between security forces and pro-democracy activists.

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, is currently on trial in the infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon. She donated food to ill inmates in the prison hospital on Saturday, according to her lawyer.

Clinton’s Burma Agenda

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made no mention of Burma in her foreign policy speech in Washington this week, but she renewed the US offer to talk with the Iranian regime—but the offer and opportunity would not remain indefinitely, she warned.

Clinton is on her way to Asia—this is her second trip—to attend the 42th Asean Ministerial Meeting in Phuket. Whether she wants it or not, the Burma and North Korea issues will likely dominate the meeting. Clinton, who said she was deeply troubled by the decision by the Burmese regime to charge Suu Kyi with a baseless crime, is not unprepared to speak on the Burma issue, but a US policy review on Burma that began in February is still pending.


During her first trip to Jakarta, Clinton said, “Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta.” Then she added that the policy adopted by neighboring countries of “reaching out and trying to engage them has not influenced them, either.”
The policy review on Burma is still pending, with the Obama administration wanting to take a different policy direction on Burma from the previous Bush administration. The new policy will probably be a mix of carrots and sticks, but recent events have complicated apparent indications favoring increased diplomacy and outreach from Washington towards Burma’s rulers.

“The recent events with Aung San Suu Kyi are just deeply, deeply concerning, and it makes it very difficult going forward,” said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs told US lawmakers during his confirmation hearing last month.

“We're in the midst of a very sensitive review,” he said. “We are looking at the situation of the trial and what the junta is considering going forward. It will play into our review.”

If Suu Kyi’s bizarre trial has played a role in the policy review—other sensitive issues include the release of 2,100 political prisoners, the relationship with ethnic groups along the Burmese border with China and Thailand, and the upcoming election in 2010—then no doubt the issue of Burma’s shady relationship with North Korea will also play a part.

Though Washington’s policy review remains incomplete, the US is not without a policy and diplomatic tools. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Scot Marciel, assured that Clinton would bring up the issue of Burma during the meeting with Asean foreign ministers.

 “I don't want to try to predict exactly what she's [Clinton] going to say. I'm confident that she will raise Burma and express our concerns quite clearly,” Marciel said.

“The fundamental policy remains the same, which is to do whatever we can to try to encourage progress in Burma,” he said.

“By progress, I mean the beginning of a dialogue between the government and the opposition and the ethnic minority groups, release of political prisoners and improved governance and, we would hope, more of an opening to the international community,” he said.

Since the trial began in May, the international pressure on Burma has been sustained. The military leaders, diplomats believed, were shocked at the swift and unified reaction from the international community, including Asean and China. As things stand at the moment, the bizarre trial that appeared to be progressing fast in its initial stages has slowed down—perhaps this is a sign that the junta is having second thoughts.

The Burmese leaders received two separate high level visits: one led by Singapore’s senior minister Goh Chok Tong and the other from UN chief Ban Ki-moon. They both delivered a firm message to the regime leaders to make significant progress in national reconciliation.

The regime showed its uncompromising stance when meeting visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who was not allowed to meet Suu Kyi. However, Ban did speak out for the need for an inclusive road map towards democracy, the release of political prisoners and for free and fair elections. Though he left empty-handed, his public remarks gained him kudos in Burma. 

In a nutshell, the US is likely to search for more effective ways to encourage dialogue between the military, the opposition and the ethnic nationalities, and to gain the release of political prisoners and make steps towards broad-based reform. It will not be surprising to see more engagement by US officials and diplomats with the regime if the doors are opened.

Army Officers Held Over Publication of Sensitive Material

Ten high-ranking Burmese army officers have reportedly been arrested on suspicion of divulging to Western and exiled media news of a secret visit to North Korea by the junta’s No 3, Gen Shwe Mann, and photographs and video footage of tunnel construction in and around Naypyidaw.

The suspects, all holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, will be court-martialed and face the death penalty if convicted, according to one of several sources, a former intelligence officer with close contacts to the seat of power in Naypyidaw.

Some suspected of complicity had gone into hiding, the source said.

In recent weeks, several photographs of Shwe Mann visiting the North Korean capital Pyongyang in November 2008 were carried by several media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, the Democratic Voice of Burma, and The Irrawaddy.

Photographs and video footages of a tunnel construction site in Burma were also carried by the media organizations.

Official sources said members of the suspects’ families also feared the consequences of the crackdown.

The Bangkok-based English language daily newspaper The Nation reported at the weekend that several senior Burmese officials had been sacked in recent weeks after publication of photographs of secret tunnels in Burma built by North Korean experts from 2003 to 2006.

In their investigations into the leaks, Burmese intelligence officials reportedly interviewed associates of former intelligence chief, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, who was toppled in 2004.

The Nation reported that the authorities had also arrested several journalists thought to have had access to the sensitive material.

During his seven-day visit to Pyongyang, Shwe Mann signed a memorandum of understanding at the defense ministry with North Korea’s Chief of General Staff, Gen Kim Kyok-sik, to formalize military cooperation between the two countries. 

Shwe Mann and his followers was also taken on a tour of construction sites where secret tunnels were being built into the mountains to house jet aircraft, missiles, tanks and nuclear and chemical weapons in Pyongyang and Myohyang.

Clinton to Discuss Burma at Asean Meeting

WASHINGTON — Burma will come up as a major issue of discussion when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets her Asean counterparts in Thailand on Friday, according to a state department official.

Scot Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
said that Clinton, during her meetings with Asean foreign ministers, would bring up the issue of Burma.

Scot Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. (Photo: AFP)
“I don't want to try to predict exactly what she's going to say. I'm confident that she will raise Burma and express our concerns quite clearly,” he said.
While Clinton will meet with several of her Asean member counterparts, there is no planned meeting with the Burmese foreign minister, said the spokesperson.

“They will probably…they could be in the same meeting when she meets with her Asean foreign minister counterparts. But there's no bilateral meeting scheduled,” he said.

The 42th Asean Ministerial Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and 16th Asean Regional Forum will be held in the southern province of Phuket from Friday to Wednesday.

The US policy review on Burma has “slowed down” because of the trial of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, said a state department spokesperson.

“As you know, the policy review has been underway since she announced it in February. It's been slowed, I guess I would say, because of the new developments, specifically the Burmese arrest and prosecution of Aung San Suu Kyi, and that ongoing trial is certainly factoring into our policy review,” he said.

Briefing reporters on the upcoming trip to Thailand, Marciel said that the basic principles and goals of the US Burma policy remain the same.

“The fact that we haven't completed this policy review doesn't mean that we're without diplomatic tools or fundamental policy. The fundamental policy remains the same, which is to do whatever we can to try to encourage progress in Burma,” he said.

“By progress, I mean the beginning of a dialogue between the government and the opposition and the ethnic minority groups, release of political prisoners and improved governance and, we would hope, more of an opening to the international community,” he said.

“So those fundamental principles, if you will, haven't changed. The policy review is really looking at what can we do that might help us better achieve those goals, and that's still very much under review.

“The policy review is sort of trying to figure out the details, or how can we be more effective. But we are not left empty-handed or frozen, if you will, by the fact that the review's not completed,” Marciel said.

Ten foreign ministers of Asean member countries and dialogue partners such as China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and the US have confirmed their participation.

More than 1,200 delegates from 26 countries and related organizations will attend a total of 32 Asean-related meetings during the conference.

Families of Burmese Prisoners Don’t Believe Talk of Amnesty

Families of political prisoners in Burma have little hope that their family members will be released even after Burma told the United Nations that political prisoners would be released before the 2010 election.

Win Maung, the father of the democracy activist leader, Pyone Cho, said, “How I can trust what they say, because they never do what they say. If I believe, I just hurt myself.”

A man holds a placard as he participates in a protest over the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi outside the Burmese Embassy in London on June 19. (Photo: Getty Images)

Pyone Cho received a 65-year sentence and is detained in Burma's southern Kawthaung prison in Tenasserim Division.

Burma's UN ambassador, Than Swe, told the Security Council on Monday Burma plans to grant amnesty to prisoners to enable them to take part in national elections next year, at the request of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

However, the ambassador did not mention the word "political" or say how many prisoners would be released, or when, or whether it would include key figures such as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

According to human rights groups, the junta has more than 2,100 political prisoners behind bars and many are serving long sentences. The number of political prisoners has doubled since the crackdown on the monk-led demonstrations in late 2007.

 “The regime never talks about releasing political prisoners. But it sometimes includes a small number of political prisoners in an amnesty," said Tin Tin Win, the mother of democracy activist Ant Bwe Kyaw, who was sentenced to 65 years for his role in the 88 Generation Student group.  

"I don’t have much hope for my son," she said.

Burma’s Amnesty Announcement Draws Skepticism

Burmese dissidents are treating with caution an announcement by Burma’s United Nations ambassador that preparations are being made to release an unknown number of prisoners before the 2010 election.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York on Monday that the Burmese permanent representative at the UN, Than Swe, had announced that “at the request of the secretary-general in Myanmar [Burma], the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections.”

A bird's eye view of Insein prison. (Photo: Nic Dunlop)

Ban told reporters: “This is encouraging, but I have to continue to follow up how they will implement all the issues raised during my visit.”
At the headquarters of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon, spokesman Nyan Win pointed out that Than Swe’s announcement made no reference to political prisoners.

“We should carefully read the text of the ambassador. He did not say the junta will release political prisoners,” Nyan Win said. “He just said the junta would grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds. So I do not think the comment was different from previous ones.”

According to human rights groups, the junta keeps more than 2,100 political prisoners behind bars. The number of political prisoners has doubled since crackdowns on monk-led demonstrators in late 2007.

Burma’s most famous political prisoner, Aung San Suu Kyi, is currently on trial in Rangoon, charged with violating the terms of her house arrest order. There have been suggestions that the regime intends to keep her in detention or even in jail at least until the 2010 general election has been held.


Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Burmese human rights group focusing on political prisoner issues, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the Burmese ambassador’s statement  was “the old song” and “a kind of trick” to confuse the international community.

“If the junta has the political will to release prisoners, they should withdraw the charge against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and release her and all political prisoners,” said Bo Kyi, a former political prisoner.

“The junta often declares an amnesty, but then only a few political prisoners are among those freed. We should be aware that the junta has never kept its word,” he said.

“Political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, are political pawns in the junta’s international playground.” 

The regime released 6,313 prisoners in February, saying the amnesty was for humanitarian reasons and to enable those freed “to participate in fair elections to be held in 2010.” However, there were only 31 political prisoners among them.

In the previous amnesty, in September 2008, the regime freed 9,002 prisoners, saying it wanted to “turn them into citizens to be able to participate in building a new nation”.  But only nine political prisoners, including Win Tin, a prominent NLD leader, were included in the amnesty.

In an amnesty in November 2007 to mark the conclusion of the National Convention, the junta released 8,585 prisoners. Twenty political prisoners were among them.

After the downfall of former Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt and the dismantling of his Military Intelligence in 2004, the junta granted an amnesty for more than 14,000 prisoners. They included 60 political prisoners, including prominent dissident Min Ko Naing—who is now back in jail.

All political prisoners, who were released in amnesties, were near the end of the prison terms.

Ban Says ‘Credible’ Election Depends on Suu Kyi’s Freedom

WAHINGTON — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he told Burma’s junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe that Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners should be released if the regime wants the 2010 election to be “credible.”

“I urged Snr-Gen Than Shwe that this election should be fair and free, but also legitimate, inclusive and credible.  To be credible and legitimate, Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released,” Ban told reporters at UN headquarters in New York on Monday after briefing the UN Security Council on his talks with the Burmese junta in Naypyidaw earlier this month.


UN chief Ban Ki-moon in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo: AFP)
“I emphasized that, without participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, without her being able to campaign freely, and without her NLD party [being able] to establish party offices all throughout the provinces, this election may not be regarded as credible and legitimate,” Ban said.

Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 19 years under house arrest and is currently on trial in Rangoon, charged with violating the terms of her detention order. Even if she were free, she is barred by the junta-formulated constitution from standing for public office in an election.

Ban told the 15-member Security Council the junta’s refusal to allow him to meet with Suu Kyi was not only a deep disappointment, but also a major lost opportunity for Burma.

“While this should not define our efforts, allowing such a meeting would have sent a constructive and conciliatory signal, both inside and outside Myanmar [Burma],” he said.

Ban said he had raised with the generals a range of fundamental issues of concern for the future of the country.

During his two meetings with Than Shwe and then subsequently with the Burmese Prime Minister, Ban said he made specific proposals with a particular focus on three outstanding concerns which, he argued, if left unaddressed, could undermine any confidence in Burma’s political process.

He defined the three issues as the release of all political prisoners, including Suu Kyi; the resumption of a substantive dialogue between the junta and the opposition; and the creation of conditions conducive to credible and legitimate elections.

“Addressing these three concerns, including with the support of the United Nations, is therefore essential to ensure that the political process is all-inclusive and serves the interest of all the people of Myanmar [Burma] in a way that can be broadly accepted by the international community,” Ban said.

Any successful transition would require overcoming the country’s twin legacy of political deadlock and civil conflict and it was in the interest of all to ensure that any gains made so far become irreversible, he said.

“While the government has a primary obligation to address the concerns of all stakeholders, every stakeholder has a role to play and a responsibility to assume in the interest of the nation,” Ban added.

He said Than Shwe had “pledged to make the elections free and fair.” 

“But I said then, and reiterate today, that it is up to the Myanmar [Burmese] authorities to translate this into concrete action, to ensure the inclusiveness and credibility of the process and to demonstrate concretely Myanmar’s [Burma’s] commitment to cooperate with the international community,” Ban told the Security Council.

Ban said he conveyed in the clearest terms what is expected of Burmese military leaders. “It is up to them to respond positively in their country’s own interest,” he said.

Crimes in Burma and Congress

Dear Please Help Free Burma,

While most of the time we contact you to let you know about an opportunity for action, in this instance we just want to share some good news.

Because of your efforts, 55 members of Congress signed on to a letter asking for a United Nations Security Council investigation into crimes against humanity committed by Burma's military regime.  See letter and signatures here. This is the first time that members of Congress have called for such action by the UN in regards to Burma.  A similar effort was recently joined by 60 British parliamentarians. 

The move by Congress follows the release of a groundbreaking report by Harvard University, commissioned by five of the world's top judges, which calls for the UN Security Council to take action to end mass atrocities in Burma.  The report draws on six years of UN documentation to show that there is enough evidence to warrant a Security Council investigation.  The report finds:

"Epidemic levels of forced labor in the 1990s, the recruitment of tens of thousands of child soldiers, widespread sexual violence, extrajudicial killings and torture, and more than a million displaced persons.  One statistic may stand out above all others, however: the destruction, displacement, or damage of over 3,000 ethnic nationality villages over the past twelve years, many burned to the ground."

After the release of the report, two of the judges wrote a strong opinion piece in the Washington Post which succinctly sums up the reports conclusions.

In the past, the UN Security Council has voted to establish a "Commission of Inquiry" to investigate abuses of a major magnitude -- such as in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and the Darfur region of Sudan. The Commission of Inquiry then makes recommendations to the UN Security Council for action. However, no such Commission of Inquiry has been created for Burma. The efforts by the US Congress -- and the team of judges working with Harvard is important because for the first time people are calling for a Commission of Inquiry into human rights abuses in Burma.

Thank you for all of your efforts in encouraging the United States to support this effort.  Right now, Congress is awaiting a reply from President Obama...

Sincerely,

Jeremy Woodrum

Ban to Brief UN Security Council on Burma

WASHINGTON — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will brief the Security Council on Monday on his recent visit to Burma, during which he was not allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader now on trial.

The Security Council meeting comes amidst growing calls from the international community that the 15-member body should take a tougher stand against the authoritarian military government, including imposing an arms embargo.

Supporters of the pro-democracy movement hope that Ban will call for a stronger Security Council role.

"It is time for Ban Ki-moon to ask the UN Security Council to pass a global arms embargo against Burma's military regime while at the same time initiating an inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Than Shwe's regime,” said Aung Din, the executive director of the US Campaign for Burma.

The first meeting of the Security Council after the recent visit by the secretary-general has been preceded by statements by Special Envoy for Burma Ibrahim Gambari, who has called the ongoing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi “unjustified.”

The issue of Suu Kyi’s trail is expected to be brought up by Ban, who after his Burma visit expressed disappointment that the junta denied him permission to meet with the popular Burmese leader.

The Obama Administration, which is currently reviewing its Burma policy, is likely to indicate its new policy after the trial is concluded, a State Department official told The Irrawaddy.

Meanwhile, several members of the US Congress said in a letter to US President Barack Obama that the Security Council should set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Burmese regime’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The regime must be held accountable on behalf of the millions of people of Burma who have no other course for redress,” said the letter.

Burmese Detainees in Danger

The relocation of Burmese refugees in Malaysia could lead to worse human rights abuses as they would be isolated from outside world, rights advocacy groups in Malaysia said.

According to the rights groups, the Malaysia immigration authorities moved 598 Burmese refugees including women and children who were detained at Semenyih Immigration camp near Malaysia’s Kajang Township on Friday.

The move was likely due to the Malaysia authorities wanting to isolate the refugees from the outside world, while other sources said it was due to the riot between Burmese refugees and Malaysia camp authorities on July 1.

The riot broke out after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp. Eight Burmese detainees were wounded in the riot.   

Aung Naing Thu, general secretary of the Malaysia-based rights advocacy group known as the Burma Youth of Nationalists Association said, “Now the Burmese refugees have been relocated to other places, they will be isolated, and the authorities will be able to do whatever the want, even torture them.”  

Forty-eight out of more then 600 Burmese refugees who were detained in Semenyih detention camp were released on Monday, but 598 of them remained. Many of the remaining refugees are undocumented, said rights groups.

The released detainees said there had been many human rights abuses while they were in the camp. Months-old children and women and pregnant women were the most vulnerable, as the meals distributed in the detention camp lack nutrition, they said.       

Thant Zin, a Burmese refugee who was released on Monday, said that only ten sick people are allowed to receive medical treatment per week.

“Many people who feel sick in the camp go without medical treatment. They are not allowed to see doctors,” said Thant Zin.   

“The drinking water and the water used in the toilet come from the same source,” he added.

“If they find communication materials such as mobile phones, they brutally beat you,” said Thant Zin.

Immigration authorities regularly beat the detained Burmese refugees during inspections. Last week, two Burmese detainees were seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine.

One detainee was beaten around the eyes till they filled with blood and he became unable to see. The other detainee suffered from cigarette burns on his body and was said to be in serious condition.

A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees in Malaysia is now investigating the riot, according to Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, in Kuala Lumpur. 

There are 22 detention camps in Malaysia, some of which are located in isolated areas on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Some refugees have spent years in the detention camps.

About 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee.

Burmese's former spy chief, Khin Nyunt Appears in Public

Burma’s former premier and spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt, who was ousted and placed under house arrest in October 2004,  recently appeared in public and appeared to be in good health, according to one Rangoon source.

Khin Nyunt appeared at the Rangoon home of a former Burmese minister, Brig-Gen Tint Shwe, on July 7 and asked about the funeral of the minister’s deceased wife, Khin San. 

“He and his wife spent two hours at the former minister’s home. They looked healthy,” said the source.

Burmese tycoon Tay Za and other businessmen associated with Burmese junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe were also present, according to the source.

Since March 2008, Khin Nyunt and members of his family are occasionally allowed to move freely, usually to pagodas and other religious places. He and his family visited Shwedagon Pagoda last year.

According to unconfirmed reports, Khin Nyunt has often been summoned by Burmese generals to Burma’s new capital Naypyidaw to help them plan the 2010 general election and also for discussions on foreign policy issues.

While he was in power, Khin Nyunt was believed to have good relations with the ethnic armed groups, such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Karen National Union (KNU)  

In 2004, the year Khin Nyunt was ousted and charged with corruption, he had ceasefire talks in Rangoon with the late KNU leader Gen Bo Mya.

The Junta Hit Men

Col Chit Thu, the commander of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Battalion 999 is now believed to be the most powerful man in the DKBA administration.

According to Karen sources on the border, he ordered the week-long offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 7 that ended on 21 June, and he has ordered his forces to move against KNLA Brigades 6 and 5.


DKBA troops march at a parade. (Photo: Shah Paung / The Irrawaddy)
Though other commanders like Gen Kyaw Than, chief of the DKBA, and Thar Htoo Kyaw, chairman of the DKBA’s political wing, are more senior, Chit Thu is more popular because he gets things done, the sources said.
 
“Chit Thu is an active man,” said a DKBA source. “He is also popular for his community development work in education, health care, and Karen culture, and he is good at lobbying people.”     
Chit Thu is now believed to the most powerful decision-maker in both the DKBA’s military wing and its political administration.

DKBA sources report that Col Chit Thu owns large businesses dealing with logging and auto trading, and is involved in drug trafficking. He regularly flies to countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong to facilitate his car importing business, the sources said.

The DKBA remains the only ceasefire group that has signed an agreement with the military regime in June to transform its troops into a border guard force.

Since April, Chit Thu has been overseeing the conscription, possibly forced, of new recruits for the new battalions of the border force. Each battalion must consist of 326 soldiers.

The DKBA has also been assigned the role of cleaning up the KNLA areas and reinforcing troop strength along the Thai-Burmese border.

During the recent attacks against KNLA Brigade 7, the DKBA soldiers were paid to take front line positions, and local Karen villagers were forced to work as porters in the front line with them.   


Col Chit Thu, the commander of the DKBA Battalion 999. (Photo: Phil Thornton)
Some DKBA leaders realized that they were wrong to attack fellow Karen in the KNLA and Karen civilians, Karen sources said.    
“The DKBA leaders knew that they were being used by the Burmese regime. But there is no possibility for DKBA leaders to rejoin the KNU [Karen National Union] because of their business interests,” said one Karen source on the border.

Many members of the DKBA get nothing while their leaders get richer and richer, however.

“This inequality will just get worse,” the border source commented.

According to a DKBA businessman, the DKBA plans to join the Burmese authorities in managing the border trade after they have destroyed the KNLA bases along the Thai-Burma border.

The DKBA leaders are hoping to increase their business activities and build a road connecting their headquarters at Myaing Gyi Ngu with the Thai border, he said.

DKBA ventures involve logging, mining minerals such as zinc and tin, and building factories and business enterprises.

However, the border trade will be controlled directly by the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the businessman said.

“Once they have become a border guard force, the DKBA soldiers will be paid by the Burmese regime. So, I doubt they will be able to earn big profits. Most of the money will go to the Burmese regime,” he said.

Among the DKBA leaders, Col Chit Thu is thought to have the best relationship with the Burmese military, and he has been the most effective in following junta orders, said border sources. 

Chit Thu was reportedly given large sums of money by the Burmese authorities for the attack on KNLA Brigade 7.   

Meanwhile, disagreements are said to be growing among some of the DKBA leaders.

UN Chief Says He's a Man of Results not Rhetoric

UNITED NATIONS — Midway through his five-year term, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he isn't concerned that he's not a household name.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon looks at a map with Bishow-Parajuli, resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, during his visit to the Irrawaddy delta in this undated picture released July 4, 2009. On the left of the Secretary-General is the Chair of the Tripartite Core Group, Kyaw Thu. (Photo: Reuters)

What matters, he says, is making the United Nations "a more trusted, efficient, and effective organization" that can help the world's needy, protect civilians trapped in conflict, and keep key issues like climate change in the global spotlight.

Critics say Ban has worked too much behind the scenes, not using the bully pulpit of the UN as his charismatic predecessor Kofi Annan did to publicly pressure wayward regimes. They criticize him as ineffectual and colorless, and say he's capitulated to the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — whose support is essential for him to get a second five-year term.

In a recent interview looking back on the first half of his term and ahead to the second half which started this month, Ban defended himself, arguing that he is battling against the ingrained culture of a massive bureaucracy. He said he's still working on his priority goals — mobilizing world leaders and people around the world to support a new treaty to tackle global warming, changing the working culture of the United Nations, and promoting peace in Darfur and other conflict areas, mainly in Africa.

"It's too early to claim any success," he said. "Likewise, it's too early to say what the most frustrating aspect in my job is."

The 65-year-old former South Korean foreign minister is widely viewed as the world's top diplomat, but he is also responsible for running a giant international bureaucracy where the UN's 192 member countries often have competing interests.

"You don't see any other nation or government or even private organizations where you have equally important 192 shareholders," Ban said. "How to balance all these different 192 countries, that is quite time consuming."

Annan, for his part, was hailed as the "secular pope" and a "rock star of diplomacy" before his tenure was tarnished by a scandal over mismanagement of the U.N. Oil-for-food program to help Iraqis cope with UN sanctions.

When Ban came to the United Nations in January 2007, he promised to be "a harmonizer and bridge-builder," to push for peace in Darfur and the Middle East and to restore the U.N.'s tarnished reputation, which was also battered by corruption in the UN's purchasing operations and sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers.

But after 2 1/2 years, criss-crossing the globe dozens of times, Ban complained that U.N. members aren't giving him enough support.

"I have very broad responsibilities as group leader, in the areas of peace and security, development, how to eradicate disease and abject poverty, and (in the) protection and promotion of human rights," the secretary-general told AP. "But these cannot be done alone."

The secretary-general is widely believed to want a second term. Key diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, don't rule out another term — but say it's too soon for a definitive answer.

Ban said it may take years to change the working culture of the UN Secretariat, to resolve all the confrontations in the world, and to effectively tackle global issues like climate change, food security and swine flu.

He is credited with putting climate change near the top of the global agenda — and he said getting global agreement on a new treaty to curb global warming in Copenhagen in December is crucial for the world, and for his success as secretary-general.

Chile's UN Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, who went to Antarctica with Ban to see the impact of global warming on the continent's melting glaciers, said it was too early to judge his tenure as secretary-general.

But he underlined "how active and successful he has been on climate change ...

Burmese Refugee Numbers Swell in Thailand

MAE SOT, Thailand — As the 50,000th Burmese refugee to be resettled abroad recently left Thailand for the United States, thousands of others fled their military-ruled homeland to seek shelter under tarps and in temples along the Thai-Burmese border.

"We would be happier if we were back home as this is not our land, but we will stay here because that side is not safe," said a 30-year-old medic treating a child for malaria, pointing across an open field to Burma.

Karen refugees rest under a temporary shelter on the Thai-Burmese border at the Safe Haven orphanage, around 136 km north of Mae Sot on June 18. (Photo: Getty Image)
Escalated violence in rural Burma means despite the world's largest resettlement program, Thailand's refugee population—numbering more than 100,000—is not likely to diminish any time soon. More than 4,000 ethnic minority Karen have crossed the border in the past month.

The exodus was sparked by fighting between the Karen National Union and the Burmese regime, a brutal conflict that has been going on for 60 years as the Karen seek greater autonomy.

In addition to the refugees in Thailand, the aid group Thai Burma Border Consortium estimates fighting has spawned nearly 500,000 internally displaced people in eastern Burma and countless atrocities against civilians.

Critics say Burma's army seeks to eliminate opposition from the Karen and other ethnic minorities to seize control of the area's natural resources, a valuable source of income for the impoverished country.

And with elections scheduled for July 2010, securing Karen State would help the ruling generals claim the entire country was behind the vote and their so-called "road map to democracy." Critics have said the moves are a sham designed to perpetuate military rule.

"The main thing is the election—the government wants the Karen out of the picture," said Ba Win, a teacher who worked as a government veterinarian in Karen State for five years.

The latest round of fighting erupted in early June as government troops and the allied Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, or DKBA, moved against Karen military positions and a large civilian camp, sending villagers across the border north of Mae Sot, a Thai border town 240 miles (380 kilometers) northwest of the Thai capital, Bangkok.

The Karen Human Rights Group says the government is also forcing Karen villagers to join the DKBA and turn the group into a border guard force to better control natural resources in Karen State.

Meanwhile, the thin tarps provided the refugees are not keeping the heavy monsoon rains at bay, but they fear if the rain stops, fighting will break out again.

No mosquito nets are available to stop the spread of malaria, and the refugees depend on Mae Sot-based relief organizations and a nearby Thai Karen village for food and supplies.

They won't return home unless land mines in areas surrounding their villages are cleared. "Fighting we can see and run away from, but land mines can be anywhere," said the Karen medic, who like others declined to give a name because of the refugees' precarious status.

A number of the displaced, living in tent clusters according to the village of their origin, say they lost family members to mines during the flight to Thailand.

Other newly arrived Karen refugees have taken shelter in temples and schools along the border, but were wearing out their welcome as Buddhist Lent celebrations began this week, said Kathryn Halley of the aid group Partners, Relief and Development.

The new Karen refugees are to be moved into a single temporary camp, but aid groups and the Thai military have yet to agree on an exact secure location. Permanent camps in the area are too full to accommodate them.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it will resettle 6,000 of the 112,000 registered Myanmar refugees in Thailand this year. The United States, Canada, Australia and several Nordic countries participate in the resettlement program that began in 2004 and is now the world's largest, according to the agency.

Mae Sot-based aid groups say repatriation has slowed because of the global financial crisis.

The newly arrived are unlikely to become candidates for resettlement abroad and were not even aware of plans to move them to a new location inside Thailand, a trip that will require climbing a muddy mountain pass and crossing a river.

One 50-year-old Karen woman said she had traveled back and forth across the Thai-Burma border three times in her life.

Indonesian Democracy Focused on More Stability

JAKARTA — Just over a decade ago, mobs torched buildings across Indonesia's capital in an uprising that toppled a 32-year military dictatorship.

Supporters wave a campaign poster of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is seeking reelection this year during his last campaign rally at Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 4. (Photo: AP)

Today the world's fourth largest country, with its fragile democracy, is relatively peaceful as it heads toward Wednesday's presidential elections. The economy is bucking a global downturn, and Indonesian soldiers are posted as overseas peacekeepers instead of battling separatists at home.

The newfound stability—in a nation that previously saw three presidents in four years, a devastating financial meltdown and a string of terrorist bombings by Islamic militants—is the main reason voters are expected to return President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to office for a second five-year term.

"They have done a great job so far," said Henry Silalahi, a 38-year-old insurance company accountant, referring to Yudhoyono and his party. "But it is not enough."

Indonesians will be looking to Yudhoyono to make greater strides against deep-rooted corruption and widespread poverty—major challenges facing the predominantly Muslim country of 235 million.

"Indonesia has been very, very successful," said Sunny Tanuwidjaja, a specialist in politics and social change at the independent Center for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta. "But major hurdles for real democracy are still coming, and everything is possible."

The election is a three-way race between Yudhoyono, a 63-year-old former general; Megawati Sukarnoputri, who ruled for three years from 2001-2004 and whose father was Indonesia's first president; and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the frontman of ex-dictator Suharto's former political machine, Golkar, who has paired up with retired Gen Wiranto. Wiranto was indicted by the UN for rights abuses in East Timor.

Polls indicate that Yudhoyono, who rose through the ranks during Suharto's brutal reign and has ruled for five years with the help of fundamentalist Muslim parties, has a comfortable lead and possibly enough to avoid a run-off on September 8.

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998, Indonesians have grappled with their Islamic identity, searching for a balance between religion—90 percent say they are Muslims—and their secular government.

Unlike the previous election in 2004, when Indonesians were shaken by al-Qaida funded suicide attacks that killed 240 people, most of them foreigners on Bali, the threat of terrorism has barely been an issue.

Yudhoyono, Indonesia's first democratically elected leader, has won praise for a US-backed security crackdown on the Southeast Asian Jemaah Islamiyah network, and it has been more than three years since a major attack.

Campaigns briefly touched on Islamic identity, but media attention focused on whose wife wears a headscarf—the president's and his running mate's do not, while some of his opponents' do—but stayed clear of sensitive faith issues.

More attention has been paid to how the candidates will maintain stability.

Facing total collapse just a decade ago, Indonesia is now Southeast Asia's largest and one of its healthiest economies. Reforms and tight monetary policy have produced steady growth now at around 4 percent. A peace deal ended decades of civil war in Aceh province.

But Indonesia has struggled to attract badly needed foreign investment, due to its weak legal system and concerns about corruption. The country where President Barack Obama spent four years as a schoolboy regularly tops the list of the most corrupt nations.

The Corruption Eradication Commission, seen as a key gauge of the president's success, has convicted scores of lawmakers and entrepreneurs, including the father-in-law of Yudhoyono's son—a governor who received a four-and-a-half year prison term last month.

An immediate task for the next president, who will be inaugurated in October, will be determining the commission's future.