No September Burma Mtg, But Plenty of News

Friends,

Due to various scheduling difficulties, there is no meeting for the month
of September. We'll resume in October, when we'll meet on the 1st
WEDNESDAY at the UNIVERSITY DISTRICT BRANCH OF THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

In the meantime, we're gathering donated prizes for our 8th annual raffle
to benefit basic education for children of internally displaced (IDP)
communities inside Burma. Over the years we've raised well over $30,000
and helped thousands of children. 100% of money raised is passed through.
If you know of a restaurant or store that is willing to donate a gift or
gift certificate, please get one (or two!).

The past weeks have seen a lot of activity related to Burma. Democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted in the bizarre case of a deranged
American who swam to her home, and was sentenced to a further 18 months of
house arrest. This will keep her from participating in the Burmese
military's stage-managed elections planned for 2010.

US Senator Jim Webb (D-Virginia) went to Burma, was warmly welcomed by
junta leaders, and had the opportunity to meet briefly with Suu Kyi. He
stated at a press conference that she had said she was open to the US
removing at least some sanctions on the regime. Within days, Suu Kyi
passed a message through her lawyer contradicting Webb's claim, saying
that "she had not discussed the issue with anyone recently."

Since then, a number of key voices in the Burmese pro-democracy movement
have attacked Webb. U Win Tin, a senior figure in the National League for
Democracy, who spent 19 years in prison, much of that time in solitary
confinement, wrote a column for the Washington Post (see
http://www.washingt onpost.com/ wp-dyn/content/ article/2009/ 09/08/AR20090908 02959.html)
that Webb has "been damaging to our democracy movement." Within days U
Win Tin, aged 80, was taken in by Burmese authorities for interrogation,
though he was quickly released.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Clinton articulated the new Obama
adminstration policy on Burma, though other details will continue to
emerge. In shorthand, it appears to be the Bush adminstration policy plus
engagement.

It is not entirely clear what that engagement will entail. A report from
Earthrights International (whose Executive Director Ka Hsaw Wa was just
awarded a Magsaysay Prize) looked at the largest "engagement" between the
West and the Burmese junta. This in the Yadana pipeline, a $1.2 billion
partnership between the Burmese generals, Chevron, Total of France and PTT
of Thailand. Based on International Monetary Fund research, it was found
that the generals have stashed more than 99% of the revenues from this
project in personal accounts in a pair of Singapore banks. See
http://www.thenatio nal.ae/apps/ pbcs.dll/ article?AID= /20090913/ FOREIGN/70912985 0/1002

It appears that the net result of this engagment is: Burmese natural gas
is piped to Thailand, where it is used for electricity generation. The
revenues are shared between foreign multinationals and the personal
accounts of the Burmese dictators. Less that 1% of the revenues are
entered into the national budget, a budget that itself has one of the
smallest commitments to education and public health of any in the world.
Ordinary Burmese see virtually nothing. Engagement, or organized crime?

All for now, see you in October.

Larry Dohrs

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BURMA ACTION GROUP
SAO Box 119, HUB
University of Washington     http://students. washington. edu/burma/
Seattle, WA 98195