Tension Mounts between Junta and Kokang Ceasefire Group
Monk Leaders Call for Third Sangha Boycott
On the march to do business in Myanmar
Burmese tourism off the menu again
Daewoo consortium in $5.6 bln gas deal in Myanmar
KNU Struggles to Acquire Arms
‘Commodities smuggled to Burma from Bangladesh
Foreign Weapons Kill the Blockade on Burma
Burma Question – sill a matter of regional concern
Hitting crime at the borders
Suu Kyi Asks for Return of Family Doctor
KNU Struggles to Acquire Arms
Principles impede progress in U.S. Burma policy
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Tension Mounts between Junta and Kokang Ceasefire Group
By SAW YAN NAING        Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tension between the government and the Kokang ceasefire group increased on Monday when more than 1,000 government troops moved into the Lao Kai area in northern Shan State, according to local sources.

About 70 government trucks carried troops in the Lao Kai area. Many residents and businessmen have left the area, crossing into China, said one source.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst on the Sino-Burma border, said, “The situation now is serious. They [Burmese and Kokang leaders] can not negotiate any longer and fighting seems imminent.” Fighting could break out at anytime, he said.

Tension has mounted since Aug 23 when about 100 government soldiers raided the house of Kokang leader Pheung Kya-shin (Peng Jiasheng), reportedly looking for illegal drugs. Peng Jiasheng has fled to China, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw.

Aung Kyaw Zaw said disagreements among Kokang leaders have emerged, and some Kokang assisted government troops in the raid on Peng Jiasheng’s home.

Government authorities and some Kokang officials meet on Tuesday. After the meeting, Kokang officials who associate with government officials were named group leaders, according to Aung Kyaw Zaw.

The junta is trying to convince Kokang officials to transform their army into a border guard force under the command of the government, but the Kokang have rejected the order.

The Kokang ceasefire group, also known as the Myanmar [Burma] National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), reached a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1989.

Meanwhile, tension between the Kachin ceasefire group, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and the government escalated when junta soldiers confronted Kachin troops in northern Kachin State two weeks ago.

According to the Thailand-based Kachin News Group, government soldiers surrounded KIA Battalion 6 based in Seng Ra in Hpakant, also known as Jade Land.

A clash was avoided when an order to open fire by KIA Battalion 6 commander Maj Yawngba Shawng was countermanded by Maj-Gen Gunhtang Gam Shawng, chief of staff of the Laiza-based KIA.

The KIA has also rejected the government’s order to transform its army in a border guard force. The largest ceasefire group, the United Wa State Army on the Sino-Burmese border, also has rejected the order.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16634
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Monk Leaders Call for Third Sangha Boycott
By ARKAR MOE    Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Several exiled Buddhist monk leaders have told The Irrawaddy that Burmese monks across Burma are preparing to launch another boycott of military personnel and their families due to ongoing abuses against Buddhist principles by the ruling military junta.

Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious principles.

A Burmese monk living in Thailand speaks outside the UN office during a rally calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release in Bangkok in May. (Photo: Reuters)
Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990 following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,” when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned into a national uprising against the government.

Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the regime’s election planned for 2010.

A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them.”

The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon’s Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call for all people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.

“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.

“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.

Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization), which restricts monks’ travel and gatherings.

Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed many religious crimes, such as beheading Buddha images, raiding and destroying monasteries, and killing and arresting monks and nuns.

He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and that all religions are affected.

“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to boycott the junta,” he said.

Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’ organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up cooperation and communication with monks’ groups other parts of the country.

Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties, but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the world.

“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.

Ashin Thavara said that during the September uprising, the junta’s soldiers and loyalist thugs had raided and destroyed more than 60 monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns. He claimed that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.

“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added. “Others were sent with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the battlefields.”

During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military families and cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an act of defiance that marked the uprising.

According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.

Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union Square in New York on September 24 to 26.

“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16635
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Aug 26, 2009
On the march to do business in Myanmar
By Brian McCartan

BANGKOK – The debate over United States and European Union-led sanctions against doing business in Myanmar is set to intensify in the wake of US Senator Jim Webb’s recent high-profile meeting with Senior General Than Shwe and detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Webb spoke out against the sanctions and Myanmar’s junta echoed that call through state media. As US policymakers weigh the pros and cons of economically re-engaging the ruling junta, the process will necessarily take into account that a handful of military linked businessmen, many allegedly involved in illegal activities, including drug trafficking, dominate Myanmar’s underdeveloped economy.

For US investors eyeing business opportunities that the cessation of sanctions would present, dealing with Myanmar’s top military and business leaders would be key to gaining market access. Myanmar is one of the world’s most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, an independent corruption watchdog, and US businesses would enter Myanmar at great risk to their corporate reputations.

In Myanmar business circles, the most talked about businessman is Tay Za, who owns the Htoo Trading Company Ltd, also known as the Htoo Group of Companies. Htoo maintains large logging, construction, property development, import-export, aviation, transportation, shipping and mining operations. Tay Za has also made recent forays into telecommunications and banking, and established Myanmar’s first privately invested airline, Air Bagan.

The US Treasury Department placed five of those companies, along with Tay Za, his wife, and eldest son, Pye Phyo Za, on a sanctions list in October 2007 because of their financial connections to the regime and Tay Za’s alleged role as an arms broker. In February 2008, the US stepped up those sanctions by putting several more companies and Tay Za’s business associates in both Myanmar and Singapore on a black list, including Tay Za’s brother and business partner Thiha. Htoo Trading Company Ltd, which includes Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Company Ltd, are all currently under US sanctions.

US sanctions, first imposed broadly in 1995, have since 2007 targeted specific generals and their associated business interests by freezing their assets in American financial institutions. The restrictions also prohibit any commercial or financial transactions between American individuals and Myanmar firms named in the sanctions order and ban named individuals from travel to the US.

Tay Za and Htoo Trading have also been targeted by the European Union, which imposed sanctions against them in December 2007. Similar to the US sanctions, the EU also targeted Tay Za’s wife, eldest son and brother. Canada also put Tay Za and his family on their Canadian Special Economic Measures Regulations list in December 2007. (Tay Za could not be reached for comment for this article.)

Sprawling empire
Despite those impediments, Tay Za’s businesses continue to thrive, including through contracts with China. In 2008, he negotiated a concession from Alcatel Shanghai Bell to cooperate on projects in the new Yadanabon cyber-city currently under construction in central Myanmar. He also built the old capital Yangon’s top shopping complex, the Myanmar Shopping Center, which is stocked with international brands. Htoo Trading was also one of two main companies granted contracts to construct the new capital city at Naypyidaw.

Tay Za’s rise is directly connected to his close relations with Myanmar’s generals, especially Senior General Than Shwe, the country’s authoritarian ruler. He is also well-connected to General Thura Shwe Mann, currently the junta’s third-ranking officer and often tipped to be Than Shwe’s eventual successor. Shwe Mann currently holds a position on Htoo Trading’s board, while his son, Aung Thet Mann, is director of Htoo Trading subsidiary Ayer Shwe Wah Company Ltd, which is involved in construction, palm oil products and import-export activities.

Those relationships, analysts and opposition groups say, have helped him win many lucrative government contracts and trade concessions. In the months following the destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, Htoo Trading claimed it spent some US$3 million on rescue and rehabilitation. Myanmar watchers say Tay Za was granted lucrative reconstruction contracts from the generals for his donations to the relief effort.

He has come under criticism, including from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, for a project to build a 150-room hotel and 60-meter-high tower in the historical town of Bagan which some say damages the religious site’s aesthetics. His timber businesses stand widely accused of unsustainably cutting large swathes of Myanmar’s remaining forests. But of special concern to the US is Tay Za’s alleged role in brokering past arms purchases. Tay Za has consistently denied he is an arms broker for the military regime.

The US Treasury claims that Tay Za’s Myanmar Avia Export Company Ltd has been used to buy aircraft and helicopters for the Myanmar Air Force, including the 2001 purchase from Russia of 10 MiG 29 fighters and several Mi-8 helicopters. Established in 1993 to supply spare aircraft parts to the military, the company is now the representative for MAPO, Russia’s major state-owned military aircraft manufacturer and a subsidiary of MiG. It also represents Russian helicopter company Rostverol, which in 2006 merged with Mil and Kamov to become Oboronprom Corporation.

More worrying to US and regional security interests is his alleged role in brokering Russian and North Korean aid for Myanmar’s suspected nuclear program. Tay Za was part of the delegation led by Vice Senior General Maung Aye, the junta’s second-ranking official, to Russia in 2006, reportedly to discuss weapons purchases as well as the construction of a nuclear reactor.

Testimony from a defector claiming to be a former bookkeeper for Tay Za was recently made public by Desmond Ball, a professor at Australian National University. The self-professed accountant claimed that Htoo Trading was directly involved in discussions with officials from North Korea and Russia “concerning contracts and memoranda of understanding for the provision of nuclear assistance, as well as the logistic arrangements for the export of uranium and the importation of equipment and materials for various elements of [Myanmar's] nuclear program”.

Htoo Trading is also allegedly involved in contracting for construction at the sites of the two reactors. According to the defector’s testimony, Tay Za is also responsible for shipping equipment to the sites, often under cover of night. According to Ball’s notes, the defector was with Tay Za when he played golf with Kyaw Thein, the deputy director of the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence, and an Iranian intelligence officer and nuclear expert.

Controversial enterprise
Two other top businessmen with top connections to the regime are Lo Hsing Han and his son Steven Law, also known as Tun Myint Naing. Together they run Asia World Ltd, Myanmar’s biggest and most diversified conglomerate with interests in industrial development, construction, transportation, import-export and a chain of local supermarkets. Ten more companies are owned under the group in Singapore by Law’s wife, Cecilia Ng.

Both Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law have been on a US visa blacklist since 1996 for suspected drug trafficking activities. In February 2008, they were also put on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list, along with Asia World Company and subsidiaries Asia World Co Ltd, Asia World Port Management, Asia World Industries Ltd and Asia World Light Ltd for their financial connections to the regime.

Asia World currently holds the contract to run Yangon’s main port, which handles 40% of Myanmar’s container traffic and operates a cargo and shipping business from the same facility. The company was the second main contractor for the construction of the new capital now located at Naypyidaw and earned government reconstruction contracts in the Irrawaddy Delta in the wake of the cyclone disaster.

Asia World currently has contracts to build several hydropower projects, including the Myit Sone dam on a tributary of the Irrawaddy River north of Mytikyina. It is known to have strong links to China. For instance, the company was contracted by the Myanmar government to develop a port at Kyaukpyu on Ramree Island off Myanmar’s western Arakan coast, which is intended to facilitate shipping goods between the coast and China’s southwestern Yunnan province.

There is strong speculation that Lo Hsing Han’s business empire was originally built on narco-profits – though he has consistently denied the widespread drug trafficking allegations. Starting as a local militia leader in the northern Kokang region in 1960, Lo Hsing Han was dubbed the “King of Opium” by US drug enforcement authorities in the 1970s because of large amount of heroin his alleged networks were sending through Thailand. Arrested by Thai police in 1973 and deported to Myanmar, he was sentenced to death for rebellion but granted an amnesty in 1980. He promptly moved back to northern Myanmar in a known drug cultivation area.

Lo Hsing Han’s usefulness to the regime became evident in 1989 when then-chief of intelligence, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, used him as a go-between for ceasefire agreements with several ethnic insurgent groups, including the Kokang and the United Wa State Army, recognized as the world’s largest narco-producing militia. According to a 1993 Thai Office of Narcotics Control Board report, in exchange he was granted the right to smuggle heroin from northern Myanmar to the Thai border.

By 1994, his organization was widely considered among the most heavily armed drug trafficking organizations in Southeast Asia. Law enforcement officials say he might have stepped back from the trade in the mid-1990s, soon after he established Asia World. He also made strong efforts to cultivate relations with Myanmar’s senior generals, especially Than Shwe; in 2006, Lo Hsing Han was known to have catered the extravagant wedding of Than Shwe’s daughter.

Lo Hsing Han is now one of the most prominent persons foreign investors seek out to establish joint venture arrangements. Golden Aaron, an Asia World subsidiary, has been linked to China’s National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) since 2004 in a production-sharing contract for oil and gas deposits in Arakan State’s controversial Shwe gas project, which has been linked with land confiscation and human rights abuses by monitoring groups.

While Tay Za, Lo Hsing Han and Steven Law are the more well-known businessmen connected to the regime, a handful of other lesser-known and controversial entrepreneurs have also parlayed their relationships with senior generals into lucrative business empires.

Brothers Nay Aung and Pyi Aung are the sons of powerful Ministry of Industry [1] head Aung Thaung, who is known to be close to both Than Shwe and Maung Aye. Pyi Aung is married to Nandar Aye, Maung Aye’s daughter. The brothers founded Aung Yee Phyo Company Ltd and IGE Company Ltd in 1994, which in 2001 was registered in Singapore. IGE has since evolved into one of Myanmar’s leading oil and gas companies, while also providing spare parts for electrical generation projects, the agriculture industry and timber trade.

In March 2007, IGE signed a contract with Rimbunan Petrogas Ltd, making it a partner in a joint venture with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in offshore oil and gas exploration in the Shwe gas field. Both men are banned from travel to Australia and the EU, but are not on the US’s sanctions list.

Khin Shwe, owner of the Zaykabar Company, is the country’s leading property developer and has played a leading role in the tourism industry through his chairmanship of the Myanmar Hotelier Association. He was placed on the US sanctions list in 2007 for his close ties to the generals, including his daughter’s marriage to Shwe Mann’s youngest son.

He has also served as chairman of the Myanmar-Japan Friendship Association, Myanmar-Korean Friendship Association and the Myanmar Thai Development Company. He maintains strong connections to the regime and hired US public relations firm Bain and Associated in 1997 in a failed attempt to improve the junta’s image on Capitol Hill.

Also on the US sanctions list is Htay Myint, founder of the Yuzana Company which has interests spanning real estate, transportation, construction, hotels and tourism, fisheries, palm oil production and rubber plantations. He also owns the Yuzan Supermarket and Yuzana Hotel in Yangon and an oil refinery in Thaketa township near Yangon.

These are some of the businessmen who will be rehabilitated and free for joint ventures with Western partners if the US and EU drop or relax their sanctions against Myanmar’s rights-abusing regime. They are also the business groups foreign investors will likely need to seek out to gain access to Myanmar’s various underinvested industries and markets.

While dropping sanctions would no doubt ease the suffering of the general population, the policy shift would simultaneously further enrich and entrench some of the region’s most controversial business groups.

Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KH26Ae01.html
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Burmese tourism off the menu again
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Loading … Loading … Posted on: August 25th, 2009 by Robert Bergerson

For quite a while now, tour operators from the UK have been doing business with the military in Burma. They have been sending tourists to the country where some have been staying in luxurious hotels that have been built and paid for by high up members of the military regime.

The loophole that allowed this funding by tour operators has now been closed and it is now a criminal offense to knowingly fund these people and their organisations. Tourism Concern were the leading fighters in campaigning to stop tourism to the area.

Locals were often forced off their farming land and massive hotels and holiday homes were built in their place. One travel brochure described an area as having ‘unspoilt 15km stretch of white sand beach and local fishing villages with several excellent boutique resorts.’ In truth fishing is now banned from that area and more than 16,000 local were forcibly removed for the ‘boutique resorts’ to be built.

That holiday company has now said that they have removed all hotels with links to the military junta and others have followed suit and said that they will do the same, but there are still many that will continue to offer the blacklisted hotels, until they are caught.

The main argument with a lot of operators is that you cannot do business in Burma without some of the proceeds finding its way into the wrong hands. Also, some of the money that enters via tourism is now assisting some of those that were displaced by the military.

Thanks to www.timesonline.co.uk for the above quote, for more information on this article please visit their website. http://news.carrentals.co.uk/burmese-tourism-off-the-menu-again-3428335.html
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Daewoo consortium in $5.6 bln gas deal in Myanmar
Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:25am EDT

SEOUL, Aug 25 (Reuters) – South Korea’s KOGAS (036460.KS) said on Tuesday a consortium led by Daewoo International (047050.KS) would invest a combined $5.6 billion to produce and distribute gas in Myanmar.

The consortium plans to sell gas output from Myanmar’s A-1/A-3 fields to China, a KOGAS official said.

KOGAS plans to spend $299 million and Daewoo would spend a separate 2.1 trillion won ($1.68 billion) for initial investment, the two companies said in separate statements.

(Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner) http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssEnergyNews/idUSSEL00075020090825?rpc=401 &
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‘Commodities smuggled to Burma from Bangladesh in exchange for drugs’

News Desk
The Daily Star
Publication Date: 25-08-2009

Essential commodities, including edible soybean oil, onion, garlic and rice, are being smuggled into Burma through at least Bangladesh’s 23 border points of Teknaf and Ukhia upazilas on Cox’s Bazar, sources concerned said.

In exchange, banned tablet Yaba (methamphetamine hydrochloride), narcotics, sexual stimulant and other items are coming into Bangladesh.

Sources said about 180 smugglers in 25 syndicates are conducting the illegal trade of crores taka through the border points. Some commodities are recovered by the security forces but most of the goods are smuggled safely.

The points include Nila, Natmora Para, Chowdhury Para, Leda, Jadimura, Domdomia, Wabrang, Moulvibazar, Hoaikhong, Kanjar Para, Minabazar, Jhimongkhali, Lomba Beel, Ulubonia, Keruntoli, Naitongpara, Kaukhalipara, Jalia Para, Nazir Para, Sabrang, Naya Para, Mistri Para under Teknaf upazila and Palong Khali, Amtoli, Rahmater Beel, Balu Khali, Anjumanpara, Ghumdhum under Ukhia upazila.

The smuggled items include mostly edible palm oil, soybean oil, onion, garlic and rice while ‘current’ nets, Yaba tablets, pistachios, beer, wine bottles, dried fish, rifles, clothes, lungis, tea leaves, powder milk, sugar and polythene bags and some other items are smuggled in from Burma.

Sources said border guards of Teknaf 42 Rifle Battalion have seized smuggled goods this month. Five smugglers were arrested and 13 boats were seized during the period.

The seized smuggled goods include 31 maunds of onion, 1,013 litres of soybean and palm oil, five maunds of garlic, three maunds of rice, three maunds of potato, 1,467 kg ‘current’ nets, 327 bottles of wine, 319 litres of country made liquor, 358 pieces of lungi and thami, five maunds of pistachio nut, 1,138 packets of polythene and 11 sacks of urea fertiliser.

Deputy Commander of Teknaf 42 Rifles Battalion Major Shahinur Rahman confirmed it and said the jawans have been kept on alert so that edible oil, garlic, rice, fertiliser and other essential commodities can not be smuggled into Burma during the month of Ramadan.

Acting Mayor of Teknaf Municipality Md Ismail said during the month of Ramadan the demand for edible oil, diesel, vermilion, oil and other commodities increase in Burmese state of Arakan. Bangladeshi smugglers take this opportunity. As a result, a crisis of these items is created in Teknaf area and prices go up. http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?id=7451&sec=1
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Foreign Weapons Kill the Blockade on Burma
Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 9:27 am
Article: Richard S. Ehrlich

BANGKOK, Thailand — Demands for an international blockade against weapons sales to Burma, in response to the military regime’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, will face difficult challenges from defiant Chinese, Russian, East European and North Korean arms dealers.

“Nothing less than a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime will do, as a first step,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after Burmese authorities sentenced Mrs. Suu Kyi on August 11 to an additional 18 months house arrest.

A court also sentenced an American, John Yettaw, to seven years hard labor for illegal activity when he secretly swam to Mrs. Suu Kyi’s villa and stayed for two nights.

Mrs. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, admitted to sheltering Mr. Yettaw so he could dodge arrest for his crimes.

“I acted without malice, simply with intent to ensure that the one concerned should not suffer any adverse consequences,” Mrs. Suu Kyi, 64, told the court in her closing statement.

Calls to punish Burma’s military regime by widening an American and European Union ban on weapon sales, however, would mean targeting the Southeast Asian nation’s wealthy, giant northern neighbor, China, which provides most of Burma’s deadliest equipment.

“Burmese soldiers have used not only Chinese-made military equipment such as helmets, uniforms, boots and bayonets, but also munitions, tanks, small arms, artillery, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, jet fighters, naval vessels,” and other items, said a report published by the respected Norway-based Burmese dissident group, Democratic Voice of Burma.

Burma, a country also known as Myanmar, is considered to be suffering one of the world’s most brutal regimes.

“China has been the principal source of arms supplies to the Myanmar forces, followed by India, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and other countries,” said London-based Amnesty International.

During the past 20 years, China supplied Burma with “tanks, armored personnel carriers, military aircraft and artillery pieces such as howitzers, anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns,” Amnesty said.

Serbia and Montenegro sold dozens of howitzers during 2004-2006, while Ukraine signed a contract in 2004 to supply 1,000 armored personnel carriers, after a 2002 deal to the export 14 T-72C tanks, Amnesty said.

Burma’s weapons purchases remain mostly shrouded, and many agreements are difficult to confirm.

Some details appear in a 2009 book by Burmese defence analyst Maung Aung Myoe, titled, “Building the Tatmadaw,” which is the Burmese junta’s name for its military.

Other descriptions filter through pro-democracy Burmese media, including Irrawaddy magazine which is based in Thailand.

“Burma has bought more than 100 jet fighters and aircraft from China since 1990,” Irrawaddy reported in its August issue.

“Burma has also bought smaller numbers of jet fighters, helicopters and military transport planes from Yugoslavia, Poland and Russia.

“Russian, Ukrainian and Polish MI-12, MI-17, G-4 and Sokol helicopters now dominate Burma’s air force,” Irrawaddy said.

Burma, however, reportedly lacks enough skilled pilots.

During the past several years, Burma bought a dozen MiG-29 jet fighters, apparently to square off against its eastern neighbor, Thailand which boasts U.S.-built F-16s and other aircraft.

The two Buddhist nations were historic enemies, and have continued to squabble along their border, though Thailand purchases much of its natural gas from Burma and is widely seen as economically dependent on smooth relations.

America’s California-based Chevron, France’s Total, and Thailand’s PTT own much of the Yadana natural gas pipeline from Burma to Thailand, providing the regime with its largest source of income.

On Burma’s side of the frontier, however, rival groups of minority ethnic guerrillas have fought for the past six decades for independence or autonomy.

Much to the dismay of Burma’s military, the guerrillas have repeatedly tried to enjoy sanctuary in Thailand where they have resupplied, tended to their wounded, and campaigned for foreign support.

Thailand is bolstered by strong U.S. and other Western backing, and is a non-NATO military ally of Washington, which has sparked fears in Burma that the smoldering guerrilla skirmishes could evolve into a proxy war to destabilize the resource-rich hermit nation.

Norway’s Finance Ministry meanwhile has lashed out against China’s military aid to Burma.

“The Ministry of Finance has excluded the Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Group Co. Ltd from the Government Pension Fund — Global — based on advice from the Council on Ethics,” Norway’s Finance Ministry said earlier this year.

“A large number of military trucks manufactured by Dongfeng have been observed at the border crossing between China and Burma. Norges Bank has written to the company about this. The response from Dongfeng revealed that a subsidiary company sold 900 trucks to Burma during the first half of 2008,” a ministry statement said.

“The trucks have been adapted for military purposes and moreover have significant military applications,” Norway’s Finance Ministry said.

Burma’s military seized power in a 1962 coup.

Extensive U.S. and European economic embargoes against Burma, along with the regime’s widespread corruption and disastrous financial polices, have impoverished the nation and forced it to rely on sanction-busting allies.

Mrs. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in a 1990 nationwide election, but the military cancelled the results, refused to allow her to rule, and has kept her under house arrest for about 14 of the past 20 years. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0908/S00209.htm
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Burma Question – sill a matter of regional concern
Tue, 2009-08-25 05:14 — editor
* Features
By Zin Linn

Aung San Suu Kyi 17.jpgBurma’s key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sent back from the notorious Insein Prison and now held under house-arrest. But, the uninvited American, the main defender of the dramatic trial in Burma has been already released from imprisonment and sent back to America. In fact, the Senior General Than Shwe exploited the case of John Yettaw, the American swimmer, in order to block the Lady’s right of equal access to join in the political process in Burma.

John Yettaw, in doubtful health, was sentenced on 11 August to seven years of hard labor for an unwise and ill-fated visit he had paid to Burma’s Nobel laureate, the charismatic democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. His swim to her residence in May caused the Lady additional 18-month of house-arrest.

Following the sentencing, things unfolded just like a drama, when suddenly the US Senatorr. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat, appeared as a savior, visited Burma, and negotiated with the country’s military Head of State, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, to obtain the release of Yettaw, pointing out that he needs medical care.

More importantly it is doubted that the Democrat Senators Webb’s visit may be to broaden U.S. relation with Burma or may be to take part as a fact-finding mission in making a new Burma-policy. Senator Webb is known for his strong criticism of the US administration’s Burma sanctions, arguing that isolating Burma has strengthened China’s grip, weakened US influence and done nothing to improve the junta’s behavior. But, it has to be pointed out that Senator Webb must not ignore the political aspirations of the pro-democracy groups of Burma.

Burmese pro-democracy groups have questioned the timing of Senator Webb’s visit and warned him not to become a tool of the ruling regime. “We are concerned that the military regime will manipulate and exploit your visit and propagandize that you endorse the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the imprisonment of over 2,100 political prisoners,” said a joint statement sent to the US embassy in Rangoon by the All Burma Monks Alliance, 88 Generation Students and All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

Burma is on the brink of a fresh civil strife, as a great number of population including younger generations have articulated dissatisfaction about the most unfair trial of Aung San Suu Kyi. The intolerant citizens have called for a nation-wide general strike to bring down the deep-rooted stratocracy in Burma, due to the junta’s insistence of barring the Lady to participate in the country’s political reform process.

In fact, the junta should come forward to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from detention immediately, because the junta always claimed that no one is above the law. The law says that the duration of such restriction shall be kept to a minimum. The whole world is concerned about Suu Kyi’s detention and has called on the junta to bring the situation back to normal.

The incumbent Burmese junta has also committed series of blunders in dealing with political issues. It will face a bleak future if it continues to overlook the national reconciliation process urged by the key opposition groups of the National League for Democracy and the United Nationalities Alliance.

The NLD and UNA pointed out that the current ratification of the 2008 Constitution is invalid, since it was conducted against the will of the people and amid a lack of international norms. The junta also shows no respect toward the Presidential Statement of the U.N. Security Council, issued in October 2007 and has neglected the consecutive resolutions adopted by the U.N. General Assembly.

Although the military regime has expressed its goals, as stability, national reconciliation and democracy, its repressive stance on oppositions continues to be anti-people move. Even peaceful prayer-sessions in pursuit of the Lady’s freedom were cruelly attacked by the junta’s thugs. Hence, the upcoming election – the first in 20 years – will not be inclusive, participatory and transparent and seems to be highly a treacherous move.

Burmese generals’ way forward become visible. Their practices are being rooted in disrespect for human rights. As a result, political prisoners who stand on principle, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, may not have the chance to be released on or before 2010.

According to prison-sources, the military authorities are pressing the political prisoners to meet some screening processes or exams in their respective jails. The key questions are how they think of the 2008 constitution and what will be their opinion if the authorities allowed them to participate as candidates in 2010 elections. It seems that the junta is thrusting wedge among the political dissidents, especially in the NLDs.

It appears that the junta has no plan of releasing majority of the 2,100-plus political prisoners, if they refused to dance with their tunes and embarking on a tripartite dialogue with the junta, the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic nationalities, as has been called repeatedly by the U.N. General Assembly.

While in his recent trip to Burma, the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon revealed his suggestion to Senior General Than Shwe. Ban Ki-moon in a press briefing in Bangkok, after his July 3-4 visit to Rangoon.

“I told Senior General Than Shwe that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners should be released without delay and allowed to participate freely in the political process. I said I wanted to see resumption of substantive and time-bound dialogue between the government and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy at the higher level of engagement. I set out detailed criteria for a conducive environment for free and fair elections in 2010. Only then will the elections be seen as credible and legitimate.”

During his two-day visit, Ban met twice with Than Shwe at the new capital Naypyidaw, but unfortunately he was refused permission to visit Aung San Suu Kyi. Ban’s requests for the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue toward reconciliation with the political opposition were also adamantly declined.

The U.N. chief expressed his disappointment, saying the Burmese regime failed to take an opportunity to prove a new era of political openness.

Analysts say that the 2008 Constitution and the junta’s unyielding adherence to its seven-step roadmap toward the 2010 elections, will create a highly unstable political climate. Without an agreement on a national reconciliation, 2010 elections will go nowhere, except towards a new civil-war.

There is a serious question for the country. How much longer Burma can take time waiting for national reconciliation, democratic transition and full respect for human rights? The cost of delay will be paid in thousands of innocent lives, loss of opportunities and a protracted civil-war. The junta is going out of its way to court the support of China, India and Russia for the 2010 election, a political ploy of the generals. .

The Burmese populace feel, it is time for the international community to raise this half-century-long political conflict in the next U.N. Security Council. They hope for a global arms embargo against Burma’s military junta, and an investigation into the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime. The people of Burma are hoping that the international community, especially the key players US, UN, EU and ASEAN may opt for political changes in their country.

At least, the key players ought to convince China and Russia to take an active role in promoting a political dialogue with the key stake-holders. If it failed, the 2010 elections in Burma might usher in a highly unstable political atmosphere, not in Burma alone but even in the region.

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/08/25/burma-question-sill-matter-regional-concern
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Bangkok apaost: EDITORIAL
Hitting crime at the borders

Published: 25/08/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Cooperation has steadily increased in recent years among the six nations that share the resources of the Mekong River. That is not to say that Thailand, China, Laos, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia see eye-to-eye on every common problem. But the constant meetings, especially at rural and riverside locations, have steadily brought the six nations closer. Trade, transportation and other fields have prospered.

Now Thailand is pushing its five neighbours to set up a network of border monitors to stem the flow of illicit drugs. The only question is, what took so long?

Chief architect of this excellent plan is Krissana Pol-anand, secretary of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). This is fitting. Over the past three decades, the major anti-drug targets by Thai police and officials has been in the area of the Mekong. Indeed, the Golden Triangle, arguably the world’s most notorious centre of drug trafficking, lies where the mighty river separates Thailand from Burma and Laos.

From the time that the Thai government began to seriously tackle narcotics trafficking in the early 1970s, the Golden Triangle has figured in the effort.

During the worst years, the area – including Thai territory – was under the influence if not the actual control of drug warlords like Lo Hsing-han and his successor Khun Sa. Drug gangs controlled farmers, forcing them to grow opium for a pittance. The gangs bought protection in the three countries of the Triangle, sometimes high-ranking protection.

But even when the Thai army ran Khun Sa out of northern Thailand and back inside Burma, there was little cooperation among the six Mekong governments – if any. The generals who controlled Burma were believed at times to be in cahoots with the top drug lords of the heroin trade. China remained aloof, as did Vietnam. Cambodia considered it was not even involved in the problem.

Two major events occurred in the 1990s that changed all of that, hopefully forever. The first was the decision by the Burmese drug traffickers to begin producing and selling methamphetamines to neighbouring countries. This quickly became a bigger problem than the overall heroin trade. It involved China and Cambodia by enslaving their citizens, and by using their territories to smuggle and to sell both the old opiates and the new speed pills.

This occurred as the six Mekong riparian nations were finding that it was more productive to stress and seek common goals than to argue and bicker uselessly over disputes. The Mekong itself became recognised as a resource that must be shared. And while there are still many disagreements over the river, the common goals have brought the six nations into a formal union that embraces far wider goals.

One of these goals must be better cooperation against the international traffickers in drugs, people and illicit goods. Indeed, if anything, Mr Krissana’s plan for a six-nation network of border posts deserves to be immediately expanded to cover all facets of international crime.

The plan envisions a literal network of border posts, constantly interacting with one another to share information on possible criminal activity. This is a hugely feasible project, given the state of advanced communications in all six countries. Computer, satellite and mobile phone networks already exist. These could be tapped and used in the proposal for a six-nation defence system. Cross-border crime of all kinds causes common security dangers. The Mekong Region countries should begin immediately to flesh out this excellent ONCB plan, and put it into operation as quickly as possible.   http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/22635/hitting-crime-at-the-borders
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Suu Kyi Asks for Return of Family Doctor
By WAI MOE      Monday, August 24, 2009

Burma’s pro-democracy leader is seeking to have her regular physician, Tin Myo Win, reinstated as her primary doctor, following her return to her home after being sentenced to 18-months of house arrest.

Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi’s lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that since she returned home on August 11, the authorities sent another doctor to check on her health.
A Burmese demonstrator holds a photograph of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok on August 16. (Photo: AP)

“She told officials that she wanted her family physician, Dr Tin Myo Win, to take care of her health,” Nyan Win said. “So far, I don’t think Dr Tin Myo Win has been able to visit her.”

Tin Myo Win was a leading pro-democracy activist during the 1988 uprising that toppled the 26-year rule of the late dictator Ne Win.

After the military coup in September 1988, Tin Myo Win became a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). In the following year, he was jailed.

He was the only regular visitor to see Suu Kyi during 2003-09, when he performed monthly check ups.
Tin Myo Win, Suu Kyi’s family physician.

His is regular visits were suspended when he was arrested and questioned after  the American intruder John Yettaw entered Suu Kyi’s lakeside house in Rangoon in early May.

Nyan Win said Suu Kyi’s lawyers have asked the authorities to allow a meeting with their client to talk about an appeal of her conviction.

Last week, Suu Kyi asked clarification from authorities about one of eight conditions of her house arrest concerning visitors.

Suu Kyi was sentenced to 3-year imprisonment for violating the terms of her house arrest. Yettaw received a 7-year sentence. Her sentence was reduced to18-months under house arrest.

Yettaw was granted amnesty after US Sen Jim Webb met with Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16630
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KNU Struggles to Acquire Arms
By SAW YAN NAING        Monday, August 24, 2009

Despite being a major player in one of the longest-running civil wars in the world, the guerilla soldiers of the Karen National Union (KNU) are currently finding it difficult to acquire weapons of any description for their armed struggle against the Burmese military regime.

A commander of KNU’s military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), who asked to remain anonymous, said he is ready to buy weapons and has enough money to purchase what he needs, but he cannot find a broker who will sell to him.
KNLA soldiers stand at attention with AR-15 assault rifles in Brigade 5 of Karen State. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing/ The Irrawaddy)

“We have enough money,” he said. “We are in the market to buy dozens of assault rifles, preferable AK-47s, but it is proving hard to get them.

“We are careful with our old weapons and maintain them very well, so we can use them for a long time,” he said.

The KNLA produces some explosives, especially landmines; however, it is commonly believed that the Karen rebels do not have the capacity to produce high-grade weaponry, such as assault rifles, RPGs or mortars.

The KNLA commander said that the insurgents are able to pay for arms from the income they generate from local businesses, taxation and border trade with Thailand, including logging and the sale of gold and zinc.

He noted that the supply of arms has decreased greatly since the civil war ended in Cambodia and since the KNLA lost its base of Thai support.

The Times magazine in London reported in March that the KNU leadership was losing the support of the Thai government which it had previously been able to rely on for a supply of weapons.

Earlier this year, all KNLA commanders were asked to vacate Thai soil and return to areas under their control.

Founded in 1947, the KNU is the oldest rebel force in Burma and has been fighting for self-determination, autonomy and equality ever since the Burmese central government declared independence from Britain colonial rule in 1948.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16629
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KNU Struggles to Acquire Arms
By SAW YAN NAING        Monday, August 24, 2009

Despite being a major player in one of the longest-running civil wars in the world, the guerilla soldiers of the Karen National Union (KNU) are currently finding it difficult to acquire weapons of any description for their armed struggle against the Burmese military regime.

A commander of KNU’s military wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), who asked to remain anonymous, said he is ready to buy weapons and has enough money to purchase what he needs, but he cannot find a broker who will sell to him.
KNLA soldiers stand at attention with AR-15 assault rifles in Brigade 5 of Karen State. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing/ The Irrawaddy)

“We have enough money,” he said. “We are in the market to buy dozens of assault rifles, preferable AK-47s, but it is proving hard to get them.

“We are careful with our old weapons and maintain them very well, so we can use them for a long time,” he said.

The KNLA produces some explosives, especially landmines; however, it is commonly believed that the Karen rebels do not have the capacity to produce high-grade weaponry, such as assault rifles, RPGs or mortars.

The KNLA commander said that the insurgents are able to pay for arms from the income they generate from local businesses, taxation and border trade with Thailand, including logging and the sale of gold and zinc.

He noted that the supply of arms has decreased greatly since the civil war ended in Cambodia and since the KNLA lost its base of Thai support.

The Times magazine in London reported in March that the KNU leadership was losing the support of the Thai government which it had previously been able to rely on for a supply of weapons.

Earlier this year, all KNLA commanders were asked to vacate Thai soil and return to areas under their control.

Founded in 1947, the KNU is the oldest rebel force in Burma and has been fighting for self-determination, autonomy and equality ever since the Burmese central government declared independence from Britain colonial rule in 1948.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16629
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Principles impede progress in U.S. Burma policy
August 24, 10:16 AMDC Asia Policy ExaminerVan Jackson

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton must order a U.S. Burma policy review that will consider abandoning fruitless principles in favor of practical, measurable reforms. The United States has maintained sanctions against Burma’s military junta for two decades. During that time, the situation in Burma has deteriorated considerably by almost any standard of measurement.

While the United States has been busy isolating Burma out of a sense of moral indignation, tens of thousands of political prisoners have been detained in deplorable conditions; democratic elections have been suspended; private property has been routinely seized by the government without due process; multiple peaceful demonstrations have been suppressed with state-sanctioned violence; nonprofit organizations have been largely prohibited from provisioning humanitarian aid to Burma’s unhealthy, indigent population, even after devastating natural disasters; and Burma’s ruling regime has forged an intimate military relationship with North Korea, the world’s most unsavory rogue state.

Viewed in strictly utilitarian cost-benefit terms, such a poor record of policy performance suggests that continuing a sanctions and isolation approach will only worsen the situation in Burma over time. John Stuart Mill would turn over in his grave at the idea of allowing such a failed policy to continue.

The actions of the Burmese government are, in part, a function of its imposed isolation from the international community. Following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated that tens of thousands of Burmese died because their government initially refused aid from many countries, to include the United States. Recent concerns that Burma could obtain a nuclear weapons capability–thanks to its recently rekindled relationship with North Korea—additionally underscores the importance of considering a reform of U.S. policy toward Burma.

To the extent that Burma remains connected to the outside world, it does so through trade and aid relationships with China, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries. Current U.S. Burma policy serves as an unnecessary point of friction with these important U.S. strategic partners. Further, as long as China, India, and ASEAN maintain their ties to Burma, there is almost no possibility that the punitive dimension of U.S. sanctions toward Burma will have any positive impact.

The time has come to change America’s approach to Burma. The Director of the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, among others, has argued that current U.S. Burma policy should continue because it is “right.” This view seems to advocate that Burma policy should be based on principle, not effectiveness.

A better approach would be to reach out to China, India, and ASEAN to identify points of possible commonality in their respective approaches to Burma. A truly multilateral strategy addressing Burma would be a significant improvement over America’s current policy. Even if a single common approach among all these actors cannot be achieved, the United States should still consider engaging Burma in diplomatic and track II dialogues, possibly scaling back sanctions against Burma in the process.

Arguments for punishing Burma on the basis of a moral imperative are no stronger than arguments for engaging Burma for equally powerful moralistic reasons; the humanitarian cost of sanctions has been too great. Some might argue that the United States would set a dangerous precedent for other rogue states to follow by spurning international norms and the rule of law only to have the United States ultimately willing to reestablish relations. But this line of argumentation venerates principle above effectiveness, which is precisely the opposite of how good public policy should be made.

Establishing a constructive Burma policy starts with a comprehensive policy review. The national security, geopolitical, and humanitarian costs of avoiding such a review are simply too great. http://www.examiner.com/x-16317-DC-Asia-Policy-Examiner~y2009m8d24-Principles-impede-progress-in-US-Burma-policy